Craig Whyte passed up bids to sign Jamie Vardy and James Tavernier

[ian1964 10,617]

JAMES Tavernier could have been playing for Rangers four years ago if Craig Whyte had sanctioned the deal.

 

Express Sport can reveal that the wing-back, then on the books of Newcastle United, was wanted by former manager Ally McCoist.

 

However, the proposed move never came to fruition and Tavernier eventually joined Wigan before being lured to Ibrox by new boss Mark Warburton this summer.

 

The 24-year-old has been a star performer for the Championship table-toppers, netting 10 goals and providing a deadly threat from set-piece strikes.

 

But Rangers supporters will be left cursing disgraced former owner Whyte after he failed to act on a host of glowing reports from Ibrox talent-spotter John Brown and chief scout Neil Murray.

 

Brown recalled: “James was on loan at Carlisle United from Newcastle United in 2011 when he first came on to the Rangers radar.

 

“We went down to see what Carlisle had and you could see right away that he was a class above everything else at that level.

 

“James was such an offensive full-back who looked to make things happen going forward.

 

“I came back and recommended we should try to get him on loan or permanently if Newcastle would let him go.

 

“It didn’t happen but we kept an eye on him. I went to watch him later that season and once again he stood out when he was on loan at Sheffield Wednesday.

 

“Every time I saw James I came back with a positive report but it never happened, like a lot of things during Craig Whyte’s time at the club.

 

“James had a lot going for him and that has proved to be the case since he came to Rangers under Warburton.

 

“He is really thriving in Scotland and I think he will only get better with the more experience and games he gets.”

 

Nine-in-a-row legend Brown identified several gems, such as England and Leicester star Jamie Vardy, but nothing materialised as Whyte’s bid to build Rangers on sand collapsed.

 

Brown said: “We were putting in a lot of miles but started to wonder if it was a waste of time. We felt we were banging our heads against a brick wall because we didn’t know if the club would make a genuine move for a player.

 

“There were a lot of players we looked at and recommended.

 

“Jamie Vardy, who is now thriving in the Premier League, was at Fleetwood when they were pushing to get into the senior ranks and he was a real handful.

 

“He had to work on his finishing but every other department was top-drawer. I thought he’d have caused a lot of problems for defences.”

 

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/620446/Exclusive-Craig-Whyte-Jamie-Vardy-James-Tavernier-for-Rangers-Scotland-Football-news

[buster. 4,974]

IIRC it was Bomber who recommeded we sign Carlos Cuellar after watching Osasuna a couple of times prior to our UEFA Cup tie with them.

Edited November 19, 2015 by buster.