Is QPR merely an audition process for him? Date: 11th March 2013 at 6:47 pm Written by Grant-Miles | Comments (0) In late November there were several who had consigned QPR to the dead and buried pile. Relegation from the Premier League appeared to be the only option.Then arrived Harry Redknapp. The West London outfit have now transformed themselves into a side capable of survival. If the Hoops become another Harry Houdini success story they can start planning for the long term. The project at Loftus Road is an ambitious one but will it be one for Redknapp to carry out? Will he want to put all his eggs in one basket again and commit to the club for the foreseeable future if they get relegated? Would he stay even if they pulled off the miracle escape? I am not so sure. The 66 year old will not have forgotten how he left White Hart Lane under a dark cloud. There were few Lilywhite supporters that shed a tear when the axe was wielded upon him. They felt he had run his course and taken the club as far as he could.This must have left a bitter taste in the mouth. Will Redknapp risk being so cruelly discarded once again? He may be a hero at QPR now, that can all soon change. The frustration at Tottenham towards Redknapp was born out of their manager batting his eyelids elsewhere at the England job. This would be a warning sign to be careful to not make the same mistake twice but this is not just your normal Premier League boss. Redknapp is a creature of habit. He must be painfully aware that he will not have many more chances to manage in the upper echelons of World Football again and canât turn down taking a risk. This is why you can see him being motivated should a big job opportunity arise for him once again. The roles he would truly desire is set to a very small list of clubs, but what would happen should one of these come calling? There may be several QPR supporters who think I am barking mad to suggest he would leave after giving him his chance to rebuild his name but they may forget the man we are discussing here. Harry Redknapp is a football manager who is tactician on and off the field who has always thought of his career prospects first. He after all had no fear in walking out in Southampton when they were consigned to the Championship. Then when he saw a sinking ship on the horizon at Portsmouth, he did not hesitate to drive away to London. It is not necessarily fair to criticise him for this, even though several football fans will, but it does show what he is, ruthless. There was always an inevitability that Redknapp would be back in the English top flight. The QPR position was the right fit at the right time. The Râs had not won a Premier League game all season and things could only get better. You also suspect that the close proximity of the January transfer wind which coincided with his appointment was a factor.The Winter Window gave the âwheeler dealerâ plenty of scope to take punts on those who he saw as âproperâ players up for a relegation scrap. He needed no regard for the future. When Redknapp suggested he was keen on the Ukraine managerial position, just before his appointment in West London, it forced the hand of Tony Fernandes to move in. The QPR owner could not take a risk on one of the few managers that could lead them to survival not walking through the doors. Every man and his dog knew that Redknapp would never go to Ukraine. It was a show of power though that he will use whatever he can as leverage to preserve his managerial name and keep it in shining lights. It is certainly food for thought how often Redknapp though now mentions how great his working relationship is with Mr Fernandes so regularly to the media. Future employers always would want great communication with their manager. Mark Hughes may have been lambasted for signing mercenaries in January, but Harry Redknapp did too. The difference was that the present QPR boss had a far easier sell to the players he brought in to ensure they were motivated. Loic Remy and Chris Samba have come in for ludicrous and large transfer fees, but if you look at the bigger picture they are in no lose situations. If they play to their potential they could keep QPR safe which would be satisfying but regardless of how the Râs do they are putting themselves in the shop window.Would you be surprised if Redknapp admitted to those he signed that he was also using the club as a tool to put himself in the media spotlight once again? yes, but nobody would be shocked if that is what he is doing. Remy and Samba know if QPR go down that they will be in demand and could earn themselves moves to clubs that did not even remember they existed six months ago. The situation is the same for their manager at the helm. Even if survival is attained in the summer, the squad requires a huge face lift. Does Redknapp have the stomach for that fight for the next few seasons? That is debatable. There could be several options which could lead him to push the exit door once more. The Chelsea managerâs position is seemingly up for grabs in the summer. He has seemingly switched across from one deadly rival to another before. They currently have Rafael Benitez at the Helm who they never suspected would be leading the Blues into battle and if Redknapp moved there you have seen stranger. Arsene Wengerâs time at Arsenal may also be up in the summer and Redknappâs CV would shine over others and North London is not foreign territory to him. I may be speculating about clubs that the QPR boss could end up at, although there is one thing that I can be fairly certain on. This is that if he were to stay at Loftus Road for the long term I would be more shocked than if he were to pull of Premier League safety this campaign.
