Warnock’s on safe ground this summer

No-one is more cynical about the owners of QPR than me, or less inclined to believe what they say. But they’re not looking to ditch Neil Warnock.

I say that having previously broken stories of Holloway, Waddock, Gregory, De Canio, Dowie, Ainsworth, Sousa and Magilton being close to the axe or at least under serious pressure, which sometimes angered the club and left even friends of mine thinking I was on a wind-up or looking to stir.

The reason for that was the apparently ridiculous timing of some of those stories. In Holloway’s case it was soon after promotion, and in other cases it was soon after they had been appointed. But those managers were genuinely in danger. If Warnock was in a similar situation, I’d be all over it. He isn’t.

Aside from Waddock’s appointment in 2006, which was a formality, the one time I suggested a manager would stay, I ended up with egg on my face.

That was when De Canio insisted to the point of outrage that I was totally wrong to suggest he was going, so against my better judgement I wrote a feature reflecting this. Google it. I still can’t bear to look.

It was a huge gaffe and a stupid error of judgement. Deep down I wasn’t comfortable about it from the start and less than a week after our conversation, De Canio announced he wanted out for personal reasons, making me look a very silly boy.

So, after that absolute aberration, which still makes me cringe, I wouldn’t disregard speculation about Warnock unless I was more than sure there was nothing in it.

I’m no fan of the Briatore-led regime to put it mildly. I’ll say one thing for him though: he’s become an easy target. It’s easy to portray him in a certain way. In fact, it’s become trendy to do so. Everyone’s at it now.

I say now, because it wasn’t always like that. It used to be the complete opposite. For some time after the 2007 takeover, the coverage he received was gushing and unquestioning.

In those early weeks and months, his ‘hands-on approach’ – a polite way of putting it – was already having an effect, and Rangers were fast heading in the wrong direction. All was not well, despite the hysteria and hype surrounding ‘the richest club in the world.’

I couldn’t get a story on this out there for love nor money. Nobody wanted to know. Briatore and Ecclestone were unquestioned giants of business and sport, who were revered among the media and simply “don’t do failure” according to those who know them.

All coverage of their involvement in QPR was the same. Rangers had apparently hit the jackpot and were on course for promotion and even the Champions League. It was all about how much they’d spend, who they’d spend it on, and how the club’s fortunes had been transformed.

By and large, that’s how it stayed until Briatore’s bust-up with Dowie.

Some time weeks earlier, I’d written a story that Dowie was close to the sack almost immediately after taking over. Even my mum, having read about it, asked if I was absolutely sure.

But in time, Dowie’s battle with Briatore became common knowledge.

The tide turned against Briatore in a big way. It was open season. Since then, there have been more stories about his interference than you can shake a stick at.

The thing is, not long after Dowiegate, Briatore – relatively speaking – distanced himself from team matters.

So at the time press coverage of his antics was at its peak, the period when his actual antics were at their peak had in fact passed. Things had moved on, but it had become fashionable to write about Briatore’s involvement.

Speculation about Briatore’s input dominated much of Paulo Sousa’s short spell ‘in charge’. Not only was that spell short, it was deeply problematic. But by then Briatore was less of a presence around the club.

The real story was Sousa’s relationship, or lack of one, with Gianni Paladini. But Paladini was a relative unknown compared to the much higher-profile Briatore, whose supposed meddling had become tabloid gold.

Sure, he was still prominent and ended up seeing things the same way as Paladini, his man on the ground. But Briatore’s day-to-day involvement had been scaled back and has never since reached the level it did during the Dowie fiasco.

However, mud sticks. Now Briatore is visible again after a spell being seen to have stepped back, leading fans to believe he had been ousted by the far more popular Mittal family, two and two is being put together.

Warnock is said to be in danger of being ousted in favour of the kind of suave overseas manager I have absolutely no doubt will be on the club’s radar in time. But that time is not now.

Warnock and the board have been a perfect fit because both parties are all about the short-term, and having fun in the Premier League as soon as possible. In Warnock’s case that’s because of his burning desire to have another crack at the top flight before his retirement, which Mrs Warnock is keen to happen in two years’ time.

If it happens with QPR having been established in the top division, Warnock can retire to Cornwall, and Briatore – if he hasn’t sold up by then – can look abroad for his replacement.

That will probably involve several Italians being in the frame, although don’t underestimate the Spanish influence at QPR.

Alejandro Agag, who was instrumental in bringing Dani Parejo to Rangers, is no longer on the board but is still a presence around the club. Spaniards have been considered for the job in the past.

In a nutshell, there is no short-term threat whatsoever to Warnock’s position. In the long term, he is not in QPR’s plans and QPR are not in his. It’s the medium term that matters.

Warnock’s current position is as strong as it could possibly be. Aside from the obvious reasons why, he is also different to his many predecessors in that, crucially, all his key relationships within the club have been and remain strong.

Briatore, Ecclestone and particularly Amit Bhatia are behind him.  And although not as close to Paladini as Gregory and Holloway (at first) were, Warnock’s relationship with him is very good indeed.

He was Paladini’s choice for the job, regardless of what the spin machine would have you believe, or Paladini’s detractors want to believe.

But while board members are not at all looking to install a new manager, I do believe they have an idea of the kind of one they’d like next. That is never a good position for a current manager to be in. It usually only ends one way.

So Warnock is right to ensure that aspects of his contract are watertight, just in case.

Warnock will get financial support and plenty of it, but the most important support a manager needs from his bosses is that they can be counted on to stand by him during bad times.

If some are thinking that if it sadly doesn’t work out for old Neil then someone else, like Claudio Ranieri for example, might be a good choice to replace him, then it may only be a matter of time before Warnock is on his way.

