Journalist takes aim at Douglas Park ‘transfer war chest’ at Rangers as Michael Beale appointment closes in
Gary Keown has taken swipe at Rangers chairman Douglas Park as the Bears are close to appointing Michael Beale as their new manager.
Writing his column for the Scottish Mail on Sunday (27 Nov, page 105), Keown suggests that “integrity and loyalty” seldom exist in football and that QPR fans are entitled to be furious with Beale, who is now favourite to land the vacant managerial job at Ibrox.
Beale moved to Aston Villa along with Steven Gerrard, and Keown suggests that one of the major reasons behind this was Park’s unwillingness to provide a significant “transfer war chest”.
“Listen, QPR fans are entitled to be furious with him if he goes to Rangers after all that flannel,” wrote Keown for The Scottish Daily Mail.
“Yet, as much as he has painted himself into a corner, you hear this stuff over and over again. From Brendan Rodgers at Celtic to Beale’s old gaffer Steven Gerrard telling a TV interviewer not to ask silly questions when enquiring about his happiness at Rangers.
“Of course he was happy. He could see an escape tunnel to Aston Villa opening up after popping along to prise open the Ibrox transfer war chest and finding the unbudgeable frame of chairman Douglas Park sitting on the lid and refusing to get off.
“Anyone who thinks integrity and loyalty play significant roles in professional football probably still believe Holyrood and Westminster are there to make our lives better.”
New appointment
It seems like Beale will become the next manager at Ibrox in the next few days.
The QPR boss has made a strong start in his short managerial career at Loftus Road in the Championship and rejected a move to Wolves already.
But he showed great willingness to move to Ibrox to replace Giovanni van Bronckhorst, and that wish will be granted shortly.
Will he be a smart appointment? That is up for serious debate.
Beale has only started his managerial journey and he doesn’t have the pedigree of what it takes to manage a big club like Rangers.
But at the same time, he is a forward-thinking manager who knows the club and the players, and therefore he could unite the fractious dressing room.
The situation is far from ideal. When he left the club, the Bears were already the champions of Scotland and were leading the league table.
After one year, when he returns to Ibrox, he will find that the Gers are nine points behind Celtic and there’s no European football left as well. The pressure is huge.
In other Rangers news, a Serie A club is keen to sign this first-team player in the January window.