Former Brazilian World Cup winning captain Carlos Dunga has resigned from his position on the board at QPR after being appointed the new head coach of the Brazilian national team.

The move has caused much speculation about the future of the present board at Loftus Road. Well it's been a strange old week I can tell you. As if wondering round one of the most beautiful parts of the world getting shouts of "You R's!" from across the street every now and again wasn't confusing enough, QPR managed to cross more wires than a BT engineer resulting in complete confusion over whether the current board were about to walk out or stay put.

To be honest I've had it from the horse's mouth twice this week and I'm still almost none the wiser! On Wednesday last week the club kindly allowed me to visit the players' hotel and interview some of the key figures in Gary Waddock's squad ahead of the new season - a totally nerve wracking experience let me tell you but more on that later.

While I was there I grabbed a quick word with Chairman Gianni Paladini about the situation on the board now Carlos Dunga had been appointed the Brazilian coach.

Paladini told me that Dunga had resigned from the board at QPR - "obviously he cannot do both jobs" - but that he would maintain his shareholding in the club and continue to invest (I'd better put 'or loan' in at this point before the message board eats me alive again!) the club money if needs be. Paladini said that he would be discussing the future involvement of the remaining board members - Caliendo and Zannotti - later in the week.

"I want to stay and carry on the good work we're doing here but obviously without them [Caliendo and Zannotti] it would be very difficult for me because I don't have that kind of money," Paladini said.

He also said that he wanted to bring in more investment for the club, preferably somebody local. "I'd love to have some London people on the board, we're talking to parties and we're keen to hear from anybody who wants to get involved.

"People say they can do a better job than me or that Bill Power should come back, well maybe this is their chance. I don't have to stay here. I love it, it is my life and I'm excited about the new season, but I'm not here indefinitely. If somebody says they can come in and do a better job I will sell to them and move on," Paladini said.

Well obviously I wasn't the only person Paladini had spoken to about this because within hours of me leaving the Hotel Pacé high on the hill overlooking Sorrento news was coming through from home that apparently Paladini had offered the club to former Chairman Bill Power, now on the board at Swindon Town, for £8m.

Certainly that's how the BBC were reporting the news on Wednesday; 'Gianni Paladini has challenged the man he ousted as QPR chairman to come up with a bid to buy back the club.'

In true Rangers' style a situation of their own making now required an official statement on the club's website and, after a late evening meeting between Paladini and Caliendo the club told fans on Thursday that the latter remained committed to the club, that the board's objectives were the same as they'd always been and that everybody was looking forward to the new season.

So after that it would seem nothing's changed. Dunga isn't on the board any more but will put money in occasionally - well that's all he ever did before, infamously only turning up for two press conferences and one fiery board meeting that ousted the previous regime. Caliendo is staying, Paladini is staying and nobody would know Zanotti from Adam even if he walked up to them in the high street and introduced himself.

Two days of statements, retractions, denials and inaccurate reporting and, essentially, we were back where we started again.

So why all this business about Bill Power's dramatic return to W12? Well on Friday at the final match of the tour, head hurting from a confusing and at times farcical week (did somebody say holiday?) I did make a final forlorn attempt to find out just what the hell was going on and spoke to Paladini for a second time before the kick off.

"Look, I don't want us to go six months down the line and say 'Dunga never turns up, he doesn't care, where is he?' He's got a very important job to do now, it's only a few weeks until his first match as manager so he has resigned. But he may continue to put money in if we need it.

"Also I don't want people to say I won't let new people come in. I don't have to stay here. People say they could do a better job, or that Bill should come back and I'm saying now, fine, let's hear from you now. The ball's in your court," Paladini said.

So it would seem that what started out as an attempt by the club to clarify a few things - to tidy up the messy situation where we had a board member managing a national team, and to try and encourage the people that think they could do a better job than the current lot to come forward and put a proposal on the table - turned into a giant mess. Inaccurate reporting or confusion within the club? Probably both.

Just keep telling yourself - we can start playing football again on Saturday. Remember that? Football?

Photo: Action Images

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