Three Rangers stars have been selected into the PFA Scotland Premiership Team of the Year for the 2023/24 season by their fellow professionals.
Every season, the players’ trade union ask their members to vote for who they think deserve spots in the Scottish top-flight’s team of the year.
And it’s fair to say a number of inclusions have raised eyebrows amongst Scottish football fans, unsurprisingly revolving mainly around the Rangers representatives.
Jack Butland has been selected as goalkeeper and understandably, there has been no fallout over that one.
Signed for free last summer, Butland has been an unbelievable addition to the Rangers squad having kept 18 clean sheets in 33 Scottish Premiership games so far this season [FotMob].
Despite receiving heavy criticism of late, captain James Tavernier retains his slot at right-back after scoring or assisting a total of 25 league goals ahead of the split fixtures.
And Rangers’ third and final pick is John Lundstram who has had a season mixed with a resurgence in form but also some concerning displays in the middle of the park.
But rancour has spilled into the comment section of PFA Scotland’s official announcement on X with a number of fans questioning some inclusions.
Tavernier and Lundstram picks spark outrage
Most of the comments from fans centre around James Tavernier and John Lundstram’s places in the PFA’s Premiership Team of the Year for 2024.
Dundee supporters in particular just cannot believe Lundstram has been picked ahead of their star man Luke McCowan, who incidentally stole the show against Rangers on Wednesday night.
But their astonishment is shared with some Rangers fans who are puzzled by Lundstram’s inclusion in particular.
One fan wrote: “Lundstram over Mccowan is a crime”.
While another account commented: “Lundstrum being ahead of McCowan is a crime against football”.
Even one Rangers fan said: “Lundstram wit? 🤣”.
And this Gers supporter thought similarly: “How has lundstram got in he’s been good for about 5 matches this season 🤣”.
The Dundee seethe continued: “Lundstram 😂😂😂 Luke McCowan should be ahead of him or even Blair Spittal for Motherwell has had a better season then John Lundstram 🙈😅”.
Before this Rangers fan said: “How tav scales and lundstrum get into that team I’ll never know”.
Does John Lundstram deserve his spot?
There can be no debate over ‘super’ Jack Butland or the free-scoring James Tavernier, even if the Rangers skipper’s defensive and leadership qualities continue to be scrutinised.
But a debate could be had over Lundstram. Certainly in the period after Clement arrived at Ibrox in October, the Scouser was a player reborn.
His performances were top drawer – particularly the Real Betis triumph in Seville – and that carried over into the league.
More recently, his output has been criticised though and there’s no doubting that when he was required to step up to the plate amid a title fight with Celtic, Lundstram has not been producing.
There are certainly arguments for and against but as exemplified above, there are plenty of Rangers fans themselves who can’t seem to fathom his inclusion.
Of course, the team is picked by his fellow Premiership peers so it’s clear that on the whole, they are very complimentary towards his performances this season.
