Great way to end the season - Pickford on fans singing his name against Newcastle

With a fantastic attitude and love of Everton too.

Plus, when he's as good as he can get, he'll be half as good as Nev!

If you think of the cup and league winning sides over the years and the keepers that played for them, they were frequently big characters with extraordinary abilities. The current crop feel almost anonymous by comparison.

It's not impossible: Leicester paid Fleetwood £1M for Vardy when in the Championship. He then weighed in with 37 league goals the season Leicester won promotion. Then 145 Premier League goals in 10 seasons is incredible for a player than cost so little.

I'm feeling positive we somehow can find this striker we need.

The best we've had since we had Nigel Martyn in his twighlight.

I've seen some great goalkeepers in my lifetime. Shilton, Clemence, Jennings.

Buffon, Schmeichel senior and Manuel Neuer.

Always save the best to last. Neville Southall. Simply the best of his time.

Not sure that as a pure winner I could split Jordan and Martinez. But those remembered as greats, usually have some silverware of note.

Jordan for me, is someone we could not replace. He is a leader on and off the field. He gets our fans going and winds up the opposition. All while bringing off countless blocks and saves.

When he holds that trophy up, as surely he will in the next couple of years, then he can be classed alongside all the other great goal keepers.

Imagine if we beat Newcastle in a cup final?

He will get hands on silverware and it will be with Everton.

Pickford's prize was not prizes but keeping the club in existence.

Long way to go to reach Big Nev's standards as stated by the big man himself but love his relationship with the fans and his dedication to the club.

I love his attitude too, he really gets under the skin of opponents and has learnt how to handle his emotions brilliantly. The more stick he gets from opposing fans, the better he plays. Probably means he will have a stinker against Sunderland next season!

Pickford is a better shot stopper with better reactions than any of the mentioned goalies above.

He is also far superior with his passing and distribution than all of the above.

Stature and decision making are Pickfords weak points.

Evolution isn't going backwards and comparing past generations is about opinions unless an element of fact is introduced such as athletic records.

The ball has changed and moves quicker and swerves more in the air making life trickier for the keepers. The game is played at a faster pace now with international standard players littered in every team.

The actual role of goalkeeper has changed. They are required to be more comfortable with their feet.

I am glad we have him, without him we could be playing away for he likes of Millwall or Stoke.

Obviously just my opinion.

Generations of goalkeepers have had to adapt to a changing ball. The old leather ones replaced by more lightweight Adidas and Mitre (still my favourite as a player). Also the change in the back pass rule, which has forced them to play more with their feet.

The game evolves. Always has done. But it doesn't mean we can't reflect on what we've seen before.

Jordan has been tremendous for us these past few seasons and deserves the accolades.

But for me, it's always going to be Neville Southall.

In terms of shot stopping, he was up there with the best. Here are some clips:

Link

The one that effectively put us on the path to the league title at White Hart Lane is always cited. But for me, his gravity defying diving save at Hillsborough the same season is the best pick of the bunch. Often overlooked or not mentioned, was the double save he made at Wembley against Manchester United the last time we won a trophy. Not to mention an equally overlooked, but vital save he made at Villa Park in the semi-final against Luton with us 1 - 0 down.

I would liken it to the monarchy. Jordan is heir to the throne.

Yes and he was great but Pickford is undoubtedly great too, in a much poorer side and in a much expanded game that needs additional skills.

I've stated my reasons, can do no more.

It wasn't long ago he "scored" in front of the Kop in the last minute.

But he has definitely matured like a good wine.

He had a few brain fart moments this season including the second goal at Spurs and poor for another goal there in a 4-0 spanking.

When it comes to really great goalkeepers, he won't be on the list of any neutral supporters; when it comes to Everton fans, he will be on the list of many of them.

His distribution was very poor on Saturday and in many games this season but he is supposed to be very good at it — again, in the opinion of some on here.

It's true we all have different opinions — I've just added mine… and yes, I know what I can do with it!

Nev was the best in his day and is an Everton great.

At the other end of the scale, we have a keeper who in my opinion has helped keep us in the Premier League year on year, saving us countless times. Madison penalty more or less relegates us. Chelsea double save earns us a win. He has been MotM in lots of games during a very difficult period in the club's history.

