Stick with Pickford, try out Pope or give Henderson the gloves for the future?

This is just one of the decisions which undoubtedly leaves Gareth Southgate struggling to sleep at night. With the postponement of the Euros till next summer, there is obviously extra time for all 3 of these keepers to lay claim to the hottest gloves in England, however Southgate will surely want to outline his plans well in advance of the tournament.

At the 2018 World Cup, things for Pickford looked fairly steady and safe in his position, however the 19/20 season has shown serious weaknesses in the Everton shot-stoppers game. Meanwhile, both Nick Pope and Dean Henderson have been consistent stand-out performers at their respective clubs. Therefore, the number 1 shirt is up for grabs at the moment for the national team, and so NextGoalWinner have decided to have a closer look at the three main ‘contestants’, plus a few wildcards that could sneak into the team.

To try and give a fair and unbiased opinion on all possible options, we’ve had a browse into the numbers and statistics of each choice, and then looked back at every keepers best and worse rated game of the 2019/2020 league season (according to WhoScored? rating system), picking out key points from each performance.

Enjoy!

What The Stats Say

In the 19/20 Premier League campaign, Jordan Pickford managed just 9 clean sheets from all 38 appearances he made for the toffees. Despite being Everton’s ever-present no.1, he had his worst season statistically of his 3 years at the club. In 17/18 he conceded 58 goals with 10 clean sheets, 18/19 46 goals conceded with 14 clean sheets and in 19/20, 9 clean sheets and conceded 56 goals. Meanwhile, he made 4 errors leading to goals, which means he has made 10 goal-costing errors over the past 3 seasons. In his entire Premier League career, he has managed just 37 clean sheets in 145 appearances. Pickford placed in 5th for goals conceded, with only the relegated 3 keepers and Dubravka (Newcastle United) letting in more over the season. The stats clearly aren’t kind to Pickford as, despite being the most expensive British keeper, he simply isn’t up to scratch, especially when we move onto comparing them with Pope’s and Henderson’s. For a club that on-paper are strong across all areas, and with their world-class manager, he should be performing much better, and consequently the calls for Pickford to be replaced are growing louder.

Admittedly, Pickford’s stats for the national team are better reading, with 10 clean sheets from 24 appearances, and 23 conceded. This is obviously his biggest advantage, in that he is the current no.1 for England and so has proven his worth on the national stage. The England stats should be footnoted by stating that 7 of the 10 clean sheets were in qualifying matches or friendlies, and he has managed just 3 clean sheets from 13 competitive internationals.

Nick Pope arguably had his most attention-grabbing season as his goal-line security led Burnley to a secure 10th placed league finish, with just goal difference separating themselves and the outstanding Sheffield United side. They were also just 2 points behind 8th placed FA Cup winners, Arsenal. Despite being at the club for 4 years now, this was only his 2nd season making a league appearance for the Clarets. In the 2016/17 season, Pope joined Burnley and struggled for game time behind their then no.1 Tom Heaton. He failed to make a single league appearance that season, making cameos in the FA Cup and League Cup fairly short lived campaigns. On the 10th of September 2017 and the start of the 2017/18 season, Pope replaced the injured Heaton and began an incredible journey with the club in their 1-0 home win over Crystal Palace. He continued in goal for the remainder of the season in which Burnley shocked many watchers as they excelled into 7th and European football. In that season, Pope finished in joint 5th for clean sheets with 11 in the 35 games he appeared in, 1 ahead of Pickford in the same season. Additionally, he conceded just 35 goals in those games which means he conceded 23 goals fewer than Pickford despite playing 3 fewer games. Unfortunately for Pope, in the early Europa League qualification rounds, he suffered a dislocated shoulder which kept him out of action for a significant period which meant he lost his place back to both Heaton and also newly acquired ex-England keeper Joe Hart.

