The systemic failure which cost Rangers over two years

So we have all had around 24 hours to digest the news that the Rangers board have finally indirectly owned up to their colossal failure earlier this year and given Pedro his marching orders.

We at Ibrox Noise opposed this appointment from the start, and we must say it was a feeling shared by a significant portion of the fanbase.

We wanted to be wrong, all of us – we needed to be, but when we sift through the wreckage of the various calamities furnished upon us by the Portuguese, it really looks like it is close to the worst Old Firm appointment in history.

There was simply no CV to this guy – no background clarity convincing us a genuinely random guy from Portugal and consigned to midtable mediocrity in Qatar was the right man to take charge of Rangers.

As we have covered a few times, Rangers’ board themselves were far from convinced. A near 50-50 split divided the suits, and just that one deciding vote clinched it.

A mention also must be made to ex-Rangers player Pedro Mendes, who was entirely complicit in this charade. All he saw was a chance for his client to manage a huge club and be paid well for the privilege.

If Pedro Mendes, having taken part in the claustrophobic goldfish bowl that is Glasgow and the Old Firm himself, truly believed his client was the right man to take over an ailing Rangers, a Rangers already in deep trouble and desperately trying to get out, then we must question his judgement.

In short, Mendes fed Caixinha to the lions and takes as much responsibility for it as half the board do for making the call.

But at the end of the day, we do not dislike Pedro. As Ibrox Noise’s own Greg Roots puts it, his only real crime was being ambitious.

The guy was completely out of his depth, in an alien land, and he felt the way to success was bringing his own fellas in – which, in fairness, often works. Look at Dick Advocaat bringing his Dutch mates. It worked.

But Advocaat was a UCL manager, a former Dutch NT manager – he also had major budget.

Pedro might have had a decent budget but he also did not have the calibre of experience to cope with what Rangers needed. Dick did.

Unfortunately that lack of experience and knowhow led to a man staring into the abyss like a rabbit in headlights. Doing all the wrong things, acting completely inappropriately and bringing disrepute on the club, sadly.

If Pedro Mendes was the one who brought him to Rangers’ board’s attention, then it would probably be wise to cut ties with our former Portuguese midfielder.

Pedro is not a bad man, far from it. He was just a shockingly ill-advised appointment at a time when Rangers need stability, not risk.

Now Rangers’ board has a huge chance to fix a two-year long mistake. Pedro was by no means the only managerial error – imagine the difference in Rangers had Tommy Wright, Steve Robinson, Sam Allardyce, Derek McInnes or the like taken over in the summer of 2015 instead of Mark Warburton.

We see how much work the Aberdeen and St Johnstone bosses to name just two have put in over the years and how Aberdeen sit comfortably in second while St Johnstone are an experienced top 6 to top 3 team these days.

But the ‘if only’ does not matter now.

Rangers must must must must MUST make the right appointment this time. They must listen to fans. Listen to club legends. Listen to everyone.

For Stewart Robertson to describe Pedro Caixinha as the ‘outstanding choice’ beggars the belief of our Managing Director’s judgement too.

Well, he has a chance to make amends. They all do.

And they really better had – Rangers’ future depends on it.