by Paul Warburton Jan 9 2012 QPR chairman Tony Fernandes had the choice of putting £15million into Neil Warnockâs January targets â or pulling the plug on the manager who won them the Championship last summer. He chose the latter as we know, and the bullet came after it became harder attracting players for a relegation battle under Warnock than first anticipated. After all, prospective new faces come for the dough, the feel of the club, and the manager. Assuming number one pans out, the last two make the crucial difference. Invest now and repent later, was probably a mantra Fernandes chanted to himself all the way down the M1 on Saturday after the uninspiring 1-1 draw at MK Dons nailed the ex-managerâs fate. The bookies favourite to replace the personable Warnock is Mark Hughes, an interesting choice bearing in mind Sparkyâs previous. The former Fulham boss departed Craven Cottage last summer hinting the neighbours lacked ambition, according to the Welshmanâs agent Kia Joorabchian, presumably code for theyâre not going to win anything. So what is Fernandes telling Hughes and Joorabchian about a club lying 17th in the Premier League and one with an 18,000 capacity ground? âDonât worry, Mark. We have a new stadium and training ground in the offing. And yes, hereâs a cheque book to go and get who you can, just as long as you keep us in the Premiership,â something of the sort, perhaps? But assuming Hughes brings his own methods to the fore, he still inherits a squad that is Warnockian to its bootlaces. Paddy Kenny, Shaun Derry, and Clint Hill go back a ways with the departed manager. Adel Taarabt would have been out on his ear with any other coach. Jamie Mackie has oft expressed his gratitude to Warnock for the faith shown in him. Armand Traore would still be languishing in Arsenalâs reserves, etc etc. No chance to clear the lot out in January if theyâre not to Hughesâs taste, only time to patch over with two or three new faces, and itâs been nearly eight years since the former Chelsea striker was tasked with a real relegation battle at Blackburn. And if it doesnât work? The ambitious Hughes becomes a Championship manager for the first time in his career, and there are wholesale, and I mean 10,12 or more players to move on in the summer - no easy job if they're on decent contracts. But thatâs the gamble you take â as the QPR chairman is about to find out.. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest QPR news. http://www.fulhamchronicle.co.uk/london-sport/london-qpr/2012/01/09/is-mark-hughes-the-right-man-for-qpr-82029-30086512/
Yes, true, but to be pedantic about it I think thatâs pretty misleading. As I understand it the extra UEFA Cup place which was given to Fulham, was offered on the basis that the Premier League as a whole had one of the highest fair play rankings in Europe (i.e. fewest yellow and red cards in total). Fulham just happened to be the highest placed Premier League team (i.e. they were 8th) to finish outside the automatic UEFA qualification places.
Thats not true, it goes to the team with the least cards who arent relegated. "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Fair_Play_ranking" Current club qualification system Following rule changes brought in for the UEFA Cup's replacement, the UEFA Europa League, there will be no draw for second and third places. The three highest placed national associations in the UEFA Fair Play ranking will each automatically gain an extra qualification berth for the First Qualifying Round, providing they have exceeded the threshold of games played, and have a minimum average score of 8.0. These berths are then allocated to the highest placed club in that association's own Fair Play league that has not yet qualified for either the UEFA Champions League or the UEFA Europa League. [edit] Old club qualification system The highest finishing clubs in the national Fair Play rankings not yet participating in either the UEFA Champions League or the UEFA Europa League were potential contenders for the three remaining berths. The club from the association which won the Fair Play ranking qualified automatically for the first qualifying round of the UEFA Cup. The two other teams were drawn out of the clubs from the associations that have reached the threshold of minimum games and had a score of at least 8.
What we need now is a good clean fast decision, If it hangs around for a month may be too late for whoever comes in but I imagine TF would have already had some Irons in the fire, he tends to be a planner. I think Hughes has done pretty well with taking err lower teams up the league and if i remember when he was sacked from City all the Pundits thought he had done a good job and it was unexpected but then look what happend to City since his left. With people chucking around names like Bruce, I'd quite happily settle for Hughes!
is this not pretty much what happened to newcastle last year? they got promoted with hughton who was unproven in the prem and they replaced him with pardew now they arent doing too bad now - maybe we can hope for the same?
Same thing with WBA and De Matteo. Some managers arent just cut out for the PL and if were missing out on all our targets because they dont want to play for Warnock, what are we supposed to do?
Im just a season ticket holder and sometimes speak to a close member of family to one of our players. I dont usually tell any info as Ive seen the grief people can get. Gorkss did tell me he was looking at leaving if things dont improve when were in the Flav era but thats the sort of thing thats unfair to leak at the time. Ill leave the leaking to Cernyberny
Agent = Kia Joorabchian. Not completely happy - his name seems to pop up whenever something's not quite straightforward. He's the Max Clifford of the footy agents world.
He is a cock, it wouldnt surprise me if something was agreed before the sacking but now hes asking for 50% more. it really wouldnt surprise me if talks broke down.
In all seriousness, I for one would warmly welcome Hughesâs appointment. The guyâs a proven Premiership manager, everything else (including his agent, his hair and what he did or didnât do to Alan McDonald back in 1992) is secondary to that. Plus he has a good record in cup competitions, has played in Europe and has managed internationally to boot! Fair enough heâs not a larger than life character like Neil was, and he has a certain austere, even slightly menacing air about him, but itâs not about personality. If it was weâd still have Olly at the helm!
