Season Tickets Released…

[Nw6ranger]

Well, I'll probably be renewing but after the disaster of the campaign I can understand strong feelings.
Remember, we saw the worse football ever seen at Loftus Road recently and the issues around the
manager/squad/management hierarchy have not been resolved yet... by a long way!

The thing about football is it's sliced up into seasons. Last year was a disaster, but that doesn't necessarily mean that next season will be too. The previous 3 seasons were OK. Things were steadily improving under Warburton, but it did feel like he had taken us as far as he could. So, I understand why they brought in MB (I don't want to even write his name). The fact that that decision after a decent start went horribly wrong and flipped our season completely means 2022/23 turned into a nightmare. However, we can forget about it now and in August it's a fresh start. Most of the recruitment last season was poor either loans or permanently. Lets see what the summer brings before we go again. Hopefully lessons have been learnt.

I think I'm right in saying there is no financial reward for where you finish in the Championship (unlike in the Premiership) so at the end of the day, we had a similar season and outcome to Norwich and WBA who both would have expected a top 6 finish, but start again with us next season in the Championship.

“Talent money” they used to call it - a real misnomer in our case. Dunno if it's paid in the Championhip.
I would say unless we get some sell-on money for the possible sale of Eze to a bigger club we're in for another season of struggling but hopefully some guts shown by our players.

Like you said, if we don't have the talent then show some guts, that's all we want.

[Andy_N19]

I'm amazed there have been no changes in the club's structure.

Completely agree with you there.
Even if there's an argument to retain Hoos, Ferdinand's position would seem untenable.

I fear that Ainsworth will bring in cloggers to play his style, that'll go tits up then we
hopefully go back to the thinking that brought Beale in. Yes - Beale's stay was bad, but
the thinking behind bringing him in was sound; I've mentioned this before.

I can see the situation getting ugly again after a dozen games and I for one will protest outside South Africa Road
if it gets anywhere near the farce we had the past season.

[ZENITH R]

Re Les Ferdinand ...

Are we agreed that Hughes and Redknapp assisted by Tony Fernandes got us into a right financial mess? And that following on from that mess we were handed a World record fine which we are currently paying off to the tune of nearly £2,000,000 a year. Les Ferdinand arrived as DoF AFTER Hughes and Redknapp had departed, but had the fine drop into his lap shortly after taking up his role. So, a club our size, with a dilapidated stadium that generates zero additional revenue is always going to struggle with that financial millstone around our neck, and will continue to do so until the fine is paid off. I think that's another 4 years? So, for all the negative comments about LF, it's pretty clear he has been trying to do the job with one hand tied behind his back. Yes, some poor decisions have been made on his watch, but looking back over our history ... we have previous for making poor decisions. On the plus side the new training ground has been purchased and developed since LF' became DoF.

Maybe that's why he's still in the job.

But, any new signings over the summer either on loan or on permanent deals need to work out, because last year they were pants.

[QPR_John]

I'm amazed there have been no changes in the club's structure.

Completely agree with you there.
Even if there's an argument to retain Hoos, Ferdinand's position would seem untenable.

I fear that Ainsworth will bring in cloggers to play his style, that'll go tits up then we
hopefully go back to the thinking that brought Beale in. Yes - Beale's stay was bad, but
the thinking behind bringing him in was sound; I've mentioned this before.

I can see the situation getting ugly again after a dozen games and I for one will protest outside South Africa Road
if it gets anywhere near the farce we had the past season.

Similar response when Warnock brought in Derry and Hill

[Montag]

The problem with Ferdinad is his appalling appointments. Starting with Ramsey after relegation. We still had the semblance of a strong Championship squad and some money. An experienced manager should've been brought in to have a real go at a quick return before the FFP caught up with us. This was repeated with Hassleplank.
Eventually what little money we had was pissed away on players like the homesick Polish geezer etc.

Then, enter Ollie - a fan's favourite. Some good work done here and some good young players unearthed thanks to Penrice. But inconsistent results caused him to make way for . I don't blame Nads for that one.

Then MW was appointed. My choice in 2015. But WTF do I know? Now we had stability for 3 years. The trouble is, IMO, this stability in the 1st team made the board and Ferdinad complacent. They thought continuity was easy. They underestimated MWs knowledge and value. His qualities masked the structural deficiencies of the club.

And that brings us to where we are now. Shit Creek without a paddle. The other thing we don't have is a stream of young players straining at the leash to get into the 1st team. We have one promising 18 year old lad who seems to have regressed as last season went on. That's when he was fit to play. He ended the season goalless. So, after nearly a decade of amateur endeavour from our DoF we have a new training ground which, no doubt will be populated by the same substandard players, plus the unproductive coaches and physio staff that have foundered for the past 8 years.

If we're going down the GA clogger route now then LFs role is no longer required. Other clubs of similar size to us are managing to produce good young players. The project has patently failed. It's clear out time. Some people might say "don't throw the baby out with the bath water". The fact is that there is no baby, no bathwater and barely a bathtub.

[UxbridgeR]

Re Les Ferdinand ...

