Michael Beale caused 'toxic' Queens Park Rangers fallout as Les Ferdinand reveals moment he saw writing on the wall

Former QPR sporting director Les Ferdinand has revealed how things turned 'toxic' at the London club after Michael Beale left for Rangers in 2022.

Beale is a less than popular figure at Loftus Road after his highly-promising spell in charge ended up lasting less than six months. After a flying start to the season, things were looking up and he professed his 'loyalty' to them after rejecting an approach from Wolves. But then just a month later, he was accused of hypocrisy by many in the English media when he left to return to Ibrox, where he previously served as Steven Gerrard's right hand man.

Ferdinand, who was sporting director there until last summer, said he was 'so disappointed' with the manner in which he left - and that he left behind a sour atmosphere. He said on the Stick to Football podcast: “He had the players eating out of the palm of his hand, then when he left and it got a bit toxic. I was so, so disappointed. Like I said Michael Beale came from nowhere, nobody was talking about him. People were talking, but he’d never been a number one.

“We looked at him, we looked at the criteria and we thought that’s what we were looking for. He came through the door and he was fantastic. Even now people say to me, I know he’s had a couple of dodgy spells at Rangers and Sunderland, but if someone was to ask me today I always said he will be a top manager somewhere. He’s failed in his last two quests.”

Opening up on that approach from Wolves, and his later exit to Rangers, Ferdinand revealed an honest chat he held with the Englishman before he initially decided to stay. But he also claims he called his eventual exit to Ibrox long before it happened.

He went on: “Wolves were the first club to come, and even then, and