21st March 2005

On-line store supports Trust movement

The UK distributor of Pantofola d'Ora football boots has launched a donation scheme to support the Trust movement. Pantofola d'Ora make the handmade italian football boots favoured by many top stars. Best-for the UK distributor will donate £4.00 from every purchase over £75.00 to the Supporters Trust of your choice. for further details please visit http://www.best-for.com/supporters-trusts-donations.html

18th February 2005

Message from the FSF

You will probably have read that the Football Association is considering moving the 2005/6 FA Cup Final to a Wednesday evening. The possibility of abolishing replays in the fifth and sixth rounds has also been raised.

THE ACTION YOU CAN TO HELP PREVENT THIS IS SET OUT BELOW

The FSF has been in touch with the Football Association asking for prior consultation with supporters and seeking info rmation on the timetable for a decision. The stated reason for moving the Cup Final to a Wednesday is to allow the England players a clear month between the end of the domestic season and the start of World Cup 2006 in Germany .

As an alternative to moving the Final, we understand consideration is being given to dropping replays at the fifth and sixth round stages next season. The FSF national council has voted unanimously to oppose any such changes. We also believe that the FA is in breach of its own customer charter in not properly consulting supporters prior to considering any such decisions.

WE NEED TO TAKE ACTION NOW AS SUPPORTERS. YOU CAN DO THE FOLLOWING: SIGN The on-line petition at: http://www.fsf.org.uk

This will automatically send a complaint to the Football Association in respect of the lack of supporter consultation as promised by the FA's Customer Charter.

The FA's Customer Charter can be found at: http://www.thefa.com/NR/rdonlyres/590AED91-CFBB-4662-B42C-1EAF71EE2250/46477/CustomerCharterReport2004.pdf

IF YOU WANT TO PREVENT THIS VIOLATION OF THE FA CUP YOU NEED TO ACT NOW: SPREAD THE WORD

Forward this e-mail to all your football mates, supporters' club/trust/association and fanzines/websites. Get them to sign the petition and complain to the FA.

ACT NOW. TOMORROW MAY BE TOO LATE.

For further information e-mail: sl_powell1917@yahoo.co.uk or ring Steven on 07881 950613

Best wishes

Malcolm Clarke
Chair
Football Supporters' Federation

25th January 2005

Thousands of football fans rally to Clubs in Crisis day

THOUSANDS of football supporters have pledged to make next Saturday's Clubs in Crisis day the biggest fans united event ever.

On Saturday 29 January fans from all over the country are preparing to descend on Wrexham's Racecourse Ground - for their match against Doncaster Rovers - in a mass display of unity for clubs on the brink of financial ruin.

Two months ago more than 10,000 fans gathered at the same ground in a Fans United Day to draw attention to Wrexham's FC's own plight. The 132 year old club is in financial administration, has been docked 10 points by the Football League and faces eviction from its ground on 21 July 2005.

Unless a buyer is found Wrexham faces liquidation and will be the first established Football League club to go out of existence since Aldershot FC in 1992.

But clubs the length and breadth of the UK are in a similar plight: Brighton and Hove Albion, Burnley, Bury, Cambridge United, Dover Athletic, Hendon FC, East Stirlingshire, Gateshead, Grimsby Town and Rotherham are among many with an uncertain future.

All football fans have been invited to gather at the Racecourse Ground and stand in their team colours alongside Wrexham and Doncaster supporters to show their solidarity. Those that cannot get to the game are asked to send a scarf, banner or team shirt to display support.

Now, just days after the event was first publicised there have been amazing pledges of support:

 More than 70 clubs have advertised the event on their official websites and many - including Premier League champions Arsenal - have featured it in their match day programmes.

 Over 20 fans from Wrexham's greatest rivals Chester City have promised to make the 14 mile journey across the Welsh border and stand shoulder to shoulder with their "enemy" on the Racecourse Kop.

 25 QPR fans are hiring a coach and travelling from London and supporters from as far afield as Brighton, Sunderland and Scunthorpe will join the throng.

 At least 100 Bradford City, 50 Barnsley and 40 Chesterfield fans are joining the event - these clubs have all faced similar crises in the past few years.

A Fans United organiser and Brighton supporter Nic Outterside said: "The pledges of support have been absolutely amazing. The press and national radio - particularly BBC Radio Five Live and Talk Sport - have got behind this event and we estimate that this could be the biggest display of football fan unity this country has ever seen.

"With more than 20 clubs without a fixture next Saturday I urge every football fan to take part in the Clubs in Crisis day and tell the Football Association and Football League that the time has come save the heart of British football."

Simon Johnson of the Wrexham Supporters Trust added: "Football fans have had enough of being ignored. Let us all stand together and show the powers-that-be that we are desperate to safeguard our clubs for future generations and we need their help."

Bob Gilbert, an organiser and veteran of Doncaster Rovers own fight for survival, said: "I urge you, passionately, to turn up at the Racecourse on 29 January to show all these people that millions and millions of us do care."

