| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 19:08 - Jul 22 with 3708 views | traininvain |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 18:43 - Jul 22 by Hunterhoop |
But that isn’t true.
Go back to last summer and Beale’s appointment and his first few interviews, including that with Clive. The all focused on whether he understood the financial reality at QPR, about how hard it would be, about what his objective was (to improve on the season before 11th). The club wasn’t pushing a play off/promotion message. Beale gave it the big Bertie over not being here to finish 16th but there was trepidation about how the season would unfold, including on here.
Now, it wasn’t as much as this season, granted. But it wasn’t all roses 12 months ago. Far from it.
As I keep saying, this is the nadir season financially. It’s the 3rd with Warburton’s massive 25m loss in it. After this season, that drops out. Then we’ll have a little wiggle room and likely be on an even keel of losses each season which makes planning easier. The Sky Tv deal comes in next season too and although it’ll benefit everyone it will give more flex to those not already ignoring FFP.
This season was going to be tough as soon as Warburton didn’t get us up that season, whoever was in charge. |
Maybe it was my own feeling going into last season but I fancied us to finish top half and have another crack at the top six. Beale’s interview with Clive was also along the same lines, he wanted promotion.
The fact we were top of the league in October suggests it wasn’t unrealistic but obviously things unravelled once Beale left us.
The squad has lost a few players but I still don’t think we should be so quick to settle for a relegation battle. It’s a dangerous game. |  | |  |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 21:53 - Jul 22 with 3474 views | loneranger1 |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 10:52 - Jul 22 by E15Hoop |
It also seemed pretty clear to me that he was drawing a very clear line in the sand between last season and this. The point he was making was that it was a major achievement to stay up last season considering the chaos.
Also, let's be brutally honest about this, how much of this whole thing about "different club", "different player profile" is actually true of QPR at the moment? Aren't we maybe guilty of letting our own preconceptions cloud the objective reality of where we're currently at?
Ainsworth spent a lot of this interview talking about "building". You can only do that if you ensure that the foundations are solid. A clear, realistic view of where the club currently stands in the football pyramid has to surely be part of that process. |
Agreed - sorry fat fingers did the downvote! |  | | |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 23:16 - Jul 22 with 3366 views | Hunterhoop |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 19:08 - Jul 22 by traininvain |
Maybe it was my own feeling going into last season but I fancied us to finish top half and have another crack at the top six. Beale’s interview with Clive was also along the same lines, he wanted promotion.
The fact we were top of the league in October suggests it wasn’t unrealistic but obviously things unravelled once Beale left us.
The squad has lost a few players but I still don’t think we should be so quick to settle for a relegation battle. It’s a dangerous game. |
They didn’t just unravel after Beale left. We lost 4 of his last 5, drew the other and, I think had dropped out of the top 6. Critchley’s win at Preston put us back in it, I think.
And I don’t agree about Clive’s interview. It was clear Beale wanted to be competitive but the whole tone wasn’t that we were ready for a tilt. It just wasn’t. Clive asked about financial constraints and lack of youth team prospects and Beale talked about needing players.
You may have carried over the 2021 calendar success, but that wasn’t anywhere near the bar going into last season. |  | | |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 23:23 - Jul 22 with 3363 views | Hunterhoop |
Ultimately though, whilst we all have our own views, the next step, whatever your view, is to get fully behind Ainsworth.
If not, what is the point?
Get behind him, and the players, and let’s see what happens. Fans should not go into the season waiting/wanting to be proved right. We should be tying to influence the outcome positively, which we can. | | | |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 23:48 - Jul 22 with 3340 views | Rangersw12 |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 23:23 - Jul 22 by Hunterhoop |
Ultimately though, whilst we all have our own views, the next step, whatever your view, is to get fully behind Ainsworth.
If not, what is the point?
Get behind him, and the players, and let’s see what happens. Fans should not go into the season waiting/wanting to be proved right. We should be tying to influence the outcome positively, which we can. |
Yeah I agree need to get behind the team but I would say fans are doing their job already 2000 today , 1500 tickets sold for Oxford and 2100 sold out away end at Watford.
