An Open Letter to Flavio Briatore and the Board of QPR
Dear Mr Briatore,
I’m not a lifelong QPR fan, but I’ve held a season ticket for several years, and for much of that time, the football has been dreadful. The facilities are no better: my seat has an obstructed view of the goal and the seats in front of me cut into my knees like razors. I’ve been to hundreds of games at Loftus Road, and I’ve travelled to Leeds, Manchester, Barnsley, Sheffield, Brentford, Southend, Gillingham, Swindon, Bristol and plenty of other places to support my team, often standing in the rain, more often than not seeing us get beaten. In the course of all this, I have spent thousands of pounds on tickets, travel, overpriced and low quality pies, access to the QPR World website, replica kit, car stickers, scarves, hats, gloves, mugs and matchday programmes.
Here’s what you might find difficult to understand: I loved it.
When, eighteen months ago, you and Mr Ecclestone announced that you would be buying QPR, I was cautiously optimistic. Here were people who were pragmatists, with a track record of success in sport, and a proven ability to turn also-rans into champions. I thought it was just what QPR needed if we (notice how I say ‘we’ – it’s my club too) were to ever get out of the stagnant position we were in. I could not have been more wrong.
Your decision to dismiss Paolo Sousa is the last straw and, as a result, I have taken the difficult decision to not renew my season ticket and to not attend any games next season. Let me be clear: I am, unlike many QPR fans, in the fortunate position of being easily able afford to buy the season ticket, I’m just choosing not to buy it because of your actions.
I’ve taken this decision because I believe it is the only message you will understand. Appeals to your sense of fairness, to the spirit of the club, to the faith shown by the supporters, all these things have no effect on you. What you will understand is empty seats, unsold tickets and a dodgy-looking P&L.
You’ve already suffered the embarrassment of seeing your new luxury seating area completely empty during recent games – seats you put in at the expense of long-time QPR fans with families. Now, I suspect will suffer the further indignity of seeing large parts of the stadium being empty as well.
In stark contrast to your own behaviour towards the various managers you’ve hired and fired in the last year and a half, I have publicly supported you and tried to make a case for what you say you are trying to achieve. But you have failed, because you have, with incredible arrogance, decided that the way to run a football club is whatever way you think is best, without any regard for the way other successful clubs are run. As a result, you have made the club into a laughing stock.
You act like a dictator, which is fine as far as it goes, but you forget that all dictators stand or fall on one thing: whether they can make the trains run on time. You are running a service that makes the bad old days of British Rail look like a model of efficiency.
None of this is helped by the way you refuse to address the fans directly, or to answer legitimate questions about the way the club is being run. That’s fine if everything is going well – people will put up with it – but not when things are going badly, or when your decisions consistently make things worse.
Let me be absolutely clear: my decision is based not on performances on the pitch. I’ve seen enough diabolical football at Loftus Road to put up with pretty much anything. No, I’ve taken this step entirely because of your highhanded behaviour towards fans, managers and players. I’d prefer it if we were rid of you and your friends, even if it meant us going back to the stone-age.
So: I will not spend one penny on QPR tickets or merchandise for the whole of the 2009-10 season, even if we make it to the playoffs or a cup final, and I will decide in April 2010 whether to extend my boycott for a further year. I urge all QPR fans to do the same.
Yours sincerely,
James Higgs
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36 Responses to “An Open Letter to Flavio Briatore and the Board of QPR”
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good on u. well put. this sums up how a lot of qpr fans r feeling.
Yes, get all the fans to boycott the club for an entire season that really will do our club some good huh ? !.
You really must be a Brentford or Chescum fan or a complete nutter !
Come on you R’s
Very well put. A lot of supporters are feeling so deflated with all that is going on.
It’s hasn’t got anything to do with the football. It’s the total disconnection that our owners have with the fan base.
They are making some terrible mistakes and if they don’t come to sense very soon their project could well turn into a total disaster.
Just be careful what you all wish for !
