Charlie Nicholas slams Michael Beale ‘conspiracy theorists’ after Rangers appointment
Charlie Nicholas has slammed Queens Park Rangers “conspiracy theorists” who claim that Michael Beale’s move to Rangers was pre-meditated weeks in advance, in his column for the Scottish Daily Express.
The Englishman was confirmed as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s successor in the Ibrox dugout on Monday (28 November), after just half a season as manager at Loftus Road.
During this time, the 42-year-old was offered the Wolves job, turning it down after stating ‘loyalty’ and ‘integrity’ were core foundations on which his coaching career has been built on. [Evening Standard]
However, his move to Rangers has been fuelled by speculation by QPR fans who are blaming Beale of hypocrisy after taking his new position.
Nicholas has hit out at such haters and believes they need reminding that loyalty no longer exists between clubs and managers in modern-day football.
He said: “It’s ridiculous that some people are trying to take the moral high ground by accusing Michael Beale of disloyalty for quitting QPR for Rangers.
“Anyone who genuinely thinks there is much loyalty in football is kidding themselves. Angry QPR fans are calling Beale a hypocrite, reminding the manager of his explanation for rejecting the Wolves job last month, when he insisted ‘integrity’ and ‘loyalty’ were big things for him.
“However, if results had deteriorated at QPR, do you think their board would have thought twice about sacking him? It works both ways.
“All the conspiracy theorists are saying Steven Gerrard’s former No.2 at Ibrox was obviously being lined up for Gio van Bronckhorst’s job. It’s nonsense. Beale can do what he wants.”
Too big a job to refuse
The idea that Beale had pre-arranged his appointment to Rangers is nonsense.
Although some QPR fans are angry with the Englishman for quitting on his team as they strive for promotion to the Premier League, they cannot really blame him.
The Rangers job is a highly lucrative one and a chance to manage a club playing European football would have been one of the key reasons for Beale’s move north of the border.
Nicholas also does have a point regarding loyalty in football nowadays. The number of times that managers throughout the football league have been sacked and cut loose after new contracts or transfer pledges is becoming ludicrously high.
There is no longer trust in managers to complete a ‘project’ as there used to be, and the managerial game is now solely a results-driven business.
Beale may have never been offered a job of Rangers’ magnitude if he had turned down the offer, so he was right to take it while the offer stood.
Although lacking experience as a manager, the highly-touted coach has been the brains behind Gerrard’s plans for years now – and his time has finally come to make a name for himself.