‘He’ll be fine’ – Noel Whelan has say on under-fire Everton star
It seems like Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has dominated the recent media circus at Goodison Park, and largely not in a good way.
The England international got everyone talking with his comments about how he’s criticised more fiercely than others because he’s an England international.
There have been a couple of people coming to his defence, but mostly it’s been prognosticators telling him to concentrate on his football and cut out the mistakes rather than lashing out at others.
You wonder whether the former Sunderland man will learn anything from this: perhaps to keep his thoughts to himself and use criticism as motivation instead of an excuse.
Former England international Noel Whelan certainly feels that the 25-year-old will be able to bounce back from the adversity caused by his mistake against Crystal Palace and subsequent backlash for his remarks.
“I think he’ll be fine,” he told Football Insider. “Look, Jordan will be the first one to hold his hands up, and you can see the look on his face and the disappointment at the way the goal went in. That should be the goalkeeper’s all day long.
“Goalkeepers, unfortunately, are going to make mistakes, a bit like strikers missing chances, because it’s key at both ends of the field, they’re looked on with a magnifying glass. Every mistake is costly, every chance missed in front of goal is costly. I don’t think he’ll lose his place, but it goes to show, they’re human.
“Goalkeepers make mistakes, it’s just the way it. Fortunately for him at the weekend Everton managed to win the game, otherwise it would probably be looked upon a lot more than what it is. He needs to get better at certain things and tidy up certain parts of his game.”
Does Whelan have a point, here?
He’s 100% right that Pickford needs to sharpen up certain areas of his game. He’s a little too emotional, and it can have an effect on his concentration at times.
But he remains a quality shot-stopper and one of the best ‘keepers in the Premier League in terms of his distribution.
It’s just consistency which is the problem, and too many errors leading to goals. When that happens you can’t be surprised to get it in the neck somewhat.
But he’ll remain the Toffees number one moving forward and, if he can fix these issues, he’ll go on to become a truly top class ‘keeper.
In other Everton news, former Blues manager Sam Allardyce has delivered his verdict on Pickford.