---
title: "Everton: Alex McLeish says Carlo Ancelotti faces ‘tough’ goalkeeper decision"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/everton-alex-mcleish-says-carlo-ancelotti-faces-tough-goalkeeper-decision/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Adam Clancy"
section: "Everton"
published: "2020-11-07T19:40:03Z"
modified: "2020-11-07T19:40:03Z"
---

# Everton: Alex McLeish says Carlo Ancelotti faces ‘tough’ goalkeeper decision

**Alex McLeish has claimed that Carlo Ancelotti faces a ‘tough’ decision as to whether he plays Jordan Pickford or Robin Olsen for Everton.**

Speaking to [Football Insider](https://www.footballinsider247.com/manager-exclusive-ancelotti-has-horrible-decision-to-make-after-big-development/), the former Rangers and Scotland manager believes that the Italian boss will find it ‘horrible’ to pick between the two goalkeepers for the rest of the 2020/21 term:

*“I’ve done it before as well and it’s so hard, especially when you’ve got two terrific goalkeepers.*

*“When you say to one goalkeeper: ‘Look, I have to be fair to the other goalkeeper and give him a chance because you made a mistake that I wouldn’t normally associate you with, a fundamental mistake’, and then you bring the other goalie in and he makes a fundamental mistake, what do you do?*

*“When you start changing all the time, you get the fans – ‘You don’t know what you’re doing’ – and I was very aware of that and I thought: ‘Right, do I keep him and give him another chance?’ because the first goalie, he said: ‘So you give him two chances but you give me one?’ Argh, it’s horrible.*

*“It must be a tough decision for Ancelotti as well. Experienced manager though he is, you’ve still got a human touch about these things.”*

### ‘Tough’ decision between Pickford and Olsen

Indeed, Ancelotti does face a rather ‘tough’ decision to play Pickford or Olsen in between the posts, as the former has had a lot of pressure put on him to perform.

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He has been heavily [criticised](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/everton-fc-news/everton-fans-slam-alisson-jordan-pickford/) for his rash challenge on Virgil Van Dijk in the Merseyside derby, and he produced a similar challenge on Harry Maguire on Saturday.

\[freshpress-quiz id=”313242″\]

Pickford is also prone to errors, having made no fewer than four that led directly to goals in the 2019/20 term in the Premier League ([Sofascore](https://www.sofascore.com/player/jordan-pickford/138530)).

### Olsen can take over from Pickford

Indeed, if Pickford is not performing, then Olsen is a very capable player to come in and replace him if and when he needs to.

The Sweden international has already proven what he can do in the 2-1 loss to Newcastle United, as he made two saves and his expected goals differential of +0.4 suggests that he had an above-average day in terms of stopping shots ([Fbref](https://fbref.com/en/players/e7ee38c3/all_comps/Robin-Olsen-Stats---All-Competitions)).

Also, in contrast to Pickford, Olsen made [zero](https://www.sofascore.com/player/robin-olsen/26025) mistakes that led to goals while playing for AS Roma in the Serie A last season, suggesting that he is more reliable than the England international in terms of catastrophic errors at least.

Indeed, Ancelotti does have a ‘tough’ decision to make over choosing between his ‘keepers for the rest of the campaign.

[***In other news, find out which Toffees star being left out of the Manchester United game has left fans fuming!***](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/everton-fc-news/everton-fans-fume-at-carlo-ancelotti-decision-to-leave-out-anthony-gordon-vs-manchester-united/)