Pickford deserves better
We all know that many of those who watch their football somewhere else other than Goodison Park have got their fair share of weird and not-so-wonderful opinions on Jordan Pickford but as the player who has arguably done more than any of his team-mates in recent years to keep Everton in the Premier League, England’s number one deserves better than this.
The sucker punch arrived a bit earlier than the Blues’ previous horror show at the Vitality Stadium when captain Seamus Coleman inexplicably deflected the ball beyond his own goalkeeper in the last minute, but substitute David Brooks’ back post volley still must have hurt like a dagger to the heart after Pickford’s heroics.
Manager Sean Dyche said in his post-match press conference that a custodian of Pickford’s calibre would expect to make the impressive saves that he pulled off to keep Bournemouth at bay for as long as he did, but while it wasn’t quite a Roy Keane-esque “Just doing your job” assessment, nobody at Everton should be taking what the 30-year-old does for granted, or has been doing for eight seasons now.
The Blues are stuck in a rut right now and need to improve dramatically in the second half of the campaign if their dream move from Goodison Park to their new stadium doesn’t turn into a nightmare.
But after keeping the Championship wolf from the door for so long, Pickford’s team-mates need to start offering him more support as even he can’t do it all on his own.
