Warburton

[UxbridgeR]

Looks as if his services are not being retained.

https://t.co/OKufj8QZzt

By Ian McCullough 28/04/2022

Mark Warburton has confirmed he does not expect to be kept on as QPR manager at the end of the season when his contract with the club expires.

West London Sport has been reporting that the 59-year-old, who took over in May 2019, would depart after his side slipped out of the play-off places following a poor run of form since February.

West London Sport also previously revealed that although Warburton signed new terms last summer, it was an improved – not extended – deal and his contract is therefore due to expire at the end of the season.

Warburton explained on Thursday morning that no discussions have taken place about plans for next season with club officials and that there has been no communication about whether he will be retained.

“I think if that was the case (of staying) communication about contract talks would already have been held,” Warburton said.

“But my job, rest assured, is that while you are in post you do the job to the best of your ability and that will always be the case.

“We’ve all got flaws and faults, but I can honestly say that will never change and whatever job I am in I will be very fastidious and you do the job to the best of your ability.

“You never talk ill of the club, individuals at the club and put your head down with you staff and get the job done.

“But the owners write the cheques, it’s their money that goes into a football club and whether you agree or disagree, it doesn’t matter, it’s their choice, and it’s their prerogative.

“They live and die by decisions and when you are fortunate enough to be in situ you just try and do your best you can.

“I don’t expect to be here (next season) but I will do the job to the best I can from here and see what happens after that.”

[old pauline]

I sincerely hope the owners know what they are doing.

He's really hit the nail on the head with his comments about everyone and anyone having flaws.

Would like to see us retain and work with him, if I'm being honest. Not sure I can see any other manager doing any better with what he has had.

[Rbee]

Firstly if Mark wanted to stay / thought he might stay then he wouldn’t have said anything.

Ferdinand on TalkSport saying that they will talk to Mark once the season ends and then make the right decision for the club.

I am disappointed that it has come to this. The Warburton/Eustace partnership seemed to be working so well and promised so much.

However, as I said a few weeks ago, you cannot take this horrendous form in to next season without change as we would be starting on the back foot.

Not all down to Mark, our dream signings such as Austin and Johansen have been below par and you would think something has happened to trigger the collapse in form and results.

Seemingly we have no one firm in mind which if true is crazy, we need to be more decisive than this.

Mark is a nice chap so thank you, good luck and all the best.

[dm]

This does feel like it's done and dusted and I'd expect the club to have lined up the next manager already. Lots of supporters, including myself, have said we'd like Eustace as the next gaffer but somehow I don't think it will be.

[QPR_John]

I think the Stoke game was crucial. We seemed to have found a little of our earlier form against Huddersfield and Derby only to revert back at Stoke. The owners have to look at next season and can we take a chance on current poor performances continuing. If we start badly and Warburtons still here people will be asking why the owners did not use the preseason to settle in a new manager. Similarly if we start badly with a new manager people will say we should have stayed with Warburton. Of course if we start performing next season whether Warburtons here or not the owners will get praise for making the correct decision. It’s a gamble either way I’m just glad I do not have to make the decision

[BiscuitRanger]

Another mistake by the board.

So through little fault of MW we lose our star midfielders to injury/AFCON.... we lose our starting GK, our #1a and a sack of back ups. We hire Statuesque forwards, a headbanded gloryboy who passes with the accuracy of a shotgun, and yet it's all MW's fault.

Maybe he should be blamed instead for a top half finish and not a relegation scrap.

Maybe it's just me

[Rbee]

This does feel like it's done and dusted and I'd expect the club to have lined up the next manager already. Lots of supporters, including myself, have said we'd like Eustace as the next gaffer but somehow I don't think it will be.

Personally I hope not as John is a part of the current problem, whatever that might be.

[Rbee]

Another mistake by the board.

So through little fault of MW we lose our star midfielders to injury/AFCON.... we lose our starting GK, our #1a and a sack of back ups. We hire Statuesque forwards, a headbanded gloryboy who passes with the accuracy of a shotgun, and yet it's all MW's fault.

Maybe he should be blamed instead for a top half finish and not a relegation scrap.

Maybe it's just me

To be fair we haven't really replicated the form we showed in the second half of last season although we started this season well. The severe crash in our form this year I have never experienced anything like before in my 52 years a Hoop. Probably 1976/77 comes closest.

[karateelvis]

Warburton feels like a victim of his own success. Progress will be measured in table position, but really the fact that we were in the mix for promotion/play-offs for so long in the season shows the strides we've made.

Also, when you think of some of the football we've played under Warburton, it's been some of the most entertaining and enjoyable in a while. I know the club are looking at the "next step", but steps go down, as well as up!

