Tony Cascarino claims that Jordan Pickford’s erratic Everton form should see him lose England place

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Tony Cascarino has told the Times that Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford should be dropped by England, stating that he believes him to be more suited to UFC than football.

The comments come following a poor performance in Saturday’s 3-2 defeat to Newcastle United.

Everton had led the Magpies 2-0 but some inept goalkeeping made it a fourth defeat in six games for Marco Silva’s team.

Cascarino scored 248 goals in 629 games during a 20-year professional career.

He also played 88 games for the Republic of Ireland, netting 19 goals.

Despite a strong World Cup last year, Cascarino now believes that is form is worthy of Gareth Southgate wielding the axe.

He told the Times: “When I watch Jordan Pickford, part of me feels like he should be a cage fighter in the Octagon.

“He took out Salomón Rondón with a rugby tackle on Saturday and he makes mistakes too often.

“You see him spill a 25-yard shot, then start jumping up and down, balling at his defenders.”

Cascarino has also identified who he thinks should get the nod to keep goal for Southgate’s team in the forthcoming qualifiers.

He continued: “Burnley’s Tom Heaton – even with his mistake against Liverpool yesterday – is a much better goalkeeper at the moment.

“I would pick him for England ahead of Pickford. The Everton man is just too intense.”

The former Chelsea striker believes there is an application issue with the Everton stopper, citing that he isn’t learning from the same mistakes.

He added: “I don’t like his post-match interviews – he holds his hands up and admits the mistake but then does it again.

“I find that extraordinary. He needs to take things on board and learn.”

TBR Verdict

These quotes from Cascarino are nothing short of astonishing.

At 25-years-old the Everton and England custodian is still learning and mistakes will probably be made.

That said, he is costing Everton £100k-a-week, according to Spotrac, and regular errors won’t be tolerated among supporters.

As far as England is concerned, Pickford’s form must be a worry for Southgate.

The Three Lions arguably have the best goalkeeping options available to them in recent memory.

Pickford is in competition with Cacarino’s pick Heaton, Joe Hart, Jack Butland, Nick Pope and arguably the Under 21 stopper Dean Henderson.

Southgate has a plethora of talent to choose from and Pickford does need to be concerned about his England prospects.