Jordan Pickford has not been enjoying the best start to the season.
Everton, of course, have been in excellent form under the management of Carlo Ancelotti, winning all four of their opening four games.
They have, however, kept just one clean sheet, against Tottenham Hotspur.
While they have beaten West Bromwich Albion, Crystal Palace, and Brighton & Hove Albion, they have conceded five goals in the three games.
Pickford was at fault against Brighton, as he dropped a cross into the path of Neal Maupay, while an EFL Cup victory over Fleetwood Town was achieved in spite of two quite hideous mistakes from the England international.
It means that Gareth Southgate could drop the Toffees goalkeeper for the upcoming games against Wales, Belgium, and Denmark; the final two are Nations League encounters.
Southgate also has Manchester United’s Dean Henderson and Burnley’s Nick Pope to call upon, so could choose to sacrifice Pickford in order to blood the pair.
But Neville Southall, himself a former Wales and Everton keeper, believes that Pickford will only improve, and can prove all of his critics wrong.
Quoted by The Sun, Southall, who remains the Toffees’ leading appearance maker – with 750 games under his belt – backed the 26-year-old, who was a key member of England’s World Cup squad in 2018, saving a penalty in the shootout victory over Colombia as the Three Lions reached the semi-finals.
He said: “I think he’s had probably three bad minutes in six months — if that.
“His mistakes aren’t killing us and once he finds his form, we’ll be flying.
“There’ll be a time when we have that little bump in the road and maybe we’ll have to rely on him.
“Maybe people will have to change their opinions.
“But I do think if Mr Ancelotti wants to play you, you must be half-decent. If his job was on the line there’d be a taxi outside Goodison tomorrow.”
GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…
Southall makes a very fair point about Everton not losing games because of Pickford.
In fact, they have taken maximum points from what appeared to be a tough run of games, and while he has made mistakes, Pickford’s mind is only likely to be sharpened by the errors.
Southall’s claim that he has just had “three bad minutes” might well be overdoing it, but there can be no denying that he hasn’t actively hindered the Toffees.
They are currently top of the league.
If Ancelotti continues to trust in him, one has to imagine he will get back to his best form soon enough.