Warnock vs Crystal Palace...Hart re QPR...Gianni a No Go-Go?...Volz..On This Day: 1967 Triumph vs WBA...McDonald re Glentoran

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- Meanwhile: Gianni a No Go Go? - Gianni Paladini till 2013? (Messageboard claims) [Flashback to the original QPR Official Site Headline: "Ugo a Go Go"

- On This Day....1967 Triumph vs WBA (and Also Mark Kennedy's Last QPR Game: Crushing Middlesbrough)

- Next: WBA at Loftus Road

- Ex-QPR Youth Goalie, Liam O'Brien Makes England U-19 Debut

- In Praise of Protesting Fans

- Amit Bhatia Lengthy Interview

South London Press/Richard Cawley - Palace boss Hart: My QPR spell has helped Warnock
- NEW Crystal Palace boss Paul Hart says that his 28-day spell in charge at QPR has helped new Loftus Road boss Neil Warnock.
- Warnock quit the Eagles on Monday to accept a three-and-a-half-year deal at Loftus Road.
- And in an ironic twist, Hart has accepted a short-term deal at Palace to replace him.
- "My leaving QPR has finally allowed them to develop a structure which is conducive to proper management,” said Hart, who was at the west London club for just five matches.
- "I blame myself because I knew before I went in what the story was - but you always think it’s going to be different.
- “I’ve had difficulties at the clubs I’ve been at but I’ve still got the desire and I’m enthusiastic. I’m not as in your face as some people might like but I work hard where it counts - out on the training pitch. I try and prepare teams properly and I like winning." South London Press.


Dave McIntyre - BBC606 re Moritz Volz
Volz has been training with Rangers for a while but I think I'm right in saying that because of the bad weather, last night was only his third reserve game and the first time he's completed 90 minutes. I think it's going to take a while for him to get back up to speed and there was never a chance he was going to be signed quickly. He's been out for a long time and had a couple of nasty injuries.
Spoke to him recently though and he seemed quite pleased with the way things were going. BBC606


- Listen Live today at 1:30 GMT Neil Warnock Press Conference (if subscribe QPR Player)


Croydon Advertiser/Daniel Jones- Warnock denies claims he lost stomach for a fight
- FORMER manager Neil Warnock has issued a ferocious parting shot at the administrators running Crystal Palace.
- The 61-year-old has rubbished claims made by Brendan Guilfoyle, of the P & A Partnership, he left the Eagles because he no longer had the stomach for a fight.
Warnock insists that Guilfoyle wanted him to go and said that he was undecided on the switch to Loftus Road until as late as Monday morning.
"It sickens me that he can say such rubbish," raged Warnock. "How can he say that I didn't have the stomach for a fight? Was he not at Doncaster? Did he not see how we scrapped for a point?
"If I haven't got the bottle, then why have I gone to Queens Park Rangers? They are in the same position, scrapping for survival.
- "There is no one more disappointed than me how this has turned out. The fans don't deserve this, they have been absolutely fantastic from day one.
"It's not been easy to leave. In the end our relationship had broken down and it's best all round that I have gone."
Guilfoyle dismissed the ex-Palace manager's claims, stressing he did everything he could to keep Warnock at the club.
"I even got in touch with Simon Jordan in the hope that he could persuade him, but Neil's mind was made up," said Guilfoyle. "He told me his heart wasn't in it anymore. So I apologise for questioning his stomach for the fight, yes I got the wrong part of the anatomy.
"But to say that I wanted him to go is absolute rubbish."
*For the full explosive interview and all the reaction to the change of regime at Selhurst Park see Friday's Croydon Advertiser. Croydon Advertiser


Palace Fansite Holmesdale - Warnock: I won't take Palace stars
March 3 2010
- New QPR manager Neil Warnock has promised not to poach Crystal Palace for any players.
- Warnock was installed as the new Rangers boss after agreeing a compensation package to leave the Eagles - against the wishes of administrator Brendan Guilfoyle.

He faces a challenge to keep the R's in the Championship but has vowed not to take any of his old playing staff at Selhurst Park to help him.

"I don't want to do anything that will disrupt Palace's challenge," said Warnock. "I want both clubs to stay up this season. It is my dream scenario.

