Bloodlust of Rangers fans is sated, but are US owners next?
The merchandise stalls outside any football stadium are always reflective of the mood of supporters.For those Rangers fans making their way towards Ibrox prior to Thursday’s Europa League match with Braga, the faces on the scarves will be mostly heroes of yesterday.There’s presently little demand for trinkets bearing images of the current squad. Too few feel worthy of any adulation.Back in May, the more savvy stallholders rolled out a new line in the traditional red, white and blue colours.The Stars and Stripes flag went down a storm in the weeks following the American takeover.There was optimism in the air. With the investment arm of the San Francisco 49ers in the building, there was a palpable belief that the consortium would - to borrow the slogan - make Rangers great again. Stewart, above left, and Thelwell have now left Rangers after a brutal parting of the ways Happier times for the pair as chief executive Stewart welcomes sporting director Thelwell to IbroxSix days shy of the six-month anniversary of the deal being ratified, supporters are wondering exactly when things will get started.Rangers have had three managers in that time. Russell Martin, the first permanent appointment on the Americans’ watch, proved to be an unmitigated disaster.A team that was humiliated 9-1 on aggregate by Club Brugge in the Champions League is sitting at the foot of a 36-team Europa League table without a point.While domestic results have improved under Danny Rohl, the performances have been mixed. Still sitting fourth in the Premiership table, the squad looks inadequate and unbalanced.Given all that, news that the blood of Kevin Thelwell and Patrick Stewart was on the carpet on Monday morning really should have come as little surprise.After he arrived last December, chief executive Stewart was instrumental in Thelwell having one foot in the door as sporting director at the point when the consortium took charge.Both were keen to push Martin’s credentials, with Thelwell going on record to describe him as ‘the outstanding candidate’ when he got the job and ‘one of the best coaches he’d ever worked with’ shortly before he was binned.He could have been shown the door for that judgment alone. When coupled with a transfer window - which he controlled - containing far more misses than hits, the Englishman’s suitability for such a key the role was a source of mystery. Both Stewart and Thelwell were keen to push Russell Martin's credentials when he arrived at Rangers as head coach New boss Danny Rohl is welcomed by chairman Andrew Cavenagh, but Thelwell, far left, and Stewart, far right,are no longer part of the picture at IbroxBut while the reasons behind the sackings scarcely require explaining, the timing of them is a little bit odd.Speaking just over a month ago, on the day that Rohl was unveiled following a bewildering process, Cavenagh was fulsome in his backing of the two men who he dismissed over the weekend.Read More Patrick Stewart and Kevin Thelwell AXED by Rangers as owners finally bow to fan pressure ‘They do retain my full support,’ he said. ‘It’s Patrick, it’s Kevin, it’s myself, it’s Paraag (Marathe).’Since then, Rohl’s somehow won four league games on the spin. The displays haven’t been scintillating, but they’ve been marginally better.The noise surrounding Thelwell and Stewart had calmed down just a little. It’s understood that neither man saw their sackings coming.Cavenagh had evidently turned the microscope on them both the minute that Rohl had accepted his offer. The German’s report on his early findings is hardly likely to have painted a complimentary picture of the workings behind the scenes.While the chairman was keen ‘not throw dirt on either of them’ yesterday, their shortcomings didn’t leave them a leg to stand on.Football managers are judged on results and performances. The same eventually applies to those who appoint them. Angry supporters made it clear that they didn't want Thelwell and Stewart at RangersThe prosecution’s case against Thelwell was weighty. While Martin’s dismissal in October after just 17 games reflected poorly on him, Rangers’ transfer record in his short time there was woeful.Despite all the evidence to the contrary, Thelwell encouraged the Americans to spend £8million to sign Youssef Chermiti from Everton. The Portuguese forward, who he knew from his days at Goodison, has scored once in 13 appearances.Some £4m was also lavished on Oliver Antman with £3.5m spent on Thelo Aasgaard. Both have performed in flashes. Part of a summer spend thought to be in the region of £30m, which includes loan signings, Max Aarons, Joe Rothwell, Emmanuel Fernandez, Nasser Djiga and Jayden Meghoma just haven’t done enough.Thelwell might have got the benefit of the doubt if the majority of those who he’s staked his reputation on looked up to the task. But with Djeidi Gassama the only unqualified success, his track record left him exposed.While there will be no little relief among fans that Thelwell’s period of influence is over, it will be some time before the mess he created can be cleared up.There’s a deep irony in the identity of many of those who will attempt to drive the club forward before permanent replacements are found.Technical director Dun Purdy and chief scout Nathan Fisher are both Thelwell allies from their Everton days. Robbie Thelwell, appointed head of recruitment to much fury in October, is, of course, his son.Stewart’s impact was more underwhelming than damaging. He joined almost exactly a year ago having been interim CEO at Manchester United towards the end of an 18-year spell at Old Trafford. Russell Martin was also hounded by fans unimpressed by his stewardship of the clubHis first public utterance was to back Philippe Clement. His second was to sack the Belgian.He launched a ‘root and branch’ external review of the club’s football operations which identified the need to appoint a sporting director.Although clearly vulnerable to regime change, the Aberdonian might have prevailed had he not seen Thelwell as a hand-in-glove for that very role.For both men, there may be small aspect of relief that it’s finally come to this.As Martin’s reign went from bad to worse, both executives were confronted by irate fans in hotel lobbies and airports. How many other such incidents took place away from a camera phone?They remained vilified figures even after the firing of Martin, their faces put on banners which were held up at matches. They were never turning this situation around.Rohl must have thought he’d seen it all during two turbulent seasons at Sheffield Wednesday when the club’s off-field problems ran so deep that he went days without sleep.Just as it was in South Yorkshire, the off-field drama on the south side of Glasgow is unrelenting. Thelwell and Stewart are pictured with chairman Cavenagh, far right, at this month's Roma game Chairman Cavenagh has work to do to ensure the club's American owners do not fall out of favour with Rangers fans, tooIn his formative years at RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich, head coaches came and went but those above them remained. On such stable structures, success is usually built.Just 35 days after he and Thelwell held up opposite ends of a scarf as they posed for photographers, the sporting director’s departure has been unilaterally agreed and no one quite knows what happens next.Back in early June, when Cavenagh and vice-chair Paraag Marathe first faced the media, they joked that they hoped that such meetings would be infrequent affairs. That, they felt, would mean their plan was going swimmingly.It says much then, that Cavenagh’s hardly been away from the place since that he and will sample more of the Scottish winter chill before returning home. He’s got a lot of work to do.A regime which promised to lift Rangers up by being slicker and smarter in all its dealings hasn’t got a great deal right so far.As both Thelwell and Stewart will now attest, Ibrox is an unforgiving environment. Those who finally acceded to the wishes of supporters by showing them the door will know that the anger and angst haven’t all gone with them.
