If Succession’s Kendall Roy thinks he’s on a razor-blade tightrope, he should try swapping places with Michael Beale
LHe is now taking centre stage in the signing of new players
OGAN ROY, alas, is no more. The Dundonian media tycoon of HBO’s Succession has gone to the great printing press in the sky. And even the tyrant’s death can’t bring peace to his squabbling offspring.
Monday’s episode found son Kendall agonising over pulling the plug on the old man’s last big deal. Comparing the risks involved to a ‘tightrope walk on a straight razor with a 500 foot reputational drop’, he hadn’t endured angst on this scale since the day his brother Roman bought Hearts by mistake.
Had the Roys thrown themselves into the mayhem of the SPFL back in Season Two they’d be old hands in the art of navigating a razor-blade tightrope by now. For men like Michael Beale, it’s a basic survival skill.
The Rangers manager is shuffling through the final weeks of the season, trying to hold his balance. He can see next season looming tantalisingly in the distance. And right now he can’t get there fast enough.
When he closes his eyes, he sees Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent, Allan McGregor and Rabbi Matondo waving farewell. In the shiny new nirvana of season 2023/24, he can visualise a green and pleasant training pitch filled with the signings of his choice.
Financial necessity dictates that some of the targets will be free agents from the English Championship. And supporters railing against the signing of so-called ‘jobbers’ from England’s second tier should probably wait to see them play before passing judgment.
With Ross Wilson gone, Beale is taking centre stage in the signing of players. Talks have already taken place with targets and, if he thinks he can give Celtic a run for their money with players he knows and trusts, he deserves the chance to prove it.
Beating Celtic tomorrow won’t change the bigger picture. Beaten 2-0 by Aberdeen last weekend, this tired Rangers squad has come to the end of the cycle and summer represents a chance to freshen the menu and go again with new faces and an injection of energy. Winning the cup won’t alter that at all.
What it would do is offer Beale some breathing space. If supporters think the manager is on the right track, that he knows what he’s doing, they’ll give him time. They’ll judge his signings on their merits.
With every defeat to Celtic, it grows a little harder for some to keep the faith. Glasgow derbies are imbued with importance, even when they don’t matter very much at all.
When a manager has the upper hand, like Ange Postecoglou, he is lionised and sainted. When he goes three games without winning, like Beale, he’s placed in a set of stocks and pelted with rotten tomatoes.
The overreaction to every game places managers under a level of intense scrutiny they won’t get elsewhere.
While Rangers were better in the recent 3-2 league defeat at Parkhead, they were forced and harried into individual defensive errors by Celtic’s high press.
Anger over the performance of referee Kevin Clancy failed to alter the fact that the home team won the game while playing below their best. To keep the punters onside, Beale has to minimise the mistakes tomorrow.
In last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Motherwell, Celtic turned in their least impressive performance of the domestic campaign since a 2-0 defeat to St Mirren in September. While Postecoglou’s team have been relentless for the most part, they’re still human beings.
Logic suggests that Celtic should beat Rangers again because they have some better footballers.
Captain Callum McGregor has consistently been the best midfielder in the country. Reo Hatate and Jota are challengers for player of the season. Kyogo Furuhashi will claim the crown if he crashes through the 30-goal barrier tomorrow. And, if Beale could throw Cameron Carter-Vickers into his back four ahead of Ben Davies, he’d do it in a heartbeat.
That said, the league matters most to Celtic. While the bragging rights of winning a domestic Treble might mean something to fans, it’s less important to players from Japan or Portugal than, say, qualifying for the Champions League. Last season, Giovanni van Bronckhorst killed hopes of a Parkhead Treble in the last four of the Scottish Cup. If only to salvage some pride, Beale could use a repeat of that tomorrow.
Ibrox legend Jock Wallace used to speak of having the ‘battle fever’ before these games. If Rangers don’t show some of that now, you must wonder when they ever will.
Human nature dictates that they should be the more motivated team. Lose this game and they finish the season trophyless while their arch rivals march towards a Treble. For those reasons alone, they should have the greater desire to win.
Speaking in last week’s Mail On Sunday, assistant manager Neil Banfield claimed Rangers were ‘coming’ for their rivals. Something said by Postecoglou after the recent Parkhead game had gone down the wrong way. And, in Beale, he sees a coach with the tools required to settle a score.
‘You talk about Julian Nagelsmann, Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino,’ said Banfield. ‘Micky Beale is not far off that, let me tell you. The way he operates, structures the club and works with his staff. He has first-class qualities all the any through. He reminds me very much of Arsene…’
Lest anyone forget, Arsene Wenger won a Ligue One title with Monaco, four English Premier League titles and seven FA Cups with Arsenal.
Nagelsmann won a German Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich. Tuchel won two Ligue One titles with PSG and a Champions League with Chelsea. Pochettino, meanwhile, won the French title with PSG and led Spurs to a Champions League final.
Beale might reach that level one day. As things stand, he has yet to win a game against Celtic, never mind his first trophy.
To convince people Rangers are heading in the right direction, he could do with ticking both boxes soon.