"There are a good bunch of lads at Palace. I know them inside out. They definitely have enough mettle and commitment to stay up. I'm going to try and install the same qualities in the players I have now."

Guilfoyle claimed Warnock's "focus was no longer on securing the club's status in the Championship".

But Warnock hit back, saying: "I saw the statement put out and there is only so much I can say at the moment but I don't think the Palace fans are daft. When they see what I will say about it, they will realise what really happened.

"I'm having my first QPR press conference tomorrow so I will make one or two comments but Palace want to gag me from saying anything so I have to be careful.

"But I want to make it clear that Palace is the best club I have ever been at in terms of the supporters. I'm hoping to have the same thing at QPR." Holmesdale


Evening Standard/Simon Johnson - Neil Warnock is looking up, not down, as he moves in at QPR
Paul Hart looking forward to Crystal Palace challenge

Neil Warnock today vowed he will not only keep Queens Park Rangers in the Championship this season but aims to have them in the Premier League next year.

Warnock has become QPR's fifth manager this term after a compensation deal was finally agreed with cash-strapped Crystal Palace.

He has swapped one relegation fight for another as Rangers sit just three points ahead of his former club in the table, who themselves are only out of the drop zone on goal difference.

The 61-year-old took his first training session with his new squad yesterday and saw enough quality to be convinced they will stay in the second tier of English football come May.

But Warnock is adamant that with the right signings in the summer, he can fulfil his ambition to manage in the top flight again having experienced just two years of it at Notts County and Sheffield United.

He said: “It is a big, big club and I am really excited about it. I want to manage in the Premier League sooner rather than later and my aim is to achieve that ambition before the end of my contract, irrespective of clubs who still have the parachute payments or any of the decent sides coming down.

“I am looking to be there next year. If I was in a normal situation I would usually say it would take two full seasons, but at my age I don't want it to take that long.

“I enjoyed meeting with the chairman Ishan Saksena and the vice-chairman Amit Bhatia. I believed in what they were talking about, what their views are and how they see the future for the club.”

Warnock's QPR reign begins with the visit of second-placed West Brom and in the following four games they face play-off hopefuls Sheffield United and Swansea and relegation rivals Plymouth and Reading.

“The first priority is to get enough points to stay up,” said Warnock. “I know it will be tight at the bottom end, we have some tough fixtures. Without question, the players have a lot of ability. I am hoping to put a bit of steel in certain positions and get a happy blend.

“The first day of training went well yesterday. It went as I expected, nice and bright. I had a good talk with all of the players and it is a case of getting to know them now. I told them that if we are to get out of this relegation battle then they need to show a lot of commitment and desire. But they shouldn't worry about the position in the table, they should just go out and enjoy the games, although we can't have a much tougher start than on Saturday.

“I hope to create the same team spirit as I did at Palace, but that didn't come overnight. You have to work on that over a long time, it took me nearly 12 months to do it there.”

His departure from Palace ended in acrimony after he fell out with administrator Brendan Guilfoyle, who has run the club since it went into administration in January.

Guilfoyle issued a statement yesterday claiming he did everything to keep Warnock at Selhurst Park, but that his focus was no longer on securing the club's status in the Championship'.

Warnock has dismissed Guilfoyle's version of events and insists he still has regrets over the way his time at Palace was cut short.

He added: “I saw the statement put out and there is only so much I can say at the moment but I don't think the Palace fans are daft. When they see what I will say about it, they will realise what really happened.

“I'm having my first QPR press conference tomorrow so I will make one or two comments but Palace want to gag me from saying anything so I have to be careful.

“But I want to make it clear that Palace is the best club I have ever been at in terms of the supporters. I'm hoping to have the same thing at QPR.”

Warnock spent just under two-and-a-half-years at Palace and he has promised not to make a move for any of his former players on loan so that the club have a better chance of staying up.

“I don't want to do anything that will disrupt their challenge,” said Warnock, who will face his old side at Selhurst Park on 10 April.

“I want both clubs to stay up this season. It is my dream scenario. There are a good bunch of lads at Palace. I know them inside out. They definitely have enough mettle and commitment to stay up. I'm going to try and install the same qualities in the players I have now.”

