Dundee United’s Derek Stillie is a great shot stopper, but there are many aspects of his game which let him down.
He tends to make stupid mistakes, which can cost Dundee United – like the blunder at Ibrox, when he ran well out of his penalty box to clear and gave the ball to Charlie Adam.
Adam then had the goal at his mercy and only had to get his 40-yard effort on-target to put Rangers into a 1-0 lead.
Against Saint Mirren on Tuesday night, the United goalie appeared to handle outside the area, after his momentum carried him and the ball outside the box.
Whether he managed to drop the ball in time or not, he was then lucky not to give away an freekick after kicking the ball back inside the area and picking it up…..which is treated in a similar way to a passback, with the opposition awarded with an indirect freekick inside the box.
With just 20-year-old Ewan McLean as cover, it’s no surprise that Craig Levein is searching for another experienced goalkeeper to join the club.
One player that has been linked with a move to Tannadice, is Hearts back-up keeper Steve Banks.
The 32-year-old English stopper has only made 2 appearances for Hearts this season, one of which was ironically against Dundee United in December when Craig Gordon was mysteriously dropped to the bench – with the manager claiming it was because he was suffering from the flu.
Steve Banks was man-of-the-match for Hearts that afternoon, and was the main reason why the Tynecastle club returned to Edinburgh with all 3 points and a 1-0 win, after an inspired performance which prevented Dundee United from scoring on several occasions.
The well traveled keeper has played for several English sides in the past, including Gillingham, Milton Keynes, Stoke, Bradford, Rochdale, Bolton, Blackpool and West Ham.
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I am being harsh on Stillie? Or does he make stupid mistakes far too often?
Worth remembering in this fantasy article that Steve Banks is retiring at the end of the season, so you’d get (at most) 10 games out of him. Is it worth it? He’s a good goalie though, and Hearts have just signed the Lithuanian national keeper as backup.
i read the steve banks rumor in the evening tele last night. if he plays as well for us as he did against us, he’d be a good player to bring in as cover. dont know about the long term though if he close to retirement as stockportjambo says.