James Tavernier Rangers exit ‘now inevitable’ after ‘Catastrophic’ development
James Tavernier is a bit of a curious case at Rangers.
The captain is closing on 500 appearances, has over 100 goals for the club from right-back and will have racked up 10 years of service at Ibrox come July.
Tavernier has been a fantastic servant to Rangers, there is no doubt about that, and yet his name remains synonymous with the fact the Gers have been underwhelming over the past decade.
The 33-year-old has won just three major trophies during his time at Ibrox, a poor return for a club of such illustrious history, one sitting frustratingly in the shadows of their great rivals Celtic again season.
Rangers’ shocking 1-0 defeat to second-tier Queen’s Park in the Scottish Cup last weekend was the perfect microcosm of Tavernier’s Gers career, summed up by his last-gasp penalty miss that could have saved his side’s and Philippe Clement’s skin.
Rangers will surely sell James Tavernier this summer
That head-in-hands moment was summed up by a report in the Daily Mail’s Rangers Confidential column (13 February), which read: “The catastrophic cost of that miss on Sunday has exposed him to the worst of the criticism from supporters, many of whom had already argued that his time was up.”
And therein lies the crux of the truth.
Many Gers supporters have decided now beyond reason that Tavernier’s time is up and, as brutal as it may feel, it is hard to deny that is the case now.
Tavernier remains under contract at Rangers until the summer of 2026 but, having been linked extensively with an exit last summer, you cannot help but feel there will be an inevitable parting of the ways at the end of season after 10 years of service.
Tavernier a victim of Rangers off-field decision-making
History will reflect that Tavernier gave the best year’s of his career to Rangers and will also show the astonishing amount of goals he contributed from defence.
But still, the nagging feeling is there could have been more. And thats’ certainly not a criticism aimed directly at him, he is instead almost a victim of the poor decision making that has plagued the club, especially following the title triumph overseen by Steven Gerrard in 2021.
That 55th title should have been the catalyst for a sustained period of success but mediocrity has by and large been the order of the day since then.
Rightly or wrongly, Tavernier remains linked to have feeling and, as such, it is time for Rangers to part ways.