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Thursday
31st January 2002
Meeting
and Groundshare update
QPR
1st have this morning agreed to postpone their scheduled meeting
with the club at the request of David Davies as the groundshare
deal with Fulham is reaching a critical point.
The
club are expecting the deal to be closed in the next 48-72hrs.
As soon as the deal is completed, we will report on the outline
detail of the agreement.The meeting between QPR 1st will now
be held on Wed 6/2/02. This will of course have clear implications
for Ron Noades and Brentford FC.
Tuesday
29th January 2002
In
light of recent events, QPR 1st issues the following statement.
Contrary
to the press statement (dated 29 January 2002) issued by Altonwood
Limited, the majority shareholder of Brentford FC Limited, QPR
1st has NOT apologised to them for making public information which
had been conveyed to us by John McGlashan, chair of the Brentford
Supporters Trust, Bees United.
Indeed,
not willing to be party to the constant stream of subterfuge,
misinformation and machinations that surrounds the sale of Queens
Park Rangers Football Club, we fail to see anything in that disclosure
that needs apologising for.
It was put to us that the majority shareholding of Brentford FC
would shortly be given to Bees United, as a result of which the
Supporters Trust would then effectively own their club. We also
learned at the same time that a bid to buy Loftus Road had been
lodged with the administrators at QPR. Our understanding was that
Bees United would take over negotiations of that bid and pursue
an intention to buy the ground, or minimally 50% of it, and in
turn rent it to QPR.
Clearly
not knowing the exact nature of the bid, and having no knowledge
even of its existence until the approach from John McGlashan,
we took a considered decision to put this information out into
the public domain, together with a clear statement that, on the
face of it, in our opinion the proposals were unworkable and unacceptable.
Whilst
accepting a degree of confidentiality is needed and assured in
some instances of the Trust's work, it is QPR 1st stated policy
to make public information of this magnitude to all QPR fans,
regardless of whether or not they are Trust members.
The use of the phrase in the opening paragraph of the Altonwood
statement is, we believe, deliberate - and designed conveniently
to shift on to QPR 1st the burden of responsibility for this information
becoming public.
We do not and will not accept responsibility for that disclosure
being contrary to any Altonwood wishes. That is an issue between
them and John McGlashan. We are not accountable to current owner
Chris Wright or to the administrators - and we are certainly not
accountable to Altonwood Limited, Ron Noades or Bees United. We
are accountable only to QPR fans - and to Supporters Direct as
the governing body of Trusts.
In
light of the accusations and counter-denials between the various
parties of Queens Park Rangers and Brentford Football Clubs, we
call on all concerned to issue clear, unequivocal and honest statements
in regard to the progress and nature of all and any negotiations.
We further call for all concerned parties to view supporters of
both Queens Park Rangers and Brentford as stakeholders in their
respective clubs and to desist with a policy of closed and secretive
negotiations which by their very nature treat fans of both clubs
with utter contempt.
QPR 1st note that since the correspondence between our respective
Trusts, Bees United chair, John McGlashan, has been invited on
to the board of Brentford FC.
End
----------------------------
In
view of recent developments, QPR 1st is seeking further clarification
and a meeting with both Chris Wright and BDO Stoy Hayward to discuss
the Brentford bid, as well as many other issues. We have also
urged Chris Wright to make a fuller statement immediately. This
we believe would allay some of the deep anxiety this issue has
created amongst QPR fans.
QPR
1st will also be meeting with the club on Thursday (January 31),
of which the above issue will be one of many to be discussed.
If anyone would like us to ask any questions then please do email
us at info@qpr1st.co.uk
We will do our best to ask as many of them as possible.
-----------
Following publication of the 'Bees eye Loftus Road' story on this
website yesterday, we received this communication from John McGlashan.
It
is followed by our response to him and a reply. In referring to
Brentford FC and Bees United as separate entities, we respectfully
suggest that John is splitting hairs as, if Ron Noades offer of
handing over Brentford FC to Brentford fans comes to fruition,
they are soon to be one and the same.