21st January 2005

Supporters Direct Magazine available

Supporters' Direct, the Government-backed umbrella organisation for Football Trusts throughout England and Scotland, are now offering to distribute their magazine direct to Trust members. Any member of QPR 1st is entitled to receive the 32 page colour, A4 magazine for free. To go on their mailing list, please send an e-mail to info@qpr1st.co.uk  entitled "SD magazine" with your name and address. It's a very good read. The last edition Dec 2004, includes pieces on the scandal of English football pricing, the Man U takeover situation, Wrexham and news from around the countries' Trusts.

18th January 2005

Barnardo's London Football Quiz

Barnardo's is marking the centenary of the death of Dr Thomas Barnardo by celebrating the difference the charity continues to make to the lives of hundreds of thousands of children in the UK.

Dr Barnardo's belief that the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children deserve a better start in life and the chance of a better future remains the philosophy of Barnardo's today.

Whilst we no longer run orphanages of Victorian times - we do continue to protect, nurture and provide opportunities for children through 361 specialised projects* in local communities across the UK .

Anything you could do would be hugely appreciated thank you for your time

Kind regards,

Neil Wilkinson

Events Co-ordinator

Barnardo's London Football Quiz 2005

ARE YOU GAME?.....If you think you've got what it takes for the ultimate football Challenge please contact the Football Team on Telephone: 0208 498 7408 email:neil.wilkinson@barnardos.org.uk or download a form

Bid to play where your heroes play in 2005!

If you dream of being a defensive dynamo, a midfield maestro or silky striker for Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road, there's only one way to play in YOUR club's Football Aid event this year. Get a piece of the action, score the ultimate football experience.

BID NOW at - www.footballaid.com Winning bidders will get the one-off opportunity to experience what it's like to be a professional footballer for the day. You'll get your own personalised official strip to play in, exclusive use of the changing rooms, a chance to meet and play alongside ex-club legends and the opportunity to play in a full 90 minutes match on the hallowed turf in front of a crowd of friends and family. Don't get left on the bench, visit us at www.footballaid.com now to bid for the chance to play on your Field of Dreams!

Remember the money you raise will go towards helping charities chosen by your club as well as those chosen by Football Aid. For full details of bid prices and positions available just visit your team's page on our website or contact us at info@footballaid.com

Football fans unite for Clubs in Crisis

THOUSANDS of football fans are putting aside tribal differences in a day of unity for clubs on the brink of financial ruin.

On Saturday 29 January fans from all over the country will descend on Wrexham's Racecourse Ground - for their match against Doncaster Rovers - in a mass display of solidarity to tell the Football Association and Football League: "Act now or clubs across the land will go out of existence".

Two months ago more than 10,000 fans gathered at the same ground in a Fans United day to draw attention to Wrexham's FC's own plight. The 132 year old club is in financial administration, has been docked 10 points by the Football League and faces eviction from its ground in just 183 days, on 21 July 2005.

Unless a buyer for the club is found Wrexham faces liquidation and will be the first football league club to go out of existence since Aldershot FC in 1992.

Many fans believe the club's plight is due to its owner Alex Hamilton, who wants to sell the ground for over £6million to property developers and has served the club an eviction notice.

But Wrexham is not alone.

Clubs the length and breadth of the UK are in a similar plight: Brighton and Hove Albion, Burnley, Bury, Cambridge United, Dover Athletic, Hendon FC, East Stirlingshire, Gateshead, Grimsby Town , Rotherham and even former Premiership giants Leeds United are all currently facing uncertain futures.

Many more clubs have come close to collapse in the past year - Bradford City , York City and Notts County are high profile examples - while Telford United FC and Hornchurch FC actually folded.

Fans from all these clubs are now being invited to gather at the Racecourse Ground and stand in their team colours alongside Wrexham and Doncaster fans in what promises to be a festival of a day.

Supporters from other clubs are also urged to attend to show their solidarity in the biggest display of fan unity ever seen. Those that cannot get to the game are asked to send a scarf, banner or team shirt to show support.

A Fans United spokesman and Brighton supporter Nic Outterside said: "It is 12 years since Aldershot FC went bust and in that time many other football clubs have gone to the brink. In many cases these crises have been due to mismanagement or sheer greed by club owners or chairmen.

"When we lost our own ground - sold by our chairman Bill Archer to build a retail park - we came within inches of going out of existence. Even now our club is homeless and survives on a season by season basis.

"The danger of Wrexham folding after 132 years of league football is real, and others are close behind in what could be a domino effect which would see many towns lose their football clubs forever.

"I urge every football fan to take part in the Clubs in Crisis day and tell the Football Association and Football League that the time has come to step in and save the heart of British football."

Simon Johnson of the Wrexham Supporters Trust added: "Football fans have had enough of being ignored. These are our teams and our stadiums and we won't let the incompetence or greed of a few wealthy individuals take them away from us.

"Let us all stand together and show the powers-that-be that we are desperate to safeguard our clubs for future generations and we need their help."

