Jordan Pickford involved in 'psychological warfare' after Everton incident slammed

Jordan Pickford involved in ‘psychological warfare’ after Everton incident slammed

Jordan Pickford’s antics for Everton have caused a stir lately.

The England star saved a penalty from Danny Welbeck in Everton’s 2-0 win over Brighton in the first competitive game at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

However, the way that Pickford achieved the save against the Seagulls has previously come in for criticism.

Moyes will not care about the controversy. (Credit: Imago)

Goodison News presents the exclusive opinion of iconic football commentator Ian Darke.

Everton star Jordan Pickford has been the subject of ban claims

Pickford’s penalty antics for Everton have struck a nerve with some observers, with his water bottle documenting which way the taker will go.

MORE TOFFEES STORIES

talkSPORT host Jamie O’Hara believes that the Everton stopper’s cheat sheet should be banned, but Darke does not agree.

Speaking exclusively to Goodison News, he said: “No, I don’t think it should be banned, if he did not have the water bottle, I guess he would have a lot of the intelligence in his head.

“It is an interesting argument because none of the other players walk around with sheets of paper tucked in their shorts, saying things like ‘which side is that defender weaker on’.

“I think it is just something that adds to the intrigue of football, and I don’t really have a problem with it.

“I think it does underline something, though, and that is compared to say 30 years ago, it is far more difficult for penalty takers now, since the onset of social media, every game is on film, you can check out every penalty taker and what penalties that he takes.

“So, there is now a psychological warfare almost between the taker and the goalkeeper because that the taker knows that the goalkeeper has intelligence on his previous penalties.”

Ban calls on Jordan Pickford are ridiculous

While they are not calling for a ban for Pickford himself, they want to ban the cheat sheet that he uses on his water bottle, the claims are still ridiculous.

The goalkeeper is at a huge disadvantage with a penalty, so anything that can even up the advantage that the attacker has, is fair game.

It is not as though it guarantees a save every time, as Pickford was beaten by Leeds’ Lukas Nmecha from the spot, on the opening weekend.

Sign up for the Goodison News WhatsApp channel and turn on notifications to have all the latest, breaking Everton news sent straight to your phone.

Click here to read article