Ibrox, baby. It was just different. And not in a good way.
A penny for the thoughts of Andrew Cavenagh? How about tens of millions of pounds worth of them? The American has not had much bang for his buck since leading the consortium that assumed control at Ibrox in May. Six months on, he faces the prospect of having to put his hand in his pocket once again to rebuild the rebuild.
The three men whom he trusted to lead onwards and upwards into the new era – the one labelled as the American revolution that would Make Rangers Great Again – have all departed. Russell Martin was the first domino to fall and Patrick Stewart and Kevin Thelwell followed this week. It is the hat-trick that supporters had called for.
Read more:
- Why Cavenagh sacked Stewart and Thelwell: Fan feeling, investor pressure, transfers
- Message in Bergen, support for UB, player buy-in - How Rohl has made his Rangers mark
Only Cavenagh will know what moment was the one where he tipped from backing his chief executive officer and sporting director to sacking them. Was it the dreadful defeat against Roma a couple of weeks ago or the woeful win over Livingston? Was it the fan fury or Danny Rohl’s report card?
The what and where, the when and why, ultimately matter little. Few of the crowd that watched this draw with Braga disagreed with events at the start of the week. This was further evidence – not that it is needed, of course – that Rangers are not fit for purpose right now.
Cavenagh was aware that the departures of Stewart and Thelwell would go down well with a majority of the fan base. It was a course of action that was not designed to gain points on his own approval rating, although that has been a by-product and he has bought himself even more time before he needs to fear about his face adorning one of the now-famous stop sign banners. When he and those closest to him in the boardroom deciphered the situation, they knew what had to happen next.
Now Rangers and Rohl must assess where they go next. The German found positives in the performance against Braga but it was another outing that failed to inspire the support. A smattering of boos at the whistle were half-hearted. At this stage, it is almost pointless to display that emotion to players who are just not equipped to play for this club.
The last Europa League fixture as Roma eased to victory, should not have opened eyes to the severity of the situation, but it will have hardened views. The abuse and anger directed towards Stewart and Thelwell was unequivocal as their faces were printed behind targets and crosshairs. When those banners were removed by security, boos rang around Ibrox. One message directed at the board – reading ‘Make Rangers Great Again the 49ers… This is not a hobby this is our lives’ – found its way into the front section of the Sandy Jardine Stand and was displayed for a second time.
That night would have been the most uncomfortable one for Thelwell. Stewart had seen and heard similar views before, with fans chanting against him and Martin earlier in the campaign. Once you lose the support of the support, there is no going back. Just ask the former head coach.
The damage inflicted during his 123-day reign in terms of the season and silverware aspirations may not be made up and the Europa League was a lost cause even before Braga denied Rangers victory in a must-win match. The bigger concern is the bigger picture. This is a group assembled with his say-so, built in his image. It is not one that fans recognise as a Rangers team and Thursday nights bring only added misery rather than an escape and optimism these days.
Rangers now sit 33 rd in the standings. At times, it felt more like a run-of-the-mill Premiership fixture than a European encounter. This was not one of those famous nights under the floodlights, and certainly never threatened to challenge the previous meetings with Braga in the minds of supporters.
Images and footage of the evening that Ianis Hagi professed his love for Ibrox or that Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side took another step towards Seville feel like such a long, long time ago. This outfit could not lace the boots of either of those squads. As fans reminisced in the hours ahead of kick-off, the realisation of how far Rangers have regressed would have hit home.
That will be the legacy of Stewart and Thelwell unless, somehow and against all wisdom and evidence, these players can transform their fortunes and give this crowd successes to savour and silverware to celebrate. So many of them are already lost causes and there is no bond between those who wear the shirt and those who were born into it. Trust has been eroded as much as faith.
