The Glasgow Rangers captain has been deemed ‘a bit weak defensively’ by Nicholas, who thinks it could ‘create its own problems’ for the Ibrox side.
Glasgow Rangers captain James Tavernier has been deemed “a bit weak defensively” by Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas as he looked ahead to the Ibrox club’s upcoming Europa League tie at Porto this week (Sky Sports News).
Tavernier has been criticised on a few occasions this season by the Rangers fanbase, such as after the 2-1 defeat to Young Boys in the Europa League at the start of this month.
During that game, he lost possession deep in his own half en route to Roger Assale firing home from close range and then made a misjudged attempt to cut out a ball forward, enabling Christian Fassnacht to net a late winner at the Suisse Arena.
Amid criticism of the 27-year-old, Steven Gerrard made it very clear after the game (Rangers media team) that he was fully behind his captain, describing him as the skipper “for a reason” and saying he’s been “absolutely fantastic” for him and for his Ibrox teammates.
Nonetheless, Nicholas feels that Rangers, for all their attacking power and goalscoring capabilities, are “a bit frail defensively” and name-checked Tavernier as one such example, which “does create its own problems”, and feels the Ibrox club “may come unstuck” as he predicted a 2-0 loss.
“Rangers are going well,” Nicholas wrote on Sky Sports News. “They are scoring lots of goals, but are a bit frail defensively. James Tavernier is a bit weak defensively compared to what he is going forward. That does create its own problems.
“Rangers do not have the craft or knowledge to get through these games when they do not see a lot of the ball, so this is where they may come unstuck.”
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