“I’d be happy with him” – QPR fan pundit reacts as club eye ex-Aston Villa man as Mick Beale replacement | OneFootball

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Football League World

·30 November 2022

“I’d be happy with him” – QPR fan pundit reacts as club eye ex-Aston Villa man as Mick Beale replacement

Article image:“I’d be happy with him” – QPR fan pundit reacts as club eye ex-Aston Villa man as Mick Beale replacement

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Neil Critchley is a contender for the current vacancy at QPR, as detailed in a report from West London Sport.


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The R’s are currently looking for a Mick Beale successor after it was confirmed earlier in the week that the 42-year-old would become the new Rangers boss.

Critchley, who previously enjoyed a productive stint in charge at Blackpool, has been out of work since Aston Villa opted to part company with Steven Gerrard, with the 44-year-old joining the Premier League club in the summer as an assistant manager.

Sharing his thoughts on whether or not Critchley should be the man tasked with the QPR vacancy, FLW’s QPR fan pundit Louis Moir said: “Neil Critchley looks to be the most obvious replacement for Mick Beale at this point. He’s the bookies’ favourite at the moment. It seems like the easiest option for the club with him not being in a job so we wouldn’t have to pay a compensation fee.

“He did a very good job at Blackpool under a low budget, similar to us, in terms of having hardly any money to spend. He’s developed players and had a similar background to Mick Beale. He was (working within) Liverpool youth as well.

“He’s come through that academy process in his career, which I think our board like at this stage and would like someone similar.

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“I’d be happy with him. I would take him after showing what he can do on a low budget and developing players, but the only slight concern would be he signed a new contract at Blackpool and then a few months later he went to Aston Villa to become the number two for more money.”

The verdict

Critchley would be an excellent appointment at Loftus Road when considering that the R’s are wanting someone to continue the project that Beale started.

Still positioned well in the Championship standings and there being scope for this season to be an extremely positive one, they need continuity rather than someone who will switch things up completely.

There have been some interesting names mentioned in association with this job but at this point, it is Critchley who stands out.

It would appear that the R’s will be hoping that this process for finding Beale’s successor will be sorted by the time the Championship campaign resumes.

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