And while that might seem outrageous to many fans now, these things can change very quickly. A few defeats early next season, and I wonder if the impression that Warnock might have been the man for the Championship will be restricted to the boardroom.

Think of Gregory and the love-in after QPR up stayed up in 2007.

He wasn’t the man of the moment on a Warnock scale, but there was still a clamour for Gregory to be retained. Few cared though when he was ditched soon into the new season. That, as they say, is football.

So backing Warnock now is easy. It’s backing him during choppier waters that counts, and if board members are looking for reasons not to back him rather than to back him, his position will quickly become unstable.

There is some potential for disagreement in the weeks ahead. Warnock can, and does, expect to be nudged in the direction of a number of Italians this summer, but is not keen to sign many overseas players. His targets are mostly English-based.

But he ought to have few problems there, largely because his greatest strength as QPR boss applies now more than ever.

That strength has always been the timing of his appointment, which came when Rangers were heading for League One and possible meltdown, and the board had become totally discredited.

They had no choice but to step back and make changes – even if they were only cosmetic ones, which they mostly were – in order to attract a manager of Warnock’s status.

His predecessors had worked with both arms behind their back. Unlike them, Warnock arrived at QPR at the stage when things had got so bad it was the owners’ reputation on the line, not the manager’s. That was all-important, and the platform on which he has been able to build.

And now, it’s mostly Warnock who has been credited with Rangers’ promotion. There is very little talk, if any, of the owners being vindicated, or their ‘project’ coming to fruition. In fact there’s the suggestion they may just do something very stupid. The reaction of many fans to Paladini on Saturday also told its own story.

It’s Warnock’s time in the sun, not theirs. His stock has grown and there are clubs who would doubtless be interested were reports of his possible availability true. Hence his smile and relaxed attitude on the issue of his future.

For that reason, the board will need to behave themselves in the coming weeks, or risk becoming even more of a laughing stock than they were 14 months ago.

The bottom line is that although Warnock’s fate is ultimately in their hands, their reputation is still in his.

Rangers have got it all back

Great scenes at Loftus Road yesterday. Let no-one say that ground isn’t fit for the Premier League.

The time for assessing QPR’s future and some aspects of the past will come, but for now all Rangers fans will be interested in is celebrating.

For the younger generation, promotion is magnificent for obvious reasons. For the older ones, in many ways this is as much the end of a journey as the start of one.

Ten years ago, with Rangers in administration and having just been relegated to the third tier after a defeat at Huddersfield, I stood on the side of the pitch listening to a hugely emotional Ian Holloway promise that the club would one day be back in the top flight.

Holloway said I could hold him to his comments, so I kept them, just in case they might seem poignant in the future.

I used a sentence or two for the local paper and a couple of the nationals, but other than that these words never saw the light of day. I stored them on file and always intended to reproduce them if the day arrived when Holloway’s words rang true.

Ten years on, that day has arrived. So, here they are…

“No words can do justice to how I feel. Devastated doesn’t even start to cover it. To have played for this great club in the premier division and see it now, in the third division for the first time since the 60s. It’s a tragedy. It breaks my heart. And to think how those QPR fans will feel, having come from what we had to this, here today. I feel sick. Absolutely sick. But let me tell you this: QPR will rise again. I promise you that. Like a phoenix, it will rise again. We’ve lost everything, but everything we’ve lost we’ll get back. Trust me on that. We’ll get it all back. Whether I’ll be the manager when that happens, I don’t know. I’d like to be. I can at least get the whole thing started. Believe me, I’ll be proved right. Remember me saying this. QPR will get back there again – back to how it was a few years ago and the years before that. Mark my words. Remember them. It will happen, I’m telling you. Everything we’ve lost, we will get back.”

A long walk, and now a long wait

It’s not every day you walk through woods and across golf courses to a football  match, or that a promotion is decided in a room at Wembley rather than on the pitch. It’s a surreal time.

Tiger Feet 2 – a sponsored walk from Loftus Road to Vicarage Road to raise money for the QPR Tiger Cubs - was tougher than last year’s relative stroll to Selhurst Park, but still an enjoyable experience.

We set off around 8am, shortly after a pitchside pep-talk from QPR in the Community Trust CEO Andy Evans, who remarked that when the Watford game was identified last June as a possible date for another walk, we didn’t know it would turn out to be “such an historic day for the club.” Stirring stuff.

What I like most about Tiger Feet apart from the great cause it raises money for, is that I can put journalistic impartiality and downright cynicism about all things QPR aside for a while, and feel part of the Rangers family in the way I used to.

For a few seconds sitting in the Paddock listening to Andy, I thought back to my days as a child leaning over the front of the terrace there, straining to get a better view.

I snapped out of that sentimental nonsense when it dawned on me I’d be spending several hours in the company of Paul Finney of the Independent R’s. The ultimate sobering thought.

But I must be going soft in my old age because, as I looked over at the QPR fans after the game, I do believe I felt a slight lump in the throat and thought of how much Rangers going up would mean to family and friends, some of whom are no longer with us.

Then it occurred to me that the enormity of the occasion, and the fact that it was at an away ground, would make it difficult for the QPR media team to keep tabs on me and prevent press from speaking to players, so I forgot all the sentimental claptrap and moved to a strategic position.

Much to my disgust, I was spotted in the tunnel by a delighted Rangers official. Even more to my disgust, he asked if I wanted him to bring me a player to speak to. The thrill is in the chase, so I told him I wasn’t bothered. What a disappointment.

