After taking over at QPR this summer Michael Beale was keen to stress that although he’d enjoyed huge influence working under Steven Gerrard, this was his first shot having been handed total control of proceedings.

“I had a big influence on Steven [Gerrard] and Gary’s [McAllister] ideas when we worked together, but now this is a Michael Beale team and it’s important that you see slight differences in that,” he said.

"Obviously the principles of how I want to play won’t change. Certainly out of possession and with width coming from the full-backs in possession.”

He also referenced the need to introduce more formations to his portfolio recently, saying at a QPR press conference: “I want to look at one or two formations that we may need to use [during the World Cup break]. I really want the players to have clarity and that will keep us unpredictability.”

Similar sentiments were echoed during Beale’s first interview as Rangers manager: “There are players here from before who will have an idea of how I want to work.

“The ideas have changed a little bit, they've grown. There's more variety. It's going to be a mini-pre-season in terms of ideas and identity. I want us to be on the front foot, to take the handbrake off and for us to go for it every single week.”

And during an interview with Sky Sports earlier in the week, the 42-year-old was keen to reaffirm that training methods wouldn’t simply be rehashed from recent seasons despite his responsibility under Gerrard.

“We've started the last two days and it's fair to say it is slightly different from the work they have been doing and it's even slightly different from the work we did here previously. Steven was the manager, Gary was the assistant and I was the first-team coach,” he said with a further nod to the previous hierarchy.

So what does this mean? After he returned to Ibrox a year after leaving, this time as manager.

We know some of the principles that Beale alludes to, in part due to a previous hour-long presentation in which he broke down the tactical philosophy used during a previous stint at Ibrox.

In possession, he wants to own the ball and cause maximum disruption to the opposition's defence. Stretching the pitch as wide as possible while creating overloads around the ball and outnumbering the opposition in different zones of the park. He wants flexibility which is “necessary” due to the amount of analysis work that goes on in modern football.

“Utopia for me is finding a group of players that have freedom to rotate in the final third,” he says.

Out of possession, he wants to own the pitch. Pressing aggressively in packs, playing a high line to minimise the spaces opponents can play within and defending with a view of how he wants his side to attack.

"It makes sense to block the middle of the pitch because your goal is in the middle,” he says referencing the narrow and compact shape his teams fall into against the ball.

“It makes sense to keep the play in front and outside of you and then to press from in to out.”

Considering previous comments and admission of some new ideas, how will a Michael Beale Rangers team play?

His QPR team worked in recognisable rhythms without the ball. Retreating back into a 4-3-3, pressing from outside to in and trying to retain a high line.

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Rangers Review:

Often they’d look to make the pitch small and get more numbers around the ball than the opposition. In the sequence below you can see they’ve overloaded the ball-side and can regain possession having outnumbered their opponent.

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Rangers Review:

Rangers Review:

Rangers Review:

In contrast, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Rangers were more man-orientated than ball-orientated out of possession. Meaning, they generally defended man-for-man rather than hunting in packs and condensing the pitch.

Notice in this clip from a recent tie with St Johnstone, who have possession, James Tavernier and Fashion Sakala remain wide on the right to mark the opposition's left-sided players, rather than overloading the opposite side of the pitch and trying to press the hosts as a unit.

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Beale will make the side more compact on and off the ball, ensuring that Rangers are harder to play through, by blocking the middle and trying to overload the areas of the pitch in which opponents have possession. They'll likely show the ball wide before trying to regain it by the touchline.

While QPR’s standard shape off the ball was a 4-3-3, there was some variation in possession. Generally, width would come from the full-backs, a midfield double pivot would drop to help progress the ball and a real emphasis was placed on central overloads.

Take this pass network from a 2-0 win against Millwall as an example, with the side playing in a recognisable 4-3-3. Remember, this charts the average position of a player’s passes.

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It was commonplace for Beale's QPR full-backs to push high, creating space which allowed midfielders to drop into pockets and receive off of the centre-backs.

Below you can see Ethan Laird has rotated forward while Stefan Johansen drops from midfield to collect the ball in the right-back space. Given he's left-footed, he can get on the ball at an angle and open up on his favoured foot.

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In possession, Beale’s Rangers side should have more visible rotations than Van Bronckhorst’s team who placed a greater responsibility on the defence to move the ball into the final third. 

Often, Van Bronckhorst’s two No.8s would make runs in behind the defence instead of dropping off and showing for the ball to feet.

In this example against St Johnstone, Malik Tillman runs beyond (outlined in white) rather than trying to receive a pass (outlined in red).

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Here, in a home game against Hearts with Borna Barisic in possession, notice the two No.8s, John Lundstram and Tillman, are high and on the last line. Looking to run beyond rather than drop deep into open space and overload the Hearts midfield. 

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Rangers Review:

Beale’s midfield complexion will likely be different. The two deepest players should provide balance behind the ball and facilitate the full-back’s forward movement.

In this example, during a match with Wigan, you can see a QPR midfield pairing behind the ball, four attackers occupying the middle and two full-backs stretching the pitch.

In a game where the Loftus Road outfit would expect to dominate the ball, one midfielder pushes up higher.

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Whereas during an away tie with Norwich, three midfielders remain behind the ball to provide extra cover in a 4-3-3.

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There’s also been the odd sighting of an out-and-out winger during Beale's stint in the Championship. Notice the wide positioning of Albert Adomah in the below pass network from a defeat against Huddersfield.

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Rangers Review:

Generally, the new manager appears to favour playing with two No.10s to get close to the striker and provide central passing options. The inclusion of a winger at QPR is an interesting addition because it shows a level of variance that perhaps wasn’t visible towards the end of Gerrard’s tenure. When despite his own admission of manager’s learning to deal with the title-winning 4-3-2-1, no new system arrived to keep Rangers unpredictable.

Beale’s admission of evolved ideas with increased variety could be a key point if he's to make a success of this huge opportunity. The more options Rangers have to break down opponents, while still retaining a clear identity in possession, the stronger they can be.

There is risk attached to this appointment like any managerial move. Beale's QPR started strongly but were not without problem with complaints of a crossing overreliance and struggles to break down defences audible by the time of his departure. 

However, he knows what it takes to be successful in Scotland and now standing on his own two feet, has the ownership to manage Rangers his way. With variety, new ideas and a releasing of the handbrake. 

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