The form of Jordan Pickford, at the club level with Everton, delivered more lows than highs this past season. Things really came to a head in October, when he made yet another terrible blunder, this time against Brighton & Hove Albion. The 27-year-old had officially become the keeper making the most errors leading to opposing goals since he signed for Everton in 2017, as his mistakes then totaled 11 goals gifted to the opposition.
But that was then and this is now, and the reality couldn’t be any more different.
Indeed, here we are in the summer of 2021 and the spotlight is still on Pickford, only this time it’s because he has been the most successful goalkeeper of any at the Euros. Incredibly, thanks to Pickford’s resilience between the sticks for the Three Lions, the odds for England v Denmark at Euro 2020 now price Gareth Southgate’s men at just 8/11 to win the semi-final and progress to the final. One can’t underestimate Pickford’s role in England’s successful run at the Euros.
It has to one of the most remarkable turnarounds in form that we have ever seen but here’s how he recovered from the lows of October 2020.
Of course, being officially classified as the keeper who had made the most errors that resulted in opposing goals was a dreadful record to have.
Additionally, when you consider that he would then cause Virgil Van Dijk an injury that would rule the Liverpool centre-back out of the season only two weeks later, it was rapidly turning into a month that could realistically alter the course of the 27-year-old’s career.
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl thinks Jordan Pickford should have been banned for his tackle that injured Virgil van Dijk.
More: https://t.co/wTjWiveFub pic.twitter.com/hF4U9bBspn
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) October 24, 2020
There was no getting away from it, the national spotlight was well and truly fixed on Pickford and there was no place to hide. The only way the Sunderland-born keeper would dig himself out of the hole he found himself in would be by turning his performances around, and that’s exactly what he did.
Incredibly, Pickford has managed to keep five clean sheets at the Euros with his goal not having been breached once in the competition. It is an astonishing turnaround from the career-threatening days of the autumn, but it should be said that the majority of people aren’t overcome with a sense of surprise given that it was always evident that England’s number one had what it took to become world-class.
Looking back, the string of gaffes that made him the subject of national discussion was predominately down to a lack of concentration. That may sound overly simplistic but there was a growing agreement that Pickford would begin to feel at a loose end whilst in goal, which would lead to a simple mistake.
Two years ago today, Jordan Pickford was left flapping as Divock Origi scored a bizarre Liverpool winner against Everton ?pic.twitter.com/sm6573G6jr
— Goal (@goal) December 2, 2020
The Telegraph perhaps summed it up best during this turbulent time with an article titled ‘The good, the bad and the very ugly.’ Indeed, his talent was there for all to see but his ability to implode without rhyme or reason got him to the point where came within a whisker of being permanently unselectable for England.
Southgate deserves a lot of praise for the way he stuck by Pickford and instead conveyed to him that he needed to be a goalkeeper and not an entertainer. The England manager insisted that the mistakes would dry up if he adopted a tunnel vision mentality on the pitch. Pickford then went back to his club side and for the final part of the season began to hone his concentration and application whilst in goal. A further boost to Pickford’s confidence would come when Southgate said that no one was actually challenging Pickford to be England’s goalkeeper.
That pat on the back and a reminder of his number one duty as a goalkeeper have brought the best out of Jordan Pickford, and his phenomenal record in the England goal over the Euros proves that he has finally come of age.