GRADING QATAR WORLD CUP 2022 KITS PART 2
Rob Green ran the rule over Jordan Pickford’s technique on Sky Sports Monday Night Football earlier this week.
Green highlighted numerous things; the way Pickford’s arms can swing back before he makes a save, bouncing in the air when a shot is being struck and having his arms low by his feet at times – among others.
In an exclusive interview with Everton News, we asked Nigel Martyn what he made of Green’s comments and Pickford’s technique.
He felt that Pickford may be better served setting himself with his hands up together rather than swinging them backwards before setting off for a dive.
“If your hands are already together, they move together and if that’s something he wants to work on, that will improve him,” said Martyn, assessing Pickford’s technique.
“He’s the same size as me – 6ft 1, 6ft 2 – we have to rely more on our footwork to get quick feet in and then explode. The real thing Green picked out was being in the air as the ball was struck.
“Rob Green was absolutely right – you can do nothing until you land and by then the ball’s covered half his distance. That’s why sometimes you can think ‘why’s he been beaten from there?’
“The closer in the player is though, it’s okay to have your hands low. You will save a lot of shots around your feet from close in.”
“It’s not something which will change overnight,” said Martyn of any adjustments Pickford may choose to make. “It’s about repetition on the training ground and then it’ll pop into your head on the pitch.
“It’ll happen over the space of a year’s worth of practice. It’s maybe something he’ll want to look at – or he might be happy with the way he is, he’s making saves.”
One area it seems Pickford has improved upon recently is his temperament – he seems a lot calmer – and perhaps the next stage will be some deeper, long-term technical work.
But in this frantic season, there’s not that much chance to do work on the training ground.
And as Martyn says, Pickford might be happy with his technique. He is back making saves and keeping clean sheets and looks far more assured than he did earlier in the season.
Nigel Martyn speaking to Everton News: Archive
