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- And now the Viewpoint of QPR Chairman Tony Fernandes who signed on as one of the VIP Endorsers of the "Global March to Jerusalem"
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- The View of Joey Barton...Besides engaging last night in some serious dialogue with QPR Fans, Barton Tweets "Whatever happened to, land of the free, home of the brave! US is now and has been for a while, an oppressive, fascist regime. Wise up people" Barton Tweet
The complete Joey Barton Tweeting Sequence re "US Fascism":
After tweeting "Interesting story about George Clooney being arrested and put in a US secret service meat wagon.... Washington Post Queen's Park Rangers Captain Joey Barton tweets: "Whatever happened to, land of the free, home of the brave! US is now and has been for a while, an oppressive, fascist regime. Wise up people."
Barton then added in a follow-up Tweet "For anyone in any doubt read, "The End of America" by Naomi Wolf. Alternatively, I think there is also a DVD out." Barton Tweet, March 16, 2012
- [For more re Naomi Wolf's "The End of America"]
- Six Year Flashback: Comprehensive QPR1st Report on the QPR Holdings AGM (Paladini, Caliendo, Dunga, Zanotti, Waddock) - Fascinating to reread
- "On This Day in Football"...March 17: QPR Wins Against Spurs and Chelsea
- Neil Warnock's Weekly Column
- "...Brian McDermott's Reading, who have sneaked into second place almost unnoticed.[b] When I was at QPR earlier this season I told Brian to take Kasper Gorkss from us as he wasn't getting games in the top flight; he has proved a wonderful signing..."
- Gary Waddock Turns 50!
- The John Terry Trial Update - Barrister Tries to Get Lipreading Excluded
- Ledesma Back With Walsall
- Thirty-Five Years ago yesterday Since AEK ATHENS
The Sun/Paul Jiggins - Paladini: I was stitched up
FORMER QPR chairman Gianni Paladini last night hit back at the critics who panned his performance in the most explosive football film of the year.
And the passionate Italian insisted: I've not seen Rangers win many Oscars since I left!
Paladini spent eight years in the Hoops boardroom and played a key role in their meteoric rise from League One to the Premier League.
But he is furious with the way he was portrayed in the documentary 'QPR: The Four-Year Plan', which caused jaws to drop across the football world when it was shown on BBC2 earlier this month.
The fly-on-the-wall flick features astonishing behind-the-scenes footage of life at the west London club under the dictatorship, sorry, ownership of former F1 tyrant Flavio Briatore.
Another Italian, Briatore was renowned for sacking managers and wanting to pick the team.
Paladini ploughed millions of his own cash into saving Rangers from bankruptcy before persuading millionaire Briatore and billionaire Bernie Ecclestone to invest into the club.
He was shown in the film swearing and carrying out the owners' demands.
But he claims the makers of the film — hired by current QPR vice-chairman Amit Bhatia's wealthy in-laws — set out to stitch him up.
Paladini maintains that he was only doing the best for the club.
He took a pop at Bhatia and new owner Tony Fernandes by saying relegation-threatened Rangers should be in a higher position in the Premier League following their multi-million pound investment in the west Londoners.
In his first interview since the film was screened, Paladini said: "I am not happy with the way they made me come across.
"If I wasn't saying yes to Flavio then I was running around screaming, shouting and swearing. They made me look like a madman. I am not like that.
"I have worked in football for many years and I am one of the longest-serving chairman at QPR. It would not be possible to have achieved that had I behaved like that.
"Sure I am a passionate man and I was passionate about QPR. I spent millions and millions of pounds to save them from administration many times and to help take them from League One to the Premier League.
"If it wasn't for me there would have been no Flavio, Bernie, the Mittal family, Tony Fernandes or the Premier League.
"I helped make all of that possible but the film did not recognise that. It made me look like an inbetweener — the man who Flavio sent to sack the managers."
Briatore sacked five bosses in his first full year in charge.
He was shown in the film threatening a supporter to supply him with all of the names and addresses of fans who jeered him — or else he would withdraw his money.
Paladini said: "I was made to look like I agreed with all of Flavio's decisions — but I didn't.
"There was one occasion where he kicked me in the back because I would not go down and tell a manager what to do.
"That was caught on the film but they did not show that. I was just trying to keep the peace between the managers and the board and do the best for the club.
"Things would have been much worse had I not been there. But the film made me look like this crazy man.
"Other directors and owners were also swearing but that was cut out.
"Maybe it is because of who made the film, I don't know?"
Paladini, 65, cut his ties with Rangers in November.
New owner Fernandes has since sacked Neil Warnock — who guided them to promotion — and replaced him with Mark Hughes before bringing in expensive new signings.
But the club have slumped to 18th in the Premier League and are in serious danger of relegation.
Paladini said: "It's scandalous the club are where they are given the money they have spent on new players.
"Whatever you say about the previous owners, we got QPR up without spending hardly anything.
