Mauricio Pochettino backs Nicolas Jackson despite Alan Shearer criticism of Chelsea striker
Mauricio Pochettino responded to Alan Shearer’s comments on Nicolas Jackson, who called the player not a natural goalscorer after Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat to Brentford last week.
Pochettino was not entirely convinced of the former Newcastle United striker’s assessment of Jackson but claimed he made some valid points.
Jackson has often been criticised for his lack of goal-scoring touch in the box; the former Villarreal striker has missed plenty of chances. After halftime against Brentford, the 22-year-old was confronted by a fan.
When you come to a different league, you see a change in intensity, and Jackson is just 22. We cannot blame him because what the Blues needed was an experienced striker, not a youngster who is still in his development phase.
However, Shearer hasn’t been convinced by the Senegalese forward and called his performance out against the Bees, (h/t Metro) where he said:
“Goalscorers don’t hang around on the edge of the box like he does. It’s his job to get to the end of it. There was a complete lack of movement from Jackson. He looks very raw and, at times, unsure of what to do. You’ve got to make defenders work.”
Responding to his claim, Pochettino said:
“It’s really dangerous to do this type of analysis because it’s one game. I cannot lie; it wasn’t his best. But we need to be fair. If you watch Luton, if you watch Dortmund in pre-season, if you watch Liverpool, you will see this is one player. Brentford game was another player.”
One thing in football you see is that fans and pundits are very impatient with players’ growth because the moment a player is signed, they want to see him deliver a man-of-the-match performance in each game. This builds more pressure on them, and they eventually succumb to that pressure. The season hasn’t even worn off, and people are already judging players’ performances.
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It’s too soon to make comments on Jackson’s performance. It’s true that he is not fully mature and isn’t aggressive, but he has that potential, and under Pochettino, he will evolve and soon hit his stride.