| Protests - The Thompson Family. 11:08 - Mar 14 with 9939 views | JJB |
Serious question to QPR fans who are old enough to remember.
Why did we protest so strongly against The Thompson Family when they were in charge of us?
There is a reason I ask this but before I reveal why I ask, I would like your opinion on the above.
Thanks in advance.
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| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 14:58 - Mar 14 with 5728 views | davman |
A really great question THEN and NOW.
I did not get it at the time and I still don't get it. The argument was (I think) that he was the son of one of the richest men in Britain and should have spent some of that money taking us to the next level instead of balancing the books.
In his time we genuinely were 2-3 players away from mounting a serious challenge for the title - that 92-93 team was no flash in the pan. I didn't realise just how good they were until a few years later, but looking back it really was true.
But we had to sell our most saleable asset every year to balance the books. We lucked out with a number of sales - Stejskal for Seaman; Sinclair for Sinton; Peacock for Parker (I think), but Hateley for Les was just one too many.
Fans bemoaned that there was no ambition, but they would as it wasn't their money that would be spent.
There were also some spats - Gerry leaving because Rodney Marsh was being touted as a Director of Football - Gerry and Rodders didn't really get on and some other stuff, but I always thought that balancing the books was actually quite important - a bit like today I guess!!!  |  |
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| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 15:05 - Mar 14 with 5697 views | Juzzie |
I also remember Richard saying along the lines of "I was an Arsenal fan but now I'm a QPR fan". I see what he was trying to do but it didn't go down well.
Also the feeling we were just being used as toy for a rich man's boy as he was the youngest football chairman at the time. May not have been the case but was how it was perceived.
But yes, the overiding feeling that whilst on one hand they were happy to be known as very rich but had no intention of doing anything else other than try and run the club as a business. Nothing has changed in decades, you don't buy a football club, certainly one of QPR's ilk, to make money. You either spunk all your money into a club or you don't buy a club. As the joke goes.... "How do you become a millionaire?...... Start off as a billionaire then buy a football club". |  | | |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 15:24 - Mar 14 with 5630 views | paulparker |
We protested because we were a top 6 side (imagine that) we were IMO 3 signings away from challenging for the title or at least the cups but instead of investment and a challenge we constantly sold our best players and re invested fcuk all , we were one of the best footballing sides in Europe during the early nineties had one of the best strikers and an extremely good manager
That money went in Thompson’s pocket and we had to make do with signings like Devon white, Steve Yates , Steve hodge to compete and we lost our good manager and went down the sh1tter
In saying all that the fans should be protesting now how a once great club is now a laughing stock at how inept TF is and how he has ruined us but the fans think the sun shines out of his rrsss for some odd reason |  |
| And Bowles is onside, Swinburne has come rushing out of his goal , what can Bowles do here , onto the left foot no, on to the right foot
That’s there that’s two, and that’s Bowles
Brian Moore
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| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 15:30 - Mar 14 with 5589 views | davman |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 15:24 - Mar 14 by paulparker |
We protested because we were a top 6 side (imagine that) we were IMO 3 signings away from challenging for the title or at least the cups but instead of investment and a challenge we constantly sold our best players and re invested fcuk all , we were one of the best footballing sides in Europe during the early nineties had one of the best strikers and an extremely good manager
That money went in Thompson’s pocket and we had to make do with signings like Devon white, Steve Yates , Steve hodge to compete and we lost our good manager and went down the sh1tter
In saying all that the fans should be protesting now how a once great club is now a laughing stock at how inept TF is and how he has ruined us but the fans think the sun shines out of his rrsss for some odd reason |
...this in a nutshell.
PP says that the money went into RT's pocket. I actually do not think that was the case; I think it covered the losses that the club was (even back then) making - he sold to balance the books.
Of course, because accounts did not have to be published back in those days, we will never know - PP might be right and that would justify the outrage. However, the sums of money they were going for, although large in those days, weren't really than massive against our turnover - I would have thought that the Thompson's actually made very little from their time at QPR... | |
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| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 15:43 - Mar 14 with 5534 views | doogi10 |
we played Wimbledon won 1 . 0 moved into 6th in the table and they sold peacock just before the west ham game. we lost
Newcastle where above us so it all kicked off |  | | |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 16:06 - Mar 14 with 5412 views | Toast_R |
All I remember of Peacock was that he had ridiculous hair and used to fall on his arse alot.
