I thought he could have done better with that goal yesterday. Sure, it was Stones' dithering that caused the problem, but Pope had two options either charge out and try to narrow the angle/block the shot or make yourself look as big as possible. He certainly didn't do the first and I'm not convinced he did the second very well. Looked like the proverbial rabbit in the headlights.
Sadly for Pope these 3 games won't have done much for his case of being England's number 1 despite only conceding 1 goal. He never got to show how good a shot stopper he is as he barely had a save to make and a weakness with his kicking was exposed a couple of times. It's now this that people will focus on and have reservations about, especially as it's an area where Pickford is usually very reliable.
Not sure we Charlton fans have a great record in judging Pope. I seem to remember him getting a bit of stick when he was here. Don’t think anyone saw him as future England keeper. Some thought he wasn’t good enough for Charlton.
When we sent him out on loan to York, their manager, Nigel Worthington said he could end up playing for England and I always thought he would reach the very top. I feel the same way about Ashley MB who could be just as good !
Not sure we Charlton fans have a great record in judging Pope. I seem to remember him getting a bit of stick when he was here. Don’t think anyone saw him as future England keeper. Some thought he wasn’t good enough for Charlton.
I was one of these people. Thought he had too many mistakes in him. Clearly all he needed was better training (which he clearly got at Burnley). Delighted to see him doing so well.
Not sure we Charlton fans have a great record in judging Pope. I seem to remember him getting a bit of stick when he was here. Don’t think anyone saw him as future England keeper. Some thought he wasn’t good enough for Charlton.
It wasn’t unfounded - he kept letting shots through his body , which doesn’t bode well for a good career. Fair play to him - he’s having a great career.
“Not to be outdone, McDonalds soon joined in, promising a free maccies breakfast for Toon Polls should Pope keep a clean sheet against Brighton on Saturday.”. If I was Toon Polls, I’d be hoping he lets one in.
By all accounts a brilliant performance at PSG last night - so nearly won his team the three points.
How he is not getting in the England squad is a complete mistery to me
It can only be because he is not good enough with his feet because every other optic to measure his ability is excellent.
Rumours Newcastle are sniffing around Ramsdale probably aren't helping Popey either
I do think that it is the issue with his feet that is holding him back and specifically, by all accounts, his shot saving and command of the box are up there with the very best. This is from the Newcastle forum:
Those stats back up what we see every week in fairness. He’s a brilliant goalkeeper with next to zero ability with receiving the ball with his feet and passing. The trade offs are up for debate, we could get a keeper who could transform our play and make us more attacking but we’d surely lose a lot of the aerial quality. I’m happy with things as they are for now, see no rush to change it up.
We've had this situation ourselves with keepers but it would be ironic if Newcastle are really looking at Ramsdale because Arteta replaced Ramsdale for the very same reasons that Pope is being criticised for. Ramsdale, in fact, got away with an absolute howler on Saturday.
Comments
Me neither
I hope to be at The Valley for Cambridge match if you have a blunt object handy
How he is not getting in the England squad is a complete mistery to me
Rumours Newcastle are sniffing around Ramsdale probably aren't helping Popey either