This latest season however, Pope has brushed aside all competition as Burnley got rid of Heaton and Hart meaning a fully-fit Pope could flourish through the entirety of the 2019/20 season. He was ever-present in goal for Burnley which would squash any fears over injury concerns or consistency, and reached 15 clean sheets for the side across the 38 game season. He had been level at the top for clean sheets until the final game of the season when Manchester City’s Ederson took the top-spot by just 1 game. To put that into perspective, he kept more clean sheets than the 18 other first-choice keepers in the league, 7 more than the most expensive goalkeeper in the world (Kepa), 2 more than the champions no.1 (Alisson – ignoring the injury layoff) and 2 more than the next closest Englishman (Dean Henderson). Overall, this means that Nick Pope has achieved 26 clean sheet performances in just 73 league games in the top-flight, 11 behind Pickford despite playing only half the amount of games. Additionally, he was 4th in the league for saves, which means that despite facing 120 shots he still finished 2nd in the golden glove race. Admittedly, he has made 2 errors leading to goals, but considering that’s just 2 errors across 2 full Premier League seasons, it’s admittedly still quite impressive. If the decision was made purely on recent statistics, Pope would be steamrolling his way to the England spot, and although we’ve still got to look at Henderson and some wildcard choices, at 28 years of age and now with 2 top-flight seasons under his belt, this is the peak of his ability and it would be a massive waste for him to miss out on the England role.

Before moving on, his international record should be acknowledged, as he has previously been involved with the England squad in 2018 making a 65th minute appearance in a 2-0 friendly win. More recently in 2019 he made his 2nd appearance against Kosovo in a 4-0 win. 2 appearances and 0 goals conceded (against admittedly weak opposition).

Finally, we have Dean Henderson. A keeper who has left a major mark on the league in his first Premier League season. The Manchester United loanee was a standout in the amazing season for Sheffield United, and for many he has flown to the front of the queue for England’s no.1 spot. In the 2018/19 season, his 20 clean sheets in the Championship helped Sheffield United reach the top-flight, whilst he took home the league’s golden-glove award and the clubs’ young player of the season. In his first real opportunity in the top-flight, and just his 5th season as a professional, Henderson wowed fans and pundits, and despite being tipped for relegation, his side finished up a well-earned 9th spot (which could have actually been even higher). In the league he managed to keep 13 clean sheets from the 38 games, putting him in joint 3rd for the golden glove alongside Alisson, Rui Patrício, Schmeichel and the man he’s now being tipped to replace at Old Trafford, David De Gea. Throughout the season he has been a solid performer for the Blades earning praise from pundits and opposition teams. Manchester United manager Solskjær confirmed that he sees Henderson as the club’s future number one goalkeeper, and many fans have stated they’re ready to make that change already. His 2-year loan spell has now ended in Sheffield, and the future is a little uncertain for him at the moment. Chelsea, Everton and Sheffield United have all been rumoured to be interested in a possible permanent move for the keeper this summer. In the latest season, Henderson had almost the same amount of touches as Ederson, made 29 clearances, 97 saves (conceding just 33 goals ) and made just 1 error leading to a goal (better than both Pickford and Pope). Really though for me with Dean Henderson, it’s not as much about the stats as it is his performances. Despite being relatively young, he seems confident, assured and strong in making saves and coming for the ball. I think if Southgate were to include Henderson in the squad, it would fit his youthful and confident squad atmosphere, and I have no doubts he would step straight in without fear and be solid in-between the sticks.

As with the other 2 keepers I have looked at international statistics, however Henderson is yet to make a full appearance for the senior side. He recieved his first call up in October to replace Tom Heaton, however failed to make an appearance in that time. Obviously, he hasn’t had any real opportunity since then to get involved again with the side, however he has played at pretty much every youth level, making 23 appearances across the age groups. The key point in his international career so far was his involvement in the U-20 World Cup win in 2017. Although he only made 1 appearance in that tournament, in 2019 he was then made England’s no.1 for the U-21 Euros. All the signs show his career trajectory moving in a positive manner, and for Henderson the question isn’t really if he should make the team, rather when should he be given that no.1 jersey. As I will mention later, for me it’s slightly too-soon given just 3 full seasons of football (and 2 earlier loan spells playing 16 games in that time). Instead he should sort his career plans this season, and post-Euro 2021 he will knock down the England manager’s door to claim the gloves.

