Rangers fan Paul Finney, who runs the independent supporters website: www.indyrs.co.uk talks to Gazette Sports editor Yann Tear about the need for the club to retain its valued traditions.
Our sudden change in financial status is both exciting and bewildering. Things like this don’t really happen to QPR. With us it’s one extreme to the other. One minute we’re close to folding and the next we’re the richest club in the world and I think it’s going to take a bit of time for the fans to adjust to that. At the moment we’re on a high because we’ve been saved, but let’s see where we are in six months or a year before we get too excited about it all. It’s important not to just throw money at things because that doesn’t really solve anything and QPR’s never been about that.
We need to hold on to our identity and our culture and to what’s always been the QPR tradition of good football and bringing players through the youth system. That’s more important than anything. We’ve always been the true footballing club of West London. When you see the blue and white hoops, you think of Rodney Marsh and Stan Bowles, you think of Roy Wegerle and Les Ferdinand – the people who’ve worn the shirt with distinction and we want that to continue. Our tradition is to bring our own players through but then sell them to survive. Now hopefully, we can bring our own players through and keep them.
How fantastic it would be to see a kid come to QPR at 13 and for the fans to see his progress. How great it would be to see him go on to play for his country while still being at QPR on a Saturday afternoon. That to me is what real success is. For now, I think the first success is the fact we are still around and the next rung on the ladder is getting a proper youth set-up. Waving the cash at Chelsea fans the other day was just a sign of relief. Don’t forget we were just minutes from extinction not so long ago. The money’s welcome and it’s brilliant and everyone should enjoy going on the journey because God knows when the bad days were here, we all went on that journey.
Whether we are prepared to move away from Loftus Road to realise our biggest dreams is the million dollar question. Loftus Road is our spiritual home but I suppose we’ve moved 13 times in our history. It all depends where we are as a club in the years ahead. All I would say is that if they ever think of moving, they work with the supporters so we all get what we all want. It’s about working together and not about them working and us following. What you don’t want is 40,000 people in a stadium who don’t know anything about QPR or what we’ve been through. What we want is the new fans to mix with the old fans and to keep the community spirit. We feel we are a very special club and that there’s none like it.
Only a few years ago, the fans raised money to buy a player for the football club. That’s how special these fans are and I can’t think of many others in the country who would do that. I would like to thank Mr (Flavio) Briatore and Mr (Bernie) Ecclestone for coming in to save QPR from all that. It’s important as fans that we recognise that these guys have stopped us from going out of business.
Paul Finney
As Michael Caine once said…I’ve been poor and Ive been rich and I know which I prefer!
I’m sure our tradition will always be with us come what may…but QPR supporters MUST realise that in this day of all seater grounds you cannot establish premiership status in a “matchbox” stadium….Getting ahead of myself there am I not? lol
I suppose I’ll be in a small minority here, but if gaining Premiership status means moving from Loftus Road, then I for one don’t want it.
As Paul so rightly says “When you see the blue and white hoops, you think of Rodney Marsh and Stan Bowles, you think of Roy Wegerle and Les Ferdinand ‚Äì the people who‚Äôve worn the shirt with distinction and we want that to continue.” Like an ever diminishing number I saw all them players, plus Gerry Francis, Dave Thomas, Tony Currie and Ray Wilkins, great players all of them. But I saw them at Loftus Road, not some meccano set of a Stadium in the middle of nowhere.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Paul will be eternally gratefull to the people who have come in and saved the club. I just hope that they can strike a balance between what they envisage for the club and what our traditions and values are.
I an looking for a balance of bringing our youth players on and wise transfers of bringing young lads in with a view to either keeping them or selling them on at a profit if they find themselves in a position where they cannot get a regular game. The key issue for me is that they wear the shirt with PRIDE. Alec Stock gave us, the supporters, that pride and I have nver lost it even through the difficult periods over the last 10 years.
Pete
I too am against a Meccano Stadium in the Middle of nowhere miles away from the Bush…After all we dont want Reading (or Nothampton) as the Local Derbies do we?…but I will more than settle for a Meccano Stadium in the Middle of the White City!
Any Pete whats wrong with Meccano?…just because in the 1950’s you never got beyond building Stage 2 there is no need to let that influence your opinion! lol
pete-ranger,
It’s a fact that Loftus Road as it now is will not sustain Premiership football attendances. Even now in the Championship the old ground groans when ever the attendances reach anything like capacity – 19.000! The bars run out of food and drink, the seats are cramped, the old Loftus Road is not fit for purpose, and unfortuneatly a new stadium is inevitable if QPR are to progress under Flavio, Bernie and Lakshmi.
Sorry, but I too am an “older supporter” and I also saw us play at White City. What a debacle that was. I’m just giving my opinion, It’d be nice but nobody is going to take any notice of what I think anyway.
When I look at a club like Portsmouth, a one city club, established in the Premiership, with gates hovering around the 20 thousand mark, I wonder where the 40 thousand is going to come from for us to sustain a new stadium. Fact is, I’m just being selfish, I really don’t want to leave Loftus Road after 47 years of going there.
Still, they won’t miss me, will they?
Pete…I bet you were the one who always used to lead off in the singing of “We Shall not be moved”
Colin…Great Kelmscott minds think alike.
Build it and they will come(Who was it that said that?)
As an older supporter I agree with Pete Ranger. The White City stadium era was not successful and the atmosphere of Loftus Road could not be recreated. I was at Loftus Road in the 70’s when we played Leeds and had 31,000 crammed in. Let’s campaign for bringing some limited standing areas back if we need to expand the existing ground capacity. I cannot see us attracting more than 25,000 except for games against about 4 clubs if we reach the Premier Division.
What an amazing article well done Paul your a true fan
I believe that the new owners will be looking to move away from Loftus Road – but not to cram in 25,ooo plus ‘ordinary fans’- but because the corporate facility’s at LR would not be upto the high standards they would expect.
I believe they would be looking to at least double the amount of corporate boxes we have at present,plus have very high standard resturants and bars.
I don’t think the Blue & White Club would be up to their high standards!