Eddie Howe facing 'impossible' Newcastle United decision

Shields Gazette

Eddie Howe is facing an 'impossible' decision at Newcastle United as Nick Pope enters the final stages of his recovery from injury. Joe Buck takes a look at whether Martin Dubravka will retain his starting spot - or if Pope will get the nod again

Transcript

00:00So, after 9 wins in the last 10 games, it can be a surprise to see Eddie Howe has a

00:05big decision to make with his start at 11. Of course, in those 9 games, bar the Bromley

00:10Cup game, he's been able to name a fairly settled first 11. You know, that midfield

00:143, particularly with Tenali, Guimaraes and Joe Linton, has been brilliant. But of course,

00:20there is a decision waiting for Eddie Howe, and that is who he selects in goal once Nick

00:24Pope gets back fit from his injury. Now, Pope was injured against Brentford in mid-December,

00:29not the Cup game, remember, but in the Premier League game, the one that lost 4-2 at the

00:33GTEC Community Stadium. Since then, Martin De Braffica came in and has had a brilliant

00:37record in the start of 11. You can't argue with that. He's kept 7 clean sheets all season,

00:42with 6 of those coming in that run. So, he has been brilliant, and what a revival for

00:47his career at Newcastle United. One that took a little bit of a... turned sour a little

00:52bit after his move to Manchester United a couple of seasons ago. But De Braffica has

00:57been a brilliant servant for this club, and hopefully this little period, if he leaves

01:00in this month or in summer, hopefully this period has sort of reignited his Newcastle

01:07career, and one that people can look back on. But of course, Eddie Howe has got a big

01:10decision to make. Whether Pope comes back in for De Braffica when he's fit, or whether

01:14he stays with the Slovakian. Now, the sensible... not sensible choice, the obvious choice would

01:19be actually stay with De Braffica, despite him conceding 4 at the weekend. He's been

01:23brilliant in Newcastle's defence, and looks a bit more secure with him, and going forward

01:29or building from the back, De Braffica is better with his feet than Pope. But it is

01:33a thing that Eddie Howe is going to have to consider. It's not too long ago, if you remember

01:36at the end of last season, Pope picked up an injury in December, that was a dislocated

01:41shoulder. He missed the majority of the second half of the season, and it can be argued that

01:44him missing that was the reason Newcastle didn't hit European football. De Braffica

01:48wasn't the same shot-stopper. You felt that Newcastle probably could have picked up a

01:53couple more points with Pope and Nett. But obviously, De Braffica has changed that this

01:57season, he's been brilliant. So, it's a really hard call for Eddie Howe, and I would describe

02:01it as an impossible call, to be honest. I think no matter what he does, fans will say

02:04De Braffica should be starting, or Pope should be starting. I don't think there's an easy

02:07solution. I think Newcastle do look a better team with De Braffica and Nett, but of course,

02:14De Braffica's return to goal has also coincided with Tonali dropping back in that sixth role,

02:18and a couple of other things in the team that sort of, you know, it's not just De Braffica

02:21being in Nett, why Newcastle won 10 games in a row, he was a big, nine games in a row,

02:25sorry, he was a big part of that, but he wasn't the sole reason. And whether Nick Pope comes

02:29in, how much that'll destabilise it, and particularly with the game against Arsenal in the

02:33Carabao Cup to come. Now, De Braffica was really good at the Emirates Stadium, there's no

02:36denying that. But Nick Pope, as we've all said, is a better shot-stopper, and whether he

02:41might be someone that Newcastle think, actually, in the moment when Newcastle need it the

02:45most, will Pope deliver that big save over De Braffica? Who knows? You know, only Eddie

02:51Howe knows that, and to be honest, Eddie Howe doesn't know that, you know, I can say, we

02:53can say that Eddie Howe knows the answers, he doesn't, he doesn't have the answers, of

02:56course, it'll just be on what he judges, and what he says week in, week out, and day in,

03:00day out at the training ground. Now, Nick Pope may be back this weekend, we don't know

03:05that yet, Eddie Howe will speak to the media on Friday morning to, ahead of the game

03:10against Southampton, he'll no doubt explain if Pope is available. But even if he's not

03:14available this weekend, Pope is expected to come back in the coming weeks, or days and

03:17weeks. So Eddie Howe does face that decision. De Braffica or Pope, it's a really tough call.

03:25I would like to know your opinion, so please go to the Shields Gazette website, click on any

03:28article, and there should be a poll there, which lets you give your opinion, who you'd

03:32start, Martin De Braffica or Nick Pope, when they're both fit. And yeah, I think it's a

03:37really tough call, and I've no doubt you'll have the same, similar thoughts. It may be

03:41Martin De Braffica is the one you pick, and maybe changing the goalkeeper is too much of a

03:46destabilising sort of decision, but I do think it's a really close decision. I do think

03:51the fan base are assuming Martin De Braffica will stay in number one choice, especially

03:55with the club putting up such an effort to keep him at the club. I don't think it's as

04:00straightforward as, oh, he'll definitely be number one choice, because Nick Pope is, you've

04:03got to remember, he's a brilliant keeper. Maybe not as good as Fifi, but a brilliant

04:06keeper nonetheless, and someone that will be challenging De Braffica all the way between

04:10now and the end of the season. So yeah, anyhow, it does face an impossible call for me

04:14between Martin De Braffica and Nick Pope.

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