Newcastle superstar: I think my presence is no longer needed am leaving
Around seventy five minutes before kick-off, Newcastle United fans were hit with a surprise or two when team news for the clash with Nottingham Forest dropped.
And it’s fair to say the news did not seem to go down well with a member of squad’s family.
Howe made three changes for the 4-3 win. Tino Livramento coming in on the right for Kieran Trippier, who looked out of form in the 4-0 loss at Man City, was no surprise, but Lewis Miley coming in for Sandro Tonali did raise an eyebrow or two, even if the Italian had missed a few days of training this week.
Perhaps the significant change, however, came in goal, with Martin Dubravka dropped for No.1 Nick Pope, despite being Howe’s choice between the sticks for the last 14 games.
When Pope suffered a knee injury in December, the Slovak stepped up and grasped his opportunity with both hands, putting in calm and composed displays, adding a real football dynamic to United’s play, as well as being his usual reliable self when it comes to shot-stopping.
Even when Pope returned to full fitness, Howe retained Dubravka in the team – and even convinced the player to turn down a move to Saudi Arabia in January.
Dubravka even put pen to paper on a surprise new Newcastle deal this week – announced on Thursday.
So it was definitely a shock to see Dubravka taken out the team just days after agreeing to stay on.
Dubravka’s wife, Lucia Dubravka, took to her Instagram to seemingly express her thoughts on the news.
It’s impossible to know exactly what she means by the message, but given the timing, image and nature of the post, it’s fair to assume it was in relation to her husband being dropped from the team.
Howe has explained why he made the decision on Pope over Dubravka – and suggests it wasn’t one he took lightly.
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