Warning! This is a lengthy but hopefully not too boring reflection for those who like me, are still coming to terms with the car crash that was the Hughes regime. Been sitting on the dock of my room in a state of shock over the severity of our demise, wasting time, collecting thoughts. What was THAT all about? Just had to ask myself, so might as well share it. 4 draws and 4 points to show from 13 games. For me, the ultimate bad loser I suppose, that equals 9 downbeat sulky weekends and 4 reluctant half smiles for my family to have had to put up with. I note, perhaps to my dismay, that there are far better people than me out there. Many of you for instance continue to watch the football goings on elsewhere but I just haven't been able to. For me it's been the longest 'summer' ever, my season of highs, lows and keenly monitoring the table has yet to start. Instead I've found myself contemplating the art of management and asking myself lots of whys. It's a big ask from an introduction like this, I know, but indulge me if you will. Warnock or Hughes Apples and oranges weren't they in many ways(?), epitomised by Warnock having no one barring sicknote Traore to cross the ball into the box; and Hughes sorting that but having no one in the middle to receive it! So apart from the all too obvious, what do we have to show for 11 months of Mark Hughes? Well firstly that the thread that asked the question last week, Warnock or Hughes, clearly answers itself. Warnock threw a team of journeymen together, won the NPC and put us back on the map for the first time in 15 years, despite the clownish behaviour going on upstairs. He was found wanting in the prem and pretty quickly lost the confidence of players, fans and owners alike. That he had to go is no longer in dispute - but his accredited place in the annals of Queens Park Rangers FC is for good reason assured. As someone who initially saw Hughes, his suit and track record, as an opportune and capable replacement, I worried that his standard 10 game run-in to be overlong given our precarious position but was fairly confident he'd succeed in not only saving our bacon in year one but bringing at least mediocre mid-table respectability thereafter. What I didn't even for one moment expect though, was for that 'run-in' to extend to 11 months half killing us all, including him, in the process! Could Warnock have done any better had he remained at the helm? Let's just say I think we'd be floundering somewhere in the NPC by now with either of them. Let's face it, Stoke City FC did more to keep us up than Hughes ever did! So why was it that the otherwise apparently able Hughes failed so abysmally at Rangers? Well if we listen to the likes of Fulham, Citeh and even Wales supporters, the writing was on the wall long before Kia Jobsfortheboys first mooted the idea of him coming to poor ol' QPR. Hughes is as we were warned, a dour man with a dour plan for whom the only hint of inspiration comes from the suits he wears to suggest hallmark - but in fact don't even convince as trademark. Park and the Bus Another irony in Hughes' management was the role of the bus. Last term he got a few results from parking it. This season he manufactured one that just wouldn't start up... Like Warnock (and to be fair, many of us on here including yours truly), Hughes' first hopes rested on the need to improve player quality. In this, his (read Kia's) influence left Warnock looking well second rate, but actually improved little other than a reliable goal scorer in the otherwise erratic Djibril Cisse. As for the rest of his reign, Hughes managed to forge an engine that, whilst looking impressive on paper, failed to include the basics of gears to negotiate predictably changing terrain, much less the battery and plugs to spark ignition. Only Jamie Mackie (with assistance from the likes of Hill and lately Nelsen and Taarabt) has shown the ability and sheer willpower to jump start the old bus in second gear from time to time - but all too often the Mackie factor has been ignored by Hughes. When things are so uncertain off the pitch, there is no question that you're going to need a strong leader on it. Whilst the likes of Nelsen, Granero and even Faurlin had yet to come to the fore, we still had pre-redundants Derry and Hill to carry us forward. Yet we ignored all leadership candidates to keep the Asian marketeers happy, and plumbed for the battling but otherwise laconic and charmless Jason Park. Any manager who let's the sales team lead the line on operations in this way, is endorsing a flawed arse about face product. In other words, a manager who allows such obvious rubbish going forward is a complete prick and not worthy of the title 'manager', let alone the money for old rope fees involved. Man-Management - Failure to Motivate Whilst this has become ever more apparent with the passing of time and worsening of circumstance, and despite recent assurances to the contrary from Granero and one or two others, I can't find anything in his time at our club that even remotely suggests an ability in Mark Hughes to motivate others. Rumours suggesting a dressing room divide between 'champs' and 'mercenaries' supports this view. Interestingly man-management is said to be our 'Arry's forte. Quite how remains a mystery - those eyes of his certainly suggest there's no one at home! You'd expect warmer, understanding and focused eye contact wouldn't you? Summer Signings - Failure to Adequately Arm Up Even I as the most reluctant of shoppers knows that getting up and out early, as Hughes did this year, isn't enough. You also need to make sure you get quantity, quality and budget right too, which means making the right choices from what's available - and in this Hughes was all over the place. Whether it was a case of too many voices in the mix (Fernandes, Beard... ) or simply just wanting to get stuff in the bag and back home early, I have no idea, but few could've been happy with what got bought. Personally, as I learned of each new acquisition, Granero apart, I had my doubts. Always assumed the likes of AJ, Nelsen, Green et al were just bit-buys, securities for injuries and suspensions, and not the main deals. Couldn't believe we were expecting to launch the first half of our campaign without shoring up and balancing the back