QPR - Hit or Miss?

Xavi6

Came across this rather superbly written little article :pac: -

Little Italy down London way

By Neil Sherwin

PORTUGUESE legend Paulo Sousa rolled into Loftus Road this week to become the latest Serie A ex-pat to join the Queens Park Rangers revolution, taking the coaching job at the club.

Despite having no prior managerial experience and only a coaching role with the Portuguese national team to his name, the 38 year old former Juventus, Internazionale, Benfica and Borussia Dortmund midfielder is seen by Italian owner Flavio Briatore as the man to guide them to the promised land of the Premier League.

Briatore said he was delighted with the appointment and believes Sousa is the right man for the job. “I have been keeping track of his work for the last few months and he is the right man for our project,” he said. “He has great experience after working with the Portuguese national team and he is part of the new generation of coaches. He has worked with some of the world’s best players and we are excited about having him.”

Sousa has insisted that he has control over team affairs amid rumours that Briatore has previously had a hand in picking the team under Iain Dowie and caretaker manager Gareth Ainsworth. “I’m in charge. I have all the respect for everyone, but I have free ideas and free decisions,” he said.

“I have great belief in my ideas and my coaching ability and I believe I can achieve the objectives set by the management,” he continued. “I believe in playing positive, attacking football. To achieve positive results you have to maintain a focused outlook and my team will aim to do this. I am looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead.”

There have been huge changes at the club since Formula 1 tycoons Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone bought them back in August 2007. With new owners inevitably comes new found optimism amongst fans, and so far progress has been steady. They currently lie 10th in the Championship, but are only three points outside the playoffs with 29 league games still to go.

The Italian influence at the club is not just confined to the boardroom. Roma legend Damiano Tomassi joined on a free transfer in September, while striker Samuel Di Carmine has come in on loan from Fiorentina. Former Chievo Verona youngster Matteo Alberti is also on the books.

Striker Lee Cook summed up the current feeling at the club when he said, “I knew he [Tomassi] was going to be a top player because I always signed him on Championship Manager.” It really is going to be fantasy football time for QPR over the next few years as Briatore and Ecclestone flex their considerable financial muscles.

The new manager’s first game in charge will be away to struggling Watford and he will have another new face at his disposal as Icelandic striker Heider Helguson has joined on loan from Fulham. Helguson has bags of Championship and Premiership experience and could be exactly what is needed to push the team that step further.

QPR’s last top flight appearance came way back in 1996 with a squad consisting of the likes of Trevor Sinclair, Ian Holloway, Kevin Gallen and Ray Wilkins. Since then they have gone through thirteen managers, dropped the third tier of English football for the first time in over thirty years, and survived administration in 2001.

A change of fortunes will of course be welcomed with open arms by supporters who will no doubt be hoping to ride the wave of successful foreign owners.

So what do we think will happen with QPR? Will it work out for them? Or will it go tits up when the F1 boys get bored with their latest toy?

monkey9

I'd like to see QPR back in the Premier League.

Who knows though. This is Sousa's first job. They have a bit of money, but i think they should really go for a Jewell or Warnock, someone who really knows that league.

On a sidenote, i hate the way people call what they're trying to achieve at a football club as a 'project'. I don't know why, but it annoys me so much. It's a word that's been used more and more these days by foreign investors and managers.

mike65

QPR = Chelsea lite. (so far)

Wolves will get promoted sooner.

Mike

LuckyLloyd

They'll be in the champions league over the next ten years.

mike65

So will Wolves!

QPR will not be in th CL, there are 4 spots and will be three if "you know who" gets his way, Man City are ahead of Rangers in the queue and of the current Big 4 only one looks a bit vunerble and Villa have them in thier sights.

Mike

LuckyLloyd

mike65 wrote: »

So will Wolves!

QPR will not be in th CL, there are 4 spots and will be three if "you know who" gets his way, Man City are ahead of Rangers in the queue and of the current Big 4 only one looks a bit vunerble and Villa have them in thier sights.

Mike

Money is power in football. Barring a significant sea change in financial outlooks, Liverpool will eventually be rendered irrelevant.

OhNoYouDidn't

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

They'll be in the champions league over the next ten years.

Rubbish. Football and how it is financed are changing. The suger daddy days are numbered for a number of reasons.

Besides, he isn't actually putting any money into the club.

OhNoYouDidn't

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Money is power in football. Barring a significant sea change in financial outlooks, Liverpool will eventually be rendered irrelevant.

