James Tavernier has come under fire again this week, it’s all fair and well scoring 24 goals from right-back but when you are part of a defence that has conceded seven goals in Rangers last three games, questions will be asked.
One of those being posed is – is it time to let the skipper go? He’ll be 33-years old next season and, for all that Gers boss Philippe Clement is a fan, could a big money bid from Saudi Arabia be enough to see his time at Ibrox come to an end?
In the last chance saloon, James Tavernier has to do something pretty special in the next few weeks if Rangers fans are to forgive the shameful collapse against Ross County but, can we cope without him?
Is it time for James Tavernier to leave Rangers?
The simple answer is, yes.
As always though, there is a catch.
How do you replace a right back that scored 24 goals and has 10 assists this season?
The simple answer is, you don’t.
But, what you can do, is improve the quality of the players in the forward line.
The captain has scored 15 penalties this season and missed four.
Are you telling me that a competent striker couldn’t replicate this? Of course they could.
This leaves nine goals and 10 assists.
Tavernier takes a decent set piece, however, when was the last time we scored from a corner? Not including the own goal by Ross County.
It was with Todd Cantwell taking the corner.
We have other right-footed players who can take set-pieces, Mohamed Diomande showed against Celtic that he has a very decent left foot, so too does Ridvan Yilmaz.
That takes care of some of the assists.
For the rest, we need to move away from relying on Tavernier to score a 30-yard free-kick to win a game or to break a deadlock and there is only one way of doing that.
Look at the chance Cyriel Dessers missed at Dingwall, a competent striker scores that and the game is virtually over.
It is the same on the wings too.
We have clearly missed Abdallah Sima, but we need to wingers who can score 20-30 goals between them and provide a similar number of assists too.
At the moment, our wingers just aren’t good enough, even if Rabbi Matondo’s numbers suggest that he could make a contribution – if he can stay fit.
How do a Rangers replace James Tavernier?
Finally, there is already a natural replacement for James Tavernier, when Rangers signed Dujon Sterling last summer, he was signed as cover for the captain.
Yes, he looks like a great midfielder but we need a specialist in there.
Sterling is an incredible athlete, is good on the ball and our best 1v1 defender.
Right back is his natural position but he has shown, when playing higher up, that he can contribute to the attack too.
If Tavernier leaves in the summer, his legacy will forever be dictated by the number of medals he leaves with.
His ridiculous personal achievements don’t mean that we should be worried if he does though.