four and introducing reliable goal-scoring forwards. Frightening, and even more so looking back now. Not only explains those obviously 'winnable' games against Swansea and Norwich, but also everything since. As I've said on more than one occasion since, any half decent commander knows you can't win battles without proper swords and shields let alone the ability to use them to full effect. Tactical Ineptitude So replete with lookalike shields and blunted weaponry, off leaderless Rangers march to war. Inadequate ain't the word but even so, battles have been won on less with the right approach. But instead of sticking to an aggressive (Falklands type) campaign and confounding opponents with Sun Tzu style sustained attacks thus creating a forward thinking culture, Hughes goes for the standard British thing of setting out a defensive stall (Hastings, Agincourt, Rourkes Drift) with double defensive flanks and deep laying centre. In war all that gives you is an uncertain conclusion and unlikely escape from impending disaster. In football the best you can hope for is a no score draw, which gets you nowhere and with little or nothing in terms of belief you can take into the next game. A qualified manager might have simply gone with the old notion of the best form of defence being attack. That would've meant honing our strongest attacking options (Cisse, Taarabt, Hoilett and Mackie) and holding the likes of injury prone Johnson and Zamora in reserve. The fact that Hughes chose to do the other thing*speaks volumes in terms of incompetence. However, the ultimate flaw in Hughes' defensively minded 'thinking' was that if a chink in your already inadequate armour turns these no score draws into marginal defeats, Sod's Law invariably kicks in with the double headed monster of plummeting morale and continuously negative rubs of the green - from which there is absolutely no return. Sadly for us and the owners, this is exactly what happened in Hughes' case. All extremely predictable and begs the question, why? How come an experienced and handsomely paid management team managed only to tumble awkwardly into just about every ditch from here to eternity, despite the abundance of floodlit warning signs at every turn? Naivety, imo, that's what. Abject bloody naivety. Absolute lack of education and due preparation. Magic, Mayhem and Management The fundamental belief in this country at least, is that management is an unnecessary evil where the inherent 'magic' of certain leaders is the only active ingredient. Is it, bollocks! Go tell that to the Germans who, for the entirety of the last century and this, have shown the success that almost always comes from flexibly implementing well informed plans including contingencies. I'm not saying that every German manager, football or otherwise, have management degrees or whatever. Just that they believe that adage that says that poor planning and preparation equal piss poor performance, so much so it's been ingrained into the national mind set. There's a right way to do things; and a corner-cutting, shut your eyes and hope you're a magician, wrong way. For me, Hughes personified the latter at every turn and at great cost came horribly unstuck. So what's different about 'Arry then? Is he the Merlin that Hughes clearly ain't? D'you know what? I have absolutely no idea - but I think we're all about to find out!
Too long but otherwise a very good article. Wouldn't agree that COLIN having to be sacked is "no longer in dispute" but I agree with every other sentiment expressed. A well thought out and engaging article with not a little insight into QPR as a unique Club. You thought about writing for LFW?
One of the best posts I've ever read on here, completely emphasizing exactly how the majority of R's fans are feeling at the moment. I too like you have had that deflating feeling at the weekend's when we have drawn and lost this season. Not wanting to acknowledge anyone in the family, just wanting to be left alone to dwell in my misery, of how exactly are QPR going to get out of this mess. I only go to Loftus Road twice a season at best, so for thoise of you that are there game in/out homae and away, you must be right on the edge Brixton, I agree with your post, I really think that the difference is going to be that 'Arry is more of a man-manager, most articles I've read in the past on him have said how he gains the respect of players and they want to play for him. I really hope that he can turn it around because we have a real big game on Tuesday, not only that but I think Villa play Reading as well so we need something positive to stop falling further behind. Watching his interview on the Offish, he said the players are the ones who have got us in this mess its upto them to get us out..simple things like when a player loses the ball then show some heart to run back and win it back...if he can drum this into some of the numpties we have in our team then he's done something Hughes couldn't do. I'm convinced we can do it, maybe I'm a bit of a dreamer but let's face it we have the manager at the helm, who I would expect every prem team (bar the top 4) would want in charge. Again brilliant post !
2 in the morning finish last night, then up to negotiate floods to collect my daughter from a friends place at 9, followed by a day in delightful Birmingham with the wife and finally a large roast and suitable beverage means I do not have the energy to absorb this properly Brix. But in the words of General MacArthur -"I shall return!"
I stopped reading this Brixton once I read "That he (Warnock) had to go is no longer in dispute". You must know that there are a hell of a lot of QPR people who like me, do very much dispute that!!!! Amazing that you can write that! We will of course never know, but I have said many times on here, too many I would agree, that Colin would have brought in players last January who would have made us virtually safe by end March. This season I reckon we would be comfortable mid-table now. Bringing in Hughes was a huge mistake by TF, FFS he never got us above 17th where Colin left us, and that was the worst position we were ever in under Colin in the PL. Colin was a huge success at QPR. Hughes was one of the worst managers we have ever had. There is no similarity between them at all.
