Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti confirmed on Friday that Jordan Pickford would be keeping his place between the sticks for this afternoon’s trip to Southampton.
It has been an incident-laden season for the 26-year-old Toffees goalkeeper so far.
Not only has Pickford struggled for form after a couple of high-profile errors, but he avoided a red card for the challenge which brought Virgil van Dijk’s season to an end during Liverpool’s draw away to Everton last week.
Because the tackle was seen by officials at the time, no retrospective action can be taken.
And Danny Murphy believes that the Everton boss should axe him from the first XI today, suggesting the Italian has a bigger opportunity to send ‘the right message’ to the wider community about horrible challenges which go unpunished.
He told The Mail: “I don’t think Jordan Pickford should be playing at Southampton on Sunday while Virgil van Dijk is starting a long rehab.
“It’s not personal against Pickford — and I’ll take this opportunity right off the bat to totally condemn the trolling and abuse he’s received — but my belief is that any bad tackle or dangerous play should always be punished, whether on the day or retrospectively.
“It sends out the right message to the whole football community that you shouldn’t get away with anything reckless. And that goes for any player who made the challenge Pickford did.”
Is Murphy right? Morally, he probably is, but the Everton boss isn’t obliged to do the right thing.
It’s his job to win football matches and if he feels Pickford is in the right frame of mind to help the Blues to victory today then the veteran coach – who has won the Champions League three times – has to be respected.
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