There’s a habit in football of boiling a goalkeeper down to one thing: can he stop shots? Of course he needs to, and to be fair there have been moments where our current number one has looked more than capable. But Rangers are supposed to dominate games, camp in the opposition half, and deal with the odd moment of danger when it comes. In that kind of side, a keeper’s job is bigger than a highlight-reel save every so often.

That’s why I do get the argument that we need an upgrade, even if it feels harsh to say it out loud. He’s decent, yes. But there are parts of his game that still don’t inspire confidence, and they’re the parts that can quietly cost you points without anyone clocking it straight away.

Command of the box and set-piece pressure

The biggest one for me is control of his area. We’ve all watched teams sense it and lean into it, especially with deliveries aimed right into the six-yard box. You can see why opponents do it: it creates panic, forces defenders to face their own goal, and it turns every corner or wide free-kick into a scrap.

When a keeper is commanding, the back line holds a higher starting position, attacks the first ball with conviction, and you don’t get that nervous shuffling. When he’s not, the defence naturally drops, gets caught in-between, and suddenly everyone looks like they’re “out of position” even if they’re just reacting to uncertainty behind them.

Communication and marshalling the defenders

This is the unglamorous stuff, but it’s massive. A Rangers keeper should be organising constantly, demanding, pointing, setting the line, taking ownership. If that communication isn’t strong, it doesn’t just affect the keeper. It affects every decision the centre-halves and full-backs make, because they’re not getting that clear instruction in real time.

And that’s where the comparison in the original point lands for me. Like a defender getting praised for a last-ditch tackle, a keeper can end up getting credit for saving a shot that maybe shouldn’t have existed if the basics were sharper earlier in the move.

Distribution: the hidden killer

Then there’s the ball at his feet. In a side that wants to play, distribution isn’t a bonus. It’s part of the system. If your keeper’s passing is erratic, you invite pressure and hand teams cheap territory. The frustrating bit is it doesn’t always go down as a “chance conceded” in the way fans remember, but we all feel the swing in momentum.

His form might be better this season, and I’m not denying that. But the same weaknesses still pop up, and at Rangers that’s the difference between being “fine” and being the level we actually need.

Written by Kaisercaillaud: 17 December 2025

Tags: injury