Michael Beale fires Rangers and Celtic potshot as Sunderland boss swipes at derbies that ‘don’t let the fans in’

Michael Beale fires Rangers and Celtic potshot as Sunderland boss swipes at derbies that ‘don’t let the fans in’

Beale reckons derbies with both sets of fans are what ‘keeps football going’ as he aimed a veiled dig at Rangers and Celtic.

Michael Beale was on the losing end of a derby defeat to Newcastle

Michael Beale took a veiled dig at Rangers and Celtic over the ongoing away allocation deadlock – with a pop at derbies that ‘don’t let the fans in.’

Beale bounced back from his sacking at Ibrox to swiftly land the Sunderland job and it’s been a rocky start for him at the Stadium of Light.

He was in the dugout for Saturday’s heavily anticipated Tyne-Wear derby with Newcastle in the FA Cup, with the Magpies running out comfortable 3-0 winners.

The atmosphere was electric as 6,000 Geordies sat in the away section and made their voices head in the 49,000 sellout crowd. And it was something Beale was keen to celebrate despite his side’s disappointing defeat. Beale was in the dugout for six Old Firm derbies during his time in Glasgow but only two of them, at Hampden, had a significant number of both sets of fans in attendance.

That’s because of the ongoing feud between Rangers and Celtic with neither club currently allowing away supporters in at Ibrox or Parkhead.

And that wasn’t lost on Beale as he told beIN Sports after the game: “The noise in the stadium today was absolutely fantastic. Some derbies, we don’t allow the fans in, and I’ve had that both in Brazil and Scotland. So to have the derby with some opponents’ fans in and the fans working off each other, that’s what keeps football going.”

Video: Celtic loanee scores cracker for Dunfermline at Hampden

Celtic winger Ben Summers scored a cracking goal for Dunfermline last night. The 19-year-old joined the Fife side on a season-long loan to get first team football under James McPake and if he keeps scoring goals like this, he’ll get on Brendan’s radar.

Queen’s Park 2-1 Dunfermline

🗣️ “It’s a cracker, an absolute beauty, from Ben Summers.”

⚽️ Out of nothing Dunfermline are back in the match.

📺 Watch on the BBC Scotlang channel pic.twitter.com/fpyg0LTKuD

— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) January 5, 2024

Since moving to East End Park, Summers has made 11 appearances, scoring twice and assisting twice. The Championship is a better route for young players as opposed to the B Team in the Lowland League.

Born just as Celtic were stopping the Ten, Lubo98 follows Celtic home and away and helps run his local Celtic Supporters Club. He goes to all the games and is a Law Graduate. Has a particular fondness for Tom Rogic among the current Celts and both Lubo and Henrik form his earliest Celtic memories.

‘Fantastic’ Liverpool player has turned down the chance to join Celtic in January

Brendan Rodgers’s Celtic are interested in signing Owen Beck from Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in the January transfer window.

That is according to The Athletic, which has suggested Beck’s stance on a potential move to Celtic Park.

So, what has been reported about Celtic, Liverpool and Owen Beck? Let’s take a look.

Celtic linked with Liverpool left-back Owen Beck

Well, according to The Athletic, Celtic are among the clubs who are interested in signing Owen Beck from Liverpool in the January transfer window.

The report has claimed that Celtic, who won the Scottish Premiership title last season and are managed by former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers, have been keen on a permanent deal for Beck.

The 21-year-old left-back spent the first half of the season on loan at Dundee from Liverpool. He is now back at his parent club.

The Athletic has noted that Celtic want(ed) to sign the youngster to “upgrade their competition at left-back”, but Beck “would have faced a fight to play so they were ruled out”.

MORE CELTIC STORIES

Liverpool FC recall Beck
Dundee Football Club can confirm that Liverpool have recalled Owen Beck and his loan with Dundee has ended.
Owen signed on loan for Dundee in the summer and quickly became an important player for The Dee putting in fantastic performances.
His great… pic.twitter.com/xU7pEYzchH

— Dundee Football Club (@DundeeFC) January 1, 2024

View Tweet

Beck did well during his spell at Dundee, who have described his performances as “fantastic” and admitted that he “will be greatly missed”.

The Athletic has reported that Rangers manager Philippe Clement personally want(ed) to sign the left-back in the January transfer window.

Coventry City, Stoke City, Millwall and Hull City all have made enquires about a loan deal for Beck, but Liverpool have decided that he will be part of manager Jurgen Klopp’s first-team squad due to injuries to Kostas Tsimikas and Andy Robertson. He is rated highly by Klopp.

My View: Future bright for Owen Beck

In my opinion, the future of Owen Beck is bright. That he is going to play for the Liverpool first team in the second half of the season shows how good he is.

Beck did well during his loan spell at Dundee. The left-back made 17 appearances in the Scottish Premiership. He scored two goals and gave two assists in those games.

Celtic and Rangers are massive clubs and interest from them in Beck underlines how highly he is rated in the footballing community.