He hasn't protested and sat out on the pitch at half-time yet… but there is still time for that.

Nice post, Dave @23. It's all opinions.

What I do find strange is most of the top clubs have bought new goalkeepers over the last few years yet apparently none seemed to make an offer for England's keeper.

I was in the Main Stand at that Chelsea match and when he made that double save. I stopped breathing (well held my breath) throughout that sequence of events and probably for a minute after.

Brian, if rumours and reporting are to be believed, he wants to stay at Everton.

He definitely likes his new song… and sings along to it!!

I think that's why I described him as Englands best keeper right now, which he is in my view. Not Europe's and certainly not the world's. That's stretching it.

It may have gone unnoticed by many of our blue-tinted glasses, but his England rival and counterpart Pope had a fine game in the opposition goal, keeping the score down on a number of occasions.

I like this quote from Jordan off the official website:

“I said in the pre-match interview, someone said, ‘Oh, there's no pressure on the game,'” he added.

“But there is. We've got 4,000 Evertonians coming up to Newcastle on a Sunday afternoon and it's about putting a smile on their faces, and they stick with us. And my new chant's a belter.”

He is a Mackems and the Black Cats will always be his club, but he's an Evertonian now. I can't wait for us to play Sunderland next season. He's going to love every minute of it.

Do that and there will be a lot less people criticising you and,if there's a lot less people criticising you, then you must be doing something right.

I could go on, but why complicate something so simple!

His kicking drives me insane though. Especially the long punts to try to release a forward players which never work and the aimless kicks from his hands which often have snow on them.

Agree on his kicking. I've said many times, he can spray a long range pass like nobody else, but sometimes, it's like watching a Rugby player kicking for touch and territory as the ball flies into the stands.

He could be more commanding in his box, but has got better at that aspect of his game. He certainly was on Sunday.

England's Number 1? By miles!

Yes, others like Pope can make a save but that's the absolute minimum expectation of a Top 10 Premier League keeper. You must add to that, distribution, footwork, organisation of the defense, time-wasting (clock management), reflexes — anyone can stop a shot but can you stop the rebound and the ricochet?

Jordan Pickford has his faults of course but overall he does all the other things way better than any other English keeper, and better than most. (It's not even close, have you seen Pope trying to move at speed? Like an electricity pylon falling over in the wind!) Perhaps Reya at Arsenal and Donnarumma at PSG are the only two ahead of him.

Pickford's matured in the last 2 years and undoubtedly has kept us up. Worldly saves are becoming routine and he loves our support.

In short, he represents, he is the icon, and is the figurehead of the club. I'm even sure some of our overseas contemporaries believe Everton play in Green!

I've always said his best save was for England (out for a corner against Columbia in 2018, from which Yerry Mina equalised) but it was instantly forgotten due to the goal being scored.

Second, the stop against Chelsea defied belief but gave belief and you could see us feed from that, we shall not be moved!

Mina scored from that corner inside the 6-yard box with Pickford glued to the goal line.

Pickford has his well-documented faults, as we all do! He has matured quite a bit since 2018 but still doesn't come to catch crosses, which I know is frustrating.

I guess you could argue that saving the top corner shot is down to him, conceding the header is down to the collective team.

I understand why Everton fans love Jordan in the same way they loved Duncan Ferguson and Duncan McKenzie — such characters who on their day stood out as special footballers but they all had flaws with the former two not having their special days often enough.

Jordan's flaws will stick out more, to me anyway, because he is a goalkeeper and his flaws will result in a goal against us, mind you he gets away with a lot of his mistakes. Then his real talent will have you off your seat when he makes one of those saves — he is an excellent shot stopper.

For me, he just doesn't dominate that 6-yard area; when he does come out and punch the ball away or catch it, then you wonder why he is so reluctant to do that more often?

I also think his constant screaming and shouting doesn't help the team with him having a debate with his defenders after every attack when the ball has gone out of play, even if we are behind or drawing, and he should be concentrating on getting the ball so we can attack the opposition.

I'd better stop there and leave out the other few dozen reasons why I'm not fussy on him or you might think I'm biased against him!