The game against Doncaster Rovers is particularly poignant as the South Yorkshire club were themselves on the brink of extinction in 1998 with spiralling debts, relegation to the Vauxhall Conference and their owner Ken Richardson jailed for conspiring to set fire the club's grandstand.

Bob Gilbert, an organiser and veteran of Doncaster Rovers own fight for survival, said: "Like at so many other clubs, nothing more than personal gain lay behind the ruin of Donny Rovers.

"In seeking that gain one man trampled on the dreams of thousands. And neither he, nor the FA nor the Football League ever cared.

"So I urge you, passionately, to turn up at the Racecourse on 29 January to show all these people that millions and millions of us do care."

13th December

Exclusive Subbuteo teams available online

David Baxter of worldtablesoccer.com has contacted the Trust to let us know that he has available 25 teams left from an original exclusive order of 100 sets that were originally commisioned by the club. The order was cancelled by the club because of delays in production. David has kindlly offered to share proceeds of the sale of the final 25 teams with the Trust.

You can view the teams following the link below.

QPR Subbuteo teams

Although based in Canada David spent 30 years in the UK and his first football kit was a QPR Adidas home kit from the early 80's.

If you order a team please mention the Trust web site

7th October

New stewarding instructions cost QPR dear

QPR1st warns that the tough new stance taken by Hammersmith and Fulham Borough Council on stewarding policy at QPR has so far cost the club at least £90,000 in ticket sales, possibly £100,000.

With other revenues, such as club shop and refreshment sales almost certainly also being hit, the council has endangered the financial security of what it already knows to be a cash-strapped club. The club's next big Saturday home game, against West Ham United, should be the club's most lucrative of the season, reviving as it does the era of proper London Derbies at QPR and crowd receipts alone should be about £275,000 including season ticket revenues. However, maintaining the current restrictions will mean revenues closer to £215,000, £60,000 less on one game.

QPR1st understands that the council is close to relaxing its restrictions and calls on it to do so. Loftus Road is safe, and probably too well-staffed, and has been proven to be safe through many years of operation. QPR1st notes the speed with which Fulham were able to reopen at full capacity this season, within two games in a rebuilt stadium, and asks the council why it was necessary to apply apparently different standards to clubs which are barely two miles apart.

The damage which has being done to QPR's financial position by the council's heavy-handed approach, at an average £50,000 a month, could have cost QPR £450,000 over the whole season.

Note: QPR1st keeps a shadow budget of the club's finances. In it, we were expecting full home gates, net of away attendances, for the first two games and at least the same gate at home to Plymouth as was achieved in 2003/4 season. The crowd against Leicester was disappointing, partly because of the low away attendance but also, we believe, because the club was forced to make the game all ticket. The West Ham game on Saturday October 16 th should bring a full-house of around 18,500.

6th October

QPR1st 28 September 04 meeting with QPR board -  minutes


Present
* From QPR1st: Justin Pieris, Geoff Gibbs, David Price, with Roger de Freitas as minute taker.

* From QPR: Mark Devlin, Dave Anderson, Bill Power


Rules of engagement

There were no specific rules of engagement, unlike our dealings with the previous incumbents at QPR. BP indeed made a great show of his openness and willingness to keep us informed and to answer questions..

Minute taker's observation; this was, as on a previous occasion, an encounter full of discussion and observations and light on straight questions and answers and minuted as such, thematically. It all started when BP arrived a little after six, and ended at 19.20 when MD was buried in phone calls about delaying the kick off because of the traffic chaos on the A40.


1.    Future meetings

JP suggested a slate of dates for future meetings, every two months, before home games. BP thought that this was quite unnecessary as he thought the new board was very open at all times. We could ask him anything and we'd get a reply at any time. He had no objections to talking to us, but he thought we didn't need loads of meetings.

MD later said that he'd agree to the dates proposed and he would work with DA to try to get board members along. The dates would be 13/11/04 Wigan, 15/1/05 Stoke, 12/3/05 Watford, May at end of season, and August at start of season.



2.    Finances

QPR was a limited company once again. However, the two-tier structure remains. QPR Holdings Ltd and QPR AFC Ltd.

BP thought that Barnaby was a more relaxed investor now it had actually come in: it had seen that how the board was trying to go was agreeable to it and was going in a direction that the group would be happy with.

The details of the ownership of the partnership that is Barnaby are not known. BP stated Dunga had a substantial percentage of the10 per cent that Barnaby owns.

BP reflected that he'd rather have more owners with about 15 per cent, so that they were all in the same boat. He was quite happy that Barnaby was not desperate to go for a bigger stake.

The 20 per cent of shares that's up for allocation will be sorted out in a matter of days. (Ed: The club recently announced that another Monaco-based group, named Wanlock had indeed taken up the option on those shares and that would result in an injection of £1.1m which will go towards stabilising the club.) The money would be in by the end of October.

BP said they were actively trying to sort out the CW shares. The principle of CW parting with them had been established, and now they were just arguing over the money. The shares would come back, but CW was looking for the same sort of deal that Ross Jones had suggested at the AGM, with some money (3.5p) going to himself and some (3p) to the club. KM was doing the talking.

