Danny Murphy tells Everton star he needs to ‘zip’ it
Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has generated headlines recently with comments about the criticism that he’s received from media figures.
The England international claimed that he gets fiercer criticism from pundits – he name-checked Gary Neville specifically – because he’s a Three Lions star.
The former Sunderland man seems to feel that those who represent the national team are placed under more severe scrutiny than others.
That may or may not be the case, but the 25-year-old has now placed himself firmly in the spotlight moving forward.
That’s something that former England international Danny Murphy feels was rather misguided of him.
“He think he’s made it more difficult on himself by doing so,” he said on talkSPORT. “If I was his manager I would’ve been saying to him ‘don’t do the press’.
“Sometimes you just have to let your game to do the talking and be bright enough to understand that you’re going to get criticism.
“I like his temperament in terms of putting himself out there – to a degree. I think there’s a time to just zip [it].”
Is Murphy right, here?
He is, yes.
Pickford didn’t need to come out and speak to the media after making a big mistake. Yes, you’re taking responsibility in some respects and he’s trying not to hide. But you’ve got to be smart, as well.
It wasn’t the wisest choice to go out on the attack after he’d made a big error. In that situation you need to just go back to the training ground and get to work.
Like Murphy says: let your game do the talking. That’s what Pickford needs to do, not blame those in the media.
In other Everton news, Danny Mills has identified a selection choice Ancelotti made against Crystal Palace that baffled him.