(By Clive Whittingham) " QPR New Year’s Resolutions for 2013: - Implement a wage structure. To have Jose Bosingwa at QPR on £65,000 a week, more than any of the Tottenham players that Harry Redknapp had under his charge previously, is astonishing. A strictly adhered to wage cap is required immediately – both for the financial security of a club with an 18,000 capacity stadium that’s about to go into the Championship, and for the harmony of the squad which has clearly become split between the haves and have nots. If that wage cap means a player is unaffordable then don’t sign him – he’s probably not the sort of player that’s going to be a good fit for QPR anyway. - Appoint a technical director. Somebody with experience of the game and clubs of a similar size, independent of the manager, to properly oversee the vast amounts of work that need to be done at QPR over a long period of time. - Stop talking yourself up. If you’re great, people will say lovely things about you of their own volition. If you’re dreadful, the Comical Ali routine makes you look stupid to the wider footballing world, and annoys the support base. - Stop trying to solve every problem by signing a new player. If you’re bringing in five or more players in every transfer window then you’re not doing it right. Coach the players you have, work on their weaknesses, don’t be so quick to cast them aside. If you get to the end of the transfer window and you have half a dozen senior professional players who aren’t even in the 25 man squad then, again, you’re doing it wrong. There needs to be a change in mindset among supporters on this one as well: stop saying that everything will be fine once we’ve signed yet another player. Turn Sky Sports News off and stop getting all moist over the transfer window because the last three of them have actually been bloody awful for QPR – we’re safer when the damn thing is shut. - Sign players for specific positions with a team and a system in mind. Always spend money with the mindset that the position then won’t need to be addressed again for three or four years. Do not sign players you don’t actually need simply because they’re a big name, or even because they’re a wonderful player and the opportunity is too good to turn down – the Cesar and Granero signings haven’t exactly proved to be runaway successes have they? - Scout players carefully and perform due diligence on them so you know what you’re getting and where they’re going to fit into the team. As a general rule, if QPR are signing a player everybody has heard of then it’s probably not going to be a good signing for them. Stop signing players over 30, stop signing players for whom QPR is a step down and/or the smallest club they’ve ever played for. Look for players with points to prove, with potential, with future sell on value. - Practice set pieces – both attacking and defending. At the moment QPR very rarely visit the opposition penalty box, so when they do get there it’s important to make it count. To pass up the opportunity to put six or seven players in there and deliver a reasonable cross to them as often as Rangers do from their corners and free kicks is not acceptable. At the other end, given that the experts on our game make out that you could basically train a group of monkeys to defend set pieces and any goal conceded from them is a crime, perhaps the R’s might like to do a spot of work on that side of the game as well. - Learn to take throw ins. If you had a right full back who conceded possession every single time he received the ball to his feet he would quickly be dropped, it would not be tolerated – so why is it acceptable for QPR’s to give the ball away within two touches of every single throw in they’re awarded simply because they’re using their hands? They do it every time without fail. Every single throw in is back with the opposition within two touches. - Treat the supporters with more respect. It may not seem the case when you’re talking about building a global brand and running a Premier League football club, but little things matter and the fabric of a football club can be judged by how well they do them. I brought up the example of my Supporter of the Year trophy in the Liverpool match report and I bet thousands of you have a similar story to tell about how QPR is failing to do the little things correctly. Start cherishing the fans that are already here, because they’re the ones who will be first to help if things go badly. - Communicate with the support base. Stop mistaking communication with supporters as Tweeting interview clips from players acknowledging how dreadful they are and how much better they’re going to be. Stop referring to supporters as “haters” when they respond to that sort of dirge with criticism. It’s wonderful that Tony Fernandes is so accessible via social media, but again that is not proper communication with the supporters. A fans forum every six months would be an easy place to start. - Without fans, there is no club. It is completely out of order for the club to be charging season ticket holders £28.50 to go to this Saturday’s game with West Brom, so soon after paying £60 at Chelsea and shelling out for numerous other matches over Christmas all of which were dreadful. The £3.50 booking fee is scandalous anyway. Supporters are very easy to lose, and very hard to win back. Going to the football is a habit and once out of it people often find they don’t miss it. The West Brom match should be a tenner all in (if that) by way of a reward for the faith people continue to show and an apology for what has happened this season. Charging £28.50 each is scandalous, shameful and shows a total lack of awareness of the support base and what it’s thinking. - And with that lack of awareness in mind – stop being afraid to appoint QPR fans to jobs at the club. Occasionally – such as when the head of press is about to Tweet that “spirits are high among the media team” towards the end of a 500 mile December 22 round trip to Newcastle for a dreadful performance and 1-0 defeat – we can provide useful input like “I’m not sure that’s going to go down too well.” You may also find the other supporters more receptive and understanding when they know they’re dealing with one of their own. - Know your history. David Bardsley, born in Manchester originally and somebody who turned out for half a dozen different clubs in his career, loved his time at QPR so much that when he set up a youth coaching academy in Florida he named it after the club and turns the teams out for their matches in blue and white hoops. Bardsley wants to affiliate this academy with QPR officially, and bring his best prospects to Rangers once a year for them to have first pick from, but says nobody at the club has returned his calls on the matter. Similar stories about total lack of acknowledgement have been told in the past by Dave Thomas and others. This is not only an easy PR opportunity, but it’s the right and proper thing to do for players who gave their best for this club when the money was poor and the medical treatment for injuries sustained in a far more physical sport didn’t stretch much further than a bucket of water and an old cloth. - Walk a mile in our shoes. Have somebody ring the box office every now and again to see what it’s actually like when that call goes through to a Ticketmaster call centre in Manchester – a call centre that 50% of the time won’t actually be able to help you with your query and advise you to call the box office, which you do only to then be put back through to Ticketmaster. Sit in the home ends at the big matches and see how pleasant it is to find yourself parked next to some Liverpool fan from Wimbledon Common wearing his red shirt and celebrating the goals with a ticket he bought from Viagogo. Ideally, tell Ticketmaster, Viagogo and Lotto to kindly **** off – all three of them are doing a lousy job for Queens Park Rangers supporters. - Spend some money on a website development team. The official website is a window on the club for the world, and a first port of call for information for supporters, but the new design is awful, doesn’t work on most mobiles, and is often impossible to navigate. Some of the QPR Player features are really excellent, but they’re hard to find on the site and behind a pay wall in any case. How much is that subscription making for the club? Why not use it as a marketing tool and make it available for free on YouTube? - We are QPR. Remember that. Remember what QPR is. Stop trying to make it something it’s not. " http://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/footba...on_as_qpr_embark_on_2013_–_full_match_preview
Apologies to those who aren't a fan of Loftforwords/Clive's writing, i thought this was worth a read though! (i wonder if there are any others you think should be added to the list?)
"- And with that lack of awareness in mind – stop being afraid to appoint QPR fans to jobs at the club." I know for a fact that that is happening as my mate is listed in the staff directory now on the site and hes a STH. They offered him a place in the box for the chelsea game but declined because he wouldnt be able to contain himself in front of his new employers!
No worries Grifter, he clearly cares deeply about the club. If he speaks like he writes should be trying out for 'just a minute'. New Years Resolution: as Harold says, no more negativity in and around the club - see Clint quote in the sig. All the other stuff comes later.
Exactly he needs to get over himself Never posted on LFW but I do know from others and from what I read there are a lot of idiots on that site.
