Everton journalists irked by ITV criticism of Jordan Pickford
A number of local journalists have leapt to the defence of Jordan Pickford after the Everton goalkeeper was subject to increased scrutiny against Scotland on Friday night.
Pickford, 27, made his second consecutive start at the European Championships as he lined up for England against Scotland at Wembley.
Despite keeping another clean sheet, the 2017 signing from Sunderland was subjected to some peculiar analysis from ITV pundits including Lee Dixon, as referenced by The Athletic’s Everton correspondent Patrick Boyland, who pondered on Twitter: “What on earth are the commentary team on about?”
This was a sentiment shared by Liverpool Echo journalist Adam Jones on his personal Twitter profile, after Pickford was questioned by Dixon.
He wrote: “Baffled. Absolutely baffled. He couldn’t have done anything more.”
Reputation precedes him
It seems Pickford can do no right in the eyes of England fans.
The Blue shot-stopper has developed a reputation over the years for fumbling efforts and making defences nervy – Divock Origi’s Merseyside Derby winner in 2018 was his most high-profile blunder.
Pickford even produced some howlers last season, but most of those were at the beginning of the campaign, and he was arguably one of our better performers towards the last few months of Carlo Ancelotti’s reign at Goodison Park.
He’s also considered to be a reliable performer for his national side, with many observers of the view that he saves his best displays for The Three Lions.
So it was a surprise to hear some criticism for him on Friday night, as he kept another clean sheet at Euro 2020.
He even kept England in the game at times, and ensured they did not suffer an embarrassing defeat at Wembley.
It was strange to hear the likes of Dixon sneer at Pickford after some of his heroics.
In other Everton news, the Blues’ search for a new manager is nearly over as Farhad Moshiri schedules a final meeting to rubberstamp a contract for this coach.
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