| Les Ferdinand interview on 11:13 - May 24 with 2936 views | Antti_Heinola |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 23:43 - May 23 by Neil_SI |
Great interview, well done Clive.
It's also nice to see the club willing to allow these kind of interviews to happen. The media team deserve credit for this. A few years back they were public enemy number one and under intense pressure from all directions, but they've batted down and taken on the responsibility and challenge of trying to build relationships with supporters, supporters groups and fan sites and that's culminated in this interview and the last one Clive did with Fernandes.
Believe me, that won't have been easy for them to do at the time, but we've all come a long way in that period and it gives us a platform to build on.
Back to the interview. I enjoyed Ferdinand's responses; candid but with the right balance of professionalism. We should all be very proud of him as well, he's done marvellously well for a working class lad who's come up through the ranks with us. Just look at what he's achieved through hard work and dedication.
Not only did he develop into a fine footballer and one of the best strikers of his era in this country, he's also fought hard to earn the job he's got today. He had to work for it, even if he had to come home to get the opportunity he craved. We owed him that. We're supposed to be that kind of club.
And all throughout, Ferdinand remains polite, humble and respectful at the same time, but with that streetwise edge he's always had. I think he's first class, I really do. He's a symbol of everything we want to see in hungry ambitious people and while he's not yet the finished article in the role he has currently and will no doubt make mistakes —Â he offers a fine example and hope to anybody with aspirations of their own. |
What a superb post mate. |  |
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| Les Ferdinand interview on 11:17 - May 24 with 2928 views | Antti_Heinola |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 11:13 - May 24 by PinnerPaul |
Quite right.
Two highest profile examples of your two scenarios are Bony at Man City and Charlie at Southampton. |
Delph of course too. And Scott sinclair.
The absolute top of the shop is Sidwell, who played for some big clubs and was never close to that level, despite being a decent player. Sidwell has started only about 120 games in NINE years since he left Reading for Chelsea. He made 164 for Reading in the 3 and a half years before that. Absolute definition of what we're talking about. [Post edited 24 May 2016 11:22]
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| Les Ferdinand interview on 13:21 - May 24 with 2740 views | adhoc_qpr |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 07:48 - May 24 by superhoopdownunder |
Cheers Clive
Great read
Obviously a big job for Lee Hoos as CEO, Les Ferdinand as DOF and Jimmy as manager
Only concern is Ferdinand says only 1 in 4 signings is a success
I believe we have to get ratio to at least 1 in 2 to turn us around faster
Ferdinand is a good talker I look forward to seeing who we recruit, sell and our position around late October / November to see how we are getting on
Football is a results business after all
U R's |
I agree we need a better hit rate with the signings, but to be fair to Les he admits in the interview that they ran out of time and just needed to get players in:
"In the end we had to bring in some people who, if we had a bit more time to think about things, we probably would have decided didn’t fit into the way we wanted to play. But we didn't have enough players on the ground to worry about how we were going to play, we just had to get players in."
Hopefully with the way this season petered out into safe mediocrity, they had plenty of time to get planning way before the season ended and identify targets. |  | | |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 13:38 - May 24 with 2707 views | QPR_Jim |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 07:57 - May 24 by BrianMcCarthy |
Good post, Neil.
I agree with everything you're saying. I dreamt about Fernandes last night (it's ok I also dreamt that I lived in a windmill and that I was a black and white cat, so let's not waste time analysing my dreams!) so I was thinking about the ownership while making my porridge this morning.
What I found most satisfying from Ferdinand's interview was that there appears to be very little interference from Fernandes and the owners now. The main example was the clear inference that if Warnock had stated that he could do the job until the end of the season that Ferdinand would have "gone for that", and that Ferdinand's opinion was so trusted that it might have been enough on its own to decide the matter. Big change from Fernandes deciding on his Sweeney. |
Clearly the Windmill represents Rotherham, the Cat represents Neil Warnock and it's black and white because he going to get the Newcastle job. 
