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2020/21 Jordan Pickford

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Drico said:
I tend to agree with this comment. As a former amateur keeper myself, I would have no interest in "competing" for the solitary position. You either make me your number one or I'll get a game elsewhere. It's not that I was petulant or arrogant - it's that goalkeeper is a unique position where you are trusted or you are not. EVERY goalkeeper will make mistakes that cost goals. It is inevitable. There is no safety net for the keeper, unlike pretty much every other position on the pitch. Similarly, there is no other position to play the keeper who loses out in the "competition". He cannot be moved to full back, into midfield, or up front like an outfield player can.

The number 2 is purely back-up in case of injury. He accepts his role as the subservient replacement. Think Raymond van der Gouw. The number 1 must have complete faith from his manager and team-mates, because, yes, he will blunder. But if he's good enough, these mistakes will be accepted as hazards of the job by grateful team-mates. Think Peter Schmeichel. I've never seen a keeper as vaunted as he was make as many crass blunders as he did - but that was what he was and they were accepted as the price worth paying for his undoubted brilliance.

Jordan Pickford won't really benefit from a "competition". He's either good enough or he isn't. Right now, he's fallen into that nether region where we cannot honestly give a clear answer to that question. I still think he's got the talent. I've seen enough to know a good keeper when I see one - and he has all the attributes...except maturity. That can be gained with time and application. The worry is he will blunder in a critical match, like the upcoming derby, and will enter a spiral of ridicule and self-doubt which will make his status untenable. I know from experience that keepers build an aura. Make a sequence of great saves and forwards fear you while your team mates grow in confidence as you give them that precious commodity of security. You, literally, "save" your team and they love you for it. I have played against some super amateur strikers in my time and if I could make a couple of really good saves against them, they would then start "accounting" for my presence by aiming at the narrowest angle inside the post when they went through one-on-one. To avoid me, they would aim for that ever-narrowing target. Much of the time that would be enough for them to miss. The ball would hit the post or go wide. If they were unconcerned by me, they would score simply by slotting into a wider target. Basically, by making a few big saves, forwards consider the keeper "good" and reduce their own shooting options. That's an aura. I'd save none of those shots - but they'd go wide...

By the same token, when a keeper blunders, he is a pariah, undermining everything everyone is trying to achieve.

Pickford has a huge derby coming up. It could be career defining. This is a huge concern. I can't say right now if he will make it, but I still think he can. He just needs to make sure his next blunder is not in the derby...
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Everything is right what you've written, but as you and all of us know - blunder will come. Also not when but how many. He is in totally mess right now. Just look faces of our backline when we concede. Also his calamitous behavior in the box is worst then ever. f you want to be top team, you need top goalkeeper, we don't have time to wait for Pickford to overcome his faults. It's now or never for him.
 
Drico said:
I tend to agree with this comment. As a former amateur keeper myself, I would have no interest in "competing" for the solitary position. You either make me your number one or I'll get a game elsewhere. It's not that I was petulant or arrogant - it's that goalkeeper is a unique position where you are trusted or you are not. EVERY goalkeeper will make mistakes that cost goals. It is inevitable. There is no safety net for the keeper, unlike pretty much every other position on the pitch. Similarly, there is no other position to play the keeper who loses out in the "competition". He cannot be moved to full back, into midfield, or up front like an outfield player can.

The number 2 is purely back-up in case of injury. He accepts his role as the subservient replacement. Think Raymond van der Gouw. The number 1 must have complete faith from his manager and team-mates, because, yes, he will blunder. But if he's good enough, these mistakes will be accepted as hazards of the job by grateful team-mates. Think Peter Schmeichel. I've never seen a keeper as vaunted as he was make as many crass blunders as he did - but that was what he was and they were accepted as the price worth paying for his undoubted brilliance.

Jordan Pickford won't really benefit from a "competition". He's either good enough or he isn't. Right now, he's fallen into that nether region where we cannot honestly give a clear answer to that question. I still think he's got the talent. I've seen enough to know a good keeper when I see one - and he has all the attributes...except maturity. That can be gained with time and application. The worry is he will blunder in a critical match, like the upcoming derby, and will enter a spiral of ridicule and self-doubt which will make his status untenable. I know from experience that keepers build an aura. Make a sequence of great saves and forwards fear you while your team mates grow in confidence as you give them that precious commodity of security. You, literally, "save" your team and they love you for it. I have played against some super amateur strikers in my time and if I could make a couple of really good saves against them, they would then start "accounting" for my presence by aiming at the narrowest angle inside the post when they went through one-on-one. To avoid me, they would aim for that ever-narrowing target. Much of the time that would be enough for them to miss. The ball would hit the post or go wide. If they were unconcerned by me, they would score simply by slotting into a wider target. Basically, by making a few big saves, forwards consider the keeper "good" and reduce their own shooting options. That's an aura. I'd save none of those shots - but they'd go wide...