John
McGlashan wrote:
Justin
I
am astonished that you have published this and would have appreciated
some dialogue with you before you did so. Although I have no objection
to you making these proposals public (and in fact I agree that
you should) I really do feel that it should have been an accurate
assessment of the situation.
Perhaps
I should try to clarify things for you.
Bees
United are not considering ANY options at all and have not even
discussed this proposal, and I pointed this out to you in my reply
to your e-mail on Saturday.
It
is Brentford FC that have made the offer to the administrators,
it has absolutely nothing whasoever to do with Bees United and
neither is it linked to the takeover of the club by our Supporters'
Trust! We learnt of the offer last week and contacted you to warn
QPR 1st of these developments. It is wholly wrong of you to infer
that Bees United have any involvement at all and I am extremely
disappointed that you have seen fit to publish your article in
the way that you have.
Bees
United do not plan to discuss the matter at all until we have
our next meeting on Thursday, but as I said to you on Friday morning,
BIAS (Brentford Independent Association of Supporters) are having
an open meeting tonight (Monday) and it is possible this story
will have broken by then. You have now assured it will, but have
added a twist to it that implies we are leading the bid. We certainly
had no plans to give it any publicity at all!
I
urge you to modify the story on your web site immediately, and
if you want further help in clarifying the situation call me at
my office on xxx xxxxxx or my mobile xxxx xxxxxx.
For
the record, we want to meet with you to gauge your feelings as
to how QPR supporters would feel about groundsharing with Brentford,
before we even discuss it in any detail. Our own position is,
and will continue to be, that if both sets of fans approve this
proposal then we will give it due consideration. My personal view
is that they won't, but I'm certainly not going to make their
decisions for them by dismissing it out of hand at this stage.
John
McGlashan, Chairman
Bees United
QPR
1st response
John,
The moment we were informed of this situation, we were duty bound
to inform our members and indeed all QPR fans. This is what we
have done. We have had a year of various different parties supposedly
drawing us into their confidence as a mechanism to shut us up.
We will not be party to behind closed-doors deals. We owe it to
our fans and indeed ourselves to be as open, honest and public
as we can possibly be. We are sorry that this may have caused
you discomfort. The way we see it, we had no choice. Imagine a
scenario where a Brentford fan discovers what has been going on
and divulges it to all and sundry. Gets round the grapevine and
then QPR fans would have rightly come to the conclusion that QPR
1st is intent on selling our ground to Brentford. Our response
on the website is as a result of a weekend of deliberation by
our committee and, believe me, every word has been debated and
agreed upon.
We will certainly publish a right to reply, but will not alter
our piece.
Again,
no harm is intended to Bees United or BFC at all. You have your
prioities and we have ours. And for the record, we have not dismissed
anything out of hand either and look forward to a meeting at SD
to clarify the situation.
Regards,
Justin Pieris
Vice-Chairman, QPR 1st
Response
from John McGlashan
Justin
I
have to say I believe you have misread the situation and our intentions.
Of course you must inform QPR fans of what is happening, the whole
purpose of informing you in the first place was in order that
you could!
My
objection is your story strongly implies that Bees United has
been party to this, which is wholly untrue and I will be extremely
disappointed if you insist on retaining it in its present format.
Regards
John
This
exchange took place yesterday afternoon, in advance of yesterdays
Brentford meeting. Following the meeting
this
appeared on the beesotted messageboard.
Brentford
Made £10m Bid To Buy Loftus Road
By
Dave Lane
Date: 28/1/2002
Ron
Noades announced last night at BIAS' public meeting that on behalf
of Brentford FC, he made a £10m bid to buy Queens Park Rangers'
Loftus Road ground. The bid, made last month, was two-fold, either
£10m for the whole ground or £6m for half of it.
The
news came as a shock to all those in attendance and in response
to claims on a Rangers web site.
At a fascinating Public meeting Noades outlined how the bid would
have funded and why it was made. The Brentford Chairman said that
the offer was made so Brentford would still own a permanent 'home'
while a new ground in the borough was sought and that Queens Park
Rangers would have paid Brentford rent to use Loftus Road. The
Rangers Administrators ultimately turned down the move.
