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With no Tim Krul, I thought our chances against Chelsea and their high powered offense were small. And when Rob Elliot went down....
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Welp, there is no way this doesn't end poorly, right?</p>— Alan Hoffmann (@AlanHoffmann) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlanHoffmann/status/541227656403226624">December 6, 2014</a></blockquote>
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I will fully admit to not knowing who Jak Alnwick is. And I don't think I was alone in not thinking this would end poorly. Chelsea score, it's what they do. Down to our third string keeper, you knew the Blues were going to put the pressure on him. But, Alnwick proved to be up to the task. He was agressive as a keeper, doing well to punch balls away. He kept his cool during the final frantic moments. He didn't let Chelsea's late goal rattle him and he made sure they didn't nick an equalizer.
With Elliot's status uncertain, it is likely that Alnwick will be getting his full debut next week against Arsenal. Going of the player poll, most of you are ok with that. He has a number of sevens and eights. Some have even rated him as a ten, and why not? He probably did more than what was asked of him.
So, we might have Alnwick for awhile. So, let's get to know him. We all need to do this, because after the news articles on him, his brother's wikipedia page comes up before his own when you search "Jak Alnwick".
1) Jak Alnwick probably inspired Jack Colback to make the move from Sunderland to Newcastle. Alnwick was a youth player for the Mackems, but then at some point realized that Sunderland would make for a miserable professional experience. So, he came over Tyneside in 2008. Colback, of course, would take longer to come to the same realization, but there can be little doubt that Alnwick was an insperation.
2) His previous senior side experience came with Gateshead. Howay the Heed! Alnwick made six appearances in league play and three FA Cup appearances. Wikipedia is super helpful in telling me how he did, because it just says that he didn't score any goals. Seems like a pretty big gamble for Newcastle to sign a keeper that doesn't score, but there you go.
3) According to his player page on Newcastle's website, Alnwick, "hates conceding goals." He also believes that you should never give up. Tim Krul and Rob Elliot don't make their position on conceding goals clear on their player pages, so that should raise some red flags.
4) According to his Wikipedia page, Alniwck as super powers and once built a castle. This has been taken down, no doubt as part of a conspiracy to keep super villains from retaliating against Alnwick's family, including older brother Ben, who is a keeper for Petersborough United.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Jak Alnwick's wikipedia page a week ago before it was taken down <a href="http://t.co/d5LUcPgzPz">http://t.co/d5LUcPgzPz</a> <a href="http://t.co/dizGVz7mnw">pic.twitter.com/dizGVz7mnw</a></p>— MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) <a href="https://twitter.com/MailSport/status/541250386536177666">December 6, 2014</a></blockquote>
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5) Alnwick might be gone at the end of the year. He's in the last year of his deal. While it is to early to say Newcastle MUST resign him, or even to speculate that he might garner interest from other clubs, if the 21-year old turns in more performances like this, Newcastle will have a big decision to make.