There had been many rumours flying around regarding the intentions of Flavio Briatore and exactly what was going to happen to Gianni Paladini ? The Club Statement last Friday evening in some ways came as a surprise but nobody has actually departed and it’s not exactly a major reshuffle is it ? So a new Chairman of the Holding Company , the Mittal family have increased their shareholding but Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone remain as shareholders and Gianni Paladini will resume his role as Chairman of the Football Club. Presumably he is no longer the Sporting Director ? Something which may well help pave the way for Mick Harford’s imminent replacement. This and the tone of the Statement is obviously an attempt to appease the recent rumblings of fan discontent but a new era of stability for our club ? Well, in my opinion there is still much to consider on how things might yet pan out, so on to the Statement:-
‘The Board of Directors of QPR Holdings Ltd announces Flavio Briatore has decided to step down as Chairman with immediate effect. The Board has appointed Ishan Saksena as the new Chairman. The Mittal family has also taken the opportunity to increase its shareholding in the club.
Flavio Briatore said: “My three years as Chairman of QPR have been an exciting and incredible experience. I’m proud to have helped save this historical club and to have contributed in paving the way to its future success. Although my commitment to the club remains unchanged, I now feel the need to focus my energies into other fields as well. I’m very happy that my position as Chairman of QPR will go to Ishan Saksena. I’m sure he will do a brilliant job and under his leadership the club will soon achieve the stability and the good results we all expect.”
QPR would like to thank Flavio Briatore for his great contribution and commitment during his time as Chairman of the club, and wish him every success in his future endeavours. Amit Bhatia said: “I have known Ishan for 12 years now and I know his feelings for our club run very deeply. Our immediate priority must be to re-introduce stability into the club and safeguard our future in the Championship. The season has been disappointing so far, but there are still many games to go. We must make every effort to end it positively, not least for our fans, the people who have continued to support and believe in the club through all the highs and lows. Together we can succeed.”
On his new appointment Ishan Saksena said: “Since becoming CEO, I have developed a great love and very strong passion for the club. It is therefore a great honour for me to assume this position. It is a position of trust and I will hold it with great pride. I would like to thank Flavio for all his hard work during his time here and for the many positive additions he has made. I must also express my gratitude to all our fans, who are the real owners of the club. I feel a real responsibility to repay their loyalty and intend to do all I can to bring the great days back to Loftus Road.”
Gianni Paladini will resume his role as Chairman of Queens Park Rangers Football Club.’
Steve Russell
Who is next inline to first team manager ? Paladini or Saksena ? Are the Mittal family majority share holders ? Are the club going to make an investment in players and a manager for the long term ? These are the questions the majority of fans want answering. It seems that everything is on such a short term basis any player thats worth anything is automatically sold and the money not invested in better players, as for managers there is nothing more to be said that has not been said already. Why not keep young players like Raheem Sterling and develop them and the club onto better things instead of sell sell sell. Any news on Hisham ? ?
i think flavio had to be moved , i dont belive the sale of young players such as blackstock camp and routledge was ever going to be a way forward. i think over the coming weeks we might find out whats has gone on and flavio has jumped before he was pushed. having paladini stay is a bad sign that it is not a clean break from flavio,but it will come because to many things are stacking up against him
Well said – strip away the wishful thinking and consider the facts
Flavio “I don’t do failure” steps back as failure looms
We don’t at this point know the extent of swapped shareholdings
Either he intends to withdraw further in which case he will want to extract his loans
Or he wants to hang in there to grab the limelight if we ever achieve anything
At this point it only looks like a Titanic/Deckchairs move
And what about the other unremarked elephant in the room – the fate of the ABC loan? At one point shareholders were receiving mail requesting their assent to a capital reconstruction which prima facie appeared to either wholly or partly convert this debt to capital. Shareholders I have spoken to are unsure whether this reconstruction ever materialised. Could it be the ABC debt was in fact only refinanced with matching debt from a new lender? If it was Flavio – help! If it was anyone else, then who and on what terms – and with what security…
Some interesting comments from Saksena… but as yet that’s all they are.
We had similar comments from Briatore, but they proved to be worthless.
I for one am delighted he has stepped down.
His arrogance and contempt for fans is beyond belief.
That said, I would much prefer he, Ecclestone and Paladini leave the club with immediate effect.
They have been a disaster.
The fact that all three are still connected to club does not bode well, and we cannot move on until they are removed.
Moving from one position to another is not in the least one bit convincing.
Only time will tell. Time we don’t have.
I think until – IF – a new manager gets appointed and we actuaally see some change in player signing policy etc, we should all hold off on making judgements – because so far nothing has really changed that much…
Flavio jumped before he was pushed?
Not a chance!
Even the F1 piranha club couldn’t push Flavio
Flavio has just slipped into the shadows to avoid the stigma of failure.
Temporarily.
Wait till we start doing well..