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27th Aug 2016

Joey Barton was the victim of this shocking tackle in Rangers’ draw with Kilmarnock

A very dangerous challenge

Tom Victor

The Scottish Premiership isn’t quite the league it was during the days of Henrik Larsson and the De Boer twins.

Nowadays there are fewer elite footballers playing north of the border, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of household names.

Rangers won promotion to the top flight last season, and have strengthened over the summer under Mark Warburton.

Among the new faces to arrive is Joey Barton, and the England one-cap wonder is thought by some to be a target.

Warburton isn’t so sure, but this tackle from Kilmarnock youngster and former Rangers youth product Greg Taylor might suggest otherwise.

https://twitter.com/UpNorthMem/status/769425840157450245

Barton was fortunate to escape serious injury following the high and dangerous challenge, which earned Taylor a straight red card.

And, despite the nature of the foul, Warburton said he did not believe Barton to be a ‘marked man’.

“We don’t want to see anyone sent off, but it was a poor challenge,” the Rangers boss is quoted as saying by the Daily Record.

“I was conscious the atmosphere was rising and Joey was on a yellow card, so I took him off as a precaution.”

The game finished 1-1, with James Tavernier firing home an equaliser after former Gers striker Kris Boyd gave the home side the lead.

It leaves Warburton’s team two points clear at this early stage of the season, though Celtic have two games in hand.

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