Michael Beale now walks a tightrope at Ibrox after Rangers sack decision
Rangers boss Michael Beale will now be analysing every decision he makes at Ibrox with a fine-tooth comb from now on with a boardroom decision now made on his future.
As reported by the Daily Record (6 September), chairman John Bennett and other Ibrox chiefs are “ready to stand behind” Beale for now despite disappointing results in the first weeks of the window.
Daily Record journalist Keith Jackson also reported on the paper’s website on 6 September that Bennett “will resist calls” to remove the under-fire Gers boss “despite the outpouring of fan fury” after the 1-0 loss to Celtic on Sunday (3 September), but Beale will have to “deliver an immediate upturn in results”.
The Rangers chairman is “determined” to give his manager the “benefit of the doubt” but the 43-year-old will need to “avoid another European humiliation” and successfully reach the League Cup semi-final to prevent his job situation becoming “critical”.
Rangers fans will certainly be incredibly disappointed at the manner of recent results at Ibrox especially after Beale was backed so heavily in the transfer market with as many as nine signings made.
Impressive additions such as Jose Cifuentes, Danilo, Cyriel Dessers, Sam Lammers and Abdallah Sima certainly brought plenty of optimism around Ibrox that this was indeed the year that Rangers could not only fully challenge Celtic for the Scottish Premiership title but also successfully beat them to it.
However, with four games into the campaign, Rangers look far from a Scottish Premiership hopeful and that is partly down to Beale’s indecision in regards to his squad and playing style which has ultimately led to inconsistencies in results and with his immediate Ibrox future in serious jeopardy.
The Gers again looked bereft of ideas against Celtic in the final third – their disallowed goals aside – and also failed to find a way past Kilmarnock.
Something is clearly wrong, then, and that is laid bare when taking a closer look at the underlying statistics via FBref.
Rangers have had 80 shots in the Scottish Premiership so far this season, which is considerably 20 more than the next-highest in Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic. Beale’s men are creating chances but are worryingly aimless with their shooting.
They have scored only six times from those 80 shots – Celtic have eight from their 60 – which certainly shows how their Old Firm rivals are even toppling them in a small statistic. 31.3% of Rangers’ shots so far have found the target and that stat is again laid bare especially given the attacking signings Beale made and the controversial exits he sanctioned – most crucially, in Fashion Sakala.
Only five teams have a worse record than that.
It will be impossible for anyone involved in Rangers to not have an idea of just how unhappy fans have become in the early stages of this season, and it seems as though Beale will be allowed to attempt to turn things around.
But, after the boardroom decision on his future so arguably early into his Rangers tenure, it’s become an embarrassing situation at Ibrox and the former QPR manager has certainly been caught with his tail between his legs.
Whether he is in charge of his own destiny in Glasgow remains to be seen, but in the coming weeks, Beale is walking an incredible tightrope right now.
In other Rangers news, one senior Ibrox star could be forced to empty his locker very soon after a decision had been made on Beale’s future.