GA wouldn't see that away support over a whole season at Wycombe let alone 3 games . We need the players to snap into tackles and show some bollocks and the fans will respond | | | |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 00:04 - Jul 23 with 3312 views | Hunterhoop |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 23:48 - Jul 22 by Rangersw12 |
Yeah I agree need to get behind the team but I would say fans are doing their job already 2000 today , 1500 tickets sold for Oxford and 2100 sold out away end at Watford.
GA wouldn't see that away support over a whole season at Wycombe let alone 3 games . We need the players to snap into tackles and show some bollocks and the fans will respond |
I agree. That’s the deal. I think you’ll see that from the team, but I think we might be a bit limited, especially if we sell Chair & Willock or have several bad injuries. But if they give everything and continue to fight, they deserve continued support. | | | |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 00:12 - Jul 23 with 3301 views | Rangersw12 |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 00:04 - Jul 23 by Hunterhoop |
I agree. That’s the deal. I think you’ll see that from the team, but I think we might be a bit limited, especially if we sell Chair & Willock or have several bad injuries. But if they give everything and continue to fight, they deserve continued support. |
As a fan that's all you can ask for and ultimately if they're not good enough but give everything then it's not the players fault
I think after what's happened over the last 18 months our biggest hurdle is the massive trust issue between the fans and players which will hopefully be bridged over the next few games | | | |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 00:57 - Jul 23 with 3184 views | stainrods_elbow |
Trust - and its disintegration - is certainly pivotal to my fandom as a badly bitten R these days. For me, I lost a lot of faith in the squad in the later stages of the decline under Warburton and, even now we have a wired and passionate new manager who might stick around for more than a few minutes, the lot of them have a great deal to do to win me back over. In Clive's excellent interview, I think GA gets this; if anything, I was surprised that LR didn't become a whole lot more toxic than it did last season. The players should be immensely grateful - as I've said before, they didn't deserve us - and they need to start the season showing how committed they are to making it up to us. Let's see! [Post edited 23 Jul 2023 1:14]
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| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 01:00 - Jul 23 with 3183 views | stainrods_elbow |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 00:04 - Jul 23 by Hunterhoop |
I agree. That’s the deal. I think you’ll see that from the team, but I think we might be a bit limited, especially if we sell Chair & Willock or have several bad injuries. But if they give everything and continue to fight, they deserve continued support. |
If we sell Chair and/or Willock, let alone both, for me that turns relegation from a strong possibility to a nailed-on, downwardly managed, deliberate act of club suicide. | |
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| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 07:44 - Jul 23 with 3071 views | traininvain |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 23:23 - Jul 22 by Hunterhoop |
Ultimately though, whilst we all have our own views, the next step, whatever your view, is to get fully behind Ainsworth.
If not, what is the point?
Get behind him, and the players, and let’s see what happens. Fans should not go into the season waiting/wanting to be proved right. We should be tying to influence the outcome positively, which we can. |
I’ll get behind the team when it matters at games but I’m not going to blindly follow this narrative that we’re some kind of plucky underdog who should be delighted to finish 21st.
Obviously we need to be realistic and I’m not stupid enough to expect promotion but imo it’s just as risky to talk the club down. | | | |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 08:00 - Jul 23 with 3051 views | TeddRanger |
Excellent interview, thanks Clive.
I think GA speaks very well. My worry is, has he really managed to change the culture significantly? He talks as if he has, but there were obviously some deep seated problems and I reckon they will take a while to fix.
I’m sure he can fix things- in time. Will he be given that tine? | | | |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 08:15 - Jul 23 with 3015 views | SydneyRs |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 08:00 - Jul 23 by TeddRanger |
Excellent interview, thanks Clive.
I think GA speaks very well. My worry is, has he really managed to change the culture significantly? He talks as if he has, but there were obviously some deep seated problems and I reckon they will take a while to fix.
