The author of this article sure at hell isn't alone in his views, and his comments on what is effectively social engineering carried out by the Goons (bringing in a wealthier sort of fan) are interesting and apt. Personally, I don't have a big problem with Paladini (I'm willing to be persuaded otherwise). It's Eccles and Briatore who have have an actively cynical and arrogant disregard to loyal fans that have supported the club all their lives. Eccles in particular seems to take a delight in showing his contempt for the fans. I can't see that changing.
Why wouldn't I be able to cope Kiwi? I agree with most of what has been written. My annoyance comes from the many comments of those who seem to think that Mittal walks on water and would have poured money into the club. I don't like being used by yet another businessman who has carefully cultivated the fans over the last 12 months, especially since Christmas when it looked like we would be promoted. All Mittal's leaked money "promises" were reliant on him gaining control of the club at a knock down price. Basically he wanted Ecclestone and Briatore to fund his charm offensive. If some fans think that Ecclestone and Briatore should sell up on the cheap to the mercurial Mittal for the good of the club, then fans should also be prepared to take a 150% rise in ticket prices ... for the good of the club - especially as the fans believe that it is their club too. But what would happen next year when that money had run out? If, by some quirk of fate, Mittal does manage to relieve Ecclestone of his shares we will see a lot of back tracking. It would not be obvious, but the money would not be spent and everybody would be saying what a good job Warnock has done. If it doesn't go well then there would be cries of "Oh yes I know that we said that we would put this much money in ... but we have had to pay so much extra for the club that ... etc". Mittal doesn't want to become a sugar daddy like Abramovich at Chelsea or Ashley at Newcastle, ploughing millions of pounds into a bottomless pit. He is a business man out of the same mould as the Ecclestones of this world. I get annoyed when I read comments saying that this is Ecclestone's fault or that is Ecclestone's fault when it clearlt had nothing to do with him. The Graham bid is just the latest in a long line. We see reports in the newspapers and read comments from WUMs from other clubs saying that there is "turmoil in the back rooms of QPR" and that players don't want to come to QPR because of the boardroom problems. This is complete bull****. There are hundreds of reasons for not going in for players and hundreds of reasons why if we do they do, or do not, sign for us. But when I see comments that blame Ecclestone for Graham deciding to go to Swansea (for instance), followed by yobbish comments like "**** off Dwarf", etc, I wonder just how gullible and stupid some people can actually be. All this sort of thing does is feed the WUMs and allow the press to have a field day. Being part of the problem doesn't effect change. I wish that someone else owned the club, I really do. However, I think that Mittal's methods stink and that his objectives are a long way from what many people on here think they are. I believe that fans that have been cheated by the current owners and have been groomed and used by someone who will be no better. I am truely frustrated that most (not all) fans just cannot see it.
Judging by the title of the blog and his whole working-class-salt-of-the-earth schtick about fans, I wouldn't be so sure.
In my opinion - the club has been badly run non-stop since 1986 and David Bulstrode (older readers feel free to extrapolate even earlier if you wish...). Plus ca change. Although Briatore and Paladini's cack-handedness may have been the nadir.
Eamon, I think that most QPR fans realise that the Mittals aren't going to be Abramovitch's. And I don't think they want that. They want astute businessman with funds as owners, who run the club prudently and efficiently (and sure, take the benefits coming from that), and whose heart is in the club and who genuinely value the fans, recognising that fans comprise part of the success of the club. Compare Briatore's hands on management which was unsuccessful, disruptive and made the club a laughing stock - with Bhatia who wasted no time in bringing in NW with the results that are known to all of us. I don't know how many matches you get to, but you only have to look at the number of the Mittals and friends attending matches to see their enthusiasm. And on the last match of the season, the family took their kids around the ground to thank the fans for their support. And you could see that Bhatia was really moved by the warm response that evoked from the fans. I believe they're interest in the good of the club is genuine. That if they buy it, it will take on part of the Mittals' identity. Compare that with the Goons. Eccles who barely turns up to matches and leaves at half time. Briatore who would love to replace decent, loyal fans with the monied set. Sorry, mate, but for me, there's no comparison.
Sorry Eamon but your pessimistic view of the Mittals is unjustified. All the noise they have made since coming to the club are sensible. Thery’re public support for Warnock to try and quell the press pantomime a recent example. No body expects them to throw money at it like Abramovich or Sheikh Mansour but at the same time it would be foolish of them to start investing heavily in a club they only own 30 odd% of. They have ambitions to purchase the club 100% so to pump cash in now would inflate the price of the club. Ecclestones recent Daily Mittal interview in which he valued his 60% stake at £100 million shows what the Mittals are up against!! He clearly wants too much for his stake already so by adding valuable assets to the club in the form of expensive players would not help their cause. Trust the Mittals as there is not one shred of evidence to support that they will change should they take over.
I agree with Kaspar and Goldhawk. The Mittals haven't done an Abramovich and I wouldn't want them to do so. They have talked about being prudent and have acted that way. I would expect this to continue if they were in charge. I sit within viewing distance of where Amit and Lakshmi sit, very often with their friends and family: I can tell genuine love of the R's when I see it. They appointed NW and, unlike FB, let him get on with it. I read about the sort of numbers that FB and BE were talking about as a price for their QPR shares and I asked for some of what they were on. I would LOVE the Mittals to be the controlling shareholders but I would expect them to act like sensible businessmen, albeit touched with an emotional connection to the club. I'm sure Amit has a real connection with the fans and to think otherwise is being unduly cynical IMO.
Unless something radical changes in the Premier League then pretty soon the majority of clubs will need a very wealthy benefactor in order to survive. In that light this talk of not wanting us to 'do an Abramovitch' is nonsense. The ante to play at the top table gets higher and higher every year and clubs like QPR either need to have a sugar daddy or no longer dream of contending in the top division. What we really mean is that even if we get the investement to become successful we hope the QPR fan base does not become like the Stamford Bridge stock brokers who have suddently fallen in love with football but actually know squat about the game. I certainly agree with that sentiment but please let's pretend we do not want the investment. Either way it seems like we're not getting it anyway sadly.
Eamon holmes..The reason i asked could you cope is because on nearly every post from you lately you seem to be defending the goons and slagging off the indians.
Thread title: 'why I might be falling out of love with qpr' ...ah. So that was what the two part epistle was all about: Goons v Mittals! How disappointing. After the first rather dismally personal part, I thought the author's disaffection for the club would come repleat with twists, turns and revelations that would at least leave us with food for thought - and reason to have ploughed through the whole diatribe. Whilst I have every sympathy with Rs fans for the rank incompetence and cynicism meted out by the Goons, its quite clear to me (just reading through the thread lists since the FA hearing and Amit's departure) that there are quite a few Rs that are still in denial about the massive cultural theft going on. So how has this 'two part ramble' either enlightened or relieved us of our sufferings? Not in the slightest in my view and as such could and should have been a whole lot shorter since on the whole it told us nothing new.