Joking aside, being serious for a moment, there are rare occasions when impartiality and personal differences can be briefly put aside, and this was one of them.

Only looking back do I now treasure a couple of minutes with Ian Holloway on the side of the Hillsborough pitch. It was something I took for granted before a friend reminded me that every Rangers fan that day would have liked to put an arm around him and tell him he could be immensely proud of what he’d done. Up until then I just felt I’d disgraced myself professionally and wouldn’t dream of doing something like that again. 

So it was a pleasure to shake Neil Warnock’s hand and congratulate him on a job very, very well done.

Warnock was then more boisterously congratulated by a Rangers fan who happened to be passing. In handcuffs. Being frogmarched by a policeman through the back of Watford’s main stand.

“You’re the man, Neil!” the guy shouted.

“Thanks mate. Good luck,” the manager replied.

“Legend! ‘kin legend!” the fan added, now shouting back over his shoulder as he was being swiftly led away.

He was followed seconds later by another nicked supporter, who didn’t get as close to Warnock but gleefully shouted in his direction. I didn’t hear what he shouted, but did hear as he turned to the policeman escorting him and said, in a very matter-of-fact way: “They’d better not take points off us.”

It’s that fear of a points deduction that cast a shadow over Saturday and this week. What a terrible shame for the Rangers fans who’ve waited for this moment. It shouldn’t be this way.

The anxiety out there isn’t being eased by coverage of the saga, which has inevitably reached fever pitch as we approach the big day.

Other than on this blog, I’ve written very little on the story and the little I have done has been background information for other journalists. I don’t do speculation, and the relevant facts either can’t be reported without prejudicing the process, or are things that were stated long before this case arose, such as the fact that Instituto de Córdoba received very little – if anything at all - following Alejando Faurlin’s move for a reported £3.5m.

Much of the rest out there is wide of the mark, or isn’t new. There’s an awful lot of rubbish that’s been spouted on this subject; a good deal of it heavily slanted in favour of QPR, and some not.

I can only repeat a couple of points I made on this blog during the week the charges were issued.

The first is that while QPR might be overwhelmingly confident this will all be settled in their favour, they have unfortunately been involved in a number of legal cases and the like in recent years, sent out a similar message of certain, impending victory, and lost.

But, secondly, it’s also the case that, partly because of their owners, QPR are well placed to launch a strong defence and challenge any outcome that denied the club promotion, which could throw the football calendar into chaos. This has since become an accepted fact. Everyone now talks about what a mess this situation could develop in to.

Beyond that, there’s really not that much that can be added to the respective statements by the FA and QPR back in March.

There have been a few interesting developments. One is Warnock’s apparent confidence, which I know a lot of fans have read an awful lot into.

Warnock is rightly trusted by supporters, and his word understandably carries a lot of weight.

But he’s a relative newcomer at QPR. His predecessors found there was often a big difference between what they were repeatedly assured, and what actually happened. This case will give an indication of whether the club has changed in that respect.

Warnock has stated several times that he is “very happy” with what a barrister involved in Rangers’ case has told him.

The club’s legal team certainly boasts expertise and experience in the shape Ian Mill and former QPR director Nick De Marco.

Mill represented Sheffield United in the Carlos Tevez case and has plenty of experience in sports law, as does his supporting barrister De Marco, a tireless and fierce defender of Gianni Paladini, who appointed him to the club’s board in 2007.

The legal team went to work over last week’s Sun article, which declared that Rangers could be in line for a hefty points deduction.

One broadcaster had suggested that were it a murder trial, the case would probably be thrown out on the grounds that the accused could not be sure of a fair trial. Amongst all the inaccurate nonsense being spouted elsewhere, that was an entirely fair and reasonable point to make.

But the argument about possibly prejudicing the process works both ways.

Anger at an apparent FA leak is ironic, given that much of the early coverage of all this was massively slanted in Rangers’ favour, largely because of the FA’s refusal to comment (as agreed with QPR) and the relative silence of the Championship clubs potentially affected by this case.

All of the early ‘news’ that a points deduction was unlikely, perhaps not even on the agenda at all, was based on nothing other than what was seeping out of Loftus Road.

The flow of ‘information’ was totally one-sided, and, it could be argued, prejudicial because it formed opinions and gave the strong impression a points deduction, should it be imposed, would be unexpected and draconian.

That arguably gave QPR a big advantage over the FA and the other potentially-affected Championship clubs well before the hearing was due to take place.

It’s also worth noting how incoherent some of the favourable coverage Rangers have received has been.

At first, there was the suggestion that far from being a mystery, the agent representing Faurlin was well known and fully registered. Less than a week later, these reports based on soundings from QPR were suggesting that most of the charges would easily be fended off, but there was some concern over the status of the agent. So the agent went from not a problem to the only problem in a matter of days.

There have also been suggestions all this wouldn’t even reach the stage it has, and that all but one of the seven charges would be dropped before the hearing started.

And as Mills, De Marco and co arrived at Wembley on Tuesday, there were rumours they would immediately have the whole process abandoned on the basis that last week’s Sun article would deny them a fair hearing. Yet on Wednesday, it was round two.

On the other side of the coin, much of the sensationalist stuff pointing to a big points deduction is based on very little fact, and certainly very little knowledge of the intricacies of the Faurlin deal, which was complicated and difficult to understand, as I know from my six days trying to stand the story up enough to write about it after first learning of Rangers’ interest in an Argentine called Alejandro Damian Faurlin in July 2009.

What also seems to have been forgotten is that QPR deny any deliberate wrongdoing. Even the regime’s staunchest allies in the stands and the press box talk of fines and small points deductions, which is itself implies guilt and is an assumption Rangers have actually done something wrong.

