Les Ferdinand - Mail on Sunday Interview

Not seen this posted, some may have seen it elsewhere, but decent piece although the author doesn't know that it's Lee Hoos who's the CEO, still minor quibble.....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo.../Les-Ferdinand-loves-Queens-Park-Rangers.html

 

He is vilified quite unfairly by some on here. Hero as a player and should still be treated as such.

 

I think his appointment was a heart decision not a head decision.

 

Several things stick out from reading that article:

(1) the toxic culture was of Fernandes' creation; it wasn't there under Briatore and Ecclescake. Fat Tony really ****ed it up for himself and the club and should go,

(2) Ferdinand's suggestion that his appointment by an ethnic minority board was no coincidence suggests to me (at least) that colour may have been a strong factor in the appointment of Hasselbaink and Benny. I'm not criticising that per se, just so long as ability, experience and achievement are given greater weight.

(3) it is interesting that the article claims that the toxic culture contributed to Hasselbaink's demise. I'd not heard that one before. I just thought he went coz he was ****.

 

Uber, I was going to reply but you've covered all aspects, precisely.

 

He knows he screwed up and would probably walk away if someone turned up with billions to spend. No such fairy godmother exists however and it's to his credit that he hasn't just left us to our fate. People who think we would be better off without him need to seriously consider what happens next...

 

Fernandes tried to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. We're a small club with a small stadium and a small fan base. What was he thinking?

 

I doubt we'd be left to any sinister fate, rather Our Tone would lose a shedload were he to sell today. Anybody coming in ought to be able to get the club for a steal and be free to plough their own good money after bad into it.

 

He was thinking,"that Mark Hughes chap looks like a man going places. I reckon I can entrust my hard-earned with that culture builder."

 

But properly managed? My recollection of Bournmouth's ground is that it was League One standard. Are Palace a bigger club than us? Burnley? We simply never recovered from the rushed sale from the Goons to Fernandes. Our club reminds me of the performer that tries to hold as many plates as possible. They're stacked up 50 high and stable. Then someone gives the lowest plate a slight shove, and by the time the upwards ripple hits the highest plate, the stack is swaying all over the place, beyond control.