Dom Ball's old team-mates at both Ibrox and Loftus Road only have good things to say about Michael Beale.
The QPR punters, however, are unlikely to be quite so complimentary if Steven Gerrard’s former No.2 decides its time for a move back to Glasgow barely a month after insisting he owed the London outfit his “loyalty”. Beale made that apparently sincere declaration after knocking back an approach from Premier League strugglers Wolves.
What has changed in the four weeks since to convince him that actually it is time to look elsewhere? Well the cynics will suggest the fact his team have won just one of their six English Championship fixtures since he rejected that Molineux move may have tempered Beale’s excitement about the Rs’ future potential. But Ball believes the reason for the increasingly likely return of Beale to Glasgow has more to do with the possibilities on offer at Ibrox.
The former Gers defender has sampled life at both clubs and insists when it comes to their Glasgow namesakes, QPR were always going to struggle in a tug of love. Beale’s impending defection back north of the border will no doubt spark a backlash from the spurned Loftus Road faithful.
But Ball told Record Sport : “To be honest, that’ll be the least of his worries.
“The QPR fans will be very disappointed but I know myself, once you’ve been at Rangers you realise that it’s a club that’s hard to turndown. Once you see the size and passion of the fanbase and just how great a club it is - and the potential it has - you can’t say no.
“That potential is even greater now than when I was there when Rangers were in the Championship. OK they didn’t do great in the Champions League this year but it’s still the highest level in club football. If Mick does move it can only be because he feel it’s a better fit than the Wolves job.”
News of Gers’ swoop for their former assistant manager hasn’t exactly caught the imagination of the Light Blues faithful, with a sizeable chunk unsure if hiring a boss with just 22 games under his belt is a risk worth taking as they desperately search for a way to put the breaks on Ange Postecoglou’s rampant Celtic. But Ball reckons returning to Glasgow might be a bigger gamble for Beale himself.
“He’s turned down the Premier League and he’s now got another tough decision to face,” added the former Spurs trainee, who joined Gers in 2016 under Mark Warburton. "He’s only six months into his career and he’s already had two top clubs chasing him.
“It’s a risk for him because if it doesn’t go well, he goes back to square one. He might not get a club on a similar level as QPR next time.
“The big question he’ll be asking himself right now is, ‘Do I need to be a bit more patient and stay and learn a bit more at QPR? It’s my first job, do I back myself to stay and hope the opportunity comes around again once I’m really ready?’
“It’s a tough one for him. As for Rangers, changing manager is always a gamble, but from what I know of Mick Beale I can’t see it being anything other than a good move for the club.”
Ball saw what the frontrunner for the Ibrox hot seat was capable of during his Spurs academy days when he’d regularly come up against the Liverpool youth squads Beale was shaping. And the centre-back - who quit Loftus Road in the summer to join Ipswich - has received glowing reports on the former Chelsea and Sao Paulo coach from former Gers team-mate Lee Wallace as well as the QPR colleagues he starred alongside last term.
He said: “I left QPR before Michael took over, which is a bit of a shame as I’ve heard a lot of good things about him. I’ve chosen to move to Ipswich in the summer because of the opportunity to work with Kieran McKenna, who I hear is very similar to Michael in terms of the detail and the quality of their coaching.
“On one hand I was disappointed to have missed out on that chance to work with Mick, but on the other I feel lucky to have the opportunity I have here at Portman Road. I’m still in touch with the lads at QPR and they all talk about how good the training is under Beale, how detailed it is how much he’s helping to improve them all as individuals.
“The fact you’ve had Wolves come in for him and now Rangers, it’s clear he’s a very good coach. You could see when he was at Ibrox first time along with Gerrard that the team was doing something right on the training field with they way they performed in matches.
“OK, he’s not been a manager for long but as a coach, he’s been so obsessed with making his teams as good as they can be Regardless of what happens with this interest from Rangers, I don’t think it will be long before we see him at the very top.”
Beale will be asked to clean up the mess left behind by Gio van Bronckhorst, who paid the price for allowing Celtic to romp nine points clear when he was sacked on Monday. But a new broom might be just what’s required to get the best out of the likes of James Tavernier.
“Tav is the only one left I played with,” said Ball. “I haven’t spoken to him for a few years but it’s great to see the way he’s stepped up since that first year.
“He joined when the club was in the Championship and here he was this year leading them out into the Champions League. It’s an incredible story.
“It took so much work to get to this level but once you get there, that’s probably only when you realise how much work there’s still to be done and that is where Rangers look like they’re at right now. But I’m sure Tav will be looking at Beale coming in and will be excited. A lot of the players at the club really suited the style that was in place under Gerrard and Beale.
“I think that’s the attraction in bringing him back. I’m guessing a lot of the players will be excited by that.”
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