When goalkeepers make mistakes, it invariably, 9 times out of 10, will result in a goal being conceded. It is just the nature of the position.
And those moments, those blunders, can stand out and be used as a stick to beat any goalkeeper with.
But for the very best, those errors are rare — that is, of course, what makes them the best, after all.
Jordan Pickford has some weaknesses, but there is only really one, genuine, standout mistake that springs to mind when you think of Everton’s shot-stopper over the course of this season, and arguably, the course of the past year.
That came against Newcastle United — for Pickford, probably the worst opponent it could have happened against — when he made a mess of keeping out Lewis Miley’s shot.
There has always, it seems, been a tendency for pundits (and some fans) to jump down Pickford’s throat when he does make those rare errors. Like they cannot wait to criticise him. They can’t do it when he plays for England, given how good he has been for the Three Lions, so instead they fall back on the old favourite of: “He’s good for England, but not for Everton.”
And there was a time, around 2019 and into 2020, that Pickford’s Everton future did seem uncertain. He was not performing to the best of his ability and he was making rash decisions.
Yet Pickford is now into his sixth year of impeccable consistency. His saves were crucial to keeping Everton in the top flight between 2022 and 2024, and now, they are vital to the Toffees looking up the table and harbouring (perhaps slender) dreams of European football.
This season, it could be argued that Pickford has not been at his very best. Teams with towering centre-backs are definitely looking to target him from inswinging corners, but Pickford can hardly be blamed for that — it is on Everton’s defence and coaching staff to ensure their goalkeeper is protected.
However, the highs of Pickford’s campaign have been among the best of his career.
Three fantastic saves immediately come to mind, the latest of which came against Aston Villa on Sunday, as Pickford sprung to his left to tip over a super shot from Morgan Rogers.
The 31-year-old demonstrated similarly swift footwork to preserve a point for Everton against Wolves earlier in the month, though his highlight save came in November, when he scampered across to parry wide Joshua Zirkzee’s header in the memorable 1-0 win at Manchester United.
Pickford has kept 9 Premier League clean sheets this term — a tally bettered only by Arsenal’s David Raya. Since the start of the 2023-24 campaign, Pickford has kept 34 top-flight shutouts, which trails only Raya (40).
And unlike Raya, who plays behind the meanest defence in Europe, Pickford has had plenty of work to do. He has already made 62 saves this season, which ranks 5th in the league.
Keep in mind, it is not always a positive to see a goalkeeper make lots of saves, but Pickford’s 71.3 save percentage is impressive. For context, Raya’s is 69.6%, while Gianluigi Donnarumma comes in at 71.7%, Dean Henderson at 71.3% and Alisson — often cited as the world’s best goalkeeper — is at 64.2%.
Opta's expected goals on target (xGoT) conceded model, meanwhile, shows that Pickford has prevented 3.8 goals. Essentially, Everton have shipped almost four goals fewer than would have been anticipated based on the quality of opportunities they have given up and calibre of shots their goalkeeper has faced.
Only four goalkeepers in the Premier League — Sunderland’s Robin Roefs (5.1), Crystal Palace’s Henderson (5.0), Brighton’s Bart Verbruggen (4.9) and Burnley’s Martin Dúbravka (3.9) — can boast a higher goals prevented figure.
Just to keep up the comparisons to Raya, he has actually conceded 1.5 goals more than would have been expected based on the quality of shots he has faced. That ranks as the fifth-worst in the league, while Alisson (-1.3) comes in as the sixth-worst performer in this metric.
Can there now be any argument that Pickford is among the very best goalkeepers not only in the Premier League, but in world football?
As the statistics show, Alisson has not been at his best this season, and it could be argued that Raya is benefiting hugely from playing behind such a stringent defence. Donnarumma is an excellent shot-stopper, as is Emiliano Martinez, but neither can really be considered as hugely ahead of Pickford.
In the last two league matches alone, Pickford has been responsible for making saves worth four points to the Toffees. He deserves the utmost respect and, when England head to the World Cup later this year, he will no doubt go on to prove, yet again, just how good he is on the biggest stage.
Stats via Opta Analyst and the official Everton website
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