I’m sure he can fix things- in time. Will he be given that tine? |
This. He commented that it took years at Wycombe so it will be no surprise if the bad vibes return at the first major bit of adversity. | | | |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 09:06 - Jul 23 with 2916 views | E15Hoop |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 08:15 - Jul 23 by SydneyRs |
This. He commented that it took years at Wycombe so it will be no surprise if the bad vibes return at the first major bit of adversity. |
The difference this time, though, will be that we've got a management team who will be alive to that and work hard to nip it in the bud when it first becomes visible.
That might mean dropping a particular individual, but is more likley going to mean haveing a series of direct 1-1s with that player, similar to how they handled Ethan Laird running up to the Burnley away game last season (where he came on and made a significant positive impact). | | | |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 14:25 - Jul 23 with 2548 views | RsinWales |
I thought it was a good listen. I've always liked Ainsworth, and the interview reinforced my thoughts about him. If he is going to make high demands, he can do so knowing that he also demonstrated a 100% effort approach when he played.
The current situation with the strength of the squad would challenge any manager. Without access to finances, maybe a 'motivational' type manager is what might work best for us? It is going to be a tough season, but I am happy to have someone at the helm who does care about the club.
I think he really needs to ensure we do start the season with some commitment to playing the type of football that he indicates he fostered at Wycombe over the past couple of seasons. I don't mind some long ball play, but it shouldn't be the default. I'd like to see a mix of styles, and think we are capable of that.
Interesting to hear we want two or three in imminently, with possibly more before the close of the window. The additions will be incredibly important, so let's hope we can land players with pace and hardiness.
Only thing I did not agree with was the' people won't care how we win' sentiment. We do need to be less naïve, but if we become the new Preston, I certainly would care!
Overall, I am right behind him, with tempered expectations. [Post edited 23 Jul 2023 14:26]
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| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 01:17 - Jul 24 with 2063 views | Lblock |
Just read this as my insomnia kicks in again
What I don’t get is
A) Gas is ecstatic he’s got his fitness coach in and everything was planned to go early this summer BUT! with 2 weeks before the kick off he’s not got his players in
And
B) How can literally ANYTHING be planned if the model relies on a DoF and there’s no DoF with seemingly no plans to appoint anytime soon
It’s either that schizophrenic club I’ve always loved yet again, a plan I’m not seeing, clueless aboard still being cluesless or the owner cutting losses ahead of doing one.
Probably all of the above.
Christ I wish Ains well. A true modern day Rs legend and I really don’t think he deserves what’s coming his way.
Buckle up y’all and good luck X |  |
| Cherish and enjoy life.... this ain't no dress rehearsal |
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| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 02:43 - Jul 24 with 2032 views | numptydumpty |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 01:17 - Jul 24 by Lblock |
Just read this as my insomnia kicks in again
What I don’t get is
A) Gas is ecstatic he’s got his fitness coach in and everything was planned to go early this summer BUT! with 2 weeks before the kick off he’s not got his players in
And
B) How can literally ANYTHING be planned if the model relies on a DoF and there’s no DoF with seemingly no plans to appoint anytime soon
It’s either that schizophrenic club I’ve always loved yet again, a plan I’m not seeing, clueless aboard still being cluesless or the owner cutting losses ahead of doing one.
Probably all of the above.
Christ I wish Ains well. A true modern day Rs legend and I really don’t think he deserves what’s coming his way.
Buckle up y’all and good luck X |
I think there are two schools of thought with Ainsworth
Nothing else was working - go to an almost club legend but limited as a player and limited as a manager.
Therefore if we go down, right man to get us back up.
Or short term fix, somehow to get us staying up. We did but almost by default. Lucky win at Burnley and Reading deducted six points
Got rid half the squad but little incoming so far.
Will he be given time. This club has no record of that. [Post edited 24 Jul 2023 2:44]
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| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 10:03 - Jul 24 with 1889 views | derbyhoop |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 10:59 - Jul 22 by Blue_Castello |
Well I've not tried to do a full list of players who have left but I'm sure it must be more than 9, there were I think 5/6 payers whose contracts were not renewed, 4 loan players, we have terminated the contracts of Johansen and Travelman and there's Martin and Balogun who may have been included in the players released, so I'm thinking its at least 12, maybe somebody has an accurate figure.
