QPR's Week in Review

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The most significant event of the week - a week which saw go unmarked, the 25th anniversary of QPR's FA Cup Replay defeat against Spurs - was the reaching of the five year mark since QPR adopted their "infamous" ten million pound/10 percent 10 year loan from the mysterious ABC group and saw them exit Administration.

This week, Chairman Paladini appealed for help: Ben Kosky/Kilburn Times wrote: "QPR chairman Gianni Paladini has revealed that the club could be saddled with their crippling ABC loan until 2012 - unless new investors come forward within weeks....[A]fter the collapse of a proposed deal with Oldham chairman Simon Blitz, Paladini has issued a desperate plea for alternative finance to help him renegotiate the ABC payments.

"Time is very short," the Rs chairman told the Times. "The conditions with ABC are that if we don't do anything in one month, the deal is set for another five years.
"The rate of interest is going up to 11.59 per cent. We need somebody with a lot of money, who can buy off the ABC loan - if anyone is capable of rearranging the deal, I want to hear from them. "The door is open and this is the time, if there's anybody out there with QPR at heart, to come in. The club is in better condition now than it's been for a long time.

"I've tried, the rest of the board have tried, shareholders have tried and Bill Power tried when he was here - it's not easy. We need people who are serious, not a waste of time."

As proof of the club's financial recovery, Paladini points to the figures recently released in the annual report of QPR Holdings Ltd, showing a £636,000 increase in turnover for the 2005-06 season.
Also, Rangers anticipate an increase of at least 1,000 on last year's season ticket sales, and have made significant savings after the exits of higher wage earners such as Marc Bircham, Kevin Gallen and Paul Furlong.

Most importantly, perhaps, the QPR chairman insists that selling star man Lee Cook - inaccurately reported as a condition of the intended Blitz deal - is in no way a financial necessity. "Cook was never an issue," stressed Paladini. "We had an agreement with the Americans that they would buy the ABC loan, plus put another £3m into the club. "It was a fantastic deal for us, everything was set for them to come in and I asked them to put down a deposit. I was trying to protect the deal for QPR and I asked them to make sure everything was above board.

"It was nothing to do with selling Cook. I could easily have balanced the books by selling Cook and [Dexter] Blackstock, but I don't want to do that.
"It would weaken the team. I'm trying to build a team that can take us forward and, with John Gregory, we're going in the right direction. The only way we'll sell Cook is to have an offer we cannot refuse."
He added: "If we were in a dangerous situation financially, we'd be forced to sell him, but we're not in that situation.
"The expenditure on players was killing us, but now we'll have 24 or 25 on the books instead of 40."
With eight players released at the end of last season, Paladini expects four or five signings to be made this summer, ideally English-based players with previous experience of Championship football.
Last summer Rangers brought in largely untried overseas players ...none of whom made any significant impact in their brief stays at Loftus Road. Paladini conceded: "We've learnt from that experience .... " Paladini speaks
[Past Statements about ABC Finances]

CURRENT QPR PLAYERS
- Lee Cook spoke about wanting to Move If Right Offer Made. Various newspaper rumours, including one that Fulham are interested in Cook (and also Jones)
- First professional contracts for youth players: Aaron Goode and Andrew Howell who signed one year professional contracts...
- Nick Ward was named to the Australia Olympics Qualifying Squad
- Wycombe boss Paul Lambert wants to sign Tommy Doherty
- Derby's Lee Camp's move to QPR is in doubt because of Derby's promotion.
- Rumours of Marc Bircham joining LA Galaxy.

QPR's PRE-SEASON SCHEDULE
QPR's Pre-Season Schedule is now Celtic at home; Wycombe away, and possibly/probably Fulham at home. No news of any possible game versus Arsenal or an Irish tour.
The 2007-2008 Fixtures come out in less than two weeks: June 14.
QPR's AGM is being held June 15 (with the latest loss of just under 3 1/2 million pounds)

2007-2008 QPR's Championship Title Odds
Bookies looking at next season (before QPR and other clubs have really had a chance to revamp their teams) do not view QPR as a very good prospect: QPR's Championship Odds

EX-QPR PLAYERS NOW MANAGING/COACHING:
- Martin Allen was named the new manager of Leicester City
- Alan McDonald was appointed Glentoran Manager
- Kevin Brock resigned as manager of Banbury
- John Spencer's Houston Dynamos Visit The White House/Meet The President

EX-QPR PLAYERS
- Reading rumoured to want Watford's Danny Shittu.
- Matt Jackson joined Watford on a free from Wigan
- Matt Johnson was jailed in New Zealand for drunk driving
- Dean Sturridge was released by non-league Kidderminster Harriers
- Paul Bruce was Released by Dagenham
- Rufus Brevett retires From Football, finishing at Oxford
- Danny Dichio scored again(and was booked) in Toronto's 2-1 win versus Colorado Rapids.- Report

Census of the views of QPR (and Other London Clubs) fans - Evening Standard Census
Questions Asked:
1. Given the resources at his disposal, how would you rate the performance of your club's current manager?
2. How do you rate the performance of your club chairman and board of directors this season?
3. Including ticket, transport, merchandise and refreshment costs, how much on average does it cost you, as an individual, to watch a home game?
4. How did your the levels of your match attendance for the 2006-2007 season compare to your levels of match attendance for the 2005-2006 season?
I went to more games during 2006-2007 season
5. Have you witnessed any football hooliganism at your club this season?
6. Have you witnessed any incidents of football-related racist abuse at your club this season?
7. How many times this season can you recall an incident when you believe a player from your club has deliberately taken a dive to win a free kick or penalty?
8. How do you rate your club's home ground?
9. Will the price of tickets at your club put you off going to games or renewing your season-ticket next season?
10. Which other English club do you dislike the most?
Evening Standard Census

Deloitte came out with a report on English football Finances

High Ranking for QPR's Official Website for Online: Nielson Netratings listed QPR as in the top 20 (#13) for English club websites by UK Audiences - Rankings

- Championship Statistics for 2006-2007: The Football League Magazine, 'League Leader' -"The Weekly Magazine of the Football League" (May 25, 2007) lists Championship Statistics for the 2006-2007 season (Pages 6-8)- Attendances, shots, corners, bookings, shooting stats, offsides, etc, etc: Football League's 'League Leader'