There are few moments in the history of Rangers more iconic than John Greig’s stirring post-victory address in Barcelona.

Bathed in the sweat and glory of his side’s 1972 European Cup Winners’ Cup triumph, Greig told reporters: “I simply wouldn’t have been able to lead Rangers to our first-ever European trophy if the Sony Playstation existed.”

Thankfully for Greig and his teammates, there were no such distractions in his day.

I bring this up in response to a tweet that currently has nearly 300 likes. It reads:

“Something doesn’t sit right wae me wae Tav playing the fuckin Playstation. Can you imagine John Greig as the captain of Rangers sitting there wae the staunch goatee/mullet combo playing GTA San Andreas aw day then leading a group of professionals out on the pitch the next. Weird”.

Ah shit, here we go again.

The tweet was referring to Rangers captain James Tavernier’s occasional live streams on Twitch, in which he talks to followers while playing Playstation games.

Paying money for a ticket entitles fans to complain about what a player does on the pitch. Tavernier can expect criticism for his performances when they’re not reaching the high standard he set last season.

That ticket doesn’t, however, give fans ownership of a player. Yes, they are representing your club, but if their off-field activities aren’t hurting anyone then let them get on with it.

It’s an issue that’s more likely to arise when a player is underperforming, and Tavernier has looked off the pace during a sluggish start to the season for his club. There are a number of possible explanations for Rangers’ early-season malaise. Physical and psychological fatigue after their exceptional efforts last season. European opponents with more match fitness. Defensive lapses. John Lundstram.

‘Tav plays Call of Duty’ is pretty far down that list.

It’s a recurring theme with Tavernier. His on-field struggles prior to the March 2020 lockdown led some fans to question his choice of vehicle. One tweet that did the rounds read: “He (Tavernier) has the sleeve tattoos, looks toned and fit. But is essentially a bog-standard player who is out of his depth. Yet he drives about Glasgow in this thinking he’s the dog’s bollocks”.

Presumably, Rangers wouldn’t have lost 1-0 to Hamilton Accies if Tavernier had been driving a rickshaw with a ‘Honk if you’re staunch’ sticker on the side.

Tavernier’s a 29-year-old guy with wealth and fame. There are countless tales of footballers in similar positions who combine the money and free time that their profession affords them and use it unwisely.

Far from being harmful, there are actually benefits to Tavernier’s online activity. He’s using technology to engage with supporters, in a way that Rangers captains from Greig to Gough didn’t have the opportunity to do.

If it’s not for you, that’s fine. No-one’s forcing you to subscribe to his Twitch channel.

During the 9-in-a-row era, Rangers were known for their 'The team that drinks together, wins together' motto. In terms of fostering team spirit that approach served them well domestically. In Europe, however, it proved less successful when confronted with the likes of Alessandro Del Piero.

A Rangers team that stayed out the pub and played Super Mario Kart on the SNES together might still have bonded sufficiently to remain dominant in Scotland, while also remaining sharp enough to see off the likes of Levski Sofia, AEK Athens and IFK Göteborg.

If you’ve ever accidentally clicked on the Anti-vaxx Grainy Meme Uncomfortably Intense Guy From Work app, or ‘Facebook’ as it’s sometimes known, you’ll have seen plenty of ‘In my day, we kicked a ball about and weren’t addicted to our screens’.

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Good for you. Do you think that's down to an inherently different mindset or just the options that were available for different generations? Would 12-year-olds in 1972 have shunned iPhones if they existed? Would 29-year-old Rangers captains have considered CJ’s adventures in Los Santos below them?

I guess we’ll never know. With that in mind, guys in their late twenties should be free to act like guys in their late twenties as long as they’re not hurting anyone. Tavernier’s well below par right now, but ‘Would he be at the peak of his powers if he ditched Twitch?’ doesn’t merit a response.

There are more important questions for Rangers fans to be asking right now, such as ‘What’s happened to Ryan Kent?’, ‘What’s happened to Ryan Kent’s shirt sponsor?’ and ‘John Lundstram?’.

Anyway, I’m off for a Pro Evo night at Richard Gough’s.