Have you been asleep for the last 3 months?

LuckyLloyd

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

Have you been asleep for the last 3 months?

What?

LuckyLloyd

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

Rubbish. Football and how it is financed are changing. The suger daddy days are numbered for a number of reasons.

Besides, he isn't actually putting any money into the club.

Until there is a universal salary cap introduced I fail to see how sugar daddys like Abramovich et al will be unable to buy footballing success.

ziggy

This post has been deleted.

OhNoYouDidn't

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

What?

credit crunch, biggest banking crisis since the great depression, global recession, banks calling in loans, EPL in debt of over £15bn etc. No? Missed all that in your cave?

OhNoYouDidn't

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Until there is a universal salary cap introduced I fail to see how sugar daddys like Abramovich et al will be unable to buy footballing success.

Because FIFA are looking towords limiting the debt to turnover ratio and making clubs base their wage bill on economic fundamentals.

Come on, Platini and Blatter have spoken about little else this year.

LuckyLloyd

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

credit crunch, biggest banking crisis since the great depression, global recession, banks calling in loans, EPL in debt of over £15bn etc. No? Missed all that in your cave?

How does this relatively improve Liverpool's long term outlook?

LuckyLloyd

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

Because FIFA are looking towords limiting the debt to turnover ratio and making clubs base their wage bill on economic fundamentals.

Come on, Platini and Blatter have spoken about little else this year.

They say a lot of things.

OhNoYouDidn't

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

How does this relatively improve Liverpool's long term outlook?

It doesnt. All clubs who run on the basis of huge and unsustainable debt are facing problems at the moment.

More than one EPL club will go bust before this is over.

LuckyLloyd

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

It doesnt. All clubs who run on the basis of huge and unsustainable debt are facing problems at the moment.

More than one EPL club will go bust before this is over.

Uh huh.

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Money is power in football. Barring a significant sea change in financial outlooks, Liverpool will eventually be rendered irrelevant.

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

Have you been asleep for the last 3 months?

So my original point is valid then. :rolleyes:

Currently, Liverpool are struggling relatively from a revenue generation stand point simply because of the scale of Anfield - and the current ownership are unlikely to have the financial clout to either artificially boost the clubs finances or undertake significant investment in a new stadium.

Secondly, given that consumer spending is likely to slack off over the coming decade, it makes them a less appealing prospect by the week to prospective new investors like DIC et al.

As such, while we are currently doing well on the pitch our long term future is cloudy. And while the likes of QPR and Man City are currently struggling on the pitch - they have heaps and heaps of upside to build into.

OhNoYouDidn't

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

As such, while we are currently doing well on the pitch our long term future is cloudy. And while the likes of QPR and Man City are currently struggling on the pitch - they have heaps and heaps of upside to build into.

We? I don't know you were from Liverpool.

I disagree with the last part. I think the sugar daddy loophole will be closed by FIFA in the next few years. It already has by a number of associations already

LuckyLloyd

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

We? I don't know you were from Liverpool.

I disagree with the last part. I think the sugar daddy loophole will be closed by FIFA in the next few years. It already has by a number of associations already

Sorry Boss, but I'll continue to refer to the club I support as 'we' or 'our' as I see fit.

'The Sugar Daddy loophole' lol. While I'm all in favour of salary caps, realistically I don't see it happening anytime soon. The top European clubs will mightily resist restrictions on the ways in which they inject funding and run their house. Platini and Blatter come up with and spout off on a lot of ideas that never get fully implemented.

Remember that some associations carry a lot more weight and influence than others. Until a relevant association starts imposing severe and significant financial restrictions, it is unlikely that the financial landscape of the game at the very highest level will change markedly.

OhNoYouDidn't

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Sorry Boss, but I'll continue to refer to the club I support as 'we' or 'our' as I see fit.

'The Sugar Daddy loophole' lol. While I'm all in favour of salary caps, realistically I don't see it happening anytime soon. The top European clubs will mightily resist restrictions on the ways in which they inject funding and run their house. Platini and Blatter come up with and spout off on a lot of ideas that never get fully implemented.

Remember that some associations carry a lot more weight and influence than others. Until a relevant association starts imposing severe and significant financial restrictions, it is unlikely that the financial landscape of the game at the very highest level will change markedly.

We will see. But with the likes of West Ham on the brink of examinership, don't be surprised if the bubble bursts sooner rather than later and the stage set for FIFA to step in.