Anyway, great interview and very hopeful with Les and Hoos running the club. |  | | |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 16:01 - May 24 with 2535 views | kensalriser |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 11:10 - May 24 by Antti_Heinola |
Agree Deano, the game has changed so much in the last 25 years it's frightening.
But I can kind of also see the viewpoint of those players, in a way, even if I don't agree with it. When Les was playing, you tried to put out the same 11 every week if it was working. Les was also a fantastic player, so wherever he played he'd be first choice - and one of the reasons for that was his own drive to be the best.
But now, and for some time, it has become a (urgh) 'squad game'. So, if you are a player on a slightly lower level than Les, you have a choice. You could play every week, for example, for a team at the lower end of the Prem. Or, you could get paid more and be a squad player for Man City or whoever. And by doing that, you play less games, BUT you do win medals, even if your contribution is lower. Playing 10 games wins you a PL medal, in effect. So it's a choice, and it depends how you look at it. Not saying it's right or that I agree with it, mind!
Similarly, if you're a good Championship player, you *could* take a pay rise and be a squad player for Stoke / Southampton or whatever. Still play, but not regularly, you're no longer a big fish, but you're safeguarding your future.
Les, because he was smart, managed to do both of course, but that option isn't open to everyone. Although, perhaps it could be if those players had the kind of drive Les had! |
Don't disagree with any of that Antti, but I think what Les is talking about is something different.
You can't blame any player for making a step up and challenging himself to make the grade at a higher level. Some, maybe older players, realise they're going to be squad players but my guess is most believe they can do better than that.
What we have now are situations where players are on contracts so far adrift from true value that when they find themselves out of the team for a certain period of time they simply give up. They won't get a transfer because no other club will get anywhere current salary and don't want to go out on loan because they don't fancy getting kicked around the park every week in a lower division or take the risk of proving that they really aren't good enough for the level they're nominally at. They might also have lost all self-belief and/or fitness.
As long as the huge disparity between the PL and Championship remains it's hard to see there won't be plenty of this in the future. [Post edited 24 May 2016 16:05]
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| Les Ferdinand interview on 16:11 - May 24 with 2532 views | Antti_Heinola |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 16:01 - May 24 by kensalriser |
Don't disagree with any of that Antti, but I think what Les is talking about is something different.
You can't blame any player for making a step up and challenging himself to make the grade at a higher level. Some, maybe older players, realise they're going to be squad players but my guess is most believe they can do better than that.
What we have now are situations where players are on contracts so far adrift from true value that when they find themselves out of the team for a certain period of time they simply give up. They won't get a transfer because no other club will get anywhere current salary and don't want to go out on loan because they don't fancy getting kicked around the park every week in a lower division or take the risk of proving that they really aren't good enough for the level they're nominally at. They might also have lost all self-belief and/or fitness.
As long as the huge disparity between the PL and Championship remains it's hard to see there won't be plenty of this in the future. [Post edited 24 May 2016 16:05]
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yep totally agree with all of that mate.
In my opinion, a lot of this has to do with the number of subs allowed now - that's something that massively favours bigger clubs and allows them to stockpile more players because they can keep more people involved (and therefore happy) with the first team squad. Three subs was always enough, and that's how it should have stayed. Instead, loads more players are tied to clubs in the top two divisions, yet what percentage actually play 25+ games per season? | |
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| Les Ferdinand interview on 16:39 - May 24 with 2500 views | Monkey_Roots |
Its the money too.
A player has no incentive to make sure he is playing week in, week out.
If the players had a standard (but still handsome) weekly wage with a whopping great big hefty playing bonus, I think we would see a shift in attitude. |  | | |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 18:14 - May 24 with 2414 views | TacticalR |
He has his feet on the ground and is quite frank about the problems the club has had.
Bosingwa. The problem wasn't that he had just played in a Champions League Final, it was that he had been injured and his head had gone years ago.
'I went on holiday to Malaysia and bumped into Tony again.' As you do.
'The first game Gabrielle Angella played he started off really strongly, fantastic, and then split his head open and was never quite the same again.' Like a war wound.