What is also noticeable – and I believe misguided – is the instinct of many fans to blame the FA rather than QPR for the whole affair and for the timing of the hearing.

It also seems that reports of no points deduction are widely seen as fair and based on solid information, whereas reports of heavy sanctions are angrily written off as gutter journalism based on lies.

That’s the absolute loyalty of QPR supporters for you, and something the club’s owners should remember, not disregard when, as I still expect, they and their rich chums are lording it at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge next season.

They should utilise and pay due respect to that loyalty, instead of testing or even trashing it at every opportunity. It’s an asset, and any ‘brand’, to use one of the regime’s favoured words, would give anything to have it.

Forget the boutique. Forget the world brand. The owners should wake up to and respect what’s already there, and was there long before they bought 125 years of history for a relative pittance.

Their continuation of the purge of symbols and people associated with the ‘old’ QPR, which started under the previous regime between 2005 and 2007, is, I would strongly argue, a huge reason for the current mess.

Whatever happens, there are lessons that need to be learned from all this. There is much that is seriously wrong with QPR and needs to change – something I have argued for a number of years, and often been in hot water as a result.

The danger is that either a positive or negative outcome for Rangers will lead to those lessons being ignored.

A negative outcome, and anger will doubtless be directed towards the FA rather than QPR.

If, as I fully expect, it goes the other way, then the understandable jubilation may mean that cracks are papered over yet again. That would be a huge mistake and an opportunity missed.

Tiger Feet II

On Saturday, I’ll be one of 30 people taking part in Tiger Feet II – a sponsored walk from Loftus Road to Vicarage Road to raise money for the QPR Tiger Cubs.

For those who don’t know, the Tiger Cubs is a team for children with Down’s syndrome and is run by the QPR Community Trust.

Tiger Feet was the result of an idea by James Doe – a QPR fan and friend of mine who also came up with the idea of Non-League Day – and was inspired by the fact that our friend and colleague Chris Charles has a daughter, Lois, who has Down’s.

Chris is an avid Rangers fan and many of you will have read his blogs on the BBC and Football League websites.

James and Chris approached the QPR Community Trust, and between them organised Tiger Feet, which took place a year ago.

A small group of us walked from Loftus Road to Selhurst Park on the day Rangers played there. It was a great day, and the walk raised over £9,500 for the Tiger Cubs – an amazing display of support and generosity from QPR fans.

Afterwards I received many kind messages that I really didn’t deserve, because the whole thing was created by James and Chris, and organised between them and Andy Evans and his brilliant team at the Community Trust.

Apart from nodding my head when James had suggested the idea some weeks earlier, all I did was turn up on the morning itself – last, as usual – and did the walk. Everything else was done by the others.

It was such a success that we immediately floated the idea of Tiger Feet II around the same time the following year, and as luck would have it Rangers were then scheduled to play at Watford in late-April – a match which, for months, we’ve been hoping wouldn’t be moved for TV coverage!

Last year, we arrived at Selhurst with a larger group than we left W12 with, as some people had followed our progress on Twitter and joined us along the way.

Partly for that reason, this time the group has been expanded to 30, giving more people the opportunity to take part. And now we’re all set.

Tiger Feet’s a great event and QPR fans ought to be bursting with pride at the Tiger Cubs and the QPR Community Trust, both of which make an enormous difference. Andy Evans and his team are an absolute credit to the club.

Many people have again sponsored us this time around, and for that, all involved are so grateful. If you’d like to sponsor us too, you can do so by clicking this link.

The cash makes such a difference to the children’s lives, it really does.

The money raised last year enabled the kids to have an extra training session a week, as well as having coaching in tennis and golf, and a number of day trips.

If you can afford to donate, please do. The Tiger Cubs is a fantastic cause and it would be lovely to think that by the time little Lois is old enough to play for them, they’ll still be going from strength to strength.

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You can also follow our progress on the day via the Tiger Feet II Facebook page or these Twitter accounts: James_W12 (always good for info on QPR and W12), Chris__Charles (good if you want to follow an excellent journo) and davidmcintyre76 (you might as well).

Incidentally, last year I was stupid enough to ignore advice to cancel all work at Palace v QPR, and lugged my laptop and other gear 13 miles in the hot sun. This time I’m swapping the press box for behind the goal, and am hoping a few old friends have improved their banter.  It could hardly have got worse.

A momentous week?

I rarely see QPR play away from home these days and expected to be at a different match tomorrow, but after a late swap deal it turns out I’ll be at Cardiff.

Being such a superstitious man, this ought to please Neil Warnock. I won’t say what Rangers’ record is in away matches I’ve covered this season. You wouldn’t want me to tempt fate.

I think both Rangers and Cardiff will be in the Premier League come August. And if I were putting money on tomorrow’s result, I’d go for a draw. I also reckon two draws will be enough for QPR to go up.

Warnock seemed very relaxed when I spoke to him earlier this week,  which was to be expected. Most managers try to be that way at this stage of a run-in, and let’s face it Rangers are almost over the line already.

Ian Holloway, a totally different character, was manic most of the time, yet I never knew him to be calmer than before the play-off final and the following year’s decider at Hillsborough.

Gerry Francis and John Gregory also appeared to be at their coolest during their relegation run-ins, although the latter seemed to fancy himself as QPR’s answer to The Fonz at the best of times.

Warnock confirmed that Pascal Chimbonda has effectively left Rangers after recently being told he won’t play for the club again. He hasn’t reported for training.

Despite Wayne Routledge’s agent recently suggesting the player might return to Newcastle in the summer, Warnock also confirmed there are no expected problems with his permanent signing.

