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QPR1st Diary New
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March 2003 News
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March 28th 2003 The Loan Following renewed speculation and continued request from members we posed the following question to David Davies this morning, his response is coped below. Dear David, The Trust acknowledges the fact you are bound by a confidentiality
agreement in respect of the £10m loan. However, given the
strength and detail of the rumour surrounding the identity of
the mystery lender, will you at least state categorically that
it is not Michael Hunt, the jailed former head of Nissan UK. You
have already stated that it is not Mohammed Al Fayed. Can you
make the same assurance about Michael Hunt? Regards, Response from David Davies Justin Although I know it has been the subject of some speculation, you have been aware for some time I am bound by confidentiality and not in a position to comment on your request. However, I feel it is fair to make the following points. The other party involved in the loan is clear, the loan is with ABC Corporation and its Directors. The loan of the money is enshrined in a legally binding framework, to which both parties are subject. The clubs concern now, and going forward is to meet its obligation when they fall due. The speculation over who may or may not have been involved in the affairs of Nissan(UK) contribute little to meeting those obligations. The most important element is ensuring the loan repayments are met, not what the background of an individual may or may not be. What is, and was uppermost is that the money is legitimate, not raised through illegal activities. The club and BDO Haywood satisfied the court at the point of exiting administration that the loan came from legitimate sources. We have structured the agreements enabling repayments on a monthly basis. It was far more prudent to do this than to face a lump sum at the end of the quarter or year, thus denting our cashflow. I recognized the concerns of the fan base over the timing of the exit from Administration and the Groundshare agreement with Fulham. Based on those real concerns I took the step to clarify there was no relationship between the two. Similar concerns surrounded the possibility of the lender being Ron Noads and again in an attempt to allay fears I clarified the situation. Furthermore I am prepared to clarify the lender does not own another club. I am not in a position to clarify matters any further, and after umpteen meetings where the same question has been raised by you, this will not be a surprise to you. David Bid for Paul Furlong signed shirt A chance for QPR 1st Members to attend the club sponsors' reception, with all the players present. QPR 1st are proud to have sponsored Paul Furlong. We are now auctioning his two shirts, which will be signed by the man himself and you will have the opportunity to get the rest of the squads' signatures at the sponsors reception. Winning bidders will receive 2 invites to the sponsors evening along with the shirt they have bid for. For further details click here Turn Up if you Love Rangers 2 This is another fan-based initiative led by LSA (qpr-lsa.co.uk), QPR1st (www.qpr1st.co.uk), the newly launched Official Supporters Club and the various independent QPR websites and fanzines to help our club in terms of revenue.
The support this season has been brilliant and post Wigan we have very nearly eclipsed Cardiff as the best supported team in the division. What we are asking is for all supporters to bring at least one, but to try and bring along as many friends as possible to the game against Notts. County on 21st April. Given that it is a bank holiday and we are still right in there for a play off spot it should be a very attractive game to attend. Who to bring along?? Lapsed fans, friends who have an interest in football but never make it along to a game, glory hunters who have never seen their team except for on TV and are ripe for conversion. Anyone who you think, really.
The initiative is organised independently of the club but they have kindly offered 3 unique prizes to the fans who manage to bring in the most people through the door for the game. Prizes include a training day with the players and inclusion in the photo call at the start of next season. Details of this promotion can be found on one of the independent web sites www.jarrowrs.co.uk or by calling John on 0794 900 8253.
TURN UP IF YOU LOVE RANGERS 2 is supported by the LSA (www.qpr-lsa.co.uk), QPR1st (www.qpr1st.co.uk), the QPR email list (groups.yahoo.com/group/QPRfc) and the other independent QPR websites; www.qpr.org, www.queensparkrangersfc.com, www.qprnet.com, www.qprfc.org.uk, www.qpr-mad.co.uk, www.westbourners.co.uk, www.jarrowrs.co.uk, www.rtid.co.uk Also A Kick up the Rs and In the Loft
New Member Congratulations to fellow QPR 1st committee member
David Anderson and his wife on the safe birth of their baby son
born late last night. We look forward to seeing David bring baby
Danny along to a game at QPR soon! Blackpool game - Live commentary BBC London are providing live commentary of the Blackpool game on 94.9FM for details: http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/sport/sportshow/saturday.shtml March 27th 2003 Football
Supporters Parliamentary Lobby Appeal from the FSF
For the sake of every football supporter throughout the country we need YOU:
1) To confirm who'll be attending from amongst the supporters of your club. Details of where and when are above, both as pdf and plain text files - briefly, assemble 11.45am on Tuesday 1 April 2003 at Westminster Central Hall. PLEASE CONTACT EITHER MYSELF AT:
sl.powell@virgin.net
or on 07881 950613
or Mark Longden at:
longden@nightboat.freeserve.co.uk
or on 07887 575933
to confirm who's attending.
If you REALLY can't make it please make sure you write, e-mail or phone your local constituency MP (details in the leaflet).
2) To pass this message on to any fan/supporter website, messageboard or e-mail list you're in touch with.
