Michael Beale left Liverpool in 2018 to join Steven Gerrard at Rangers and now four years later, he is venturing out into senior management himself with QPR.
Beale was once manager of Liverpool’s under-23s and worked closely at the academy for a total of six years over two spells, having joined in 2012 before leaving permanently in 2018.
The two spells with the Reds came thanks to a bold move in deciding to try his arm with a spell in Brazilian football as assistant manager at Sao Paulo to Rogerio Ceni.
Seven months later he resigned, before returning to Liverpool and subsequently joining Gerrard’s backroom staff at Rangers before they then moved on to Aston Villa last year.
Beale was a key man for Gerrard as an assistant coach, with the Villa manager having lauded the experience and expertise of Beale on the training pitch.
“It would take me 15/20 years to become as good as Michael Beale as an on-pitch coach, delivering sessions on a daily basis – so I let Mick be Mick Beale, because he’s the expert,” Gerrard told the Robbie Fowler Podcast.
And now Beale is venturing out on his own after a handful of years working with Gerrard, joining the Championship’s QPR on a three-year deal.
Since their relegation from the Premier League at the end of the 2014/15 season, QPR’s highest finish in the Championship is ninth place, with a bottom half of the table place coming in five of their last seven seasons.
The 41-year-old’s first senior management job will come with the pressure of pushing QPR into the discussion for a playoff place next season, but it’s an opportunity he has long sought.
“I’ve been looking for the right opportunity and I think I have that now – the right club, the right people, the right ambition and the right support,” Beale told QPR’s official website.
“I want us to be a front foot and high-intensity team, in and out of possession. I want Loftus Road to be a real cauldron for us.”
Beale worked with the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ben Woodburn, Ryan Kent, Rhian Brewster and Harry Wilson whilst with Liverpool.
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