Current betting from The Sporting Preview with Rio in the mix: Former Tottenham boss is 1/6 at Ladbrokes but other candidates offer value... Three days on from Harry Redknapp's shock Queens Park Rangers departure and though Tim Sherwood remains the favourite to take the reins at Loftus Road there has been little in the way of progress. Reports had suggested an approach had been made for the former Tottenham manager on Wednesday but with no new announcements on the horizon at Rangers, the 1/6 Ladbrokes is offering on the 46-year-old is looking less appealing by the minute. Sherwood has developed a reputation as something of a difficult negotiator with rumours persisting that he turned down the opportunity to manage West Bromwich Albion because he felt the offer they made would not give him enough control of operations at the Hawthorns. And now the Daily Star is claiming that the former Blackburn Rovers captain is playing hardball with QPR chairman Tony Fernandes over the terms of his contract. Sherwood is reportedly holding out for a salary of around £6m a year according to the news provider with Fernandes only willing to offer £1m. Despite this, 7/1 second favourite Paul Clement has reportedly ruled himself out of leaving his current position as no.2 to Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid, leaving the field wide open should Sherwood fail to agree a deal. Newly-appointed director of football Les Ferdinand is priced at 10/1 to takeover with caretaker boss Kevin Bond also available at that price. The most surprising contender for the job, however, could be the former's cousin and current QPR defender Rio Ferdinand. There had been rumours that the former Manchester United man was set to hang up his boots this season and with the 35-year-old 14/1 to be named as the new man in charge at Loftus Road, there could be a twist in this tale yet. With Fernandes keen on bringing in a manager that favours the development of young stars over big money over-the-hill signings, Ferdinand could be in with a shout, while Wycombe manager and former Rs favourite Gareth Ainsworth could be a dark horse at 25/1. Previously in charge at the club in two separate stints on a caretaker basis, the 41-year-old has won universal praise this season after turning the Chairboys from League Two relegation near-certainties last term to promotion contenders in the current campaign.
I don't think Sherwoods the right man to keep us up. He's managed spuds for 10 minutes ffs! Personally I'd like to see Gigi Di Canio back!
Is he being serious..... 2m a year???? He hasn't done anything, hope TF sticks to his 1m + bonus.......with that news coming thru don't think im overly keen on him, have my reservations like you rrrrs that he is right for a relagation fight, however i have no idea who would be !!!! I really would prefer us to stay in the prem rather than build again in the championship as i would prefer 7/9 pts in the next 3 games as oppossed to 3pts but what we get to want we want as we all know are 2 different things !!!!! If Clement made it known that he would like to take over at the end of the season regardless of staying up or not, i would be happy with going with him & sticking with Bond etc.......... but it will probaly be Tim.
Paul Clement gave a very diplomatic answer when asked about the job but would he really consider it? If I were him I would ask myself several questions including a) would I enjoy working with Hoilett, Phillips,Zamora etc more than say Bale, Ronaldo, James b) would I swop the bernabeu for LR c) would I move from a club that is effectively state funded to one that has one tangible asset (LR at 15 million according to my last shareholder report some years back now) and possibly facing financial meltdown. In my opinion if our priority is to get somebody in place who will give us a reasonable chance of staying up without compromising a longer term 'new' footballing strategy ( ie someone who would not demand millions and a 3 year deal and large transfer budget) then we could do a lot worse than getting Neil Warnock back until the end of the season.
I did think of Warnock earlier and that he'd probably do the job we needed as well as anyone. Unfortunately, I think those bridges have been burned though.
Agreed. Relegation is surely pretty much nailed on. Some will argue that we're only a few points shy of teams quite a bit further up the table. But just look at the brutal nature of the remaining fixtures - mostly tough games at home and still no sign of an away win, even against supposedly mediocre opposition. In that context, aren't we looking for someone up for the challenge of winning promotion with an unbalanced team that may be hit with a transfer embargo and a big financial penalty? Tim Sherwood, unless he's not very bright (I've no idea how intelligent he is, by the way; maybe he is a great thinker) must realise this and perhaps that's the cause for apparently feeling he can drive a hard bargain. I would have thought it's better for the club to see how the season pans out with Ferdinand & co. in these interim roles. This then leaves three sensible options open in the summer: Scenario one: relegation having been avoided, Ferdinand/Ramsey duo could be rewarded for their improbably great achievement by being given their interim roles on longer term basis Scenario two: relegation having been avoided, seek out a manager able to build a successful top-flight team for the longer term Scenario three: relegation having occurred, seek out the right manager for a tough campaign in the second tier Hiring a manager now may come with an in-built paradox: the person able to pull off an improbable survival campaign may not be the right man for a sustainable future. The club is in a mess. The owners need to think carefully and get this right. My worry is that a considered approach isn't really the owners' style.
