Pickford helps England hold Germany

He is good enough to make the job his own , still young and will make the odd mistake ,but is the best England have got.

As an Evertonian I wouldn't swap him for any of the alternatives.

It's great to finally have a 'keeper we know is one of the best in the league AND will only get better, hopefully when some of the injured players come back he can be more confident in the back four in front of him.

On a different note, saw in the paper this morning that Bolasie is back in full training with the main squad on Monday.

Anyone heard a timescale for Coleman?

I don't bother watching England unless there are Blues involved so I will watch this one.

Ted Sagar kept goal for his country on 4 occasions between 19 October 1935 and 9 May 1936; Gordon West played 3 times between 11 December 1968 and 1 June 1969... but the most interesting was Benjamin Howard Baker whose 2 appearances were on 21 May 1921 (while at Everton) and 24 October 1925 (while at Chelsea).

I grew up listening to tales of Howard Baker from my Granddad and uncles; he was a most extraordinary character: an amateur throughout his career. He also represented England at amateur level on 10 occasions, and represented the Football League.

He starred for Great Britain in the high jump in the 1912 and 1920 Olympic Games, finishing 6th in the latter (being the British record holder). Baker was also a useful cricketer, scoring 2 centuries for Liverpool Cricket Club. He played in goal for a local water polo team and was a useful lawn tennis player.

He played 176 times for Corinthians, and he was also a Welsh Cup winner with Northern Nomads.

I began by saying that I listened enthralled by the tales of my Granddad and uncles, but I must confess I have taken the statistics from the "Who's Who of Everton" and "Football League players' records 1888-1939" I trust that I haven't bored anyone with this little nostalgic ramble.

By the way, he joined Liverpool in 1919 but didn't figure in their league side, his league record was:

Everton 1920 (2 appearances)
Chelsea 1921-25 (92 appearances and credited with 1 goal)
Everton 1926 (11 appearances)
Oldham Athletic 1928 (1 appearance)

Hopefully he plays well as, let's face it, he will be busy, no different than playing for Sunderland and Everton – have you seen our goals conceded column this season!

Did anyone else see this from Lookman in u21 training?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INEJfXV0qUc

OUTRAGEOUS

It would be a welcome surprise to see these two get on the football pitch before the end the year but in reality it's doubtful.

Most likely we won't see Coleman nor Bolasie till mid to late January at the earliest... Coleman needs to go through the actual physical contact also to really test himself... easier said than done!

In any case, I can't disagree with the call-up. He's been our best, most-consistent player this season.

Anyway, from a selfish point of view, I'd rather none of our players get the opportunity to be tapped up by the arseholes from the Sky six. And if any of our players gets injured in a meaningless friendly I'll be even more pissed off.

England, Everton.

Too many Evertonians are paranoid! Pickford played well and he was given credit! I hate the anti-England vibes that come from some ToffeeWeb posters!

"Joe Hart has been the incumbent since before Euro 2012 but in the past couple of years it's become increasingly difficult to justify his automatic selection. And yet he has has retained the starting job broadly due to a lack of viable alternatives: Jack Butland has been injury-prone, Ben Foster overlooked and Fraser Forster has no place near an international team.

But now there is a credible candidate in Pickford. Both Hart and Pickford are playing for struggling Premier League teams but one looks like the only thing between his side and complete oblivion, while the other seems to be a key part of the problem. Pickford's form for Everton justified his inclusion for this game on merit, not just the rotation that international friendlies bring.

On the basis of his showing against Germany, he should stay there. Pickford was assured and assertive (aside from an early wobble when he was nearly dispossessed by Timo Werner) and made a couple of excellent diving saves: in short he was everything that Hart thinks he is, or at least was once upon a time."

From this American's view, the TW discussion over the years, on England's national team, is always interesting. Neutral myself, but like the positive talk about Pickford's chances.

Will be confirmed tomorrow.

We just need Calvert-Lewin to score against Brazil now!

Totally agree! How can you call that a ‘wobble' from Pickford?! He cleaned up after a team mate's error.

Kept a clean sheet, made some good key saves, on his International debut against the World Champions, Germany... you still think so? Like I say, (sorry, not sorry, but..) 'Absolute bollocks!!!'

(And, no, I still think he's a way from the finished article, but still...)

Say no more.

Unfortunately Robles will not stay as the reserve keeper for much longer.

I agree with you Danny (#12).

Pickford was alert from the first minute, reacting quickly to clear a poor back-pass from Harry Maguire, then further distinguished himself with fine saves low to his left and right from Werner.

He commanded his area and also gave England an extra dimension with his superb distribution. It was a very good night for Pickford, who looked right at home on the international stage against the World Cup holders.

Pickford did himself proud and played completely unfazed by the occasion. Commanded well, distributed well and pulled off a few decent saves. He's certainly just as good as either of the other England keepers.

Overall, quite an encouraging display from the young England side. Makes so much difference when you don't have oafs like Henderson in the side.

These are at their age and stage of development they better than Fergie's Fledglings and have proven it by winning a World Cup at their age group.

