Nick Pope must lose alarming habit to become Newcastle United's rock once more


I have to be truthful. Nick Pope worries me. He is starting to look like a foreign goalkeeper when British has always been best. Don't get me wrong, I think he can be a wonderful shot-stopper but there are moments when he suffers from the malaise where keepers are obsessed with punching the ball or palming it away instead of catching it.

It cost United a goal against Spurs and could have cost them the match. Tottenham's equaliser came from a shot into Pope's midriff. So easy to wrap your hands round the ball, hold it, and kill the game stone dead. Instead he palmed it out straight to Brennan Johnson whose cross shot was turned into his own net by Dan Burn.

The big fella carried the can with an own goal but Pope didn't give him a choice. He had to try and keep the ball out and his touch could have taken it anywhere. That made it 1-1 and at that stage there was only going to be one winner. United got out of jail through their searing pace on the counter.

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What bothers me is that Nick used to be such a dominating keeper prior to his long lay-off last season through injury but he has come back a different man. Why?

This obsession with not catching keeps the ball alive and is so dangerous. It causes chaos. It wasn't as though the shot had Pope at full length. It was direct into his body. Of course goalkeepers can make a rick and it often ends up in a goal but I feel this is becoming a habit with Pope and a lot of other keepers.

It is ironic that the clanger against Spurs came just as Pope was reinstated in the England squad. I don't know if he has had sleepless nights over it but I know I have! Once upon a time it used to be only foreign keepers who punched or palmed while British goalkeepers caught. We were the best in the world - think of Gordon Banks, Peter Shilton, Ray Clemence and Pat Jennings in my day.

I played with Shilts for England and with Big Pat at Arsenal. They were superb. Jennings had hands like buckets. He used to pick the ball out of the air one-handed on crosses into a packed penalty area.

I remember when Pavel Srnicek first came to Newcastle he was known as Dracula because he was afraid of crosses. He punched everything or palmed shots out. As he became used to the British game he improved and ended up a legend.

If Nick can go back to being British, back to what he was, then he is a top notch keeper. We need him to be when United start playing again because they face three away matches on the bounce at Wolves, Fulham, and Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup before coming home to champions Manchester City. United's away record is poor and if they are to put it right it will be down in the main to Pope and his back four. Same against City as it happens.

I hope United's goalkeeping coaches have a quiet word with Pope and get him back to basics. We need him at his best.