WORLD CUP JOURNEY VIA A STOP AT HARROW!
Chris Dunlavy tells Nick Pope’s remarkable story
DAVE Anderson still remembers the chat that he had with Jason Goodliffe as the pair watched Nick Pope in action for Harrow Borough.
The gangly teenage keeper had pitched up at Earlsmead in 2011, shortly after a dream switch from Isthmian League Bury Town to Charlton.
Seven years, eight loans and a sensational breakthrough season at Burnley later, Pope is heading to the World Cup with England.
“He was such a quiet lad,” recalls Anderson, who managed the Reds for four years. “When I think of goalkeepers, I think of people like me – big, loud nuisances.
“Nick wasn’t like that at all, but there was always a steel about him. Big games, mistakes – nothing knocked him off an even keel. You watch him in the Premier League, and he still doesn’t look unnerved by anything. That’s great gift to have as a goalkeeper.“I remember speaking to Jason, my assistant, who knows the game as well as anyone. Of course, neither of us said ‘He’ll play at the World Cup’, but we both agreed he’d making a living in the game. He’s done a little bit better than that.”
Intuitive positioning
Pope spent three months on loan at Harrow, making his Charlton debut in 2013 before sealing a move to Burnley three years later.
Catapulted into the first team when Tom Heaton was injured in September, the 27-year-old kept 11 clean sheets in 35 games – the fifth best tally in the Premier League.
Yet despite the sudden rise to stardom, Pope still keeps in touch with Anderson, a fellow keeper who played for Glentoran and Bangor before being forced to retire at the age of 23.
“I don’t speak to him all the time, especially since he’s been in the first team,” says the former Wimbledon boss. “But I send him a good luck message fairly often and he always gets back. After Popey had gone back to Charlton, we were playing Bromley one day and he came to the game, then popped in to see everyone. If you speak to him now then I’m sure he’ll have fond memories of his time at Harrow.
“He enjoyed talking to me about goalkeeping and he wanted to understand his trade. But If I take any credit for what’s happening now, it’s a tiny amount. He helped me a lot more than I helped him!”
And after watching Pope several times this season, Anderson believes Pope has a rather prosaic secret weapon.
“If you watch Nick, you won’t see many spectacular saves,” says Anderson. “And that’s something you notice about many of the best keepers.
“It’s all about their starting position. They don’t need to dive full length because they’re already in the right place. It’s like a defender who never has to make sliding tackles.
“I won’t put him in the same bracket just yet, but he reminds me of Pat Jennings in that way. He’s got that great calmness, the intuitive positioning.
“From goalkeeper to centre forward, if a player is good positionally
then he’s always got a chance.” As third-choice keeper behind Jordan Pickford and Jack Butland, Pope is unlikely to become the first former Harrow player to appear in a World Cup. Anderson, however, has championed his cause.
Prepared
“I don’t think he’ll play,” says Anderson. “But if you look at where his team finished versus the other keepers in the squad, he’s got a case. “If I know Nick at all, he will go prepared to play, I am sure.” Pope isn’t the only member of Gareth Southgate’s squad who kicked off their career in Non-League. Jamie Vardy will be making his World Cup bow just five years after helping Fleetwood win the Conference title. The Leicester striker, who has seven goals in 21 caps, also played for Halifax and Stocksbridge Park Steels and Jordan Pickford had loan spells at Darlington and Alfreton. Recent tournaments have also seen Joe Hart (Shrewsbury) and Chris Smalling (Maidstone) join the growing list of World Cup stars who began life below decks…