You may have an opinion that they are too young as yea, developing, some weaknesses etc but – they are proving better than Spain, Germany, Brazil, Italy, Holland youngsters – they have the medals both a Premier League 2 winners medal and a U20 World Cup winners medal.

On another note Nigel Martyn played for England and in my opinion he's the forgotten man of the game v Greece, when Beckham scored that frre kick to take us to the world cup. Twice Martyn denied Greece certain goals when faced with one on one situations. A very good keeper who should have played a lot more games for EFC - Ta for that Hamper Man.

To my eye, he seems to have a problem with the ball hit hard at about 7 feet in the air. He's been beaten a lot there and obviously that's well within his reach.

Chris Kirkland spent a season with Jordan. He rates him as the best English keeper already. What's in it for Kirkland to say this? Must be true then.

David Preece is an ex goalie turned journo with a niche in reporting on goalies. He's from the north east and so is the go to guy for Pickford having championed him as a great since before the start of last season.

There's a few other goalies who really rate Pickford. So it must be that he really is a great young keeper. They know far more than you or I?

I'm pleased that you enjoyed my last post [(an unintended pun on this special day).

To be truthful, I can really only respond to either a contribution from a fellow "Webber" or an occurrence, such as Jordan Pickford's selection for England.

I suppose that, as a regular contributor yourself to ToffeeWeb, you will be aware that I am in my 80th year, and that as a youngster in the immediate post war days, I lived for Everton Football Club (as many did), and still do. I have no doubt that something will crop up, and that what small part of my mind remains, will be triggered into action.

I would like to apologise in advance to anyone who finds the ramblings of an old man annoying. I appreciate that the current situation of Everton will be debated thoroughly on this site, but I believe that a post or two regarding past times may stir forgotten memories for supporters of my generation, and give younger fans an insight into why this Club means so much to all of us.

I would like to add that this applies to supporters of every club; try telling a 10-year-old Rochdale fan that his club is not the best club in the land.

I must also add that time has mellowed me, and that my passion has waned a little but not completely, and that the family loyalty will be maintained through my 13-year-old Grandson.

By the way, I did state on another thread that, when the Football League was formed in 1888, my Granddad himself was 13 years old, and though he never claimed it, and I have no way of proving it, I do believe he would have been a "True Blue" from the start.

To all who have had the patience to read this post... thank you, and "Keep the Faith".

I find it hard to believe that players who are not holding down a place at top level yet are worthy to be called up regardless of how they perform at under 21 level. It just seems that players can get an England call-up just by getting their name in the papers once especially if you belong to a top Premier League money club.

I'm glad you posted, Steve, because you gave me the title of "Inverting the pyramid" and although I haven't been able to read it, I followed another link, which may well have been posted by you, and to be truthful the only things that differ are the terms.

What is now classed as a false Number 9 was a deep-lying centre forward. (Our first glimpse of that was when Hungary beat England 6-3 at Wembley in 1954.) This role was taken up by Hidegkuti, and introduced into our game by Manchester City, with Don Revie taking up that role.

In today's game, people constantly refer to the Number 10 position; I don't see why it should be confined to the Number 10 position, why can't we refer to a Number 8 doing exactly the same job?

In our day, we had what were regarded as attacking wing-halves, and defending wing-halves (together with the inside forwards) – they did exactly what today's midfield players do.

The forerunners to the wing-backs, were full-backs who were given license to attack, and when they did so, someone would drop back to cover their position. The greatest exponents of attacking full-backs in my opinion were Jimmy Armfield (Blackpool) and Alex Parker (Everton).

Someone once said that football is a simple game made difficult by coaches, or maybe that's something I've just made up?

Because a midfielder is a vague term that does not define what a player does, ie Zidane was the opposite of makelele but both were midfielders. So half-back is a revived term to try to define a particular type of player epitomised by Sergio Busquets of Barcelona, who act as a defensive midfielder with this as their primary function, but also they are encouraged to get forwards to support attacks. They also need to bring the ball out of defence.

Anyway, thought you might be interested in the revival of certain terminology from yesteryear.

The big thing with numbers though is that football is a world game, and if you said trequartista to a Spanish fan they would know exactly what player you meant (Zidane, Platini, Riquelmhe), but 90% of English fans wouldn't have a clue. If you then talk about a no10 they would.

A number 8 is quite different from a no10. A classic trequartista is epitomised by Zidane. watch the brilliant documentary on him that lasts for just one match. It's amazing to see how little he does off the ball. Now a no8 has lots of defensive responsibilities. He has to be a box to box players, though with more concentration on attack rather than defence (as compared to a no6). Paul Bracewell was a great example of an 8.

Davy Klaassen is often called a 10 on here, but he's actually an 8. He can go box to box, and whilst not defensively sound, he covers a lot of ground. He does his best work initially in the transitions and getting balls forward, before getting forwards himself and trying to finish moves.

Anyone who really thinks Klaassen is shit should watch him in action in 2015/16 playing in a variety of positions and showing off his sublime control and one/two touch game. I accept he's done none of that for us, but do you really want to write that player off?