Jordan Pickford

Pickford keeps the party atmosphere going and certainly adds some flair to the number 1 spot for both club and country. However, with great personality comes great risk (I think that’s what Spiderman once said?). Quite honestly after years of David James, Paul Robinson and Joe Hart providing content for comedy gaffes TV programmes, England could maybe do with a more secure and calming presence with the gloves for a while.

His highest rated performance came in Everton’s 2-0 win over West Ham from October, in which he received a 7.52/10 rating for his contributions. One of Pickford’s 9 clean sheets in the league this season and his best showing in-between the sticks. The game was dominated by Everton’s attackers (perfect for any goalkeeper), as the toffees managed 19 shots to West Ham’s 8. With only 4 of those 8 shots on target, Pickford had a solid game, the main highlight coming from an incredible save on the line with what looked like his chest or face from a deflected shot from Ogbonna. His quick reflexes and a sturdy Everton back line earned the well-deserved clean sheet in a fairly dominant match.

Against Liverpool, at Anfield in December, Pickford managed just a 3.73/10 performance in a game where he conceded 5 times. The first of the goals for Liverpool from Origi in the 6th minute showed an error in judgement form Pickford as he looked caught in two minds whether to come forward and sweep up the pass from Mane, or backtrack and trust his defenders to recover. Just 11 minutes later the same issue arose as Mane again placed a slicing pass through the Everton defence and again Pickford couldn’t decide if he was coming or going, leading to a weird jump back and forth before stretching a leg as a last ditch attempt to unsuccessfully prevent Shaqiri from scoring. Liverpool’s 3rd was a long ball in which I’d put the blame at the door of the defenders as Origi lobbed the keeper in the 1-on-1. For the 4th goal I think Pickford would personally have wanted to do better, but the 3-on-1 counter attack was just a gulf in quality. The final goal his positioning may have been a bit better, but again the finish from Wijnaldum has me questioning the defence as opposed to just the keeper. The game stats don’t improve things for Pickford, as from their 5 shots on target, they got 5 goals. Throughout the game, he seemed furious at his defenders and dejected at the result, however nobody in blue came out of the game in a positive light.

Overall, the negatives are slowly taking over the positives for Pickford, and despite Southgate wanting to perhaps replicate the fun and youthful 2018 summer, and maintain the comradery of that squad, Pickford may perhaps need to take a back seat 2nd or even 3rd choice role for a while. This could be beneficial for him personally as he can keep working to maintain his place in Ancelotti’s plans, whilst still being the background personality that England used during the infamous summer of 2018.

Nick Pope

Pope seems to be next in line, and for my money he’s potentially the man to see us through the Euro 2021 and World Cup 2022 tournaments. At just 28 he has good years left at the peak of his career, and might even be on the move for a bigger club at some point. He’d be the more calming presence for the national side, and has stepped up when needed. Working his way up the leagues, he snatched his opportunity in the Burnley side and (injury-aside) ran with it. He’s seen off former England keeper Joe Hart and Tom Heaton at his club and might just see off the other competition for Southgate’s no.1 spot.

His highest rated game this season was in Burnley’s 1-0 victory over West Ham in July of this year. Pope managed a clean sheet and received a 8.8/10 judgement for his performance in the win. Despite facing 21 shots (5 on target), Pope stood strong in goal for the Clarets despite consistent pressure on Burnley’s goal. A fantastic point-blank save in the first-half denied Fredricks the opener as he demonstrated quick reflexes and solid positioning to keep the ball out. As his side then went on to take the lead, he made another first-half reflex save at his near post. In the 2nd half, Pope made a terrific save with his right-foot to deny a clear goal scoring opportunity. With a well-deserved clean sheet performance, Pope was strong between the sticks, showed his good positioning and reflexes to make some key saves that secured 3 points for his side.

