Operation Hindsight as the Daily Record rewrites Beale’s disastrous Ibrox reign

Three months into the Revolution! Andy Newport reckons that allowing Micky Beale complete control over recruitment was a disastrous misstep by the Ibrox board.

During the summer the Daily Record reporter didn’t issue a single word of warning as the Ibrox media machine released each of the new signings.

Former team-mates were contacted to explain why Sam Lammers and Cyriel Dessers were far better players than their stats suggested, no one questioned why Norwich and Chelsea were happy to let Kieran Dowell and Dujon Sterling run down their contracts.

In May, following the signing of Dowell, the Record reported Beale saying:

We are nearly there, we have been waiting to get to this point. Without being disrespectful we needed energising and we will come back stronger.

We aren’t that far away from where we want to be, we have five, six or seven players coming in. I think the boys who came in in January gave us energy and the fans want more.

I’m delighted to get Kieran and he is a boy I have known for quite a while as when I was at Liverpool he was at Everton. He played for England Under-21 and then got a move to Norwich and played in the Premier League. They have had changes of coaches, so he comes in and knows three or four of the dressing room.

Dowell and Sterling have identical SPFL statistics, starting one match and making one appearance off the bench.

This week it seems that Newport has decided to pipe up about the multiple failings of the manager that delivered the Dead Rubber Cup and Transfer Window Trophy.

Covering the struggles to appoint a new manager the Record reporter admits:

It’s now six months since the Ibrox board allowed sporting director Wilson to escape the growing fan fury that was being focused in his direction as another title chase got away from the Light Blues on the back of a failed recruitment drive.

The decision left Michael Beale holding the keys to the coffers but without anyone above him to keep an eye on how he was spending the club’s cash, it proved to be another disastrous misstep for both the club and the Londoner.

While drooling over the £40m likely to come in from selling Todd Cantwell and Nico Raskin there wasn’t anyone at the Record questioning Beale’s ability to spot a player or two.

Fortunately there are no coffers available to Beale’s successor who will have to get something out of the players that he inherits from the man that trailed Celtic by seven points after seven matches.