Another Tony Interview (with LFW)

[Fraggy]

F me. JJB, how long have you supported our club? 5 minutes? If you were truly a long time supporter, you would be used to this rollercoaster ride.
It really grinds me that I have to sit back and allow a bunch of planks put down my club.
In reference to the comments about this forum having a bad rep, how many other indie fan forums donate to QPR related charities and offer prizes and free tickets on a regular basis?

[hh9]

F me. JJB, how long have you supported our club? 5 minutes? If you were truly a long time supporter, you would be used to this rollercoaster ride.
It really grinds me that I have to sit back and allow a bunch of planks put down my club.
In reference to the comments about this forum having a bad rep, how many other indie fan forums donate to QPR related charities and offer prizes and free tickets on a regular basis?

THIS

[TBLOCKRANGER]

I like the manner in which TF accepts the past failings, it's takes a big man. Especially as TF could have kept silent and secretly tried to flog the club and cause instability. It is clear he's looking at the long term and I'm happy with this.

However I don't think the past faults were unforceable and I agree with hh on this. TF took a very aggressive approach when he first took over. Sparky and agent weren't brought in by default, TF wanted a more cut throat , cold and ruthless manner in which the club could go forward. The team of 2010/11 was ruthlessly disbanded for mercenaries and pension pot premiership players. Premiership money was used to fund these nonsense wages that would financially put the club in more debt than Bolton. Also the debt fetters to some extent what the club can do now.
Off the field an aggressive approach was taken that we were moving, even though pre TF no move had ever been seriously considered but now we were moving to a 40k stadium and the club would consult us but not consult us as to whether we should move. It appears the club didn't even discuss the move on car giants patch even though CG had historically been a good sponsor for us in difficult times. Didn't matter though the new 40000 was the priority.
I accept the training ground was the one thing done is this period that was well thought out.
To me the failure of Sparky has helped as if he had been successful our club would have changed forever under TF for the worse and we would of ended up as one of those horrible clubs with no soul.
How was a club our size paying a goalie wages that resulted in him during a World Cup year in his own country to not think it was worth moving. Even though he wasn't starting and moving to a champions league team would have resulted in a wage cut. Just ludicrous, and so not QPR.
The debt to me is still an issue, due to the size. Clever accounting may take it away from the books. Will it just be put in the valuation if the club is sold therefore overvaluing us. Are we at a stage that due to the amount owed that the owners just can't walk away and really we become more reliant on the owners as no new investors are going to be interested.

By our failures however has given TF some humility. Bringing in LF was a great move as it put someone in place of power that knew what the club is about. I understand he also wanted Gerry Francis but he followed Pullis, again I like the thinking. Trying to get the academy going and with the training ground again plays to clubs of our sizes strengths unlike paying Luke Young £35k p/w.

The team and manager need time.

I like the way the club is going, today was a really nice day at the office and seeing that TF interview has given me hope.

[Kirill]

And the nodding little puppy dog Gallen...

Wow.

[upperloft]

Dross Chat 4.0: Dishes it out but cannot take it

Dross chat? You are a very silly little boy. The grown ups are talking, go and play FIFA or something.

[klonk]

I like the manner in which TF accepts the past failings, it's takes a big man. Especially as TF could have kept silent and secretly tried to flog the club and cause instability. It is clear he's looking at the long term and I'm happy with this.

However I don't think the past faults were unforceable and I agree with hh on this. TF took a very aggressive approach when he first took over. Sparky and agent weren't brought in by default, TF wanted a more cut throat , cold and ruthless manner in which the club could go forward. The team of 2010/11 was ruthlessly disbanded for mercenaries and pension pot premiership players. Premiership money was used to fund these nonsense wages that would financially put the club in more debt than Bolton. Also the debt fetters to some extent what the club can do now.
Off the field an aggressive approach was taken that we were moving, even though pre TF no move had ever been seriously considered but now we were moving to a 40k stadium and the club would consult us but not consult us as to whether we should move. It appears the club didn't even discuss the move on car giants patch even though CG had historically been a good sponsor for us in difficult times. Didn't matter though the new 40000 was the priority.
I accept the training ground was the one thing done is this period that was well thought out.
To me the failure of Sparky has helped as if he had been successful our club would have changed forever under TF for the worse and we would of ended up as one of those horrible clubs with no soul.
How was a club our size paying a goalie wages that resulted in him during a World Cup year in his own country to not think it was worth moving. Even though he wasn't starting and moving to a champions league team would have resulted in a wage cut. Just ludicrous, and so not QPR.
The debt to me is still an issue, due to the size. Clever accounting may take it away from the books. Will it just be put in the valuation if the club is sold therefore overvaluing us. Are we at a stage that due to the amount owed that the owners just can't walk away and really we become more reliant on the owners as no new investors are going to be interested.

