James Tavernier comes full circle as Rangers captain sent back to the future by GVB blueprint

By the end of Steven Gerrard’s tenure, there was very little which hadn’t been written or said about his style of play. The blueprint he and his coaching staff had implemented at Ibrox had proven successful, but it was evident this campaign the team had begun to hit a glass ceiling. The side’s perilous position in their Europa League group upon Gerrard’s exit reflected the diminishing of standards.

One constant throughout Gerrard’s reign was the influence of James Tavernier. By the conclusion of the Englishman’s time in charge Tavernier was regularly rescuing the side from danger. Indeed, there was a week in October where, of the ten goals Rangers netted, Tavernier had scored or assisted in 60% of them.

However, the start of the Giovanni van Bronckhorst era has seen a shift in Tavernier’s role. In the main his attacking instincts have been curbed, often contributing more in build-up than adding the finishing touches in the final third.

This is reflected in the fact that Tavernier is averaging fewer crosses per 90 minutes under van Bronckhorst. Whereas the Englishman is averaging five crosses per 90 this campaign, on seven different occasions under Gerrard this season he threw in more than seven crosses in a match. Under van Bronckhorst, however, he has managed that only twice.

Instead, we have seen an uptick in Tavernier’s progression data. The 30-year-old is carrying the ball more per 90 minutes – although this season offers a smaller sample size compared to the rest – while his pass length (22.43) is the highest it has been since he arrived at the club.

This new dynamic was perfectly illustrated just minutes into van Bronckhorst’s league debut away to Livingston in November when Scott Arfield opened the scoring.

Whereas previously Tavernier would motor forward in possession when receiving in this position, he chooses to look up and assess his options.

With Arfield bursting into space beyond the Livingston defensive line, he sends a well-timed floated pass into the midfielder’s path to create a goalscoring opportunity.

It is an area of his game which he displayed under Gerrard, but the emphasis on Tavernier playing higher and wider meant there was a greater emphasis on the midfielder filtering into the backline to progress play into the attacking third.

It is why Tavernier’s role in the 2-0 win over St. Mirren was particularly noteworthy. Under van Bronckhorst Tavernier has often occupied a deeper role during build-up but, sensing St. Mirren weren’t prepared to offer an attacking threat, Tavernier effectively operated as a right-sided No.10.

The Rangers Review goes into great detail on Tavernier’s role specifically in this game, but the general idea was that by cleverly positioning Tavernier high and narrow it would create more space for the right winger (Scott Wright) to operate in.

With St. Mirren defending deep and possessing good coverage of the pitch in a 5-4-1, Tavernier moves in behind Jamie McGrath (circled) to pin the midfielder inside.

Timing his movement in sync with Connor Goldson’s progress with the ball, Tavernier makes a run in behind the St. Mirren midfield line.

Scott Tanser (St. Mirren’s left-wing back) gets caught in two minds, before eventually tracking the dangerous run of Tavernier. In turn, this affords Wright more space to drive one-on-one against the St. Mirren full-back.

Although the move was specific to the challenge St. Mirren posed, it speaks to Tavernier’s qualities as an individual. One of the key features of his time under van Bronckhorst has been the relationship between Tavernier and the winger directly ahead of him.

Rangers’ second goal in their 2-0 victory over St. Johnstone in December was a thing of beauty, but Tavernier and Hagi play an understated role in the creation of the chance.

As Tavernier receives a pass from Goldson, St. Johnstone’s left-wing back (circled) jumps on to pressurise him.

As Tavernier knocks the ball inside, Hagi has pulled wide onto the same vertical line as his full-back.

This drags St. Johnstone’s left-sided centre-back into a wide area and, after a neat combination, Rangers are able to play into the space created centrally by the movement on the right touchline.

The various moves evoke memories of Tavernier’s first season under Gerrard in 2018/19. Before the change to the Christmas tree formation towards the split that season, Tavernier had struck up a very effective partnership with Daniel Candeias on the right flank.

The pass maps from various games over the last four seasons shows that Tavernier’s role has come full circle. Whereas there was a marked shift in his role in the 2019/20 campaign as Gerrard prioritised greater central occupation (top), he is now displaying traits that are more reminiscent of his 2018/19 season, as evidenced in the bottom two images.

No goal typified the relationship between Tavernier and Candeias more than Ryan Kent’s equaliser at Celtic Park in the 2-1 defeat in March 2019.

By occupying the same vertical line, Tavernier and Candeias are able to drag Celtic’s left-hand side towards the touchline to create space centrally.

Given the speed of thought and skill, it takes a very talented player such as Tavernier to instigate a move such as this from a deeper area.

It speaks to Tavernier’s qualities that his role can be so malleable and that, despite there being less responsibility on him in the final third, he is still able to materially impact Rangers’ attacking moves.

The rotation directly ahead of him on the pitch – Hagi, Wright and Sakala have shared the right-wing berth – has accentuated his vast array of qualities.

Under van Bronckhorst, Tavernier is back to his dovetailing best on the right-hand side.