Five minutes before the first whistle, the music over the PA stopped. The vacuum was filled with the sound of silence from the stands. The roar that greeted the teams emerging from the tunnel was muted and there were no hairs standing on necks when the play button was hit on the Europa League theme music. This is not the Rangers experience that Cavenagh and Co. hoped they were buying in to, not the sense of excitement and opportunity that lures players to Ibrox.
Rohl spoke on Wednesday about the fans responding in the moments when his side have played on the front foot, when they have given the crowd something to believe in and get behind. He called on Rangers to not be passive and to bring ‘fire’ to the stadium. Braga extinguished it and the result was fair.
“It feels like we lost the game because it was in our hands”
James Tavernier assesses where it slipped away for Rangers against Braga 👀
🎙️ @msmith850 | 📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/HGCHVtC5yr— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 27, 2025
James Tavernier’s penalty on the stroke of half-time naturally received the loudest cheer of the first period. As the players departed the field, a chorus of ‘Danny, Danny Rohl’ was the backing track. Having squandered the lead and a man advantage, the sight of Nasser Djiga apologising to supporters summed up how the second half had unfolded.
Oh, to have been a fly on the wall of Cavenagh’s living room as he watched it all. The Philadelphia native never expected Rangers to go from A to B in one transfer window. He must surely have expected the steps to be forward rather than back, though. The strategy is sustained winning while winning sustainably, but that is easier said than done.
The decision to remove Stewart and Thelwell was finalised in Cavenagh’s mind before he boarded the flight to Glasgow at the weekend, his belief affirmed that neither were what Rangers needed going forward. He travelled to deliver the news, not to give both men a chance to save their positions. The exits came as a surprise to many inside and outside the club, but only Stewart and Thelwell will know themselves if they had any inkling that the writing was on the wall.
Cavenagh’s stay in Glasgow was short. Rohl had been informed by phone call what would be unfolding and the chairman and the head coach met for dinner to discuss where Rangers are. More importantly, it gave them a chance to speak about where Rangers need to get to. Cavenagh departed just hours after he arrived and was not at Ibrox to watch on as the Director’s Box had two seats going spare. His next visit next month is already in the diary.
Rangers will be on his mind between now and then, of course. Involvement with this club is all-consuming, after all, and he and Paraag Marathe, the vice-chairman and the figurehead for the 49ers Enterprises members of the controlling consortium, now have another big decision to make. There will be no delegating on this occasion, and discussions have already been held with potential candidates for both positions.
There is no priority in terms of the appointment order. The deals will be done when they are done, with Cavenagh insistent that the focus will be on quality rather than speed. He knows even more than most that the next two in the door simply must be the right two.
His message to the staff on a Teams call – which Rohl and his coaches also attended - struck the same tone as an interview with Sky Sports. The theme since in the corridors of power has been for business to continue as usual. Fraser Thornton was named as interim CEO and got down to work at the start of the week, seeking to unify those behind the scenes and to support Rohl where needed.
Thornton will mark his first anniversary at Ibrox on December 16. In his first twelve months in the boardroom, he has now held three positions after being replaced as chairman upon completion of the takeover in May.
Thornton was interim chairman of Scottish Golf upon his appointment to the Rangers board and his experiences in sales, brand marketing and finance make him a steady pair of hands during a time of upheaval. Thornton was retained on the board by the American consortium to provide a level of stability between the old regime and the new era and, importantly, give them a man on the ground in Glasgow, given that the remainder of the hierarchy are based in various locations in America and the Far East. That local knowledge, especially as a lifelong supporter, will stand Thornton, and in turn Rangers, in good stead.
Cavenagh will not have needed a full-scale debrief to know what the mood was on Thursday evening. He may still be relatively new to the club and the city, but he is not tone deaf and his first months as chairman have been a steep learning curve. In recent times, he has taken counsel from those who are invested emotionally and financially.
In removing Martin, Stewart and Thelwell, Cavenagh has given the fans what they wished for. Now he must give them what they want, demand and expect above all else – titles and trophies. And Europa League Thursdays, too.
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