Rangers fans officially turn on Russell Martin & Kieran Dowell | OneFootball

One moment at Ibrox summed up the Russell Martin regime perfectly, and every fan knows it. Deep into the second half, Lyall Cameron had put in a decent shift — hungry, willing, and working hard. Then Martin yanked him off and threw on, quite frankly, the most unpopular Rangers player in years. At least since the start of the season and Propper’s exit. Kieran Dowell.

The boos erupted the moment Cameron walked off. Jeers rained down as Dowell stepped on. Dowell didn’t ask for this reaction — unless he really is hiding some dirt on Martin — but he doesn’t pick himself. Martin did that. Martin bizarrely elevated him into a senior squad role, even calling him a borderline captain, and turned him into a supposed key player. That decision screams everything wrong with this regime.

Dowell’s pre-Rangers career tells the story. Championship football with Norwich City at a modest level. A short Premier League spell with around 18 appearances. Respectable numbers, but nothing to justify star status. Martin still built him into a central figure. Fans weren’t having it.

It brought back memories of Lee McCulloch’s Ibrox boos against Falkirk. Back then, under Ally McCoist, McCulloch became undroppable no matter where he played. A striker by trade, he got forced into defence because McCoist refused to bench him. Eventually the crowd turned. We hated seeing it — even with Dowell now — but it exposed the problem.

Martin showed he’s completely out of touch. One goal down to Dundee, he decided the solution was to take off a popular, hard-working player and bring on a man the fans can’t stand. The choice wasn’t just wrong. It was tone-deaf, arrogant, and bizarre.

Does Dowell have compromising photos of Martin, as some fans joke? Does he hold some explosive gossip? We can’t say. But Martin’s obsession with him sums up the mess. As long as Martin picks players like Dowell and sticks by these warped decisions, Rangers will stay in trouble. This manager has to go. Yesterday’s Dowell substitution didn’t just show the problem — it defined it.