Rangers fans furious with James Tavernier after ‘weak’ incident at Ibrox – pundit
We’re delighted to welcome Tam McManus as our exclusive Rangers columnist as each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Ibrox…
Tam McManus has blasted James Tavernier for the weak defending that allowed Daizen Maeda to open the scoring against Rangers for Celtic on Monday.
Maeda scored after just five minutes when he picked up a loose pass from Alfredo Morelos before running past Tavernier with ease.
The Gers right-back did attempt a challenge to win the ball back from Maeda, but it was so poor that he might as well have not been there.
McManus believes Tavernier should’ve done everything he could have done to stop Maeda in his tracks, even if it meant fouling the Celtic goalscorer.
And he doubts that Rangers fans are best pleased with their club captain for his role in that goal.
“I don’t think Rangers supporters want to see that from the captain,” McManus told Ibrox News.
“It was poor play from Morelos but sometimes as a striker, you do give the ball away and it was still 50 yards from goal.
“There was a real opportunity for James Tavernier to clear everything out – the ball, Maeda – and just take the foul or the booking.
“He just dangled a leg in and it was a really weak challenge from the skipper.
“I can understand why the fans would be really upset with that. It was poor from Tavernier.
“It was from Morelos too. It just summed up his game as well. He was really poor.”
Tavernier has played 31 times in all competitions this season for Rangers, scoring nine goals and supplying five assists.
The 31-year-old has been constantly criticised for his defending during his time at Ibrox, despite the fact he’s closing in on his 100th goal for the club.
In other Rangers news, the Gers want to sign this South American ace who’s playing in Europe.