As it stands, the standard and typically assumed answer is that Jordan Pickford will always get the England #1 shirt. The regular starter for the national team during the 2018 World Cup campaign should tell everyone what they need to know about how high Gareth Southgate is on him. The question needs to be asked, however, is he the best option England have at their disposal?
After a standout season at Sunderland in 2017, where Pickford was shortlisted for the PFA young player of the year, the young Englishman got his big-money move to Everton, for a rumoured £30 million. We can’t deny that Pickford has been the consistent face for both club and country, making 138 total appearances for Everton since his debut. On top of this, he’s made 28 appearances for the national team, including 14 during the ‘summer of love’ in 2018.
Known for his impressive distribution, we can’t ignore his ability with his feet. What Pickford is also known for, however, is his mistakes. Despite his clear skills with the ball on the ground, a mistake against League One’s Fleetwood town highlights how poor he can be under pressure. A simple punt upfield would have maintained his clean sheet in this game for longer. A panicked clearance lead to a goal for the opposition, one of two errors in this game.
Along with this mistake in the EFL cup, Pickford has made a number of high profile mistakes in the Premier League. Putting aside the numerous mistakes that he has made in previous seasons, this season has been no different. Notably, his big blunder against Brighton lead to a goal for Graham Potter’s side. Pickford was lucky that James Rodriguez was on form to secure three points for his side on this occasion.
Having only kept one clean sheet in seven Premier League appearances this season (and this was on the opening day), Pickford has been far from impressive. Everton as a team conceded 56 goals last season, a 10 goal increase on the season before. In just seven games this season (not including the game where they kept a clean sheet), Everton have conceded 14 goals, the fourth most in the league as it stands. Pickford has been selected on six of these occasions, dropped for personal reasons against Newcastle. On top of this, Everton’s #1 has got lucky on a number of occasions. In the Merseyside derby, Pickford was lucky to not give away a penalty and receive a red card when he took out Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk. How VAR wasn’t used effectively on this foul was simply a poor use of the technology. Pickford made no attempt to play the ball and in the process injured van Dijk for the foreseeable future. As recently as Everton’s last game, Pickford was again lucky not to concede a penalty. Following a mistake where he dropped a fairly straightforward catch under a high ball, Pickford swung a leg at Man United’s, Harry Maguire. Again, how VAR didn’t flag up that Pickford committed a foul, in turn giving away a penalty is still questionable.
Statistically, according to TalkSport, Pickford is the joint most error-prone goalkeeper since the beginning of last season. Is that really what an England National team with world-beating ambitions want from their last line of defence? Would they not rather a goalkeeper who is slightly more reliable, rather than concentrate on someone who has good distribution? Yes, Pickford is a leader and isn’t scared to scream at his defence but the backline in front of him has a number of big personalities and leaders. Harry Maguire, despite his acumen this season, is still the Manchester United captain. Conor Coady is Wolves captain and England also have Joe Gomez. Despite his recent injury, ruling him out of the upcoming national fixtures, he has been the leader in Liverpool’s backline, playing with a number of different centre back partnerships as of late. Again, with the injury to Trent Alexander-Arnold, we will likely see the experienced Kyle Walker feature. Walker has over 50 caps for England and a commanding voice from Pickford may not be necessary.
Alternative Options
Despite Jordan Pickford having his clear and obvious failures, there are few options available. Usually, 23 man international squads include three goalkeepers. There are at least two good, strong options that Southgate should consider playing between the sticks.
Firstly, Dean Henderson. The Manchester United #2 impressed massively last season whilst on loan at Sheffield United. Playing 36 games, Henderson conceded just 39 goals in an impressive side. This season, however, he’s played second fiddle to David de Gea. With only three appearances this season, Henderson has kept two clean sheets although none of these has been in the Premier League. Henderson is undoubtedly the future of English goalkeeping at just 23 years old. What he needs though is first-team football in the Premier League. Rumours that Henderson may be loaned out from Manchester United in January would potentially provide the first team football required.
The second option is Burnley's Nick Pope. The commanding goalkeeper made the PFA Team of the Year last season, ahead of both Pickford and Henderson, as well as international goalkeepers such as Alisson and Ederson. He also finished joint second in the golden glove competition. Interestingly, Pope kept two more clean sheets than Henderson, despite conceding 50 goals in 38 appearances. With three England caps to his name, Pope is yet to concede a goal. The Burnley is a solid choice to replace Pickford in goal and could easily make the #1 shirt his.
Outsider Chance
The three goalkeepers already discussed will likely be England’s three goalkeepers for a number of years to come. Each has their strengths and it’s important that they have been brought together in the international set up, especially the young Henderson. If one of these three were to suffer an injury there are two players with an outsider chance to get a spot in the squad.
Firstly is Southampton’s, Alex McCarthy. Although last season McCarthy conceded a huge 60 goals, he and Southampton have improved this season. Although their ‘high line’ defensive tactic has been exposed this season, especially against Tottenham, McCarthy and Southampton have kept four clean sheets in eight games. Last season only seven clean sheets were kept and Southampton are on track to beat that this season. Only a further four clean sheets are needed to beat their record last season. Having made one appearance for England, he looks like a ready-made replacement for any of the main three goalkeepers.
The other outsider is Aaron Ramsdale. With 37 appearances for the relegated Bournemouth last season, Ramsdale impressed. 65 goals were shipped but that didn’t stop Sheffield United purchasing him ahead of the 2020-2021 campaign. In 6 games thus-far, 14 goals have been let in by the unimpressive Blades. Ramsdale doesn’t have a clean sheet to his name as of yet this season, so he will certainly be down the pecking order for the England squad. Ramsdale has again been included in the under-21 squad, having already made 11 appearances. He, like Henderson, is still young in his career and can have a really impressive international career, especially as he is playing regular premier league football at such a young age. If he is in another relegated side, however, it will reflect poorly on him.
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