Forum | So where did it all go wrong? by TheChef

So where did it all go wrong? on 10:23 - Oct 24 with 4964 views

dannyblue

That season was my first season ticket. I was disappointed with how it turned out. Little did I know.

So where did it all go wrong? on 10:27 - Oct 24 with 4939 views

GaryBannister86

So where did it all go wrong? on 10:23 - Oct 24 by dannyblue
That season was my first season ticket. I was disappointed with how it turned out. Little did I know.

Although I blamed Thompson for all and sundry back then, perhaps mellowing with time you had to cash in at some point on those players. However, the selling of Peacock I thought was totally unnecessary.

Wasn't it really down to terrible transfer decisions? Replacing Ferdinand with Hateley was a humdinger, or later on swapping Trever Sinclair for Breaker, Dowie and £3.50?

So where did it all go wrong? on 10:30 - Oct 24 with 4914 views

- Not adding just the couple of players it would have needed for that 91-92-93 team to go on and win stuff and play in Europe. You put Kasey Keller and Clive Mendonca in that team, available for about £3m collectively, and that would have done it. Then doubling down on that mistake by not replacing Les adequately, and not getting straight back in 96/97 when the team was surely good enough to do it. All just as the television money was exploding.

- Passing up countless opportunities in our immediate vicinity for a new stadium, allowing all the land to be hoovered up by Westfield et al and the price to sky-rocket.

- Wasting the opportunity we had going back into the Premier League, with rich owners and money to spend. Whacking it all on wnkr footballers and their agents, trusting chancers like Hughes, Rigg and Redknapp, when we could and should have gone in their, consolidated and set the club up for 20 years. Getting a reprieve thanks to the Zamora play-off final, and then doing it all over again.

So where did it all go wrong? on 10:31 - Oct 24 with 4903 views

QPRSteve

I'm afraid Ray Wilkins takes a lot of the blame. He was given money from the Ferdinand sale and pretty much wasted it all,

So where did it all go wrong? on 10:32 - Oct 24 with 4906 views

Juzzie

A lot can happen in 30 years. I don't think what happened then bears much resemblance to where we are today.

We have had numerous owners since then so plenty of opportunity to get things right. I'd go back to around 2011 as a point in time where things went pear shaped.

So where did it all go wrong? on 10:36 - Oct 24 with 4899 views

So where did it all go wrong? on 10:30 - Oct 24 by Northernr

Keller's Millwall team mate Alex Rae in midfield as Barker's long term replacement could have been had for probably between 750k-1m.

Poll:

So where did it all go wrong? on 10:39 - Oct 24 with 4881 views

I know we are (!)/were a selling club, but did we really need to sell as many of our top players as we did?

I didn't think selling Peacock was ultimately that damaging, but selling the likes of Sinton definitely was (and to Wednesday, of all clubs!)

Poll:

So where did it all go wrong? on 10:43 - Oct 24 with 4854 views

So where did it all go wrong? on 10:39 - Oct 24 by TheChef
I know we are (!)/were a selling club, but did we really need to sell as many of our top players as we did? I didn't think selling Peacock was ultimately that damaging, but selling the likes of Sinton definitely was (and to Wednesday, of all clubs!)

I think the opposite. The sale of Sinton wasn't so damaging as we replaced with Sinclair for less than a third of the fee we received. With Peacock we replaced him with Yates.

[Post edited 24 Oct 2023 10:45]

Poll:

So where did it all go wrong? on 10:45 - Oct 24 with 4828 views

So where did it all go wrong? on 10:43 - Oct 24 by CamberleyR
I think the opposite. The sale of Sinton wasn't so damaging as we replaced with Sinclair for less than a third of the fee we received. With Peacock we replaced him with Yates. [Post edited 24 Oct 2023 10:45]

Surprised in hindsight that Maddix didn't kick on at that point.

Poll:

So where did it all go wrong? on 10:48 - Oct 24 with 4815 views

So where did it all go wrong? on 10:45 - Oct 24 by TheChef
Surprised in hindsight that Maddix didn't kick on at that point.

Had a chance to go to Newcastle and didn't fancy it.

The sales to balance the books, maybe fair enough. Like I say I think that team only needed a couple of be a serious contender but, ok.

What was damaging is we got tight over things like Clive Wilson's contract, so he left at the same time as Les and Ray etc.

We had just about been fine selling one Parker, Sinton, Peacock a season. But we then suddenly lost Les, Ray, Wilson and David Bardsley got a bad injury pretty much all at once.

So where did it all go wrong? on 10:49 - Oct 24 with 4805 views

Incidentally we may very well be about to get relegated away from another new double-your-money TV deal for the Championship next season. We really are brilliant with our timing.

So where did it all go wrong? on 10:50 - Oct 24 with 4800 views

GaryBannister86

So where did it all go wrong? on 10:43 - Oct 24 by CamberleyR
I think the opposite. The sale of Sinton wasn't so damaging as we replaced with Sinclair for less than a third of the fee we received. With Peacock we replaced him with Yates. [Post edited 24 Oct 2023 10:45]

I agree with you. The loss of Peacock was very damaging, because (i) he was a very good player (ii) there was no logic in selling him and (iii) we replaced him with the abysmal Yates.