Elegantly put and a forceful argument. I may well join you in cancelling my season ticket after 34 years support and latterly travelling 600 miles to home games – especially if Briatore is insane enough to hire Dennis Wise. I fear he might be. The fact that Blackstock scored the winner for Forest today while QPR failed yet again to score underlines Mr Briatore’s knowledge of English football. His high-handedness and total lack of humility is tearing our club apart.
my current plan, i,m going to all,,,,,,,, if possible to get tickets, away games next season, thus still supporting my team, 10,000 rangers at all away games and only 3,000 at home would make the board think!!! its still in briatore,s hands to be our savior/hero, i.e invest in a good manager and players and then lock himself in his luxury padded cell and let them get on with it without interfererence for a whole season.
There are a lot of reasons to feel unhappy about the board at QPR, but it was only a few months ago that Flavio was the most popular manager in the Championship, because of bringing us back from the brink of oblivion and demotion. I think its more constructive to use the channels of contact and improve the dialogue between the fans and the board.
The sacking of Sousa is not a good reason to take your action as his results were not good enough, although I think all fans are unhappy that the club sought to dishonour him for discussing football matters with fans when we want a manager and board who feel able to do this.
We need to encourage the board to understand the club better, but as fans we must accept the club is not generating the money they have put in, so if they want a few comfy seats for their friends and potential sponsors that is their right. They have modestly reduced ticket prices in response to the outcry from the fans, but whatever fans pay it doesn’t cover costs and we need to take that into account.
Before any fans consider taking the action you encourage, lets see what they come up with for a new manager and team changes. I hope you reconsider, boycotts and chants against the board achieve nothing, rather we need to put every effort into opening a dialogue with the board and owners to get all groups working towards a successful club that we can enjoy supporting.
My previous post contains a freudian slip – I meant to say Flavio was the most popular Chairman – ‘Gigi’ DeCanio was the manager and was also popular – I think most people would welcome his return particularly as he seemed to be able to work with the setup that has caused so many problems to managers since and left for personal reasons which I hope were happlily resolved.
Is asking fellow fans to fall on their own swords to become an annual event?
This time last year ( or thereabouts) we had just heard the news that Gigi had left through mutual consent and a flurry of fans recommended boycotting games, a call that got louder (and ever so slightly more credible) when ID was appointed. But it was then, as it is now, a complete nonsense! I quite like the spirit of your letter and agree with quite a lot of it, as well. To suggest though, we go on strike, is stupid; in fact it is really stupid! And anyhow, collectively (as fans) we are a fickle bunch and you must realise that an imaginative and popular new Manager and/or some strong new signings will draw in more fans than any militant uprising can muster. A few good results in to the new season and who will even remember your action – You will be kicking yourself as you missed out! And if none of the above happens and we start as lack luster as we did this season then what have you achieved? Probably not much at all!! You need to get real mate!
I do not agree with everything that Flavio has done since taking over QPR, particularly the large increase in season ticket prices, but without his investment QPR may now be out of business.
It is outrageous that he has sacked another manager in Paulo Sousa, but reading the interview with Flavio, he only echoed what many of us were thinking. We were outraged that Paulo kept playing 1 up front at home, and despite the fact that Dexter scored 12 times before Christmas, Paulo stopped playing him in favour of DiCarmine, who could not hit a barn door.
Last season even though we did not reach the playoffs, we were never in any danger of relegation, so that has to be a step in the right direction. I think we need to give Flavio & Co this year to make the correct management appointment and invest in players to achieve at least the playoffs.
Thanks for the feedback everyone.
The way I see it, it’s part of a progression of arrogance and just plain old not giving a shit what the fans think.
That PR statement they made Billy Rice read out before the game a few weeks ago was just bizarre. If De Canio *did* quit, why did he give a long and detailed interview to the BBC just two days before handing in his chips? Why did the board remain silent on the circumstances of his leaving? Why wait an entire *year* before revealing the “truth”.
If the reason Sousa was sacked was revealing “confidential information” then why not haul him in for a bollocking, ask for his side of the story and tell him not to do it again or else. Clearly he was going to be sacked – that was obvious even before they sent Dex out on loan and sacked Sousa’s assistant. Why not just be honest about it? Because they’re greedy and want to get out of paying compensation.
It’s got to the point where I just don’t believe a thing they say.
