Glasgow Rangers delivered yet another subpar performance, this time in the League Cup, but the Ibrox side secured a victory which took them through to the quarter-finals.
In front of a sparse crowd at Hampden, St Johnstone more than matched the Light Blues throughout the first half, as the ‘home’ side failed to impose themselves during the tie.
Cyriel Dessers came on for Danilo at half-time, and he opened the scoring not long after joining the game, albeit in controversial circumstances.
The Nigerian had the ball in the net, but the whistle had originally blown for an apparent foul he committed in the buildup. After a VAR review, the referee awarded the goal.
Ross McCausland scored a second late on with a nice finish as the club secured a spot in the last eight.
Several players underperformed yet again, however, with captain James Tavernier continuing to look uninspired throughout the match.
How James Tavernier has performed this season
The Englishman hasn’t quite enjoyed the start to 2024/25 as he would have anticipated, registering just one assist in five matches so far.
Following a campaign which saw the defender score 24 times in all competitions, Tavernier would have looked to have bagged a few times at least at this stage of the season.
Goals
0
Assists
1
Key passes per game
2.5
Big chances created
1
Total duels won per game
4
Possession lost per game
25
Via Sofascore
Is this a sign of things to come? Tavernier failed to offer anything positive against the Saints on Saturday evening either, delivering a few crosses into the box without any success.
Journalist Michael McEwan criticised the right-back for his display, saying: “James Tavernier really does have the look of a guy who's going through the motions. Absolutely not a leader.”
Tavernier was given a match rating of just 6/10 by Glasgow World for his performance against the Saints at Hampden.
The £30k-per-week captain saw his bottle collapse towards the end of last term as the Light Blues lost both the Premiership title and Scottish Cup final against Celtic, without putting up much of a fight.
As a result, is it time for Philippe Clement to finally drop the player?
The candidates to replace James Tavernier
The most obvious player in the squad at present is Dujon Sterling. Last season, the former Chelsea youngster showcased his positional flexibility by playing across six positions, including stints at right-back, right-wing and the centre of the midfield for Clement.
While Sterling may not provide as much of an attacking threat in front of goal, his defensive abilities would more than make up for this.
Last season, the 24-year-old won 50% of his ground duels while averaging one tackle per game, despite averaging only 53 minutes each outing.
Another option could be unleashing Adam Devine, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Motherwell.
Again, he isn’t much of a force going forward, but considering he won 70% of his ground duels while losing possession just 5.4 times per game for the Steelmen, suggests he should perhaps be given a chance under Clement.
Tavernier has built up a reputation during his time at Ibrox, but this season could see that being unravelled if these poor displays become a regular occurrence.
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