-
Earthtimes - The changing face of Queens Park Rangers - Feature [Author? 'DPA]
London - As the wave of foreign investors goes on, English fans are becoming accustomed to clubs changing their image overnight, but the case of Queens Park Rangers still stands out as remarkable. The absurdity of the situation was made clear by Luigi De Canio's first public statement after being appointed manager.
After talking about how "excited" he was by "a fantastic opportunity", and thanking "Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, two businessmen with an incredible track record of success in sport and other fields", he insisted he was fully focused on preparing the team for their forthcoming away game.
Nothing remarkable about that, except that it was at Hull.
Even in the increasingly bizarre world of English football, the juxtaposition was remarkable.
Briatore, a man who has had relationships with such supermodels as Naomi Campbell and Adriana Volpe, a man who fathered a child by Heidi Klum, a man usually associated with Formula One and the playboy haunts of Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Shanghai, casually mentioned in the same sentence as Hull, famously the largest city in Europe never to have had a top-flight football team.
Briatore and Ecclestone's bid for the club was approved on September 1, with the sale officially being completed last week.
After a desperate time for QPR, the future is unexpectedly bright.
When the club was founded in 1882 by old boys of Droop Street Board School, it was named St Jude's, after the patron saint of lost causes.
It became QPR four years later, but there was something appropriate about the original name.
Briefly, when Dave Sexton was manager and Rodney Marsh and Stan Bowles, two of the great mavericks of the seventies, combined a life of boozing and gambling with playing wondrously, QPR threatened the elite.
They were runners-up in the top-flight in 1976, but were soon relegated. They were promoted again, but slipped back into the second flight in 1996, missing out on the real bonanza of the Premiership.
Since then, they have been fighting almost constantly to stay afloat. It was rumoured that they would go into administration in September if they did not clear an unpaid tax bill.
And that wasn't the half of it. The club chairman Gianni Paladini was allegedly forced by another director to sign a resignation later at gunpoint in May 2006.
Kiyan Prince, one of the club's most promising prospects, was murdered outside his school.
Another youth team player, Harry Smart, narrowly escaped death when he fell under an underground train in an incident in which Tu Quang Hoang Vu, a Vietnamese architect, was killed.
The young centre-forward Ray Jones, who had broken into the first team, died in a car-crash earlier this season.
They slid down the table, and seemed to be facing relegation to the third flight.
Things couldn't have been much bleaker. And now, suddenly, Naomi Campbell and Tamara Beckwith have been spotted in the crowd, and the club are being linked with Alessandro Del Piero and Francesco Totti.
QPR remain third-bottom of the Championship, and Saturday's 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace - in which they were repeatedly thwarted by goalkeeper Julian Speroni - means De Canio's four games in charge so far have yielded only five points.
"It's something to build on," said De Canio. "We won't face a goalkeeper as good as that every week."
Certainly Briatore isn't panicking. "We set a target for four years' time," he said. "If it happens earlier, it happens earlier.
"You need a strong base and the moment you arrive in the Premier League you stay there.
"When we started (in Formula One) at Benetton (now Renault), we said we wanted to win the championship in five years. Afterwards, we had our champion in three years."
For QPR, for now, just staying up will do" Earthtimes
Welcome to QPR REPORT - A completely unofficial and unaffiliated fan site focusing on G-d's Chosen Team, Queen's Park Rangers (QPR) FC. (Visit also QPR Report Messageboard and Follow on Twitter.) QPR Report accepts no sponsorship, advertising or financial contributions. In 2008, QPR Report was named as one of the top two blogs in the Football League
QPR Report Twitter Feed
Blog Archive
-
▼
2007
(1727)
-
▼
November
(162)
- The QPR Influence On The Republic of Ireland!
- Ex-QPRs: Martin Allen Wants Swindon Job...Holloway...
- Snippet: re Rowan Vine - Birmingham's New Manager ...
- Blackpool vs QPR
- QPR November Birthdays
- Ex-QPR Snippets: Bond on Shimmin...Nikki Bull's Mi...
- QPR January Departures
- "Talent From Trash" Initiative Concludes
- Sunday: Ex-QPRs Playing For "England Legends"
- Banned for Three Games: Dexter Blackstock
- Ex-QPRs Penrice, Breacker and Bulpin Link Up Again...
- Another Great Club Interview: David Bardsley
- 3rd Round FA Cup Draw on Sunday
- QPR Snippets: Coco?...Reserves' Watford Loss..."On...
- Coco to QPR?
- Cullip Leaves...Blackstock Appeals...Dunbar Assesses
- Stoke's Tony Pulis High Praise for John Gregory (a...
- QPR Lose at Stoke
- Stoke vs QPR - Tonight's Teams
- Ex-QPR Georges Santos to Crawley?
- Previewing Tonight's QPR vs Stoke
- Snippets/Views of Ex and Loaned-Out QPRs
- De Canio Not Yet Manager of Month...Breacker, Penr...
