Following a 2-1 defeat at home to play-off rivals Luton Town, Will Norris is once again the topic of conversation in the aftermath of the game, after the Wycombe Wanderers shot stopper didn’t cover himself in glory for the Hatters’ two goals, which both came from corners.

Many were concerned about Wycombe’s defensive resilience heading into the game, as injuries to the usual starting centre-back duo of Anders Hagelskjaer and Dan Casey have reared their ugly head at a crucial time in the season, leaving Connor Taylor and Taylor Allen to deputise.

However, the talking point post-match wasn’t solely the defence, with goalkeeper Norris again facing criticism on social media for his involvement in both of Luton’s goals.

After a positive start to the match, Wanderers found themselves a goal down when Kal Naismith headed home at the back post, with Norris in no-man’s land in the centre of his goal.

The second goal, just under 20 minutes later, was almost a carbon copy of the first, albeit from the other flank. Another corner was floated in, this time to the front stick, which was met by the head of Kasey Palmer. Whilst the Wycombe keeper was in a slightly better position, he was still unable to prevent what would prove to be the winning goal.

‘Soft’ was the word used by many to describe the two goals that Wycombe conceded, and it’s hard to disagree. Two corners, which weren’t defended adequately, allowed Naismith and then Palmer a free header from mere yards out, with the goalkeeper not even in the same postcode.

Once again, fans are calling for a change between the sticks, as Norris has unfortunately made a catalogue of costly errors that have led to goals this season, despite his relatively solid clean-sheet record.

After his poor performance against Luton in the reverse fixture, it was expected that Mikki van Sas would get the nod, but Michael Duff opted to stick with the 32-year-old, which hasn’t paid dividends thus far.

Since then, Norris has been inconsistent, with some solid performances marred by some erratic ones. The 3-0 victory over Burton Albion recently springs to mind as one that had everyone inside the ground on edge, with the number 50 taking a rather adventurous approach that particular afternoon, despite the positive result.

This really begs the question of why Duff hasn’t opted to give van Sas a shot in between the sticks, especially given the number of costly errors Norris has made since late December.

Well, when van Sas arrived in HP12 from Feyenoord, he was expected to become the first-choice goalkeeper to accommodate the possession-based style of football Mike Dodds was attempting to install.

However, the Dutchman endured a tough start to life in Buckinghamshire, as the Chairboys struggled to adapt to what was a huge change in style and made costly errors when trying to build from the back.

The most prominent example of this was away at Doncaster, which certainly didn’t help van Sas’ confidence. Hagelskjaer’s poor backpass saw the former Man City keeper rush out to the byline to try and keep the ball in play, but he had his pocket picked by Billy Sharp, who rolled the ball into an empty net.

Despite this setback, Dodds persisted with his number one, and it’s fair to say that van Sas continued to improve, even though the team were struggling on the pitch. His first class saves against Bradford City and Peterborough United presented glimpses of what the young keeper is capable of.

Following the sacking of Dodds, new boss Duff stuck with van Sas for the first few games of his tenure, but after a 2-1 defeat to AFC Wimbledon, he opted to start Norris in goal for league matches, and has continued to do so since, other than a one-off game against Rotherham United.

Van Sas hasn’t played a minute of competitive football for the Chairboys since early December, which was a 2-0 defeat to Northampton Town in the EFL Trophy, a game in which the young goalkeeper struggled and was visibly frustrated with his performance that evening.

Under Duff, van Sas has played just five matches in all competitions, conceding four goals and keeping two clean sheets. As for Norris, he’s played 29 times under the 47-year-old, conceding 32 goals and contributing towards 11 shutouts, which isn’t the worst record in the world.

However, the experienced keeper is beaten by his younger colleague in many key departments. Van Sas boasts a higher save percentage of the two, with 65.9% in comparison to Norris’ 63.5%. The former also ousts the latter in pass completion (71.9% to 58.2%), long ball accuracy (39.7% to 31.6%), and goals prevented (-0.20 to -1.22).

Of course, Duff sees his goalkeepers far more often than any of us do. Training performances will play a big role in who gets the gloves, and if the Wycombe boss sees better application in training from Norris than van Sas, then that’s all the justification he needs.

A caveat to this, though, is the performances on the pitch, and whilst Norris is undoubtedly a talented keeper, his inconsistency and mistakes have to be taken into account, especially at a crucial time in the season.

With a defensive unit ransacked by injuries, both Taylor and Allen will want someone assured behind them to help settle them into their new, rather unexpected partnership. Unfortunately, neither of Wycombe’s current keepers really ticks that box.

Norris has proven over time to be somewhat erratic with his decision-making and shaky performances, whilst van Sas is still young and relatively inexperienced at the level, which also doesn’t inspire confidence in the centre-backs, who desperately need it.

Truthfully, any of these could be a contributing factor to why Duff has opted to stick with Norris despite his inconsistency. It just seems like another self-inflicted issue Wycombe have created, having signed a young goalkeeper and not stuck with him. Now, they’re paying the price for not having a clear number one.

It seems unlikely at this stage of the season that the Wycombe boss will opt for a change in between the sticks, given van Sas hasn’t played since early December and the Chairboys are still firmly in the play-off picture, but it’s certainly a problem that needs address in the summer.