Liam Kelly deserves a shot in the Rangers goal following some poor displays from Jack Butland.
The former England goalkeeper had a terrible game against Motherwell, showcasing poor shot-stopping and kicking accuracy.
Butland conceded three of Motherwell’s five shots on target, with his XG against only being 1.06.
To put it plainly, Butland should have conceded one goal, but he managed to ship three.
For the first goal, the ball somehow slipped under him from Lukas Fadinger’s shot to put Rangers instantly on the back foot.
It wasn’t just his shot-stopping that was awful; he only registered three successful long passes in 17 attempts.
Despite two wins in the last three, Butland has conceded eight goals, which is alarming with Hearts and Celtic next up.
Giving Liam Kelly the keys
Kelly has been a patient understudy to Butland at Rangers and has rarely let the team down when he’s played.
The back-up goalkeeper admitted in January that he’s been “pushing him as hard as possible” and has not complained.
Kelly played in ten Premiership games last season, and Rangers didn’t lose a game in that time.
The goalkeeper is often viewed as a more vocal organizer of the back four, something a shaky Rangers defence needs right now.
Sometimes a change in the goalkeeper resets the concentration of the centre-backs.
If the defenders have lost faith in Butland’s sweeping or shot-stopping, Kelly’s introduction forces everyone to be more vocal and alert.
Read Rangers analysis
These next two games are the biggest games of the season.
If the Gers lose against Hearts, the title-race is over.
Shot-stopping needs to be perfect, and distribution must be on point if Rangers are to beat Hearts away from home.
During Kelly’s ten games in the Premiership last season, he boasted a long ball accuracy of 40.1%
In comparison to Butland this season, the English shot-stopper has a 34% accuracy from long balls.
Danny Rohl needs a goalkeeper who can play out from the back to get his team going.
Liam Kelly may be the guy to take Rangers forward for the rest of the season.
It also sparks the conversation that Rangers must look for a Jack Butland replacement in the summer.
What do you think? Should Liam Kelly take over from Jack Butland, or should Rohl stick with what he knows?
