It’s been just two months since our last site editorial and, thankfully, a lot has happened since then when we consider the changes needed at our under-performing club.

First and foremost, under-performing Head Coach Russell Martin was relieved of his duties in early October to be replaced within a fortnight by Danny Rohl. Within six weeks, Patrick Stewart and Kevin Thelwell followed him out the door with Chairman Andrew Cavenagh suggesting they “do not align with their vision for the next chapter”.

On the face of it, these departures are a positive move and certainly backed by the Rangers support. Martin’s contribution was awful whilst it could be argued the recruitment impact of Thelwell may have also set us back years. Meanwhile, despite a fairly extensive CV, Patrick Stewart’s time at the club could be described as unsuccessful at best and it’s no real surprise the majority American shareholders would prefer to have their own people in charge.

At the time of writing there are no replacements in sight but that’s unsurprising when Cavenagh spoke of change being “measured and steady” and that he would “prioritise quality and fit over speed”. Fair enough, the last thing we need are quickfire appointments that do not fill the owners’ vision. However, it remains unclear what their vision actually is?

When appointing Rohl, Cavenagh and vice-chairman Marathe spoke of “restoring pride and success” whilst “competing on the pitch in all competitions”. Interviewed about the removal of Stewart and Thelwell, Cavenagh highlighted “the club needs different things today than it did six months ago”. Unfortunately, no more information has been forthcoming whilst an initial small bounce under Rohl has levelled off with disappointing home draws in Europe to Sporting Braga and domestically to Falkirk.

Ultimately, Rangers continues to struggle as a club. Sacking two managers, a CEO and a Sporting Director within a year brings into disrepute the judgment of various people involved. Yes, the takeover happened in the middle of this period and that influential change may yet not have filtered down into every aspect of the operation but whilst the promised initial funding may have arrived, the “deep expertise in strategic planning, infrastructure development, and sporting excellence” definitely has not.

Those are the words of Fraser Thornton, himself appointed chairman last December before Cavenagh took over in May, and currently now in charge of the day-to-day running of the club as interim CEO. A lifelong fan in his mid-50s, Thornton will have experienced both sides of supporting the club – from our struggles in the 1980s and the Holmes/Souness revolution, to 9IAR and right through to the disgraces of 2012. I’d certainly be interested in his opinion where we sit on that barometer now? To my knowledge, Thornton has yet to meet formally with Rangers fans but that should change this month with his new duties.

In February of this year, the Rangers Fans Advisory Group were informed Patrick Stewart – presumably approved by Thornton and perhaps even part of the 49ers consortium’s due diligence – had initiated a review of the football department in conjunction with Sportslogy, a New York-based consultancy group. Indeed, this review and the ‘need to appoint a Sporting Director’ was referenced by Stewart when appointing Kevin Thelwell. Dan Purdy, former Head of Recruitment at Everton, soon followed his former colleague to Rangers as Technical Director. This apparent cronyism continued with Nathan Fisher also arriving from Everton as Chief Scout in October and Thelwell’s own son Robbie from Norwich as Head of First team Recruitment at the same time. At the time of writing, they – along with Purdy – are still in their roles.

Now, even to the most generous of supporters, the above seems overly convenient. Football – like any business – will have an element of personal relationships prioritised over qualifications. However, the appointments above don’t scream of independent, decision-making after thorough vetting. At best, it just looks lazy, and at worst; with the specific the signing of Youssef Chermiti for the better part of £10m from Everton, it shows a blatant disregard for the club’s fiscal well-being.

The good news is that Stewart and Thelwell have paid for these decisions with their jobs. The bad news is the people that approved their decisions are the ones promising us they’re learning as they go along. Meanwhile, we sit a distant fourth in the SPFL table and are out of the Europa League with a timidity that has now become the byword for most of our performances on the field. With the right backing, Danny Rohl may well achieve success at Rangers but it’s now beyond any sort of doubt the vast majority of his playing squad will not.

With that in mind, the next eight weeks are vital for the club and will provide another litmus test for the qualities of those running it. Will we stand by the most recent Football Review and appoint another Sporting Director? What comes first, that role or a new CEO? And what say will they have in the Everton alumni’s key supporting roles in the football operation? Crucially, who’s scouting list are we going off in January’s transfer window and who will take responsibility for the vast squad turnover required? In fact, is January even the best time to make these essential and wholesale player changes?

All things considered, and as much as removing Martin, Stewart and Thelwell must surely be a positive, our concerns from our last editorial remain. If we’re being fair, time must also be given for these changes to crystallise into actions and improvement. But the clock is ticking and Cavenagh’s team cannot keep allowing mistakes to be made throughout the club – whether it’s playing below average right backs at left-back, signing hugely expensive strikers that don’t score goals or allowing cronyism to permeate mistrust with supporters – the 49ers must deliver on the promises they have so far failed to deliver.

In that sense, it’s difficult not to conclude the likes of Cavenagh and Marathe have under-estimated what’s involved at Rangers. Quite simply, we’re not Leeds Utd or San Francisco 49ers and fans won’t accept anything else than winning and achieving success. Bringing in staff from clubs like Everton which doesn’t have that ethos along with players that clearly don’t understand both the physical and mental strength required is an oversight that just shouldn’t have happened. As such, saying we’ll get it right this time without explaining why it went so badly wrong before and how you’ll avoid it happening again are just empty words. Share the vision, involve the fans, make it a team effort. Don't pretend you know the club as well as we do. It's not a toy and you need to understand what it means to generations of supporters.

If not, rather than the American dream we believed in during the summer we may instead be stuck in a living nightmare that could set us back years.