By our failures however has given TF some humility. Bringing in LF was a great move as it put someone in place of power that knew what the club is about. I understand he also wanted Gerry Francis but he followed Pullis, again I like the thinking. Trying to get the academy going and with the training ground again plays to clubs of our sizes strengths unlike paying Luke Young £35k p/w.

The team and manager need time.

I like the way the club is going, today was a really nice day at the office and seeing that TF interview has given me hope.

good post (surely you should have called another poster a bad dude or something to fit in), particularly about hughes's failure probably being a good thing for the longer term. one of the medium term consequences of this is (inevitably) the debt... spending more money than you have income will almost always result in debt and that's what ended up happening. the board have taken a massive financial hit in writing off some of the huge amounts of money they made available to the club, which should help with rebalancing our outgoings to our income. as a result, i'm not as bothered about the debt for now at least because we seem to be on the road to this more balanced approach to the club's books, which will make the club more sustainable - no club of our size, whether they are currently in the prem or not, can take premier league football year-in/year-out for granted, so we need financial plans that match that, even if that means having a substantially lower chance of competing for promotion each season. recent recruitment of both playing and coaching staff reflects this and i think that's a good thing.

he's certainly made buckets of mistakes along the way, but i still don't really understand who the 'tf out' crew think is going to buy him out - after the last few years, qpr as a brand is fairly toxic (and not just in britain)... there won't be a queue of people coming to take it off the curent owners' hands.

[MYU]

"good post (surely you should have called another poster a bad dude or something to fit in), particularly about hughes's failure probably being a good thing for the longer term. one of the medium term consequences of this is (inevitably) the debt... spending more money than you have income will almost always result in debt and that's what ended up happening."

It's true, I hate the name calling.

When players were getting paid around £2 to 5K in the Championship before, we were still making a loss as far as I know.

[klonk]

"good post (surely you should have called another poster a bad dude or something to fit in), particularly about hughes's failure probably being a good thing for the longer term. one of the medium term consequences of this is (inevitably) the debt... spending more money than you have income will almost always result in debt and that's what ended up happening."

It's true, I hate the name calling.

When players were getting paid around £2 to 5K in the Championship before, we were still making a loss as far as I know.

true, but it was nowhere near the mental levels of debt that tf and co managed to rack up in the middle of their madness. we're a small club and our plans need to match that. we're not out of the woods yet, but we're headed in the right direction (i think).

[MYU]

true, but it was nowhere near the mental levels of debt that tf and co managed to rack up in the middle of their madness. we're a small club and our plans need to match that. we're not out of the woods yet, but we're headed in the right direction (i think).

In that case we'd have no choice but to buy free transfers and set wages back to 2K from now on. The board are funding the club with the help of parachute payments now.

No one was complaining at the time the club were spending, none of us could see the future. It's time to look forwards and forget the past.

I see us heading in the right direction and that's good enough for me right now.

[Shania]

good post (surely you should have called another poster a bad dude or something to fit in), particularly about hughes's failure probably being a good thing for the longer term. one of the medium term consequences of this is (inevitably) the debt... spending more money than you have income will almost always result in debt and that's what ended up happening. the board have taken a massive financial hit in writing off some of the huge amounts of money they made available to the club, which should help with rebalancing our outgoings to our income. as a result, i'm not as bothered about the debt for now at least because we seem to be on the road to this more balanced approach to the club's books, which will make the club more sustainable - no club of our size, whether they are currently in the prem or not, can take premier league football year-in/year-out for granted, so we need financial plans that match that, even if that means having a substantially lower chance of competing for promotion each season. recent recruitment of both playing and coaching staff reflects this and i think that's a good thing.

he's certainly made buckets of mistakes along the way, but i still don't really understand who the 'tf out' crew think is going to buy him out - after the last few years, qpr as a brand is fairly toxic (and not just in britain)... there won't be a queue of people coming to take it off the curent owners' hands.

