Ollie’s carrot and shtick approach lifts QPR – Report Sunday, 20th Nov 2016 18:05 by Clive Whittingham QPR, unrecognisable from the side that lost meekly to Brentford last time out at Loftus Road, beat Norwich 2-1 in a compelling start to Ian Holloway’s second spell as manager on Saturday. Ian Holloway often gives the impression of a man on the run from a keeper with a large butterfly net, and the chance to return to the club he holds dearest to his heart for a third spell this week has only exacerbated his hyperactivity. With the metaphor machine gun set to rapid fire we’ve had everything from tales from Bristol’s underground tattoo parlour wars to changing trouser trends through the ages. Barely able to contain himself as he was unveiled to the crowd for his second stint as Queens Park Rangers manager, ten years after the first ended, he was off again at a rate of knots after this hard-fought win against Norwich City, taking 11 minutes to answer four questions in the post-match radio interviews and tossing an opinion on Wayne Rooney into a discussion supposedly about where Rangers go from here. Read more here ... http://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/football/queensparkrangers/news/44326
Just back in UK so missed all the fun. Good win against Norwich. Need to catch up on reports and highlights.
Good piece. My week wouldn't be the same without a LFW/Clive match report, they've been a constant for more than ten years now. "After Mark Hughes’ “meticulous approach to the business of winning Premier League football matches”, Harry Redknapp’s completely half-arsed “bonus game” approach to collecting lots of money for not doing very much at all, Chris Ramsey’s quiet and reserved response to losing most weeks and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s pidgin English “it is what it is” drudge, a bit of passion and life and humour and QPR has made a refreshing change this week. The lift for the team, the increase in attendance, the vast improvement in Loftus Road’s atmosphere – all of this could pretty much be taken as read before we all even got up on Saturday morning. This much, so far, we knew already. But Ian Holloway has won three promotions as a manager – one in unlikely circumstances at QPR, another one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport in this country at Blackpool – and you don’t do that by telling funny jokes. To write Holloway off as merely a comedian ignores a long and successful managerial career which has featured at least one complete change in philosophy and outlook to a more attractive, attacking, expansive style away from the more rudimentary, pragmatic, direct football he used to present for the Shepherd’s Bush public." "Riding their luck, the hosts saw the win through. Silver Lining rang out at last. Much to admire, much to improve on, but also much to enjoy. A pulsating, compelling football match after so many works of dirge, it turns out football doesn’t have to be attritional, boring stuff after all. Perhaps there was a little more thought in this appointment than people have given QPR credit for."
Well written, insightful analysis; authoritative and hugely enjoyable to read. Thank you, Clive, and Nines.
