Should Rangers stick or twist with James Tavernier? | OneFootball

James Tavernier carries the vibe of a player who knows his Rangers career should be up and he shouldn’t be at Ibrox any more, and yet his predicted exits didn’t materialise (yet) and for now he’s having to carry on with his heart a long way away.

This isn’t an unfair or negative article, this is just the reality that a guy who has been in Govan for almost 10 years has gone past his sell-by date and doesn’t look he wants to be here any more.

We’re sure he’s not lost ‘his ability’ but his heart is definitely not with continuing on any more – indeed, the club and he decided to ‘affirm’ his commitment by doing a video interview with him, in a move designed to soften the issues of fans expecting him to leave and wondering what was going on.

Like all players, Tavernier has a shelf life – it is not usually expected that a player stays at a club for a decade, and yet he’s basically grown up from a boy to a man, since joining at 23.

Let’s not forget, Rangers have given the guy everything he has – he was a failed Premier League and Championship player who was going nowhere till Mark Warburton plucked he (and Martyn Waghorn) from Wigan obscurity and while Waggy eventually moved on, Tav remained.

And now he’s on a salary around £37,000pw with the captaincy and all that this entails.

All for defending badly and scoring some goals while not defending.

Ok that’s harsh, it’s not like he’s never given Rangers anything, but it’s abundantly clear the relationship, like Connor Goldson and Rangers, needs to end.

We gave Tav everything he has, and he knows it, but he doesn’t even strike us as especially grateful for it. Maybe we’re wrong on that, but Tavernier needs to move on.

He’s started this season looking outright depressed, and fans are picking up on it – a severing of the relationship is becoming essential, just like Goldson was.

But it requires the club to accept a bid that Tav actually wants. Saudi wasn’t, and that one died away. Trabzonspor? A fee couldn’t be agreed so that one collapsed too.

Now Tav is going through the motions in Govan.

We all just need a fresh start.