This! And that´s why we seem to do things the right way now. We are not buying mercenaries anymore, we now tend to look for talents who with careful nurturing will make this club an exciting one to watch. Belive me, in a few years time, no-one will laugh when they are discussing QPR.

[Shania]

I personally thought he asked the right questions and said so. The Barclays thing was particularly significant.

The problem for those who doubt TF is that irrespective of equity transfers, an awful lot of money was squandered under his regime. Three inescapable facts: where we were when he came, where we are now, and the expenditure on QPR in between those dates. However anyone dresses it up it is pretty much indefensible, and I think in context TF is accepting some responsibility. It is however wrong of him to suggest his critics all benefitted from hindsight. Plenty of people had concerns about his decisions at the time.

I think people on both sides of the TF fence need to get a bit more real. The truth is that his stewardship has been chaotic, but hopefully things will improve. That really is it.

We are all aware of that..

[West Acton]

See dave mac keeping his petty vendetta going by having another dig at TF over the interview. And the nodding little puppy dog Gallen liking and retweeting him. Can't even be arsked to look and see what that finney bloke has said, it's to obvious anyway.

I know what you mean mate

[QPR Richard]

F me. JJB, how long have you supported our club? 5 minutes? If you were truly a long time supporter, you would be used to this rollercoaster ride.
It really grinds me that I have to sit back and allow a bunch of planks put down my club.
In reference to the comments about this forum having a bad rep, how many other indie fan forums donate to QPR related charities and offer prizes and free tickets on a regular basis?

Great post.

[Stanley]

F me. JJB, how long have you supported our club? 5 minutes? If you were truly a long time supporter, you would be used to this rollercoaster ride.
It really grinds me that I have to sit back and allow a bunch of planks put down my club.
In reference to the comments about this forum having a bad rep, how many other indie fan forums donate to QPR related charities and offer prizes and free tickets on a regular basis?

Not just independent fan forums. Any R's fan forums.

[TBLOCKRANGER]

good post (surely you should have called another poster a bad dude or something to fit in), particularly about hughes's failure probably being a good thing for the longer term. one of the medium term consequences of this is (inevitably) the debt... spending more money than you have income will almost always result in debt and that's what ended up happening. the board have taken a massive financial hit in writing off some of the huge amounts of money they made available to the club, which should help with rebalancing our outgoings to our income. as a result, i'm not as bothered about the debt for now at least because we seem to be on the road to this more balanced approach to the club's books, which will make the club more sustainable - no club of our size, whether they are currently in the prem or not, can take premier league football year-in/year-out for granted, so we need financial plans that match that, even if that means having a substantially lower chance of competing for promotion each season. recent recruitment of both playing and coaching staff reflects this and i think that's a good thing.

he's certainly made buckets of mistakes along the way, but i still don't really understand who the 'tf out' crew think is going to buy him out - after the last few years, qpr as a brand is fairly toxic (and not just in britain)... there won't be a queue of people coming to take it off the curent owners' hands.

I agree
As to the debt I'm not with posters who say "what's it to you, you're still paying the same for your st" argument.
For a lot of fans supporting a club is more than what's on the pitch, you want your club to be solvent and stable. One could argue why should a fan care about results, what difference does it make if we lose 2-0 you as a fan weren't running around the pitch and it doesn't effect your job. Nothing wrong with querying the debt. The biggest club in the world, it's supporters when faced with financial concerns (when they were good) were complaining about the debt under the green and gold campaign. Utd were still buying the best players and winning the league and competing in champions league but it's natural supporters concerns about the club they follow often from birth relates to the whole of the club not 90mins on a Saturday.
As to the debt, my old neighbour was Pompey and I asked him who he blamed for the collapse and he said no one. I thought that was an interesting answer because from a far it looked like the club had been turned over. He said don't blame any chairman, they all tried their best but it imploded. The club had real success for a small club, players on massive wages and long contracts. New chairman takes over interest of the club at heart..carries on with the spending. The world market collapses, his empire is seriously effected he try's to sell club but the club as a going concern isn't financially viable due to debts and club spirals about of control. My neighbour might be happy but I don't want that for my club and anyway he was living in West London...Leeds is another one ...champions league semis and then....
As with TF circumstances have led him to change his path and I hope the previous over spending doesn't come back to bite us but at the moment stability is what it's all about. As said previously I'm happy with the current direction of our club.