We later both learnt of a report that Routledge had basically been released by Newcastle and, by definition, would be joining Rangers on a free transfer.

After reading about Chimbonda, a friend of mine reckoned I’d managed to dredge up a negative story even in this most potentially positive of weeks.

Maybe that’s a fair comment. But a couple of  Saturday’s papers will feature Warnock waxing lyrical about Rangers’ season, so I’ll leave all that to them. Positivity isn’t my strong point, although I did have a go with a Matt Connolly interview following the Derby game.

But Chimbonda’s exit does have a positive element – and I don’t just mean for those who are glad to see the back of him.

It was precipitated by Peter Ramage’s recovery, which has been quicker than expected. Ramage featured for the reserves recently and is due to play the full 90 minutes of another game on Tuesday.

That’s partly – and I stress the word partly – why Warnock decided to tell Chimbonda his time was up.

As most know, Ramage’s contract is due to expire at the end of the season, so the next few weeks are important for him.

Back to tomorrow, which could be a very open game despite what’s at stake for both teams.

A lot of Rangers fans seem disappointed about Norwich’s win against Ipswich, but I saw that as a good result for QPR as it puts added pressure on Cardiff, who need to win.

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I’ll update my Twitter feed throughout tomorrow. You can follow me by clicking here.

And it’s a hat-trick

Three blog entries in as many days can only mean one thing: I haven’t shifted any news stories and have had a bit of time on my hands.

There was only one genuine QPR story out there this week, so on Wednesday morning I intended to get hold of Peter Ramage, who played for the reserves the previous day.

Back from injury quicker than expected. Out of contract in the summer. A pretty well-known player, having played in the Premiership. It was all there. Yep, that one would have some mileage and would cover the parking ticket I picked up on Monday.

But Ben Kosky had obviously had his Weetabix,  as he’d already spoken to Ramage by the time I was ready to face the day. His article in the local Times newspaper pretty much covered it all. A good read, I thought.

It would be great to think Ramage will get a contract and play in the Premier League for Rangers, who’ve had few better pros.

Kosky was on the case obscenely early for a man who ought to be getting all the rest he can, given that he’ll soon be slaving over a promotion pull-out.

No pressure, but the 2004 version his predecessor and I put together was a bit special, even if I do say so myself. Good luck, Ben.

Anyway, I wanted to add a couple of things to the blog I stuck up yesterday. The comments were appreciated.

Although Neil Warnock’s made no secret of his short-term aim to have another crack at the top division before retiring, and I do think this will be reflected in Rangers’ transfer dealings, I should probably have mentioned that he has also spoken about building a legacy at the club that will last beyond his time there.

Also, a number of people on Twitter and the like have since mentioned Peter Crouch as a possible signing.

That’s an interesting one, because I’ve always believed that if Rangers were promoted, and Gianni Paladini was still involved at the club, it was a certainty Crouch would be their number one target.

Now, at this point, I ought to hold my hands up and admit I also believed there was more chance of Nicky Ward signing for Liverpool than of Rangers being promoted while Paladini’s there, so what do I know?

Not a lot, clearly. But I’d be shocked if Rangers don’t make some kind of move for Crouch in the summer.

Paladini always works especially hard to make popular signings, and none are more popular than former players. Cook and Shittu being the two main examples.

This summer, Crouch is likely to be the player most QPR fans are talking about and have on their wish lists. I have no doubt Rangers will try to get him.

Plus, the strong relationship between Rangers and Tottenham, which was the sole reason Adel Taarabt ended up at Loftus Road and was also a factor in the loan signing of Kyle Walker, makes more business between them highly likely.

Whether it’s over Walker, Naughton, O’Hara, Kranjcar, Crouch or whoever, I think the two clubs will be talking in the coming weeks.

Incidentally, Ward has got himself a trial at Charlton. Next stop Anfield.

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Planning for next season – and beyond

QPR will look to spend a lot of money this summer. That’s for certain. What remains to be seen is how they go about spending it.

Rangers’ transfer policy if promoted will go a long way to shaping their fortunes in the next few years. Like their ticket-pricing policy, it will also reveal whether the owners care about the club’s long-term interests or are just out to make a splash and enjoy themselves.

Conventional wisdom is that most clubs need to spend big if they’re to survive in the top division. Maybe that’s right, but unless you’re signing players of genuine top quality – which in the short-term probably won’t be an option for QPR – I don’t think there’s any need to start hurling the sterling simply to have a competitive squad. In fact, that’s the last thing Rangers should do.

For any club outside the top five or six, the potential to waste a vast amount of money is huge. This is because they usually cannot afford and/or attract the best, so get drawn into paying way over the odds for lesser players.

I believe the sensible approach for a promoted side like Rangers is to broadly look to do four things:

1st. Add some solid Premier League experience. The three relegated clubs are the best starting points. Exploit their predicament – others have done it to QPR in the past.

2^nd. Plan for the future. Try to pick up the top clubs’ very best youngsters who’ll need to move to get regular football.

3^rd. Look for pace. In every position. Pace, pace and more pace. Rangers currently lack it, and won’t stand a chance in the Premier League without it. Lots of it.

4th (and most important). Cherry-pick the best of the Championship. This should be the cornerstone of QPR’s transfer policy. The gulf between the top two divisions is massive – everyone knows that – and so is the list of players who’ll look like world beaters in the second tier but aren’t good enough to step up. Even so, you cannot go wrong by signing the best players from the division below, who have the specific attributes to play in the Premier League. Everton did it with Cahill and Lescott. Birmingham did it with Roger Johnson and Scott Dann. Others have done it. It’s a transfer policy that works.

