Eddie Howe once again appeared to back Nick Pope despite the Newcastle United goalkeeper making yet another mistake.
Pope was at fault for Everton’s second goal in their 3-2 win at St James’ Park as Newcastle United slumped to their worst run of home results in almost five years.
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For the first time since the Steve Bruce era, Newcastle have lost three consecutive games at St James’.
While Pope wasn’t alone in failing to perform, it was his major error that allowed Everton to retake the lead after he parried Dwight McNeil’s shot into Beto’s path. Still, Howe was never going to throw his ‘keeper under the bus.
Howe insists that Newcastle United squad cannot blame one single player
Speaking to BBC Sport after the game, Howe said: “We have to support each other and take accountability together because you never concede a goal just down to one person.
“We have to do better in those moments, our defensive record in the last few weeks has not been good enough.”
Howe has often been accused of being too loyal to his Newcastle players and his backing of Pope yet again is only likely to attract further criticism.
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While the England international has undoubtedly been a brilliant player for the club over the years, the mistakes are becoming more frequent.
Indeed, Newcastle fans have been calling for Howe to drop Pope, although replacement Aaron Ramsdale has hardly covered himself in glory either.
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Nick Pope is starting to make Eddie Howe look foolish
Howe has constantly backed Pope, and has previously highlighted him as one of the players who can help lead Newcastle to success during this otherwise hugely inconsistent season.
The former Burnley stopper, however, is starting to make his manager look somewhat foolish with these constant mistakes.
It’s not that Pope isn’t a fine shot-stopper on his day. He is, but it would be negligent to overlook the fact that such mistakes are creeping into his game on a more regular basis now.
The fact is that Pope is becoming a liability. Ramsdale may not be a certainty for success either, but Howe has to start considering taking Pope out of the firing line.
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