Jason Jones

Mon 5 October 2020 18:00, UK

At this rate Rangers skipper James Tavernier could be giving the likes of Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe a run for their money in the battle for the golden boot at Ibrox this season.

The full-back has started the campaign on fire, and his goal against Ross County on Sunday was not only his eighth of the season, but his eighth in his last eight games.

Of course, the criticism that its always directed at him is that a lot of his figures are made up by efforts from the penalty spot.

So far this season, half of his strikes have been from 12 yards out, but even then we shouldn’t take his streak for granted.

Tavernier’s success rate from spot kicks this season has been 100%, a vast improvement on the 40% he managed last term.

In fact, the defender missed more penalties than he scored in 2019/20, and was eventually taken off duty in favour of a rotating cast of teammates.

Thankfully this season, he has rediscovered his touch, and the benefits of having such an assured spot kick taker have been huge.

But what’s changed?

If we compare the difference in Tavernier’s striking technique compared to last season we see that there has been an alteration, albeit a subtle one.

Below is a freeze-frame from the penalty he missed against Feyenoord last term.

As he hits the ball, we can see that Tavernier has quite a closed-off body shape.

He’s sign-posting which way he is going to direct his shot (low to his right), and if we look at the goalkeeper, we can see that he has spotted this and is already movingly across his line accordingly.

Because of his relatively restricted stance, it means that Tavernier is limiting his ability to adapt to the situation in front of him, and subsequently, he has to try and force his shot into a much narrower space to make it unstoppable.

With that in mind, it’s little surprise to see him hit the outside of the post.

By contrast, Tavernier took a much more open stance in the 5-1 win over Motherwell recently.

His shoulders are marginally broader, and his striking technique, using the large surface area of his side-foot, makes it much harder for the goalkeeper to read which direction he is going.

Compared to the Feyenoord keeper in the last example, the Motherwell keeper has to stay taller for longer, making it easier for Tavernier to slot his effort into the bottom corner.

The other key here, is that a wider stance as he strikes the ball allows Tavernier to place his shots into more areas of his target.

Two of the three penalties he missed last season when low to the goalkeeper’s left, but already this term we have seen more variety in his efforts.

Even in the game against Motherwell, we saw Tavernier switch up the side of the net that he aimed for when he was entrusted with a second spot kick.

Again, his stance is near-identical to the first penalty, but by opening out his foot at the last moment, he is able to fire his shot in the opposite direction.

The result is a penalty that has hit the net while the keeper is still in mid-air.

This might seem like the smallest of differences from Tavernier, but it has had a huge impact, and ultimately, has allowed him to recapture his magic touch.

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