Both defenders, despite their individual errors in the Old Firm have been solid, for the most part, in Goldson’s absence. Upon his return though, who deserves to keep their place? Davies is more natural at LCB but should that mean he automatically gets the place, just because he’s left footed?
Neither had much to do against St.Mirren but Rangers still managed to concede two goals, hopefully Goldson’s return brings back the clean sheets but who should be partnering him for the rest of the season?
Let’s look at both players most recent performance and how they faired, Ben Davies first;
- 77 Minutes Played
- 95% Pass Accuracy
- 6 Passes Into The Final Third
- 86% Accurate Long Balls (6/7)
- 0 Tackles Won
- 1 Clearances
- 1 Headed clearance
- 8 Recoveries
- 1 Time Dribbled past
- 33% Ground Duels Won (1/3)
- 67% Aerial Duels Won (4/6)
Not his strongest afternoon on Saturday, passing superb as always but not the defensive performance he would’ve wanted after the criticism he received for the week before. A strong performance in the air, which had been seen a weakness for him previously but not the strongest performance on the deck defensively. He also had a part in St.Mirren’s second goal when he put in a weak tackle on Curtis Main out wide which led to the ball coming into the middle of the pitch and eventually, the goal.
Now, let’s look at Souttar;
- 94 Minutes Played
- 89% Pass Accuracy
- 6 Passes Into The Final Third
- 50% Accurate Long Balls (2/4)
- 100% Successful Dribbles (1/1)
- 0 Tackles Won
- 5 Clearances
- 4 Headed clearances
- 2 Interceptions
- 3 Recoveries
- 100% Ground Duels Won (4/4)
- 73% Aerial Duels Won (8/11)
Not as good in the passing categories but apart from recoveries Souttar had a stronger defensive performance than Davies. He’s very strong in the air and on the ground, a much more intimidating presence physically than Davies is and that shows in his numbers from the weekend. It’s also worth noting that this was only his third start of the season and his seventh appearance in total. He still needs time to get properly match fit but the signs, apart from last weeks error, are positive.
If it was up to you, who would you have partnering Goldson the rest of the season?