There will never be a time when Philippe Clement names his Rangers team without someone complaining.
The manager has been criticised for standing by players like Tom Lawrence and Cyriel Dessers, however, he isn’t the first custodian of the Ibrox hotseat to come under fire for who he picks.
Despite the demand, fans were still surprised/delighted to see James Tavernier not in Rangers starting XI, but it is a decision that Clement has made before.
James Tavernier being dropped by Rangers isn’t a surprise
At 33-years old and with 478 appearances for the club, the wear and tear is starting to show.
What hasn’t helped, is that the skipper missed most of pre-season training and had to return to matches quicker than anticipated due to Dujon Sterling being injured.
With just one goal and three assists in 18 games, Tavernier’s numbers have dropped considerably from previous years with his defending under more scrutiny than ever.
What hasn’t helped, is Sterling showing the sort of attitude and athleticism that the Gers captain can’t match anymore.
The younger defender nullified Olympiacos’ biggest threat in Gelson Martins to the extent that the winger switched sides.
Opposition teams are targeting the space behind the veteran right-back knowing that he doesn’t have the legs he once had, although he seems to have the pace to join attacks and get into the opposition box.
Clement has already made a big call when he dropped Goldson
Seeing Tavernier on the bench shouldn’t have come as a surprise given Clement’s comments in the summer about the Rangers No.2 and Connor Goldson:
“For me they maybe played too much last season or the last couple of years because if you play 60 games nobody is every time at his top shape. They have done all of that for the club, they worked really hard for that,” the manager said when reflecting on speculation surrounding the pair.
“They are not going to play 60 games the season to come now and all the speculation around them is the same speculation that you can have around every player. It is the same for us.”
What would be a surprise, is if Tavernier wasn’t recalled for the visit of Hearts to Ibrox on Sunday.
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