By Michael Richardson
It’s not often a goalkeeper is attributed with the “best player at the club” tag by supporters, but Darren Randolph has certainly become one of these infrequencies as fans begin to realise just how pivotal he is to Boro’s success.
Here are just a few reasons why our Irish keeper is one of the best in the business:
The Stats
If my memory serves me correctly, it was Shakira who once said that stats don’t lie. And Boro fans can agree that this is unquestionably the case for our Bray-born shot-stopper.
He of course tops the rankings for most clean sheets (11), and fewest goals conceded per game (0.5) – but you already know all of that. His saving stats are the real jaw-droppers as he makes 5.67 saves per goal, almost one save more than Swansea’s Erwin Mulder (4.63) in second, and over three saves more than table-topping Norwich’s Tim Krul (2.38). Not bad.
He also bails us out regularly, making 51 saves in total this season, which is either a testament to his excellent goalkeeping or a warning sign for the defence. Randolph showed off his cat-like reflexes to deny Brentford’s Josh Dasilva at the weekend, amongst other solid saves, which crucially secured all three points as he has done many a time this season.
Although he’s not perfect, ranking just 11th in the league for goal kick success (48.6%) and claim success (90.9%) - the latter being understandable for a relatively small goalkeeper, the collective stats certainly show one thing – Randolph is right up there with Jack Butland in the gladiator-esque battle of the Championship shot-stoppers, and has definitely been one of Boro’s best performers this season.
Who’s Been Better?
You would find it a hard task to pinpoint a player who’s been more vital, more consistent and who has won more points for Boro this season than Randolph. From the wonder save against Brentford to the last-minute point-sealer to deny Barry Douglas at Leeds, he has been pivotal in ensuring Boro remain in promotion contention this season.
Even top performers Adam - ‘Manchester Makélélé’ - Clayton and Stewy - ‘Nunthorpe Nedved’ - Downing have had poor games this season, and I believe Randolph to be the only Middlesbrough player to be consistently good, if not excellent, at all times, especially when the going has got tough in recent weeks.
Gone are the days of mis-kicks against QPR and failing to defend his far post away at Bristol City; these have now been replaced by displays of solidity and composure. And although I’m not trying not to portray our keeper as some save-calculating robot, he sure seems to be pretty close to it.
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