Jordan Pickford will be hoping to remain England’s number one despite a number of indifferent performances for Everton this season.
Joleon Lescott has stated that he ‘doesn’t get why’ Everton’s Jordan Pickford feels that criticism aimed at him this season has been ‘unfair’.
Speaking to Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports News (22/02/12 at 1:50 am), Lescott made it clear that Everton’s man between the sticks will get criticised because he is England’s number one.
Following his error against Crystal Palace earlier this month, Pickford claimed that ‘everyone hates you’ when you are an England player, as he made it clear that the criticism isn’t affecting him, as quoted by BBC Sport.
But former Everton defender, Lescott, thinks that Pickford ‘shouldn’t be happy’ that his mistakes are leading to goals, as he was seemingly baffled by the shot-stopper’s previous claim.
“His mistakes lead to conceding and he shouldn’t be happy with that,” Lescott told Soccer Saturday. “So, I don’t get why he feels that’s unfair criticism.
“Yet I don’t think anyone is over critical [praisful] of him when he does something quite good. But in term of mistakes, if you make mistakes as a player, especially as England’s number one, you are going to get criticised. And I guess that’s what is kind of new for him.”
Pickford, who joined the Toffees from Sunderland in 2017 for £30 million [BBC Sport], has always been known to be a little bit erratic in goal, whether he is donning Everton’s gloves or on the few occasions, England’s gloves.
But, as he proved during the World Cup in Russia, he can deliver the goods when it matters most, so the same will be expected of him this summer.
Despite the rise of the likes of Dean Henderson from Sheffield United, it would be a surprise to see Pickford lose his England number one spot because he has been quality for Gareth Southgate for most of the time and the majority of his criticism has come at club level.
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