The
Bees Chairman also spoke about how a ground-share should be investigated
more so that the long term future and identities of the two clubs
could be assured. He also said that the move was in no way an
attempt to merge the two clubs.
And
from Bias
A
public meeting was held on 28 January 2002 by BIAS (Brentford
Independent Association of Supporters). As well as hundreds of
supporters, also in attendance were three of Brentford FC's
directors; Ron Noades, Chairman; Gary Hargraves, Managing Director;and
Eddie Rogers.
At
the meeting John McGlashan, Chairman of Bees United (the Brentford
Supporters' Trust) made the following announcements:
"Ron
Noades has offered me, as Chairman of Bees United, an immediate
place on the board of directors."
"Bees
United will as of now, take the lead in negotiating with the
Council for a new stadium and the redevelopment of Griffin Park."
"Altonwood (the majority shareholders of Brentford FC and
Griffin
Park Stadium) have committed to entering into an agreement which
will transfer their entire shareholding to Bees United. Or, to
put it another way the supporters of Brentford FC will own a majority
shareholding in the club. There are of course some conditions
attached, but they are not meant to be obstructive and should
not be seen as "get out" clauses for either party. There
is a will on both sides to carry this forward and for the club
to be owned by its supporters and the community in which it operates."
"As
things stand at present the club will continue to play at Griffin
Park, but there is a possibility we may share a ground with another
club in the future. I would like to stress however, that any ground
share agreement will be a short term arrangement and no decision
will be made before the planning application for Griffin Park
has been approved by Hounslow Council. And finally, we will only
enter into a ground share agreement if we believe it is in the
long term interests
of the football club."
-------------------------------------
Statement
from Chris Wright
Since
yesterday we have been trying to contact Chris Wright to try and
clarify the position regarding a Noades/Brentford offer for Loftus
Road.
This
morning Mr Wright responded through his PA Jilly who stated that
Mr Wright had seen the information on the web site and wanted
us to know that "There is no deal with Brentford".
More on this including details of our correspondence with John
McGlashan to follow.
Monday
28th January 2002
Brentford
fans eye Loftus Road
QPR
1st have been approached by representatives of Brentford Supporters
Trust, Bees United, who say they are very close to securing a
deal under which Ron Noades will give their Trust 51% ownership
of Brentford FC.
Griffin
Park is to be sold for a figure thought to be something
aproaching £17m, leaving Brentford needing to build or acquire
a new stadium.
Bees United are considering two options, which are pertinent to
QPR:
either
to purchase Loftus Road outright or to purchase 50% of Loftus
Road in order to secure tenancy on a groundsharing basis with
QPR.
Both options are seen as a short-term measure to allow Brentford
FC to continue to exist while a new stadium is developed in a
suitable location. Bees United have intimated that a deal involving
the purchase of part or all of Loftus Road would allow QPR to
come out of administration and pay off some or all of our club's
debts; and would involve the transfer of ownership of QPR FC to
the QPR 1st Supporters Trust. Once Brentford FC had secured or
developed a suitable stadium of their own, they intend to sell
their portion of Loftus Road to QPR FC
Whilst
fully appreciating the situation at Brentford and in no way
doubting the sincerity of the Bees United approach, which was
made to QPR 1st late on Friday and is planned to go public next
week, our reaction to it was and remains one of profound scepticism.
QPR 1st does not believe that the figures Bees United have given
us add up. The idea is that Griffin Park's sale will raise up
to £17m - and a bid for all of Loftus Road would be £10m;
or £6m for 50% of it. We believe this figure is lower than
a realistic commercial valuation of the stadium and the land it
stands on. Under this deal, QPR FC would in essence become tenants
of Loftus Road until Brentford moved on.
QPR
1st does not consider such a proposal as it stands to be workable
or acceptable to QPR fans. There is, though, a possibility that
Bees United could pursue such a course of action, regardless of
opposition from QPR fans. As such, we will engage in further dialogue
with Bees United in order to clarify their position and investigate
any proposals they have. We will continue to make public the substance
and outcome of any such talks.
