The 2011/12 Gary Speed Memorial Thread

[Crybaby Bunting]

He's one of those confidence managers who struck lucky a few times in the transfer window and now thinks he's God. He could have done a brilliant job at Fulham, but left as soon as he could because he thought it was below him. He'll spend the QPR money on short term signings in order to boost his popularity before fucking off as quickly as he can.

Who else would spend £18m on a clearly crocked Roque Santa Cruz if they had all the money in the world? unless Santa Cruz is also signed to Kia Joorabchian's agency

[Summers]

I wouldn't have minded him at Villa, tbh. The issue is his agent.. He's poison.

[Lineker]

I think RSC might actually well be a client of Joorabchian.

[9 to 5]

Okay, who else is available/would see QPR as a set-up in the British game better than Hughes? I couldn't name many. It seems these days most managers are seen as average at best no matter who they are.

[Matt]

To be fair, I can't think of anyone at all that's available that's proven in the Premier League. Warnock to Hughes seems like a pretty sideways step to me though.

[MDK]

The same old circle jerk of Premiership managers. I can't wait for George Graham to come back.

[Matt]

Mark Hughes' City record according to the sidebar on SSN.

Matches: 77

Wins: 36

Win percentage: 51%

[IAceI]

I was going to ask how Warnock would pin this one on Carlos Tevez but then I realised Hughes and Tevez are both Joorabchian's clients and he probably will.

[Colly]

Chris Coleman? Or I suppose MARCUS BENTS AVAILABLE!

[Adam]

Is it just me that doesn't get why Sparky is deemed a top manager? He did a good job at Rovers but he was toss at Man City really. He was alright at Fulham, I guess, but nothing spectacular. If I was QPR, i.e. had a bit of cash to spend, I'd be looking at someone better than Hughes.

Was he really "toss" at City? I seem to remember felt his usurping to bring in Mancini was looked upon as a harsh move, as Hughes had done a decent job at City. To say he didn't even know about some of the transfers they were making ("I hear we're signing Robinho, and I've got to say I'm quite pleased about it") he didn't do too bad at all. And Santa Cruz was scoring goals for Blackburn, sure the fee was inflated but he was hardly seen as a bad signing at the time.

[Lineker]

Jerome Anderson has done a live in-studio interview on SSN. Cunt.

Mark Hughes and QPR have agreed a deal in principle for Hughes to become manager, BBC Sport understands.

[cmb211087]

Ssn just let JA stitch us rovers fans up good and proper. Saying we have abused all his family which is a lie. Saying he took no money last January despite our audited accounts saying he did. Saying we want Venkys out for ulterior motives and not football related.

He even tried to cry to get sympathy!

[Lineker]

Bollocks, his daughter goes to acting school in America, I'm friends with her on Facebook. Typical happy girl who hasn't moaned about anything once.

[Lineker]

Anyone else read Warnock's column in the Independent? Makes interesting reading.

Getting the sack is a fact of life in football management and I should know. I've now been fired by Burton Albion, Notts County, Plymouth Argyle, Oldham Athletic and Queen's Park Rangers. They say it is a results business. It is, but only up to a point. At three of those clubs, including QPR, I'd won promotion.

The problem with that is it raises expectations that a club isn't always geared up to meet. At QPR we probably went up a year too early. In March 2010, when I arrived, we were fighting relegation to League One. By May 2011 we were celebrating promotion to the Premier League after winning the Championship.

Unfortunately, because of the uncertainty over the ownership, we were not able to get into in the transfer market early enough or well enough to build on that in the summer. The bulk of my squad is last year's team – several of them were in the side that nearly went down. When the new owners arrived in the third week of August they told me my remit was to get some players signed in a rush before the deadline, then get to the new year with QPR outside the bottom three. We could then bring in three or four players in the January window.

I feel I have kept to that. We have not been in the bottom three all season. When I look at how managers at other clubs in the Premier League have been given unequivocal support by their board it is an understatement to say I am very disappointed.

We knew we had a tough run of fixtures – we've played Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal in the last six matches – but there were winnable games coming up and I feel we had been playing well enough to win them. Look at our last three League matches. We played very well at Swansea, dominating the second half, held our own at Arsenal, and were leading Norwich. But you can't legislate for Shaun Wright-Phillips giving the ball straight to Arshavin with half an hour left, or Joey Barton getting sent off. A few more points and we'd be mid-table, which is where I feel our football deserves us to be.

While I accept the owner's decision, I do feel if there were more people at the club in positions of power with experience in the game they would have understood how well we have done in the circumstances, and they would've realised that once we brought in the players I had identified there would have been no problem securing a Premier League future.

But no doubt the chairman has had a string of agents in touch telling them their man could do a better job. It looks like it might be Mark Hughes, though I heard around Christmas they were thinking of Zola and Wilkins. Will a new manager make a difference? Not as much as new players will. If you haven't got the players you can't win games, that's another fact of life in football management. I just wish I had the chance to bring in the ones I wanted, both in the summer, and this month.

[R.W.]

Ssn just let JA stitch us rovers fans up good and proper. Saying we have abused all his family which is a lie. Saying he took no money last January despite our audited accounts saying he did. Saying we want Venkys out for ulterior motives and not football related.

He even tried to cry to get sympathy!

Did he say anything about why Rovers signed his son, despite being so worthless not even Aberdeen played him?

[cmb211087]

Yeah basically we signed him because one of the top scouts saw him, so he got invited to a trial game last summer (2010). He then put in such a good tackle that the first teamers are still talking about it until this day and that made Kean want him so badly. He has not played because he was signed as a development player as he is a late bloomer who could not be signed for a big team originally due to him not being given permission to leave school. He has also not played, despite the injury crisis, because Kean is protecting him from the vicious, vitriolic Rovers fans who shout 'Kean Out' and not much else. Not because he is shit or anything and was only hired because Anderson got Kean the managers job so Kean repaid the favour.

Everything up until the who shout 'Kean Out' and not much else part are Jerome Anderson's words on SSN this morning.

Edit: Also, for anyone interested in why the fans are actually protesting, and want a view that is not being spun by JA, SEM and the media, look at the following link

Rovers Truth

Edited January 10, 2012 by cmb211087

[R.W.]

I have a feeling I'm going to have to find a new club to support once Venkys & Anderson bankrupt us and drive us out of existence.

Guess I'll switch to Watford, since Vicarage Road is just round the corner.

[Lineker]

If I can't get a season ticket at the new Spurs stadium, we can sit together!

[R.W.]

Yay!

[IAceI]

Hughes is confirmed as QPR manager on a 2 1/2 year contract. All the best to him, good manager and likeable enough.

Still, would rather Blackburn, Bolton and Wigan stayed up ahead of QPR.