DA said there had been some useful time spent examining the published accounts of the CW and administration eras, and more study would surely add to what had already proved to be revealing. DA said he had been onto BDO and met the administrator Ray Hocking after disturbing matters had come to light about the administration period and its accounts. The activities during administration are being closely investigated.

Hocking had recently resurfaced as being involved with ABC, the group that had loaned the club the £10m to get out administration. The club has flagged this as a conflict of interest, and has interviewed Hocking about this.

Wasps were expected to return next season or to make a considerable payment in compensation. The club expected the numbers to be hundreds of thousands, even a million with the upper being approximately £1.4m. Matters were slightly complicated by the talks with CW over the shares, and the arrival of DD at Wasps.


3.    The Ground

The club had decided to make very preliminary investigations about developing the ground.

Contrary to impressions gained from the press there was nothing firm to consider. Any meetings with the council amount merely to meetings with Reg McLaughlin and other local councilors. Officers have not yet been involved.

The aim would be to add 5 - 7000 extra seats, and catering and entertainment and banqueting facilities, which would allow more revenue from greater use of the site.

Matters were complicated by the CW era decision not to buy the land behind the school end, which had recently been redeveloped into housing and a new school.

Any development would include substantial community benefits.

Over the summer, some seats had been removed from the diabolical view area of the school end. Experience had shown that away fans with tickets for that area moved into other seat and then there¹d be a squabble with other ticket holders. Home supporters were happy to buy such seats.

The club was aware of Brentford's plight. There were no formal moves about ground share. Ground relocation was not on anyone¹s radar - MD



4.   Stewarding

MD thought almost at end of a painful period whilst the stewarding contract has changed.

Lots of conflict of interest between the regulators and the service providers.

Evidence that we have been thoroughly over-stewarded for a long time. Little accountability under the old régime. People not properly accounted for. That was now being addressed. MD said it was useful to have had experience of how another club had met licensing demands.

A review of the number of key points of access that needed to be stewarded suggested that there was a big saving to be made if the key points were reassessed at about a third less. Custom and practice had led to the stewarding growing relentlessly more expensive.

Now bringing in additional firms to work in split contracts alongside CES, in an effort to raise competition and standards and to increase the number of firms who were familiar with the site and the club.

5.   Accounts

Accounts would appear before Christmas showing a loss, of about £4.25m, on the basis of what KM had said at the agm in August.
Current liabilities included £1.4m PAYE and £300k VAT.

6.    Olly and Diaz ­ clarification

MD thought the new board felt that it had not got Olly into the loop, and that there was a period of misunderstanding when Olly went on doing things his way, the way he'd been used to, and the board wanted more control. Simple really.

The air had been cleared. Olly had been told to keep us in this division, but within tight budgets. MD thought supporters would understand that there had to be a period of adjustment. Diaz was not in the picture.


7.  Other matters

Des Bulpin was leaving the centre of excellence in a cost saving manoeuvre. Other staff including Joe Gallen and Garry Waddock would carry out his work.

A member had asked about away ticket pricing, specifically Gills and Brighton. JP said that he¹d check about prices charged on the day at other parts of the ground to be sure that away support was not being charged more, and report on this to MD.

The meeting ended at 19.20. Thankfully, MD managed to juggle speaking with us and making the correct decision to delay kick-off whilst supporters struggled to get to Loftus Road through the awful traffic.

24th September

Kenneth Hayward R.I.P

We are sad to announce that Kenneth Hayward, one of the Trusts' earliest members passed away recently. His brother, Tony sent this message to  us.

"My brother Ken passed away recently. He was very enthusiastic about the idea of the Supporters Trust and must have been one of the first people to  sign up as his membership number was 000014. Ken had been a loyal Rangers fan  for over 40 years and I'm sure his dulcet tones will be missed at the Loftus  Road Stadium."

Rest in peace Ken.

QPR 1st

20th September

Directions to Villa Park

Villa supporters trust have kindly provided directions to the ground with marked parking areas, There are some roadworks and closures around Junction 6 - Astom expressway so please check for latest travel information. to view the directions PDF click here

17th September

Club expands Hospitality packages

The club have added additional hospitality packages for the game against West Ham on October 16th for details please click here

15th September

QPR1st still can't write off Wright

QPR1st has been corresponding with Chris Wright since November 2003, regarding the ownership of his shares. This followed a conversation with David Davies, then chief executive, in which he told us that one of the main reasons that the board then was struggling to achieve inward investment was that each substantial share buyer needed to buy shares from Wright and that all had so far refused on the grounds that they wanted their cash to go into Rangers and not into Wright's back pocket.

Inspired by this, QPR1st's David Price wrote "On behalf of the management committee of QPR1st, I would like to offer you the chance to finally draw a line under the more painful aspects of your relationship with Queens Park Rangers Football Club.

