You’ll have seen, I’m sure, that stat which was being passed about yesterday, the latest on the virtues of James Tavernier and the number of goals he has scored in the SPFL.
The headlines were that he’s a ways in front of Kyogo and is within range of catching Leigh Griffiths.
So it’s a stat intended to embarrass and annoy Celtic fans.
But actually, there are two sides to every story and as far as I’m concerned even the act of highlighting those numbers should be a cause for embarrassment because of what they represent.
When it comes to Kyogo, he’s only been in Scotland for two and a bit seasons so it’s a dreadful comparison to make.
In that time though he’s scored against their club in some big games, including in massive cup matches. He has led the charge for silverware; Tavernier is a long serving Ibrox captain whose own trophy haul is lamentably poor considering the second biggest wage bill in the country.
Even talking about Kyogo and this guy in the same sentence should be banned as too ridiculous to merit a serious discussion.
The media got equally hysterical over Kris Boyd having more goals in Scotland than Larsson, and that’s the comparison which best stands up.
One of the reasons for Boyd’s number of goals was that he Ibrox’s penalty taker for a while. But his stats on that front pale into insignificance next to those of Tavernier.
Someone told me last night that since the Ibrox club made it back to the SPFL that they have conceded a mere four penalties in the space of all those seasons. This is not an issue they have at the other end of the pitch.
Frankly, the comparison between one of the stats and the other should be the one that the media is focussed on. Instead, some people want to push Tavernier as some sort of Scottish football icon.
At any other club this guy would be regarded as a decent player but no more than that, much better at going forward than playing in his defensive role … and he would not have gotten near his goal tally at Ibrox because other clubs don’t get the number of penalties they do.
Anywhere else, numbers like his would provoke scrutiny, a proper look from the hacks who cover the game, and when taken in context with their second long run in a row of not conceding penalties in the league it would be regarded as suspect.
Not so here, where it’s just another excuse to annoy Celtic fans. Pathetic.
The ibrox club did not make it back to the spfl they never played there before 2016.
The currant buns go on about us committing the most fouls and not getting a lot of dismissals, idiots, it’s not fouls , it’s those cheating B******* stopping the match for their own gain. As you said in a blog recently, fine margin decisions are hurting most teams as much as the penalties and sending off,s , but they fly under the radar and as a club we do not highlight it at all, it’s down to you bloggers out there. Thank You
I would love for a statto to delve into the data and let us all know how many penalties Sevco have been awarded and how many Tavpen has taken ,missed and scored since they last conceded one in the league.
It has to be remembered, contrary to what some pundits are saying about him that he is fearless as he stepped up to the mark after having missed one on Sunday.
I seem to remember his bottle crashing in the league cup final,when losing 1-0 he sent Morelos up to take the kick…..Which he missed !
A terrible defender as Tony Stokes,who was a spent force at Parkhead,will testify as he ripped the huns Hall of fame inductee a new asshole in a Scottish Cup Final.
Here’s a stat, most current Celtic players have won more trophies in two years than Tavernier has since his time at The Rangers.
Penalty after penalty does not make you a goal scoring phenomenon.
Rise above it ,and dont let them get to you or they are winning , your posts ajd articles are far more enjoyable than the comics who are pushing this crap .
Good article once again…
Yet still the half witted element within The Celtic support will still buy them –
It truly boggles the mind indeed…
I think Celtic supporters from Glasgow and it’s envoirens probably don’t support them –
But one or two half wits around here still sadly pay to ‘enjoy’ reading that type of pish…
Let The Celtic Blog report their evil about Celtic as This excellent service is free !
Hard to get annoyed when lookin down from a position of strength and in a position to collect more siverware and greater financial security.
They can print whatever they like when in fact they know what they print does not hold water when stats are produced yearly that Celtic are the dominant force in the game up here.
Penaltys are a part of 50 percent of Theyre victorys .
Its not good for the clubs stats .