Warnock. He's quite clear about what Warnock told them and what their arrangement was.
Youth team. Not really any great answers from Ferdinand (except to say that he has had youth team management experience), but I am not sure anyone has got any great answers (and even teams with infinite resources such as Chelsea and Man City haven't produced much through their academies, not to mention the freaks from Wenger's academy).
Future. Reading between the lines we are looking at another season of consolidation, and at least Ferdinand has the sense not to promise anything that he can't deliver. |  |
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| Les Ferdinand interview on 18:54 - May 24 with 2364 views | Pablo_Hoopsta |
'triffic read Clive. Good questions asked and you didnt let him off the hook by following up with a few nice jabs! I liked his straight answers too. I reckon we are half way towards the ideal starting point, so another season of consolidation and pushing for an improvement on last seasons - very good imho - finishing place in the table.
He makes it clear that there are some he wants rid of, I wonder if that helps with those players. It must be very clear to them that unless they play and try hard we arent interested in them. Lets hope we get some offers and they do the honourable thing, though I doubt they will, if anyone is going to have that positive influence on them perhaps it is someone like LF.
Clive - did the club have a PR person there and did they temper the interview at all? Dont answer if you cant or would rather not! :)
In any case, a very refreshing read and I hope that, with that plan in his mind, LF stays with us for a very long time. |  | | |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 20:29 - May 24 with 2285 views | BklynRanger |
Good read. Thanks. Other than him 'Bumping into TF' in Malaysia it seemed like a straightforward set of answers. Tony's not a small man but still....
Anyway I wish I was a journalist. Tweed jackets, heavy drinking, deadlines, saturated fats, tawdry one night stands with fellow journos in a Morecambe B & B.... That's the life for me. |  | | |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 21:26 - May 24 with 2236 views | Ranger78 |
I think that was brilliant. Very impressed with Les and in all honesty I have beensince he took the job
I really feel like we have a leadership team to take us in the right direction [Post edited 24 May 2016 23:32]
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| Les Ferdinand interview on 22:02 - May 24 with 2205 views | eastside_r |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 21:26 - May 24 by Ranger78 |
I think that was brilliant. Very impressed with Les and in all honesty I have beensince he took the job
I really feel like we have a leadership team to take us in the right direction [Post edited 24 May 2016 23:32]
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Just to add my tuppence worth, an excellent interview and I am really impressed with SLF.
I was a bit skeptical about Les taking this role but it genuinely seems that this is the right job for him and he is a good fit for us.
Coming back, potentially risking his legend status took a lot of courage. |  | | |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 23:36 - May 24 with 2135 views | Northernr |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 18:54 - May 24 by Pablo_Hoopsta |
'triffic read Clive. Good questions asked and you didnt let him off the hook by following up with a few nice jabs! I liked his straight answers too. I reckon we are half way towards the ideal starting point, so another season of consolidation and pushing for an improvement on last seasons - very good imho - finishing place in the table.
He makes it clear that there are some he wants rid of, I wonder if that helps with those players. It must be very clear to them that unless they play and try hard we arent interested in them. Lets hope we get some offers and they do the honourable thing, though I doubt they will, if anyone is going to have that positive influence on them perhaps it is someone like LF.
Clive - did the club have a PR person there and did they temper the interview at all? Dont answer if you cant or would rather not! :)
In any case, a very refreshing read and I hope that, with that plan in his mind, LF stays with us for a very long time. |
Yes one of the PR team sits in (Paul Morrissey on this occasion) but I'd say somebody sits in on 95% of the interviews I do every day. As with my programme column, there hasn't been a single occasion when anybody from the club has turned around and said "don't say that, can't say that, please don't say that, take that out" etc. There were a couple of points in this interview I thought I might get the "could you maybe just tone that down a bit" call afterwards, but Paul said nothing and I'm yet to get that from anybody at QPR over the dozen or so interviews we've done at the club.
