Michael Beale started this season with a lot of hype and a lot of big talk about challenging Celtic in the Scottish Premiership, only to fall badly short and eventually leave Glasgow.
The former Rangers manager has now been given an opportunity at Sunderland and it seems some of them would rather an old Celtic boss was still in charge at the Stadium of Light.
Former Bhoys defender and manager Tony Mowbray was sacked by Sunderland earlier this month with the Black Cats in ninth position in the Championship.
After a third Coventry goal went in against Beale’s new team in a 3-0 home defeat today, “There’s only one Tony Mowbray” was chanted by both sets of supporters, Football Scotland reports.
Beale even referenced the moment post-match, putting a brave face on and stating: “He (Mowbray) did a good job here, and I have no issue with the fans showing their affection towards him because he was a man who they were fond of and he did a good job. Ultimately, that’s now gone and we need to look forward. The team needs to get better results than it did today.”
It remains to be seen whether Beale will ever be a good manager in his own right, after being so lauded by the majority of the Scottish press as one of the rising stars of the profession upon his appointment at Ibrox.
In contrast to Philippe Clement, Beale often found himself talking about Celtic in the media, with digs such as claiming he turned down the chance to sign eventual Bhoys signing Luis Palma, suggesting that Ange Postecoglou would not have won his first league title had he and Steven Gerrard stayed in Scotland, as well as concluding that the Australian is a “lucky” manager.
So there’s a certain irony that in the first match of his new job a former Celtic figure’s presence pops up to create a bit of an embarrassing moment for him.
Rangers undoubtedly look improved under their new boss and the Bhoys face their first derby since the Belgian replaced Beale. That’s no laughing matter and Brendan Rodgers’ side have a challenge on their hands to come away with the three points.
Hopefully, the team can prove themselves in that one, like they did at Ibrox in September.
In other news, Brendan Rodgers delivers verdict on Celtic performance and result against Livingston.
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