Newcastle’s goalkeeper issue became crystal clear again at the weekend
Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres is fouled by Newcastle United goalkeeper Nick Pope(Image: PA)
Clear the surrounding area. Put your hands over your eyes and ears if possible. This could get messy. Nick Pope is on his way.
You can feel the sense of impending doom every time the goalkeeper leaves his box. As a sweeper keeper, he is less Manuel Neuer and more Manuel from Fawlty Towers.
Pope will go down in history as one of the best goalkeepers in the modern era at Newcastle United. While he may not garner the same affection as 400-odd appearance maker Shay Given or the late Pavel Srnicek, what he does have in his locker is a cup winners’ medal.
Pope has been integral to Newcastle’s rise under Eddie Howe. Signed for what now looks an absolute snip at £10million from Burnley, the Soham-born custodian quickly made the No 1 shirt his own, displacing Martin Dubravka in the 2022/23 side.
A commanding presence and reliable shot-stopper, Pope offered security and, literally, a safe pair of hands as United built a mean defence. If anyone got past the back four of Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schar, Sven Botman and Dan Burn, Pope was inevitably on hand to save the day.
Dubravka had been the man in possession before Pope’s arrival, but was soon replaced. Ironically, one of the reasons given was that Pope was deemed to have a better starting position and was more capable of playing the sweeper role, while the Slovenian was more often rooted inside his 18-yard box.
And for a while, that seemed true. Until that fateful day in February 2023 when Pope’s dash from his penalty area and panicked attempt at clearing the ball resulted in a handball, a red card and a suspension that ruled him out of the Carabao Cup final.
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Ever since then, there has been this nervousness among the crowd and from the player himself every time he makes a jaunt from his goal. It feels like a bomb scare with people running for cover, afraid that something is going to go wrong.
As it very nearly did on Sunday. As the ball was played over the top of the Newcastle defence, Pope made the right decision to come and sweep up, but bizarrely and almost catastrophically completely missed the ball, instead wiping out Arsenal striker Victor Gyokeres.
On another day, he’d have been sent off again but this time escaped with just a yellow thanks to Malick Thiaw’s presence on the cover, but it highlighted the ongoing issue Newcastle have with their goalkeepers.
Aaron Ramsdale is much better with his feet but doesn’t save shots or command like Pope does; on the flip side, Pope’s errors have increased this term and he frightens the life out of everybody with his kicking.
The 34-year-old has a year left on his contract. Having sat out the last eight games, he was recalled against Arsenal and up until that moment had performed well. He still looks set to keep his spot for the remainder of the season but after that, it seems certain his time is up.
Newcastle can’t afford someone as jittery or error-prone as their No 1 goalkeeper if they want to push back to the top four. If anyone on the coaching staff was still in two minds about needing a new keeper this summer – and they shouldn’t be after all the chopping and changing – that Arsenal error may just have been the one that made their decision obvious.