Pope’s in with ‘monster’ shot at the No.1 job
NICK POPE used to play in the shadow of the Wembley arch watched by a scattering of fans.
Now the Newcastle goalkeeper – labelled ”a monster” – is used to appearing at English football’s prestigious stadium in front of 90,000 supporters.
As he gets set to be named this week in head coach Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions squad for the Nations League double header against Italy and Germany, he must be pinching himself.
Outstanding
Wembley might have been just down the road when he was turning out for Isthmian League side Harrow Borough – but in football terms it was a million miles away.
Pope, 30, is already an instant hit with the
Toon Army following a succession of outstanding performances since his £10million summer move from Burnley.
It’s a long way from his fledgling days of treading the non-league and lowerleague boards while on loan from Charlton.
Harrow was just one of many stops on his journey.
There were stints at the likes of Welling, Aldershot, York and Bury Town.
Former Burnley boss Sean Dyche (above) – who took him to Turf Moor in 2016 – recalled: “I thought to myself, ‘He’s massive, physically huge’.
“Popey was a monster who runs across the goal stopping the ball going into the back of the net.
“He’d just been relegated with Charlton but that didn’t put me off – in fact it was the opposite because it meant he’d had to be mentally strong through a demanding season. You learn a lot from these experiences.
“Over the last few years he has developed tremendously.
“His biggest quality as he has shown on numerous occasions, is he stands up with that huge physique for so long that it can intimidate opposition centre-forwards in one-onone battles.
“Although he has a big frame, his movement is razor sharp.
“He’s an excellent allround keeper who is obviously also very much part of England’s plans for the World Cup finals.”
With injury ruling out Everton’s Jordan Pickford against Italy at the San Siro in Milan and Germany at Wembley, Pope should have another opportunity to advance his claims to be head coach Southgate’s No.1.
Quarters
Dyche doesn’t go along with the feeling in some quarters that Pope’s kicking and distribution is a concern.
He said: “Brian Clough used to say the goalkeeper’s job is to stop the ball going in the net.
“Popey is pretty good at that bit.
“OK, the modern game does ask goalkeepers to be better with their feet, and Jordan Pickford is very good.
“But you rarely get a keeper who is good at everything.
“But as far as I’m concerned, Popey has great instincts and reflexes to keep the ball out of the back of the net.“