In the short-term at least, QPR will have limited appeal to the best players – whatever mind-numbing wages they offer. Yes, many footballers are largely interested in money. But the best ones care more about their career. This is something the Briatore-led regime have found while trying to buy success, and probably believe will change as soon as they own a Premier League club. It won’t.

As a respected person in the game said to me after the 2007 takeover, when Rangers were being touted as future Champions Leaguers and linked with all sorts of big signings: “Good players want good clubs, not lesser clubs with money.” Except he didn’t use the word lesser.

Harsh – and based largely on the absolute battering the club’s once-good reputation had taken in the previous couple of years – but I have to say a very accurate comment.

A sensible transfer policy and sensible ticket-pricing will be needed to re-establish QPR as a good, medium-sized club with a certain charm, solid support, good facilities, and a good reputation in the game. A club that’s attractive to players who care about more than their wage packet.

Neil Warnock has taken the club forward in that respect, although there is still a long way to go. But it is achievable and, given the wealth and status of the owners, from there the possibilities for Rangers really are endless.

The issue, perhaps, is that they have a manager and a board who are all about the short-term. In Warnock’s case, his approaching retirement means he wants a good crack at the Premier League. The board, you can be sure, will be like kids in a sweetshop and will lash money around like there’s no tomorrow - something I sense many supporters will be happy about.

Even so, based on the kind of transfer policy I think QPR ought to have, below I’ve listed some players I reckon should be in their thoughts this summer. Most are young players who possibly aren’t yet ready for regular Premier League football but would be worth signing for the future.

It’s not a definitive list.  There’s only one centre-back, and Warnock will definitely need more than that. Neither am I saying all of them should be signed. They’re just ideas.

I’ve also stuck to players whose names are generally out there already. There are other, lesser-known youngsters from the biggest clubs who’ll cause a stampede should they become available in the coming months. But I’ve not gone there.

I’m sure many will disagree with my choices and have suggestions of their own. Feel free to chip in.

Here goes…

Steven Nzonzi

France Under-21 midfielder in the Patrick Vieira mould. Tall, physical player who also has good technical ability. A great prospect, a good age (22) and has top-flight experience with Blackburn. Would cost a lot, not least because he has four years left on his contract, but is worth pursuing – especially if Blackburn go down. Rangers absolutely have to get a strong, dynamic, technically-gifted central midfielder of this type. It’s a must in the modern game. Every Premier League club has one, or wants one.

Karl Henry

Turned down QPR to join Wolves as the Briatore-led takeover of Rangers was being completed in 2007.  Mikele Leigertwood was later brought in instead. Would have been an excellent signing, as he’s proved with his performances in midfield for Wolves in both the Championship and Premier League. Can also play at right-back. A very good player with top-flight experience. Recently signed a new contract, but well worth trying for if Wolves don’t stay up.

Jamie O’Hara

Would be a good – and highly likely – signing if Wolves go down. Is currently there on loan from Tottenham with a view to a possible permanent move in the summer. Combative midfielder with a great attitude. Can play centrally or on the left.

Kyle Naughton

Like Kyle Walker, was a youngster at Sheffield United during Warnock’s time there, and has since joined Tottenham. Warnock wanted him when he was unable to get Walker back from Spurs, but lost out to Leicester. An obvious target for next season if Rangers go up and Leicester don’t. Arguably a better prospect than Walker, although he is a long way behind him at the moment.

Jeffrey Bruma

Another defender currently on loan at Leicester, in this case from Chelsea. At 19, would be a signing for the future – and he has a big future if some of his performances this season are anything to go by.

Matt Phillips

Exactly the kind of player QPR, with all their might and supposed ambition for the future, should have snapped up when he was down the road at Wycombe. A host of other clubs were keen on him and believed they were close to getting him before a shock promotion enabled Ian Holloway to offer Premier League football. If Blackpool end up back in the Championship, Rangers should make a bid. Even if it means paying 10 times what they could have got him for a year ago, and even though he has mostly been a substitute this season. Far from the finished article, but worth the investment.

Chris Gunter

Potentially the complete right-back: strong, quick, defensively sound and good going forward. The only full-back I’ve seen against QPR this season who was not only comfortable being left one-versus-one, but also consistently looked to break out whenever possible because he rightly fancied his chances going forward. Good enough to play at the top level. Rangers should offer him the chance to do so if they go up and Forest don’t. Still only 21.

Lewis McGugan

A player I thought Rangers should have been trying to organise a swap deal for when Forest were looking to sign Lee Camp and Dexter Blackstock. At the time, McGugan was out of favour with Billy Davies. Still has question marks over his attitude, but the ability is there. Again, would be worth a bid if Forest miss out on promotion.

Benjani

Definitely not one for those who’ve been convinced QPR need a goalscorer – a view I’ve never shared. Has flaws, will frustrate, and age isn’t on his side. But there are few better players for the role of lone forward, which Rangers have employed for most of the last few years. For that reason alone, would be a decent signing that would also add Premier League experience to the squad.

Jay Bothroyd

Would be worth a go if Cardiff don’t go up. Been around the block but is probably now at his peak or near it.

Nicky Maynard

A club with filthy-rich owners who are happy to regularly take punts on players (it’s only money after all) should definitely consider taking a punt on Maynard. Has pace, ability and is an excellent finisher. I think he could step up.

Ricardo Fuller

A player I’ve always rated. Could be a vital, experienced member of the squad in that all-important first season in the Premier League.

Jason Roberts

Ditto. A great professional and a West Londoner. Could be for QPR in the Premier League what Paul Furlong was in the Championship.

