Nick Pope

[Kilcline]

He's going to be back before Anderson and Barnes isn't he 

[Nucasol]

1 minute ago, Kilcline said:

He's going to be back before Anderson and Barnes isn't he 

Joelinton will be back before those two.

[SUPERTOON]

2 minutes ago, Kilcline said:

He's going to be back before Anderson and Barnes isn't he 

Barnes is closing on a return.

[Kilcline]

Just now, Nucasol said:

Joelinton will be back before those two.

[Guest reefatoon]

That’s class news, wasn’t expecting him back this season at all.

[SteV]

33 minutes ago, The Prophet said:

 

Well done the medical team. Great job.

[mouldy_uk]

42 minutes ago, SUPERTOON said:

Barnes is closing on a return.

I’m sure his return has been imminent for at least two months now

 

[80]

33 minutes ago, SteV said:

Well done the medical team. Great job.

Fair point, although let's see him get through half a dozen matches before we count our chickens

[wormy]

49 minutes ago, Kilcline said:

He's going to be back before Anderson and Barnes isn't he 

 

Yeah but he'll be back out from a recurrence before they're back, too. 

[Lush Vlad]

My fenland source (not Colman’s mustard) has always said he’ll be back playing in April. So it would be great if he’s back even sooner. 

[1964]

51 minutes ago, Kilcline said:

He's going to be back before Anderson and Barnes isn't he 

Arnie will be back before those two

[Aiston]

41 minutes ago, SteV said:

Well done the medical team. Great job.

 

Until he dislocates his shoulder on his first dive after coming back way too early

 

[500bhp]

He's been the biggest injury miss hasn't he? The difference in goals conceded before and after his injury is frightening! 

 

We actually kept five clean sheets in a row after the Brighton game in September. Seems like a lifetime ago now.

[Conjo]

I think our midfield is a bigger reason for the conceeded goals than us missing Pope. Sure he'd probably save a few more chances than Dubs have, but I don't think it would have made a big difference to where we are today.

[Ronaldo]

It’s cost us at least 4 or 5 points I’d say. Which in the grand scheme of things does make a big difference.

[Conjo]

4 minutes ago, Ronaldo said:

It’s cost us at least 4 or 5 points I’d say. Which in the grand scheme of things does make a big difference.

 

 

[Aiston]

Probably would have made a few more saves than dubs but highly doubt the results would be any different, especially when a large amount of goals conceded are down to defensive fuckups instead of keeper.

[Shearergol]

1 minute ago, Aiston said:

Probably would have made a few more saves than dubs but highly doubt the results would be any different, especially when a large amount of goals conceded are down to defensive fuckups instead of keeper.

We’ve 100% played deeper without pope though. 

[Dr. TC]

No way Luton are getting that second goal with Pope in there. 

[bowlingcrofty]

20 hours ago, Shearergol said:

We’ve 100% played deeper without pope though. 

 

Definitely believe this is a big part of the problem. Dubravka's starting position is much deeper than Pope's, so our defense drops deeper and suddenly there's a big gap between them and the midfield that is being repeatedly exploited. We are setup with a sweeper keeper type defensive line but we don't have the keeper to do the job. You almost never see Dubs heading clear or making interceptions outside the area.

[Aiston]

3 hours ago, bowlingcrofty said:

 

Definitely believe this is a big part of the problem. Dubravka's starting position is much deeper than Pope's, so our defense drops deeper and suddenly there's a big gap between them and the midfield that is being repeatedly exploited. We are setup with a sweeper keeper type defensive line but we don't have the keeper to do the job. You almost never see Dubs heading clear or making interceptions outside the area.

 

The gap between defence and midfield has been there all season though, it's been exploited all season.

[Joe1984]

On 29/01/2024 at 19:48, SteV said:

Well done the medical team. Great job.

Nice now we wait for the inevitable setback tweet.

[Skjaere9]

11 hours ago, bowlingcrofty said:

 

Definitely believe this is a big part of the problem. Dubravka's starting position is much deeper than Pope's, so our defense drops deeper and suddenly there's a big gap between them and the midfield that is being repeatedly exploited. We are setup with a sweeper keeper type defensive line but we don't have the keeper to do the job. You almost never see Dubs heading clear or making interceptions outside the area.

Completely agree with this. Pope’s sometimes gonzo approach to aggressive sweeper keeping was our solution to Rafa’s old “short blanket” problem. Now with Dubs glued to his line, it’s back. Way too much space for our slow, injury-depleted defenders and midfielders to cover. Of all the injuries in this cursed season, Popey’s was the one that wrecked us.
 

14 goals conceded from 14 PL games with Pope; 23 from 9 with Dubs ?

 

And it’s not like we didn’t have catastrophic injury/suspension problems during Pope’s run of games (Botman, Barnes, Tonali, Willock, both strikers and Big Joe in and out, etc) too. 
 

Get well soon Popey ?

[Guest reefatoon]

16 hours ago, bowlingcrofty said:

 

Definitely believe this is a big part of the problem. Dubravka's starting position is much deeper than Pope's, so our defense drops deeper and suddenly there's a big gap between them and the midfield that is being repeatedly exploited. We are setup with a sweeper keeper type defensive line but we don't have the keeper to do the job. You almost never see Dubs heading clear or making interceptions outside the area.

Totally agree with this, it’s definitely been a factor.

[Nucasol]

Quite interesting stat popped up when talking about Vicario: