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David McIntyre Blog - You can tell a lot from a statement
The hallmark of a deeply troubled club is the ranting, self-indulgent statement.
Think of a problem club in recent years. It’s likely that those at the helm were prone to issuing these type of statements.
Luton, Wimbledon, Hearts, Liverpool, Darlington, Newcastle– you name it. In football, when the asylum gets taken over it starts issuing statements.
Bad regimes tend to produce badly advised, cringeworthy attempts to try and set the record straight from their point of view. It’s a common characteristic.
Several clubs have been through this difficult but usually temporary spell.
Sadly, QPR have been issuing such statements on and off for six years now. That’s a very long time for a club to be so desperately lacking sensible and coherent leadership – and the previous years were pretty dismal in that respect too.
Saturday’s essay, written on behalf of the club’s owners, wasn’t nearly as horrific as some of the diatribes churned out by QPR since 2005. But it still highlighted that Rangers is a club with serious, deep-seated problems.
Massive spending (and it has been massive) by the owners, and one excellent season on the pitch, doesn’t change the fact that much is wrong at Loftus Road and has been for a long time.
What it also highlighted was something I alluded to in my last blog: that Neil Warnock was given a slap on the wrist for hinting at his frustration at not being able to sign some of his targets, and since then has been reluctant to comment.
I knew this because last month, Warnock politely told me he’d prefer not to speak to me and that this was likely to be the case for a couple of weeks.
I’ve got no problem with that. I’m not close to Warnock, don’t know him as well as I have previous Rangers managers, and am used to being in the doghouse with people at QPR. But this came completely out of the blue and, at the time, I couldn’t think of an obvious reason for it.
But the following day, I was told some of Warnock’s previous comments had not gone down at all well, and he’d been given a warning.
In a way, I can understand why. I wouldn’t be too amused by some of Warnock’s comments either. But then I wouldn’t have given any manager the kind of mandate to run the show he was handed when he took over last year. And what Warnock was promised is the key issue at the heart of all this.
Warnock is a very shrewd football man with a Gerry Francis-like understanding of his stock among QPR fans compared to the board’s, and his musings this summer have reflected that.
His words are very clever and effective. They boost his profile and mean he is taken seriously. His bosses, despite their successful backgrounds, are not.
And no wonder, when they talk about working with the manager in a “professional and confidential manner” while giving him a very public and unprofessional slapping down. Only at QPR.
Since their takeover was being negotiated in June 2007, I have never believed the current owners would be good for the club. But despite this summer’s relative lack of transfer activity, for which there are many reasons, I’ve always felt the allegation that they’re unwilling to spend is not only unjustified, but ludicrous.
The irony, though, is that Saturday’s statement was largely about their willingness to back the manager and sign players, yet does nothing to help them do that.
Another very obvious sign of the division and incoherence that prevails at QPR will only add to its reputation as a club best avoided.
Being prepared to spend is only part of it. Being able to convince good players that QPR is a stable, progressive club they should want to join is the most important bit.
And in that respect, Rangers haven’t made things any easier for themselves. David McIntyre Blog
- Job Opening: QPR in The Community Trust
- QPR Reserves Beat Truro City
- - QPR Youth Exit in Irish Tournament
- QPR Report: "Spot The Ball" - The Answer
- Chelsea Reportedly Scrap Earls Court Stadium Move
- For Sale: QPR Championship Medal (Proceeds to QPR in the Community Trust)
- Cesena vs QPR Broadcast Live on Italian Satellite TV
- Where's Buzsaky? "Dave McIntyre Tweet: "[Buzsaky] had a calf injury. Shame as this is a big pre-season for him."
- 1983 Video: QPR Beat Fulham and Win Championship
- Some QPR Related Tweets by Sunday Mirror's Chief Football Reporter, Paul Smith "Smudge1962
- Five Years Ago Today: Dunga Quits as QPR Director to Take Over Brazil. Caliendo-Paladini issue Statement
- Four Years Ago Today: Lee Cook Sale "Saved The Club"
- Year Flashback: Briatore vs Mittal Disagreement Over Transfers Alleged!
- The Rise and Rise of AFC Wimbledon
- The BIG Money from Overseas Friendlies/Sponsorship/"Branding"
- The Continued Popularity of Subbuteo (Invented by a QPR Man!)
- UEFA U-19 Championships Currently Under Way
- VANISHED WITHOUT NOTICE! The Club's Official Messageboard
ARTICLES RE TAARABT STAYING AND WARNOCK'S QPR SITUATION
Express - QPR'S ITALIAN JOB LOOKS TO BE NEIL WARNOCK'S LAST TASK
NEIL WARNOCK takes his budget team on a two-match trip to Italy tomorrow not knowing whether he’ll still have a job when he flies home next Friday.
For despite being a promotion hero just two months ago he now faces a bizarre fight for his future.
The QPR manager they dubbed the miracle worker of Loftus Road after he steered them into the Premier League on a shoestring last season is in real danger of becoming the latest victim of trigger-happy co-owner Flavio Briatore.
The volatile Italian billionaire, who has already gone through nine managers since taking over the club less than four years ago, looks to be oiling the exit door again despite Warnock’s incredible achievements.
Briatore sacked most of the others, but this time he is applying a Scroogelike squeeze that is denying the most successful manager he has had the funds to bring QPR’s squad up to Premier League standard.
QPR manager Neil Warnock has spent only £3.5m on 12 players since taking over last March
He was also believed to be negotiating the sale of Rangers top performer last season, Adel Taraabt, although yesterday the club denied their main asset was for sale.
While he refuses to give his manager hardly any of the £40million pot QPR pocketed for winning promotion – plus the cash from a whopping 40 per cent increase in season ticket prices – fellow Italians Claudio Ranieri and Marco Lippi wait in the wings as Briatore’s latest choices for his poisoned chalice.
Publicly the Formula 1 tycoon insists he trusts Warnock.
Privately he has blocked all moves so far to spend money on any players with the manager’s attempts to sign Danny Graham from Watford faltering at the final hurdle and DJ Campbell from Blackpool now also looking off.
The only reinforcements Warnock has managed to recruit have been free transfer signings Keiron Dyer, the injury-plagued former West Ham midfielder, and the unpredictable Jay Bothroyd, who was freed by Cardiff.
Free agents Danny Gabbidon, Danny Webber and Brian Murphy also went with Warnock on a tour of Cornwall last week.
Warnock, who has spent only £3.5m on 12 players since taking over last March, admitted last night that he is not sure if he will keep his job – one of the reasons he lost out on a bid to sign 35-goal Craig Mackail-Smith from Peterborough.
And reports also suggest that Briatore and fellow owner Bernie Ecclestone would also be prepared to jump ship and sell up following a fued with their former partner, Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal.
Warnock is putting on a brave face, determined to resist all attempts to force him out of a contract that still has two and a half years to run.
“They’ve made it clear to me we’ve got to try and get value for money and not to spend transfer fees,” he said.
“I thought I’d have a few millions and I’m disappointed. But it’s not the end of the world. It’s just another one of those things in my career where I have to show what I can do.
“I look at Bothroyd and Dyer and if I can get three or four more of that quality, I’ll be more than happy.
“Flavio is dealing with all the transfers,” he revealed. “We have just got to look for Bosmans and shrewd acquisitions and loan players.” Express
Mirror - Neil Warnock vows to enjoy QPR Premier League return
- Neil Warnock will savour every second of QPR’s Premier League return after revealing he will swap the dug-out for a deckchair at the end of his Loftus Road reign.
- Warnock has yearned for one last shot at the big time since the heartache of being controversially relegated with his beloved Sheffield United in 2007.
- “Managing in the Premier League is the pinnacle,” he said.
- “When I left Sheffield United I thought ‘I want another go before I come down to live in Cornwall permanently.’
- “I have said so many times ‘this is going to be my last job’. I was going to pack in at 55 and then I was talked into going to Crystal Palace. I absolutely love London and I don’t think I will be working anywhere else after this.”
- Despite being backed by two of the wealthiest men in the game in Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, Warnock has not been given megabucks to help Rangers’ stay in the top flight after a 14-year absence.
- But Warnock, whose only major signings so far are free agents Kieron Dyer and Jay Bothroyd, said: “I’m sure we can ruffle a few feathers.
- “If we don’t spend any money, which it does not look like we are going to, staying up would be a massive achievement.
- “I would love to have had a few million to spend but we will still be okay. I have got to get more out of players and work harder to stay up. Money is not the be-all and end-all.” Mirror
The Star/Tony Stenson - ADEL TAARABT STAYING AT QPR TO BOOST CASH-STRAPPED NEIL WARNOCK
QPR moneymen Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore have revealed that captain Adel Taarabt will not leave the club during the summer transfer window.
The Moroccan playmaker, 22, was a key figure in Rangers’ Championship triumph last season and picked up the Football League Player of the Year award.
Speculation had linked him with a host of elite European clubs and Paris St Germain were thought to be close to landing him.
But Rangers yesterday announced that Taarabt will stick around to help preserve their Premier League status.
“We are pleased to confirm that Adel Taarabt will be staying at QPR this summer,” said a club statement released on behalf of Ecclestone and Briatore.
The news will come as a relief to miracle-worker boss Neil Warnock, 62, whose future has been in doubt due to a lack of funds.
A recent vote of confidence from the board was not matched by much-needed cash after Warnock turned a relegation-bound side into title winners – the seventh promotion of his career. Fans fear he could become another victim of trigger-happy Briatore who has gone through nine managers since taking over the club less than four years ago.
