Jim White shares Michael Beale to Rangers news he heard in Qatar, Simon Jordan reacts
Simon Jordan believes Rangers are taking a risk by re-hiring former assistant Michael Beale as their successor to Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Speaking on talkSPORT on Monday (28 November, 10:24am), Jim White reported that he’d heard that a deal was close to being agreed for Beale, 42, to be the 18th permanent Rangers manager.
However, on Monday morning, the soon-to-be-former QPR manager was spotted by the Scottish Sun at Rangers’ Auchenhowie training ground.
Ex-Crystal Palace owner Jordan feels it’s a gamble by the Gers to hire Beale when he has such limited experience.
Speaking on talkSPORT on Monday (28 November, 10:24am) while in their studio in Qatar, radio host White said: “Back home, one of the stories at the moment is Michael Beale.
“Is he on his way north? Is he on his way back to Rangers, where he worked as assistant under Steven Gerrard?
“He’s the QPR boss but having said ‘no’ to Wolves, it now seems that it’s highly likely he will say ‘yes’ to Rangers.
“Last night, I heard that the two clubs – Queens Park Rangers and Rangers – [were] close to getting a deal agreed.
“Simon, are QPR showing themselves as weak here? To allow the situation to happen twice in two months, should they have said ‘no’ when it came to Rangers wanting access to speak to Beale?”
Jordan replied: “To what end, ultimately? However you slice and dice this, it goes back to the original position that I took and then was subsequently rode back from because Michael changed his mind on going to Wolves or changed the narrative that was being advanced, that it was a done deal.
“I was pleasantly surprised but then here we go again with another football manager that hasn’t earned their stripes, it’s a johnny-come-lately decision that might blow back in their face.
“Now we move it onto Rangers.
“I think Rangers are taking a risk, this is a manager who was an assistant manager in their building for a period of time.
“He’s been at QPR for a period of games but the last four or five haven’t been particularly compelling.”
Risky, indeed
We have to agree with Jordan here.
However, hiring Gerrard was a risk and he won us our 55th league title without a defeat and improved us massively in European football.
He hadn’t had a first-team management role before his time at Ibrox.
Beale is more experienced than he was, at least.
However, there’s a worry that a move for Beale isn’t just a risk by the Gers’ board but it’s also lazy and predictable.
Why haven’t they put themselves out there to hire someone with a fresh way of thinking who’s done well on the continental scene?
A lot of fans wanted Kjetil Knutsen from Bodo/Glimt in Norway and that makes sense because he’s done a brilliant job both in Norway and in European football with a team that’s not usually seen as one of the best over there.
Ross Wilson knows Beale from his previous time at Ibrox.
It’s the same as him sticking by Allan McGregor and Steven Davis last year by offering them new contracts instead of being inventive.
It comes across as lazy.
In other Rangers news, angry QPR fans edited Beale’s Wikipedia page on Sunday.