What is better: A keeper that comes and flaps or a keeper that is glued to the line?

[JohnMc 2,473]

Surely if we want to build the type of club we claim we do, one that develops players and sells them on, then McCrorie needs to be given the jersey and allowed to make some mistakes but ultimately become the best keeper he can be. 

McCrorie is inexperienced, but has potential. He could become the Rangers number 1 for 15 years saving the club a fortune, he could become our number 1 for 18 months and then sold to England making the club a fortune. Or he could prove a limited keeper and be dropped by October. But we'll never know if we don't give him the jersey and a little bit of slack. 

McCrorie will be targeted by our opponents, he'll be viewed as a weak link, they'll put a player on top of him at corners, they'll look to rough him up at any opportunity. How McCrorie deals with that will tell us a lot about him and his future, but surely we give him the chance, let him stake his claim rather sign a big name and discourage him. 

[Graeme Ro55 649]

I want a keeper who owns his box and communicates what he wants to his defenders in no uncertain terms. Imo, McCrorie will develop those skills over time if given it. Then he will be better equipped to come or stay put. 

[Gonzo79 13,660]

The problem with giving him time to improve is that this is Rangers, where every error becomes a calamity and we can't afford to drop points if the yahoos continue to keep beating everyone. 

 

That's 'ideal world' type stuff and we don't live there.  

Edited May 22, 2023 by Gonzo79

[pete 2,499]

Commanding the six yard box is becoming more difficult as teams are now coaching blocking methods. In the old days, it was players of the same height and let them fight for it. Punching is not always the answer, as Marshall found out yesterday at Tav's free-kick. If he had his hand open, then I think he would have saved the ball. Which he should have. While their goal was due to a teenager switching off and letting his man get the drop on him, it is one thing that Alfredo was excellent at was clearing the ball from that area. A keeper coming for a ball breeds confidence in the defence, especially when we are pushing so far up the park. McCrorie has been excellent in that sort of sweeper role.

[Bluedell 5,342]

6 hours ago, JohnMc said:

Surely if we want to build the type of club we claim we do, one that develops players and sells them on, then McCrorie needs to be given the jersey and allowed to make some mistakes but ultimately become the best keeper he can be. 

McCrorie is inexperienced, but has potential. He could become the Rangers number 1 for 15 years saving the club a fortune, he could become our number 1 for 18 months and then sold to England making the club a fortune. Or he could prove a limited keeper and be dropped by October. But we'll never know if we don't give him the jersey and a little bit of slack. 

That's fine if we're wanting to just be a club that develops players. I'd prefer that we're the type of club that wins leagues.

 

We can't afford to allow McCrorie to make mistakes. We need the best keeper we have.

 

We saw this year what happens when we have young players in the team and they make mistakes when we played King. We dropped quite a few points and before we knew it, we were too far behind Celtic and the league was effectively finished.

 

It would be great if we could do both challenge and develop but in a league where Celtic dropped a total of 3 points against the other 10 teams before they won it, we can't afford a single mistake.

[JohnMc 2,473]

1 hour ago, Bluedell said:

That's fine if we're wanting to just be a club that develops players. I'd prefer that we're the type of club that wins leagues.

 

We can't afford to allow McCrorie to make mistakes. We need the best keeper we have.

 

We saw this year what happens when we have young players in the team and they make mistakes when we played King. We dropped quite a few points and before we knew it, we were too far behind Celtic and the league was effectively finished.

 

It would be great if we could do both challenge and develop but in a league where Celtic dropped a total of 3 points against the other 10 teams before they won it, we can't afford a single mistake.

That's very true and is at the heart of the dilemma. 

 

What's our budget for a keeper, £2 million, £3 million, £4 million? What kind of keeper will that buy us? It's certainly not going to get us a Stefan Kloss equivalent today or an Allan McGregor in his prime. Jack Butland, who we're continuously linked with, is the 3rd choice Crystal Palace keeper. He's had an ok career, but he's a Championship level keeper with an iffy injury record. At 30 he's a good age for a goalie, but he will make occasional mistakes, he has done his whole career, and he'll be worth nothing at the end of his contract. He might not incur a transfer fee, but his signing on fee and wages will be substantial. Is that a good investment when we could have a great keeper at the club who just needs a run of games? It's a gamble, I accept that, but then so is signing a new keeper too. 

 

McCrorie isn't a teenager, he's 25, he's coming into his prime as a player. But he needs games, he needs first team football. 

 

The difficult reality is we're not able to compete like for like with Celtic currently. They have bigger budgets and will continue to have for at least another 12 months. We need to develop players, we somehow need to figure out how to do that while winning. It's a conundrum, but it's essential to the long term health of the club. I'd be nervous if we were deciding to replace Morelos with Robbie Ure, or Kent with Josh McPake, but McCrorie feels like a gamble where the odds a bit more in our favour. 

[compo 6,147]

stick with the boy and spend some cash on defenders thats our weakest point 

[yuddie 1,012]

Best keeper in recent memory that comes for crosses is Emi Martinez at Villa. Definite comparisons between him becoming a no.1 late and McCrorie.

 

People are talking as if signing Butland would be the end of McCrorie, if he really is as average as people make out and makes mistakes often then Robbie will be back in and will get his chance.

 

There's nothing to lose with signing another experienced good level keeper on a free in line with the wage bill, we bloody should be imo. It's not a case of either or.

 

And I'm not being funny, if being capped by your country and playing in the Premier League is having an 'ok' career then 99% of goalies are failures.

[Uilleam 5,440]

Basically, it is pretty simple, and it applies, really, to any position: play your best man, until you can lay hand on someone better. 

 

 

That doesn't answer the OP's question, I know. The answer to that is Peter Shilton. 

 

 

 

Edited May 22, 2023 by Uilleam

[RANGERRAB 3,260]

1 hour ago, Uilleam said:

Basically, it is pretty simple, and it applies, really, to any position: play your best man, until you can lay hand on someone better. 

 

 

That doesn't answer the OP's question, I know. The answer to that is Peter Shilton. 

 

 

 

Souness once said something like that when he was Rangers manager.

Problem is you can’t always guarantee the player you’re signing is better