Meanwhile, Paul Hart, Warnock's replacement at Palace, is optimistic he can keep them up in the same way he succeeded at Portsmouth in the Premier league 12 months ago.

“I get some comfort in seeing the names in the squad, experienced players and strong characters,” said Hart.

“It's very similar to Portsmouth last year, where there were strong characters who just needed a little shove.” Standard


Belfast Telegraph - McDonald bids fond farewell to pressure at Glentoran

For almost three years, in a professional capacity, I have probably spoken to Alan McDonald at least once a week, either on the telephone, or in person.

During that time I witnessed a man clearly immersed in his job, so much so that it was manifesting itself physically, with the addition of a few more grey hairs and an extra couple of lines upon his forehead.

However, yesterday, when I met him in a Bangor restaurant just a few yards from his trophy and engraving shop in the seaside town, the former Northern Ireland captain was relaxed, looking like the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders.

It had been four days since he decided that, in his words, ‘enough is enough’ and left his job as manager of Glentoran and his demeanour was more akin to the day that he walked into the Oval and was announced as Paul Millar’s replacement.

McDonald’s appearance was certainly a far cry from the picture splashed across this newspaper on Monday as he was subjected to verbal criticism from supporters following the Glens’ 2-0 defeat to Dungannon Swifts. That was their eighth league defeat of the season and all but ended their bid to retain the league title, won just 10 months ago.

But the seeds were sown back in November when, following an embarrassing 6-0 home defeat to Coleraine, a group of supporters staged a post match protest and some even sent him sickening text messages. It hit the tough former QPR central defender hard, he was visibly shaken at the time, and he admits that neither he nor his position as the team’s figurehead recovered from that.

And such was the pressure that he was under, his health and life outside of football was suffering.

“Mentally it did hit me, it was something that I never had to deal with before and hopefully I will never have to deal with again,” he admitted.

“It really knocked my confidence and people close to me could see that. I did have a serious think about whether I could carry on because I feared my health would suffer as a result of the incessant pressure I felt under.

“But after speaking to the players, I felt I got the support I needed from them and my family too and I thought I could turn things around. For all the bad things that were said, I did get a lot of support from fans as well, which I really appreciated.

“Things changed for a while and we did see a response but soon after that we were back to the poor performances again.”

This week McDonald appeared to place the blame for his decision to stand down on the players. He felt they were underperforming and when you look at the squad that has been assembled, the champions should not be floundering in their attempts to hold onto their crown.

But the 46 year-old has accepted responsibility, too.

“I have taken a lot of criticism, some of it unfair, but I was happy to take that because that shielded the players,” he added. “As a player, when you are constantly being told you are rubbish you start to believe it.

“A manager has a much thicker skin. But I do believe the players there have not performed at their best and have let themselves down. I have paid the ultimate price for that and accept responsibility, too. I did all I could and I could do no more to turn it around and that’s why we are where we are. Yes, I made mistakes, of course I did, everyone makes mistakes, it’s a fact of life.

“I can’t really put my finger on anything in particular but what I will say is that every time something went wrong, the first person I looked to was myself. I asked myself what I should have done differently.”

It was the fans’ reaction on many occasions that without doubt had a huge bearing on the ending of McDonald’s tenure. And he feels that the fact he wasn’t ‘one of them’ probably went against him.

“I don’t think I was given a fair crack to be honest. I never felt like I could enjoy us winning the league last year. At the time yes, I did enjoy it but I never felt really able to, sort of, take the feel-good factor from it.

“The negativity came back very quickly at the beginning of this season. I don’t know, maybe it goes back to when I first got the job, after the Roy Walker debacle (Walker was appointed without the necessary UEFA licence to manage the team in Europe).

“Maybe people didn’t want me to get it. I worked out recently that maybe if I had been an ex-player or an east Belfast man then I would have been treated a bit differently. Who knows?”

So, any regrets? No. I am proud of what we achieved, in fact I think in my long term plan, we won the league a year early,” he said.

“I also put a lot of time and effort into the academy which I think the club will reap the rewards of in the future.

“People will have their own opinions but, in terms of the structure of the club and the squad that is there now, I think I can hold my head high and say that Glentoran are in a far better position now than they were when I first took over.” Belfast Telegraph