Please
let us know what you think by mailing info@qpr1st.co.uk
Sunday
27th January 2002
QPR1st
sees Maurice Fitzgerald
Last
Tuesday night, representatives of QPR1st met with Maurice Fitzgerald,
to discuss proposals that he has for leading a consortium to take
over QPR FC. His appears to be the most advanced of a limited
number of approaches for the Club and we were keen to find out
just what he is proposing. What follows is an outline of his consortium's
bid.
This
is the latest of three offers for the club which have been put
together
by Mr Fitzgerald, none of which has yet been accepted. He proposes
to raise £1-2m from a group of wealthy QPR fans. In addition,
he is asking fans groups to raise cash, which would be the basis
of giving them representation in the management of the Club. He
plans to raise a mortgage against Loftus Road in order to pay
off at least a part of Chris Wright's debt. On taking over the
Club, the leading shareholders, none of which would be allowed
to own more than10% of the shares, would meet to select/elect
a team to manage QPR commercially.
Mr
Fitzgerald also told us that he believes that the Club is perilously
close to folding and that the need to act has become urgent. QPR1st
has a problem with this because we have been led to believe that
the Club is holding its own financially, even though it remains
heavily indebted to Chris Wright. We understand that the debt
owed to his bankers remains above £6m.
QPR1st
takes the same approach to the latest bid as it has to
those led by Brian Melzack, Andrew Ellis and Clive Taylor/Richard
Thompson. It mailed a series of questions to Mr Fitzgerald last
Friday, January 26th. These are listed below in an abridged version
of the mail sent to him. Meanwhile, QPR 1st understands that the
Taylor/Thompson offer remains on the table, but that Chris Wright
has not responded to it. QPR 1st is urgently pursuing a meeting
with Wright to ask what his current plans are.
Our
mail to Maurice Fitzgerald:
Dear Maurice,
It
was good to meet you the other night and thanks for the follow-up
e-mail. I can assure you that we at QPR 1st are just as keen as
you to see QPR come out of administration, on an even keel, as
soon as possible. All we have been waiting for has been a realistic
looking bid, a practical business plan with serious backing and
good evidence that the club will be run properly and for the benefit
of QPR once it has been taken over.
Regarding
our conversation, I need alot more information before I can
recommend to my committee that we should support your proposals.
Also I am sure that you will understand that, given the stance
that QPR1st took with regard to the Melzack and Ellis bids, we
have to be scrupulously fair in making sure that the questions
that we ask of you are just the same.
Our
position is very simple Maurice. Convince us and you have our
qualified support. Fail to do so and we'll just keep asking questions.
Also, we will have this debate publicly. QPR 1st, as you will
remember from your time on the interim committee, is committed
to being as open and as inclusive as possible.
So,
can you answer our questions Maurice? Can you tell us:
That if your consortium takes over QPR, it will run the business
for the
benefit of QPR.
That you will consult the fans,'not exclusively with, but including
QPR 1st', whenever you propose a major strategic change and that,
if the vote/mood is against your proposal, you will adhere to
that.
Who
your backers are and what their businesses are?
How
much you intend to raise as a mortgage against the ground?
What
operating capital you aim to raise?
What
your understanding of the current financial status of the club
is? (income/expenditure/indebtedness)
How
the management of the Club will be organised?
Which,
if any, former QPR board members you propose to include in your
consortium or in the management of the club?
How
the voting rights and structure of new company will be organised?
What structure will be put in place regarding the hiring/firing
of players and managers?
Maurice, these are the questions we would like to see answered
initially. But there could well be others and the way that you
deal with them will be what guides QPR 1st in the way it approaches
its dealings with you. Disregard the money for a minute. You are
asking for a great deal of trust from fans who have seen much
that is untrustworthy in the people who have run the club over
the last 10-20 years. I'm sure that you will therefore understand
our caution in our approach to your proposal and that you will
continue to understand it into the future.
