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Out with the old, in with another new era — preview
Friday, 22nd May 2015 19:47 by Clive Whittingham

QPR complete their ill-fated 2014/15 Premier League campaign with a trip to Leicester City on Sunday.

Leicester City (14th) v Queens Park Rangers (20th)

Premier League >>> Sunday May 24, 2015 >>> Kick Off 15.00 >>> Filbert Way, Leicester, LE2 7FL

One last visit to the hospice to say goodbye, it's nearly over now.

QPR are starting all over again — again — and they absolutely have to get it right this time. Better run clubs with more astute chairman than Tony Fernandes have dropped straight through the Championship after relegation before, and although QPR bounced straight back at the first time of asking last time they did so with a £77m wage bill which dwarfed everything else in the division and will not be available to them this time.

Whatever the owners say, no businessman is going to wear a luxury item costing him £200m every four years on his portfolio for long. Not only that, but the tide of public opinion will surely turn on QPR's Malaysian board if this goes badly again.

It's already remarkable, given what's happened over the last four years, that fans still streamed onto the pitch last weekend to sing Fernandes' name. But there are only so many times you can say "lessons learnt" when they clearly haven't been, only so many times you can promise new training grounds without them happening, only so many times you can promise fans a change of badge, or a say in the kit design, without it happening. QPR teeter on the brink, they need to fall down on the right side or this could get messy, and it could get nasty.

The appointments made at the club this week are encouraging, whatever you think of Chris Ramsey being given the managerial job, because they do at least suggest some sort of plan has been made rather than just throwing a load of money at everything and seeing what happens.

Ramsey may divide opinion, but he knows the situation, the players and the set up here. He knows Les Ferdinand and is already working with him. An outsider would have taken times to get to grips with that, and may have had their own ideas about working with QPR's director of football. The fruits of Ferdinand's work won't be born after six months, it's a long term position, so changing it or ripping it up to secure yet another fancy big name manager would have been daft.

The addition of Lee Hoos as CEO is also encouraging. The reaction from Burnley fans to the news of his departure was mostly "good riddance" but when you ask them why the two reasons are he wouldn't release money for player acquisitions (exactly what QPR need in a CEO) and he put ticket prices up after Burnley were promoted (who doesn't?). No doubt he'll quickly become unpopular at QPR too, as most CEO's do, but replacing somebody with a background in events and more interest in attending big events and getting his face on television than responding to e-mails and running the club with somebody who has worked extensively in British football is a forward step. An extensive interview with Burnley website No Nay Never gives a really good understanding of how he runs clubs and sees his role. Hoos is big on sports science and smart recruitment, he runs a tight ship — he'll turn a funny shade of blue when he opens the QPR books for the first time. His appointment, after an interview process, bodes very well. Famous last words.

As does the addition of Andy Sinton in an ambassadorial role. These things are easy to write off as 'jobs for the boys' and superficial titles that don't really mean anything. However, QPR has been very poor at looking after and involving its former players for a long time. Paul Morrissey and Ian Taylor in the media department have worked hard on correcting this, and pushed to start involving the old pros in more formal roles, and Andy Sinton speaks well, warmly and intelligently about the club. He'll hopefully be followed by more because it says something about the fabric of the club and what it's about when old crowd favourites are involved like this. It shows players potentially torn between QPR and another club in a potential transfer that players are treated fairly, and remembered well, at Loftus Road. It's something QPR should have been doing for years.

But QPR have had plans before. Mike Rigg, technical director when Mark Hughes was here, also spoke about standards of behaviour, staffing the academy, building a scouting network and so on. He got it badly wrong, misjudging the club and its people, acting arrogantly, causing years worth of damage and costing QPR millions.

This is Les Ferdinand's plan, but it could just as easily go badly. The appointment of Ramsey for instance, right or wrong, was done without an interview process. Compare and contrast that with the statement made by Peterborough United today as they too confirmed their caretaker manager from last season in the job permanently, but only after a detailed interview process during which he and other candidates were required to set out exactly what they'd do with the job.

Had QPR done the same, and still appointed Ramsey, it would, if nothing else, have given critics one less stick to beat the new manager with if things go badly next season. Accusations that he only got the job because he's Les Ferdinand's mate will fly around very quickly next season if it doesn't go well. Ramsey felt compelled to plead for patience today, in his first press conference as permanent manager, before the Championship fixtures are even released.

You’re always at the mercy of the man with the plan. But that’s better than having no plan at all, which is the situation QPR have been in for two years now — rushing around trying to put out fires by pouring money on them. It’s going to be incredibly difficult next season as the squad is overhauled and the expenditure dramatically reduced. Fans will need to be patient, and the worst thing the club could do now is misjudge season ticket prices and poison the atmosphere before we’ve even begun.

But there are QPR people coming back into senior positions at the club, there are people with football experience at board level, the club seems to be setting standards and an ethos in place, there is a greater focus on youth. It’s what many QPR fans have wanted to see for a long time. It’s just a case of giving it time and hoping now.

Links >>> Survival against the odds — opposition profile >>> Phoenix from the flames — interview >>> Nygaard's St Patrick's Day rocket — history >>> Hucker time — podcast >>> Oliver's first QPR game since 2012 — referee >>> Chris Ramsey’s final press conference

Jamie Mackie slides home his, and QPR's, second goal of the game on this ground in 2010/11. Rangers won 2-0 as part of a 19 match unbeaten run at the start of a season that ended with the Championship title. For just £10 a ticket you can meet the manager of that team, Neil Warnock, as well as Rangers legends Lee Cook and Kevin Gallen at the live QPR Podcast at the Good Ship in Kilburn on Tuesday night. Buy tickets here.

