There’s a habit we’ve got as fans, especially when results or performances are patchy: the goalkeeper becomes the catch-all explanation. If a cross comes in and we lose a goal, it must be the keeper’s fault for not commanding the box. If a set-piece drops and we don’t attack it, it must be because nobody was barking orders. Truth is, that’s far too neat.
Yes, you’ll always find the odd moment where communication is clearly part of the problem. Two players going for the same ball, a defender leaving it because he expects a shout, that kind of thing. But the idea that the keeper not talking enough explains “all” the goals we lose? That’s pushing it. A goalkeeper can organise, but he can’t play chess with ten other folk every second of the match.
Shot-stopping is still the first job
For me, I’ll take a top-class shot-stopper every day of the week. Coming for crosses helps, of course it does, but it’s not the full story. If you’ve got multiple defenders at 6ft-plus and we’re still getting bullied by deliveries into the box, then it’s not automatically the goalkeeper who should be wearing it.
And that’s before you even get to the bigger question: why are we letting so many decent crosses come in from open play in the first place? That’s about stopping the ball at source, how we press wide areas, how quickly we get across, and whether the shape actually protects the flanks. That starts with coaching and it ends with players carrying it out.
Set-pieces: zonal, man-to-man, or just switching off?
Rangers, like plenty teams, can end up in that halfway-house on set-plays: part zonal, part man marking. On paper it can work. In reality, if you’re losing free headers then somebody hasn’t done their job. Maybe it’s a mismatch, maybe it’s a runner not tracked, maybe it’s a zone not attacked with enough aggression. Either way it’s basic defending, not some mythical lack of shouting.
Fans always want a single culprit, but defending is a chain. One lapse and it’s chaos. If we’re not winning first contacts, not reacting to second balls, and not being streetwise when it gets messy, we’ll keep conceding the same type of goal regardless of who’s in goal.
Butland’s weaknesses aren’t the main Rangers problem
Of course Butland has weaknesses. Every player does. Some folk talk like there are keepers out there who never make a mistake and never get caught in between decisions. That’s fantasy stuff.
If you want a fair criticism, look at distribution and what it does to the team. If the back line feels it has to sit deeper to protect space in behind, you lose territory and you invite pressure. That’s a proper discussion. But as priorities go, the goalkeeper isn’t the first thing I’m worried about. If anything, he’s been one of our better performers, and there won’t be many goals you can honestly pin on him alone.
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