Also - much like Macca - Peacock was a perfect player for us when we were doing well in the top flight. Excellent, but not absolutely top notch. Therefore a chance of being able to keep him and become a club legend.

Not like Les, who was absolutely a different class and deserved his inevitable move.

So where did it all go wrong? on 11:10 - Oct 24 with 4745 views

Watford_Ranger

Another what if moment I always felt was Gallen’s injury at Pompey both for him and us.

So where did it all go wrong? on 11:12 - Oct 24 with 4726 views

Superhoop83

So where did it all go wrong? on 10:27 - Oct 24 by GaryBannister86
Although I blamed Thompson for all and sundry back then, perhaps mellowing with time you had to cash in at some point on those players. However, the selling of Peacock I thought was totally unnecessary. Wasn't it really down to terrible transfer decisions? Replacing Ferdinand with Hateley was a humdinger, or later on swapping Trever Sinclair for Breaker, Dowie and £3.50?

I wish it had been £3.50. Instead, it was Keith Rowland.

Suffering since 1978.

So where did it all go wrong? on 11:13 - Oct 24 with 4725 views

So where did it all go wrong? on 11:10 - Oct 24 by Watford_Ranger
Another what if moment I always felt was Gallen’s injury at Pompey both for him and us.

That team should still have absolutely pissd that league regardless.
Trevor Sinclair went on to play in a World Cup in 2002, had another ten years at the top level in this country. Him on one wing, Impey on the other. YUou had Quashie and Murray centre mid who at that point were both England B internationals. You had Spencer up front you got 20 goals in 2/3 of a season. Peacock was a great player at that point. Maddix, McDonald.

Didn't even make the play offs. Criminal.

So where did it all go wrong? on 11:17 - Oct 24 with 4711 views

So where did it all go wrong? on 11:10 - Oct 24 by Watford_Ranger
Another what if moment I always felt was Gallen’s injury at Pompey both for him and us.

No doubt he would have been amongst the division's leading scorers that season, although if Spencer had been signed immediately when we knew he was out long term rather than pissing about with Slade and Charles up front for nearly three months, I still maintain we'd have gone up.

EDIT: Just remembered another. Not signing Matt Jackson permanently after a successful loan spell when Bardsley was out long term with his achilles. Jackson got pissed off with being messed about and went to Norwich.

[Post edited 24 Oct 2023 11:22]

Poll:

So where did it all go wrong? on 11:21 - Oct 24 with 4696 views

So where did it all go wrong? on 11:17 - Oct 24 by CamberleyR

[Post edited 24 Oct 2023 11:22]

We basically had a crap run between January and March that cost us.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996%E2%80%9397_Queens_Park_Rangers_F.C._season

Poll:

So where did it all go wrong? on 11:22 - Oct 24 with 4692 views

Watford_Ranger

So where did it all go wrong? on 11:13 - Oct 24 by Northernr

My first season going regularly though I’ve no real memories of it. A very decent squad on paper and Stewart fking Houston managing them.

Rioch wasn’t even 50 yet and had just managed Arsenal. In theory that would’ve been a great appointment rather than his cone man unless there’s a story behind that I don’t know.

So where did it all go wrong? on 11:24 - Oct 24 with 4678 views

So where did it all go wrong? on 11:22 - Oct 24 by Watford_Ranger
My first season going regularly though I’ve no real memories of it. A very decent squad on paper and Stewart fking Houston managing them. Rioch wasn’t even 50 yet and had just managed Arsenal. In theory that would’ve been a great appointment rather than his cone man unless there’s a story behind that I don’t know.

Yeah that was an odd appointment in hindsight.

Why not just appoint Rioch as the #1 who clearly had the greater managerial experience?

Poll:

So where did it all go wrong? on 11:28 - Oct 24 with 4657 views

So where did it all go wrong? on 11:21 - Oct 24 by TheChef
We basically had a crap run between January and March that cost us. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996%E2%80%9397_Queens_Park_Rangers_F.C._season

We also had a crap run just after Skeletor took over between mid September-mid November where we only won twice in thirteen matches. We then signed Peacock and Spencer and although losing to the fakes in their first game we then won five on the spin.

If both those had been signed in September we'd have been promoted.

Poll:

So where did it all go wrong? on 11:32 - Oct 24 with 4640 views

So where did it all go wrong? on 11:28 - Oct 24 by CamberleyR
We also had a crap run just after Skeletor took over between mid September-mid November where we only won twice in thirteen matches. We then signed Peacock and Spencer and although losing to the fakes in their first game we then won five on the spin. If both those had been signed in September we'd have been promoted.

Funnily enough that crap run from January started from the 4-4 at Port Vale - you'd think the players would have been inspired after that kind of comeback!

Poll: