Patrick Boyland praises Pickford in Everton loss to Man City
The Athletic journalist Paddy Boyland praised Jordan Pickford after Everton lost their final game of the season against Manchester City.
The Blues ended the season on a whimper as they capitulated against the Premier League champions, with Pep Guardiola fielding a full strength side despite the club’s upcoming Champions League final.
Everton missed out on Europe despite having been very much in the race for qualification for the majority of the season, leaving Carlo Ancelotti to return to the drawing board as he aims to break into the top six.
Despite having conceded five goals against the Cityzens, Boyland was quick to praise Pickford for his performance, with the England international having impressed as of late.
Taking to Twitter, Boyland said: “Jordan Pickford comfortably Everton’s best player in a 5-0 defeat.
“That tells you everything you need to know sadly, a sorry end to the season. Just desperate.”
Strong showing
Jordan Pickford has more than earned his praise through his performances over the past few months, with the Three Lions goalkeeper having certainly turned a corner.
Pickford had previously gone through a spell of inconsistency where he had become error-prone, leading many to question whether he was the right choice to operate as the club’s long-term shot-stopper.
However Robin Olsen’s arrival in the summer has pushed Pickford to improve, leading to a much more consistent and steady level of performance from the former Sunderland man.
Everton finished in tenth place with 59 points, however David Moyes achieved a finish of fourth in the 2004/05 season with just two points more, so Ancelotti can consider himself unfortunate.
Without Pickford in goal this season Everton would almost certainly have less points too, with the goalkeeper single-handedly keeping the Toffees in contests on a number of occasions this season.
Pickford will starr for England at the Euros this summer and quite rightly so, he’s absolutely earned it.
In other Everton news, pundit wants Everton to sign ‘quality player’ to replace Goodison star in Ancelotti XI.
Be sure to follow Goodison News on Facebook and Twitter for 24/7 updates on Everton and more exclusive interviews with Kevin Campbell.