"I invite you to donate your remaining shareholding in QPR to QPR1st which, as I'm sure you're aware, is the supporters trust founded in April 2001. In making such a gesture, you would not be suffering substantial loss, certainly not relative to the losses you have already sustained through writing off debt owed by the Club to you, you would be relieving yourself of the burden of fans' anxieties over their Club's future and you would almost certainly score yourself a substantial PR coup. You would be able to show yourself to have nothing more than the Club's best interests at heart whilst at the same time standing shoulder to shoulder with one of the leading fans groups. We believe that it would secure your place in the Club's history, as one of its leading benefactors.

"But there is a practical reason for the committee's invitation as well. We believe that such a gesture would open the way for inward investment into the Club, which is desperately needed. As we understand the situation, the rules governing PLCs mean that investors are loth to commit substantial sums of money because they would be forced to make you the same offer for your shares, roughly £1m at the 6.5p a share that I believe the board is seeking, meaning that a large percentage of the investment effectively becomes dead money. If you were to grant QPR1st the shares, we could put together a device that made sure that the investment went into QPR and, at the same time, QPR1st maintained its shareholding. Thus, money could come into the club which, whether or not promotion is secured this season, will be badly needed.

"And it could be argued that you would lose, relatively, very little in donating your shares to us. The last major share transaction that I heard of was between the Wasps Trustees and Kevin McGrath, who I understand paid 2.5p a share. By my calculations, that would mean the donation would mean you writing off c. £300,000. Who knows, there may even be tax breaks, associated with making the donation, that could make it worth your while.

"QPR1st would be more than happy to give you the credit and kudos for having made this gesture, which might make future visits to Loftus Road a lot more comfortable for you than I fear they would be at the moment.

"We can put together a team to meet with you or your advisors at our/their mutual convenience, but I would like to think that we can progress this proposal quickly if it is acceptable to you."

Wright's response was swift, albeit disappointing. After some pleasantries about how well Rangers were doing on the field, he said, "As far as the remnants of my shareholding is concerned, the current Board of Directors have matching rights on acquiring my shareholding from myself should I make any arrangements to sell them to a Third Party. Therefore, were I to agree to give them to QPR First they could immediately exercise their option and take the shares themselves which, of course, would defeat the whole purpose you are attempting to acheive.

"In any event, I have promised to dispose of my shareholding to anyone wanting to acquire substantial sharehilding in the Club who has an ability to finance QPR going forward. Although, therefore, the shares are still registered in my name I am very much restricted on what I can do with the shares and in any event as and when they are disposed of it will only be to assist QPR going forward."

It has to be said that Wright's answer was not unexpected, although his assertion that the Board had first option was a surprise, so we did not leave it long (November 30th) to have another go. This time Price wrote, "I half expected to read what you said about your options regarding the sale of your remaining shares in QPR Holdings, but I was keen to see if the idea of transferring shares to QPR1st was something that you could countenance. Reading between the lines, I surmise that you could be amenable to the idea if QPR1st could gain agreement to it from the QPR Holdings Board.

"What I propose is that, with the Board's permission, you pledge or donate your shares to QPR1st. Then, if an investor comes forward, we pledge to sell those shares to him/her, as long as they pledge to sell them back to the Trust at the same price, net of tax, immediately on completing the deal. Further, the investor pledges to invest that cash into the Club, thus ensuring that all possible investment monies go into the Club.

"As I said in my last letter to you, you would almost certainly score yourself a substantial PR coup through doing this and, at the same time, you would relieve yourself of what must have grown to be a very heavy burden of fans' anxiety. I fervently believe that we are offering you an elegant solution to a problem that can only grow with time.

"I have not yet approached the Club's Board with this suggestion. However, with your agreement, I would like to. Furthermore, I am sure that the Board would take a proposal such as this one far more seriously were we to have your support (expressed tacitly or openly). Our committee would be very happy to set up a meeting with you and/or your advisors to take this matter further."

Ten days later, the response was more abrupt, saying "It would appear to me that things are going rather well and that there is no need for major changes to be made to anything for the time being. I know the Board is looking to bring new money to the Club and, of course, I will co-operate with them in assisting for this to happen should the right opportunity arise.

"In the meantime, I would suggest everything remains as is."

That pretty well seemed to be that and, with the general mood at QPR becoming ever-more optimistic about prospects for the future, it looked as though the Trust's approach to Wright had failed. Nevertheless, we decided to give it one last go. This time we pressed the case about the poor state of the club's finances and how much the club needed injections of funds - later we were to find out that the club had come close to running out of cash completely early in 2003 - and we tried to convince Wright that the situation was urgent.

Price's letter to Wright said, "Although the Club remains very successful on the pitch, I am sure that it has not escaped your attention that the financial situation is very poor. The board appears to be running QPR as a going concern now, but bills which built up in the period immediately following administration, particularly those owed to the tax-man, mean that the cashflow is close to drying up. I believe that some of the Club's directors have already been dipping their hands into their pockets, so the need for a new injection of cash has become very urgent.