Thompson was called out plenty but he tried to run a tight ship which in hindsight is the right thing to do with QPR. Chris Wright bankrupt the club and was also called out. Palladini and co called out for being charlatans, Flavio and Bernie called out for being megalomaniacs and now TF called out for being an incompetent owner. We're just never satisfied with whoever owns the club and whatever their strategy.
Dont know why we bother...? [Post edited 14 Mar 2019 16:12]
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| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 16:34 - Mar 14 with 5307 views | loftus77 |
I’m just about old enough to remember…..
As I recall the Leeds home game (0-4) was the final flash point — Easter 94.
I always say, if ONLY the Thompsons had sold up in the summer of 1995 not 1996, things might have been very different for QPR’s modern history. OK, Les (and his 20+ goals) would have still probably gone, but an incoming chairman like Chris Wright would have probably splashed the cash much more effectively with Rangers an established top flight club (13+ seasons) as opposed to a recently relegated one.
We could have been ‘the Charlton of the late 1990’s’ - maybe.
As time goes by, you can perhaps judge the Thompsons less harshly compared to subsequent regimes and other ownerships in the game. At the time they were seen as asset-strippers with no interest in pushing Rangers on. I remember Peter Ellis (effectively the CEO?) saying that “as a business, Rangers loses money” and that seemed to be the overriding consideration.
The Thompsons’s ‘work’ here clearly was the start of a malaise which lasted 20 years (1995-2015) which the current set-up, valiantly and carefully, is trying to recover the club from — IMHO. | | | |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 16:57 - Mar 14 with 5236 views | PlanetHonneywood |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 16:34 - Mar 14 by loftus77 |
I’m just about old enough to remember…..
As I recall the Leeds home game (0-4) was the final flash point — Easter 94.
I always say, if ONLY the Thompsons had sold up in the summer of 1995 not 1996, things might have been very different for QPR’s modern history. OK, Les (and his 20+ goals) would have still probably gone, but an incoming chairman like Chris Wright would have probably splashed the cash much more effectively with Rangers an established top flight club (13+ seasons) as opposed to a recently relegated one.
We could have been ‘the Charlton of the late 1990’s’ - maybe.
As time goes by, you can perhaps judge the Thompsons less harshly compared to subsequent regimes and other ownerships in the game. At the time they were seen as asset-strippers with no interest in pushing Rangers on. I remember Peter Ellis (effectively the CEO?) saying that “as a business, Rangers loses money” and that seemed to be the overriding consideration.
The Thompsons’s ‘work’ here clearly was the start of a malaise which lasted 20 years (1995-2015) which the current set-up, valiantly and carefully, is trying to recover the club from — IMHO. |
Not sure about 1995. The problems all started the day Jim Gregory sold to Marler Estates, and got a thrust when Bulstrode died on the job, allegedly!
It’s pretty much been run by clowns, charlatans and crooks ever since. That said, you do rue the utter mess the current lot inherited from the last of the great clowns, and wonder what could be done if they weren’t working with one hand behind their backs.
Complete shower!! |  |
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| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 17:11 - Mar 14 with 5213 views | themodfather |
we have some history! it can't be just the fans and our expectations, come on at rangers we have never demanded cups.....but somehow we lose so much dough, buy poorly and sell cheap. we must be due some pitch run ons? | | | |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 17:14 - Mar 14 with 5200 views | stevec |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 16:34 - Mar 14 by loftus77 |
I’m just about old enough to remember…..
As I recall the Leeds home game (0-4) was the final flash point — Easter 94.
I always say, if ONLY the Thompsons had sold up in the summer of 1995 not 1996, things might have been very different for QPR’s modern history. OK, Les (and his 20+ goals) would have still probably gone, but an incoming chairman like Chris Wright would have probably splashed the cash much more effectively with Rangers an established top flight club (13+ seasons) as opposed to a recently relegated one.
We could have been ‘the Charlton of the late 1990’s’ - maybe.
