David Seaman, speaking on talkSPORT, has rather boldly claimed that Jordan Pickford is the best goalkeeper England have had since, well, himself.
Obviously, Pickford made himself a hero at last year’s World Cup, and rightly so, he saved a penalty from Carlos Bacca in England’s shootout win over Colombia as well as turning in several solid performances as the Three Lions made it to the semi-finals.
The hype around him last summer (he was linked by Sky Sports with the likes of Chelsea), like so many others in the squad, seemed to have resulted in a post-Russia dip, with this season proving fairly difficult for the former Sunderland stopper.
Indeed, he made four errors leading to goals including a gift for Divock Origi in the Merseyside Derby, which led to Liverpool fans coming up with a chant about his “little arms.” Meanwhile, in a game against Newcastle United, in March, he seemed to get too involved with the crowd (something he admitted himself), and that led to a few costly errors which saw the Toon win 3-2.
So, Seaman claiming Pickford is the best goalkeeper England have had in over ten years is ignoring the achievements of Joe Hart.
Yes he is not as good as he used to be, and he did make high profile errors for England, particularly in the European Championships 2016, but we cannot forget that Hart was Manchester City’s established goalkeeper for seven years and earned the same number of caps as Seaman, only behind the legendary Peter Shilton on that front.
Frankly, to say Pickford is better is undermining Hart’s spell at the top.
Seaman also claims Pickford is England’s best current ‘keeper, and that is something we can all accept.
Brazil: “Is Pickford the best England keeper since you played?”
Seaman: “I think so!”@TheDavidSeaman says @JPickford1 is the best ‘keeper England have had since 2002!
Do you agree with this? pic.twitter.com/meaeem5ZGT
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) June 10, 2019
The 24-year-old proved in the Nations League why he is Gareth Southgate’s firm choice as number one.
In the semi-final, against the Netherlands, he made a number of saves to keep England in the game, and he nearly saved John Stones’ blushes when he pulled off a superb save to deny Memphis Depay, but he could not get back up in time to stop Quincy Promes from scoring, with England eventually losing 3-1 after extra-time.
Pickford once again, however, saved his best England performance for a penalty shootout saving one and scoring one. So, we’re not doubting his quality and his potential over the next decade or so, but Hart seems to have been far too easily dismissed.
The Everton man is England’s best current goalkeeper, but the best since Seaman? Hart can certainly feel aggrieved.
Is Pickford England’s best goalkeeper since Seaman? Is there someone else you think should be England keeper? Join in the discussion by commenting below.
