I just don't get it with Pickford at all. Someone posted a video a few pages back of his highlights and I thought if any of those had gone in, I'd be fuming. The Arsenal game recently when everyone raved over his performance was similar. It reminded me of Howard's MOTM game in the World Cup, but he took much stick from people on here for that, all saves he should be making etc.
I wasn't Howard's biggest fan myself near the end, but the snarky comments about that performance and in comparison to the way Pickford is being built up now, is almost schizophrenic.
Pickford may or may not become a top keeper, but the biggest problem people have with Joel (aside from who signed him and who he previously played for) is that he has a mistake in him. Never mind the fact he has 3 times came into a struggling defence and had a positive effect, or any of the stats that had him up near the top keeper performances in the league for large chunks of the season.
People were content to sit and wait, ignoring good form, on the basis that they knew he would eventually make a mistake... Like every single other player on the planet, goalkeeper or outfield, is bound to do at some point. And when he did, they gleefully jumped on it.
Pickford may well become one of the best, and make me eat my words. But right now, I don't see it. He also has a mistake in him, and he won't be excused for his mistakes here like he is at Sunderland who were a defensive shambles.
Also, he is an unknown in that he would be facing a different challenge. The lad is facing 20+ shots per game this year. Odds are, he's gonna make some saves. Some of the same people advocating him are the same who dismissed Joel's cleansheets because our defense was great, even though we had struggled before he was in the team and once again when he was dropped, but claimed that his cleansheets came from matches when we faced fewer shots, something we have zero evidence of Pickford being comfortable doing.
For me, spending much more on him now than the £8m we offered would be a gamble, let alone £30m. The stick Bolasie and Rom get is bad enough.
People say Goalkeeper is an important position, and rightly so. But it also means any large fees on them come with magnified scrutiny. A Striker can blame tactics or service, a defender is part of a unit. A goalkeeper stands alone and lives or dies by his mistakes. With that amount of money, you need to get it right.
Im not saying not to buy a new keeper, or that we shouldn't break the bank for one. But if/when we do, we should be buying someone who we know categorically will be an improvement on what we have. I'm not convinced he is, not now anyway, and I certainly wouldn't be spending that much on potential.