The figures that James Tavernier, the captain of the Gers, has achieved at right-back have astounded the Ibrox legend.
In his all-time starting lineup, Rangers great Graeme Souness acknowledges he would choose James Tavernier above England right-back Gary Stevens.
With 122 goals in 122 games since 2015, Tavernier’s goal scoring rate has stunned Souness. The expert at penalties and free kicks recently broke Ibrox legend John Greig’s record for the most goals scored by a defender. And if he scores another goal at Easter Road tonight, he would pass Graham Alexander as the joint-highest goal-scoring defender in Britain.
Alan Kennedy, Phil Neal, and Stevens—the latter two of whom scored in the European Cup Finals—were among the elite players that Souness managed and played with. However, the Scottish and Liverpool legend believes Tav’s accomplishments are as remarkable.
“Tavernier is in his prime now at 32,” he remarked. If he takes care of himself, the next two years might be his best. Obviously, more trophies are what people will remember him for, therefore he needs to win more of them. So maybe this is just the start of a spell for him.
He has found it challenging because Rangers haven’t had a prosperous era in his lifetime. However, Tavernier has addressed that. He would join the squad that I oversaw and participated in. Because Gary Stevens was a superior player, an amazing athlete, and perhaps even a better defender than Tav, it would be close. However, those with his level of ball delivery skills are priceless.”
“The stats are unbelievable,” Souness continued. They describe it as something fresh that fullbacks are getting involved in. It’s not. However, Tavernier is on par with any individual in that role. We had two full-backs who scored goals in the finals from open play when I was playing in three European Cup finals.
“Have you ever seen the prize that Phil Neal received? With four European Cups and roughly eight league titles, he is on par with any player you care to mention. Zico was Phil’s nickname. He was impeccable, graciously accepting consequences. Tavernier is unquestionably what you need in a full-back in the modern day. He scores goals at an absurd rate. He also takes free kicks really well.”
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