The sad thing is that Briatore is the kind of “businessman” I can’t stand. He treats his customers and his employees with open contempt. He could get away with that – just – if he delivered something on the pitch. Maybe.
But we achieved more points with Ollie and fuck all money. So that explanation is not worth a thing.
Valid points but not worth boycotting your team over.
This is the time that QPR needs its fans the most and if you decide not to come next season then so be it BUT if you do decide this don’t read the paper looking for results and don’t bother coming back at all. I’ve had enough of the poor journalists such as Mick Dennis and Geoff Sweet who write complete and utter tosh with a total lack of facts.
Support your club don’t destroy your club.
i have been a life long hoops fan . this would come to an end if dennis wise came to the club. we need someone like george graham, terry venables, oh and an addition of some strikers, strikers and strikers.. last seasons targets were Ebanks blake and kevin phillips and their teams were promoted . this season let us buy the strikers , cox , lambert, fryatt etc then we will make it to the promised land…come on you supa….
@Paul Nagle: “Don’t bother coming back at all” – sounds like you’d get on well with Flav with that attitude.
What a ridiculous article. How can you wish that Flavio and Co. left? You may be annoyed at the board but its fans like you that annoy me with you saying you would rather return to the stone age. I remember walking through the fields to get to the away end at Cambridge, having to go to the Withdean and going to Grimsby, Hartlepool etc. How can you under any circumstances wish for a return to those days, and dont forget if Briatore et al. hadnt turned up there may not be a club to even return to those days.
Whilst i agree that the owners do not run the club in the most fan-friendly manner, i also think that it is typical of us QPR fans the way we all react. We forget that he bought the club and HAS invested in players (Buz, Vine, Connolly, Routledge, Cook etc) and has attracted sponsors that we could not even dream of attracting before. Yes we need a striker or two and a full back but Buz, Vine and Rowlands will be like new signings and with our defence we shouldn’t be far away next season and lets face it, if we get promotion then we’re happy.
I suggest we are a 3 players away from seeing a return on the “investment” of the time, money and effort put into supporting QPR in the stone age. I want a return on that investment, not a return to the Stone Age.
@rob As you’ll see from my list of travels in the post I’ve also been to my fair share of shitholes to support the Rangers. Including the Withdean (for example, I particularly remember a wonderful last minute equaliser from Matthew Rose there).
My problem is not with the football – I made that clear in the post. It’s quite possible that they’ll get us into the playoffs or better next season. So what? They’ll have done it in a way that makes me ashamed to support the club.
I love QPR – and no player more than Rowlands – , but this arrogant, ignorant, lying, greedy bunch of tossers running (ruining) the club deserve no one’s support.
If Flav goes and leaves it to Bhatia and Mittal I’ll be back again straight away. It’s a problem with giving Briatore any of my money, nothing more, nothing less.
I know that your problem is not the football but I was merely trying to point out that he has invested (which we all want to see) and I agree that the PR with the fans could be better but i genuinely think that we are making progress on the pitch and what matters more than that? How many seasons previous could we miss our three best players for nearly the whole season and still finish in the top half?
On the point of giving your money to Briatore, i think that you look at it the wrong way. These guys are not here for a profit, they are looking to make QPR a working business model, and at the moment the club does not bring in enough money. Yes the season ticket prices are high, but if this coupled with Briatore’s contacts means we can afford someone like Cox, Lambert or Beckford then it will be a price worth paying. My point really is that Briatore does not benefit from your money, it is the club that will and ultimately the fans if the money is invested. As fans we will be here longer than any owner and having stuck through the club through much worse than this i don’t see how you can throw in the towel? Briatore may not be your cup of tea but the Rangers will be there long after he is and i can’t imagine not going down to Loftus Road on a Saturday for a whole year. You are entitled to your opinion but any opinion that results in not going to watch the mighty hoops cannot be right. U R’sss!!
