Everton have rarely been recognised in the media for their exploits this season, despite defying all expectations.
After all, the last two campaigns had seen them narrowly escape the drop late on in the year, and look increasingly shaky whilst doing so.
And yet, with Sean Dyche at the wheel for a full term, they achieved that feat with remarkable ease whilst also navigating two separate points deductions.
They deserve far more credit than they are getting, and so too do the players. Fortunately, one has now been recognised.
Garth Crooks praises Everton player
Writing for BBC Sport, Garth Crooks’ Premier League Team of the Season was unsurprisingly dominated by Arsenal and Manchester City.
However, rather surprisingly so, Everton ended up with the same number of players in his squad as Liverpool and Aston Villa, who finished third and fourth respectively.
Despite one other Team of the Season naming James Tarkowski, this pundit opted for a different asset from the Toffees, lauding Jordan Pickford who starred just behind that centre-back.
He wrote: ‘The golden glove – for the highest number of clean sheets this season – may have gone to David Raya, but he had the good fortune to have inherited an Arsenal defensive unit that was the best in the country.
‘Everton were doing fine until they had 10 points deducted, with the club thrown into a tailspin. Mid-table mediocrity was suddenly replaced by a fight for survival. Throughout this turbulent period there were two individuals who remained unshakable.
‘Manager Sean Dyche was like a rock, and Jordan Pickford showed nerves of steel. The England number one goalkeeper producing match-winning performances whenever it mattered. Let’s hope he can do the same for England at Euro 2024.’
Jordan Pickford was the Premier League’s best goalkeeper
It marks a truly miraculous turnaround that Pickford, who last season shipped 57 goals for a side that only survived on the last day of the season, is very much in the conversation for the best-performing goalkeepers this campaign.
This is a testament not only to his continued sparkling form and the newfound stability forged in front of him, but also to Dyche, who has finally figured out a system which brings the best out of his squad.
This was evidenced by their final position in the Premier League table, as they sat 15th on 40 points. Were it not for their eight-point deduction, that would have instead read 12th.
Pickford was a huge part of this miraculous recovery, remaining rock solid and a mainstay for a side that conceded the fourth-least goals whilst he kept the second-most clean sheets.
And when compared to Raya, as Crooks did, there is no competition.
After all, the Spaniard sat behind one of Europe’s best defences as his side fought for the title. The disparity in quality between Arsenal and Everton is huge, and despite being forced to make a mere 1.4 shots per game, the on-loan Brentford man retained a save percentage of just 66%.
Meanwhile, the £30m former Sunderland star made 3.2 saves per game, and thus boasted a 70% save success rate.
There is no comparison, and this shot-stopping ability alone does not even begin to outline how well-rounded Pickford is with his pinpoint left-footed passes too.
It is honestly remarkable that, of all the players who have left and been linked with departures from Everton, the 30-year-old remains untouched.