What Eddie Howe said about Nick Pope after latest goalkeeping howler that cost Newcastle United points
Nick Pope's howler at the start of the second half against Marseille last night gifted the French side a way back into the game against Newcastle United, which they accepted gratefully.
It took just another four minutes for Marseille's veteran striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to flip the game on its head, and while Pope wasn't at fault for the second goal, the fact that his blunder led to the equaliser puts him firmly on the hook for the eventual defeat.
As we said last night, mistakes happen, and when you're a goalkeeper, your mistakes are amplified, so you get a lot more stick for them.
However, most goalkeeper errors are few and far between, so they don't get noticed as much. But in Nick Pope's case, he's made four costly errors in the last three away games and fans have had enough.
Eddie Howe says he will back Nick Pope
The calls to drop Nick Pope are growing ever louder, especially after last night, but we said last night we don't expect Nick Pope will be dropped by Eddie Howe, and what the manager said to reporters after the game last night certainly suggests that will be the case.
“I think it’s a concern when we concede goals, regardless of who’s at fault. I think we have to look at everything with a balanced head.”
“He (Pope) saved us many times. He made some really good saves against Manchester City just two days ago. That’s the life of a goalkeeper. But I’ll certainly back him.”
Eddie Howe wasn't going to publicly call out Nick Pope
We obviously understand the desire not to throw your own players under the bus in public, so we didn't really expect Eddie Howe to come out and point the finger at Nick Pope, but that 'I'll certainly back him' comment is a huge worry.
Newcastle have a fantastic goalkeeper in reserve in the shape of Aaron Ramsdale, and it's time we used him. He'll be itching to prove his worth, especially having already hinted at wanting to make his loan move from Southampton a permanent one.
A good run in the side will give Eddie Howe and everyone else a chance to see if he's worth turning that loan into a permanent deal, and if not, then at least we know to keep looking for another goalkeeper.
