QPR fan Paul Moore gives his thoughts on Tony Fernandes’ first year of ownership at the club.
On the 17th of August 2011 a man called Tony Fernandes bought Queens Park Rangers football club; all I can say is ‘What a year!’
Most fans hadn’t even heard of the multi-million pound businessman, QPR had been owned by very rich but very tight owners previously and there was scepticism that he would be of the same ilk.
The one thing I will say about Tony Fernandes is he’s put his money where his mouth is; something the previous owners fell well short of.
Signing Joey Barton and Shaun Wright-Phillips last August showed he was serious; a statement of intent if you like.
I’ll be honest and say I didn’t think Neil Warnock would be sacked; but what Tony was doing was best for the club. Again in the January transfer window Mark Hughes was given money to spend and Tony was true to his word.
But it’s not only the players he’s brought in; he’s building from the bottom to the top.
Our training ground really isn’t up to standard; enter Tony and we buy a new one. The new training ground is a place I know well as I used to go there with my school. I can’t wait to see what it looks like when it’s finished.
It’s obvious that the chairman can see we need a good youth set-up and he has put people in place to hopefully make us one of the best in the country.
Of course every QPR fan knows that Tony and the board have big dreams and that includes a brand new stadium; the question is, where will it be? It’s the talk of forums and pages like ‘QPR till I die’ on Facebook. The only clue Tony has given is that it will be in West London; that’s a huge area so the guessing has thrown up some strange answers like Heathrow Airport!
Carrying on from that, Tony made a very special thing happen; he turned one of his planes blue and white and named it after one of QPR’s best ever players, Alan McDonald. One of the clubs finest servants who died suddenly in June at the age of just 48.
If the chairman wasn’t loved by the fans by now then there’s nothing he can do. What Tony Fernandes has done in just one year is simply amazing; his commitment to the club and his plans for the future bring a smile to every fan’s face.
If he can do this all in the space of a year just imagine what he can do in five years. The mind boggles!
image: © Tom Cuppens
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