Saturday

Team News: Chris Ramsey has indicated that Reece Grego Cox will start at Leicester while they try and locate the missing keys to release Bobby Zamora from the iron lung. Darnell Furlong will feature at some point, possibly from the start. Rob Green's concussion and Stephen Caulker's broken hand rule them out.

Leicester are without David Nugent who has a calf problem, and Matty James who unfortunately ended a terrific personal season with a long term knee injury a couple of weeks ago. Speedy recovery wished to him, one of the break-out talents of this year's Premier League.

No appearance against his former club for Danny Simpson who is not being considered for selection at Leicester while legal proceedings against him are ongoing — Simpson is accused of giving his occasional girlfriend a slap.

Elsewhere: Just two of the ten Premier League games have anything riding on them on the final day, and what a scenario we have at Tigers Tigers Rah Rah Rah v Louis Van Gaal, and Mike Ashley's Sporting Goods Emporium against Big Fat Sam's Big Fat Farewell Tour.

Will Manchester United roll over and have their tummies tickled for their former charge Steve Bruce, potentially saving Assem Allam and his reprehensible behaviour towards Hull's fans, council, community groups and rugby league team? If they do, Mike Ashley stands to lose a few quid after turning one of the UK's famous old football clubs into an advertising vehicle for cheap shit trainers and dodgy payday loans. Wonder if any of this will feature in Sky's hyped build up? One suspects not.

Rattling through the rest of it, Arsenal and Tactical Tim will have eyes on the cup final as they prepare to welcome West Brom and Burnley. Party time for Big Racist John and the Referee Baiters at Stamford Bridge, and for Adam Johnson and the Child Botherers for that matter as they've pulled off another escape from relegation.

Pards Pardew v Swansea, Everton v Spurs, Man City v Southampton, Meticulous Mark and the Taffia against the Collective Men of Liverpool Together as One (but not this week) all on the card for no good reason at all.

Referee: Michael Oliver is a Premier League mainstay these days, and is usually given the most high profile game each weekend. No surprise then that despite sharing a division for two of the last three years, QPR haven't had the young official in charge of their game since November 2012 when they drew at home to Reading. He has a chequered history with the R's, but is growing as a referee all the time. His full QPR case file is available here.

Form

Leicester: Leicester have come home with a wet sail, winning six and drawing one of their last eight games running into this one to secure their Premier League survival. That's 19 from a possible 24 points available having taken only 19 from their first 28 games this season. From Saturday September 27 until Saturday Apri, 4 they won only two of 23 Premier League matches. They’ve scored 14 times in their last eight games and kept five clean sheets, including in the last three.

QPR: Rangers have won two and drawn one of their six away games under Chris Ramsey, having lost their first 12 in a row under Harry Redknapp. They've lost their last two though, conceding eight goals in the process. The R's come into this on a respectable run of two wins, two draws and three defeats from seven games, but they've struggled for goals of late with three shut-outs and only three scored in their last five matches. QPR had won the fewest Premier League points of anybody in 2015 prior to last weekend, when they overtook Newcastle courtesy of a 2-1 win against the hapless Geordies at Loftus Road. They have the league's worst defensive record with 68 conceded, and have only kept one clean sheet away from home all season — at Sunderland in February, one of two wins along with the Easter 4-1 at West Brom. Rangers have conceded the first goal in the game on 27 occasions this season — 28 sets the Premier League record.

Prediction: For the final time before giving up his crown, reigning Prediction League champion WestonSuperR tells us…

"Well this is my final column, I'd like to say thanks to Clive for giving me the chance this season and apologises to any of you that regularly bother to read this for being so miserable and generally pessimistic.

"The selection for Sunday will be interesting, now that Ramsey has been named manager there is a fair chance he will only pick players he expects to play for him next season (Austin aside). You would hope that these players may put in a genuine effort for their new boss.

"I am sure Leicester will want to finish on a high, even if the game has nothing on it for them. They have been in great form recently and I expect them to continue this with a typically hard fought victory. Don't think there will be much in it so a narrow win for Leicester is on the cards.

"Until recently this game looked like it could be so important, what a shame it isn't. Here's to next season and the Ramsey revolution."

John's Prediction: Leicester 1-0 QPR. No scorer.

LFW's Prediction: Leicester 1-1 QPR. Scorer — Charlie Austin.

The Twitter @loftforwords

Pictures — Action Images

Photo: Action Images



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francisbowles added 12:00 - May 23
Thanks Clive for another season of pre and post match analysis. Makes the whole experience complete.

Hope you manage to get some time away from it but with the short close season and expected squad overhaul, it will be 'ard very 'ard!
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dannyblue added 15:37 - May 24
Thanks for linking the interview with Hoos.

This was notable: 'For me recruitment is probably as much about who you don’t bring in rather than who you do bring in because the easiest thing in the world to do is to sign a player and the hardest thing in the world to do is to get rid of them!”'

Also notable how Burnley have had such a small squad for so long, which might suggest his sports science investment has paid off in reducing injuries.
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