It’s not PR that’s the problem. Although the PR *is* awful. It’s the actions that I have a problem with. These include:
* Lying to us repeatedly
* The ‘C’ Club
* Pompous “a day no QPR fan will ever forget” at the end of last season
* Insulting and unfair price rises
* Various comments to the media “the fans have not invested any money”
* Sacking De Canio
* Hiring Dowie
* Sacking Sousa
* Sending Dex out on loan
* Signing Borrowdale
* Signing and trumpeting Parejo (so much for Flav’s “contacts”)
* Hyping Balanta (a player I really like, but not as good as Flav thinks or says)
* Ridiculous price freeze “discount”
* Hyping the catering “upgrade” which amounted to changing pie suppliers
* The Soviet Russia style press statement they made Billy Rice read out
* Abusing Ainsworth’s loyalty and commitment to the club
* Demanding that Sousa make a substitution (by phone from Malaysia)
* Endless other things
You say:
You’ll have to explain that to me. What’s a working business model that doesn’t turn a profit? Or are you trying to say that he will run it as a non-profit organisation? If that were the case, he could make the commitment a legal one. Otherwise, we have to assume he’s in it for the money – however stupid and mistaken that is.
I’m sorry, I have to side with Rob on this one. Unless you are fortunate enough to support the United’s or Chelsea’s of this world, the fans will always have some grievance with how a club is run. Briatore, while not perfect, cannot be assassinated. His investment, his contacts and his influence on our club saved it from inevitable extinction. Fans with a longer memory will recall that times have never been perfect. Merger with Fulham? Guns in Palidini’s boardroom. The 3rd tier of English football? The Brazilian Consortium and their infamous loan. I do not see how this history is any better than the position OUR club finds itself in. Money is associated with power, and power is what our new owners have. They will run the club as they see fit, ultimately resulting in better football, better players and a return to the glory days of QPR of old.
As a fellow supporter and season ticket holder, I urge you not only to bear with the transitions and their upheavels, but to continue our support our club. Remember, It’s never been easy being an R…..
You think Chelsea and Man United fans are fortunate? I don’t: I’d hate to support a club like that.
I remember all of those times you mention, and they were bad, no question. A merger with Fulham or (maybe worse) Wimbledon would have been the death knell for sure.
It’s not easy being an R, and that’s the way I like it. Who wants to turn up and watch a bunch of lazy millionaires poncing about? I don’t.
Give me Ainsworth, Rowly and the boys we got promoted with any day of the week. Buz is a good player, but not as good as he thinks he is, and his attitude pisses me off. But that’s a small point.
I’ll always be a Ranger, no question. Rangers till I die and all that. And I’ll hate not being there on a Saturday, or a Tuesday or whatever. But I believe this is the only thing that can stop QPR turning into everything I hate.
Hi James,
I *completely* agree with everything you’ve written, and I’ve pushed a lot of traffic this way as a result, both from qpr.org website and qpr.org’s Twitter service, because I believe that every QPR fan should read this (and undersign it).
You seem to have attracted a lot of negative responses here, and I find it disappointing how so many (younger) ‘fans’ are willing to surrender everything that QPR represents in the misguided belief that the current owners will spend their way into the Premiership. Have they shown any signs of doing this? No. Because they won’t.
But shouldn’t we be grateful to these wonderful men who’ve rescued us? Perhaps we’d have gone out of business without them, but somehow I doubt it – we managed to muddle through before. Are things better now? I’ve been turfed out of the seats my family have occupied for a quarter of a century, to a seat with a limited view. I pay more for the privilege of sitting there. I peep aound the posts to watch passionless journeymen footballers kicking a ball around for a few months to pick up a last fat paycheck.
Perhaps we will get to the Premiership with these owners, but so little of what I enjoy about QPR will remain that it might as well be a different club.
Thanks, Ben. I really appreciate that.
You’re right: if putting up with Briatore and chums is the price of being in the Premiership, I don’t want to be there.
I get angry every time I look over at the ‘C’ Club (I sit in the Ellerslie Road stand) to see it completely empty. I just think about the loyal fans who have been chucked out to make way for some well-heeled tossers who can barely spell QPR. It disgusts me, it really does.
What i mean by not here for a profit is that money that the club makes will be reinvested into the club, it is not a business venture foe these guys to make money personally. Briatore, Bernie and Mittal have far too much money and realistically would QPR be your choice of a way to make money?