When a penalty taker is the clubs top scorer.
And all through that second half against hertz,
EVERY non-sevco supporter around the country was asking;
when is the next TavPen due…?
The commentators would be better employed as script writers for a BlackAdder replacement series, there’s a dire shortage of black humour writing
his record of 55 scored and i think 14 missed is shameful…disgraceful…an indictment of scottish football really…especially when taken into account the number of pens they have conceded….
when i saw he had scored by a pen in the 90th min….i honestly just smiled to myself…absolutely no surprise at all…..in fairness, it was a pen…but it was so fukn inevitable…..
historical favouritism/bias shown by the the sfa towards the govan clubs is a disgrace…all those years of religious bigotry…the jardines/greigs/forrests and mcoists of this world were more than happy to ply their trade for a club who had an openly secterian signing policy…and got away with it….
and here we are today…albeit much watered down…but there is still a bias/favouritism shown to them…in “dead brilliant wee bonnie scotland”
“Since the Ibrox club made it back to the premier league”.
Struggle with that one, get outta here, but the get out is I guess that your repeating what someone said to you.
I have heard some pretty daft huns reasonably argue just that case many times though. They returned to the PL and did not enter it for the 1st time as a new club. Utilising the argument that as newco got registered and accepted by the SFA, as is actually the case for a very short period of time, and that that was before Rangers were officially liquidated. Thus this means that they were in the PL and were unjustly forced to start the following season in the bottom league. Thus newco were in effect relegated at the behest of the other PL clubs, bar Kilmarnock, and that’s their beef with the SFA and PL clubs.
It is of course a ridiculously daft contradiction and when you break it down and point out to them, as many have before, the magnificent literary licence they’re using to argue the continuity big lie argument about Rangers living on involves two different clubs being registered at the same time. Thus they can’t and weren’t as they argue the same club and that’s when they show you the confused face. Like you’re the one that doesn’t have the intellect to work out what’s being argued.
Of course, I tell them, I understand alright. That’s when and with great joy under that slipping mask (it is Halloween after all – other masks are available) you see the pretence slide and fall with their exposed real faces tripping them. Exposed to the vulnerability of their argument previously hidden by their mask of confidence you subsequently see that reasonable face immediately replaced with a look of down-right anger, hatred even.
Sorry for the rant, it’s always useful to explain for those younger Celts and those huns infiltrating your blog, but also it’s another long winded way of saying the Tav story you just featured is simply another mask utilised by the bigot media to cover the truth of the matter with considerable literary licence. As sir you so wonderfully described in your article. HH
It’s got to be an embarrassment that your right back is your top goal scorer. Okay fifty something penalties but still…he’s probably got another fifty to come.
If the rangers are losing a game or are having a draw, you can be rest assured if John beaton is the referee there going to win 100%
Just like Saturday just past and last year!!!!!
Tavpen must be due a Cap for England.
We get commentra on tv bbc rsfio and tv eorst of all you can sense the dislike of Celtic in europe seems so much diffrence when its Celtic compared to the other teams from spl i can understand club stream tv bbc sounds like rangers tv and it goes on all through the countries media look sfa are as bad how many gamed has john beaton refereed rangers games how many penalties for and how may against its terrible he is even in a job that dishonesty is dismissed as honest mistakes we have var which still relise on honesty we have ref retired through injury now a fulltime on var his father was head of spl but firced to resign for slanders emales against the head of the catholic
church now he is head of euro refs is a cleak and his boys well looked after terrible
You could not embarrass huns no matter what. The nature of Hunnery is at it’s peak. Cheating is an entitlement in their eyes.
Anybody ever covered the stats for all Sevco pen takers % compared to other teams pen takers?
Probably find Captain Tavtastic isn’t the only player in that colour of jersey who’s ahead of the curve.
They were never in the SPFL, so how did they make it back?!
Absolutely no idea what stats your taking about