As Neil says the media team has gone from a position when they were seen as part of the problem five or six years ago, and actively seemed to regard sites like this as a problem, an enemy, competition or whatever, to being among the most cooperative and collaborative I've ever dealt with. And they're seeing the value in return I think/hope, far fewer PR disasters, much more friendly and constructive dialogue with the fans, some great examples of everybody working together. Fernandes and Ferdinand answering my questions, or podcast questions, will carry more weight than them doing stuff on the official site, because people know I'm a supporter of the club and I'm also not going to sit there and soft soap them having been very critical at times.
On the wider subject of PRs sitting in on interviews...
Some are proper dicks about it. One company we deal with, for instance, who like to paint themselves as some trendy, anti-establishment, new age, young, hip media brand that searches for the truth and tells the raw story etc etc will have a press officer sit there whenever you interview one of their senior execs and take numerous things off the record as you go. They will stop the interview if you dare to ask why companies they own are making content for cigarette manufacturers to appeal to teenagers, and then call and e-mail you immediately afterwards to say that while Exec X may have specifically and explicitly said "I like penguins" during the interview in fact what he meant to say is that he doesn't like penguins at all and that's what you should publish.
You'll also get, particularly when dealing with US firms, the "can you send us some questions in advance" request once the interview is set up. During my 12 years doing the job this has grown from never happening at all - and journalists laughing and putting the phone down when it was asked for - to happening all the time. And it's gone from sending a few vague ideas over so they can have a think about what they're going to say, to sending specific topics you'd like to discuss over so they can put a line through the ones they don't want you to ask, to them pulling the interview if they don't like the tone of the questioning. You'll also get some who like to send you their "talking points" i.e. the flowery sht they'd like you to talk about to make them look really good, and should you dare stray from the talking points during the interview they'll interrupt.
I've taken to ignoring requests for questions in advance, then if really pushed sending over a generic list of a dozen along the lines of "what's the biggest challenge facing your company in the next 18 months" about an hour before the interview and then asking what I was going to ask anyway and if they object during the interview then I cut it short myself and walk away. That's a shame for execs who genuinely would like some guidance so they can plan their answers, but the PR industry have been such tossers about it that we either refuse to do it all, or send over a generic bland list that we then later ignore.
The decline and decline of journalism - through budget cuts, papers closing, television channels not doing investigative journalism any more - coupled with an absolute explosion in the PR industry is a major problem here and in the US. Pretty soon the people paid to make sure you get to hear how wonderful Philip Morris Tobacco are will out number the people whose job it is to dig up stories about them peddling cigarretes to children in the Far East 20 to 1.
For clarity, none of this applies to the QPR team, who have always been brilliant with me - often despite me being quite horrible back to them over the years. I'm just talking generally in my day to day work.
This post has been edited by an administrator |  | | |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 00:10 - May 25 with 2105 views | PunteR |
Your work is appreciated Clive. LFW is a fantastic site. One of the best bits of supporting the club for me now.
Whens the Jimmy interview? |  |
| Occasional providers of half decent House music. |
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| Les Ferdinand interview on 07:02 - May 25 with 2019 views | superhoopdownunder |
Excellent read Thanks again Clive
Overall very positive in terms of the clean up required to reset us to head back in the right direction - I believe it will take a few more years - be interesting to see the type of players we sign this summer
I am sceptical on Ferdinand's comments on how he met Tony in Malaysia and also comments on Redknapp and Warnock.
Still unsure whether Washington will prove to be a good signing.
Finally still have concerns with us spending loads on the youth setup - especially as the penalties when a club come in and poach a player are peanuts.
Should we just focus on finding better players ourselves? Get our success rate on signings up to 50%+ rather than the current 30%
U R's [Post edited 25 May 2016 7:25]
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| Les Ferdinand interview on 07:57 - May 25 with 1989 views | TheChef |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 23:36 - May 24 by Northernr |
Yes one of the PR team sits in (Paul Morrissey on this occasion) but I'd say somebody sits in on 95% of the interviews I do every day. As with my programme column, there hasn't been a single occasion when anybody from the club has turned around and said "don't say that, can't say that, please don't say that, take that out" etc. There were a couple of points in this interview I thought I might get the "could you maybe just tone that down a bit" call afterwards, but Paul said nothing and I'm yet to get that from anybody at QPR over the dozen or so interviews we've done at the club.
