The bizarre and lacklustre summer transfer window is still a sore spot for Newcastle United fans as we approach the next window.
Newcastle didn't really strengthen the starting XI, instead signing a couple of players who may warm the bench like Lloyd Kelly and Will Osula.
However, the biggest transfer (aside from the confirmation of Lewis Hall) was the £20 million Newcastle paid Nottingham Forest for Greece international goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos as part of the PSR-busting swap deal for Elliot Anderson.
It was clear that Eddie Howe didn't want Vlachodimos evidenced by the fact that despite having five goalkeepers on the books, rumours around a move for James Trafford from Burnley never disappeared.
We are 15 games into the Premier League season and the Magpies have conceded 21 goals. The defence has been questionable at times, but sometimes it feels like Nick Pope gets away scot free.
The England 'keeper has good shot stopping stats for sure, but there are times when he looks so dodgy that he's going to start singing "If it's good enough for you, it's good enough for me. It's good enough for two, it's what I want to see" at any moment.
We are all aware of his heart attack-inducing footwork of which we saw a stunning example on Saturday in second half stoppage time. It's not just his inability to dribble, which is forgivable for a goalkeeper, but his passing with his feet is shocking. It's genuinely like he wears clown shoes to play in.
Add this to the fact that he always seems to punch or parry when he could easily catch the ball and we are wondering if it's maybe time to move on from the £10 million man.
Odysseas Vlachodimos is a current Greece international and he looked decent in the two Nations League games against England, particularly the Wembley game.
He was outstanding at Benfica before moving to Nottingham Forest. We're not sure what went wrong when he made that switch, but if he was given a chance at St James' Park, could he really do more damage than Pope is doing right now?
Look at Matz Sels. He was hopeless at Newcastle and now he's excellent at Forest. A change of environment can sometimes do players the world of good.
We highly doubt that Eddie Howe will drop Pope, as we always say in our line up predictions, if he's fit, he plays.
However, a quick glance at social media will tell you that fans' patience with Pope is starting to wear thin and after Martin Dubravka proved that he's not the answer last season, why not give the £20 million man a shot?
We have four other options behind Nick Pope but we're settling for that footwork, that passing and those decisions to parry/punch/palm the ball away when a catch is a viable option. Mix it up, Eddie. Give the Greek lad a chance, the season is getting away from us anyway, so why not?
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Liverpool
|
14 | 18 | 35 |
2 |
Chelsea
|
15 | 17 | 31 |
3 |
Arsenal
|
15 | 14 | 29 |
4 |
Manchester City
|
15 | 6 | 27 |
5 |
Nottingham Forest
|
15 | 1 | 25 |
6 |
Aston Villa
|
15 | 0 | 25 |
7 |
Brighton
|
15 | 3 | 24 |
8 |
Bournemouth
|
15 | 3 | 24 |
9 |
Brentford
|
15 | 3 | 23 |
10 |
Fulham
|
15 | 2 | 23 |
11 |
Tottenham Hotspur
|
15 | 12 | 20 |
12 |
Newcastle United
|
15 | -2 | 20 |
13 |
Manchester United
|
15 | 1 | 19 |
14 |
West Ham United
|
15 | -8 | 18 |
15 |
Everton
|
14 | -7 | 14 |
16 |
Leicester
|
15 | -9 | 14 |
17 |
Crystal Palace
|
15 | -6 | 13 |
18 |
Ipswich
|
15 | -13 | 9 |
19 |
Wolves
|
15 | -15 | 9 |
20 |
Southampton
|
15 | -20 | 5 |