Is it time for Nathan Patterson to get that run in the first team at Ibrox?
While the young RB isn’t imperious, at 19 he’s showing every sign of becoming it, and is by a distance the best Auchenhowie graduate since Billy Gilmour, and it’s safe to say James Tavernier’s place is beginning to hang by a very shoogly hook.
The captain has struggled pretty much since January, his level going down a noticeable level (as the whole side’s did post new year as always), but at no point has the ex-Wigan man looked close to returning to that level.
True, his stats are really not that bad, in fact far from it, but if Nathan Patterson pinching his place v Hibs was supposed to provoke a reaction from him, it failed. We scored Tavernier 6/10, as being just ‘there’ and having next-to-no impact, anonymous in effect.
Well Patterson might have been raw, but he’s had big impact, for his country and for his club.
His assist opened the scoring for Rangers v Hibs, and he assisted the winner v the Faroes too.
He is quite simply the best Scottish RB in existence now, and the best RB in Scotland by a distance.
Only absolute blind loyalty to Tavernier will keep the Englishman in his slot, because he’s absolutely second best now.
Tavernier got far, far too comfortable in his position, and got immune – and he has simply not responded to the threat of Patterson, possibly through arrogance of thinking he can’t be replaced.
And when he did get dropped, Tav presumably decided it was just a symbolic rest and he’d be back.
Well, he was – and he failed to live up to the response his manager wanted.
Nathan Patterson, now, is Rangers’ best option for RB. Tavernier is relegated to deputy in our eyes, and we’d imagine the eyes of most people with eyes.
If Steven Gerrard continues the loyalty with his captain, then it could worryingly demonstrate the very kind of favouritism with the likes of Rob Kiernan and others that effectively ended up getting Mark Warburton fired.
We need our manager to rise above this pals’ act.
Put Patterson in and grow a pair, Stevie.
Young Pattetson is ready to take the position now. We have a small quandary though, of course Patterson is up to the job and more, and obviously we want him to succeed for Rangers .But do we then drop Tav and perhaps not be able to sell Tav ???.
Absolutely correct. Even the marketplace,ace values Patterson way above Tav
BTW Goldson needs replaced too in my opinion. Every mistake he makes and he makes a few, he starts blaming everyone but himself
Time to give him a run, drop McGregor for McLaughlin, put in Bassey as first choice LB, show Goldson he is dispensable in current form, give Sakala and Roofe an extended run with Hagi and find some balance in that midfield. Kelly, Bacuna and Arfield are waiting in the wings dying to prove themselves while Kamara and Davis toil week in, week out. At the end of the day though I wish we would do away with the 4-3-3.
Yes we should give Patterson a fun in the game to give Tavernier a kick up the backside. I like a Tavernier but he’s just not performing. I reckon teams have sussed him out. Patterson will probably become a £25m player. Tavernier never will.
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