I do agree with some of the points that upset you( ie Blackstock and Prices), but not others. Although Parejo was a failure in England he has made the bench for Real Madrid a number of times since and could any other championship club have got him? My understanding of Borrowdale was that the deal was in place from when Dowie was still in charge because he was a player Dowie knew and wanted, and if so then surely that is a show of support for the manager in the transfer market that should be applauded?
Regarding Ainsworth, it is the first that i have ever heard of him being abused or questioned, with everything i have read saying Briatore is full of respect for Ainsworth and i cannot imagine it would make any sense with Ainsworth being a hero of the fans.
And about demanding the substitution, none of us can really claim to know the truth but from an interview i read with Briatore he said that he did not demand any substitution was made but asked why so many changes were made to a side that had done well in our previous game, which is not outrageous in my opinion. If i recall the substitution “demanded” was Liam Miller who was having a terrible game and the decision could have easily been made by Sousa himself?
Hyping things that are not that important may not be the best idea but it is all aimed at generating interest and raising the profile of our club which will benefit us in the future.
Overall, i can see why you are aggrieved but QPR will always be our QPR and if you think the club is in trouble you should be more committed than ever, rather than removing your support.
Ainsworth is being abused (by the board) because his loyalty is without question and is deservedly a legend among fans. It’s not for nothing that I have the number 11 (his *real* number) and his name on the back of my shirt. Briatore knows this and knows that giving the job to him, even temporarily is a way to placate angry fans. Ainsworth is in no position to tell Briatore to fuck off – even if he wanted to – because he would then be out of a job with very little experience on the CV. It’s an entirely cynical move on Flav’s part.
I don’t blame Ainsworth for taking the job, not at all. He can literally do no wrong in my eyes. I suspect he feels that he can help to keep the board in touch with the fans, and that’s probably true to an extent. He’s also commendably loyal. Briatore has given him a chance and he’s repaying him for that trust.
Having said that, Briatore knows that if he were to sack Ainsworth for whatever reason there would be complete uproar and open revolt among the fans.
You’re right that the substitution call is a rumour, but there are so many other things that seem incomprehensible going on that I have no difficulty believing it. If that were the only thing, I’d disregard it completely.
Can you ever remember everyone just going home after the last home game of the season rather than clap and cheer the boys to the echo? The behaviour of the players at the Player of the Year dinner was outrageous if the reports I’ve read are true. Briatore and chums have made a massive dent in the soul of QPR, there’s no getting away from it.
Maybe I should point out that I sent a link to this letter to the PR people at QPR. Needless to say, I’ve had no response at all.
Did you expect a response when your letter offers nothing constructive and talks about removal of the owners?
The corporate section is empty (and a joke) at present but it is a long term project however if people have turfed out of their seats after 25 years and left to sit behind a post then it is outrageous and more should have been done to relocate these people but there are plenty of other seats, ellersie road for example offers views of an equal quality. Sadly, corporate hospitality is a major part of football (look at Wembley, Emirates etc) and should we get to the Premier League we will need to increase revenue and this will be a way of making it possible. Look at the Red Bull sponsorship deal, which is linked to using the hospitality facilities. I know people will disagree and say why should they have to move etc etc but its not the end of the world having to take up a seat on the other side of the ground is it?
I am not suggesting that we should forget what QPR is and represents, and i like most others would hate it if we did a Chelsea and bought our way up, all i think is that you have been overly critical of people that have not done that bad a job.
I expect them to reply by saying: “Thanks for letting us know about the letter and we’re sorry to hear that you’ve decided not to renew your season ticket. We’ve passed your letter onto Mr Briatore. You’ll understand he’s a very busy man but he he reads all of his post bag. Hope to see you back at the Loft soon”. Something like that.
Mind you, if I *had* received that email I’d have shat myself with surprise.
The Red Bull deal is worth “a five figure sum” according to Vitalfootball. Not enough to pay a premiership player for a week, in other words.
