Old oak common...

[vblockranger]

My thoughts in better words than I can type.
Who do people want to see our 'family club' pitting our wits against, the likes of RVP, or McCormack?
I'm with the world stars, not pub stars.

Then why the **** do you support QPR as we have not been blessed with many "world stars" throughout our history? or do you just turn up to watch the opponents world stars? bit strange...

[Kevin Mcleod]

I support the Queens Park Rangers because of the player Park.

[vblockranger]

Let me ask you a few things V, along with those who share your viewpoint. Do you have no desire to see your club play against the best teams in the country? Are you happy to keep the family stand in the lower loft, after all, you want it to remain a 'family club'?

You mention in another post that fans should be giving opposing players abuse, not asking them for autographs. Is that the right thing for a 'family club' and the way to bring up kids?

If you and your supporters owned the club and we came top this season, would you refuse promotion to the prem, knowing you would be the first club to do so? After all, you seem heavily against the razzmatazz and media exposure in the prem. Would you prefer not to subject the club to that ever again?

I dont care who we play if i'm honest or what league we are in. Being competitive both in the game and in the league is the aim of any club surely not how much money they can earn?. Giving abuse to opponents players is what football is all about, its tribal and i brought my kids up the way i was brought up and political correctness at football grounds can go **** itself. Of course you couldnt refuse promotion to the prem as being Champions of the CHampionship is a great achievment and deserves reward. I wouldnt however sell the soul of the club nor buy players on unsustainable wages just so the club could survive in the remaining 14 or so places for the owners to make as much money as they could. Like i said a lot of people have been brainwashed by SKY into thinking the Premiership is the be all and end all of football and all the glitz and glamour that goes with it. Its bullsh1t. Its a league where apart from 6 clubs you can never win and you are just there to make up the numbers whilst raking in huge amounts of cash for the owners.

[Kevin Mcleod]

We went up and employed the wrong manager who had the wrong type of people around him who were raping our money men last time. Our board is looking much more cautious and experienced now, and with Harry, who knows what we might achieve if we go up again at the first attempt?
Not you vblock, nor me, not anyone.

[NW_Hoopz]

I'm with the world stars, not pub stars.
.

World 'stars' ?

Who like ? Cesar ? Park ? Boswinga ?
What you mean is proper GLOBAL names !
Well that approach went well didn't it ?
As Matty says paying £50 @ OT, ANFIELD , etc etc to watch a bunch of mercenaries rip the heart out of our club hasn't been any fun what so ever !
Give me LR with 'pub' players like Martin Allen, Alan Macdonald, Clint Hill etc etc etc
Players who want to die for the Hoopz & are going to put a shift in !

NOT the 'united colours of Benetton' approach favoured by Uncle Tony to suit his plans for global domination

[vblockranger]

World 'stars' ?

Who like ? Cesar ? Park ? Boswinga ?
What you mean is proper GLOBAL names !
Well that approach went well didn't it ?
As Matty says paying £50 @ OT, ANFIELD , etc etc to watch a bunch of mercenaries rip the heart out of our club hasn't been any fun what so ever !
Give me LR with 'pub' players like Martin Allen, Alan Macdonald, Clint Hill etc etc etc
Players who want to die for the Hoopz & are going to put a shift in !

NOT the 'united colours of Benetton' approach favoured by Uncle Tony to suit his plans for global domination

Spot on NW

[vblockranger]

There seem to be a few on here that think selling our soul ,moving to a retail park and playing in a half empty stadium is the key to a good future . let's look a little deeper.

In our own area ,Fulham have filled their ground with plastic middle class rugby fans and tourists, Chelsea have disowned their old school hardcore support ( for obvious reasons ) and filled their ground with flag waving johnny come latelys , Brentford are building a ground that they will never possibly half fill , so that's wrapped up the local clubs . is there a blue print for us there ? I think not.
Arsenal and Spurs are both much ,much bigger clubs then us so there really isn't too much point comparing .

