Mick Beale will claim the lure of Rangers was simply too strong. An emotional bond created during time spent at the club as assistant to Steven Gerrard meant he was destined to return. Blah blah. He could reasonably point towards a wider culture in football. Beale is not the first and will not be the last to have weighty sentiment almost immediately contradicted by actions. It is just that, in this case, it is bordering on the preposterous.
“It was a real privilege to be asked to go to speak to them but I didn’t think it was the right moment because I entered into an agreement here,” said Beale when Wolves tried to coax him from Queens Park Rangers. “Integrity is a real big thing for me, and loyalty. You don’t give it to receive it back but I think if they’re the values you live by then at times when you’re put in a position then you have to be strong by them. I’ve been all in here and I’ve asked others to be all in so I can’t be the first to run away from the ship.” This was in late October. Late October 2022. He will begin December as the new manager of Rangers. A switch from QPR to one of British football’s most esteemed clubs is hardly shocking but the self-aggrandising fuss Beale created when knocking back Wolves means onlookers are entitled to snort with laughter.
