After James Tavernier Reaches 500 Appearances for Rangers, How Common Is That Number in Scotland?

Eight of the Twelve Premiership Clubs Have at Least One 500+ Appearance Maker

This article examines the record appearance holders for all twelve Scottish Premiership clubs - only 59 men have achieved 500 appearances at a single club.
(Note: Total appearance figures vary by source - including in different articles on a club’s own website - so if you spot any discrepancies for your club, please drop me a message so I can amend accordingly)

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RANGERS

In Saturday's 2-1 home loss to Motherwell, James Tavernier became the first Rangers player to reach 500 competitive appearances for the club since Allan McGregor in 2023. Tavernier is only the 11th player since World War II to achieve this milestone for the Gers. Below is a summary of his career at Rangers, starting with the Rangers matches I’ve personally followed most - their European campaigns.

• European Competitions:
  Tavernier has made 92 European appearances, some way short of McGregor’s club record of 109 - a mark he now seems unlikely to surpass. He was the tournament’s top scorer during Rangers’ run to the Europa League Final in 2022 and has captained the club to at least the Last 16 in five consecutive Europa League campaigns. This season, he will lead his side against José Mourinho’s Fenerbahçe in the Last 16, with hopes of securing a Quarter-Final tie against either Roma or Athletic Bilbao.

• Scottish Cup:
  Tavernier has reached three finals in the Scottish Cup, winning one and losing two - both to last-minute goals. The first final came in 2016 when Rangers, then a Championship side, knocked Premiership champions Celtic out of the semi-final on penalties - even though Tavernier, along with Nicky Clark, missed his own penalty. Callum McGregor, Scott Brown, and Tom Rogic all missed for the Celts, allowing Rangers to progress. That famous 2016 final - unique as being the only one to ever feature two lower league teams - ended in a 3-2 defeat, courtesy of David Gray’s last-minute header that ended the Hibees’ 114-year wait for Cup glory. Tavernier then won his next final, a 2-0 extra-time victory over Hearts in 2022, just days after losing the Europa League Final on penalties to Frankfurt (despite scoring his own spot kick). Last season, he lost the final 1-0 to Celtic after Celtic loanee Adam Idah scored a 90th-minute winner. If this season proves to be his last at Rangers, it will mark a disappointing end to his Scottish Cup career , as Rangers lost 1-0 at home to Queen’s Park; the first time the club have ever lost a home Scottish Cup tie to lower-league opposition.

• League Cup:
  Tavernier has featured in four League Cup finals. He scored the winner in a 1-0 triumph over Aberdeen in 2023, but lost the other three finals to Celtic. His first loss came in a 1-0 final in 2019 (when Alfredo Morelos missed a penalty), followed by a 2-1 defeat in 2023 - thanks to a Kyogo double for the Celts. His third League Cup final loss occurred on penalties in December this season following an exciting 3-3 draw, again despite him scoring his own penalty.

• League Record:
  Domestically, Tavernier has won only one Premiership title, halting Celtic’s bid for 10 in a row in 2021. Celtic are the opponents he has faced most often across all competitions - 39 matches, in which he has lost 25 times and secured only 9 victories (five at Ibrox, and two each at Hampden and Celtic Park). In those encounters, he has contributed 6 goals and 6 assists.

• Overall Milestones:
  Across his 500 matches, Tavernier has never received a red card and amassed an impressive 269 goal involvements (129 goals and 140 assists), including 69 penalties, making him the highest-scoring British defender of all time. He was inducted into Rangers Hall of Fame in 2023 alongside team mates Allan McGregor and Steve Davis. Of his five trophies over 10 years, two were from the lower-league campaign of 2015/16 - winning the Scottish Championship and the Challenge Cup. It’s an obviously disappointing trophy haul for a player that has been a phenomenal servant for one of the country’s top clubs, perhaps just his bad luck that he played for Rangers in a period contending with a relentlessly consistent Celtic side.

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CELTIC