Who has been Everton’s best player throughout 2024?

A look across the year for EFC as to which of the players have performed consistently well through the calendar year.

Transcript

00:00And looking across 2024 for Everton, now obviously it's not been the greatest of years,

00:06had a few decent results, had a few moments where fans would like to forget,

00:11but in terms of standout players throughout Sean Dyche's side,

00:15who stands out for there that has maybe had a few better performances consistently throughout his side?

00:23Who looks like that throughout the 2024 calendar year?

00:27Yeah, if you look at the whole year, someone like Gerard Bramfoet,

00:33he's had his injuries at the start of the season, so can you quite count him yet in the whole of 2024?

00:40Maybe, maybe not, even though he was excellent last season and continues to grow,

00:46but if you look throughout from January 1st to December 31st,

00:51Jordan Pickford has been an ever-present in the Everton goal,

00:53and he won the club's player of the year award for third successive season.

00:59Look, I don't think Everton fans need to be reminded just how important he is, how good he's been,

01:06but yeah, he's been immense, he deserves a lot of credit, Jordan Pickford,

01:10because there have been times in the last few years when he probably could have left the club in the difficult circumstances,

01:17you know, players have, Richarlison, Anthony Gordon, Jordan Pickford could have looked at this and thought,

01:22I don't really fancy this, I fancy going to play in the Champions League in my career,

01:27and there probably would have been opportunities, you know, Chelsea struggling for a goalkeeper, etc.,

01:32but he deserves immense credit for that, and Adrian Garnaghey, for someone who's 35,

01:41he's shown all of his experience and has now scored the goal last season that ultimately kept Everton up,

01:50with a few fixtures to spare, but yeah, he's been maybe a little bit underrated, to be honest,

01:59he's not everyone's cup of tea, he's not fantastic on the ball, but he does the difficult things,

02:04just picks away, picks up loose balls, etc., and Ashley Young deserves a lot of credit as well, you know, 38, 39,

02:12he's probably been one of Everton's best players this season, played a lot last season,

02:17I think that decision to sign him to a new contract was a very decent one, despite his age,

02:24maybe some were saying Everton should have passed the way, but he's been pivotal, certainly this season,

02:30but yeah, there's one standout for me, and that's Jordan Pickford's.

02:35And obviously you mentioned there, just on Pickford, I mean, loyalty in this game is so rare these days,

02:41you know, you mentioned Richarlison, Anthony Gordon, they go for money, they go for better opportunities,

02:45how incredible has he been, just in Everton's recent history?

02:51Yeah, he is, I think, if you're looking down in the last 10 years, maybe, or so, he's probably the player you think of

02:58when you think of Everton, to be honest, been a lot of overhaul in terms of score, a lot of players coming in

03:06that Everton have wasted money on, and it was a difficult few years for Jordan Pickford at the start,

03:12came in for a big fee, but he's really settled down in the past couple of seasons, past few seasons,

03:17you know, he's been England's number one for how long, despite, you know, how many pretenders have tried to take his crown,

03:25you know, when you think of the amount of goalkeepers, Aaron Ramsdale, Nick Pope, etc., Dean Henderson,

03:30he's always kept it, if you look on Everton goalkeepers, I think a lot of people would agree,

03:37only Neville Southall is better in terms of club legends, and there might be, bar Dixie Dean,

03:44there might be a greater club legend than Neville Southall, which is a massive, massive badge of honour for Jordan Pickford,

03:52as I say, he could have probably left at any time, instead he stays at the club, and I think that's why Everton fans

04:00have a real good bond with him, probably one of the only few players in the current squad, maybe in the past few years,

04:07who they've really had a bond with, and, you know, when he does make a mistake now, it is very rare,

04:14and I think, you know, the loyalty he's shown, that's maybe why as well, people don't get on his case as much,

04:20because, yes, they're fewer, but Everton fans have understood as well that he could have left the club and he didn't.