Remember when Rangers fans were clamouring for Lee Hodson to start ahead of James Tavernier or after his mistake against Hamilton 12 months ago saw Connor Goldson topping the list of players deemed not good enough if we had title aspirations?
One way or another it’s been an unforgettable year and in Goldson and Tavernier we’ve seen the transformation in fortunes of players who once divided the support to the extent that they are now standing on the brink of the Hall of Fame.
I can sleep at night knowing the I’ve never wanted the pair chased from Ibrox but this doesn’t mean that I’ve never been critical of the pair – particularly Goldson – and for that I have to hold my hands up and apologise, even this season, in one that is likely to see records broken, I’ve felt that the vice-captain’s standards have slipped a couple of times – on reflection, that’s utter nonsense and it’s only because of how ridiculously consistent he has been that he has raised the bar for himself!
The former Brighton man has been blessed with dependable partners this season – Filip Helander has yet to lose a league game since signing – but the fact that we are into the last 16 of the Europa League and have conceded just nine goals in the league says it all about his organisational skills – that he has played every minute of every game is also a leadership attribute that can’t be over looked, there is also the small matter of eight goals and three assists, getting him tied down to a new deal is equally as important as one for the skipper.
When people talk about the “journey” they’ve been on, it’s easy to switch off, but in Tavernier’s case it really is a remarkable story of redemption that started in a blaze of promise before the depths of Pedro Caixinha and Graeme Murty, few would have predicted a couple of years ago that he would be the man to lift our 55th title.
Tav’s output – from right-back – is ridiculous, but this isn’t what makes him the player and leader that he is, he has never hidden or shirked responsibility and the manner in which he drives the team on week-after-week, game-after-game is the mark of a true leader – a player who we will only truly realise how good he was after he has left.
So, on behalf of anyone who ever doubted them, or suggested that they should be sold or played on the right-hand side of midfield, as champions of Scotland and Rangers legends – Mr Tavernier and Mr Goldson – I’m sorry.