As time goes by, you can perhaps judge the Thompsons less harshly compared to subsequent regimes and other ownerships in the game. At the time they were seen as asset-strippers with no interest in pushing Rangers on. I remember Peter Ellis (effectively the CEO?) saying that “as a business, Rangers loses money” and that seemed to be the overriding consideration.
The Thompsons’s ‘work’ here clearly was the start of a malaise which lasted 20 years (1995-2015) which the current set-up, valiantly and carefully, is trying to recover the club from — IMHO. |
I had the misfortune of doing work for the club in the days of the Thompson family.
Great players, great manager, but behind the scenes, away from the actual football, Fred Karno's doesn't begin to describe it.
Used to come out of there thinking how the fck can a top 5 club be run like that. Ended up telling them to do one after I'd finally got them to pay up, whole thing was souring me towards the club I loved.
The writing was on the wall way before Les got sold, as you say, the malaise set in then and has defined this club ever since. |  | | |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 17:29 - Mar 14 with 5173 views | charmr |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 17:14 - Mar 14 by stevec |
I had the misfortune of doing work for the club in the days of the Thompson family.
Great players, great manager, but behind the scenes, away from the actual football, Fred Karno's doesn't begin to describe it.
Used to come out of there thinking how the fck can a top 5 club be run like that. Ended up telling them to do one after I'd finally got them to pay up, whole thing was souring me towards the club I loved.
The writing was on the wall way before Les got sold, as you say, the malaise set in then and has defined this club ever since. |
Sadest day for me was when Gregory decided to sell the club to marler estates and not Terry Venables. As part of the LSA I did meet Bulstrode who came across with honourable intentions for the club.TV however ended up being banned from becoming a company director, so who knows what would have happened.
I was on the pitch at the demonstration and it was a time when fans were fighting back generally. Thompson gave Wilkins 6 million to spend and we know how that worked out. It was weird times and a bit like the python sketch ‘people’s front of judea’ going on in football.
On talking to Rangers fans who worked under Thompson they said the family ran the club very well. A time in Rangers history when fans got what they wanted, Wilkins as manager and Wright as a QPR fan owning the club. Be careful what you wish for. | | | |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 18:02 - Mar 14 with 5100 views | rsonist |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 16:06 - Mar 14 by Toast_R |
All I remember of Peacock was that he had ridiculous hair and used to fall on his arse alot.
Thompson was called out plenty but he tried to run a tight ship which in hindsight is the right thing to do with QPR. Chris Wright bankrupt the club and was also called out. Palladini and co called out for being charlatans, Flavio and Bernie called out for being megalomaniacs and now TF called out for being an incompetent owner. We're just never satisfied with whoever owns the club and whatever their strategy.
Dont know why we bother...? [Post edited 14 Mar 2019 16:12]
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The Newcastle move made Peacock the most expensive defender in British football at the time. |  | | |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 19:00 - Mar 14 with 4989 views | Toast_R |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 18:02 - Mar 14 by rsonist |
The Newcastle move made Peacock the most expensive defender in British football at the time. |
We can't really blame Thompson for selling him then? | | | |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 20:13 - Mar 14 with 4885 views | smegma |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 19:00 - Mar 14 by Toast_R |
We can't really blame Thompson for selling him then? |
Thompson went on record a few years later and said he should have handled things better, i.e. Not sell Peacock. Newcastle went on and qualified for Europe, we didn't. | | | |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 21:16 - Mar 14 with 4759 views | qprewan |
As another poster said the rot set in after Gregory sold the club to Marler Estates ..as fans we fought the initial plans to merge with Fulham and won ..Bulstrode then appeared to have the best interests of the club at heart but following his sudden death the club somehow fell into the hands of Thompson and son who I'm sorry were parasites of the worst sort . Neither of them ever showed any interest or affection for us as a club and relentlessly sold off our best players..perhaps most importantly our then talisman Les Ferdinand who reportedly never wanted to leave and when the Newcastle bid came in he tried to receive assurances from Richard Thompson that the club wanted him but our then chairman made himself strangely unavailable. I remember one season when it got to Febuary and Norwich were leading the table with us and 4 or 5 other clubs In serious contention and we lost both Gary Penrice and Ray Wilkins for the rest of the season...who did the board agree to sign to bolster out title winning Chances ? A forward, who's name I forget from Cambridge United!! Absolutely criminal and such a wasted opportunity..back then the club showed absolute contempt for us fans ..I along with many other fans at the timeworked for the club as a steward and we were all threatened by the club with dismissal for joining in with the protests ; they backed down in the end as so many of us were involved. [Post edited 14 Mar 2019 21:17]
