Sir Les

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Should SLF Stay or Go?

  • Total voters
    45
Stroller

Stroller

Well-Known Member
Jun 28, 2013
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We have a poll going already which pretty conclusively shows that QPR fans (or those on this board at least) want to see the back of JFH, but what about our Director of Football? Those that are critical of SLF or even the role of DoF itself are missing the point in my opinion.

It seems to me that Ferdinand was appointed with the remit of getting the club back onto a sound financial footing in terms of transfer fees and players' wages, and in this respect I think he has done a good job. First of all he had to force Redknapp out of course, and for achieving this alone he will have my eternal gratitude. Post-Kneecap our wage bill has plummeted and we have made some reasonable signings for low fees.

Of course, where he has failed is in the appointments of first Ramsey and then Hasselbaink as Manager (or Head Coach). Hasselbaink has shown himself to be tactically naïve and is highly likely to have his rolling contract terminated come December - a failed experiment, but no major financial hit. I believe Ferdinand should stay in his position and that we should continue the search for a young, tactically astute coach who can get the best out of what has the makings of a decent squad of players.
 
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Stroller said:
We have a poll going already which pretty conclusively shows that QPR fans (or those on this board at least) want to see the back of JFH, but what about our Director of Football? Those that are critical of SLF or even the role of DoF itself are missing the point in my opinion.

It seems to me that Ferdinand was appointed with the remit of getting the club back onto a sound financial footing in terms of transfer fees and players' wages, and in this respect I think he has done a good job. First of all he had to force Redknapp out of course, and for achieving this alone he will have my eternal gratitude. Post-Kneecap our wage bill has plummeted and we have made some reasonable signings for low fees.

Of course, where he has failed is in the appointments of first Ramsey and then Hasselbaink as Manager (or Head Coach). Hasselbaink has shown himself to be tactically naïve and is highly likely to have his rolling contract terminated come December - a failed experiment, but no major financial hit. I believe Ferdinand should stay in his position and that we should continue the search for a young, tactically astute coach who can get the best out of what has the makings of a decent squad of players.
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I think Hoos does the financial stuff (I know you don't like him) with Les doing what his job title implies - directing football. On the evidence of what we see on the pitch for the first team and the results for other teams he's not very good at it. However, apart from the glaring failure at right back I think his recruitment has been OK, not his fault JFH can't get it to work (unless by picking JFH he is guilty by association). Who knows if Ramsey is making progress with the kids, despite what the results are?

I'm not one who is against DoF positions on principle, it works fine in other countries and occasionally here. It does strike me that the club is overloaded with people in 'senior' managerial positions though. Who knows how involved on a day to day basis Fernandes and the other owners are? I just think that the club is a bit dysfunctional and has been for a long time, might be that DoF is an impossible job as accountability gets shifted around endlessly, always someone else to blame.

As for Les, I'm not voting, not bothered either way really, don't think we'd miss him if he left. He gets one more pick for manager, if that one doesn't work (and work for me is at least trying to play decent football, and giving the impression that we are making progress), bye bye.

I'd have more time for him if he stopped wearing a pullover with a suit.
 
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What experience does he have to justify a DoF role? None, which is why he's not very good at it. He should go.
 
sb_73 said:
I think Hoos does the financial stuff (I know you don't like him) with Les doing what his job title implies - directing football. On the evidence of what we see on the pitch for the first team and the results for other teams he's not very good at it. However, apart from the glaring failure at right back I think his recruitment has been OK, not his fault JFH can't get it to work (unless by picking JFH he is guilty by association). Who knows if Ramsey is making progress with the kids, despite what the results are?

I'm not one who is against DoF positions on principle, it works fine in other countries and occasionally here. It does strike me that the club is overloaded with people in 'senior' managerial positions though. Who knows how involved on a day to day basis Fernandes and the other owners are? I just think that the club is a bit dysfunctional and has been for a long time, might be that DoF is an impossible job as accountability gets shifted around endlessly, always someone else to blame.

As for Les, I'm not voting, not bothered either way really, don't think we'd miss him if he left. He gets one more pick for manager, if that one doesn't work (and work for me is at least trying to play decent football, and giving the impression that we are making progress), bye bye.

I'd have more time for him if he stopped wearing a pullover with a suit.
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Hoos does name tags and toilets, I believe. I would have thought that Ferdinand had a big say in player contracts and transfer fees.

Guardiola does ok with the pullover/suit combo.
 
Stroller said:
Hoos does name tags and toilets, I believe. I would have thought that Ferdinand had a big say in player contracts and transfer fees.

Guardiola does ok with the pullover/suit combo.
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Nah, he looks a twat too. I may tolerate it in him though, he appears to be competent at his job.
 
Stroller said:
We have a poll going already which pretty conclusively shows that QPR fans (or those on this board at least) want to see the back of JFH, but what about our Director of Football? Those that are critical of SLF or even the role of DoF itself are missing the point in my opinion.

It seems to me that Ferdinand was appointed with the remit of getting the club back onto a sound financial footing in terms of transfer fees and players' wages, and in this respect I think he has done a good job. First of all he had to force Redknapp out of course, and for achieving this alone he will have my eternal gratitude. Post-Kneecap our wage bill has plummeted and we have made some reasonable signings for low fees.

Of course, where he has failed is in the appointments of first Ramsey and then Hasselbaink as Manager (or Head Coach). Hasselbaink has shown himself to be tactically naïve and is highly likely to have his rolling contract terminated come December - a failed experiment, but no major financial hit. I believe Ferdinand should stay in his position and that we should continue the search for a young, tactically astute coach who can get the best out of what has the makings of a decent squad of players.
Click to expand...