"To remind you, my proposal remains that, with the Board's permission, you pledge or donate your shares to QPR1st. Then, if an investor comes forward, we pledge to sell those shares to him/her, as long as they pledge to sell them back to the Trust at the same price, net of tax, immediately on completing the deal. Further, the investor pledges to invest that cash into the Club, thus ensuring that all possible investment monies go into the Club.

"I still feel that following this strategy would give you a substantial PR coup and an elegant way of making your peace with those QPR supporters that have become hostile to you during the last five years. I know you still take a firm interest in Rangers and I gather that members of your family continue to attend games. I hope that this approach to your situation can help you find a way through to a resumption of the open support that you enjoyed until 2001."

Again, Wright replied quickly, saying a week later, "Thanks for your letter of 7th January. As I believe I stated last time we were in contact I have promised Nick Blackburn and Board of QPR that my shares would be made available to any new investor that wishes to get involved with the Club. I know they are talking to one or two individuals on an on-going basis and it is my view that this is the best route forward to find another high net worth individual to come in to QPR and who finances the Club.

"As you are aware, I gave QPR the bulk of my shareholding, a total of 16,066.019 (SIC) shares on the 17th May 2002 and as far as I am aware the vast majority of these shares are still available to be given to a new investor. Although your idea has merit, I very much doubt that any new investor taking shares in the Club would agree to sell them back to either the Trust or yourself at the same price that they had acquired them if they, at some later stage, relinquished control. So, frankly, I cannot, unfortunately see that it really helps the situation.

"I do, however, understand that various people are attempting to raise money for the Club from similar private individuals and I am very much prepared to donate some shares to helping make this successful. I would be delighted to meet with any of your Committee should you feel it would be helpful."

Wright's letter was written in January, at about the time that the Our QPR fund-raising activity was gathering momentum and conversations at around the time with LSA officials Paul Finney and other Our QPR workers indicated that Wright was already in touch with them regarding a possible donation of shares. As a result, QPR1st decided to hold off from its own correspondence with Wright, so as not to muddy the waters for Our QPR.

By late June, however, it was becoming clear that Wright had not passed his shares on and that the club was still struggling to find investors. So QPR1st decided to have another go. Price wrote, "Its been a while since I last wrote to you. However, in view of the changes that are going on in the QPR board, I thought it might be appropriate to reopen our correspondence.

"I am sure that, as a long-standing QPR fan, you have been concerned at the boardroom changes that are going on at the club at the moment. The loss of the old guard of David Davies, Nick Blackburn and Ross Jones brings its own uncertainties, whilst Moorbound, Gianni Paladini and those who we are told will back him are unknown, and therefore potentially perilous, quantities.

"It is the potential peril that concerns me most, since we fans have no means of knowing what is going on at board level, nor of how carefully the club is being managed by the new regime. At QPR 1st, we have already been assured that the new board's stewardship of the club will be cautious and financially prudent. However, we remain concerned that we know so little of those who are now in charge.

"Under such circumstances, we have the choice of either sitting to one side and awaiting developments or of trying to get involved with what is going on. I believe that our members will be keen to give the new board the benefit of the doubt and for QPR 1st to be actively supporting the settling in process. Nevertheless, our management committee would feel far more secure if we were in a position to influence what is going on at board level directly, through our shareholding.

"However, our shareholding amounts to not much over 100,000 which, whilst not insubstantial, is not enough to influence the way the board thinks and where it takes its counsel. This is where you could help us since I believe that your shareholding is close to 10% of the in-trade share capital. If you were to donate your shares to QPR1st, this would make the Trust a significant shareholder and one entitled to take an active role in the running of the club. You could even donate into our ShareBank, which would oblige us to return the shares to you were you to ask for them back in the future, so you would make no loss in the unlikely event that the shares were to start trading again - I say unlikely, because I believe that the new board is looking to end the club's PLC status.

"In making a gesture like donating your shares, you would be achieving a great deal of positive publicity for yourself amongst QPR fans. You could also be helping to safeguard the future of QPR. Bill Power and Kevin McGrath both have reputations for being Rangers through and through, as natives of the White City Estate. With those two, I calculate we could put together a block of fan-held shares amounting to 32%, whilst I believe that the majority of the small shareholders (35-40% of the in-trade shares) would back us as well."

In reply Wright was at his briefest and most non-committal, saying, "Thank you for your letter, unfortunately I have not met Mr Paladini and can therefore make no comment on him as an individual, although I am somewhat concerned that Nick Blackburn, David Davies and Ross Jones have all resigned.

"Regrettably even if you were to acquire my entire shareholding it would make not one bit of difference as to whether you could obtain a seat on the Board and even if you were to have a seat on the Board I'm not sure if you could have any influence on anything that happens. I assume you're in regular contact with Bill Power and Kevin McGrath and that would appear to be your best course of action."

Anxious to keep the correspondence moving quickly, at a time when change was happening fast at Rangers, Price replied on July 10th, saying "Thank you for replying to my letter so promptly. I have followed your advice and contacted the new chair at QPR and he has given me some information about what is going on at the club (you can see the results of our efforts on www.qpr1st.co.uk) and I think that we will have a positive relationship going forward. We remain concerned, however, that not enough is known about the club's new investors and their credentials.