The debate in the Commons on this issue has now been confirmed for the following morning after the lobby (Wed 2/4/03) from 9.30-11.00am. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ASK YOUR MP TO ATTEND AND PARTICIPATE. The debate will take place in Westminster Hall and will be led by Alan Keen MP, the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Football Group.
We're aware that this event could have been held at a better time in the light of recent world events. A decision was made to proceed however on the basis that the current contract discussions for the new Premier League and Football Association TV contracts will be proceeding soon. Once these new deals have been concluded then we'll have lost our chance of influencing them for another 3-4 years. Please do everything you can to make this event a success.
Best wishes
Steven Powell Development Officer The Football Supporters' Federation March 24th 2003 Mystery backer rumours In response to rumours currently circulating over the identity of the mystery backer, QPR 1st has asked QPR Chief Executive David Davies to confirm or dispel that it is Michael Hunt, former Managing Director of Nissan UK, who via the Panamanian-registered company ABC Corporation last year loaned Queens Park Rangers the £10m that took the club out of administration. According to a poster on the Rivals website, Hunt served four
years in prison in the 1990s for his part in Britain's biggest
ever tax fraud. He was found guilty of fraudulently evading £200m
in tax and forgery of documents. Hunt, along with his partner
Octav Botnar, evaded tax by setting up sham companies and so-called
charitable trusts overseas, notably in Panama. The posting claims
that Hunt is an associate of administrator Ray Hocking and owns
a portfolio of property, including the East Sussex National Golf
Club, which has as one of its directors Philip Englefield. David Davies' official reply was as follows: "Being bound
by a confidentiality agreement in respect of the loan, I am unable
to make any comment over the rumours." March 21st 2003 Last chance to join the QPR1st 6 a side team QPR1st survey news QPR 1sts recent fans survey produced some interesting In total, 136 people responded to the survey, 99 of whom are Trust members. Some of the findings of the survey are: How QPR 1st rates Perhaps unsurprisingly, Trust members appear to have a much more positive view of how the Trust represents their interests than non-members. 76% of members thought that the Trust represented them well or very well. Only 13% of non-members shared this view, with a further 66% of them rating the Trust only adequate. So, whilst the Trust appears to have the broad support
There was much more of a consensus between Trust members and non-members when asked for their views on David Davies and the QPR board. Only a quarter of all respondents felt that the board is doing a good or very good job. About half rated the board as adequate and the remaining quarter judged the board to be doing a poor or very poor job. David Davies fared somewhat better than the QPR board as a whole. Nearly half of respondents felt he is doing a good or very good job many more than were prepared to rate the rest of the board so highly. Around 35% felt that Davies is doing an adequate job, with 15% rating him either poor or very poor.
The survey asked whether supporters would take part in a fundraising scheme run by QPR 1st and what type of scheme would be most popular?. Once again, the response was more positive from Trust members, with around two thirds of members saying they would either definitely or probably support such a scheme. Only 30% of non-members shared this view and a similar number said that they would not take part. Understandably, significant numbers of respondents felt unable to say one way or the other if they would support such a scheme with more than a third of people expressing this view. The survey then asked what type of scheme supporters might support a small monthly payment arrangement, a larger single donation or a bucket collection. Around half of all respondents felt that they would or might support a small monthly payment scheme, against only 20% who felt they were likely to support a larger, single donation scheme. Most popular of all was a bucket collection with around two thirds of respondents describing themselves as either definitely or probably supporting such a scheme.
A detailed survey on our groundshare arrangement with Fulham
is being put together now ( see link in news item further down
this page). The results of this survey will be presented to QPRs
board as part of our campaign urging them to consult with supporters
over any future arrangements so once again please make sure you
get your tuppence worth in! March 18th 2003 Football Supporters Parliamentary Lobby The Football Supporters Parliamentary Lobby will take place on Tuesday 1st April 2003 at 11:45am, the venue is Westminister Central Hall, Storeys Gate, London SW1 (2 minutes from the House of Commons). For full details on this lobby regarding the constant changing of kick-off times and days please view the FSF documentation here. March 5th Groundshare survey We are running a survey on ground sharing, this was included in the QPR1st leaflet distributed at the Mansfield game and will also be available outside the ground this Saturday. If you have one please rember to post it back to us as soon as possible, alternatively you can complete the survey online here. March 4th 2003 Live commentary of Huddersfield game Full commentary Huddersfield v R's BBC London Tuesday Sports Show with Danny Kelly from 7pm. Commentary is also available through QPR World at www.qpr.co.uk Play football at Loftus Road for £10!!! QPR1st are looking for footballers to play at Loftus Road in a six a side tournament organised by the LSA. The tournament will be held on Bank Holiday Monday 5th of May 2003. A squad of 10 players is needed and there are vacancies for a non-playing manager and coach. Each team entry will cost £100 with all proceeds going via the LSA to the QPR Youth set up. The tournament is based on a series of group matches with the winners progressing via knock-out stages to the final. All players who are interested in playing for the QPR1st team for a very worthy cause should contact Graham via the info@qpr1st.co.uk e-mail. Please head your message,’ 6 a side’ and give your name, a telephone contact number, your Trust membership number and your football position. Age and experience would also be useful. |
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