Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE VISION Jordan: Cech’s a legend ..don’t Pick on him now
JORDAN PICKFORD has spoken up on behalf of the goalkeepers union by defending Petr Cech.
Pickford (above) is a trailblazer for sweeper keepers as he is encouraged to play out from the back by England boss Gareth Southgate.
But a debate is raging. Arsenal keeper Cech’s dodgy footwork almost gift-wrapped Cardiff a cheap goal on Sunday and he has been urged to change his style under Unai
Emery.
The previous day, Liverpool’s new No.1 Alisson had dropped an almighty clanger at Leicester attempting a Cruyff turn.
Everton’s £30million man Pickford insists Cech (above) is still one of the best in the business, but admitted keepers must pick and choose their moments when it comes to distribution.
Pickford said: “Cech has been a top keeper in the Premier League for the last 10 or 12 years.
“Growing up, you see him making these saves week in, week out.
“He’s probably been the most consistent goalkeeper in these last 10 years – so you can’t give him too much criticism.
“I’m certainly not giving him any, I think he’s a great goalkeeper and someone to look up to.
“But there’s a way of playing out from the back, and you don’t have to do it all the time.”
Pickford, who became a national hero at the World Cup with his shoot-out heroics against Colombia and saves that helped England reach the semifinals in Russia, went on: “Look at Ederson at Man City a few weeks ago getting the assist for Sergio Aguero’s goal. “Obviously I’ve got that in my locker as well.
“I haven’t pulled off an assist yet. I nearly got one the other day against Bournemouth, so I was disappointed.
“It’s about choosing the right time. You don’t have to play out every time, you might have a spell of five minutes where you’ve been under a lot of pressure and you need to calm the game down.
“I try not to do tricks because I don’t want to be caught with the ball. It’s a risk. If it comes off it looks good, but if it doesn’t…
“Look at Ederson at City, Guardiola puts a lot of faith in him doing it.
“Mistakes happen all over the pitch, but the goalkeeper’s mistake is always a crucial one or gets talked about a lot.”