"I am sure QPR will stay up this season but they should be doing much better than they are." The Sun
- Note: Same Newspaper/Journalist as the last time Gianni Paladini Spoke in the Press, shortly after he left QPR "Yes Flavio Did Say who to Pick"
Ian Cooper/London 24 - QPR chief executive responds to financial crisis rumours
Beard insists Rangers have not gambled on their Premier League safety
QPR chief executive Philip Beard has refuted suggestions that Rangers will face a financial crisis if they are relegated, and insists he is happy with the wage structure within the club.
Reports this week suggested that top earners such as Joey Barton, Djibril Cisse and Nedum Onuoha – all rumoured to be earning between £60,000 and £80,000 a week - were signed without relegation clauses in their contracts, and will not face pay cuts should Rangers go down.
Owner Tony Fernandes remains bullish about his side’s survival chances, but Beard dismissed the notion that the club gambled on their Premier League safety in order to persuade players to join the club.
“I’m comfortable with the wage structure at QPR on the basis that it would be crazy business to assume you are going to stay in the Premier League,” Beard told London24.com. “When we signed the players we knew that there was a chance the club may not stay in the Premier League.
“In January we were perilously close to the bottom of the table, and we invested in some players knowing that there was no guarantee that we could survive.”
However, Beard did concede that should QPR suffer relegation to the Championship, player departures during the off-season will be inevitable.
“The reality is that the club has no debt and we have owners who are committed to the club, so without being specific, we will decide how we will work with players going forward and hopefully have a squad which is strong enough to come straight back,” he added.
“ I’m hoping that if we don’t survive, as many players as possible will stay and help us to get back into the Premier League as quickly as possible. There are going to be players, either at QPR or anywhere else, who if the club go down won’t want to stay at the club anyway.
“If we go down we’ll have a look and try to evaluate what we need to go to try to come back up again.” London24
Possible QPR TRaining Ground...
Ealing Gazette/James Gates - Future of model aircraft club in the balance1
A HOBBY group which has been going for 15 years fears for its future as the fate of its ‘airfield’ hangs in the balance.
Warren Farm Radio Flyers, a not-for-profit group of model aircraft enthusiasts ranging from teenagers to the elderly, uses Warren Farm Sports Centre in Southall and say there is nowhere else suitable to practice their aerobatics.
The council is currently inviting bids from private investors to renovate the site, which has fallen into disrepair.
Southall Football Club has put in a bid and Queens Park Rangers have also shown an interest, with a view to using the land as a training facility, and the Radio Flyers believe they may be left high and dry if an outside investor takes over.
Club chairman Bob Howard said: “If we lose the right to fly at Warren Farm, we have nowhere else to go. Our activities will cease altogether. Our club has been flying at that site on an almost daily basis since 1997, and we have established a good relationship with local residents, council officials and other users.
“There are no other model flying sites in the borough, and there is no land suitable for a new site to be established.”
The group pays an annual licence fee to Ealing Council to use the site, and the authority has promised to take their needs into consideration when making any decision on the site.
Mr Howard said: “The council has assured the club that the needs of the current user groups are to be taken account of, and are to be safeguarded as far as possible, and in the event of any development proposal, all user groups should be consulted.
“However, our fear is that the wording is so vague that any developer could easily override this condition, or increase our costs to an unsustainable level. To date, only one prospective bidder has offered a verbal assurance that the future of the club is safe.”
Mr Howard said neighbours and other users of Warren Farm have expressed support for his group and a website has been set up for anybody who has any concerns over the proposals.
The bidding process is now closed and Ealing Council is due to decide on a bid sometime around June.
Julian Bell, leader of Ealing Council, said: “I’ve met with Mr Howard and spoken to him when he came to a recent scrutiny meeting regarding Warren Farm. I listened carefully to what he said. I’m very supportive of what they do and I hope to be able to go down there and see them in action.
“The criteria is very clear that there has to be continued community use at the site and when making our decision we will be looking very closely at these issues so that groups like Radio Flyers can continue to provide the service that they do.”
Visit www.wfig.org.uk for more information. Ealing Gazette
- Almost FIVE Years Since QPR Held a Fan Forum!
- Reminder: May 20 at Loftus Road 'former greats from Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and QPR take part in a four-team tournament"
- QPR CEO Philip Beard Speaks at the Soccerex European Forum, in Manchester at the end of the Month on "The Financial Management of Clubs"
- Annual QPR Player of the Year Dinner? No Date Announced as of Yet?
- QPR's Amit Bhatia Refutes Report of Buying-Millwall
- Rodney Marsh was the Guest on QPR's Official Site "London Calling" on Thursday
- Flashback: Forty Years Since the Rodney Marsh Era at QPR Came to an End
- Managers' Choices: The Best Ten Players in the Championship, League One and League Two
- Football League Awards Given Out: Best Player...Best Manager...Best Young Player...Etc (And look back at 2011 and 2010)
- QPR's LatestAccounts:
- FA Surrenders to Premiership?
- Various QPR Managerial Stats
- On This Day...13 Years Ago: Vinnie Jones Exits QPR
- QPR's Official Supporters Club (OSC) - Minutes of (Relatively) Recent Meeting
- QPR of 1922-23; See Additional Photos of QPR 1922-23 from the Bushman Photo Archives