As Neil says the media team has gone from a position when they were seen as part of the problem five or six years ago, and actively seemed to regard sites like this as a problem, an enemy, competition or whatever, to being among the most cooperative and collaborative I've ever dealt with. And they're seeing the value in return I think/hope, far fewer PR disasters, much more friendly and constructive dialogue with the fans, some great examples of everybody working together. Fernandes and Ferdinand answering my questions, or podcast questions, will carry more weight than them doing stuff on the official site, because people know I'm a supporter of the club and I'm also not going to sit there and soft soap them having been very critical at times.
On the wider subject of PRs sitting in on interviews...
Some are proper dicks about it. One company we deal with, for instance, who like to paint themselves as some trendy, anti-establishment, new age, young, hip media brand that searches for the truth and tells the raw story etc etc will have a press officer sit there whenever you interview one of their senior execs and take numerous things off the record as you go. They will stop the interview if you dare to ask why companies they own are making content for cigarette manufacturers to appeal to teenagers, and then call and e-mail you immediately afterwards to say that while Exec X may have specifically and explicitly said "I like penguins" during the interview in fact what he meant to say is that he doesn't like penguins at all and that's what you should publish.
You'll also get, particularly when dealing with US firms, the "can you send us some questions in advance" request once the interview is set up. During my 12 years doing the job this has grown from never happening at all - and journalists laughing and putting the phone down when it was asked for - to happening all the time. And it's gone from sending a few vague ideas over so they can have a think about what they're going to say, to sending specific topics you'd like to discuss over so they can put a line through the ones they don't want you to ask, to them pulling the interview if they don't like the tone of the questioning. You'll also get some who like to send you their "talking points" i.e. the flowery sht they'd like you to talk about to make them look really good, and should you dare stray from the talking points during the interview they'll interrupt.
I've taken to ignoring requests for questions in advance, then if really pushed sending over a generic list of a dozen along the lines of "what's the biggest challenge facing your company in the next 18 months" about an hour before the interview and then asking what I was going to ask anyway and if they object during the interview then I cut it short myself and walk away. That's a shame for execs who genuinely would like some guidance so they can plan their answers, but the PR industry have been such tossers about it that we either refuse to do it all, or send over a generic bland list that we then later ignore.
The decline and decline of journalism - through budget cuts, papers closing, television channels not doing investigative journalism any more - coupled with an absolute explosion in the PR industry is a major problem here and in the US. Pretty soon the people paid to make sure you get to hear how wonderful Philip Morris Tobacco are will out number the people whose job it is to dig up stories about them peddling cigarretes to children in the Far East 20 to 1.
For clarity, none of this applies to the QPR team, who have always been brilliant with me - often despite me being quite horrible back to them over the years. I'm just talking generally in my day to day work.
This post has been edited by an administrator |
Well put Clive.
"The decline and decline of journalism - through budget cuts, papers closing, television channels not doing investigative journalism any more - coupled with an absolute explosion in the PR industry is a major problem here and in the US. Pretty soon the people paid to make sure you get to hear how wonderful Philip Morris Tobacco are will out number the people whose job it is to dig up stories about them peddling cigarretes to children in the Far East 20 to 1. "
And this is what we're seeing in the mainstream media already. |  |
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| Les Ferdinand interview on 08:53 - May 25 with 1946 views | Toast_R |
A spectacular read. Thanks Clive.
Staying professional when face to face with an all time hero must have been pretty trying. |  | | |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 10:18 - May 25 with 1873 views | Antti_Heinola |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 07:02 - May 25 by superhoopdownunder |
Excellent read Thanks again Clive
Overall very positive in terms of the clean up required to reset us to head back in the right direction - I believe it will take a few more years - be interesting to see the type of players we sign this summer
I am sceptical on Ferdinand's comments on how he met Tony in Malaysia and also comments on Redknapp and Warnock.