How did you find out about my gender reassignment????? (Sorry Brix, this thread should return to the gravity it merits. Brain so frazzled I have nothing to offer....)
Magic, Mayhem and Management The fundamental belief in this country at least, is that management is an unnecessary evil where the inherent 'magic' of certain leaders is the only active ingredient. Is it, bollocks! Go tell that to the Germans who, for the entirety of the last century and this, have shown the success that almost always comes from flexibly implementing well informed plans including contingencies. I'm not saying that every German manager, football or otherwise, have management degrees or whatever. Just that they believe that adage that says that poor planning and preparation equal piss poor performance, so much so it's been ingrained into the national mind set. Germany and certain leaders...? You sure about that! Can't disagree about Britain though, we have a chancellor whose job previous to politics was folding towels. Someone voted for these charlatans, that I really can't understand: Turkeys for Christmas.
Great reading Brix. Just one question for ya. How are you fixed to do some of my lectures this week? Your military knowledge is impressive. Napoleon always said " I don't want good generals I want lucky ones" Lets hope our arry is a lucky one.
Knowledge is one thing NUTS and presentation something else altogether! As for Boney's comments on luck. Relevant in as much as it's as true now as it was then. Luck is always a factor - apparently going for you when you're doing well as agin you when you ain't. However, if we apply the concept that luck is where PREPARATION meets opportunity, then it puts us back on track with why Hughes was so unlucky!
Great post, Brix, very nearly up to the quality of my own (fnarr, fnarr). You know what? The Southampton game will be forever imfamous because of the appalling attitude of the players. But, in that, it proved conclusively to Fernandes that Hughes had to go, and I would not be at all surprised if the players set it up (horrendous thought that it is). I mean, given all the pre-match rhetoric and hype, the precarious league position of both teams and their respective managers, that the Rs turned in a performance so abject, so bereft of any desire, so lacking in any commitment must surely have been all the proof needed that the squad were not with Hughes and a change was essential. There comparison with a Southampton side so together and united behind their manager was stark.
A fairly hefty tome Brix and I'll give some opinions on each part here: Warnock or Hughes? Warnock every time. Outgoing and capable of motivating, everything Hughes wasn't. I feel Warnock was a victim of circumstances in the summer leaving him no time to sign players who may have made our start even better than the respectable position we were in after winning at Stoke. Our subsequent run of two points from eight games eventually did for him, but not having been able to bring in reinforcements, ideally of his choice, in the January window was, imho, unfair and scant reward for his efforts of the previous 22 months. In comparison, Hughes was given everything he wished and a crop of January signings failed to ignite and by the start of the Liverpool match we looked like dead men walking. The astonishing comeback was not Hughes eureka moment, but the complacency of Dalglish and his team in thinking it was game over, they gave it away and Hughes basked in the reflective glory, Sunderland the following Saturday underlined that. The run of five home wins that saved our and Hughes' bacon was helped greatly by Blackburn and Bolton's dire finish, we should have been buried but scrambled out of the coffin. Following that and the 'Never again on my watch' promise, you could almost predict the outcome. A summer of being underwhelmed by signing after signing of has-beens and reluctant recruits didn't auger well for the coming season. Only Granero and Hoilett could be described as improvements to the squad, the Rob Green farce just said it all and even Cesar, for all his shot-stopping ability does not command the box, contributing to our fragility at the back. Hughes failure to have any shape or purpose to the side was evident in the first game and once we fell behind his failure to make tactical switches until the game was lost were there for all to see, game after game with flashes of potential undone by inept defending and no zip in trying to rescue games that had gone away from us. West Ham, Reading and Southampton, promoted sides, should have been nine points there for the taking by a side mooted to be top ten material, they all made us look pedestrian, and the writing was on the wall by half-time against West Ham. The lack of leadership on the pitch was patently obvious but nothing was done about it, just as SWP was played ad nauseum with inevitable results. Football management is the equivalent of the conductor of an orchestra, he'll give them the lead and they should know what to do from there, Hughes had no baton and may as well have not been there we were that bad. The shame is he'll walk away with millions for being an abject failure, if only life was like that in the real world. The difference with Harry is he will keep it simple and concentrate on the positives, no going out to defend on the off-chance we'll nick a point, it'll be express yourselves and a flowing passing game. I expect Faurlin and Granero to be very much the way forward and Adel will be encouraged to 'contribute' to the team. Whether we escape is not as important as showing fight, bottle and scrapping till the bitter end. They might just surprise us...
If my memory of history is correct, I think we won at Agincourt, got an honourable score draw at Rourke's Drift (despite having around 2,000 men, er... sent off at Isandlwana) and only lost at Hastings because we got caught a number of times on the counter.
