A Harsh Critique Of QPR Under Briatore...Players Silenced Claim

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- For a slew of "cutting-edge" articles and links to articles re QPR and football-in-general...For a site where differing opinions are encouraged - as long as the subject is football - but without the ad-hominems: Visit the completely-independent QPR Report Messageboard. Post if you want. Or just read if you prefer. ALL perspectives genuinely welcomed!
- Among today's posted articles: QPR's 34 Managers in 40 Years ....Person Changes His Name to..."Queens Park Rangers" .... What Chairman Briatore was Saying, One Year Ago....Ref Says Chelsea Approached him before Liverpool game about not booking players!.... The History of Match-Fixing in English Football


- The Sun/Geoff Sweet
- Only person who’d take QPR job is somebody hoping for pay-off in six months
- WANTED: A football manager who fancies getting sacked after six months.
You will, though, walk away with an undisclosed pay-off!
- Applicants should apply immediately to QPR supremo Flavio Briatore.
- The Loftus Road chief saw off his fourth boss in 18 months yesterday after Portuguese coach Paulo Sousa was dumped — just 26 games into the job.
- Sousa’s not alone. His predecessor Iain Dowie lasted 15 games — in fact the average shelf-life of a QPR boss under Briatore works out at just 17 games.
- The QPR hotseat is now so hot, that, according to a club insider, it’s only suitable for “an old guy looking for a quick pay-off — or a youngster happy to be told exactly what to do”.
- Because F1 chief Briatore runs QPR with an iron grip.
- Our source close to the players told how Briatore: Sent Sousa a letter to underline how he was only a coach and NOT a manager and that the instruction from the board was to play 4-4-2 for the remainder of the season.
- Last Saturday phoned in from Malaysia to demand Sousa replace Liam Miller with Lee Cook at half-time in the goalless draw with Crystal Palace, which he did. Demanding substitutions was a regular occurrence.
- Regularly visited the dressing room and interrupted Sousa’s pre-match team talks.
- Our source added: “QPR under Briatore is a complete shambles — an amateur club could be run better.
- “Paulo, like Dowie before him, was actually a strong person but that’s the last sort of coach the chairman wants.”
- Sousa, 38, was dumped on Thursday night, with the Championship club claiming he divulged sensitive information and that they acted after taking legal advice to “protect their position”.
- Fans’ favourite Gareth Ainsworth was immediately put in charge as caretaker (for the second time) until the end of the season after Sousa’s No 2 Bruno Oliveira had his contract terminated on Monday.
- It was first thought Sousa’s downfall was revealing he knew nothing about the decision to loan out top-scorer Dexter Blackstock to Nottingham Forest.
- But last night it emerged Sousa had allegedly spoken out of turn to a fan about fitness and contract details of some first-team squad members and that this information appeared on websites.
- The source added: “Briatore thinks that because he pays good wages the players are behind him. But the truth is they are afraid to say boo to a goose and most of them think he hasn’t got a clue.
- “There is a post-season trip to Bahrain but hardly anyone wants to go and instead they’ve instructed their agents to find new teams.”
- Briatore bought the club with a group of friends, including Grand Prix chum Bernie Ecclestone, in September 2007.
- Other Briatore casualties include John Gregory and Luigi de Canio, plus Mick Harford, who lost his job as a caretaker boss. The Sun


Des Kelly/The Mail - Ruthless Ranger All change: Briatore the axeman
- When I interviewed Flavio Briatore for the BBC, the perma-tanned head honcho had just been installed at Queens Park Rangers and was promising a directors’ box full of beautiful people and a ‘boutique’ club.
- After going through five managers in 18 months, Briatore’s project at Loftus Road is looking more like Woolworths.
- Rumours abound that the Formula One boss tries to select the team, despite his patent lack of knowledge.
- Meanwhile, the dismissal of Paulo Sousa after just 26 matches was explained with the preposterous excuse that he leaked ‘highly confidential and sensitive information’ when he admitted the club’s top scorer had been loaned out without his prior knowledge.
- It wasn’t confidential information. But it was obviously sensitive — to someone, at least. The Mail


The Mail - Media blackout: QPR ban players from discussing Sousa sacking
- QPR have banned their players from speaking out over the sacking of manager Paolo Sousa.
- The club are keen to draw a line under the Portuguese's departure but are wary his exit has caused anger and unrest among the players with whom he was extremely popular.
- Sousa was allegedly sacked over a report which appeared on a fans website claiming to be quoting the manager and his views on how the club was being run.
- Sousa refutes the allegatons and claims to have never discussed club matters with any fan.
- Several players have expressed concern at the clubs actions and wanted to speak out but now realise doing so may jeopardise their own future" The Mail