It’s time to give Nick Pope his flowers. There has been a lot of praise for the four defenders in front of him and rightfully so, but Pope could in fact be the most transformative defensive signing made since the takeover.
There were questions about whether a goalkeeper was a priority for the summer transfer window. The impact of the England international emphasises why the club decided to sign him from Burnley.
The basic stats show Pope as one of the best in the league, as he has conceded fewer goals than any other first choice keeper (11) and kept more clean sheets (10). These are reflective of the entire team as a defensive unit, but Pope has played a leading role. He is the last line of defence and is key in organising those in front of him. The move to St James’ Park hasn’t been a daunting one for the goalkeeper. He was immediately comfortable in his new home and immediately started to bark orders.
Goalkeepers are more difficult to judge than outfield players, but the advanced metrics available underline how well Pope has done since his summer move. A save percentage of 83.6% ranks him second in the division, below only Neto who has played ten fewer matches. If the Bournemouth keeper had played the same amount of matches, it is likely that Pope would be leading the save percentages.
Saving more than 4 out of 5 shots is extremely impressive. Pope has been helped by those in front of him, as opposition teams have been restricted to more difficult shots in the main. Our opponents have averaged 0.91 expected goals (xG) per ninety minutes. Despite this, he has still proven to be very effective when called into action.
No match showed this better than the Brighton (A) fixture. He made five saves, including a world class one to deny Adam Lallana (0.79 PSxG). To have a point-winning performance early was key. This would have given him plenty of confidence and confirmed that he was the right goalkeeper for the ‘new’ Newcastle United. Supporters were immediately on board with him and the debates about whether he should be number one ahead of Martin Dubravka immediately subsided.
PSxG (post-shot expected goals) is a stat designed to rate a keeper’s shot stopping. Each shot on target is given a value between 0-1 depending on how likely it is to result in a goal against an average goalkeeper. Pope has faced a PSxG of 14.3, conceding just 11, meaning he has prevented 3.3 more than the average goalkeeper.
This ranks him as the 3rd best in the division trailing only Kepa (+5) and Alisson (+9). Both of those keepers are facing higher quality shots more often, due to the defensive issues of their respective teams. We concede fewer clear cut chances, but it is important that Pope is alert and ready when we need him. Nothing showed that better than the Arsenal game. Although the Gunners dominated the possession, they rarely threatened Pope. Their best chance came late on and Pope made a fantastic save to deny Eddie Nketiah. Every player played their part, but Pope made one of the biggest contributions to the point earned at the Emirates Stadium.
One reason we targeted Pope was for his sweeping abilities. He has completed 39 defensive actions outside of his penalty area, more than any other keeper in the PL. This has allowed Eddie Howe to play a higher defensive line, something we were unable to do with Dubravka. It is important for our keeper to be comfortable coming off his line, as we want to condense the playing area. Given our intense style of play, it suits us for the pitch to be as small as possible. If opposition teams do release an attacker through our high line, Pope is often there to deal with the danger.
A fear that many had with Pope was his distribution. Interestingly, he launches 77.8% of his goal kicks, significantly more than any other keeper in the league. In open play, he is more willing to play short passes, launching just 36.9% of his passes.
From our own goal kicks, the choice to launch them more often than not may not be a reflection on Pope, but rather a tactical choice. By launching the ball, we won’t get boxed in by an opposition press and if we lose the ball, we can enact our own counter press. This is another example of Howe wishing to condense the pitch. This allows us to get bodies around the ball to press if we need to.
Given Pope’s size, it isn’t surprising that he can dominate his area when crosses come in. He has stopped 7.3% of crosses this season, ranking him 10th in the PL. This seems low, but considering the size of our defence, Pope isn’t often required to be the one that wins the ball.
Opposition teams are also aware of Pope’s qualities in the air. Crosses and set pieces are often played deeper in box as a result. Keepers that have stopped more crosses include Ederson, Gavin Bazunu, David Raya and Illan Meslier, all considered vulnerable from crosses.
One impressive thing about Pope’s character is his resilience. He earned his chance in the England team prior to the World Cup, but he made a couple of errors against Germany just weeks before the squad travelled to Qatar. It would have been easy for this to knock his confidence and mistakes to seep into his performances for Newcastle. However, he quickly moved on and continued to perform for us. Goalkeepers need to have this, but not every Premier League keeper does.
At the start of the season, there was a debate about whether Pope would start. Now, the debate is where he ranks in the best goalkeepers in the Premier League. It has been an excellent and opportunistic piece of recruitment by the club.
Stats taken from fbref (powered by Opta)
