Goodbye to a QPR Legend

I write this just 24 hours after the announcement of Warnock's sacking, and look back at the irony of the title of my last blog post - 'Turning Point'.  I spent most of yesterday evening watching twitter feeds update me with the latest rumours and then finally, I saw the announcement on Sky Sports News. I have to say that events off the pitch seem to be dominating the headlines more than what's been happening on it. And I am not sure that this is particularly healthy for the club and the players at all.

For whatever reason, QPR is never far away from controversy. And this turnaround in events means we have a really exciting but nervous wait over the next few days for the announcement of a new manager & news on what we are doing in the transfer market.

It's all over the news, so there's not a lot for me to say that would be 'new news'. But what I have been thinking a lot about is...if it were my industry (that is: advertising), how would we manage a situation like this where a team was under-performing vs target?

Everyone is banging on about how ruthless football is, and how it's a 'results-driven' business. Well, to be quite honest with you. It's no more ruthless than any other business. At the end of the day, in any business, when someone doesn't deliver, especially in this day and age when unemployment is high and there are thousands who would do your job for less, that person would be shown the door. So whilst market factors might differ ever so slightly, tough decisions still have to be made for the good of the company, and to protect the bottom line.

I guess it doesn't really exempt itself from the fact that people are people, feelings are feelings, and at the end of the day, we spend most of our waking hours working. So whilst there is a way to behave, a company line to tow, a living to be made just like everyone else...the people we remember the most are those that motivate us, make us feel good about ourselves, that shine a happy light on our days and keep us going. They aren't always the people that make the most money for the company. In fact, they almost always aren't.

So, from a fan's perspective, I have to say I felt a little like I was in mourning today. Warnock, for all his faults, was a motivator and a really positive personality that we really needed at Loftus Road. I shall really miss his honest views about the players and the games. It's rare in this extremely commercialised sport that Premier League managers speak quite so openly. However, I doubt very much that this is the last we'll see of him. He's still young and will have plenty to give the sport.

As we saw from the hug that Henry gave Wenger this evening after scoring his goal against Leeds, relationships are so important, and I'll be watching with some pride, the next one Warnock forms. I just think I'll probably also be a bit envious of the team that eventually takes him in. 

Thank you Warnock, for all you have done for QPR.