Bill Leckie questions where Rangers would be without James Tavernier amid ‘crazy’ development
Bill Leckie has questioned where Rangers would be without James Tavernier after he became British football’s highest-scoring defender with his goal against Hibernian on Saturday (30 March).
Writing on the Scottish Sun website on Sunday (31 March), the journalist said the 32-year-old was bang on when he described his contribution as “crazy” after being directly involved in 250 of the 1,028 goals the Gers have scored since the start of the 2015-16 season.
He suggested that the Light Blues may not have won the league title in 2021, reached the Europa League final and won the Scottish Cup in 2022 or be involved in the title race this season after already lifting the Viaplay Cup if it wasn’t for the English right-back’s involvement at Ibrox.
“Well, he got it bang on at the weekend when he described his contribution as crazy,” said Leckie. “I can’t help wondering for the umpteenth time how different things might have panned out had Tavernier been the kind of defender who signed up with the intention of just defending.
“Would they have won the league in 2021? Would they have gone on to reach the Europa League final the following year? Would they have come off defeat in that one to win the Scottish Cup? Would they have lifted this season’s League Cup? Would they, for that matter, be this close to their greatest rivals this late in the season?
“Yet, even with Celtic being so bang ordinary, you would have to say no to most or all of the above.”
James Tavernier deserves great credit for Rangers impact
It’s been an incredible few years for Tavernier on a personal level after he’s wracked up some simply astonishing statistics for Rangers.
The Gers captain deserves great credit for the numbers he’s amassed after being involved in several huge moments over the past nine years.
While he sometimes comes in for criticism because of his defensive work, the right-back more than makes up for it with the impact he provides going forward.
He’s now scored 21 goals and laid on 10 assists in 47 appearances this season as he looks to help his side claim more silverware.
There is no doubt that he is going to have a massive impact on whatever success Philippe Clement’s side achieve over the coming weeks at Ibrox.
In other Rangers news, a pundit has reacted to an accusation aimed at the SFA following an Old Firm development.
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