Davy Klaassen's style, from the videos I've seen, and from one or two isolated snippets playing for us, reminds me of Alan Ball. I'm not saying he's that good, very few would come close, it's just his style.

I thought Koeman had started something at the end of last season. He had a 433 working well:

Robles
Holgate Williams Funes Baines
Gueye Davies Schneiderlin
Barkley Lukaku Mirallas

I thought that we would keep this shape, would better develop our passing game and improve the squad:

Pickford
Holgate Keane Funes Baines
Gueye Klaassen Schneiderlin
Sigurdsson ? Sandro

I thought Keane would replace Williams, Kenny might replace Holgate, but he did well enough at the end of the season to start the new season.

Midfield, I expected more of the same, but Davies to be squeezed out by Klaassen. Klaassen playing just slightly ahead of the other two. Sigurdsson I thought would slot into Barkley's role as the payer to come inside and dictate play. Sandro to be cutting in off the other flank with more speed and directness than Mirallas. And the big factor remaining who would replace Lukaku.

In this team there is still pressing as last season, Klaassen does have good energy and puts in a shift. He can get forward from the 8 to the 10 position. Sigurdsson cuts in to take up the 10 position. But it all relied on a big focal point up front. I didn't see where Rooney fitted into a 433. The answer was Koeman threw the 433 out the window and went for a 4231 and the midfield 3 was narrow and stocked with players tripping over each other to be the 10. The 10 is meant to play others through. If the 10 is on the ball and has no 9 ahead, or a 7 or 11 wide, then what's he meant to do? And that in a nutshell has been the story of our season.

It's disappointing, and frustrating that that hasn't happened. There have been flashes, like the first half against Split at Goodison, but then nothing happened. I feel it's there for the taking, if only the right approach is taken by the manager.

I fully understand the point you make regarding the responsibilities of the players in certain positions, but as you also refer to household names in football, wouldn't it be simpler, if instead of allocating numbers, you quoted names?

For example if you spoke to me of the Number 10 turn, I wouldn't have a clue as to what you were on about, but if you quoted the Cruyff turn, even an old fool like me would know exactly what you mean.

I'm afraid I never managed to master painting by numbers, so I don't imagine I'd have much success with "Football by Numbers". I do however believe, that I could recognise talent in a footballer (and his contribution to the cause) – even if he wore a shirt without a number.

I also believe that all this jargon may be of benefit to someone who is sitting an examination for an appointment with the FA... but I can't for the life of me see how it's going to add to my matchday experience in Row Q of the Park End stand.

I think I'll just soldier on with my full-back, wing-halves, inside-forwards, and centre-forwards; they've served me well for nigh on 70 years, but thanks once again for attempting to enlighten me, and I'm sure we'll have many more discussions, I thoroughly enjoy them.

As far as I can see, it's simple. You are now part of a system that says you have to be able to defend and attack when necessary. Keep possession and make no mistakes. Better to pass the ball 3 yards sideways or backwards rather than try a 30-yard pass forward and lose possession.

Things change but not always for the best. Football used to be an entertainment and, although it still is to some degree, it is now big business which controls much of it... like Trump in the White House – all the riches but churning out garbage at every turn.

Nobody else seems to want it.

We don't actually mean the shirts the players wear. After all, Zidane played Number 10 for Real Madrid but wore Number 5.

Similar problems exist in other disciplines, like music. Some musicians worry about hitting bum notes, and this can stifle their performance, because they're focusing too much on getting everything technically 100%. This contrasts with realising that bum notes don't matter so much (so long as there aren't too many!), so long as the overall performance has passion. Sufficient technicality, but also passion and creativity.

Maybe players are being over-coached on playing things safe, and there should be more coaching on drills, so that players do things second nature when they get on the pitch.

I will be perfectly truthful, when I go to the match, I don't think for one minute "I wonder if Tom Davies is going to play in the Number 10 role or will Gueye operate as a Number 8?"

As you rightly say, numbers were to aid spectators identify the players, and were made compulsory in 1939. The players presumably lined up in the same formation from right back to outside left before this came into effect.

Others may disagree with me, when I say that that if you wish to go on an FA coaching course, it would pay to be familiar with this jargon, but as a spectator it matters little.

At the risk of sounding facetious, I think that when it comes to false Number 9s, Rod Belfitt, Bernie Wright, and Brett Angell were ahead of their time.

All the information is accessible via many sources, mainly "Wikipedia" which I used, after I had consulted my Everton and Football League reference books. I'm just pleased that I beat him to what can hardly be described as a "scoop" but, as they say in the "News Game"– you read it here first.

I have no intention of getting involved in the debate regarding the appointment of a new Manager, because whatever my preference may be, I can't influence the Boards decision.

I have said on a different thread that in my opinion the successful candidate, could be the best thing, or alternatively the worst thing to happen to Everton Football Club, something that will be revealed in the fullness of time.

One thing I can guarantee, is that he will receive my complete support, and I hope that he will turn out to be Everton's longest serving Manager. Once again apologies for overlooking your post.