Jack Butland has saved Rangers plenty of times, but there is one part of his game that has been nagging away for a while now. His starting position when we have the ball is too deep, and it’s starting to put us under unnecessary pressure.
Too Deep In The Box When We’re In Possession
Going back to last season, you can see the same pattern. Any time the ball goes back to Butland, he’s practically standing on top of his six-yard line. It’s fine if you’re just going long every time, but that’s not what we’re trying to do. We want to build from the back, use the centre-backs, recycle the ball and reset attacks.
When your keeper is that deep, the whole picture changes. The pass back becomes longer, the angle is worse and it invites the opposition to press onto us. Instead of being an extra man in possession, he becomes a last resort, and that is where the trouble starts.
The Falkirk Moment That Said It All
The Falkirk game summed it up perfectly. There was a moment when Djiga rolled the ball back to Butland and he just wasn’t set for it. It looked a mess, and Falkirk really should have punished us from it.
Plenty of folk around me were pointing the finger at Djiga, but for me it was completely on Butland. He was too deep, not on his toes and not ready to receive the ball. If your keeper wants you to build from the back, he has to give you a safe option. Standing on your line, or close to it, doesn’t do that. It simply drags us towards our own goal and leaves no margin for error.
He Needs To Step Up – Literally
This isn’t about his shot-stopping or his overall quality. It’s about where he starts from. He should be five or ten yards higher when we have comfortable possession, almost acting like a sweeper so he can tidy up balls in behind and help keep the back line pushed up.
If he’s further forward, he can intercept balls over the top early instead of having to sprint back and make desperate, last-ditch challenges. It also calms the defenders down. They know there is a keeper close enough to take a pass, rather than someone rooted deep in the box.
The Anderson Tackle Shows The Problem
The incident with Anderson the other night is a good example. Butland had to rush out and make a big challenge, and he ended up making it just outside the area. For me, that should have been roughly his starting position in the first place.
If he’s already there, he deals with the danger early and cleanly, and it doesn’t turn into a last-second slide that has everyone’s heart in their mouth. Modern keepers, especially at a club like Rangers where we see a lot of the ball, need to be proactive and aggressive with their positioning, not just reactive.
Butland has a lot of strengths, and no one’s denying that. But if he can sort this one detail and step those few extra yards up the pitch when we’re in control, it will make life a lot easier for our defence and stop us creating our own problems out of nothing.
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