In
keeping with QPR1st's commitment to openness, I will be posting
an
abridged version of our e-mailed conversation on the QPR 1st website
shortly. Please let me know if I have got any of the facts concerning
your proposal wrong.
Best
Regards
David
Price - Chair of QPR 1st
Comments to info@qpr.co.uk
Thursday
24th January 2002
Stoke
incidents
After
the problems at the Stoke City game last week QPR 1st sent contacted
the Stoke City Fans Forum, which was then forwarded to the club
itself. Below is our letter along with a reply from Jonathan Fuller
the Chief Executive of Stoke City FC. If you have an experience
from this game that you want to share please sent it via email
to info@qpr1st.co.uk
Dear
SCFF
Let
me introduce myself. My name is Tracy Stent and I am Secretary
of the QPR Supporters trust (QPR 1st).
Firstly,
I would like to say well done on your initiative in the setting
up of your group. Fans forums are a welcome introduction for football
fans everywhere and I really enjoyed reading the notes from your
meeting with Stoke City FC in Saturday's matchday programme.
There
are two issues mentioned within the minutes that, as a visiting
supporter to the Britannia stadium, I would like to bring to your
attention.
The first one is the catering at your ground. Or should I say
the catering for the away fans. The staff were ever so friendly
and helpful, unfortunately the choice of fare was not so appealing.
Beforehand,
we, my husband and two young daughters, enjoyed a sociable drink
in the Harvester restaurant adjacent to the ground. Unfortunately
the wait for something to eat was too long and so we told our
daughters they could have something hot inside the ground.
However, the only food available were meat pies and sausage rolls
which weren't warm.. Not a lot of good for those who don't particularly
want to eat meat. No chips, cheese pasties, or even hotdogs for
those who have the stomach for them! It was rather disappointing
to find that a club, which is regarded as a big one in division
2, with a superb stadium, is very basic indeed regarding its catering
facilities to the away fans.
The
second issue I'd like to bring to your attention is the 'hooligan'
situation that occurred after the game outside, in the car park
(at the away end). Your True Supporters against violence initiative
deserves a real pat on the back, especially since the hooligan
element at Stoke appears to be alive after what we witnessed.
We asked a steward the best way back to the Harvester car park,
he pointed us in the direction of the gates at the away car park
(where the coaches are parked). Unfortunately it was 'all going
off' with bottles, coins, sticks and punches being thrown in that
area. The gates were locked and we headed back to the other ones
(near to the clubshop) but were told by stewards that we ran the
risk of being beaten up by gangs of Stoke hoolies if they let
us out! It was freezing cold, we had our young children with us
and we just wanted to get back to our car but we couldn't because
of the threat of violence. Is this really football in 2002? Apparently
the stewards were more than aware of this problem as they informed
us the threat of violence was something they were more than aware
of after games.
I am not for one moment saying that certain elements of our own
'supporters' were entirely innocent but I have been informed that
2 QPR fans, who came into contact with a knife, carried by a gang
of Stoke 'fans' were injured. It's very sad that the enjoyment
of a family day out is beginning to be spoilt, by the mindless
idiots. Even more sadder that your own efforts in this matter
are being ruined by those so called Stoke fans. I thought you
would appreciate some feedback on our experience.
Good
luck in the future with your efforts. By the same account we on
QPR 1st are determined to do all we can, in conjunction with our
club, to work tirelessly in retaining football for true supporters
of the beautiful game.
Kind regards
Tracy Stent
Response
from Stoke City FC
Dear
Tracy,
A copy of your e-mail to the Stoke City Fans Forum has been forwarded
to me. As you are aware this Club is determined to eliminate hooligans
who, from time to time, bring shame upon the Club's name. The
number of post-match incidents such as the one you refer to are
thankfully decreasing in number but the police and stewards have
to remain ever vigilant. Many of the trouble makers do not actually
watch our matches but hang out in pubs in the city on Saturday
afternoons and only venture to the Stadium towards the end of
games to see if there is any "action." What it is that
makes these morons behave in such a fashion is hard for fathom
- we can only attempt to alienate these groups through campaigns
such as our "True Supporters" and encourage good behavior
in line with our "Supporters Charter." This charter
actually arose from supporters seeing similar signage at Loftus
Road earlier this season.
