The Everton hero wants supporters to remember him for being part of better times on the pitch, not what he did on the club’s journey to reach them
Leicester City’s James Maddison looks on as Everton’s goalkeeper Jordan Pickford saves his penalty kick during the crucial Premier League match at The King Power Stadium on May 1, 2023. Photo by Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images
No player did more to save Everton from relegation than Jordan Pickford.
Across four successive relegation fights – through boardroom, ownership and regulatory crises – the one constant through the chaos was that the Blues had one of the best goalkeepers in the world as their last line of defence. They needed him, too.
Yet the 31-year-old, now committed to the club he loves until 2029, is not happy with the legacy he has already built on Merseyside. He wants more.
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Pickford will mark a decade at Everton next year. He joined a club that was in Europe and ambitious enough to spend £30m on a developing goalkeeper who had just experienced relegation with his beloved Sunderland.
When he signed a new contract earlier this season the hope of future glory was returning to Finch Farm after the exhaustion of one the most challenging periods in the club’s history.
Key to Everton making it through that battle was Pickford. His reaction save from Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta helped Everton to the win that kickstarted their escape from the drop in 2022. Then manager Frank Lampard later hailed the save as the best of the Premier League era.
Twelve months later, Pickford stood firm to save James Maddison’s penalty in a relegation dogfight at Leicester City. Had his England teammate scored then the Foxes would have taken a 3-1 lead into the break at the King Power Stadium and a big step to a defining win in the survival battle. But Pickford saved, Everton earned a draw and, ultimately, safety at the expense of their opponent that night in May.
Surely those saves, among the most important in his club’s history given the financial peril relegation would have placed Everton in, play on his mind? “No.” Pickford said in an interview at the club’s training ground ahead of the narrow defeat to Manchester United. “I just love playing every match, I love trying to make saves, being called upon when asked to and just being the best version of myself, I’ll never change that.
“I’m only getting better, I feel I’m improving, so for me it’s about enjoying it. Yeah, we’ve been through some tough times and I’ve always stood up – I love pressure, I love feeling those pressure moments, that’s why I thrive off pressure, it’s something I’m really good at. I don’t get nervous. I thrive off it.”
Pickford does not want to look back on what he has already achieved. He does not believe supporters will do so, either – or rather he hopes he will produce better moments to define his Everton career.
He said: “I think people looking back in 40 years will remember if you lifted something. They are probably not going to remember in 40 years how Pickford ‘kept us in the Premier League’. I think it’s all about silverware and that is something we’ve been missing from this club for a long time, but it takes a lot of hard work and you might only get one opportunity – it is about how do you grasp that.”
When it is suggested that few who have lived through the drama and terror of recent seasons at Everton will forget that season-defining Azpilicueta save, he acknowledges he might have written it off too lightly. But he is committed to his point: “They won’t forget that, but they’ll remember silverware a lot more, so it’s about us trying to demand that, and if we get the opportunity, taking it. We might not get the opportunity but how can we get into Europe, how can we get the Everton fans on a buzz going away in the Conference League, Europa League, Champions League, that’s what the club will be aiming for.”
Pickford’s hopes chime with a club transformed since the takeover by the Friedkin Group in December 2024. Upwardly mobile, there is still work to do but the progress of David Moyes’ second stint at the club has the Blues in the hunt for a return to Europe that seemed unlikely when he took over from Sean Dyche last year with Everton embroiled in yet another relegation fight.
Alongside Pickford’s individual brilliance, another influential factor through Everton’s struggle was the passionate support of a fanbase that stood by the players on the pitch. They have enjoyed 11 away wins in the 13 months of Moyes’ tenure and as the fear of relegation began to ease last year they cemented their bond with Pickford from the stands during wins at the City Ground, Craven Cottage and St James’ Park, where a new chant about Pickford took hold – one in which colourful language is ultimately used to declare the shotstopper as “dynamite”.
That matters to the goalkeeper, who has earned every one of his 81 England caps while with the club he wants to lead to better days. He said: “I love it. They know how passionate I am and I think they know probably just how much hard work I put into performances and making big saves in big moments. It’s something I really enjoy and, yeah, it’s a top chant.”
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