Ex-QPR Related News Snippets

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Oxford Mail - FOOTBALL: Brock quits Banbury -By Nick Farrant
Banbury United boss Kevin Brock has quit following a bust-up over the club's finances.
The former Oxford United star, 44, has resigned following eight years at the helm after chairman Dave Bennett informed him that his playing budget would again be cut for next season.
The ex-Newcastle and Queens Park Rangers midfielder fought his corner, but with Bennett unwilling to back down, Brock handed in his notice.
"I had a meeting with the chairman and I wasn't happy with what was said," Brock said.
"So I thought it would be better to move on."
Brock has steered Banbury to their highest-ever league placing, winning two promotions during his spell at the club.
He admitted that he contemplated his future when his budget was cut before last season, but this latest news was the final straw.
"Since I've been here it's always been tough - always a bit of a scrap," he said.
"And I felt it was going to be very difficult next season.
"We had quite a few cutbacks last season and everyone stuck with it.
"No-one left the club and that was down to the players staying loyal to me and I'll always appreciate that.
"It would be stretching it a bit to ask them to do it again."
Brock joined Banbury in 1999 as a player, and took over as manager next year.
"I had a meeting with the chairman and I wasn't happy with what was said, so I thought it would be better to move on."
His appointment proved an immediate success, leading the club to promotion out of the Hellenic League Premier Division at the first attempt.
After a couple of seasons in the Dr Martens Eastern Division, Brock led Banbury to promotion via the play-offs into the Southern League Premier Division in 2003-4, where they are now firmly established.
Banbury have also won the Oxfordshire Senior Cup three times in the last four years.
"We did OK last season," he said.
"We finished halfway up the league, got to the semi-finals of the League Cup and won the Oxfordshire Senior Cup.
"I think that was a good effort."
Brock said he had many highlights during his time at Spencer Stadium, but says he has no regrets.
"Winning the Hellenic League in the first season was a great achievement," he said.
"From that point it was always a bit of a struggle. We got stuck in the Dr Martens League and had to spend a lot of money getting the ground and pitch right.
"We then went up via the play-offs into the Premier Division and beat Oxford United in the Senior Cup.
"We have established ourselves in the last few years, but we have always been up against it financially.
"I really enjoyed my time at Banbury. What's happened is not great, but that's football." Report


The Times
Pearce vows to return stronger as first spell in exile loomsMatt Dickinson, Chief Football Correspondent
When Stuart Pearce took the England Under-21 coaching job on a part-time basis in January, Manchester City were worried that their manager might be stretching himself too thin. “They wanted assurances I wasn’t going to take the job permanently and they lose a manager,” he said yesterday. “They didn’t tell me they were going to sack me.” ....
Success at the tournament in the Netherlands will surely bring an offer from the FA to take charge of the under-21s on a permanent basis, but Pearce, as is his manner, is not taking anything for granted. Questions remain about his calibre as a Barclays Premiership manager, but one thing he will never be accused of is self-pity.
He was released by Queens Park Rangers at 13 and spent five years in non-League football, working as an electrician, before making his name with Nottingham Forest and England. “I don’t think I’ve ever been one of the golden children, like the Glenn Hoddles of the era,” he said. “I’ve always had to get myself there by hook or by crook. Losing my job will act as a spur and make me stronger as a manager. I think you learn lessons very, very quickly through adversity.”
Pearce, 45, declined to speculate whether the Under-21 job would suit him better than running a club – “I think football management is football management; you’ve got to win,” he said – but it would spare him from working in the transfer market, where the likes of Bernardo Corradi and Georgios Samaras failed to justify his valuation.
It would also allow him to build on his good work with younger talents such as Nedum Onuoha and Micah Richards. Seeing players coming through the academy system was one of his pleasures at City, although he also argues that he did well with his player trading considering his budget. “Six months before I took the job they sold Nicolas Anelka, then Shaun Wright-Phillips went that summer,” he said, “but in my first season we were a penalty kick away from getting into Europe. The following two seasons we have recouped £13.5 million.
“I feel as though I probably did a lot of good at the club over a difficult period, when there was no finance at all. The squad now has got a much bigger resale value than it had two years ago. There’s more emphasis on young players.”
Pearce will have the chance to work with more bright young individuals such as David Bentley, James Milner, David Nugent and Nigel Reo-Coker next month. Success would guarantee at least one job offer, with the FA eager to make the under-21 manager’s job a full-time position. The Times

Former QPR Player Richard Ord (at least technically!) on Roy Keane as Manager
Roy will demand moreMay 31 2007 - By Nick Purewal, The Evening Chronicle
Roy Keane has his sights set higher than any previous Sunderland manager. That's the view of former Black Cats defender Richard Ord, who believes the duo of Keane and Niall Quinn will bring unparalleled success to Wearside.
Ord made 256 appearances for Sunderland between 1987 and 1998, before leaving for QPR in a £1m-plus deal.
A serious knee injury ended his career in his first training session at his new club, but he still cherishes his 1996 First Division championship winners medal.
Forming an integral part of Peter Reid's defence, Ord is well-placed to compare this latest Premiership adventure with his personal experience and subsequent events.
Hailing Keane's immediate impact, Ord said: "Keane is without doubt the most ambitious manager the club has ever had, and he will want to do a whole lot more than just see Sunderland survive in the Premiership..."Report


And as noted earlier: John Spencer's Houston Dynamos Visited the White House and met the President. Spencer

Tim Sandercombe has been released by Plymouth - Plymouth

Glentoran's almost manager talking, including re Alan McDonald
BBC - Thursday, 31 May 2007,

Walker offered Glens board role

Roy Walker has been offered a position on the Glentoran board in the wake of the managerial shambles at the club.

Walker was appointed as Glens boss last Thursday but then lost the job two days later because he does hold the required Uefa coaching licence.

He said that he would consider a boardroom role if director for football Tom Dicks quits his position.

Walker claimed that new boss Alan McDonald has made clear he does not want Walker involved with the club.

"I would consider taking a look at it should some pre-conditions be in place," said Walker of the offer.

"I do feel that Tom Dick, a man I have no problem with whatsoever, he's his own man, but I feel for Tom's own sake and in the interests of the football club, he needs to step down.

"Alan McDonald has stated that he wants no involvement with me at the club. So it would be very difficult for me to find a rule with the current situation."

Walker is convinced that that the Uefa licencing issue could have been overcome to ensure that he took the job later this summer.

I feel I've been a pawn in a very messy game and that there's another agenda on the go

"It didn't need to be an issue if Alan McDonald, who is an A licence holder, had stayed on in the capacity that he had agreed to, as caretaker manager.

"Certainly the B licence would have been completed by the first week of July and I was scouring Europe for the best available A licence course.

"The IFA has a letter dated the same day I was appointed (24 May), confirmed McDonald as caretaker, unbeknownest to me and I suspect unbeknownest to him (Alan McDonald).

"Then, the IFA received a letter confirmed Alan McDonald as manager until May 2008. That was the very next day.

"This letter stated that it was signed by the chairman (Stafford Reynolds) on behalf of the board but I can confirm that several board members were not aware of this."

Walker insists that there were "a lot of options that would have made this an easy fit".

"This did not need to be the debacle that it turned out.

"I feel I've been a pawn in a very messy game and that there's another agenda on the go." BBC