Andrew Cavenagh pushed the button on Rangers takeover after undercover spying mission on the Copland Road

Daily Record

2 days ago

It was after this spying mission that Cavenagh opened the talks which would lead to his successful takeover in May of this year
Andrew Cavenagh decided to push the button on his multi-million pound buy out of Rangers after going deep undercover to mingle with match day punters in the Copland Road stand.
‌
The health insurance tycoon made the secret trip to Glasgow on November 23 last year, battling through a snow storm to buy a ticket for a 1-1 draw with Dundee United.
‌
And it was after this spying mission that the American businessman opened the talks which would lead to his successful takeover in May of this year, along with his backers from the San Francisco 49ers
‌
The story of Cavenagh 's first ever trip to Ibrox has been revealed by Paul Murray in part of an in depth exclusive interview with our groundbreaking Hotline Live show, which is available to view online.
And Murray, who helped Cavenagh and his consortium pull the deal together from the inside, has told how he knew the Americans were destined to take control from the moment the main man turned down a VIP seat in the directors' box to sit among the fans instead.
Murray revealed: 'I met Andrew for the first time on a Zoom call in October last year, so nine months ago. We had a bit of a chat - nice guy - and he was then coming to London a week later.
'So I flew down to London and had lunch with him in central London. We had a really good chat.
'He didn't actually mention the 49ers at that time but he was actually with a guy from Leeds so I kind of figured out that there was something else maybe going on.
'We had a really good chat and my first impressions were, 'Really nice guy, very easy to talk to,'.
‌
'As we've been discussing, over the last 20 years I've met a lot of people who want to invest in Rangers and who come forward - I think we all know some of the people we've just been mentioning!
'Andrew was different. You just got a sense immediately this guy is, first of all, he's a very successful businessman in his own right. A very serious guy but also a nice guy and also engaged.
'I talked him through the history of the club, the last 15 years and some of the things that had happened. You could tell he was really engaged. He obviously knew a lot of the things we were talking about.
‌
'As it happened, because the guy was there from Leeds, I did take the opportunity of mentioning the Battle of Britain from 30 years ago which they were quite amused by.
'I said, 'That shows you where Rangers were 30 years ago. Before the English Premier League came into existence, we were, if not the biggest club in Britain, certainly one of the biggest clubs in Britain,'. So they were actually quite interested in that.
'I think the two things which really struck me about Andrew that day were, first of all he was really engaged and obviously really interested in what I was saying but also we were playing a game against Hearts at Ibrox a couple of days later on the Sunday.
‌
'He actually said to me, 'I think I'll just fly up to Ibrox and go to the game,'.
'I asked if he wanted me to try to speak with someone and he said, 'No, I'll just get a ticket and I'll just go,'.
'As it turned out, for various reasons he wasn't able to go as he had some family stuff on but he then contacted me about a week later and said he wanted to go to the Dundee United game, which was in the middle of November.
‌
'Again, I asked if he wanted me to help and he said, 'No, I'll just go and get a ticket - a normal ticket for any area of the ground,'. I think he actually went into the Copland Stand.
'But I thought that was quite interesting. A guy with that wealth and he just thought, 'I'm going to buy a ticket,'.
'He flew up to Glasgow, bought a ticket on his own. He went with a couple of other guys and you might remember it was a really bizarre game because it was meant to be a three o'clock kick-off on the Saturday and it was really bad weather.
‌
'It was the middle of November but there were snow drifts and crazy weather to the point that Dundee United couldn't get down the A9.
'He actually contacted me to say, 'When does the game start?'.
'I said, 'I've just looked and apparently it's been delayed until four o'clock!'.
‌
'So it was a really weird day and Andrew was basically walking about the stadium, looking at the stands and nobody knew who this guy was.
'I thought it was actually really interesting that a guy like that would take the time - because normally these guys want to go to the directors box as VIPs - but this guy was prepared to put on his work clothes if you like and just go and look at it.
'The other thing that happened that day was there were quite a lot of fan protests as well as having the snow drifts to contend with. But it obviously didn't put him off.'
‌
Now, a decade after helping Dave King take control of Ibrox in a boardroom purge, Murray believes his club has been passed into the best possible hands.
He said: 'There are no guarantees. But I'm hugely excited.
‌
'I spent a good bit of time with Andrew in the early days - I don't know Paraag just as well but we did have a couple of meetings - and I think these guys are going to be great for the club.
'I think, in a funny kind of way, the fact that they are not Rangers fans is a good thing because we've had Rangers fans on the board for a long time and it is difficult.
'It's hard to convey when you are a fan but you are also on the board as a custodian, you feel the weight of expectation on your shoulders.
‌
'In fact, my very last game on the board of directors was just before Steven Gerrard came, when we lost 5-0 at Celtic Park and Celtic won the league.
'I remember leaving that day and I was actually finished. I just had to resign because I was emotionally spent. You sit there as a fan and as a director and it's hard to take.
'These guys are clearly going to be invested in the club from an emotional point of view but they are a bit more detached. And that gives them more objectivity which is a good thing.
'I don't know Paraag as well as Andrew but I think they are quite a complimentary duo and it's maybe this east coast west coast thing. Andrew is obviously from Philadelphia and I think Paraag is from California.
'So they have slightly different styles and backgrounds but I think they are quite complementary.'