By the same token, when a keeper blunders, he is a pariah, undermining everything everyone is trying to achieve.

Pickford has a huge derby coming up. It could be career defining. This is a huge concern. I can't say right now if he will make it, but I still think he can. He just needs to make sure his next blunder is not in the derby...
Click to expand...

A solid performance in the derby maybe even a clean sheet buys him a crap load of time.
 
Drico said:
he has all the attributes...except maturity. That can be gained with time and application.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure I agree that he has the attributes to be honest, but i'm certainly not sure he can (or is likely to at least) gain maturity at this point. He's 26, has 300 senior games under his belt plus 30ish England caps, and on the personal side he has a wife and kid. If he hasn't 'matured' at this point it's hard to think he ever will really.
 
Death said:
A solid performance in the derby maybe even a clean sheet buys him a crap load of time.
Click to expand...
All it buys him is until his next 'Kup. Every keeper makes mistakes, so how many is too many? 2, 3, a season. 1 a month,
17th October has the potential - for both good and bad to define
Everton as we are now.
Pickford - as he is

not so much Ancelotti?
 

Lanolin said:
I'm not sure I agree that he has the attributes to be honest, but i'm certainly not sure he can (or is likely to at least) gain maturity at this point. He's 26, has 300 senior games under his belt plus 30ish England caps, and on the personal side he has a wife and kid. If he hasn't 'matured' at this point it's hard to think he ever will really.
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very fair this.

he's dissolved all the good will he generated in the first season.

He's very much an unknown at this point. Which is bizarre given he's England #1.

I don't think it's too far to say he is playing for his career as a top 6/7/8 keeper (whatever we are now) for the rest of the season.

If he costs us in any tangible way, he's a #2 keeper.
 

Just gotta hope he comes good, reckon he knows he'll be gone next summer otherwise.

Rooting for ya, Jord, even though I can't stand ya lol
 
Walken said:
He didn't win us 3 points at spurs, he did his job which he should be doing every week and the team won us 3 points.
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I can't agree. One of those saves was what I would describe as "a bonus" - one he had no right to make (or at least the percentages were heavily weighted against him making it). Everton played very well at Spurs, but Pickford was instrumental in us getting the three points and would not have been at fault had we not.

The first goal against Fleetwood was appalling goalkeeping (just hoof the damn thing!) and his start against WBA was very jittery. The Brighton goal was the kind of mistake somebody with very little confidence/concentration makes.

He's playing for his status as a first-choice goalkeeper in the derby, maybe even for his top level career. He's in a dreadful rut with no guarantee of emerging from it, and his attitude is questionable (pub brawls and boozy nights at the darts aren't really endearing attributes in a professional), but he deserves proper credit for when he does go beyond the call of duty - and he did at Spurs. His problem now, though, is he has blundered so often and is so unpopular that he no longer gets the benefit of the doubt. That's on him, so my sympathy is limited. Great save at Spurs, though.
 
Jamo Martinez said:
The ball was out on the left wing so he was on the post. it's played into the inside left channel and hit first time with 5 or 6 players unsighting him. Seems a bit harsh to call him out for that goal. Especially considering there are enough definite mistakes to criticise him about
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Fair enough mate, maybe I'm being a bit harsh with that one but thought I'd at least mention it while i was analysing the others
 
Drico said:
I can't agree. One of those saves was what I would describe as "a bonus" - one he had no right to make (or at least the percentages were heavily weighted against him making it). Everton played very well at Spurs, but Pickford was instrumental in us getting the three points and would not have been at fault had we not.

The first goal against Fleetwood was appalling goalkeeping (just hoof the damn thing!) and his start against WBA was very jittery. The Brighton goal was the kind of mistake somebody with very little confidence/concentration makes.

He's playing for his status as a first-choice goalkeeper in the derby, maybe even for his top level career. He's in a dreadful rut with no guarantee of emerging from it, and his attitude is questionable (pub brawls and boozy nights at the darts aren't really endearing attributes in a professional), but he deserves proper credit for when he does go beyond the call of duty - and he did at Spurs. His problem now, though, is he has blundered so often and is so unpopular that he no longer gets the benefit of the doubt. That's on him, so my sympathy is limited. Great save at Spurs, though.
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What goals did he score? what assists did he make? how many tackles did he put in in midfield?
 

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