Miles Addison

England Under-21 international who can play in midfield or at centre-back. Great ability, but his progress has been badly hampered by injuries. Missed much of the last couple of seasons for Derby. Even so, as a squad player and possible one for the future, would be worth picking up.

Angel Rangel

Another good right-back. His Swansea contract is due to expire at the end of the season. Unhappy when possible moves to Blackpool and Fulham didn’t happen.

Henri Lansbury

Quality midfielder who’s done well in the Championship while on loan at Watford and Norwich. Probably the right time for him to step up, but won’t find it easy to establish himself at Arsenal. A real prospect with an excellent footballing brain.  

Victor Moses

Played under Warnock at Crystal Palace before joining Wigan, where his performances have suggested the move came too soon for him. Bundles of ability though, and the tough time he’s had in the Premier League might even stand him in good stead in the future.

Taking it on the Chim

So, Pascal Chimbonda’s used Twitter to spill the beans – he’s quickly become surplus to requirements at QPR.

In fact, he fell out of favour even quicker than his tweet on Tuesday suggested.

As early as the end of February – only weeks after his move from Blackburn  – I was told Chimbonda had managed to get on the wrong side of Neil Warnock, and was already close to being finished at Rangers.

The final straw may have been the player’s performance as a second-half substitute against Scunthorpe, but the die was cast before then.

This was a frustrating one for me. Because I don’t know Chimbonda, in order to stand the story up back in early March I first needed to speak to Warnock, but for various reasons wasn’t able to at the time.

When I did get to speak to him, it was face-to-face at the training ground, when a couple of other reporters were also present.

I broached the issue, but Warnock was having none of it. He’s an experienced manager who knows how to deal with these things and likes to keep them in-house.

The man is no fun. I’ve told him I rely on getting stories like this out there, but he doesn’t seem to care. Warnock’s priority always seems to be the club and his players. People like that have no place in football, in my view.

Anyway, his responses to me were then used for an article by Yann Tear in the Gazette, in which Warnock insisted there was no problem with Chimbonda, which made it difficult for me to develop the story.

But it was obvious Chimbonda would not be retained at the end of the season, when his short-term contract is due to expire.

And a short-term signing is all he was ever likely to be.

Even if he had endeared himself to Warnock and made a bigger contribution in the final months of the season, at the end of it I fully expected him to get no more than polite thanks and best wishes for the future.

Other managers have had problems with Chimbonda, which meant offering a longer-term deal would have been risky.

But his ability cannot be questioned, and as defensive cover for the all-important run-in, it was probably worth taking him.

Credit is due to Bradley Orr. Warnock considered starting with Chimbonda soon after his arrival but the decision not to proved to be the right one, because Orr has really stepped up to the plate in recent weeks.

Had the decision gone against him, I suspect Orr’s reaction to being left out would have been better than Chimbonda’s has been.

Orr has shown a great attitude this season, which is partly why he’s preparing to celebrate promotion while Chimbonda’s looking for a new club.

Quite a week

Despite the odd dig at newspapers over their coverage of the Alejandro Faurlin affair, Neil Warnock is experienced enough to know how these stories tend to be covered.

Warnock is quick to point out that he isn’t able to comment too much on the issue. There are also limits on how it can be reported.

There are limits partly because, at this stage, it’s a story that’s very difficult to develop and take forward. There isn’t really much that can be added to the statements by the FA and the club. Much of the rest has been based on predictable snippets emanating from QPR this week, or pure speculation.

In some ways it’s comparable to the absolute non-story that was the Football League’s supposed threat to remove Flavio Briatore as Rangers owner.

That one took on a life of its own, despite the fact that there was never any chance whatsoever that Briatore’s status at QPR would be affected (at least by the League) because of his Formula One ban. Anyone who suggested otherwise simply didn’t understand how the club’s ownership worked and was structured.

I say comparable only in some ways, because it was another case of the media chasing its own tail and speculation being taken as fact, but the difference is that this time the issue is real, as is the possibility of a bad outcome for QPR if a verdict goes against them.

I’ve followed Faurlin’s QPR career from the very start, having done the first story that ‘Alejandro Damian Faurlin’ was on his way to London to sign for Rangers, which at the time the club were typically unamused to see appear in the press.

From my time putting that story together, I know that the situation with Faurlin was complicated and confusing, although that is often the case with overseas signings.

I also said soon after the signing went through that Instituto de Córdoba, his club at the time, received little or nothing for him, that the cost of the Faurlin transfer was one of a number of issues on which QPR fans have been misled in recent years, and that the ridiculous price tag was the result of the club’s preoccupation with sticking it to their critics.

Clive Whittingham also touched on that in an excellent article on the LoftforWords website this week, mentioning as well Gianni Paladini’s apparent suggestion on a radio programme that QPR had paid nothing for Faurlin.

Jim Magilton, Rangers’ manager at the time of Faurlin’s signing, was unhappy about the bizarre price tag placed on the player’s shoulders. The whole issue was typically badly handled by a badly-run club, and is just one of a host of examples of how poorly the club has operated since 2005.

It’s also another example of the knots QPR can tie themselves in when looking for short-term approval.

Another was the implication that the ever-popular Mittals had ended the Briatore era, which made Bernie Ecclestone’s subsequent buy-out of Briatore hard for QPR to explain. So they didn’t.

But confusion and incompetence is not the same as breaching FA rules. It’s up to the FA to prove QPR did this, and Rangers to show that they did not.

It’s certainly true that the club are very confident indeed that they have nothing to worry about. They have been keen to put out that message via those willing to report it, and it’s also reflected in Warnock’s comments.

