QPR to postpone transfer discussions as chairman Tony Fernandes handles Air Asia tragedy

QPR to postpone transfer discussions as chairman Tony Fernandes handles Air Asia tragedy
HARRY REDKNAPP says he will put transfer talks with Tony Fernandes on hold while the QPR chairman deals with the Air Asia tragedy.
Published: 22:30, Wed, December 31, 2014
By Alec Shilton and Andrew Gwilym

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Harry Redknapp wants to sign West Ham flop Mauro Zarate
Redknapp is close to clinching the loan signing of forward Mauro Zarate from West Ham but will wait to discuss further deals in the wake of the flight from Fernandes' airline crashing into the sea on Sunday.
Fernandes immediately flew to Indonesia in reaction to what he has described as his "worst nightmare", and Rangers manager Redknapp has acknowledged that now is not the time to be running transfer targets by him.
When asked if he had been in touch with Fernandes about bringing in new signings, Redknapp said: "No, not really. It's been difficult, a difficult time. So many people lost their lives and it was horrendous.
"I haven't bothered him with football. At some stage I will but not at the moment. There are far more important things to worry about with what's gone on with the plane going down than worrying about football. So I haven't bothered him with football. I haven't rung or sent him messages... well, not about football."
Zarate appears set to sign after falling behind Andy Carroll, Diafra Sakho and Enner Valencia in the pecking order of West Ham forwards and Redknapp is keen to bring him in to operate as a link player between his midfield and striker Charlie Austin.
"We've been talking about the possibility of loaning him but it's not done yet," Redknapp added.
"It's something we're interested in. We're looking for a couple of loan players. We want to get them in as soon as we can because you've got five or six games in the month again.
"I would think there will be players on loan at the end of the window that clubs at the moment are saying are only for sale.
"I know there are one or two chairmen who are saying players aren't available for loan and then at half past nine on deadline night they'll being coming on to loan them."
One player Redknapp appears to have been priced out of a move for is Toronto striker Jermaine Defoe.
"The whole package to pay the transfer free and the wages would be too expensive for us so that is a problem," he explained.
Rangers today take on Swansea, who will be hoping circling clubs have a similar problem over his striker Wilfried Bony.
The Loftus Road clash is Bony's final outing before he joins up with the Ivory Coast ahead of their African Nations Cup campaign.
It means the 25-year-old, the Premier League's top goalscorer in 2014 with a tally of 20, will miss as many as six games should the Elephants reach the final.
But with the January transfer window open for business and the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool all bring linked with moves for Bony, there are no guarantees he will be returning to Swansea once his international duty is completed.
That is despite Bony signing a new four-year contract at the Liberty Stadium in November, but Monk is adamant he is not affected by the constant speculation over his star man.
He said: "Of course we are expecting Wilfried to be back with us after the African Nations Cup. The rumours rumble on but those are not my concern.
"I know football and things can happen quickly and different things come out of the blue but I don't have to worry about that unless something happens.
"Wilf will be playing the game against QPR and he will have to do as best he can because he will go away and then it's a chance for Bafetimbi Gomis to show what he can do.
"He will be a big loss while he is away, as will Ki Sung-yueng while he is at the Asian Cup with South Korea.
"They have been fantastic this season and we need to add that sort of quality to help the squad which is what we will be looking to do over the next few weeks.
"But it's another chance for players to step up and make sure in that period we push on and continue doing what we have done in the first half of the season."
Monk, Bony and Swansea will be looking to bounce back from their defeat at Liverpool, which was their heaviest of 2014.
They secured a comfortable 2-0 win over Harry Redknapp's Rs when the sides met at the start of December, but travel-sick QPR have proved a very different proposition at home.
All 18 of the London club's points have come at Loftus Road, with striker Charlie Austin the driving force.
The former Burnley man has scored five of QPR's last six goals, and eight of their last 12 on home turf.
Monk is wary of the 25-year-old's blistering form, and admits Austin has won plenty of admiration at Swansea given his own remarkable rise from non-league has echoes of the Welsh club's unlikely climb from League Two to the top flight.
Monk said: "It's always nice when you see lads who have been down there doing well.
"I do believe when you have been in those lower leagues your character is different. You have determination, you always try and prove a point and a lot of us did that here, trying to get to the next level, then when you get there that's when the real work starts.
"He seems to be loving it and all credit to him, he works incredibly hard and it's important that we stop him.
"We did that well at our place and we have to try and do the same at their place.
"He is playing with confidence, all strikers are dangerous when they have confidence and I think at home he feels the crowd are right behind him."
Swansea have "reluctantly accepted" Jonjo Shelvey's violent conduct charge after he elbowed Liverpool defender Emre Can during the 4-1 defeat on Monday but escaped any action from referee Andre Marriner.
The 22-year-old's suspension begins with immediate effect and he will serve a four-game ban, an extra game added to the customary three for violent conduct as he was sent off at Everton earlier in the season.

