Times journalist full of rage as he explodes at Michael Beale for Rangers appointment
Matt Dickinson wrote a column for The Times [2 December] from “the heart rather than the head” where he called the Rangers new boss Michael Beale a “duplicitous git”.
The Times senior sports writer was full of rage as he accused Beale of being guilty of a “terrible betrayal” to the Queens Park Rangers fans.
Beale became the 18th manager at Ibrox when he took charge last month, but his appointment has angered the QPR fan base (along with many pundits and journalists).
The 42-year-old previously rejected the chance to move to Wolves, stating loyalty as the reason, but he couldn’t refuse the lure of managing Rangers.
“This column comes to you from the heart rather than the head. It may be irrational. It will stray, unapologetically, into bitterness and resentment. In other words it is about football and fandom,” wrote Dickinson.
“Or, to put it another way, Michael Beale is a duplicitous git guilty of a terrible betrayal. At home, we call him much worse.
“With a World Cup going on, you may not be closely following how Beale, the aforementioned git, has left Queens Park Rangers to head elsewhere. I believe they are called Glasgow Rangers. Scottish, apparently. I won’t be rooting for them any time soon.”
Harsh
Dickinson wrote this article from a fan’s perspective, and he has let his emotions take control of the piece.
Some of the words or phrases he used are really demeaning, and the comparison of Beale with Shakespeare’s Macbeth is not only over the top but ludicrous as well.
Dickinson probably has a point here that fans expect their players or managers to stick by what they say because they are invested in it. It feels like an act of betrayal for them when the opposite happens.
But there’s another side to the issue. When Steven Gerrard left Rangers mid-way to join Aston Villa to fulfill his ambition, why was the issue of loyalty not being heavily discussed at that time?
Secondly, had Beale joined a club like Everton or West Ham, let alone big clubs like Manchester United or Liverpool, would he have been crucified like he is being now? No way. The narrative would have changed.
The main trigger point of anger here is that he left QPR to join Rangers, and fans and pundits (a section of it) in England do not willingly consider them a big club.
But Rangers are a massive club. Someone can have aspirations and dreams to manage them, and Beale has been wrongly pilloried for his choice. There’s no need to take a moral high ground here. This too shall pass.
In other Rangers news, a former Ibrox chief has slammed the current board for their decision to hire Beale.