.... JIMEEEE!!

Queens Park Rangers have appointed Aston Villa assistant manager Michael Beale as their new head coach.

The 41-year-old has agreed a three-year contract at Loftus Road and replaces Mark Warburton, who left at the end of the season after his contract ended.

Beale has worked alongside Villa boss Steven Gerrard since he became Rangers manager in 2018.

He ended his playing career at 21 to become a coach and spent time working in academies at Chelsea and Liverpool.

"I've been looking for the right opportunity and I think I have that now - the right club, the right people, the right ambition and the right support," Beale told the QPR website.

"I'm a London boy and know everything this club stands for. This is a wonderful opportunity for me and a really good time for the club as well."

Alongside Gerrard and former Liverpool and Scotland midfielder Gary McAllister, Beale helped Rangers end their decade-long wait for a Scottish title in 2021.

The group all moved to Villa when Gerrard took over from Dean Smith in November and led the club to a 14th-placed finish in the Premier League.

QPR chairman Amit Bhatia said: "This has perhaps been the most comprehensive search that we've conducted during my time at the club.

"A lot of work went into the process - there were interviews with a number of impressive candidates. We wanted to give the process the consideration it deserves.

"That's what we've done and we're thrilled with the outcome in appointing Michael. He was the unanimous first choice of the board, taking into consideration a number of different metrics, and we're thrilled to have landed our man.

"His pedigree is clear and all of the feedback we received on Michael was incredibly encouraging. We're all really excited about the period ahead of us now."


QPR ended the season 11th in the Championship - they were two points off the top two in January but a run of just three wins in 16 games saw them to slip back into mid-table.

"I've been left a solid platform by Mark Warburton, which I'm obviously pleased about, and that enables me to kick on from hereon in," added Beale.

"I want us to be a front foot and high-intensity team, in and out of possession. I want Loftus Road to be a real cauldron for us - I've been to games here and I know just how much the fans can impact the team on the pitch.

"We've got a young, hungry team and everyone has their best days in front of them. I'm absolutely excited about working with the players that we already have here.

"The players played in an attractive style last season and now I'm looking to add my stamp to that, so that we can kick on even further."

Gillingham have signed former Dagenham and Redbridge defender Will Wright.

The 24-year-old, who left the National League side at the end of this season, played almost 150 games for the club in a four-year spell, scoring seven times.

Gillingham have not disclosed the length of Wright's contract.

"He is a player that has potential to improve and he adds versatility to our backline; he is comfortable as a right-back or right sided centre-half," Neil Harris told the club website.

The Gills boss added: "He is adaptable to playing in a back three or in a back four and has the capability to grow as a centre-half over time," Harris added.

Gillingham finished 21st in League One this season, going down to the fourth tier on goal difference.

Queens Park Rangers winger Olamide Shodipo is one of 11 young players to have their contracts extended by a year.

Shodipo, 24, whose three-year deal ran out this summer, spent this season on loan at Sheffield Wednesday, making 20 appearances in an injury-hit spell.

The Republic of Ireland Under-21 has played 31 times for the R's since making his debut almost six years ago.

He has also had loan spells at Port Vale, Colchester and Oxford.

Goalkeeper Murphy Mahoney, who played twice in the Championship this season, and midfielder Stephen Duke-McKenna, who made three Carabao Cup appearances before going on loan to Torquay United, are among 10 others to sign new deals.

Eleven under-23 players have been released by the R's including Danish midfielder Marco Ramkilde.

Bristol City centre-back Timm Klose has signed a new one-year contract with the Championship club.

Klose, 34, joined the Robins in January on a deal for the remainder of last season. He was out of contract having left Norwich in August 2021.

The Swiss, who has 17 international caps, made 18 appearances for Bristol City, featuring in every league match since his signing and scoring once.

His new one-year deal includes the option of a further year.

"I'm glad that I've come into the squad and managed to contribute at both ends of the pitch as we finished the season with a bit of momentum, which hopefully we can bring into the season ahead," Klose said.

"I'd also like to thank Nigel and the club for giving me the opportunity to continue my journey with Bristol City."

Klose spent five years at Norwich, including a loan spell at FC Basel, and played for Swiss outfit FC Thun and FC Nurnberg and Wolfsburg in Germany.

Midfielder John Bostock is to leave Doncaster Rovers after turning down a new contract.

