Eveton's Jordan Pickford applauds the fans at the final whistle of the Premier League match between Newcastle United FC and Everton FC at St James' Park on May 25, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Alex Dodd - CameraSport via Getty Images)
Once again, Jordan Pickford was the centre of attention against Newcastle United, but the Everton goalkeeper controlled the narrative against his Geordie baiters and haters. As the final whistle blew at St James’ Park and Eddie Howe’s side clinched a place in the Champions League – despite their 1-0 defeat to Carlos Alcaraz’s goal – all you could hear around the ground was the jubilant chants of the travelling Blues supporters.
Tucked away ‘up in the gods’ in the higher reaches of the giant Leazes End, hailing their hero with a full-blooded rendition of his new anthem: “He hates Newcastle, he hates the s***e, Jordan Pickford is dynamite.”
The Toon puppet master who these days seems to have the home fans here on strings, controlling them at will, produced another masterclass, playing his pantomime villain role to perfection. As a younger man, and less-experienced performer, the former Sunderland player was guilty of letting such pressure cooker atmosphere at their local rivals get to him, most infamously the 2019 visit when his wild display enabled Rafael Benitez’s hosts to recover from two nil down to triumph 3-2.
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Those days are long gone it seems though, and Pickford led by example from the start here. Puffing out his chest and nonchalantly making his way to the centre circle at a leisurely pace when called to perform his pre-match captain’s duties by referee Tony Harrington. He promptly won the toss and made the sides switch ends so the hosts were made to play towards the Gallowgate End, the first of numerous occasions that he would frustrate them.
England’s number one produced a mature and masterful performance, confident on the ball and then once again at the top of his game with a string of spectacular saves to repel everything Newcastle threw at him, including a couple of stinging efforts from their talisman Alexander Isak, now one of the most-valuable strikers in European football. Here was another world-class performers at the peak of his powers and while they might be at pains to admit it, even the most die-hard fan in black and white could see that.