Still unsure whether Washington will prove to be a good signing.
Finally still have concerns with us spending loads on the youth setup - especially as the penalties when a club come in and poach a player are peanuts.
Should we just focus on finding better players ourselves? Get our success rate on signings up to 50%+ rather than the current 30%
U R's [Post edited 25 May 2016 7:25]
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I think Les's point on that percentage applies to all clubs, not just us. It's an interesting stat, would like to see the research behind it, but I suspect it is about right for the vast majority of clubs. | |
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| Les Ferdinand interview on 10:26 - May 25 with 1870 views | Pablo_Hoopsta |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 23:36 - May 24 by Northernr |
Yes one of the PR team sits in (Paul Morrissey on this occasion) but I'd say somebody sits in on 95% of the interviews I do every day. As with my programme column, there hasn't been a single occasion when anybody from the club has turned around and said "don't say that, can't say that, please don't say that, take that out" etc. There were a couple of points in this interview I thought I might get the "could you maybe just tone that down a bit" call afterwards, but Paul said nothing and I'm yet to get that from anybody at QPR over the dozen or so interviews we've done at the club.
As Neil says the media team has gone from a position when they were seen as part of the problem five or six years ago, and actively seemed to regard sites like this as a problem, an enemy, competition or whatever, to being among the most cooperative and collaborative I've ever dealt with. And they're seeing the value in return I think/hope, far fewer PR disasters, much more friendly and constructive dialogue with the fans, some great examples of everybody working together. Fernandes and Ferdinand answering my questions, or podcast questions, will carry more weight than them doing stuff on the official site, because people know I'm a supporter of the club and I'm also not going to sit there and soft soap them having been very critical at times.
On the wider subject of PRs sitting in on interviews...
Some are proper dicks about it. One company we deal with, for instance, who like to paint themselves as some trendy, anti-establishment, new age, young, hip media brand that searches for the truth and tells the raw story etc etc will have a press officer sit there whenever you interview one of their senior execs and take numerous things off the record as you go. They will stop the interview if you dare to ask why companies they own are making content for cigarette manufacturers to appeal to teenagers, and then call and e-mail you immediately afterwards to say that while Exec X may have specifically and explicitly said "I like penguins" during the interview in fact what he meant to say is that he doesn't like penguins at all and that's what you should publish.
You'll also get, particularly when dealing with US firms, the "can you send us some questions in advance" request once the interview is set up. During my 12 years doing the job this has grown from never happening at all - and journalists laughing and putting the phone down when it was asked for - to happening all the time. And it's gone from sending a few vague ideas over so they can have a think about what they're going to say, to sending specific topics you'd like to discuss over so they can put a line through the ones they don't want you to ask, to them pulling the interview if they don't like the tone of the questioning. You'll also get some who like to send you their "talking points" i.e. the flowery sht they'd like you to talk about to make them look really good, and should you dare stray from the talking points during the interview they'll interrupt.
I've taken to ignoring requests for questions in advance, then if really pushed sending over a generic list of a dozen along the lines of "what's the biggest challenge facing your company in the next 18 months" about an hour before the interview and then asking what I was going to ask anyway and if they object during the interview then I cut it short myself and walk away. That's a shame for execs who genuinely would like some guidance so they can plan their answers, but the PR industry have been such tossers about it that we either refuse to do it all, or send over a generic bland list that we then later ignore.
The decline and decline of journalism - through budget cuts, papers closing, television channels not doing investigative journalism any more - coupled with an absolute explosion in the PR industry is a major problem here and in the US. Pretty soon the people paid to make sure you get to hear how wonderful Philip Morris Tobacco are will out number the people whose job it is to dig up stories about them peddling cigarretes to children in the Far East 20 to 1.
For clarity, none of this applies to the QPR team, who have always been brilliant with me - often despite me being quite horrible back to them over the years. I'm just talking generally in my day to day work.
