Michael Ball praises Pickford following recent form
Former Everton defender Michael Ball has praised Jordan Pickford following an impressive performance against Arsenal last week.
The England international pulled off a number of crucial saves against the Gunners to ensure the Blues claimed all three points, with his stop from Gabriel Martinelli’s late effort particularly impressing.
Pickford’s showing at the Emirates was the latest in a series of excellent performances from the former Sunderland shot-stopper this season, who has seemingly turned a corner over the past few months.
Speaking in his column for the Liverpool Echo, Ball waxed lyrical about the impact that the Everton goalkeeper has had over the past few weeks.
Ball said: “It’s been brilliant to see Jordan Pickford back to his best including last Friday’s win over Arsenal. He got man-of-the-match from a couple of outlets and rightly so.
“He was switched on, and we know he’s been guilty in the past of switching off and making errors. That happens with goalkeepers.
“But you’ve got to remember what he’s gone through this season. He made a rash challenge, and everyone came out of the woodwork to give him a lot of stick. No matter how mature or old you are, that will affect you one way or another.
“That performance on Friday showed why he’s England’s No.1. He was quiet for the majority of the game, kept everything simple, and when he was called upon he gave us the three points.
“That’s a huge credit to him for his attitude and bouncing back from a mass media reaction for what happened in October. He’s hit form at the right time for himself, with a lot of English goalkeepers doing well right now.
“It’s great to see him back to his best.”
Huge improvement
Pickford has undeniably improved this season, both in terms of his measuredness and his overall shot-stopping ability, and perhaps some of that success can be owed to Robin Olsen’s signing.
The Swede has pushed the England goalkeeper this season by challenging him in training and by coping marvellously when Pickford was injured, proving to Everton’s Number one that he would have to fight to keep hold of that title.
Of course, Pickford isn’t a goalkeeper that you can ever completely trust. He hasn’t been able to iron out all of the creases and there is definitely still a mistake in him, but a much greater level of consistency is massively appreciated.
Now we just need to see Pickford keep it up. Obviously he’ll want to start for England this summer so he’ll have an incentive to maintain his form until the end of the season, but beyond that we really hope that he’s turned a new leaf.
We’ll believe it when we see it, but here’s to hoping.
In other Everton news, Report: Everton demand club-record fee for ‘Phenomenal’ player this summer.
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