Former Rangers manager Michael Beale has struggled since leaving the club and, in the space of 18-months, built and ruined his managerial reputation.
What hasn’t helped is saying one thing but doing another both at Ibrox and at Loftus Road before he came back to Glasgow.
His time as Rangers boss was a frustrating one as Michael Beale failed to deliver on his many promises, and we weren’t the only ones we let down.
Rangers appointment of Michael Beale explained by former boss
When Steven Gerrard left for Aston Villa, there were a few voices suggesting that Beale should be offered the chance to step up to the hot seat.
His loyalty saw him follow Gerrard to the Premier League amid rumours of discontent between the management team and the board.
He didn’t have long to wait for his chance though after returning just 12-months later.
The manner of Michael Beale’s return to Rangers was somewhat controversial.
An appearance at Ibrox with Giovanni van Bronckhorst under pressure didn’t go down well with some and his director at QPR wasn’t happy either.
Speaking to the Stick to Football podcast, Les Ferdinand explained how Beale’s spell at Loftus Road didn’t last long:
“Yeah, that was disappointing cos he’d got us to the top of the league and the boys eating out the palm of his hand.
“Michael Beale came from nowhere; people were talking about him being a coach.
“He’d never been a number one but we looked at him and looked at the criteria and thought ‘Do you know, that kind of fits what we’re looking for’.
“I know he’s had a couple of dodgy spells at Rangers and Sunderland but, if someone was to ask me today, I always said that he would be a top manager somewhere.”
What didn’t help Beale’s cause is that, before he came back to Rangers, he pledged his allegiance to Ferdinand and QPR but there was clearly an itch he had to scratch:
“I said to the owners, if we are going to lose Michael Beale, I don’t think it’ll be just now, it’ll be in a year or two to Rangers,” when Ferdinand spoke about the early offer from Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Beale needs to take some time out from the game and reflect on the mistakes he has made.
With hindsight, and as Ferdinand says, he should have stayed at QPR for longer.
Walk, before you can run and all that.