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| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 22:27 - Mar 14 with 4663 views | distortR |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 21:16 - Mar 14 by qprewan |
As another poster said the rot set in after Gregory sold the club to Marler Estates ..as fans we fought the initial plans to merge with Fulham and won ..Bulstrode then appeared to have the best interests of the club at heart but following his sudden death the club somehow fell into the hands of Thompson and son who I'm sorry were parasites of the worst sort . Neither of them ever showed any interest or affection for us as a club and relentlessly sold off our best players..perhaps most importantly our then talisman Les Ferdinand who reportedly never wanted to leave and when the Newcastle bid came in he tried to receive assurances from Richard Thompson that the club wanted him but our then chairman made himself strangely unavailable. I remember one season when it got to Febuary and Norwich were leading the table with us and 4 or 5 other clubs In serious contention and we lost both Gary Penrice and Ray Wilkins for the rest of the season...who did the board agree to sign to bolster out title winning Chances ? A forward, who's name I forget from Cambridge United!! Absolutely criminal and such a wasted opportunity..back then the club showed absolute contempt for us fans ..I along with many other fans at the timeworked for the club as a steward and we were all threatened by the club with dismissal for joining in with the protests ; they backed down in the end as so many of us were involved. [Post edited 14 Mar 2019 21:17]
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Hey mate, how's it going?
was it Devon White we signed?
I'll p.m you on this site tomorrow.
gus
Edit - in one of the protests at the end of a match, i was going to jump on the pitch, when the first person to do so got jumped by a couple of coppers. I thought "sod that", but then I was grabbed and physically thrown ON the pitch by a certain steward - which has got to be a first!! [Post edited 14 Mar 2019 22:30]
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| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 22:49 - Mar 14 with 4612 views | qprewan |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 22:27 - Mar 14 by distortR |
Hey mate, how's it going?
was it Devon White we signed?
I'll p.m you on this site tomorrow.
gus
Edit - in one of the protests at the end of a match, i was going to jump on the pitch, when the first person to do so got jumped by a couple of coppers. I thought "sod that", but then I was grabbed and physically thrown ON the pitch by a certain steward - which has got to be a first!! [Post edited 14 Mar 2019 22:30]
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Hey nice one Gus yes I remember that well ..look forward to catching up with you mate. | | | |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 23:06 - Mar 14 with 4588 views | daveB |
It seems mad looking back now but that first year of the Prem with a bit of investment mainly in central midfield and for a back up striker we could have won the league that year, team was that good, Villa, Blackburn and Norwich finished above us and we were a better side than all of them. Once Wilkins got injured we did nothing and season faded away
The protests were out of frustration at the time that we were selling out best players and not replacing them, many felt we would eventually go down and struggle if we continued to do that and thats what basically happened in the end.
Incredible really that the Thompson era is held up as what we should be doing and shows how piss poor we've done since |  | | |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 23:32 - Mar 14 with 4543 views | CliveWilsonSaid |
I remember standing on a traffic island outside the ground on South Africa Rd for one of the protests. Also running down an alley somewhere near the ground when the police came I think. Whether that was the same protest or a different one I'm not sure, it's all very vague now. Not sure how I heard about the protests either. This is before the internet and mobile phones. Must have been leaflets or something I guess. |  |
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| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 07:03 - Mar 15 with 4346 views | PunteR |
Why do you ask JJB? |  |
| Occasional providers of half decent House music. |
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| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 09:01 - Mar 15 with 4242 views | Toast_R |
Anyone remember the P.O.R.T flyers being handed out around the ground?
Those were the days. | | | |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 09:10 - Mar 15 with 4227 views | philc |
I was only going to post the other day that all of our current problems go back to just one bad season, up to then we didn’t look out of place in the premiership.
