Revolution at Loftus Road

When Queens Park Rangers made it back into the promised land after a 16 year absence, you could forgive the fans for daring to dream what the future had in store. Fast forward to the first game of the season at home to Bolton Wanderers, and deafening boos rang around Loftus Road when Ivan Klasnic scored the third unanswered goal for the away side. Not because of the poor defending as some people were led to believe, but because Flavio Briatore left his seat in disgust and made his way out of the ground. You see, Briatore had done little during his tenure to endear himself to the faithful in Shepherd’s Bush.

With so many managers taking charge during his reign as chairman, speculation was rife as to whether the coach actually picked the team. There is sufficient evidence in the documentary “Four Year Plan” to suggest that Briatore had a much bigger input into team selections and substitutions than he led on. The egotistical Briatore often clashed with fans, once confronting a large group who booed him outside the ground, saying “give me your names, the ones who boo, you will be banned”. Flavio Briatore believed that the club belonged to him. He was right, in theory. In practice, he ripped the very heart out of QPR.

Flavio Briatore, flanked by minor shareholder Bernie Eccelstone purchased the club in November 2007. By the end of that season, they had changed the club badge, got rid of the club mascot, and upgraded the executive box. His dream of a “boutique” club was in full swing by the start of the following season, with the addition of the W12 match day experience. Cashmere blankets awaited the clients with wallets big enough to secure those seats. But he forgot the people that made the game what it is. Football is essentially a working man’s game, and it was the working man who was overlooked when Briatore was in charge.

When those fans booed Briatore for leaving the ground against Bolton, they did so from seats that cost as much as £65. In fact, the cheapest seat for an adult on that day was around £35. Season ticket prices were increased by 30%, with an adult paying £375 for the cheapest. There was also the lack of investment in the team. Neil Warnock made no bones about the lack of investment and was warned as to his future conduct when bemoaning to a national newspaper the lack of funds at his disposal.

The club had signed four players for a combined total of £1.25m. The most expensive signing was DJ Campbell, who Warnock spent that entire total on. There was a bleak future for the club with many fans fearing their promotion was a one season wonder. To make matters worse, Amit Bhatia left the board in protest at the price rises and the lack of investment. Bhatia had been instrumental in bringing Neil Warnock to the club and was on the board as a representative of Lakshmi Mittal, the sixth richest man in the world.

Tony Fernandes with Niel Warnock

Enter Tony Fernandes. It all happened in a whirlwind. He came, he saw, he conquered. He immediately captivated the QPR fans with his plans. Fernandes purchased 60% of the club, with Amit Bhatia, backed by the billions of the Mittal family purchasing the remaining 40%. They immediately vowed to make themselves available to the fans, making their Twitter accounts available on the official QPR website asking the fans to get in touch and make themselves heard.

The three most prevalent issues after a few days were ticket prices, the club badge, and the club mascot. Within a week the ticket prices had been restructured. At the second home game of the season against Newcastle United, a new signing was introduced before kick off, the old club mascot Jude the Cat. Talks about changing the badge back to the old club crest, or a new one with the input of fans are still ongoing. But we had our QPR back.

If the positive steps taken by Bhatia and Fernandes still hadn’t impressed the fans, they then went out and purchased some top talent by the time the transfer window slammed shut. Joey Barton on a free transfer was a superb piece of business, as was the signing of Shaun Wright-Phillips. More signings sounded out in January, in which Tony Fernandes has taken to Twitter to ask fans to suggest players that they would like Neil Warnock to sign. With the Formula 1 season over, QPR fans will expect to see Fernandes at most home games. Before the Chelsea game, Fernandes went to a few of the local QPR pubs and wanted to mix with the fans. He has taken to our club just as the fans have taken to him. The Air Asia boss really is taking QPR places.

While some Premiership owners struggle to make the balance between running a football club and making sure the fans are involved, Tony Fernandes is re-writing the owners manual. In my view, he is writing the perfect blueprint.