Warnock a Victim of the "Wonga"

Football owners, in general, have always enjoyed a somewhat subdued relationship with supporters. Dictating the club’s direction and being as unaccountable to their customers as possible, owners authoritarian approach was a win-win situation. Then twitter came along and revolutionised communication with fans. The public are now closer to singers, actors and footballers than ever before. And now even football club owners are in on the act.

QPR supremo Tony Fernandes @tonyfernandes tweeted last week that should his club “fail”, he would walk away. A moral and righteous claim perhaps? But diving more deeply into the consequences and alarm bells should start ringing. Last Sunday Fernandes made the decision to sack manager Neil Warnock. QPR currently sit just one point above the drop zone after failing to win any of their last eight Premier League games and enough was enough for the Malaysian Entrepreneur.  

However, reports suggest that wages somewhere in the region of £70,000-a-week are being forked out for players such as Joey Barton, Anton Ferdinand and Shaun Wright-Phillips. Barton, no stranger to Twitter himself, has certainly commanded a media focus on the West Londoners but examine the trio’s performances on the field and they are far from convincing.

 Warnock, 63, has managed to pick up just 17 points from the opening 20 games this season after leading Rangers to promotion from the Championship last year. In his 22 month rein as manager he dissected all but none of QPR’s opponents in the country’s second tier but has admittedly struggled to replicate that form this time around.

Fast forward to May and should QPR fall victim to the dreaded drop, Fernandes, by his own admission, will leave. And in his wake? A club with a huge wage bill which no longer possess the financial muscle from its owner or Premier League to sustain a healthy balance sheet.

QPR hover above the relegation zone, gazing up with admiration at fellow promoted clubs Norwich and Swansea’s respective starts to the season from the depths of 17^th place. Fernandes may have gambled on Warnock to keep the club afloat. However, such is the financial implications of relegation, that this was no time to roll the dice. Warnock blamed the timing of the takeover and regretted not being able to “bring in the targets” he’d pinpointed in the summer. Now, the cheque book sits on Mark Hughes lap.

The former Fulham, Blackburn and Manchester City chief has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal at Loftus Road. With the transfer window now open, the Welshman will undoubtedly want to put his own stamp on the squad. Parting with Fernandes millions and signing his managerial soul away to the money conscious owner.

After Warnock’s departure, both parties parted company with a mutual respect and admiration for each other. This sacking really was a consequence of a harsh working environment where results mean business. They do say after all that “money makes the world go round”.

Dale Moon