“… more should have been done to relocate these people but there are plenty of other seats…”
Our seats in block D are now part of the ever popular C-Club. We’d been sat their for 25 years. We were told that we would have priority for any new seat allocations, once existing season ticket holders had been accommodated, and as a special ‘apology’, we’d be given any seats in the stadium at the price of the previous season. Sadly, the were no platinum seats available at all, according to the person tasked with looking after us, and even in gold, getting the four seats together that we had previously meant we were allocated seats much further along the stadium side. It wasn’t until we arrived for the first game of last season that we discovered a post obscured most of the Loft-end penalty area to varying degrees for all of us. The box office told us that there were no better seats with four together available anywhere.
“there are plenty of other seats, ellersie road for example offers views of an equal quality”
There are hardly any seats in Ellerslie Road that have an unobstructed view of both goals. I can’t see the penalty spot at the School End – and my seat doesn’t qualify as a restricted view one. So god knows what sort of an appalling view you get if they have to admit that it’s obstructed.
My brother told me that there are seats categorised as “diabolical view”. Is that true? They must be in the corner where South Africa Road and the Loft meet I suppose.
Higgis, while I applaud your passion and loyalty, I cannot help but associate your comments with your almost acceptance, nay desire, of QPR being a mediocre club. Again, appreciating the loyalty of Ainsworth et al, I have to concur that no additions to the existing personnel will achieve nothing. The loss, or subsequent ousting of our investors these comments may achieve, serves no other purpose than cast us back into the dark ages. To a degree, I acknowledge that the changes have been somewhat anti-supporter, but in time I truly believe that QPR will be an excellent, high flying club again. It’s all our club, so rather than to deconstruct the efforts of us all, why not focus on the positives and get behind the revolution?
I don’t want QPR to be a mediocre club any more than I want to jackhammer my own bollocks. I’d love nothing more than to be competitive in the Championship and to build from there into a quality Premiership club with a chance of doing over one of the big boys every now and then.
But I don’t want to have that at the expense of genuine, loyal QPR fans. The ones who bring their kids – the next generation of fan. The ones who’ve been going for decades. The ones who’ve stuck with them through the darkest times.
Those people are now being screwed over. And it’ll get worse. Can you *imagine* what will happen if we did get to the Premiership. It’ll be C-Club city.
Did you know that you can get a season ticket at Villa in a decent seat for less than we’re paying? It’s an absolute scandal.
I genuinely would rather be mediocre than fuck over the fans. The club *is* the fans. There’s nothing else of any value. My ideal would be some kind of Barcelona style system, but that’s just a fantasy. Never going to happen. I understand that. But there are clubs that are doing well that don’t just treat long-standing fans like shit. It’s simply not necessary.
Face it: if Flav had come in and done things properly, we’d have loved him. Remember how we sang “Gigi De Canio, Bernie and Flavio” last season? Imagine if we’d been promoted and Flav had played fair with the fans. It’s bad business. Simple as that.
While not going as far as a full-on boycott, I basically agree with and endorse what you’re saying. Next season I’m just going to turn up when I feel like it and at the moment I don’t think that’s going to be very often.
Fans have to vote with their feet for anything to change. Football is too expensive across the board and this won’t change while fans allow themselves to be ripped off year after year.
So James, you urge me to not renew my season ticket. I can’t think of a polite way to tell you to pi## off. I support my team regardless of what the board is up to, I suspect the whingers who are crying about loosing their club have been whipped up by internet forums like this one. I think the reason you are getting so many negative responses is because you are like a small child throwing his toys out of the pram and most fans do not share your views. So my toys will stay firmly in my pram and my bum will be firmly planted in R block and my vocal cords will get a good work out every couple of weeks. I hope you enjoy your Saturday afternoons next season, I know I will!
COCK!
Higgis, I completely agree with you.
Business model?
Firing managers and having to pay their golden parachute doesn’t make sense.
Buying players?
Yeah, we could have 2 squads full of midfielders without a proper striker, since we sent Dex on loan.
Stadium “hospitality”?
Worst seats ever, worst view of the pitch
Meddling with the team choice, instability, value for money…
I’m not paying 600£ to be depressed every time I watch a game or I read the news about the club…
They thought they’d attract a new crowd, they sure did, but you can be sure that, just as me, they won’t come back
Support another club? It isn’t a complicated thought.