 

In the light of all those lives lost, it would appear callous to complain about TF giving his attention elsewhere but the delay may b every costly to QPR and himself.

Why does he have to do it all? What about Rouben, Amit, Phil etc?

Sincerely don't wish to show disrespect to those who died and their grieving families.

 

I do not doubt that there will be lots of things going on behind the scenes during TF's absence.

 

I imagine Phil Beard will be on overtime...

 

With all due respect, l think you make fair comment, mate.

 

Yes, TF should rightfully be excused from these sort of discussions.

I am slightly disappointed that the maximum wage bill and fees paid weren't decided a month or two back (perhaps with a plan A and plan B scenario).

 

How do you know that wasn't done ?

 

I suppose that I don't but the suggestion that we might postpone any tweaking of the squad implies that either the budget hasn't been clearly communicated to everyone involved or there's no natural delegation (to Amit say) in Tony's absence.

 

Tony's week has gone from tragic to something potentially very damaging for him, air Asia and ultimately QPR.

It would seem that although Air Asia was licensed to fly the Surabaya to Singapore route, it was only for certain days of the week and it turns out that the flight happened on a day that they weren't licensed.

As a result all Air Asia flights on that route have now been suspended while an investigation is carried out. Now this might seem like symantics, but under the circumstances of a fatal crash this could turn very nasty for tony. How many insurances companies do you think will pay up on a policy if they know the airline wasn't suposed to be flying on that particular day. It's not just the cost of the plane, it will be the compensation which could run in to hundreds of millions of pounds if as it seems likely that it was pilot error, as investigators claim the plane was trying to climb faster than it could safely do.

The implications?

If air asia are left high and dry, it could potentially means they go bust over night. I doubt it could take a hit of hundreds of millions of pounds or the negative press that would surely follow. My heart bleeds for Tony, his pain is clear to be seen on TV, but if this does transpire then it could finish him financially and as a person.

As far as our club goes, the consequces would probably be no more severe than saying goodbye to a likeable chairman. He would have to sell his shares, whether to one of his malaysian partners, I don't know their liability or involvement with air Asia, or whether we see a take over by amit and mittal, which certainly wouldn't be the end of the world would it, some would certainly prefer that.

I hope it all blows over soon for Tony as he is a lovely character and doesn't deserve any more crap on top of what has already been a horrible tragedy.

 

I've just ben reading this on the BBC, I was thinking along the same lines but remember he only has a 49% share in what is a franchise. I'm not expert in business law but I'm hoping it may provide a bit of a buffer for him in the liability stakes. As for flying a unlicensed route, let just hope he has nothing to do with it and it was a decision made at the franchise level. If he's directly implicated in that he could be in real trouble.

 

Never rains when it pours.

Horrible stuff and I really hope it works out as well as possible for Tony.

I know he's not everyones cup of tea but I think its obvious his intentions are always good and wears his heart on his sleeve even though he's made the odd mistake.

Personally I like him and am keeping my fingers crossed for him.

 

Under normal circumstances it would just be a slap on the wrist for flying the route on an incorrect day, but as they are it could really be a problem. Hopefully the fact it was a sister company which basically lends the name will work out for tony. But this might be a case that his very public face makes him guilty by association.

 

Thanks for filing that gap in my knowledge, I can deffo see the insurance companies using it as a reason to not pay out though.

 

Yes, this has to be the main concern. They simply won't pay.
By the way, love the 'avatar' ............... nothing quite like the tradesmen entrance.

 

Thanks re. the avatar. It was sent to my other half by a mate on facebook. The first time I saw it I nearly shat myself laughing. (To stay in keeping with the pic.)

 

The insurance company will have to pay minimum third party costs, the same as if you were hit by a drink driver who shouldn't have been driving. As for the rest I would think they will still pay out, these flights happening on the wrong days probably happen hundreds of times a day around the world, if an insurance company refused a pay out on that basis then a lot of other airlines would take their business elsewhere from them. Also as someone said this isn't Air Asia, it's Air Asia Indonesia which is a sub group of which TF is just a shareholder, any liability would be plenty spread out!

 

so if my plane is delayed overnight is there a possibility it is now uninsured and should not be flying

 

I am so sorry to hear all that, primarily for the bereaved families, Tony and us - in that order.

 

On the other thread Canadahoop revealed that he works in airline insurance, perhaps he can give us the lowdown on this.

I don't think the in's and out's of ownership are that relevant (Fernandes is a minority shareholder in Air Asia, a publicly traded company, which is a minority shareholder in Air Asia Indonesia) - the impact on the Air Asia brand will be huge and the fact that Tony has (bravely and with great dignity) been the public face of the company in the aftermath shows that he feels responsible.

 

Indonesian authorities announced the grounding of AirAsia flights from Surabaya to Singapore, with the Transport Ministry saying the airline did not have a permit to fly on Sundays. However, Singapore's Civil Aviation Authority said Saturday that from its end, the airline had been approved to fly the route daily.