Rafa to ring changes in goal after a late howler
RAFA Benitez could look to change his goalkeeper for Newcastle United’s next game against Town on February 23.
This is after calls to drop the current Magpies number one, Martin Dubravka, grew following a last-minute howler against Wolves on Monday night.
Rafa’s side were set for a big three points at the Molineux Stadium before Dubravka was beaten to a looping cross by Wolves defender Willy Boly, who grabbed a 95th-minute equaliser.
After the match Benitez admitted his goalkeeper needed to be stronger in that situation.
“Obviously, these kind of balls you can do better,” said the Spaniard. “Just punch the ball and finish, but that’s not what happened.
“We have to defend better the cross. We know this is England and the people will come against the keeper so he has to be strong enough, that’s it.”
Some of Newcastle’s players appeared to agree, with Benitez revealing that captain Jamal Lascelles had challenged Dubravka over his handling of the cross.
This is the second important mistake the Slovakian goalkeeper has made in recent weeks and calls to drop him when the Premier League resumes are growing.
So might Benitez change his goalkeeper for the Town game? It could be in-keeping with what Rafa has done in the past.
Matz Sels was dropped in the Championship season after a late howler in the 1-1 draw against Aston Villa.
Benitez then turned to Karl Darlow who played for most of the season. But after a bad game for Darlow at Ipswich Town, a 3-1 defeat, Benitez brought in Rob Elliot for the final three games of the season to help win the title. NEWS of the death of England’s World Cup winning goalkeeper Gordon Banks has been met with sadness around the football world.
Banks has died at the age of 81, his family has announced.
The man who revealed in 2016 that he was battling kidney cancer for the second time, died peacefully overnight on Monday.
A statement issued by his former club Stoke on the Banks family’s behalf said: “It is with great sadness that we announce that Gordon passed away peacefully overnight.
“We are devastated to lose him but we have so many happy memories and could not have been more proud of him.
“We would ask that the privacy of the family is respected at this time.”
Banks made 510 league appearances for Chesterfield, Leicester – with whom he won the League Cup in 1964 – and Stoke before retiring from the professional game at the age of 34 following a road accident which cost him the sight in his right eye, although he later returned briefly to the sport in America.
He was, of course, goalkeeper on English football’s most famous day in 1966, being a team-mate of the late Town and Everton left-back, Ray Wilson, as Sir Alf Ramsey’s heroes defeated West Germany 4-2 in the World Cup final at Wembley.
And only last year, Banks was one of the mourners at the funeral of Wilson, 83, at Huddersfield Crematorium.
It was a date he would not have missed.
He said at the time of Wilson: “The winger might get round him and be three or four yards in front, but Ray would catch him up and make sure he didn’t get that cross into my penalty area.
“We got on so well and it was really a wonderful team.
“He was such a wonderful guy, on and off the field.
“He was always one of the lads who wanted to have a laugh in the dressing room and whenever we went out for a drink.
“As a player, he really was superb. He was only small, he wasn’t a big, strapping guy, but he was so quick.
“He was a world-class player without any question. There were players we just couldn’t do without, they were terrific players, and he was one of them.”
Similarly, tributes have come in for Banks.
Sir Bobby Charlton, a team-mate of Banks in the 1966 World Cup triumph, said on Manchester United’s Twitter account : “Gordon was a fantastic goalkeeper and I was proud to call him a team-mate.
“He will be deeply missed and our thoughts are with his family at this very sad time.”
Sir Geoff Hurst, who scored
hat-trick against West Germany in the 1966 final, said: “Very sad to hear the news that Gordon has died.
“One of the very greatest. Thinking especially of Ursula, Julia, Wendy and Robert. Sad for football, Stoke City and for England fans. Will be very sadly missed.”
England manager Gareth Southgate said on the Football Association website: “I am deeply saddened to hear of Gordon’s passing.
“An all-time great for England, I
Very sad to hear the news that Gordon has died. One of the very
greatest