Ian Wright rips into struggling Everton star
By this point we’ve all seen the comments that Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has made about the media and their criticism of him.
He feels that England internationals like him are placed under fiercer scrutiny than other players, while he name-checked Gary Neville personally.
Whether you agree with him or not, we can all agree that all his remarks have done is place a more intense microscope on him and his performances.
The discourse seems to have transitioned from the point that he was trying to make, to his own struggles between the sticks.
Former England international Ian Wright is one of those who feels that the 25-year-old made an error with his comments.
“He sounds angry, he sounds like everyone’s having a go at him,” he said on BBC Radio 5 Live. “Everybody’s not having a go at him.
“We want him to be great, we want him to do well, but when you watch what he’s done for Everton you see the faults – and he’s England’s number one.
“He seems to be angry and coming in very defensive and almost trying to have a go back, rather than embracing [that] ‘yeah I’m still learning, I’m at a big club that’s going places, I’m still making mistakes but I’m gonna get better’.
“You’re not hearing that from him. You’re hearing deflectiveness and chipiness.”
Does Wright have a point?
He does, yes. Pickford is a fiery character, we’ve seen that time and time again. That can be a good thing, but he has to take responsibility for his own mistakes as well.
He’s still a young ‘keeper who’s nowhere near his peak yet. That’s something he should be acknowledging, rather than lashing out at others.
People like Neville are paid to have an opinion on footballers. If he sees someone make a mistake it’s his role to mention it and discuss it.
It’s easy to say ‘don’t take it so personally’ when they’re not talking about you, but Pickford would surely be better off detaching himself from the media and social media.
In other Everton news, a former England international has been raving over the impact of one Toffees star.