I
will leave it to our Fans Forum Catering Rep. to answer your queries
re
the menu on offer, safe to say that the Club and the Forum are
working
together to improve the catering as swiftly as we can.
I hope the post-match incidents on Saturday will not deter you
and your
fellow supporters from returning to the Britannia Stadium next
season,
hopefully for a First Division match between our two sides.
Kind
regards,
Jonathan
Fuller
Chief Executive
Stoke City F. C.
If
you have any comments on this article please email
us
Friday
18th January 2002
Busy
Times
With
the lull between the Christmas and New Year period well and truly
over, this is now proving to be a busy time for your committee.
Firstly,
we are delighted to announce 4 new appointments onto the committee.
Andrew Goss, William Wall, John Dyer and Stuart Whitney contacted
us over the Christmas period offering their services. In order
to accommodate all 4 of them, and as well as holding a vacancy
open for someone with the relevant finance expertise to head our
finance team, a reshuffle took place within the committee.
Basically,
under constitutional guidelines, just so long as an elected body
has a larger representation than co-optees *with* voting rights,
we are able to co-opt 4 people onto the executive committee, thus
giving them their voting rights.
The
5 remaining elected members, David Price, Justin Pieris, Tracy
Stent, Libby Magrill and Leon Stent, obviously remain the same.
Stuart Whitney has been co-opted, with voting rights, and is to
be our new treasurer. John Dyer has been co-opted, without voting
rights, and is to head our exciting new fundraising group. More
details on this shortly.
Andrew Goss has been co-opted, with voting rights, and is to head
our think tank group. Andrew has already made great strides, in
fact you can read about one of his first innovative ideas below.
William Wall has been co-opted, without voting rights, and is
part of Andrew's think tank.
Peter
Gridneff, our webmaster, had already been co-opted onto the committee,
with voting rights, as had Graham Barnes (membership team) and
Dave Thomas (akutr's/fanzine rep) both without voting rights.
Picture
As
mentioned above, this means that we have one co-optees' vacancy
available, which will be with voting rights, for someone who is
interested in heading our finance team, under which the shares
team will operate. We are extremely hopeful of filling this vacancy
very soon, but still require help on the shares team. If anyone
with the relevant expertise and skills in shares issues is interested
in helping us in this area, then please do contact us on our info@qpr1st.co.uk
address.
Next
week, as well as attending a meeting at the Supporters Direct
headquarters at Birkbeck to discuss constitutional issues amongst
others, QPR 1st will be meeting with the Winton brothers to look
at ways of working together for the benefit of QPR, in particular
the We Are QPR scheme.
Juniors
News
We
are pleased to inform our members that, as an additional benefit
for our junior members, we have managed to secure a QPR 1st mascot
for one of the remaining home games this season. All names will
go into a hat and will be drawn at our next committee meeting.
The game is yet to be decided. As from next season, we are delighted
to inform our members that we will have 3 mascot places allocated
to us for 3 home games during the 2002/03 season. We would like
to thank Mark Devlin, QPR's Commercial & Marketing Director
for his help on this.
QPR
1st Directory - Do not let a Chelsea fan profit from you!
Our
new think tank group has been busy and we are pleased to inform
everyone that we are planning a QPR 1st directory, which we hope
will be available in the Summer.
It's
going to be a directory, blue and white pages, basically supporting
those who support QPR. It will contain QPR friendly businesses,
of which we are hoping to negotiate discounts with many of them
which we hope will include a pledge to re-invest a percentage
of profit back into the club.
We
will be contacting our members, some of whom have their own, or
have contacts with businesses, regarding this innovation. In the
meantime we would like to appeal to anyone who know of any businesses
who may be interested in appearing in the business section of
the directory to contact us on directory@qpr1st.co.uk
Moreover,
not only is the directory to include a section on QPR friendly
businesses, because as well as a unique guide to the area around
Loftus Road, it will also include guides to away grounds and the
areas around them. And this is where we will be need help from
our members. We'd like you to put reports of around 150 words
about individual grounds and matchday experiences. Obviously,
as we do not know which division we're likely to be in, we will
be including reports of each ground, and its area, in the first
and second division.