"I appreciate what you say about how much influence we would have on the board, were you to donate your shares to the Trust, or put them into the ShareBank, but I think that you underestimate the power of the message that would be sent out were a body representing QPR fans to have such a block of shares. We would, for example, be at least the equal in ownership to Bill Power and, as a democratically-elected body, we could be a huge voice in support of Bill, who I believe is a genuine fan like yourself. I am sure that he would respond to such a development in a very positive way.

"And we could be an extremely positive force in bringing the fans closer to the club in a way that hasn't happened since long before you became involved with it. If we can find a way of breaking down the mistrust that has marred communications between the club and fans since the days when the Fulham/QPR merger nearly happened, that would be a huge gain for all.

"So I disagree with you that we would be toothless if we had your shareholding Chris. I believe that we would be a great force for good and one that the people who have bought into the club would have to take notice of.

"In the meantime, we could present your donation in a way that earns you great plaudits in the media and amongst QPR fans, whilst asking you to risk little. Both of us could win from this arrangement, QPR1st gaining the chance to help the club in a way that has been denied it so far and you in gaining the sort of positive publicity which would aid your own connections with Rangers and enhance your working relationships with Wasps. I think that what I am proposing to you is that very rare creature, a minimal risk move from which everybody gains. Please reconsider the conclusions that you drew in your letter of July 1st, because I think we could both do well out of co-operating on this issue."

Sadly, we have received no reply from Wright since that July letter and, given the speed with which he responded to the earlier contacts, the Trust has concluded that Wright has drawn a line under it. That is not to say that we have given up on his shares. Far from it, we understand and sympathise deeply with current efforts being made by fans to persuade him to part with what could be a major tradeable asset for QPR.

9th September

National Association of Disabled Supporters

The latest NADS newsletter is available from the link below.

NADS Newsletter

Stan Bowles in club shop this Saturday

Dates that Stan is doing promotional stuff:

Sat 11 Sep: Stan will be signing copies of his book in the QPR Clubshop on Saturday between 10am and 12.30pm, before the Plymouth match.  

Thurs 9 Sep: An Evening With Stan Bowles
Ex-Bee (ahem ed!) and England star Stan Bowles visits Stripes to launch his autobiography. Stan will then hold a question and answers session. FREE entry: Doors 730pm - starts at 8pm.

++++
Venue Info -
Stripes Bar, Brentford FC, Braemar Road, Brentford, Middx TW8 ONT
Train - Brentford (5 mins)
Tube - South Ealing (10 mins)
Buses - E2, E8, 65, 237, 267
Email - music@beesunited.org.uk
Website - www.beesunited.org.uk/stripes
Tel - 07966 167 755
Stripes Bar is fully Air-Conditioned

16th August

Notes on QPR Holdings AGM held at Bush Hall at 3.30 pm on 4 August 2004

The meeting was chaired by Kevin McGrath who made it clear from the outset that he intended to resign as Chairman at the end of the meeting and subject to agreement, be replaced by Bill Power.

The other people on the stage were:

•  Bill Power (Director and Chairman designate)

•  Mark Devlin (recently appointed Chief Executive Officer)

•  Dave Anderson (QPR 1 st 's previous Head of Finance and recently appointed Company Secretary)

•  Chris Pennington (recently appointed full-time Financial Officer)

•  Aseem Malik (recently appointed Director representing the interests of G Paladini).

Under the new regime it is assumed that the Club will make public the Minutes of the meeting and therefore this is a summary of the main points and not necessarily exhaustive.

K McG began by reminding the meeting that the new regime had only been running the plc "hands on" for the last two months. He also informed the meeting that Ross Jones and G Paladini were both in attendance, and would be willing to take questions from the floor after the formal resolutions had been dealt with.

Accounts

K McG apologised for the late delivery of the accounts and stated that this delay was unacceptable. He advised that the 2003/04 accounts would show similar losses to 2002/03, which amounted to £4.3m. It is anticipated that these accounts will be available at the end of 2004 and were currently being prepared by David Anderson with the assistance of Chris Pennington. K McG went on to state that new investment was needed of at least £2m to fund the ongoing losses and enable the club to pay its most pressing creditors i.e. Inland Revenue and Customs & Excise. It was stated that the proposed investment from Monaco was likely to be scaled down. The proposed investors were given an exclusivity period which recently ended. This meant that the club could speak again to other potential investors.

Questions followed in relation to the accounts. There was discussion about the Auditor's comments in relation to the fundamental uncertainty referred to in the accounts. This stated that additional funding needed to be raised. The board agreed that this funding is obviously necessary.

The only question that caused any heated discussion during the meeting was in relation to the Related Party Transactions and the fact that the Company believed it was owed over £200,000 by Anaid Holdings Limited (i.e. The Wintons). Harold Winton was then allowed to speak and he explained the basis of the "Shittu deal" which formed the crux of the dispute. The problems arose when Ron Noades (then Brentford owner) sought to prevent QPR signing any new players via We Are QPR's expense and subsequently getting the club to pay wages. We Are QPR had then agreed to pay DS's wages until the club's exit from administration. The Club now dispute this fact, and want the ongoing wages since administration to be paid by the Wintons.

