GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - JULY 18: A general view during the pre-season friendly match between Rangers and Newcastle at Ibrox Stadium on July 18, 2023 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)
Gary Keown believes James Tavernier is at a “tipping point” in his Rangers career.
The 32-year-old Gers skipper has been heavily criticised this season and was substituted by manager Philippe Clement shortly after the hour mark in his side’s 4-1 Europa League defeat to Lyon on Thursday.
Neraysho Kasanwirjo replaced Tavernier at right-back, and Scottish Daily Mail columnist Keown believes it’s time for the former Newcastle defender to depart Ibrox permanently.
“Captain James Tavernier’s time at the club has ended. “He should have left in the summer,” Keown wrote on the Daily Mail website (6 October).
“He gets ripped apart practically every time he faces Daizen Maeda or Celtic. His second-half substitution for Neraysho Kasanwirjo in the Lyon game was long overdue, and that moment must have been a tipping point for a man who is only weeks away from turning 33.
“Kasanwirjo is a ready-made alternative, but what about Dujon Sterling? He was signed as a right-back. When Clement was handed a new long-term contract, he spoke about how he would benefit from a more consistent role in the club.
“Well, here’s your chance with a 24-year-old, now on increased wages, that you are trying to develop into a sellable asset.”
He’s always been a right-winger who plays right-back since he lacks defensive ability.
What has kept him going at Ibrox for so long is that the team has always won penalties, and he has always scored them. It would be wrong to discount him as one of the best free-kick takers in modern Scottish football, as well as someone who can charge into the box from the right to score.
But, aside from his goal-scoring and crossing ability, what else has Tavernier contributed?