The 30-year-old joined Rovers on an 18-month deal in January 2021 and made 39 league appearances.

Former Crystal Palace and Tottenham player Bostock has also had spells playing in Belgium, France and Turkey.

"He feels he can play at a higher level and doesn't want to step into League Two which we respect," head of football operations James Coppinger said.

Oldham Athletic have signed defender Liam Hogan on a two-year contract following his release by Stockport County.

The 33-year-old captained Stockport to the National League title and promotion to the English Football League.

Having joined from Salford in February 2020, he made 88 appearances for County.

"I've got a niche in this league and I'm looking forward to bringing that philosophy with the right players."

https://www.hibernianfc.co.uk/article/pr...-confirmed

Hibs drawn in Group D alongside Greenock Morton, Falkirk, Clyde and Bonnyrigg Rose. So good early practise in July for a revamped Hibs team before the serious Scot Prem fixtures get up n running again for season 2022-23.

Akwasi Asante - Transfer Listed
Jack Clarke
Jamie Grimes
Gavin Gunning - Transfer Listed
Saidou Khan
Jeff King
Scott Loach
Laurence Maguire - Transfer Listed
Liam Mandeville
Calvin Miller - Transfer Listed
Manny Oyeleke
Joe Quigley
Danny Rowe
Kabongo Tshimanga
Tom Whelan
Tyrone Williams
Luke Croll - New Deal Offered
Tom Denton - New Deal Offered
Jim Kellermann - New Deal Offered
Jak McCourt - New Deal Offered
George Carline - Offered Opportunity to carry on with Rehab at the club
Hayden Hollis - Offered Opportunity to carry on with Rehab at the club
Fraser Kerr - Released
Melvin Minter - Released
Stefan Payne - Released
Joe Rowley - Released
Nathan Tyson - Released
Curtis Weston - Released
Alex Whittle - Released

Surprised at Alex Whittle being released as he's been consistent throughout the season. Nathan Tyson I presume will retire at 40 years of age. Joe Rowley will find another club either at this level or a division below. Joe Rowley would suit a team like Buxton or Boston United maybe even Altrincham.

Gavin Gunning I think may end up going to Fylde along with Akwasi Asante. Laurence Maguire will find another club if he leaves, wouldn't surprise me if a L2 club came in for him or another club in this division. Calvin Miller probably wants to move closer to home so could see him joining a Scottish team or moving to a club in the North East like Hartlepool or even Gateshead.

Personally I would have kept Laurence Maguire, Alex Whittle and Luke Croll. Very surprised we have offered a new deal to Tom Denton and guessing a few of the players offered new deals won't be on much money and probably be rotational players if they sign the new deals, wouldn't surprise me if they look at other offers from other clubs.

I also wouldn't rule out bids from other clubs coming in for players we've retained especially Khan, Tshimanga. Khan is good enough for a L2 club and Tshimanga well we all know how good he is and he's the type of player who could play in L1 and the Championship, so it wouldn't surprise me if a team came in for him around about £500k-£750k. Type of player Peterborough would be interested in.

My biggest worry is injury prone players. We've seen how physical the National League has been this season and the amount of long term injuries we have carried as a team but is that down to fitness, training, diet? Or is it that we've just been generally unlucky and not had the rub of the green.

3 key areas for me would be the goal keeping situation, strengthening the defence and finding some attacking midfielders with flair who can score goals very much like we had with O'Shea and Gary Roberts. There are a few good players in the League Of Ireland who could be good additions to the team and also in National League North/South. I hope we don't go after Football League players who are in their early to mid 30s looking for one last pay day like under Sheridan in this league. We need to be looking for hungry, young players who are good enough for this league and L2.

Accrington Stanley have signed midfielder Mo Sangare on a two-year contract after the end of his contract at Newcastle United.

The Liberia international, 23, had previously been at Stanley in 2020-21 but played only four games before the loan deal was cut short by injury.

Sangare, who attended school in Accrington as a teenager, never made a senior appearance for the Magpies.

"Mo is a good lad," boss John Coleman told the club website.

"He did well for us the first time around until an unfortunate injury. We think he'll have the capabilities to be a really good addition to the squad."

Sangare had a trial at Blackpool last season, featuring in a Lancashire County Cup tie against Liverpool. The move will go through on 1 July when his Newcastle deal expires.