'110%': Stuart Pearce points finger at one Newcastle United star for Marseille defeat
Newcastle United fans are still reeling from another away defeat after they blew a one-goal lead to fall to a 2-1 defeat to Marseille last night.
And not for the first time in recent weeks, the finger is being pointed at Nick Pope for Newcastle's woes.
A rush of blood saw the Magpies keeper come storming off his line and out of his box to try and beat Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to a loose ball, but the former Arsenal man comfortably beat the keeper to the ball, rounded Pope and slotted home.
We'll never understand what was going through his head at the time, but given that Pope has form when it comes to doing this, we also weren't shocked.
Stuart Pearce was very critical of Nick Pope last night
Speaking on the talkSPORT Daily podcast, former Toon defender Stuart Pearce laid all the blame for the defeat at Pope's door, saying that when you're no good with your feet, you shouldn't be coming out of the area like that.
“It was solely the mistake by the goalkeeper.
“It was even stevens, this game, I would say, on the run of play. But a horrific five minutes, led by that mistake by Nick Pope, just after half time, really killed Newcastle.
“I made the point – don’t come out if you are not great with your fee.
“You have got to be 110 per cent if you are not.
“The thing with him is that he rushes out; he is a big lad as well. The turning scale is not good.
“So by the time he puts the brakes on and realises that he has made the wrong call, it is too late.”
Nick Pope is a great shot-stopper, but that's all he's got
To say that Pope isn't great with his feet is like saying I'm not great at the 100m sprint (I'm a very large gentleman in his forties, just to explain that one).
We've all made peace with him being horrendous with his feet; however, but now other shortcomings with his game are becoming more prevalent. We still say he's one of the better shot stoppers in the league, but we need more than that. It's everything around that that he struggles with.
It's time for change. It's time for Ramsdale. Hell, bring Odysseas Vlachodimos back.
