ECHO journalist defends Jordan Pickford as Everton ace handed Premier League snub
Journalist Adam Jones has defended Jordan Pickford after he came in for criticism from an Everton fan on social media.
The Liverpool Echo’s Everton reporter initially quote tweeted a goalkeeper compilation from the official Premier League Twitter account, claiming it was a “travesty” not to include one of his saves from the 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Manchester City on Sunday.
Mick, a Blues supporter, hit back and poured scorn over Jones’ claim, to which Jones replied that “he’s literally made numerous world-class saves in the last few months, what are you on about?”
The disagreement ensued as Mick derided the term ‘world-class’.
Jones tweeted: “I can only assume you actually haven’t watched Pickford in the last few months, which is weird considering you’re pushing yourself as some sort of expert.
“He’s played well, he deserves praise, as an Everton fan let him have it.”
Credit where it’s due
Pickford has come in for plenty of flak since his Blues move in 2017, from both supporters of his own club side and the England national team.
He’s certainly had some disappointing moments, but in recent months he looks to have come on leaps and bounds, despite suffering a few small injuries.
At Manchester City on Sunday he was subjected to a barrage of goal-bound shots as the Premier League champions ran rampant against the beleaguered Blues.
According to WhoScored he still made six saves to keep the score down even further, while he picked up a respectable 6.8 match rating, significantly higher than any of his teammates.
His recent form doesn’t mean he’s suddenly in the top bracket of Premier League goalkeepers, but it should relieve some of the pressure on him and fans should be getting behind him.
There might come a time when a new first-team goalkeeper may have to be brought in, but we have more pressing areas of concern in the meantime.
We can’t go out and splash hundreds of millions to revamp the squad, it’s just not realistic.
Defence and attack are the areas the are most pressing for now, and Pickford shouldn’t be looking over his shoulder just yet.
In other Everton news, Kevin Campbell wants Blues to sign this prolific Premier League sensation.
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