Empires are not remembered for the days they stood tall in comfort. They are remembered for the storms that tried to tear them down — and whether they fought back or folded. Every institution built on legacy carries an invisible weight, a demand from the past that refuses to loosen its grip. Tradition is not decoration. It is a standard, and standards do not whisper when they are ignored — they roar.
There are places in sport where effort alone is an insult. Places where history sits in the stands, watching every touch, every tackle, every lapse in concentration. At such institutions, pride is currency and mentality is law. When those pillars crack, the fallout is never quiet. It is loud, raw, and unforgiving — just like the reaction that followed Rangers’ collapse in Portugal.
Because what unfolded at the Estádio do Dragão was not merely a defeat. It was a surrender.
Rangers’ Europa League journey crashed to a miserable halt with a 3–1 loss to FC Porto, and former striker turned pundit Chris Sutton did not bother with diplomacy. He tore into the performance with the kind of fury usually reserved for rivals, not a club of Rangers’ stature.
For six minutes, there was belief. Djeidi Gassama’s powerful header from Findlay Curtis’ cross stunned the stadium and hinted at a night of courage and defiance. Rangers looked sharp, brave, ready for the fight.
Then came the collapse — sudden, spineless, and utterly damning.
Rodrigo Mora levelled with ease. Francisco Moura sliced through a defence that looked like it had never trained together. And when Emmanuel Fernandez turned the ball into his own net under minimal pressure, the contest didn’t just tilt — it imploded.
Sutton’s reaction was savage.
“That was embarrassing. Absolutely embarrassing.”
He did not talk about unlucky moments or fine margins. He spoke about mentality, desire, and what he saw as a total absence of both.
“You go 1–0 up in Europe and instead of growing into the game, they shrank. That’s not a bad night — that’s a weak mindset.”
The former forward was particularly scathing about Rangers’ defensive organisation, calling it chaotic and timid in equal measure. Porto didn’t need magic, he argued. They were handed control by a team that looked terrified of responsibility.
And then Sutton delivered the line that will echo loudly among supporters.
“If certain players aren’t kicked out of the squad especially jack Butland, Rangers won’t win anything — they won’t even win matches consistently. That’s how far off it is.”
It was a brutal assessment, but one he clearly felt was justified. To Sutton, this was not about one mistake or one off night — it was about a pattern of fragility that keeps surfacing when the lights burn brightest.
Rangers ended their European campaign sitting 32nd in the league phase standings — a number that looks wrong next to the club’s name, and even worse next to its history. For a side built on resilience and big-stage courage, this felt like an identity crisis played out in real time.
Manager Danny Röhl will point to domestic targets and the chance to respond in the league. But Sutton warned that ambition means nothing without backbone.
“Talent is useless without fight. Right now, too many of them look comfortable losing — and that should never be acceptable at Rangers.”
That is the wound supporters will feel most deeply. Defeat can be forgiven. Lack of heart cannot. Not at a club where legends are measured by how they responded under pressure, not how they hid from it.
The badge carries history. The shirt carries expectation. And after a night like this, the questions are no longer quiet whispers — they are accusations.
Rangers don’t just need a tactical tweak or a confidence boost. They need a response with teeth, with anger, with pride. Because if this drift continues, the fear Sutton voiced won’t sound outrageous.
It will sound inevitable.
