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Reply | Light at the end of the tunnel, or a train coming towards us? – Analysis
at 09:35 18 Jan 2024
"Scherer issues come and get me plea to Rangers"
I suspect (hope) they are somewhat more sophisticated than me playing around with free online data...
Many thanks for the kind comments, pleased people find it interesting. Hopefully I'll be back in May to explain just how we managed to pull off the great escape against the odds. But as many people have noted, Cifuentes' appointment looking like a rare positive decision and something to build on/around, regardless of where we end up this season. |
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Reply | Season Preview 23/24 – Contenders
at 14:17 1 Aug 2023
"To their credit, they very rarely get the sackings wrong" is just a stunning piece of praise for the Watford owners.
For what it's worth (little, I suspect), I went to the Darmstadt v Norwich friendly a few weeks ago (as you do) and thought Delia's lot looked excellent: well drilled, clear pattern of play, physical when necessary.
This was admittedly against a team that's only just gone up to the Bundesliga and was a week or two behind in their preparation, but I reckon Wagner will do alright with them this season (assuming behind the scenes stuff doesn't derail them) |
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Reply | The curse of the QPR shirt sponsor — Preview
at 17:33 12 Mar 2021
As a Football Index user, and one who defended the platform to other fans when the sponsorship was announced, this week has made me feel more than a little sick.
The company was clearly terribly run (we'll see just how badly once the administrators get to work - which should also give us an idea of how much they owe the Rs) and the management had tried to cover up their mounting losses. In principle I do think the product amounted to more than a ponzi scheme but (and it's a big but) it had clearly descended into one by the end. I suspect by the time we signed the shirt deal, FI was already getting into the dangerous territory of needing to add more users just to stay afloat - and QPR were a roll of the dice to do that.
With my Rs hat on, there are two issues that this raises:
1) Does the Club have a responsibility to do full due diligence on any business it takes sponsorship money from, thereby endorsing?
2) Does the Club have a duty of care to fans not to endorse a business that has potential to cause them harm?
I think the first is a fairly black and white 'yes', both financially and morally. I'm not an accountant but I cannot see it being overly difficult for the club to seek sufficient, evidenced assurances on funds (and source of those funds) to ensure any sponsor can meet its obligations to the club and to any fans who use its services/buy its products.
The second is more nuanced. Recalling Clive's excellent piece on social media abuse, there are clearly different lines for different people as to what constitutes too harmful. If we ban betting ads, do we ban alcohol ads? Fast food? Airlines because of their environmental impact? etc.
If I were running the club I honestly don't know where I would draw the line, but what I would say is there are so many harmful practices in the gambling industry, and so many companies (all of them?) that are geared up to exploit the vulnerable, it just doesn't feel right.
Which brings us back to Football Index. With my FI user hat on, I bought into the concept fully. The marketing spiel always sought to distance it from 'pure' gambling and I believed it. I didn't feel like a poor sap who got lured in. I work in finance, I have a solid enough understanding of markets, I know some very bright people who felt the same way about FI. Over the past year I deposited a decent chunk of cash into it, a solid proportion of which came after the sponsorship announcement. FI felt like a proper company and the reflected prestige the sponsorship deal lent it underlined this in my mind.
All of which to say I didn't lose money because of QPR - but they probably made my losses worse. And I'm sure there are other fans who lost money purely because QPR chose to take FI's sponsorship.
I take full responsibility for my decisions and am now dealing with the resulting losses. But given Football Index were likely already struggling financially in September, and given it was a betting platform with all the risks to fans that entails, I do feel let down. I hope this is a lesson the club will now learn. But I don't hold out much hope.
*Edit: I see we have agreed a deal with a construction company for the rest of the season. A step in the right direction...* [Post edited 12 Mar 2021 17:35]
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Reply | Best and worst day in opposition hospitality
at 13:13 15 Aug 2016
Best: had a couple of lovely evening out at Wembley boxes always seems to be decent grub and booze.
Worst: Blackburn away in play-off winning season. We lost 2-0, played terribly (Luke Young CB), and the MC in the restaurant was like a tribute act to 70s working men's club standups. "Yun Suk-Young? Sounds like an STD that!"; "Like me new shoes? Got them from outside a mosque, there were loads there!" etc. |
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Site Scores| Forum Votes: | 12 | | Comment Votes: | 7 | | Prediction League: | 0 | | TOTAL: | 19 |
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