BBC man Tom English shock at potential Michael Beale and Steven Gerrard Rangers returns
Micheal Beale or Steven Gerrard returning to Rangers would be a major shock considering their current situations, according to Tom English.
The Light Blues former title-winning manager and his ex-assistant are both linked to the now-vacant manager’s job at Ibrox after the sacking of Giovanni van Bronckhorst on Monday (21 November).
Current QPR boss Beale is now one of the favourites, after Loftus Road chief Les Ferdinand confirmed he wouldn’t stand in his way [Daily Record], with the job apparently of interest, but English finds either of the managers coming back to Glasgow a huge stretch.
Speaking on the Scottish Football Podcast on BBC Sounds (21 November, 19min 40sec) English said: “I’d fall off my chair in shock if either of them went back to Rangers.
“I think Gerrard will see that he’s done that job, he’s moved on. No point in going back.
“Beale, I think he’s got his hands full with the job that he’s in. It’s an excellent job. He’s sitting in seventh, his team’s form has fallen away, but the Premiership is still within his grasp, and I just can’t see him going back to Rangers.”
Could happen
There may be some logic to the idea that neither could return, but certainly when it comes to Beale there is enough evidence to suggest the opposite.
He was given the opportunity to distance himself from the job when he was recently asked about his surprise 29 October return to Ibrox, which had heightened speculation over Van Bronckhorst, and avoided doing so.
In many ways he sounded like a recently-appointed manager when he talked up his previous time in Glasgow, and with his current job apparently not an issue the coast looks to be clear for that reunion to happen.
Whether it should happen is another matter, as there remains a level of discontent among parts of the fanbase for the way he left, even if it is not as acute as with Gerrard.
Given the former Liverpool captain’s struggles at Aston Villa prior to his sacking a month ago there is less to suggest he remains the kind of attractive candidate he was when he left.
But despite Beale’s R’s side hitting poor form recently, he has offered more in recent months to encourage clubs to consider him.
That said, in his last eight matches prior to the World Cup break his side have won just twice, while losing five times, a run which has seen them fall from top to outside the play off places.
Such a run is not the sort that screams of being the man to rescue a similar, if less drastic, slump in the SPFL.
There is a definite risk for the board in reappointing either Beale or Gerrard, since for all the good work they are associated with from their first spell at the club the landscape is very different now, and there won’t be the kind of leeway afforded from the fanbase if they don’t succeed immediately.
In other Rangers news, sources have revealed a clash between the now-sacked manager and senior players at the club that helped lead to his exit.