Against Manchester City, Pope managed just a 4.64/10 rating as his side were battered 5-0 by Guardiola’s men. In a tricky game for Burnley considering off-field issues around the club, and against a ruthless City side, they struggled through the 90-minutes managing just 1 shot compared to the 19 (7 on target) from City. As they so often do, Man City kept the pressure on Burnley for the entire game and this led to a tricky night for Pope. Foden’s opener could have possibly been dealt with better by the keeper and the defence, as his shot from outside the box just flew past his hand into the bottom corner. On the 2nd goal, Mahrez made a tricky run into the box, however Pope was beaten quite easily with the resulting shot. The 3rd came from a penalty which the keeper was quite unlucky not to save as he went the right way, but the shot was just past his reach. In the 2nd half City added their 4th with a crossed pass to David Silva who had plenty of space right in front of the keeper to easily slot the ball away. The 5th and final goal of the game was quite poor from the no.1, as Foden scored at the near post despite a weak deflection on the shot from the keepers leg. Pope will have definitely been disappointed with the save attempt on the shot, and the whole teams performance on the night as the formidable attack of Manchester City really showed a gulf in class.

Overall, as I’ve suggested throughout, for me Pope has to be no.1 for England. Taking out the injury break, he has had 2 full seasons in the Premier League and been the standout keeper from that mid-table / bottom group of clubs. Pickford’s form has dropped significantly, at the same rate that Pope’s stock has risen. This is his time, 28 years old, playing consistently well at his club and been in the England side in recent(ish) games. It’s clear that Southgate rates him enough to give Pope the call up, and with a few international games pencilled in before Euro 2020 2.0, now he needs to make the call and ensure Pope knows what he’s in for and can mentally prepare for the tournament. If getting the call shakes his league form, then it’s not meant to be, but if (as I expect) he continues being solid between the sticks then England have got a quality no.1 for the next 2 years minimum. For Pope on a personal level, getting the England spot is a reward for his years in the lower leagues, and he should be using that as a motivator to possibly make moves up the league (with or without Burnley).

Dean Henderson

Henderson will be England’s no.1 at some point in the next 5 years, and he will be Manchester United’s no.1 probably in the next 2/3 years, however I don’t think either of those things are in the short term. Personally, I think Henderson has been a standout talent this season, and his Sheffield United side have done something special and incredibly underrated this year. But next season, he needs to push for another loan move back to Wilder and Sheff United for me. I think he would want to sit down with Man United officials and discuss the future and definitely pocket a big new contract, however he needs to prove his talent again over another full Premier League season, then return to Manchester for 2021/2022 and demand the starting spot at the club. After that, and maybe even after a years experience of Champions League and title challenging football will he be ready for England. At that point he will be 25/26, have proven experience and playing every week at a high standard, all those things mean he could be the England no.1 for 6 or 7 years, and also be one of the best England keepers in a long, long time. For now though, just keep on keeping on Hendo.

His highest rated league game in the 2019/2020 campaign was against Manchester City in January of this year. Despite losing 1-0 at home to City, Henderson earned himself a impressive 7.96/10 rating for his performance. Against the quality of Guardiola’s men, Henderson stood his ground against the 18 shots aimed his way. With 5 of those being on target, he had plenty of work to do as City dominated with almost 70% of possession and seemed to always be looking a threat. A fantastic, strong 1-handed save from Sterling’s shot denied an almost certain goal in the first half, whilst also preventing any rebound. An overhead kick attempt came his way which he dealt with well, using what seemed like his knee to keep it out. In the 36th minute, Henderson truly showed his quality in confidently saving a penalty from City’s Jesus. In the 73rd minute, a low De Bruyne cross and Agüero finish finally got the better of Henderson as he perhaps could have come out to collect, however in this performance from Henderson and the Sheffield United defence, it would be harsh to be too tough on any of them. This game showed Henderson’s confidence and ability to make strong saves, and throughout the night City looked frustrated at being unable to break Sheffield United down for 70 minutes.

