The search is now over and dusted and Tony Mowbray’s successor is in place. That successor is former QPR and Rangers manager Michael Beale, and to be honest it’s not an appointment that fills me with joy.
For I have seen enough of Beale to form my own opinions. Why, because besides being a fan of the Lads I’m also have a soft spot for Celtic, so keep a close eye on Rangers and that’s where I have seen much of the 43-year-old. To Kyril, he is the bright young managerial shining light that apparently will build on what Tony Mowbray did and take it the next level. However, let me tell you it could well be an appointment which could fail.
One of the things about Beale is that he’s a talker. In fact, when you hear him open his mouth then you could think he honestly sounds like a proper EastEnders character. Hence that’s I always call him “Cindy” as opposed to Ian Beale. And to be honest, you will soon grow a bit fed up of the same old whine in each press conference if things aren’t going so well.
So, what do we know about him?
Well, he didn’t have much of a playing career at all, in fact zilcho in terms of league matches played. Charlton Athletic released him as did FC Twente Enschede, and opted to go into coaching. He honed his coaching skills in the world of Futsal, a variation of the beautiful game where it is predominantly played indoors and with a ball that has limited bounce. It’s particularly popular in South America countries.
Anyway after that, his first proper coaching role came 21 years ago at Chelsea, ironically almost around the same time as Brendan Rodgers. But Beale fell out with Chelsea because the young talent he had helped develop weren’t getting first team opportunities, the Blues choosing bringing overseas players in instead. Now where have we heard this before? Well, it’s a common denominator in a lot of teams these days, isn’t it?
His next port of call would be at Premier League rivals Liverpool, fulfilling the same roles as he did with the Blues and eventually rising to become their Under 21 coach. This position saw him first work alongside a certain Steven Gerrard whose paths would cross again sometime in the future. 2017 would see Beale head to Brazil but leave after six months when the manager who he was assistant, got the sack.
He returned to Liverpool, but remember that work alongside Gerrard, well when the former Liverpool and England midfielder landed his first senior managerial role at Ibrox in 2018: one of the first decisions was to take Beale with him. When Rangers won the title under Gerrard it was often stated that Beale was the tactical genius behind the triumph, rather than Gerrard.
When Gerrard left for Aston Villa in 2021, Beale joined him. However, his time in the Midlands lasted less than 12 months as Gerrard was sacked after a serious decline in results. Beale though thought he was good enough to become his own man by then and last season started off life as the then new first team manager at our fellow Championship side Queens Park Rangers. He was their coach when the R’s grabbed an unlikely 2-2 draw with their then keeper scoring in the 96th minute if you didn’t know.
After a less than auspicious start, Beale hoisted the West London side to the top of the Championship but that didn’t last long as they had another slide to the bottom reaches. Meanwhile he had been in demand, and when the Rs were flying Wolves wanted him to replace the then sacked Bruno Lage but Beale declined, citing the following reason: “Integrity is a real big thing for me and loyalty. You don’t give it to receive it back, but if those are the things you live by then at times when you are put in a position you have to be strong by them.”
Yet that seemed hollow when Beale left one set of Rangers for another soon after in November 2022 after the Glaswegian side disposed of Giovanni van Bronckhorst. A couple of the rationales given were that he had a soft spot for the team, and he wanted to return to Glasgow as his child was born there. Anyway, the pressure of managing such a profile name didn’t seem to deter him as he won his first four games in charge.
However, despite having a 72%-win rate with only eight defeats from 43 games, he didn’t deliver a trophy to the South side of the city. When it came to The Old Firm encounters, which are often decide the title, Beale more than often found himself on the losing side. In fact, his only win against Celtic came when the season had nothing left to play for but pride if you were of a Gers persuasion. Three losses in the opening seven matches this season sealed his fate, and Beale left after less than 11 months and zero silverware.
So, can he succeed here on Wearside where the club forms an essential part of the community? Of course, Beale will think he can. He, as stated at the start, talks a good game but then again, a lot managers do. But can he walk the walk? Whilst life in Sunderland is not quite the goldfish bowl that it is in Glasgow, it isn’t far off. Sunderland fans demand they have a side on that pitch which works hard and entertains them, but is ultimately successful.
I just hope that the club has got this appointment right, especially on the back of last season’s achievements. It’s not as if we were in the bottom six, or even the bottom half when Mowbray went and managerial stability is now of prime importance. The revolving door has to stop working for a while.
