Martin Dúbravka

[wormy]

57 minutes ago, alexf said:

Was it Darlow he replaced? Remember that game and it being night and day in terms of quality. He caught everything and communicated with the back 4 etc. was a great signing at the time. 

 

Yeah I think Darlow was in the nets by that point but had been rotated with Elliot a bit so far that season. Halcyon days. 

[mouldy_uk]

 

10 minutes ago, wormy said:

 

Yeah I think Darlow was in the nets by that point but had been rotated with Elliot a bit so far that season. Halcyon days. 

 

Ah, Blobby Elliot, the good old (definitely not shite) days 

[LFEE]

5 hours ago, Pilko said:

People have short memories. Remember when a returning Pope sat on the bench late last season for several games despite Dubravka looking shit, then away at Man U Dubravka was at fault for two goals that arguably cost us a European place? Then Pope plays at Burnley three days later.

 

I'm glad Dubs has been steady and not made any errors but Pope is the superior keeper by a mile and should come back in soon as he's fit.

I’ve got a short memory. Remind me which seven games he was on the bench for fit when Dubs got picked? My short memory only recalls two.

 

 

Edited 2 hours ago by LFEE

[GideonShandy]

11 minutes ago, LFEE said:

I’ve got a short memory. Remind me which seven games he was on the bench for fit when Dubs got picked? My short memory only recalls two.

 

 

 

Several or seven?

[ponsaelius]

Dubravka is not as good a goalkeeper as Pope. He's aging, commands his box to an inferior level, doesn't come off his line proactively to sweep and isn't as good a shot stopper. He was massively exposed slotting into our existing team last year particularly with the defensive line and system remaining the same. We started conceding goals at literally twice the rate as we did with Pope in nets.

 

However - there is not only one way to play football and defend. Having more control in possession during games, which Dubravka's composure and ability on the ball has undoubtedly contributed to (not the only factor obvs, but it's there) has allowed us to control games to greater degree and far reduced the number of shots and chances he's faced. This is proactive defending/goalkeeping, preventing the chances from happening in the first place.

 

It's not too dissimilar to the endless tedious debates around Trent Alexander-Arnold at Liverpool. Yes he is exposable 1v1 and gets caught out of position defensively and it can be immediately obvious on those occasions when it happens. However he's an exceptional footballer on the ball and the entire shape and mentality of the team changes when he's on the pitch for Liverpool. This not only means being better going forward but by design being better defensively as they are far more proactive. 

[80]

1 hour ago, TRon said:

 

 

Tbh with you, it's perfectly understandable Howe wants to keep as many players as he can, he's got to look at short term results as his job depends on them.

 

It's Mitchell who should be making the hard nosed business decisions, and I don't see how it makes sense to give a contract extension to a 35 year old keeper if we want to free up money to buy a younger better version.

Of course, give a manager the job security of a sports director and perhaps they would be more willing to take long term views on buying and selling players.

[Pilko]

21 minutes ago, LFEE said:

I’ve got a short memory. Remind me which seven games he was on the bench for fit when Dubs got picked? My short memory only recalls two.

 

 

 

 

I said "several" not "seven" if you re-read my post. He was on the bench for Burnley (a), Brighton (h), Man U (a) and then came back for Brentford (a) on the final day.

 

I mistakenly said Burnley was the game he came back for, think I'm mixing it up with the season before where Burnley away was the season closer.

[LFEE]

6 minutes ago, Pilko said:

 

I said "several" not "seven" if you re-read my post. He was on the bench for Burnley (a), Brighton (h), Man U (a) and then came back for Brentford (a) on the final day.

 

I mistakenly said Burnley was the game he came back for, think I'm mixing it up with the season before where Burnley away was the season closer.

So 3 games. So around a couple. Not several. Even less than half a dozen. Arguably less than a few 🙂

 

Was hardly a stretch. Pope maybe wasn’t quite sharp/fit enough to displace him. Or maybe he thought against teams like Brighton and Man Utd you’d be best off having a keeper as an 11th outfield player as previously discussed. As for Burnley we won 4-1 and played well (I was there!) not that he had loads to do apart from an early spell and late spell. In return he showed Dubs that he’d given him a fair chance with not dropping him instantly and is reaping the rewards with Dubs still giving his all this year and mulling over turning down a big contract offer and remaining professional.

 

Looks like good management to me personally.

 

 

[Lush Vlad]

Fucking hell.  I've stuumbled onto Pedants-Online by mistake. 

[thomas]

1 minute ago, Lush Vlad said:

Fucking hell.  I've stuumbled onto Pedants-Online by mistake. 

 

Stumbled*

[Lush Vlad]

Just now, thomas said:

 

Stumbled*

 

Haha  

 

 

[Kanj]

Ideal world, he signs a pre-contract with the Saudi club and joins them in the summer. Finishing up with us.