I played in goal as a kid and was consistently awarded man of the match, month and season.
Now I’m under no illusions, that this was mainly due to me playing behind one of the most horrendous defenses ever to put on a pair of boots. Okay, four pairs of boots!
You’ve never been in contention until the opposition manager has told you how good you are…and it was a miracle you managed to keep him to 11 goals.
That’s why, even though I’m a big fan of Martin Dubravka, when everyone was shouting how great he was because he’d made 75 saves in one season, I was having flashbacks to the time they scored five goals on me. a team from the neighboring school who had turned up with just nine players… and one of them was a girl (which was unheard of back in the day, unlike in these more inclusive modern times)!
When you’re at the top of the “saved facts” league table, there’s a problem in front of you.
Similarly, much has been said about how brilliant Nick Pope has been recently, having conceded just 11 goals so far in the Premier League and keeping 16 clean sheets in 24 games.
Of course, the usual mob insist he should be Southgate’s first choice for England, but there’s something I can’t get my head around about it all.
One day our Newcastle United defense is getting credit for our impressive goals-against figures, and the next day it’s the Pope. So which one will it be?
In a game where the opposition doesn’t even register a shot on target, where is the logic in heaping praise on the goalkeeper for keeping a clean sheet?
Then, of course, against Southampton he made three stunning saves and deserves all the praise he gets.
As one of those sad and lonely goalkeepers, I’m sorry to say that when it comes to just 11 goals conceded and 12 goals in the league, I’d have to push the plaudits towards Newcastle United a bit more. defense than the goalkeeper.
Pope has been nearly flawless when called upon BUT it is on defense that those times are few and far between. And when I say defense, with the amount of tracking our midfield does, where do you draw the line?
Can we say for sure, with the squad’s form and fitness levels, that we wouldn’t be in the same position, or even better, if we had Martin Dubravka between the sticks? I’m not so sure.
Nick Pope has been brilliant but we don’t take anything away from four, six, eight, whatever.
Source: Let’s not take anything away from our back four, six, eight, whatever it is…
