Rangers have got it all back By davidmcintyre

Great scenes at Loftus Road yesterday. Let no-one say that ground isn’t fit for the Premier League.

The time for assessing QPR’s future and some aspects of the past will come, but for now all Rangers fans will be interested in is celebrating.

For the younger generation, promotion is magnificent for obvious reasons. For the older ones, in many ways this is as much the end of a journey as the start of one.

Ten years ago, with Rangers in administration and having just been relegated to the third tier after a defeat at Huddersfield, I stood on the side of the pitch listening to a hugely emotional Ian Holloway promise that the club would one day be back in the top flight.

Holloway said I could hold him to his comments, so I kept them, just in case they might seem poignant in the future.

I used a sentence or two for the local paper and a couple of the nationals, but other than that these words never saw the light of day. I stored them on file and always intended to reproduce them if the day arrived when Holloway’s words rang true.

Ten years on, that day has arrived. So, here they are…

“No words can do justice to how I feel. Devastated doesn’t even start to cover it. To have played for this great club in the premier division and see it now, in the third division for the first time since the 60s. It’s a tragedy. It breaks my heart. And to think how those QPR fans will feel, having come from what we had to this, here today. I feel sick. Absolutely sick. But let me tell you this: QPR will rise again. I promise you that. Like a phoenix, it will rise again. We’ve lost everything, but everything we’ve lost we’ll get back. Trust me on that. We’ll get it all back. Whether I’ll be the manager when that happens, I don’t know. I’d like to be. I can at least get the whole thing started. Believe me, I’ll be proved right. Remember me saying this. QPR will get back there again – back to how it was a few years ago and the years before that. Mark my words. Remember them. It will happen, I’m telling you. Everything we’ve lost, we will get back.”

http://davidmcintyre.wordpress.com/2011/05/08/rangers-have-got-it-all-back/

 

I love Marmite man Warnock, by Holloway

Some individuals, whatever industry they are in, get a reputation that sticks. Neil Warnock seems to fall into that category. Many people have formed an opinion about him based on little snippets they've seen or heard in the media. But it is stupid and unfairto judge someone like that, and it is wrong – Neil is a great bloke and an outstanding manager. His players love him and the job he has done at Queens Park Rangers is nothing short of miraculous.

OK, he hasn't always behaved in a way that looks nice on the TV but his managerial record is up there with some of the best in the world. He has earned seven promotions, and that makes him one of the most successful in terms of getting teams up, so judge him on that.

I am particularly pleased that he has taken QPR up because it is a club close to my heart. I took over as manager there 10 years ago and they were in administration at one point. I have always loved the place and it has been a joy to see what has happened this season. Neil deserves all the credit. He did not let the board interfere and there was no nonsense when it came to picking the team – Neil was the man in charge, no one else. He would not have it any other way.

I have met Neil socially on severaloccasions and he is completely different to the bloke you see on your screen. He is full of knowledge and is a charming man. The edge he has when he's in a dugout is only because he wants to win. All managers are the same, we just show it in different ways.

I accept that to the public he is probably like Marmite – you either love him or hate him, but I've always been a Marmite man and Neil is brilliant. I know how excited he'll be at having another crack at the Premier League and he will certainly add to the division. I just hope I'll be up against him twice next season, though that depends on the next two weeks.

I'm glad the Football Association have not punished the QPR players for an ownership issue that the League has known about for two years. The League could have said "don't play him because we haven't decided yet", but it's over now and it's good that the players have not been penalised and they can go up as champions.

 

That first Holloway quote brings a tear to my eye !

 

Interesting read, kind of stuff you want to take in after breakfast on a Sunday morning. Thanks Northolt.

Great stuff from Ollie, then and now.

Strong (nautical) message to the owners: make sure there's a solid, capable and committed British manager at the helm, leave him well alone and as history bears out, the little frigate HMS QPR will come through as more than a match for any flagship that comes within range(rs)!

 

That quote from Ollie was brilliant. You could feel the emotion just by reading it. Top bloke!

 

Bad news - Wolves winning has dropped Blackpool into the bottom 3. I hope they survive, I'd love to see Ollie back at LR for a Premier League match. I think we could get him to shed a tear! Pretty confident of taking 6 points off them too!

 

I hope they survive, apart from anything else, I'm looking forward to a day out at the seaside

 

Nice one Northolt! Ollie is one of our legends and I hope he and Blackpool stay up. I'd love to see him again down the Bush.

 

i just want blackpool to stay up for the reason its only a short away trip from where i live

 

Both quotes from Ollie are class. If there's one manager other than NW that could have inspired our players to what they've done this season, I truly believe it's Ollie. Really hope he's there next season to accept a standing ovation from the Loft.