We escaped it seems with a slice of good luck however we were dealt a bigger slice of bad luck ... I firmly believe that a settled team with a upbeat team spirit simply grows and grows and is the simple answer to success. We finished 15 points off 8th place last season which is five games we should have won but lost .. Wolves, Sunderland Fulham at home are nine points we lost add to that home draws that should have been wins : Newcastle, Villa, Everton, Blackburn, WBA 5 points instead of 15 ... My 8th position wasn't far off and after all thats all the teams outside the big six are playing for anyway
This debate is like a nasty rash, spreading from one thread to another. Get some ointment from the special clinic lads!
That's the crux of it. Joey Barton is no player of ours. Hes a disgrace to our badge. Sorry Sooper, I know where you're coming from mate but I don't agree on this one. If Tevez had of done something to Mackie or Derry I would probably feel different but I think its good that it happened in that we can now get shot of Barton.
It is so nice to be able to come on this message board and get away from the football bile I get in the office. I've been critical of the Financial Fair play rules ever since they were mooted, but supporters from the so called big clubs (Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool et al) can't grasp how unfair the rules actually are. It is no coincidence that they are the very people who will benefit from the rules as smaller clubs will have little to no chance of competing with them financially and their success becomes more or less guaranteed. It's all very Ann Rand - Atlas shrugged if you ask me. Provided we stay in the PL the rules should benefit us. I hadn't really appreciated that until Clive pointed it out. Top article.
While you wouldn't want to be trying to get promoted with these rules in place its hard to see how QPR will benefit in the long run. Even assuming the PL resist the urge to adopt such rules directly, within a couple of years we will not be allowed to play in Europe even if we should qualify. That in turn will mean that we cannot attract the best players. That in turn will severely limit our ability to earn the money to meet the so-called fair play financial rules. And so the cycle will continue with the top clubs getting richer across Europe and even more entrenched in the major competitions than they are now.
With PL revenue Championship clubs will find it hard to compete with us financially and should guarantee, to some extent, that we remain a PL club. I take your point that it will be harder to break into the European places if the PL implement similar rules, but having spent 15 years in lower divisions I'm more focused on survival and consolidation for the time being. My post was meant to highlight why these rules are a bad idea and disenfranchise the majority for the good of the minority. I think we both agree on that. The only positive, for us, is that we should find it easier to remain a PL club as the prmoted teams will be financially stricken with fines and penalties.
This is where the new stadium becomes absolute priority, 35-40,000 would see our revenue streams up to top ten territory...
The only way to implement fair play would be to bring in the wage cap, or even restructure the way that they are paid. As essentially the big clubs are able to flex their finacial muscle to persuade players to join, and it will lead to entrenchment. Yes more successful clubs will always attract a certain calibre, but would players be so keen to join if the finacial inducements to sit in the reserves were not so great? But that sounds like more turkeys at Christmas to me.
To be honest, I'm struggling to get my head around this, and the UEFA fair play rules. I think I understand why they are doing it, but can see no other result than entrenching the status quo. Root cause of it all is too much TV money sloshing around, and a few multiple billionaires playing with toys. I hope I'd feel the same if Mr Mittal started splashing his cash even more generously........but I can't promise.
But Grant Holt was of the most fouled players in the league. If he's diving for all those, then who is to say you're not to of been the most fouled team?