This post has been edited by an administrator |
Thanks Clive - Ive always known youre not one for hiding from the issue or anything like that, and it is really pleasing to hear the club are treating you and by proxy us fans with the respect to play a straight game here.
Excellent work altogether, youve obviously come to some understanding with the club and yourself and thats a real bonus for us, Im sure there arent many other fans sites like this one around the place, ATAF!
As for the rest, having 20 PR goons vs 1 intrepid reporter - sounds all too real sadly. I did laugh at the penguin bit though, sounds like something from How To Get Ahead In Advertising! | | | |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 10:43 - May 25 with 1843 views | hopphoops |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 23:36 - May 24 by Northernr |
Yes one of the PR team sits in (Paul Morrissey on this occasion) but I'd say somebody sits in on 95% of the interviews I do every day. As with my programme column, there hasn't been a single occasion when anybody from the club has turned around and said "don't say that, can't say that, please don't say that, take that out" etc. There were a couple of points in this interview I thought I might get the "could you maybe just tone that down a bit" call afterwards, but Paul said nothing and I'm yet to get that from anybody at QPR over the dozen or so interviews we've done at the club.
As Neil says the media team has gone from a position when they were seen as part of the problem five or six years ago, and actively seemed to regard sites like this as a problem, an enemy, competition or whatever, to being among the most cooperative and collaborative I've ever dealt with. And they're seeing the value in return I think/hope, far fewer PR disasters, much more friendly and constructive dialogue with the fans, some great examples of everybody working together. Fernandes and Ferdinand answering my questions, or podcast questions, will carry more weight than them doing stuff on the official site, because people know I'm a supporter of the club and I'm also not going to sit there and soft soap them having been very critical at times.
On the wider subject of PRs sitting in on interviews...
Some are proper dicks about it. One company we deal with, for instance, who like to paint themselves as some trendy, anti-establishment, new age, young, hip media brand that searches for the truth and tells the raw story etc etc will have a press officer sit there whenever you interview one of their senior execs and take numerous things off the record as you go. They will stop the interview if you dare to ask why companies they own are making content for cigarette manufacturers to appeal to teenagers, and then call and e-mail you immediately afterwards to say that while Exec X may have specifically and explicitly said "I like penguins" during the interview in fact what he meant to say is that he doesn't like penguins at all and that's what you should publish.
You'll also get, particularly when dealing with US firms, the "can you send us some questions in advance" request once the interview is set up. During my 12 years doing the job this has grown from never happening at all - and journalists laughing and putting the phone down when it was asked for - to happening all the time. And it's gone from sending a few vague ideas over so they can have a think about what they're going to say, to sending specific topics you'd like to discuss over so they can put a line through the ones they don't want you to ask, to them pulling the interview if they don't like the tone of the questioning. You'll also get some who like to send you their "talking points" i.e. the flowery sht they'd like you to talk about to make them look really good, and should you dare stray from the talking points during the interview they'll interrupt.
I've taken to ignoring requests for questions in advance, then if really pushed sending over a generic list of a dozen along the lines of "what's the biggest challenge facing your company in the next 18 months" about an hour before the interview and then asking what I was going to ask anyway and if they object during the interview then I cut it short myself and walk away. That's a shame for execs who genuinely would like some guidance so they can plan their answers, but the PR industry have been such tossers about it that we either refuse to do it all, or send over a generic bland list that we then later ignore.
The decline and decline of journalism - through budget cuts, papers closing, television channels not doing investigative journalism any more - coupled with an absolute explosion in the PR industry is a major problem here and in the US. Pretty soon the people paid to make sure you get to hear how wonderful Philip Morris Tobacco are will out number the people whose job it is to dig up stories about them peddling cigarretes to children in the Far East 20 to 1.
For clarity, none of this applies to the QPR team, who have always been brilliant with me - often despite me being quite horrible back to them over the years. I'm just talking generally in my day to day work.
