Former Tottenham and Sunderland striker Darren Bent has hit out at the poor performance of Newcastle United goalkeeper Nick Pope in the weekend win over Spurs.
Bent has made it clear he blames Pope for the Tottenham goal, as Dan Burn ended up putting through his own net, while he also came close to conceding another because he couldn’t hold on to the ball.
It’s not clear if this is an issue with Pope’s playing style and preferences, or if he’s being told to try to keep the ball moving rather than catching it and restarting play from there.
Bent isn’t impressed, though, speaking on talkSPORT to label the goalkeeper’s performance as “bad” and full of “silly” mistakes that he kept on repeating time and time again.
“Nick Pope, by the way, his performance, some of his saves, Nick Pope… bad,” the pundit said.
“(For the Tottenham goal) Just hold onto it. Don’t push it out for a corner. Just hold it. It’s not travelling.
“Whatever happened to keepers just holding it.
“There was a time before that when he nearly cost them when he made some silly save instead of just holding it. They said it on commentary, just hold the ball.”
100% correct. Pope can’t use his hands or feet.
What does a failed CF know about goalkeeping?
Spot on . Pope is a decent reaction keeper but needs teaching how to catch