My feeling about Thompson was he didn’t want to take a chance and invest in the side and would always take the money for our players. But then so did Gregory. As stated above we really were a far better side than we were given credit for and with those magical 2 or 3 more players could have won something. This was a feeling I understood was shared amongst the players.
I do wonder is sometimes Thompson regrets his approach seeing after we dropped out the money started to flow with the Sky billions. When the Premiership was formed it was the the big 6 clubs and us who were the clubs behind it. Surprisingly not Chelsea or Man City who were nothing clubs at the time. We were seen as major players in the league at the time. | | | |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 09:20 - Mar 15 with 4211 views | philc |
The sad thing with Bulstrode is that after the Marler Estates merger debacle, I felt he was starting to get the club ( similar to Bhatia now) and from the interviews he was giving bad some positive ideas for the direction of the club | | | |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 09:26 - Mar 15 with 4200 views | qprewan |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 09:20 - Mar 15 by philc |
The sad thing with Bulstrode is that after the Marler Estates merger debacle, I felt he was starting to get the club ( similar to Bhatia now) and from the interviews he was giving bad some positive ideas for the direction of the club |
Yes totally agree mate I think he would have been really good for our club but unfortunately we ended up with the Thompson family who basically stripped the club bare. | | | |
| Protests - The Thompson Family. on 09:37 - Mar 15 with 4186 views | JJB |
The above posts is exactly why I asked this question and thanks for your responses so far..
I don’t think anybody can disagree that under Uncle Bungles regime as Chairman has it been nothing short of a catastrophe. And oh, before anybody pipes up saying he isn’t the chairman any more he is still the majority shareholder, this Amit in control nonsense is just club spin to shield the crap from himself.
He took over when we were 16th in The Premier League. He has wasted over a quarter of a billion pounds to find us today - 18th in The Championship and deep in the crap with the way he has ran QPR resulting in this FFP fine which is crippling us which will take years and years to recover from, that’s if we do ever recover from it at all. A QUARTER OF A BILLION POUNDS and we are facing a potential relegation to league one.
He talks about the new ground and training facilities whilst not one single brick has been laid but still a vast amount of the fans still fall for all his old waffle because he comes across as a nice bloke, he drinks in the pubs with the fans, he does keepy fxxking uppies with Sandro, he says that he cares about the club but the stone cold sober truth is this man cannot be trusted when it comes to our beloved QPR (& Loftus Road) and if Jim Gregory can try to sell the ground from beneath our feet ( we protested then! ) then it goes without saying that Uncle Phoney can too.
He upset Cargiant with his arrogance and is doing exactly the same now with H&F council now regarding land he doesn’t own which will result , if it ever happens in us leaving W12 and playing our football in Staines or worse still — Slough.
So, to my point. (Thank Christ I hear you scream) Why as fans are we allowing this total mismanagement to continue to happen? My post about the Thompson family makes my point, we protested for far less trivial matters back then but now we are allowing these present owners to get away with way worse crimes when it comes to how we are being run as a club.
I simply don’t understand how impartial and diluted we as fans have become when it comes to showing some heart and passion for this, our great club which is getting royally f*cked month after month, year after year with very little being said and even less being done to actually stop this by us the fans.
Clint Hill once said if you let standards slip as a club you are in big trouble, I feel that is happening to us as now as fans, we are slowly but surely letting our own standard drop as supporters and its resulting in allowing these dreadful owners to get away with blue murder when it comes to how OUR club is getting run.
I’m sorry if this is coming across a rant, I’m no writer but I do care about QPR and I honestly think it’s time we stand up and let the owners know that enough is enough, Christ we even protested against Tango and Cash and again, they were not a patch on these clowns were they, were they?!?!?
My sincere hope is that we can force these charlatans out with fan power like we have done in the past and don’t believe the myth that we are not an attractive club for some new wealthy new owner. We are a very buyable club even in this financial mess that we find ourselves in, caused up TF and his mates, we are in a prime location in London, we have a fantastic heritage and with the right owners we could again become the terrific little club we once were, punching above our weight and upsetting the odds again and whilst nothing ever comes with any guarantees, anything would be better then what we have put up with under this Tony Fernandes led consortium of clowns no? | |
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