- Forthcoming Club-Fans Groups Consultative Meeting
- Marcus Bignot Millwall Loan Extended
- 1966 Medal for QPR's Ron Springett
- Marking QPR's First League Championship Title
- Fracesco Coco - Supposedly No Salzburg Interest
- Ex-QPRs Doing Well This Weekend
- QPR vs Sheffield Wednesday - Additional Match Reports
- Reports and Comments on QPR's Draw Against Sheffie...
- QPR Vs Sheffield Wednesday-Today's Teams: Malcolm ...
- Update re Dominic Shimmin, Tommy Doherty, Tommy Wi...
- Hogan Ephraim For QPR?
- QPR Indirectly Responsible for Holloway Departure?
- Shimmin Joins Bournemouth on Loan
- Flashback: On This Day: Docherty Victory...Gillar...
- Holloway Speaks (and Mentions QPR!)
- Shabazz Baidoo Becomes Gillingham's Seventh QPR-Co...
- Nice QPR Interview With Tony Currie on His QPR Exp...
- Ex-QPRs: Peter Reid Rejects Iran...England Reject ...
- "Where Are They Now?" - Richard Pacquette
- Ex-QPRs - Chris Kamara on Holloway...Paul Parker o...
- Perspectives of Lee Camp and Gareth Ainsworth
- Zesh Rehman on Playing and Not Playing for QPR
- Gillingham Trying to Sign Sixth Ex-QPR Player
- Blackstock, Kanyuka and Walton: Injury Update
- QPR Snippets re Coco and Langella
- Ex-QPRs: Warren Neil Turns 45...Plymouth Ian Hollo...
- Blackstock and Kanuyka Play...Mancienne Plays for ...
- St Aimie Returned to QPR...Kanyuka Plays...Malcolm...
- QPR Defender Chris Barker on New Manager Luigi De ...
- QPR's Recent EGM
- Flashback Six Years: "The Fall and Fall of QPR" an...
- Ex-QPR (and Spurs) Coach Des Bulpin on Peter Crouc...
- More From Flavio Briatore on QPR's Future and Fut...
- Newcastle's Ex-QPR Coaching Appointment...Ian Holl...
- QPR - Briatore sets promotion target
- Alleged QPR Interest in Italian Serie C Forward, F...
- The QPR-Australian Connection
- Buzsaky Joining QPR - Plymouth Chairman on Buzsaky...
- Three Ex-QPR Birthdays and Ex-QPRs in Action Again...
- Victory For Ex-QPR John Spencer in the MLS Final
- England's Israeli Saviour Was Reportedly Linked t...
- QPR's Season Stats
- Ex-QPR Gavin Peacock Turns 40
- "Where Are They Now?" - Leon Jeanne Turns 27
- Ex-QPR Update: Wanchope Retires...Fenwick Birthday
- Two Players' Perspectives: Nick Ward on His QPR Ho...
- De Canio on His Player Plans for QPR - Including C...
- Update re Francesco Coco: Reportedly Trialing With...
- QPR's Latest Signing: Derby's Defender/Midfielder ...
- Flashback: Five Years Ago, Today: Vauxhall Motors ...
- Ex-QPR's John Gregory Reportedly Declines Petah Ti...
- QPR Nick Ward's Speedy Hernia Recovery
- "Where Are They Now?" -Ex-QPR's Michael Currie
- Two Ex-QPR Players Happy to be Still Playing
- Ex-QPR's Dean Parrett Thriving at Spurs
- Ex-QPR Snippets.
- Ex-QPR Update: Lee Cook Recovering
- QPR's On This Date: Two Memorable Goalscoring Feat...
- Simon Walton on His Recovery and Gareth Ainsworth ...
- Sinclair's QPR Loan Only Till Mid-December
- Alleged QPR Interest in Italian Forward, Christian...
- The Changing Face of Queens Park Rangers
- Ex-QPR Birthdays: The Morgan Twins and Chris Woods
- QPR Report on their "Talent From Trash" Efforts
- Hogan Ephraim on Playing For QPR and West Ham Hopes
- Holloway on Buzsaky and QPR...Ex-QPR Clive Wilson ...
- Snippet: QPR Officially Part of Flavio Briatore's ...
- Another Ex-QPR Joins Gillingham - Leroy Griffiths
- Ex-QPR Update: Paul Barron to Newcastle?
- QPR's Ben Sahar Set to Save England?
- Ex-QPR Dennis Oli Returns to the Football League
- John Gregory and Petah Tikva
- QPR's Midfield Star Turns 25
- Antonio Giraudo Supposed Involvement With QPR - An...
- QPR's Strong Performance at Crystal Palace
- The Coalition of QPR Fan Groups "Rebuild" Request ...
- Ex-QPR's John Gregory to Israel?
-
▼
November
(162)