[222gers]

I feel disinclined to carry on to be honest. Football is now a television game anyway and now the preposterous goings on of the last few months have weakened my resolve further.
I'm not going to bother tomorrow and have only a passing interest in the season ticket announcement which will be made soon.

[ZENITH R]

So, this is how I see it.

This season we will probably finish in a similar position to where we finished last season, and with about the same number of points. But those seasons were very different. Last year we spent the first half just outside the relegation zone. We troubled the top 6 once all season - on day one after beating Forest 2-0. At the turn of the year we were 19th after a draw away at Norwich. From there we steadily climbed up to a 9th place finish, but spent much of the season looking over our shoulders.

This season we have approached that upper mid table position from the opposite direction, having not been anywhere near the bottom 3. In fact our lowest position was 18th after a 1-1 draw with Millwall on the opening day of the season. We also found ourselves in the top 6 on 27 occasions. Of course, the thing that sticks in the craw is defeats (and poor defeats) to Barnsley, Peterborough and Cardiff and a draw against Hull when we thought we would use those games a springboard. All of those teams have struggled this season, and two have been relegated. Perhaps more damning is that since 12 February when we lost at Barnsley, we have won only three of 15 games. In the previous 15 before Barnsley we had only lost two and won nine. You can throw in an ignominious defeat away at Peterborough in the cup too.

What went wrong? Well, there was the ACON, which undoubtedly had a negative effect. The injuries to key players would also need to be seen as crucial. It needs to be acknowledged we are pretty skint, and have one of the smallest budgets in the division too. The rest unfortunately has to be laid at Mr Warburton's door. Tactics, team selections and training are ultimately his responsibility.

Watching his (MW) pre and post match interviews was a bit like groundhog day. Pre match you would think we were playing Brazil. Sorry Mark what we all needed was an uplifting motivational speech. For the players its about belief, I don't think you set the right tone there. Post match when we lost, it was because we were not quick enough, didn't look after the ball, didn't create enough. Well, sorry that's to be sorted out on the training pitch. I've said before about us having corners or throw ins when within four passes the ball was with our goalkeeper - no opposition player having touched the ball. If we don't want to be passing the ball across our back four - tell them to stop it!

I'm old enough to remember Wimbledon's rise from non-league football to the Premier League (with an FA Cup win along the way). One of their managers was interviewed and said ... Football is about scoring more goals than the opposition, and it's very hard to score when the ball is in our half, but easy to make a mistake which costs us. Wimbledon played route one football to 'get the ball into dangerous areas' to increase the chances of scoring. I'm not suggesting for one minute we should be playing route one football, but I do think we haven't put the ball into those areas anywhere near often enough. It's easy to criticise Dykes, Gray and Austin, but mostly that have had rubbish service all season. Again that's back to the training ground.

Mark Warburton stick or twist? Personally, I would offer him another year with some clear performance targets.

Since relegation in 2015, we have seen Redknapp, Ramsay, Hasselbaink, Holloway, McLaren and now Warburton in charge, some very experienced managers in there, yet Warburton's results stand head and shoulders above the rest. Yep, we are disappointed, but how disappointed were we two years ago, three years ago, four?

What makes a good football manager? That is hard to quantify. Plenty of failures from previous successful Managers/ coaches across football - look at Chris Hughton at Forest. They were bottom when he left, Steve Cooper looks more than capable of taking them up - they will be in the play offs at the very least, and that with essentially the same players the Hughton had. But I think one thing that is crucial is that the manager is a 'good fit'. Hughton clearly wasn't a good fit at Forest, and look what happened. Mark Warburton strikes me as a good fit for QPR, the best we have had since the successes under Olly. Lessons need to be learnt from this season, but going back to square one would strike me as being counter productive.

Tim Sherwood and Sean Dyche are two names that would be mentioned if Warburton goes. For all their undoubted ability as coaches/ managers, I don't think either would be a good fit for QPR.

[ANDREW1302]

I think Sean Dyche will have bigger aspirations than QPR!

[deadendjob]

Warburton feels like a victim of his own success. Progress will be measured in table position, but really the fact that we were in the mix for promotion/play-offs for so long in the season shows the strides we've made.

Also, when you think of some of the football we've played under Warburton, it's been some of the most entertaining and enjoyable in a while. I know the club are looking at the "next step", but steps go down, as well as up!

Agree with this. It really felt like we'd got the past 7 years or so under control and we were finally getting our club back. In the board we trust, but I'll remember Warbs tenure fondly.

[Hanuhoff]

Well, it's official now.

[UxbridgeR]

A sad way for his tenure to finish. I've enjoyed the football under him over the last three years, and we've demonstrably progressed as a club during his time in charge. It feels as if that has been quickly forgotten due to the (admittedly very) poor form since February.

I hope they've got somebody lined up, but we haven't had a great track record with managerial appointments over the past decade.