Today is the 50th birthday of Ian Holloway. The man whose passion, desire and determination rescued Q.P.R. when we were sliding into oblivion. Here is my tribute to a true Q.P.R. legend. Passionate, barmy, charismatic, unorthodox, inspirational, outspoken, honest, eccentric; these are just a few of the words that have been used to describe Ian Holloway. A compelling case can be made in favour of each and every one of these words, however I believe, from a Q.P.R. perspective, the most fitting is simply saviour. When our club was at its lowest ebb Ian Scott Holloway firmly grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, hauled it out of the depths of despair and set it securely on the road to recovery. Without his passion, desire and boundless determination there is a very distinct possibility that we would not be marvelling at the skills of Adel Taarabt, Julio Cesar or Chris Samba today. Read on........... http://rollercoasterranger.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/ian-holloway-passion-desire-and-determination/
see how easy it was tease us a little and then post a link let Northolt know how easy it was and he might come back might
Great piece Roller about a great R, and it contained a lot of information I was unaware of. Can you send it to him in someway, as a birthday present from all the RRRs who loved him. I always thought the daft pythonesque humour was there to distract us and the media from the team and their problems and failings ...everyone was more concerned about what Ian was going to say rather than wind him up about players or tactics...a very clever man. And something you missed, his is that his home life was/is not plain sailing. He has nursed his wife through cancer and his two of his children were born deaf....and he has coped and been a brilliant Dad, and to see his quotes about his children...is to hear a very proud man indeed. Yes one of life's really good people and I am proud to say he was one of us. HAPPY BIRTHDAY IAN HOLLOWAY
I'd go so far as to say that when Harry moves into the retirement home, there would be no better than Holloway to come back home to manage us.
Brilliant Roller! That's a really good article. Another point mentioning about Ian was how he got the squad to go and visit and offer a show of support to Palladini at his house after the 'gun' incident at Loftus Road. A great gesture and something that probably only someone like Holloway would dream of doing. The gesture counted for nothing though as Palladini ousted him not long after.
The only bad thing about Ollie is that he only discovered that football is and should be played as 'the beautiful game' after he left us. Top character, top ethics, top geezer.
It might not have been very pretty to watch but he got us out of League One and even though we lost in the play-off final seeing all those blue and white shirts and scarves in Cardiff will live long in the memory. QPR Legend gets bandied about far too much for my liking but Ollie deserves the title and the freedom of Shepherds Bush.
Nice piece Roller.....as mentioned elsewhere we could do far worse when Harold decides to move on....
Great piece Roller. Definitely not short on sentiment and am inclined to agree with others here that if Harry did decide the future wasn't at Loftus Road, then Ollie would be a great asset to carry us forward.
Been looking forward to that, Roller and you certainly didn't disappoint - another superb piece. Re Beth's point about his family circumstances; did anyone catch a doco about stress years back? One episode was a fly on the wall job about Ollie... it made me admire the man all the more. (I can't for the life of me remember what it was called.) Thanks Roller
Great read as usual Roller. Ive mentioned a few times that we should consider bringing one of our own back..IH would be perfect IMHO. The man that gave us that great day out at the Millenium Stadium...regardless of the score. One of my best & worst QPR memories ever ! PS..Where is North? What have i missed?
Thanks Beth. I'm well aware of the trials and tribulations he has admirably coped with in his personal life and chose not to mention them, but maybe you are right, it would put his efforts into even greater context. His autobiography gives a good insight into those problems, well worth a read if you haven't already. Following your suggestion I tweeted the link to Crystal Palace, maybe they will pass it onto him.
Cheers Pete. The programme went by the rather uninspiring name of "Stress Test". I did see it and, if I recall correctly, he came across as refreshingly honest about bring his work problems home. I probably should have followed his advice yesterday, rotten day at work, fuming all night long.
Ollie is a true legend to all real passionate QPR fans and firmly believe Mr Holloway has unfinished business with QPR and will return one day……. He stood true and firm in the dark days when there was no money, in fact on away game the QPR credit card bounced and he paid with his own money………….