Now ,in a small stadium ,we can pack it to the hilt with real QPR fans ,you know ,people like you and me who love Rangers and don't necessarily have to have premier league football and padded seats and Wayne Rooney to enhance the experience. Because our ground is an old school ground full of passionate fans it is possible to create the sort of atmosphere s we had against Chelsea ,and Man City a couple of seasons ago . ( Fulham would love to have an atmosphere half as good as that ).
If we do play in the prem ,( which in my opinion is not the be all and end all ,unlike some people )the vast majority of money comes from TV not gate receipts anyway , so we won't be in financial meltdown ,like the scaremongers would have you believe .
No matter what division we find ourselves in at Loftus rd , we will carry on getting the 13/14000 home gates we've always had ,because people who support Rangers do so because of family , area ties etc and because our support passed down from generation to generation , unlike the newbie Fulham and Chelsea fans .
We know this ,because it has been proved season after season ,that they will turn up and stay loyal , so all that rubbish about parts of the ground having to close is just scaremongering ( you don't write for the Mail or the Express do you Richard ?)

What's to say that Tony or whoever owns this new ground , because it won't be ours , won't start charging exorbitant rent once its built ? ( like what's happened to Coventry ) because once its built and making money for the owners out of sponsorships ,concerts ,selling off retail space etc we could easily find ourselves surplus to requirements , and once we've sold off the family siverware ie Loftus rd , we could be bang in trouble

I love Rangers , were a small club ,with passionate real fans and I don't want our future put in jeopardy , or to play in some soulless half empty ground , just so we can attempt to survive relegation from the premier league ,season after season .
Its a gamble with our future ,I personally don't believe is worth taking

Great post Vesps

[vblockranger]

We went up and employed the wrong manager who had the wrong type of people around him who were raping our money men last time. Our board is looking much more cautious and experienced now, and with Harry, who knows what we might achieve if we go up again at the first attempt?
Not you vblock, nor me, not anyone.

So you can see us competing to win the Premiership title eventually ? Well the Mittals sure have the money to turn us into a Man City if they want to spend it but its what we would lose along the way that i am concerned about. The modern day football fan seems more concerned about how many stars we get on FIFA14 or our player ratings in Football Manager than actually being in a league where we can retain our identity and compete.

[Snaxo]

I have sympathy for Vblocks / Vesps view etc. Despite wanting the club to be in the premier league, because it's great to see the top players come to LR, it's not much fun getting beat each week and I'm enjoying this season much better. There is a lot of romance and tradition that we personally feel for our football clubs - but the unfortunate reality is that they are businesses who are increasingly owned by ambitious and successful business people. Although Vblock states that they become cash generating machines for their owners - the reality is that even this isn't really true. Many / most clubs lose money. Some of these businessman don't even see them really as businesses, in my view - they are becoming the profile raising play thing for the business rich who want to be famous. Let's face it - I'm sure Abramovich balance sheet is not positively in his favour since taking the reigns, and I'm sure it's the same for Man City and will be for some time to come. This actually brings the real danger - because what happens to these clubs when the owners get bored?

However, whether you think it fortunate or unfortunate - Tony & Co are now in fairly well in control of our short - medium term destiny. And they are ambitious and their targets are clear. So to be honest, there's not much point moaning about it - you need to jump on and enjoy the ride for what it's worth and hope it actually ends a lot more positively than you currently think it will -or, well, just keep on moaning I guess (can't be much fun?). The good thing is, I believe, that despite the mistakes to date, it's clear that Tony & Co are businessmen of significant integrity and I do believe out of all the 'new breed chairman' he is one of the least likely to act in a way that will jeopardize the club.

[vespa]

You make a fair point Snaxo

[Jeems]

Did you enjoy the prem last 2 seasons? Do you want to be in a league where its pretty much guaranteed we wont get in the top six? Just like the prem for its razzmatazz and its media exposure? Just because you want to be a Bill Big Bowlarks and want other teams fans to recognise that cos you support a prem club? TF and the board are desperate to get back to the prem and all that exposure but what is it as a fan that appeals to you? Me....i dont give a toss what league we are in as long as we still remain that family club from West London but i would like to be able to compete in a league and not where all we got too look forward to is a cup run. Dont care about the media exposure of the prem or about having "names" playing for us.

I think yours and others memory's may be slightly hazy. After we got relegated in the 90's we spent 15 years in the 2nd and third tier. Apart from the Championship winning season and the couple spent in the 3rd tier, we were generally dog poop, and mediocre as hell. Always flirting with some sort of relegation/money issue. When did we ever compete? No money and generally bad players.