Sounds like a bitter little ****-stirrer to me. I wonder which of our fellow relegation rivals or whoch of Harry's former clubs he supports?
I can't see Harry being too concerned about his "career". It could be a different story if the Rs are relegated. At 66 he doesn't have much time left as a Prem manager. He would certainly be tempted to move to a Prem club if the Rs end up in the Championship as I don't suppose he wants to end his career dropping down the leagues. If he had been given the manager's job for England I would imagine that might have been his last, the pinnacle of his career. Go out at the very top and all that. If all goes well and the Rs stay up then I would expect him to stay, moving with the owners to try and take the club to the next level. That would be a great way to end a career. As for Remy and Samba I do not care if they think that we are a shop window for them, as long as they play to the best of their ability for us. If they play well and we still drop down then we will be able to recoup the money paid for them - or a substantial part of it - quite easily. That is something that the people who write the drivel about our spending in the January transfer window fail to grasp. When it comes down to it there are lots and lots of players/managers who don't play for the top teams who are in "the shop window". They are all looking for the big move to a top club and everything that comes with it - champions league games, big money and recognition. Their agents and advisers want it even more!
Well said Willy and Eamon. Speculative and reaching with no real, factual basis. It might happen but as easily might not (although the hypothesis only gets tested if we survive).
How many of these daft articles are going to come out of the woodwork? It's fantastic exposure for the club however ... all the time people are talking QPR then of course our profile only gets better. The board must be very pleased as we are a football always in the focus good or bad like this article it's all good. If we make it then there will be loads of speculation about how well we will do next season and they will be queuing up to praise our team including those idiots on the BBC. If we go down expect a torrent of "i told you so" I would love to see someone on here write a really positive piece on behalf of the real fans and then circulate that around the world.
Is QPR merely an audition process for him? Written by Grant-Miles | Comments (1): No Grant and I hope you die soon
my son who works at sky was told by merson on saturday that redknapp would be new manager at west ham next season if qpr went down, well we ain't down yet & would rather keep harry, you heard it here first.
Roller? Uber? sb_73? Get writing lads. ____________________________________________________ I am always bemused when someone writes a negative piece about our club when they don't support us themselves. This particular weirdo is a Newcastle fan? Who lives in Beaconsfield? What a strange thing to do. I would never dream of writing an article let's say on, Chris Hughton. And then dreaming up a non-existent agenda for him. What a weirdo.
It goes without saying that articles as such are written on a daily basis, so too it is with people farting in confined spaces ................. the common dominator is that they can both get up your nose.
Piss poor article. Lets face it, what has Harry to audition for? The FA did not want him for the England job and I really can't see any of the top four clubs coming in for him. The Liverpool and spuds jobs are also tied up with good young managers. Considering he loves the south coast, it's either Saints or a London club. Think Harry will be happy enough with us for the next few years. Think we may be his last job as be has interests outside of football.
All good points Nuts. I don't see many chairman giving their managers a top top car for their birthday either.
and this article written by someone who spends most of his time submitting blog with his lists of Top 10 Wags of Premier League clubs As my old man says "paper never refused ink!"
Don't know about that nuts, his company was in difficulty before he came to us over a bit of property development in Southsea which may have contributed to him coming to us. Doesn't bother me in the slightest though as everybody has contributing factors to employment, location finances etc but if true he may need another football job at some stage to steady his businesses. At the moment he can do little wrong for me, I know some people have criticised the way he has dealt with some players but hey seems to have worked, hasn't Bosingwa's performances been the best for us since his fine and falling out ? Articles like the above I tend to ignore now, getting used to the hate that flies our direction.
I'm more used to rose-tinted nostalgia or whinging, but gives us a topic Dave and I'll have a go. How about a team effort though? Any thoughts or ideas anyone?
Something like They can throw what they want at us but we will always be QPR The ups and downs of being QPR What makes QPR a brand worth creating? Giving the classic underdog a complete wash and brush up From Hulse to Remy we are moving forward
Hulse to Remy - says all you need to know, doesn't it? The brand part is where I really struggle, we've traditionally been a local club with strong community roots. To me the brand is about corporate finance and global sales, totally disparate to our tradition. As I still want to live in the 1970s can someone please sell me the idea?
Have a quick stock check on what has happened to football say in the last ten years we are toys for the rich... project to grow so why are QPR attractive? say compared to Norwich They have one more league cup to their name but we have finished higher in the league and just as much glamour? ... Why QPR? Money is being thrown at this project with little short term return... why? look deep enough Roller you will see the positives I am sure
