Toe into the world of none other than James Tavernier, born in good old England on a fine October day in 1991. This rambunctious lad is currently a rather sprightly 34, stands at a cracking 5 foot 8 (1.75m to those of you favouring metric) and weighs a solid 12 stone 10lb, or, for the continentals, 81kg. This cheeky chappy wears the number 2 jersey with pride when he graces the pitch as a right-back for the Rangers.
The legend of Tavernier started in July 2008 when the lad signed up with Newcastle United. Remember those heady days? Two league appearances followed during the 2012/2013 season, a veritable flood of activity that must have greatly excited the fans, no doubt.
This steady onslaught of appearances continued unabated at Gateshead, Carlisle United, Sheffield Wednesday, and MK Dons – all on loan, mind you, between 2011 and 2012. In fact, his appearance record during this period was so impressive that one could almost count them on two hands. Never a dull moment.
The rather mobile life of Tavernier took him next to Shrewsbury Town in 2013, where he revelled in the joy of a whole one league appearance. The lad continued his wild ride at Rotherham United later that year and deigned to make a whopping 27 appearances, enlivening the experience by scoring five goals to boot.
On to Wigan Athletic he ventured in 2014, followed by a thrilling stint at Bristol City where he graced the pitch 12 times and found the net thrice. Such wild times, indeed. Alas, these merry travels ended in 2015, when the wanderlust-stricken Tavernier finally found his way to Rangers for the grand sum of £200k.
Here, Tavernier seems to have calmed down, lending his reliable presence to a multitude of matches from 2015 right up to present day. Boxes ticked include 36 appearances with 10 goals in his maiden season and the same amount the following year, albeit with a much slimmer return of a solitary goal. On he powered, clocking impressive stats season after season, with the 2023 - 2024 period being especially noted for 38 appearances and a hefty 17 goals.
And for those of you keeping count at home, this season Tavernier has graced the pitch a cool 20 times, netted four goals, and continues to proudly don the number 2 jersey for Rangers. The lad's been a busy bee in the various cups too, scoring and playing in a selection of League, Champions League Qualifiers and Europa League matches. Truly, this Tavernier character is quite the character, isn't he?