The players we have lost did not make a good squad for various reasons but the point is we desperately need some more Championship quality if we are going to compete. |
6 released- Balogun, Masterson, Amos, Shodipo, Owens, Alfa
2 sold - Dickie, Dieng
2 contracts terminated - Johansen, Nico
1 more released - Martin
5 loanees returned, except Richard's brought in.
So 16 (15 with Richards) out
3 in - Smyth, Larkeche, Begovic
Considering Masterson, Shodipo, Owens, Alfa and Nico were barely used, or not at all, then its notvquitecas big a purge as we might have thought. Effectively, we're down 7 ATM.
The problem is too many of the backups are probably not good enough for the Championship. |  |
| "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the Earth all one's lifetime." (Mark Twain)
Find me on twitter @derbyhoop and now on Bluesky |
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| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 10:35 - Jul 24 with 1811 views | toboboly |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 10:03 - Jul 24 by derbyhoop |
6 released- Balogun, Masterson, Amos, Shodipo, Owens, Alfa
2 sold - Dickie, Dieng
2 contracts terminated - Johansen, Nico
1 more released - Martin
5 loanees returned, except Richard's brought in.
So 16 (15 with Richards) out
3 in - Smyth, Larkeche, Begovic
Considering Masterson, Shodipo, Owens, Alfa and Nico were barely used, or not at all, then its notvquitecas big a purge as we might have thought. Effectively, we're down 7 ATM.
The problem is too many of the backups are probably not good enough for the Championship. |
I'm going to go against myself here, but...
Shodipo and Masterson are definitely better than what we currently have in the youth set up. Unless we had replacements lined up I find it strange we let them both go but retained Duke-Mckenna for example.
I'm not saying they are Championship level, I do think Masterson should have had more game time at this level to see, but if it is them or what we brought on on Saturday then I would have thought them. |  |
| Sexy Asian dwarves wanted. |
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| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 10:43 - Jul 24 with 1797 views | PunteR |
I'm not buying his line that Ferdinand stepped down to take away the flak and negative social media comments aimed at the club. He had to go. The club is in a right state under his watch. [Post edited 24 Jul 2023 11:41]
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| Occasional providers of half decent House music. |
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| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 12:12 - Jul 24 with 1601 views | Rs_Holy |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 10:35 - Jul 24 by toboboly |
I'm going to go against myself here, but...
Shodipo and Masterson are definitely better than what we currently have in the youth set up. Unless we had replacements lined up I find it strange we let them both go but retained Duke-Mckenna for example.
I'm not saying they are Championship level, I do think Masterson should have had more game time at this level to see, but if it is them or what we brought on on Saturday then I would have thought them. |
'Shodipo and Masterson are definitely better than what we currently have in the youth set up'...
Reminds of the Jeremy Clarkson quote “Ooh good I’ve got syphilis, the BEST of the sexually transmitted diseases.” |  | | |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 13:55 - Jul 24 with 1476 views | monners1969 |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 14:22 - Jul 21 by toboboly |
Great read and thank you for doing this. I would love to play for him, just a shame so many of our current lot don't look like they would.
Most worrying for me is his plea for patience with the players at home. If they are gonna give everything then they will get patience, however if they are like Dozzell then unsurprisingly everyone is gonna be royally pi$$ed off as they should be.
If you get another interview with him then my opinion of the Haka was it was great, behind closed doors, I doubt it was him that wanted it splashed all over the socials but doing so is what created so many issues. |
Interestingly, We used the Haka guy for our Rugby Club - was a brilliant session and the whole club got loas out of it... but I think if you had taken some photos of faces youd have seen the same images
I totally agree it should have just been done behind closed doors.. |  | | |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 08:57 - Jul 25 with 1170 views | NewYorkRanger |
Interesting interview and worth the Patreon sub on its own as others have said. I wish him well but I don't think he does himself many favours with a lot of what he says (The Balogun defence last season as one obvious example). In this interview he talks a lot about the boys giving their all. But then seems to suggest that in different circumstances they maybe could have given more. In which case they weren't giving their all surely?