K McG stated that this dispute was likely to be resolved by discussion between the parties and there would be no more threats of going to court or arbitration and thus no legal fees incurred. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the club is not being sued or suing anybody else on an ongoing basis.

All of the resolutions forming the ordinary business of the AGM were passed on the basis of a show of hands. There were one or two votes against each resolution but never substantial objection.

Resolutions 5 and 6 in relation to the allotment and pre-emption of shares were passed subject to an amendment i.e. the board was only given powers for a one year period, subject to renewal and ratification at the next and subsequent AGMs rather than the five year period proposed.

All of the other resolutions in relation to the company's name and Memorandum & Articles were passed.

Other questions

The issue of the ABC loan was discussed in detail. This was referred to by K McG "a dog" but RJ explained that the loan was taken up at 10% as the club had no other options available and the Football League had threatened to not include QPR in the Fixture list for 2002/3 unless the club were out of Administration. A member of the floor challenged RJ, stating that a cheaper, more flexible arrangement was on offer at the time at a rate of 6% provided by a more traditional banking source. RJ stated that at the time the main banks were running shy of lending to football clubs on the basis that were they to foreclose on the deal, this would not only alienate the fans of QPR but football fans in general.

Another member of the floor stated that everybody knew the person behind the ABC loan and asked whether the top table would confirm the name of the person. They stated they were not able to do this on the basis of the confidentiality agreements surrounding the loan. K McG did however state that the previous administrators, BDO Stoy-Haywaard now acted for ABC and enquiries were made as to any potential conflicts of interest.

It was stated that Holloway had been given a budget of £500,000 over that originally envisaged and the mission was to establish QPR as a mid table Championship team challenging for a play off position. RJ stated that as a result of promotion to the Championship there will be £2m - £2.5m extra income per annum and once the club was established it could go forward and then challenge for promotion to the Premiership but this process was likely to take three to four years.

It was stated that Chris Wright had previously intended to vote against the resolutions at the AGM but the current Board had asked Nick Blackburn to liase with Wright who eventually changed his mind.

It was confirmed that G Paladini had invested £650,000 into the club and that Bill Power had recently bought some more shares to assist with ongoing cashflow.

Gino Paladini spoke about various ways he could help the club particularly the current shirt deal with Binatone, which currently nets £80,000 per annum. GP stated that he feels that a more lucrative shirt deal could easily be achieved on the basis that QPR is a very well known brand in the football world. He argued that this, coupled with the club's location in central London , represents a lucrative commercial opportunity. GP added that this line of reasoning formed initial attraction for the Monaco investors.

It was stated that it was in the club's interest to continue good relations with Chris Wright as Wasps remain contracted to return to LR the season after next. In the event of this not being upheld compensation would have to be negotiated.

It was stated that the Fulham ground-share netted the Club £330,000 which is more than Wasps would have paid but less than originally expected. The main reason for the lower profit was the increased cost of stewarding at the behest of the local authority, for which QPR were on risk.

K McG stated that he felt that the plc and Stock Exchange listings were totally inappropriate for a football club such as QPR whose function was firstly to play football and secondly to reinvest any profits to improve the playing staff and league status. He considered that QPR was a big family and as long as everybody worked together they would achieve their long- term aim. The recent changes in personnel were the start of that process and there would follow a new period of transparency with everybody pulling in the same direction.

Eventually Harold Winton was given the floor for the second time and gave a rallying speech centred on the fact that you could get 66-1 for the QPR to win the championship at Tote bookmakers.

Specific questions were asked in relation to recent stewarding, season ticket delivery and automated phone problems. These appeared to be answered specifically and honestly.

Conclusions

The meeting was carried out in an orderly manner and well chaired by Kevin McGrath. To all intents and purposes all Resolutions were passed unanimously.

People on the top table resisted the temptation to continuously "bad mouth" the old regime however, they were referred too many times in the answers to specific questions from the floor.

It must be asked ask why did QPR not contract with Fulham to pay a stadium rent plus all expenses incurred. This would have quite rightly passed the variable cost risk to Fulham.

No mention was made as to the level of income receivable from Wasps (if any) in the current year (2004/2005).

The overall impression is that David Davies resigned when he failed on numerous attempts to raise new finance for the Club. K McG stated that he was a hired hand in any case, and was likely to get another job.

Nick Blackburn resigned after a lot of pressure probably on the back of the DD situation thus making his position untenable and RJ had done the honourable thing to give the new people a chance to run the club in their own way.

13th August

QPR aim for Top of the Pops

QPR are releasing a track at the beginning of September and are hoping to go straight in with a Top 10 position!  The track is great  - you can hear it at our next home game.  To get a top 10 position the club are urging fans preorder at HMV on the link below.  It is doing really well already which is very promising!

Pre order your copy here

July 2004 News