Someone also said we are a family club, and we bring our kids here and then they will bring theirs etc. Which is all well and good but our attendances have stayed very similar in the past 15 years. Where are all the kids? Supporting a Prem team most likely. Successful teams, good football, decent stadium, something to look forward to each Saturday. Not buckets before kick off and watching **** players mis-control the ball every 2 minutes.

I first went to LR when I was 7 or 8, vs Liverpool in the Prem - midweek game. LR was rocking, under the lights etc. Great game even though we lost. I was hooked. (1-0, late winner - gutted!) Fast forward to when I was 15 or so and started going more regularly with my mates (pocket money n all that) and the football on offer was terrible. I must have been mad for sticking with us!

If Brentford in League ****** 1 are looking to the future with a 25k stadium, its actually embarrassing that some of our fans would prefer to stay at LR. TV money is great but we wont get any of it if we stay "as we are".

[vblockranger]

I think yours and others memory's may be slightly hazy. After we got relegated in the 90's we spent 15 years in the 2nd and third tier. Apart from the Championship winning season and the couple spent in the 3rd tier, we were generally dog poop, and mediocre as hell. Always flirting with some sort of relegation/money issue. When did we ever compete? No money and generally bad players.

Someone also said we are a family club, and we bring our kids here and then they will bring theirs etc. Which is all well and good but our attendances have stayed very similar in the past 15 years. Where are all the kids? Supporting a Prem team most likely. Successful teams, good football, decent stadium, something to look forward to each Saturday. Not buckets before kick off and watching **** players mis-control the ball every 2 minutes.

I first went to LR when I was 7 or 8, vs Liverpool in the Prem - midweek game. LR was rocking, under the lights etc. Great game even though we lost. I was hooked. (1-0, late winner - gutted!) Fast forward to when I was 15 or so and started going more regularly with my mates (pocket money n all that) and the football on offer was terrible. I must have been mad for sticking with us!

If Brentford in League ****** 1 are looking to the future with a 25k stadium, its actually embarrassing that some of our fans would prefer to stay at LR. TV money is great but we wont get any of it if we stay "as we are".

So the Premiership is everything? they dont play any good football in the Football League? Millwall, Brentford, Orient, Charlton etc all their fans are supporting teams that are unsuccesful and they have nothing to look forward to on Saturdays? Jesus cant believe that after just 5 or 6 years of having billionaires in control we already have spoilt fans such as you...you are typical of the kind of fan that i worry about us appealing to. The premiership is everything to you and you now look down on the clubs in the Football League. Can see now what happened to Chelsea they just have more fans like you.

[Jeems]

So the Premiership is everything? they dont play any good football in the Football League? Millwall, Brentford, Orient, Charlton etc all their fans are supporting teams that are unsuccesful and they have nothing to look forward to on Saturdays? Jesus cant believe that after just 5 or 6 years of having billionaires in control we already have spoilt fans such as you...you are typical of the kind of fan that i worry about us appealing to. The premiership is everything to you and you now look down on the clubs in the Football League. Can see now what happened to Chelsea.

I think you missed my point entirely but nevermind. I actually never watched us very much in our Prem years. I became a season ticket holder when I was 14/15ish so I've only ever watched us in the Championship/League 1 up until 2 seasons ago. All I've known is disappointment after disappointment, so my apologies if wanting something slightly better for our club offends you!

[Jeems]

And to answer your question, yes (like it or not) the Premiership IS everything. Without it, we will not attract any new fans and we will not get any TV money which in turn leads to all our better players leaving.

We will stop "competing" and merely exist, with no real hope of achieving anything. Just go ask Millwall, Brentford, Orient and Charlton fans.

[twranger]

So the Premiership is everything? they dont play any good football in the Football League? Millwall, Brentford, Orient, Charlton etc all their fans are supporting teams that are unsuccesful and they have nothing to look forward to on Saturdays? Jesus cant believe that after just 5 or 6 years of having billionaires in control we already have spoilt fans such as you...you are typical of the kind of fan that i worry about us appealing to. The premiership is everything to you and you now look down on the clubs in the Football League. Can see now what happened to Chelsea they just have more fans like you.

My thoughts exactly V......Credit where credit's due, could not have put it better myself.