Warnock has so far only been able to bring in free agents Jay Bothroyd and Kieron Dyer and lost out on signing Peterborough striker Craig Mackail-Smith.
He has been given permission to make a £1.25million move for Blackpool striker DJ Campbell but he expects that to be his only outlay this summer.
Warnock said: “They’ve made it clear to me we’ve got to try and get value for money and not to spend transfer fees.
“They’ve agreed to buy Campbell but I can’t see any other money changing hands.
“I thought I’d have a few million but it's just another point in my career where I have to show what I can do.
“I look at the players I’ve brought in, Bothroyd and Dyer, and if I can get three or four more players of that quality, I’ll be more than happy.
“I’m not despondent. I’d love money, every manager wants money, but it’s not all doom and gloom.” Daily Star
QPR Official Statement - CLUB STATEMENT: TAARABT IS STAYING Posted on: Sat 23 Jul 2011
- Club Statement on behalf of majority shareholders Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore:
- 'We are pleased to confirm that Adel Taarabt will be staying at QPR this summer.
- Despite receiving a substantial bid for our Moroccan international, we rebuffed all approaches and indeed, we are keen to build for the future in the Barclays Premier League, and not sell one of our prized assets.
- Should we have decided to sell Taarabt this summer, we made it clear to Neil Warnock that we would reinvest funds into the squad.
- Taarabt is fully committed to the Club and is looking forward to proving his undoubted star quality for QPR in the Barclays Premier League.
- Our decision not to sell him only serves to reiterate the ambition and commitment we have both shown to QPR since we arrived here.
- We saved the Club when it was close to relegation from the Championship and just one week from liquidation.
- At this time, Flavio Briatore outlined a four year plan to reach the Premier League, which was achieved.
- We have always owned approximately 70 per-cent of the shareholding at the Club and have been the major benefactors since our arrival.
- We have backed Neil Warnock in bringing in his two top targets, Jay Bothroyd and Kieron Dyer, and we are working hard to try and pursue a couple of other targets the coach has identified.
- Welsh international Danny Gabbidon has impressed the coach whilst on trial and we are aiming to add him, as well as at least one or two other players to our squad in the near future.
- Neil Warnock is our coach and we are working closely with him in a professional and confidential manner to try to achieve our aims and objectives.
- The coach's job is to coach the squad and identify players he believes will improve the squad. As a Board, we deal with all the negotiations and we have been successful in completing deals for Bothroyd and Dyer so far.
- We are aware of some issues that have been raised in the press by the coach, but we have discussed these with him internally and he has agreed to be more reserved in terms of what he discusses in the future.
- We are fully committed to strengthening our status as a Premier League Club next season and in due course, build for the future.
- Now we are in the Premier League, we intend to stay here. We believe this Club can achieve great things and we are looking forward to the Barclays Premier League season.
- We are very encouraged by the 10,000 plus Season Tickets we have sold to date and we look forward to welcoming our fans back to Loftus Road on the first day of the season against Bolton Wanderers on August 13th.' QPR
Mirror - QPR eye loan move for Spurs striker
- Neil Warnock is exploring the possibility of signing Peter Crouch on a season-long loan.
- As People Sport revealed last week, boss Warnock wants to bring the Tottenham striker back to QPR.
- But while the Premier League new boys are unable to stump up a transfer fee, they could pay a significant proportion of the England hitman’s £70,000-a-week wages in a loan agreement. Mirror
- Six Year Flashback: Nygaard Joins QPR and QPR Friendly vs Iran
- Home Ticket Price Information
- Year Flashback: Alberti Goes Out on Year Loan
- Flashback: Some Past Flavio Briatore/QPR Statements
- UPDATE: Telegraph "Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone admits paying Gerhard Gribkowsky £27 million"
- Still No QPR Offical Site Update re the Status of the Official Supporters Club (OSC). Despite Committee Resignations.
- QPR Reportedly Offering Trial to Thai Forward
- Play "Spot The Ball"
QPR Pre-Season Fixtures 2011/12
Wednesday 27th July - Cesena (a) 8.30pm
Saturday 30th July - Trofeo Bortolotti Tournament (a) 8.00pm onwards
Tuesday 2nd August - Crawley Town (a) 7.45pm QPR
THREE NEW FOOTBALL LEAGUE RULES (WHICH A YEAR FROM NOW MAY IMPACT ON QPR!)
- Football League's New "Salary Cost Management Protocol (SCMP)....Limits spending on player wages to 75% of the Club's turnover and comes into immediate effect for the 2011/12 season. It will further reduce to 65% and 60% in seasons 2012/13 and 2013/14.
- Football League Clubs Change of Rules: Reverting to FIVE Subs
- New Football League Rules re Number of "Home Growns" in the Squad and Increased Youth Spending
- Premiership Rules
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- Bid on a QPR Championship Winners Medal (Proceeds to QPR Community Trust.)