**we should continue the search for a young, tactically astute coach who can get the best out of what has the makings of a decent squad of players.**

Yeh lets waste another year on yet another rookie
 
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holloway has won a poll to return to qpr now that would be good he could whip these guys into shape
 
Ferdinand hasn't done a good job of recruiting managers but I don't think he's done a bad job at all of recruiting players given the market he's operating in. Sylla for example at £1.5m or whatever he was when you've got Villa signing McCormack for £12m.
 
I just don't get it.

If Les' main achievements are bringing down wages and negotiating transfer fees then we don't need someone as high profile as Hoos (just a more moderate finance manager to manage running costs).

I do suspect that Hoos delivers most of these things though - sets an overall wage limit, specifies what the transfer pot is etc.

If Les' role is to develop a club philosophy then why does JFH talk about his way of playing - surely the first team coach (and that's all he effectively would be) is instilling the way of playing that he's been given (and you can appoint coaches who have the greatest alignment with the philosophy and have some motivation skill much like Swansea did do).

If Les' role is to pass messages from the board then get an answer phone.

If his role is to negotiate transfers (within the framework set by Hoos) and do more to liberate JFH to concentrate on the football then the footballing philosophy and the delivery of the benefits from that should be realised quicker than the traditional manager style structure that 90% of other clubs (without a DoF realise).

So what does he do and how has he demonstrated success or progress in this?
 
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KooPeeArr said:
I just don't get it.

If Les' main achievements are bringing down wages and negotiating transfer fees then we don't need someone as high profile as Hoos (just a more moderate finance manager to manage running costs).

I do suspect that Hoos delivers most of these things though - sets an overall wage limit, specifies what the transfer pot is etc.

If Les' role is to develop a club philosophy then why does JFH talk about his way of playing - surely the first team coach (and that's all he effectively would be) is instilling the way of playing that he's been given (and you can appoint coaches who have the greatest alignment with the philosophy and have some motivation skill much like Swansea did do).

If Les' role is to pass messages from the board then get an answer phone.

If his role is to negotiate transfers (within the framework set by Hoos) and do more to liberate JFH to concentrate on the football then the footballing philosophy and the delivery of the benefits from that should be realised quicker than the traditional manager style structure that 90% of other clubs (without a DoF realise).

So what does he do and how has he demonstrated success or progress in this?
Click to expand...

I suppose none of us really knows how the responsibilities break down, but my suspicion is that the Board sets the budget and Ferdinand/Hoos have to work within it. My impression is that Ferdinand's remit is to manage the costs of players in terms of total wage costs and transfer fees. Hoos may report on such things, but Ferdinand has to deliver them.
 
What Les lacks in football directing he more than makes up with smiling.

The best dam smiler we've ever had and if anyone here thinks otherwise, they'll have me to contend with, alright!
 
Too many 'suits' behind an out-of-his-depth manager that have put the emphasis on 'cheapo' players. What input has JFH had on player selection other than El Kayate who has less than impressed? Our signings appear to be a mixed bag who need a decent coach to improve them and that plainly isn't happening.

Playing a settled team in a formation that suits them would be a good start but after one year in charge we often play like strangers with three or four changes per game. Our squad is not Champion's League so find the best eleven and stick to it as much as possible in the league, preferably with players playing in their best position. I would give JFH until the end of the year to get us challenging for a play-off place and if there's no improvement give him the chop and say to Sir Les you're next if you get this one wrong.

If we want to improve our players we must employ a manager who has built an attractive winning side and will be allowed to shape our squad with some quality players, clearly our current strategy is failing and you get the feeling Sir Les is still wearing his 'L' plates...
 
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Totallyqpr said:
I do not have enough info or insight to make an opinion.
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This. none of us do so it does amuse me that people speak with such authority on the subject solely based on perception and nothing else. We don't know the exact remit of Les' job so we can't possibly judge properly. I suspect he is helping the club improve in terms of structure and stability and laying important ground work off the field but the choice of managers has been poor. Problem is I think we are still several losses away from jfh getting the boot so it's that awful position of wanting him gone but knowing the team has to suffer more to get there. I wouldn't want to be Les.
 
Frome-Ranger said:
This. none of us do so it does amuse me that people speak with such authority on the subject solely based on perception and nothing else. We don't know the exact remit of Les' job so we can't possibly judge properly. I suspect he is helping the club improve in terms of structure and stability and laying important ground work off the field but the choice of managers has been poor. Problem is I think we are still several losses away from jfh getting the boot so it's that awful position of wanting him gone but knowing the team has to suffer more to get there. I wouldn't want to be Les.
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This is what the offish said his role was on appointment:

R’s legend Ferdinand, who re-joined the club in October in the position of Head of Football Operations, will now be responsible for overseeing the entire footballing department at Loftus Road, with a mandate of building for the future.

The 48-year-old has already made significant improvements to the footballing philosophy of the club since his return – and the Board are now keen for him to have more of a hands-on role at all levels, particularly in the field of recruitment, working closely with the First Team.

Read more at http://www.qpr.co.uk/news/article/l...-loftus-road-2247276.aspx#c5Ady3OJJ5yVYBxv.99

They wanted to recruit 'young hungry players' and get some youth players into the first team. Nothing about managing the club's finances.

How much do you reckon he is paid? I have no idea, but I'd guess several hundred thousand a year.
 
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