This post has been edited by an administrator |
It sounds so depressing being a journo these days. Was it you Clive that mentioned the PR staff at Man City outnumbering all the sportswriters in Manchester or something like that? |  |
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| Les Ferdinand interview on 11:41 - May 25 with 1800 views | Northernr |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 10:43 - May 25 by hopphoops |
It sounds so depressing being a journo these days. Was it you Clive that mentioned the PR staff at Man City outnumbering all the sportswriters in Manchester or something like that? |
Yeh Manchester City have more "club journalists" than the Manchester Evening News has reporters. | | | |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 11:52 - May 25 with 1784 views | kensalriser |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 07:02 - May 25 by superhoopdownunder |
Excellent read Thanks again Clive
Overall very positive in terms of the clean up required to reset us to head back in the right direction - I believe it will take a few more years - be interesting to see the type of players we sign this summer
I am sceptical on Ferdinand's comments on how he met Tony in Malaysia and also comments on Redknapp and Warnock.
Still unsure whether Washington will prove to be a good signing.
Finally still have concerns with us spending loads on the youth setup - especially as the penalties when a club come in and poach a player are peanuts.
Should we just focus on finding better players ourselves? Get our success rate on signings up to 50%+ rather than the current 30%
U R's [Post edited 25 May 2016 7:25]
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You do make me laugh with all your detailed pontificating about what the club should and shouldn't be doing.
Why don't you get in touch and tell them where they're going wrong? You might be offered a job. | |
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| Les Ferdinand interview on 13:49 - May 25 with 1675 views | robith |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 20:29 - May 24 by BklynRanger |
Good read. Thanks. Other than him 'Bumping into TF' in Malaysia it seemed like a straightforward set of answers. Tony's not a small man but still....
Anyway I wish I was a journalist. Tweed jackets, heavy drinking, deadlines, saturated fats, tawdry one night stands with fellow journos in a Morecambe B & B.... That's the life for me. |
Sadly these days it's more non paying contracts crawling reddit for some #content you can repurpose under the headline YOU WON''T BELIEVE... |  | | |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 20:28 - May 25 with 1490 views | TacticalR |
One other thing he said which struck me, is that getting relegated is like a depression:
Q: There was a lot of excitement and expectation around having people like Leroy Fer, Sandro, Matt Phillips, Charlie Austin and others in the Championship. Given that they were all part of the team that finished dead last the season before, did we just over-estimate how good they actually were?
LF: At the end of the season, barring Lionel Messi, nobody had more assists in the second half of the season in all of Europe than Matt Phillips. If he brought that level of performance to the Championship, he'd have ripped it up. But when you're relegated, I've been unfortunate enough for it to happen to me as a player, there's a depression that comes over the whole club: the owners, the manager, the supporters, the players - they're all depressed. | |
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| Les Ferdinand interview on 00:12 - May 26 with 1403 views | CiderwithRsie |
| Les Ferdinand interview on 20:28 - May 25 by TacticalR |
One other thing he said which struck me, is that getting relegated is like a depression:
Q: There was a lot of excitement and expectation around having people like Leroy Fer, Sandro, Matt Phillips, Charlie Austin and others in the Championship. Given that they were all part of the team that finished dead last the season before, did we just over-estimate how good they actually were?
LF: At the end of the season, barring Lionel Messi, nobody had more assists in the second half of the season in all of Europe than Matt Phillips. If he brought that level of performance to the Championship, he'd have ripped it up. But when you're relegated, I've been unfortunate enough for it to happen to me as a player, there's a depression that comes over the whole club: the owners, the manager, the supporters, the players - they're all depressed. |
Yes, that struck me too. He also raised the issue of depression with Angella getting promoted but immediately sold.
I hadn't thought about it either way, but it strikes me as quite plausible. Of course not every player will be affected like that - it makes it much harder for us as fans to really know if a particular player is a good buy or not.
Equally there are probably other players who are deeply unhappy where they are who would get a new lease of life if they were told "we want you at QPR and we reckon you're good enough." I recall Dean Saunders saying a year or two back that he would have run through walls for Souness (of all people) because Souness was the guy who brought Saunders to Liverpool and staked his reputation on him. I expect there was a bit of that about Warnock and Taraabt. | | | |
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