So,
get those thinking caps on and for the best report we receive
for each ground, we will credit the author in the guide.
Expect lots of information and updates about the QPR 1st directory
throughout the coming weeks and months as we progress with the
guide.
To send your reports, and for further information on this, please
email us on directory@qpr1st.co.uk
We
will need lots of input so remember:
-
It will be the directory that starts at P and ends with R!
- The
next time someone like Ghostmenswear comes up trumps for the
club you'll know exactly where to go to give something back
- Do
not let a Chelsea fan profit from you...support the R's company
and let them support the club.
Thursday
17th January 2002
Letter
to the Times newspaper
We
were contacted by a member of the Dons Trust (Wimbledon FC) regarding
an article in today's times. See the letter we sent reproduced
below. Needless to say, we are extremely disappointed with the
quality of the article which led us to contact the newspaper with
the following:
Dear
Sir
Alyson
Rudd said of Wimbledon FC, in her recent piece on the Middlesbrough-Wimbledon
cup game,
"On
Tuesday evening Alan Green, the Radio 5 Live commentator, was
given a couple of minutes in which to whet our appetites for the
FA Cup third-round replay between Middlesbrough and Wimbledon.
Kick-off was imminent, but the stadium virtually deserted. He
said he could count six or seven Wimbledon fans. I turned the
radio off. In the end around 100 Wimbledon supporters turned up.
Two stands worth of home fans opted not to bother, lending the
Riverside stadium a ghostly air.
Now,
here the football scientists could have a field day. Games with
a relatively poor turnout are never any good. Is this because
supporters have excellent intuition or because empty stadiums
induce naff performances? Or is it because Wimbledon have sunk
so low that not even their supporters care very much any more?
Wimbledon are a bit of a blemish on the beautiful game. They have
not got a home. Why, even Leicester City are building a new ground.
Wimbledon are the Incredible Shrinking Club. I know the fans detest
the idea of relocating to Milton Keynes, but if they hold out
much longer there will be no team left to relocate. Middlesbrough
is a long way from South London, but this was the test and the
fans failed it.
The
Nationwide League first division side knew that victory would
pair them with Manchester United, so Tuesday’s game was a
pivotal moment that provoked shrugs of apathy. The sooner Wimbledon
become Milton United or merge with QPR or just diversify and become
a dry cleaning business the better".
-------------------------------
It
was not that surprising to find a paper in the Murdoch stable
deriding non-Premiership teams in such a way but you should be
concerned that, in the traditions of another Murdoch rag, she
cannot even get her facts straight. Discussions over a merger
between QPR and Wimbledon were dropped at the end of last season
after both sets of fans protested long and loud at the proposal.
Having
taken a central role in killing this attempt to end our club's
existence, we at QPR1st are deeply angry to find that, through
a lack of basic professionalism, Rudd has resurrected the issue.
QPR has struggled through the experiences of relegation and spending
10 months under administrative receivership, to stand a very creditable
6th in division two. The Club has achieved this with the full
support of its fan-base, raising season ticket sales to record
levels and with home gates at least 10% up on the previous season's
efforts. We have formed QPR1st as a supporters trust (has Rudd
even heard of such things) and another fans' group is establishing
a fund to help the club buy players. It is deeply offensive to
have our efforts to help our club survive dismissed so lightly
and in such an ignorant and unprofessional way.
Yours
QPR
1st Supporters Trust Committee
Tuesday
15th January 2002
QPR1st
members welcome Fulham groundshare
The
overwhelming majority of respondents to the QPR1st poll has voted
to accept the proposed Fulham groundshare.
Of
the 547 QPR1st members polled, 250 voted in favour of the groundshare,
12 against and 12 abstained. That means that 91% of those who
replied to our poll are in favour of the groundshare.