Are we agreed that Hughes and Redknapp assisted by Tony Fernandes got us into a right financial mess? And that following on from that mess we were handed a World record fine which we are currently paying off to the tune of nearly £2,000,000 a year. Les Ferdinand arrived as DoF AFTER Hughes and Redknapp had departed, but had the fine drop into his lap shortly after taking up his role. So, a club our size, with a dilapidated stadium that generates zero additional revenue is always going to struggle with that financial millstone around our neck, and will continue to do so until the fine is paid off. I think that's another 4 years? So, for all the negative comments about LF, it's pretty clear he has been trying to do the job with one hand tied behind his back. Yes, some poor decisions have been made on his watch, but looking back over our history ... we have previous for making poor decisions. On the plus side the new training ground has been purchased and developed since LF' became DoF.

Maybe that's why he's still in the job.

But, any new signings over the summer either on loan or on permanent deals need to work out, because last year they were pants.

The FFP fine is really a red herring, as we took the full hit for that in the 2018 accounts. We're already operating at the very edge of the current P&S rules, so it seems reasonable to assume that the owners don't want to spend more than they already are. In any case, the £1.7M a year of cash that's payable would keep the club running for about a month, so it's quite a stretch to suggest it means we're operating with one hand tied behind our backs.

I think LF and LH did a good job of steadying the ship financially after relegation, but that's eight years ago now. The strategy we were pursuing came completely off the rails last season, and it's really time for somebody new to take over and freshen things up. I don't agree with some of the criticism of LF, but he's become a toxic figure to a vociferous section of our fanbase, and for the good of the club, he needs to go. We don't owe him a job for life, and as long as he remains, some will blame him and him alone for everything they perceive as wrong. If it's fine to push a manager out the door after ten weeks, I can't see how it's justifiable to keep giving a DOF the benefit of the doubt after eight years.

[Albert Steptoe]

The FFP fine is really a red herring, as we took the full hit for that in the 2018 accounts. We're already operating at the very edge of the current P&S rules, so it seems reasonable to assume that the owners don't want to spend more than they already are. In any case, the £1.7M a year of cash that's payable would keep the club running for about a month, so it's quite a stretch to suggest it means we're operating with one hand tied behind our backs.

I think LF and LH did a good job of steadying the ship financially after relegation, but that's eight years ago now. The strategy we were pursuing came completely off the rails last season, and it's really time for somebody new to take over and freshen things up. I don't agree with some of the criticism of LF, but he's become a toxic figure to a vociferous section of our fanbase, and for the good of the club, he needs to go. We don't owe him a job for life, and as long as he remains, some will blame him and him alone for everything they perceive as wrong. If it's fine to push a manager out the door after ten weeks, I can't see how it's justifiable to keep giving a DOF the benefit of the doubt after eight years.

Les shouldn't have been appointed in the first place. A competent board would have sourced and recruited someone most of us hadn't heard of who had done the job somewhere else, rather than someone who had previously played for us. They even bragged about him "learning on the job". I wouldn't laud him for cutting the wage bill - we barely made any money from transfers, so we were literally just letting people go. We wasted several seasons of parachute payments without making the play-offs and have continued to regress as a football club, exemplified by last season's debacle. Our academy (run by his mate) couldn't even produce a single player to cover for Dykes for a few weeks. The club is a shambles, run by a nepo baby chairman who barely attends matches with a board who are literally begging for a free stadium and a DoF who couldn't direct traffic. Routines never change, as they say.

[Giorgio]

...still more convinced that I shall wait until the last day to decide....

[Nw6ranger]

...still more convinced that I shall wait until the last day to decide....

You don't want front seats to watch us get relegated?.

[Rbee]

Are we agreed that Hughes and Redknapp assisted by Tony Fernandes got us into a right financial mess?

No, it was Tony Fernandes assisted by Hughes, Redknapp and Philip Beard. It was Fernandes who wanted Rio Ferdinand, Park, Cesar etc. He spent his money and all the clubs money whilst Philip Beard seemingly didn't do enough to restrain him and remind him of the ramifications of the FFP regulations. His last act was to employ McLaren before selling some of his shares.

[222gers]

Amazingly, season ticket sales are ahead of the corresponding time last season.
The words punishment, gluttons and for, come to mind.

[bigbobb]

So how about you lot of perpetual whingers move on in your thinking and either support the club or not and stop coming on here to say the same things over and over and over and over ad nauseum...

it is getting very wearing and must put off anyone who just wants to enjoy what parts they can and follow the club.

Yes we are in the doldrums at the moment, we've been here and much worse before, but at some point it will change - I have no idea if it will get better this season or the next or even further into the future but we can all keep the dream and it's a lot easier without all the constant negativity coming from the few.

Yes I have my season ticket on auto renew because I know that while I'm fit and able it is where I want to be when the R's are playing.

If it's not for you then that's your call but it is not necessary to keep saying it.

As the great Douglas Adams said, "goodbye and thanks for all the fish".

Rant over.

[222gers]

I'm off to renew in person tomorrow. Planning a Shepherds Bush pub crawl.
I gather the Pocket Watch doesn't open lunchtimes so I reckon - The Green, The Adelaide, The Crown & Scepter, The Askew, The Orchard, The Eagle, The Thatched House, Prince of Wales.
Whew !