Fans might take some comfort from that. However, since 2005 QPR have been involved in a number of legal cases, disciplinary hearings and the like, have sent out a similar message of absolute, overwhelming confidence, and lost.

That said, there is no doubt that Rangers, with the obvious strength of their owners, are now well placed to fight their corner.

The club is arguably more powerful, and certainly wealthier, than the FA and all the Championship clubs potentially affected by any verdict put together.

An outcome that denied QPR Premier League football would doubtless be challenged beyond when next season is due to start, which would be a nightmare for the authorities for obvious reasons.

It’s been speculated that the reference to “no deliberate wrongdoing” in QPR’s statement suggests they will argue that if any rules were broken, it was unintentionally.

If incompetance is to be part of QPR’s defence, the club should have plenty of supporting evidence to hand, based on events of the last few years.  In fact they might need the length of the Wembley pitch to set out that argument, not merely a room within the stadium.

Paladini’s enemies, and there are plenty of them, will no doubt see all this as his potential nemesis.

On the subject of his enemies, Paladini and his allies have long suspected supposed friends of those he ousted in 2005 of plotting against him. There have been rumours of League and FA investigations into QPR’s dealings long before now.

Paladini has always argued that this, coupled with new rules brought in by the sport’s governing bodies, mean that every aspect of his work has to be absolutely beyond reproach, and any dodgy dealings on his part would be impossible to hide.

And while some of his opponents feel Paladini is finished at QPR regardless of the outcome of the FA charges, they’ve said that before.

They said it in the build-up to the infamous 2005 boardroom battle, which he won. They said it after the outcome of the Dave Morris trial. They said it after the Briatore/Ecclestone takeover. They said it when Iain Dowie, his recommendation to the board, was at loggerheads with Briatore. They said it when Paulo Sousa, a double Champions League winner, was at loggerheads with him. They said it when Paladini relinquished the title of sporting director last year and his future was assessed. And they’ve said it on numerous other occasions too.

If QPR successfully fend off the FA’s charges, or incur a punishment that doesn’t stop them being promoted, it’s perfectly possible that Paladini will emerge much stronger.

You can be certain his supporters will argue that thanks to him Rangers secured a quality player in Faurlin, paid nothing for him, and the signing was so audacious and skilful it made the FA suspicious, perhaps even earned the club a slap on the wrist, but ultimately the deal was sound, showing just what a brilliant operator Paladini is.

The man credited with saving the club – something that drives his enemies to distraction – could then be credited with getting it promoted.

Whatever else Paladini is or isn’t, he’s a survivor. A notorious survivor in a business notoriously difficult to survive in. The list of people he has seen off at QPR proves that.

Warnock’s perfect timing

Bringing in Dan Shittu and Fitz Hall was a bold decision – and the right one – by Neil Warnock, but maybe not as much of a risk as it seemed.

After the draw at Preston, Warnock initially decided to take one of his centre-backs out of the side. He later opted to go the whole hog and take both of them out.

The fact Shittu and Hall had played together in recent reserve matches meant Warnock possibly took less of a chance by replacing both centre-backs rather than dropping one of them.

I know from speaking to Shittu that he was slightly nervous about his return, and felt Hall’s inclusion was a definite bonus for him as it did not mean a new partnership being formed at the back in such an important game.

It was still a big call by Warnock though. I certainly wouldn’t have made it.

But if you are going to put Shittu in, Tuesday’s match was exactly the right time to do it. Warnock’s timing may have seemed strange, yet was spot on.

A home game under the floodlights, the crowd instantly lifted by Shittu’s appearance and then his every header and tackle;  it was the right way to reintroduce him and give Rangers a lift at a time when there were signs of anxiety -  and maybe some fatigue – creeping in.

Shittu was, as always, a colossus in both penalty areas, and his boundless enthusiasm was just what the team and fans needed at this vital stage of the season.

If he’d scored, it would have brought the house down and probably have sent Shittu into orbit. We’re talking here about a man who even got carried away while scoring in a reserve match last week, shouting “have it!” as he slammed the ball into the net and then “that’s how you score a goal!” to other, bemused, players on the pitch.

If Shittu keeps his place, there will be bigger tests to come for him. Especially away from home, when games are likely to be much more stretched and very different to Tuesday’s battle in both boxes.

That will reveal more than last night’s adrenaline-filled performance, which was the perfect reintroduction for him at the perfect time.

I’ve always seen Gorkss and Connolly as decent individual defenders at Championship level, but not a good partnership, and this Rangers side as much more defensively vulnerable than the stats this season suggest.

Even so, with the team on course for promotion I’d have been reluctant to turn to two defenders whose fitness and form have been a concern. I’d have solidered on.

It would have been the wrong decision. Not because of their performances last night – neither player did anything they haven’t done before, and some questions remain unanswered – but because, with hindsight, at least one of them was always likely to be called upon at some stage during the run-in.

That means the alternative to Warnock’s decision could have involved having to put them in for some godforsaken away match, on a bigger pitch and possibly with even more riding on the result.

That type of game would be very different to the kind of compact, congested one against Ipswich, which was ideal for a centre-back with Shittu’s attributes to go out and play like his life depended on it.

There will be games, especially away, where there’ll be more ground to cover, more snap decisions required, and much more potential for Shittu to be isolated and left one-versus-one. That’s a very different assignment, and not one for a new addition to a back four, who’s had hamstring trouble and lacks match practice.

Shittu can now go into that kind of situation having had his sharpness and morale boosted after storming it in front of his adoring fans and gone off to a standing ovation.  That’s why Warnock was right to pick him sooner rather than later.