I get that it's a fine balance and it's a tough place to come back from if you openly slag the players, but obvious contradictions like this don't paint a great picture |  |
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| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 09:13 - Jul 25 with 1160 views | BklynRanger |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 08:57 - Jul 25 by NewYorkRanger |
Interesting interview and worth the Patreon sub on its own as others have said. I wish him well but I don't think he does himself many favours with a lot of what he says (The Balogun defence last season as one obvious example). In this interview he talks a lot about the boys giving their all. But then seems to suggest that in different circumstances they maybe could have given more. In which case they weren't giving their all surely?
I get that it's a fine balance and it's a tough place to come back from if you openly slag the players, but obvious contradictions like this don't paint a great picture |
Agree about the Balogun bit - "well if he was shafting us I certainly wasn't aware of it" etc. Didn't come across well.
The other point wasn't bad I thought. That seemed to be about getting the players to understand that even when they thought they'd given their all there was actually more they could have given. Getting them to look at those standards, challenge themselves etc.
Players thinking they've worked their bollocks off during a match when their understanding of working one's bollocks off needs seriously reconsidered. I think there may have been quite a lot of that last season. |  | | |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 09:49 - Jul 25 with 1094 views | Hunterhoop |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 08:57 - Jul 25 by NewYorkRanger |
Interesting interview and worth the Patreon sub on its own as others have said. I wish him well but I don't think he does himself many favours with a lot of what he says (The Balogun defence last season as one obvious example). In this interview he talks a lot about the boys giving their all. But then seems to suggest that in different circumstances they maybe could have given more. In which case they weren't giving their all surely?
I get that it's a fine balance and it's a tough place to come back from if you openly slag the players, but obvious contradictions like this don't paint a great picture |
I disagree. I think they paint a good picture of Ainsworth as being much more nuances in approach than Critchley and others.
It’s not hard to work out that he doesn’t want to slag off the players and won’t, but also knows (and wants to concede to the fans) that perhaps the group of players last year didn’t really understand what 100% looked like, placing the blame for that on himself and the two mangers before.
I think that is a fair point and probably true. There are countless stories in sport of people “finding more” within themselves, pushing themselves further than they’d done before and realise they could give more.
I think that comment shows Ainsworth as being fairly astute. That sort of message is much more palatable to players (anyone, tbh) than saying to your own team, “you lazy bar stewards, you aren’t trying hard enough”. | | | |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 12:00 - Jul 25 with 990 views | NewYorkRanger |
| Gareth Ainsworth – Patreon on 09:49 - Jul 25 by Hunterhoop |
I disagree. I think they paint a good picture of Ainsworth as being much more nuances in approach than Critchley and others.
It’s not hard to work out that he doesn’t want to slag off the players and won’t, but also knows (and wants to concede to the fans) that perhaps the group of players last year didn’t really understand what 100% looked like, placing the blame for that on himself and the two mangers before.
I think that is a fair point and probably true. There are countless stories in sport of people “finding more” within themselves, pushing themselves further than they’d done before and realise they could give more.
I think that comment shows Ainsworth as being fairly astute. That sort of message is much more palatable to players (anyone, tbh) than saying to your own team, “you lazy bar stewards, you aren’t trying hard enough”. |
yeah those are reasonable points - and I can see the tightrope he is trying to walk here. The Critchley approach obviously did not work but I guess my wider view is that GA quite frequently makes comments that are patently not true, and that's obvious if you watch the games.
That said, this interview has changed my perspective somewhat. I thought what we saw on and off the pitch at the end of last season was wholly unacceptable and that he was a poor appointment. But I think he makes enough good points in this interview to warrant being a good run this season. Hopefully he can deliver against a lot of the objectives discussed in the interview | |
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