Being a Q.P.R. supporter has never been easy. Even the good old days were tainted, immediately relegated after our first promotion to the top flight, Liverpool âstealingâ our 1st division trophy, Venables leaving when the possibilities were starting to unfold in front of us and Sir Les being sold starting our potentially inexorable slide when we were the top London side. Currently times are even tougher. The Premier League we have joined is far, far tougher than the 1st Division all those years ago. The unbelievably rich paymasters rule the roost, everyone else can only hope to survive. Avoiding relegation is the only realistic aim of not only the newly promoted clubs, but many of the âestablishedâ premier league clubs. Due to our circumstances during the summer break we have a combination of players signed on free transfers which, quite frankly, we would not have signed had subsequent events evolved sooner, and a few last minute bargains. It is totally unrealistic to expect anything more than survival this season with a squad that will hopefully be bolstered by some January signings. While I am not for one minute suggesting that any one should restrain from venting their anger, as this is one of the purposes of this forum, we should at all times bear in mind that survival is our only realistic objective. Should we survive this season, next season will also be a struggle and again the following one. While we can all dream of domestic glory and European adventures, that is, at best, several seasons down the line, and even then, no guarantee of Premier League survival. We need to be realistic in our expectations and re-evaluate our goals accordingly. Those of us that remember the glory days need to realise that they are still unlikely to return and for those too young to have known them, sorry, you are very unlikely to experience them. We need to remember that many of the teams we are competing against have had several years of premier League money to build a team, we have had days. The occasionally win over Chelsea and a cup run is the best we can really hope for, apart from Premier League survival, any more than this would be miraculous. Iâm not sure who this is harder on, those who remember the glory days but subsequently born the whips and scorns of time or those who have never experienced them.
A calm voice in a turbulent sea. It was always going to be a choppy ride and until the end of the season we won't know how far we have travelled. So hop onboard everyone and enjoy the ride wherever it takes us. We are after all true fans and not just glory hunters. Merry Christmas to you all as another resident of Windsor would say.
Nicely written Roller realistic and accurate that it hurts a little to read but should be taken on board by everybody. Lets try to do what Warnock preaches every week and "enjoy it" that really is the best piece of advice there is IMO. Merry Christmas everyone and to a prosperous New Year on and off the field.
A great piece Roller, very poignant and well written. I have to disagree slightly with the low expectation of achieving success, however. As a child, at the beginning of every season I dreamt that QPR would or could, against all odds, win the Div 1 Championship. ( We very very nearly did.) That we would win the FA Cup, ( We nearly did. ) We would win the League Cup, ( We very nearly did. ) ( The 86 one ) Almost synonomous with the old ' Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. ' analogy. Then as an adult, last season. I still dreamt , like I did as a child. That we would get promoted to the Prem as Champions. WE DID! Against all the odds, ( Who really felt that, that would happen....Really? ) Play-offs at best. So here we are are, playing in the Prem, with all of these fantastic teams and players gracing our hallowed turf. All of the tremendous away fixtures, ( It was Scunny, Donny and Barnsley last season. ) I still pinch myself at the fact that I watched Rooney and Nani play at Loftus Rd last week. Drogba, Terry, lampard, Da Silva, Dzeko and Toure before that. OK, we may never win the Prem or Champions League. But I define success as... '' Setting out to achieving a goal, and the result being , the accomplishment of that goal, whatever it is. '' Staying up, will be a success for me. All the best mate, enjoy your Christmas break.
I really hope we do win one, someday, and that i am alive to see it, because, as Rollercoaster said, i never got to see QPR at their prime in the "Old first Division".
Roller's on one... Go Roller! Bit of background peeps. Roller reckons it all gets a bit flat on here at times. He wants some thought going into stuff. A bit of considered... well, you know, a bit of a read with some juicy debate on whether Faulin's a **** this week or not, stuff like that. He wants some truth but from different angles. He knows a lot of you can write, different styles maybe but really write) and wants to see your best offerings more often. Am I right Roller? Got it all off your chest in one sweet piece up there, didn't ya?! Brilliant OP mate! Thoroughly enjoyed every word. All bollocks mind (joke!). No, ****ing ace! And guess what? You're getting a following... me for one - and Fireman and others too. Quality post that 999 btw. I see there's not much happening on the fire side of life tonight! But of course Roller me old coaster, I know you wouldn't want all threads full of poignancy and dilemma, just some - and more often. I tell ya, there's the respect that makes calamity of so long life. For who (other than Rs fans) would bear the whips and scorns of time indeedy! See, you've got me at it now!
Something we've heard tell about kiwi... we're looking into it. There's half a chance we'll put our first team out against the fake dons - and compete! Who knows what could happen after that? Yeah, you're right... 0-2 home to Hull probably!
Beautifully put Roller, no argument from me. The playing field is now so uneven that all but the richest clubs have difficulty standing up on it. 999 has it perfectly - as QPR fans we have to adjust our sights - personally survival, beating one of the big clubs a couple of times a season, and most importantly playing good, passing football will keep me happy. At least until the current system collapses - all this stupid money can't go on forever - and things even out again. But it could be worse - imagine being an Aldershot or York City fan ( or many, many others) now those guys deserve respect. Even at our League One and financial lowest, we always believed things would come good somehow - and we were right.
Roller - very well written article. Survival was always going to be the aim for this year, and anything else we achieved would be a bonus. In the last few years, we have almost folded so we should be enjoying this successful period (even if we do get our butts kicked) and look forward to seeing some truely world class players perform on Loftus Rd pitch.......something a few years back would have been a dream. We do have players that can compete - Man City at home proves that (even though we lost) but we also have others that on their day can also add somethimng to the team. We now have stability and a decent manager and owner, who seems to have his feet on the ground so hopefully....we will survive this season and start to grow again. We are QPR - nothing is ever straight forward and if there is a long hard difficult way of ding something...or an easy option, we always, always take the long option. My blood is blue and white and one day my dream will come true of QPR winning the Premiership...we came close with the old Division 1 Title a few years ago......but I have a dream. before I waffle on too much Happy Xmas one and All
Very well written Roller....but far too negative for my liking! "The occasionally win over Chelsea and a cup run is the best we can really hope for, apart from Premier League survival"....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Blimey...may as well all give up now then!
Is NW really "enjoying it"? The smile's looking increasingly forced and the repeated mantras of how well we're playing and have been robbed are starting strain credulity. Personally I don't feel that it is possible to take such a stance and just sit back and enjoy things, the game simply doesn't work like that and football fans are far to fickle (myself included). No fans want their side to merely 'exist'
I've been trying to write a suitable reply to those of you who responded to this, but time has beaten me and I'm off to Tenerife in the morning. I apologise as I did want to pick up on various excellent points made, however it has given me some food for thought which I will revisit on my return. Thanks to all who have humoured me over the last year. Cheers Roller
