The Everton goalkeeper is facing competition for his England jersey but being well suited to international duty may save himAs the shot from Daniel Podence rolled towards the Everton goalline, it was tempting to wonder – in a covid-free parallel universe – how Jordan Pickford might alternatively have been spending Sunday 12 July 2020.As the ball squirmed between Pickford’s legs, as he scrambled to scrape the ball off the line like a man trying to salvage the remains of his doner kebab from the pavement, it was impossible to ignore the fact that – with all due respect to Wolves and Everton – this tragicomedy could have been unfolding on a far bigger stage. Specifically, how might England fans feel...
They are a point nearer the title but, as so often since the turn of the year, Jürgen Klopp’s side failed to find their rhythm in the derby at EvertonWhen in 20 or 30 years Liverpool fans settle down to revel in the great side that ended the 30-year drought, it’s probably not this game they’ll be watching. The 19th league title, the first since 1990, will come and there may yet be further wonders to garnish the final weeks of the season, but the derby was not a game to dispel fears that what should be one of the most glorious seasons in the team’s history will end in anticlimax.The ceiling that’s almost painted when the gloss runs out....
After a three-month hiatus, some players are in desperate need of a successful end to the seasonEven before a lockdown during which he received a stern talking to from Arsenal for standing too close to his valet and then appearing to inhale nitrous oxide from a balloon, this has been a challenging campaign for Lacazette. After entering it as Arsenal’s player of the season, an early ankle injury stripped his confidence bare. His struggles in front of goal led to a nine-game drought until February, made worse by the fact that his presence shifted Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to the flank. This seems like an important opportunity for him to return with a clean slate and provide Mikel Arteta with some enthusiasm...
A Safety Advisory Group will meet on Monday to decide whether Everton can meet Liverpool in what would be one of the last derbies to be staged in their home of the last 128 yearsIt is hard to believe now, even harder when you are shoehorned into one of the most cramped and restrictive press boxes in England, but Goodison Park was a World Cup stadium once.That was in 1966, obviously, and on many occasions it has been remarked that to all intents and purposes the ground has hardly changed since. If physical distancing is now to arrive in the media areas it will certainly not be before time. Yet people are fond of Goodison, it will be missed when...
It took some wrangling but I was in Rotterdam when Everton won their first European trophy on an unforgettable nightI had accepted I would not be going to the 1985 Cup Winners’ Cup final about halfway through the second leg of the semi-final, when a British Rail guard informed “anyone who’s interested” that Everton were 1-0 down to Bayern Munich. I was on a train to Lime Street and somewhere around Watford Junction at the time.Luton had already been beaten in the FA Cup semi-final and a 0-0 at Bayern in the first leg had opened up the possibility of two finals in the same week – or more likely for me, one. If I was lucky. The problem was...