'Incredible': Rangers hero Connor Goldson makes huge impact in new home as 'leader' inspires title charge
01/25/2025 04:00 AM
If Rangers were capable of putting together such a run of results, perhaps Philippe Clement’s oh-so-inconsistent outfit would still have a part to play in another one-horse Premiership title race.
Dropping points against St Mirren, Motherwell, Dundee and Hibernian – no wonder Billy Dodds labels Rangers’ away record ‘scandalous’ – the chasm between those in blue and their green-clad neighbours Celtic stands at a colossal 13 points with three months of the season still remaining.
Thanks in part to the contributions of a former Ibrox stalwart, though, the gap at the top of the Cypriot First Division is less of a chasm and more of a crevice the width of a credit card.
Connor Goldson left Rangers in pursuit of a new adventure when Aris Limassol came calling last summer. And while there were certainly signs of decline during that final year in Glasgow, a core member of Steven Gerrard’s Premiership-conquering Gers side clearly still had a lot left to offer.
Goldson, younger than Leon Balogun and only narrowly older than Robin Propper lest we forget, has tasted defeat in only one out of 16 games for his new employers.
A tally of nine clean sheets – more than one every other game on average – ensures that Aris are not only two points adrift of league leaders Paphos, but they are also constructing a title challenge upon the rock solid foundations of the competition’s second-best defensive record.
Connor Goldson labelled ‘incredible’ after Rangers exit
Upon bringing Goldson to Glasgow in a £3 million deal from Brighton back in 2018, Rangers were reeling from a season in which their backline had been breached no fewer than 50 times in 38 matches.
That number fell to almost half with Goldson at the heart of a revamped defence. Two years later, Gerrard’s outstanding side accumulated a Premiership-securing 102 points with the tally in the ‘Goals Against’ column standing at just 13.
3,000 miles away in Limassol, Goldson appears to be making a similarly transformative impact in far warmer climes.
“He is a player whose CV is incredible,” Aris Limassol coach Makis Sergidis says of his marquee, game-changing £2.5 million acquisition. “Beyond his abilities, he is a leader. With him, the entire defensive function of the team has changed.”
In hindsight, Rangers would have benefitted from Goldson’s colossal presence on and off the pitch themselves. Particularly during a defensive injury crisis which went a long way to derailing any lingering hopes of challenging Celtic at the summit.
It is no secret that Goldson – who surely deserved better after six years of loyal service – was not exactly happy with the way his Ibrox exit was conducted by those above Clement in the Gers hierarchy.
Goldson shows Rangers what they are missing in Cyprus
"It was difficult to leave," Goldson told the Daily Record a few months ago. "I still felt I had a lot to give.
"Listen, I'm happy with this move. It has been great for me and my family and given us a great lifestyle. But do I think I could have contributed to Rangers this season? Of course I could have.
"That's why I was so disappointed. The club gave me a contract when I was at the best point in my career. But, two years later, they didn't want to fulfil that contract any more.
“They told me they wanted me to leave. And I want to make this clear, that wasn't the manager. He was actually really good with me. But there were a lot of new people within the club who didn't know what I'd given over six years.
"Listen, I have to respect the fact that the club didn't want me any more. So I was happy to leave in the end and I don't hold any hard feelings.
"I had six amazing years with some brilliant times and some difficult ones. But over the six years I gave my best every time. No one will take that away from me."
They say laughter is often the best medicine.
In Connor Goldson’s case, however, a second league title of his career in the heavenly surroundings of Limassol is precisely what the doctor ordered to sooth any lingering symptoms.