Against Leicester early in the season, Henderson received his worst rating of the campaign, with a 5.4/10 judgement for his involvement in the 2-1 loss. In just the 3rd game of the season, after a previously impressive performance against Palace, Henderson looked a different man, literally and figuratively in his adidas cap. Despite just 2 shots on target, Leicester made their chances count in quite an even game. A quick counter attack in the 37th minute had Vardy opening the scoring as Henderson was beaten at his near post. Although it was hit with some force, I don’t think any keeper would want to be beaten from an angle and chance like Henderson was in the 1st half. In the 2nd 45, Henderson had a moment of uncertainty in the 51st minute, in which he was slightly out of position and lucky no Leicester player was in the box to finish. Although United equalized and went looking for a winner, Harvey Barnes secured the game for Leicester in the 69th minute with a stunning goal from the edge of the area. It was such a solid strike from Barnes that Henderson would never have been expected to save it, and could merely watch on as it flew past. It’s clear why this game was Henderson’s worst rated of the season, with the 1st goal, and some moments of uncertainty which fortunately for him came to nothing. However, to have this be your worst performance, and not have made a significant howler, and most importantly have your side still in touching distance of a point gives serious credit to Henderson and Sheffield United this season.

Overall, Henderson doesn’t need to be too concerned at the minute regarding the England setup just yet. As I stated earlier, Pope for me is the right man at the right time for England between the sticks for at least Euro 2021 and quite possible the World Cup 2022. However, Henderson will hopefully be snapping at his heels the entire time, as he continues gaining the top-flight experience. By the 2022 World Cup, it’s almost nailed on that he will be Manchester United’s no.1 keeper playing Champions League football and possibly pushing for titles. At that point, at age 25/26, he will be reaching the peak age to take over from Pope and can have a solid 6/7 years as England’s first-choice keeper. Until then though, I think Henderson needs to just keep on doing his thing in the Premier League at whichever club on loan for 20/21, take the reigns at United in 21/22 season and replace Pope from then on.

Unfortunately, with my personal plan for the England no.1 spot, Pickford would be dropping to 3rd choice or even out altogether (which leads on to the wildcard options), Henderson gets involved as backup for friendlies and tournament experience, and Pope is the main man to hopefully protect England’s goal all the way through a double trophy Euros/World Cup victory.

Wildcard?

Ben Foster: With the same amount of clean sheets (9) as Jordan Pickford, Foster was joint 10th for clean sheets in the whole league, higher than Kepa, Leno and Lloris to name a few. The now 37 year old had a difficult club season with Watford being relegated on the final day. However, despite his age and club issues, Foster showed he is still capable of putting in a performance. I don’t think he should really be considered as the no.1, but with 8 caps to his name already, Southgate could look to him for some leadership and reliability from the bench and in the squad. With 88 Premier League clean sheets across his 20 year career, Foster has shown his talent on many occasions. Possibly worth a recall?

Aaron Ramsdale: At just 22 years of age, and with 7 England U-21 caps to his name, Ramsdale already has some impressive admirers. Spurs, Sheffield United and Everton have been linked with the Bournemouth keeper after an impressive first full season in the Premier League. He played 36 league games for the cherries this season after being out on loan the previous 2 years, and impressed despite his clubs failures. Joint 17th for clean sheets (5) along with Krul and Fabianski, its easy to overlook how young the lad is for the role he has played. Finishing 3rd in the league for saves, he has had plenty of work to do this year and conceded 62 goals in his 36 games. While his club side have struggled, the interest from other teams in the league show that he has clearly got talent, and Southgate might be smart to give him a chance to build some experience in the senior England setup.

Fraser Forster: After playing the 19/20 season at Celtic, Fraser Forster may have done enough to earn another call up to the England side and return to the team after being dropped in 2017 with 6 caps under his belt. Now back at Southampton (at time of writing), it’s possible that he has been off Southgate’s radar by playing up in Scotland. However, in his 28 Celtic appearances, he conceded just 17 goals, and kept 14 clean sheets. With a clean sheet in every other game he played, his stats show that the 32 year old has got something to offer, and after speaking in 2019 about his desire to get back into the fold with England, it might be time to take note of any English players playing North of the border. Even back in England his stats have been strong, with 37 clean sheets in 107 Premier League games. Again, as at least a backup option, its certainly worth a consideration for Southgate.