QPRs treatment of Neil Warnock sours the positive first impression of Tony Fernandes

I like QPR, I like the club, I like the ground, and I like what Tony Fernandes stands for; the owner who craves success rather than just notoriety. A lot of what Fernandes does is good for the club, the spending obviously, but the interaction with the supporters and his seeming understanding of what it is to be a fan. This Neil Warnock business has detracted from that a bit though.

CEO Philip Beard this morning announced that the club hope and expect to have a new manager in place before Sunday’s game with Newcastle. That’s fine, because the shorter the transition period the better – but it also means that the club have clearly been actively searching for Warnock’s successor while he was still employed.

It’s just a bit ugly.

Obviously I understand the practicalities of appointing a manager, and the importance of making a full-time appointment as soon as possible, but still. QPR need to be decisive now, and there are only 22 days left of the transfer window, so whoever comes in – Mark Hughes seemingly – needs to already have a set of targets and a budget established. All those mitigating circumstances aside, it’s hard not to feel for Warnock, personable character that he is. Football is so relentlessly commercial now, it’s sad.

A quick note on Mark Hughes, assuming that the rumours are true. He’s somebody that’s damaged his reputation a bit, and needs to put a solid shift into a club now to redress that. Yes, he was badly treated at Manchester City, but he also underwhelmed at Eastlands with a limitless budget – which, although on a lesser scale, is not a million miles away from the scenario that exists at QPR. Tony Fernandes is no Sheikh Mansour, so will want to keep a close eye on how the Welshman deploys his chequebook. His record for cost-efficiency isn’t exactly 100%.

Hughes is also represented by Kia Joorabchian, so expect some grubby third party involvement along the way.

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