James Tavernier was at it again in Europe against Union Saint-Gilloise, when we needed a driving force and someone to lead they way, the skipper stood up to be counted.
A nerveless penalty kick got us on our way but his all round performance epitomised the captain that he has become – so often, when he plays well, so does the team.
A statistic being banded about this week has shown just how important he is, comparing him to some of the continent’s most lethal forwards and his numbers speak for themselves. For the moonhowling contingent who continuously go on about how many penalties he has scored; they still count as goals, the other players on the list take them and, even without them, he would still be over three figures for goal contributions since 2018 – numbers the great Kieran Tierney could only dream about, even in his best season.
Speaking earlier this week on Clyde Superscoreboard, via TEAMtalk, Jim Duffy expressed his surprise that the 30-year old is actually still at Rangers given how impressive he has been:
“When you see the amounts of money being thrown about down south for a lot less talented players than him then it complete confuses me.
“I think he’s good enough for the top six. I look at Man Utd and who they have at right back. He’s better than their right back.
“At that kind of level I have no doubts whether it be Arsenal, Man Utd or any of them I think he’s good enough to go play in the top half of the Premier League.”
Duffy is right, Diogo Dalot – £19million – and Arron Wan-Bissaka – £50m – cost Man Utd a fortune and I know who I’d rather have. Tavernier was top goalscorer in a major European competition, and has consistently been one of our best players in the Europa League over the last few seasons – there is no doubt that he could cope with playing against Bournemouth, West Bromwich Albion and the likes.
Questions about his defending have also been long put to bet, who would have thought that putting competent centre-halves inside him would help him out? Also, there isn’t a full-back in world football that doesn’t occasionally switch off or get caught ball watching at the back post, it’s an area of his game that has massively improved with better coaching.
With a new contract said to be agreed and turning 31 in October, it looks as though the chance of a “big” move has long since past, however, their loss is our gain as we get to enjoy the services of a top player for a few years longer – we’ll only truly realise just how good he is once he does eventually leave.