Some
voters commented additionally that they are only in favour because
of QPR's difficult financial circumstances, whilst others said
that they only
voted in favour on condition that no Fulham merchandise or emblems
would be seen at the Club on non-Fulham matchdays. QPR1st will
ensure that these concerns are passed on to the Club's managers.
With
such an overwhelming mandate, QPR1st will also be lobbying the
local authorities to ask that this temporary arrangement be permitted
by the borough's planners. This deal will provide essential cash
for our ambition to promote the rebuilding of QPR, which is an
aim that MPs and councillors, including Clive Soley MP, have unequivocally
endorsed.
QPR1st
believes that the revenues earned should be sufficient to offset
any further financial losses that might be sustained during the
current season.This should mean that the Club's prospects of survival
into the 2002/03 season, with or without new owners, should be
much better than they appeared at the beginning of this season.
QPR1st therefore calls on the current and prospective owners of
the club to ensure that this money goes to the benefit of the
Club and is not lost to the horse trading over the Club's ownership.
Friday
11th January 2002
General
update
New
Year
This
time last year our team were preparing for the first league fixture
of 2001 for the home game against WBA. Little did we suspect what
the coming year would bring to QPR. Change of management, Chairman
stepping down, administration, relegation to the second division
and merger rumours to name but a few.
Now,
on the eve of our first home league fixture for 2002, we cannot
help but wonder what this coming year will bring to QPR. Whatever
occurs, the events of last year have proved that if the fans stick
together, we have a football club to be proud of for now and for
the future.
Talking of the future, QPR 1st will be doing its utmost to secure
a meeting with Chris Wright once he is back in this country.
Groundshare
Poll
Over
this past week we have canvassed our paid up members, by email
and post, asking them the question what they think about the idea
of Fulham sharing our ground next season. If you haven't already
answered the question on the poll, then please do so. You have
until midnight tonight (Friday). After the weekend we will publish
the results and inform the club about them.
European
Coins
With
the onset of the Euro currency having taken place in the majority
of Europe, an idea came to us about asking fans if they have any
old European coins, i.e. francs, deutschmarks, pesetas etc, which
we believe will cease to be legal tender by the end of February,
for which we could then exchange into sterling, thus raising some
funds for the trust.
We
are currently looking at ways for the collection of such coins,
perhaps a closed bucket at up and coming matches at Loftus Road.
Watch this space for further details, in the meantime if anyone
has any suggestions about ways of collecting such coins then please
do contact us on info@qpr1st.co.uk
Chesterfield
Police
During
the Christmas/New Year period, we wrote to the Chief Constable
at Derbyshire Constabulary asking for a written explanation regarding
the problems that some of our fans encountered there last month.
We also copied and enclosed all letters we received on this matter
from supporters within the content. We are awaiting their explanation
with bated breath!
Change of QPR 1st Personnel
During
our latest committee meeting on Tuesday night, a discussion was
held regarding the co-opting of fans who have put themselves forward
for committee duties, as a result one appointment Andrew Goss
has already been made and additional appointments will follow.
A more in depth explanation about changes to the committee will
be made shortly.
Wednesday
2nd January 2002
Calendar
update
We
are delighted to announce the overwhelming success of the QPR
1st and QPR calendar for 2002. The initial print run of 1000 calendars
has almost run out. We are looking into producing some more, but
that is not a certainty so if you haven't got a calendar yet then
you'll need to get down to the club shop quickly or buy
online to avoid disappointment.
The
selling efforts of QPR 1st members has been phenomenal. Over 400
calendars were sold at the Bournemouth, Brighton and Wycombe games
by QPR 1st hawkers raising over £2000. The club shop has
also sold a large amount.
A
big, big thank you to our helpers - Adam Magrill, Graham Barnes,
John McCooke, Travis Basevi and Charlie Burr for their efforts
at the two home games. They all ended up with frozen fingers and
pockets stuffed full of fivers they would never be able to spend.
We're very grateful to each of them for reducing their drinking
time and donating their selling services on a matchday.
We
will keep you updated on whether there will be a further print
run, the possibility of a players signing evening, or exclusive
signed prints coming soon.
December
2001 News
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