How NOT To Run A Premier League Football Club

In the 2012-13 Premier League season, Queens Park Rangers had the third highest net spend in the division, the seventh highest wage bill, and a bigger budget than that season's UEFA Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund - yet they finished bottom of the league, with just 25 points, and were relegated to the Championship.

On a point per pound spent basis, it remains the most spectacularly terrible season in the history of the Premier League.

So in this video, through the lens of QPR under owner Tony Fernandes and his predecessors, HITC Sevens takes a look at precisely how not to run a Premier League football club.

[jimbob]

As a Formula 1 fan, hearing Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone's names mentioned immediately turned this into the crossover episode from hell. You would have to be pretty desperate to consider their involvement in any sort of business operation.

As a football fan, I am also now forced to remember the 0-0 draw between Reading and QPR that saw them both relegated that season. It remains the worst game of football I've ever seen, with both teams seemingly resigned to their fates and not even trying to score.

[dronesclubhighjinks]

"QPR suffered a collapse which was so abysmal that Tony Fernandez tried to sign it."
My condolences to QPR fans!
Thank you for taking the time to acknowledge newer football fans and to explain something basic. It's often difficult for people to learn about a sport they want to be interested in because most channels are aimed at experienced fans/knowledgeable viewers.
Thanks for the video!

[FKrazy]

7:48 For any football fans not familiar with Briatore's race-fixing scandal: at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, Briatore and chief engineer Pat Symonds told Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr to crash deliberately. The resulting safety car period played into the hands of Renault's other driver, Fernando Alonso, and allowed him to win the race. it also arguably decided the championship, as when race leader Felipe Massa pitted under the safety car, he drove off with the fuel hose still attached and was forced to retire from the race - he went on to lose the title by one point. Incidentally, neither Briatore or Symonds received any real punishment - their lifetime bans were swiftly overturned on appeal and they both now actually work for Formula One (Symonds as chief technical officer and Briatore as an ambassador). I feel like that says a lot about Formula One, actually.

[rohit-wzy]

As a football fan from outside Britain (and Europe) the only two reasons why I even know about QPR's existence is Aguero's goal with Martin Tyler's classic and Taarabt. Never imagined they ever had such financial commitments.

[burkezillar]

What doesn't get spoken about enough is Barton's dismissal in that Man City game. Barton's a hot head (to put it incredibly politely), but I have always thought he went way over the top - even by his own standards. I have always wondered if something was going on behind the scenes to ensure Manchester City - of which Barton was a former player of - won that day. And it always starts with Barton.

[Luke-zsjx]

Now granted this was a bad period for QPR fans, but for me personally I had an excellent Ultimate Team on FIFA 13 as a result of their transfer business

[BigFudge]

As an American who really started investing his time in football in about 2011… I can’t get enough of these history lessons, had only a small understanding of the corruption at QPR… fantastic content, looking forward to the next one.

[yusufkassim]

I’m so happy he’s finally made a what the hell is going at QPR video, it’s about time someone shed light on the turmoil at our club

[MangoFandangoBB]

As a QPR fan, these were the best years of QPR in terms of sheer drama. Day by day we'd find some new and unbelievable news, like the gunman attacking the new director Paladini before kick off in 2005. And who was it pointing the gun? Only the QPR director (another one) David Morris, who was charged with blackmailing.

And we had Ian Holloway for some light relief on the sidelines. Had us fans in stitches with his unorthodox interviews. I miss these times.

[ezraezra]

QPR and Malaga have dominated the stories during the 2012/13. Unlike QPR, Malaga had a good run in La Liga 2011/12, where they finished fourth and qualified for the next season of the Champions League, at which they were only narrowly eliminated by eventual finalist Borussia Dortmund in the quarterfinals. However, UEFA banned the club because of FFP breaches, thus starting a big crisis for Andalucians, where they were relegated to La Liga 2 in 2017/18, and now in Primera Division RFEF (3rd tier of Spanish football).
Also, QPR had even went to Indonesia during the preseason friendlies against Persebaya Surabaya in 2012, which gained a positive receptions for Indonesian football fans.

[dominicbarden]

Not only was there Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore involved in QPR at this time from an F1 pov, Tony Fernandes owned the Lotus/Caterham team when he took over QPR until 2014 when he sold it mid-season (the team folded at the end of the season and in fact had only made it to the final round thanks to crowdfunding, having missed the previous two races due to being placed in administration). Meanwhile also involved the initial 2007 takeover was also Alejandro Agag, who at the time ran the Addax team in GP2, and who would go on to found the Formula E championship.

[kingstonkuek]

The only reason why I know QPR exists is because I’m Malaysian and it was made a huge story when Tony Fernandes took over the club. Was a bit funny to see how mismanaged it was but it makes sense seeing how air Asia is struggling and still owes me 500 ringgit of credit for a flight plan they cancelled

[yudhabagaskara]

2014 bankrupted Caterham F1 team
2015 QPR got relegated and never returned ever since
Spot the similarities

[jakelennon]

The worst thing about this period was the time that preceded it.

I remember losing to Cardiff in 2003 and the joy of 2004. The subsequent years in the Championship felt never-ending, and we were always either mid-table or, when we did finish low, it was due to a late-season collapse when safety had been pretty much guaranteed. When the Mittals and the F1 guys came in, it felt like we were really going to kick on, and people like me (90s babies) would get to experience the years that our parents and so on told us about. There was a genuine hope that, finally, we would have a top team in our little area.

(For the record: Shepherd's Bush might be fancy now, but that's a new development. It used to be deprived and where all the Irish immigrants landed. My grandparents had a house they bought there for £16k when £16k was maybe twice the average annual salary. That same house recently sold for nearly £2m, but there are plenty of people in the area who just stayed).

The fact that it was so poorly managed, and that our owners couldn't see what the fans could was just the worst feeling. I've never known QPR fans to be as despondent as the season after the Play-Offs: we knew we wouldn't stay up. We hoped, but we knew. And we also knew we wouldn't be coming back up for a while.

Hopefully the person who bought out Fernandes is a bit more savvy, and it might be the case that we make some decent signings and GA gets to play in his style. A lot of the fans are ready to write him off, but he did well at Wycombe on a shoestring and I think he can do the same with us, especially considering how much he cares for the club.

One thing I do know: no other team in London does more for the local community. Loftus Rd has only ever been known as that or 'The Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium'. They hosted the Game for Grenfell, free of charge. They play a poem read by Dean McKee before every game (he was a local lad who succumbed to COVID). Albert Adomah is from the area and ALWAYS stays behind to speak to the fans, as do many of the other lads.

There's more of a team spirit now than there was in the Prem years. Hopefully that translates to safety and stability on the pitch. COYRs.

[matthewparkes]

The Fact that you didn't even mention how we received the biggest fine in FFP History for these actions caused by the owners and board sums up how incredibly bad it was during that period.

[userSoulguy]

as a Malaysian, I sincerely apologize to all QPR supporters for the existence of Tony Fernandes

[npc-npdc]

I know I'm not the only QPR fan who has genuinely almost wiped these years from my memory... Helps that we had a terrible new badge for the same period, so almost feels like a different club

[depekthegreat]

Oh!!!Yeah good friend, Queens Park Rangers during the early 2010's when they were in the Premier League but as one of the real respective smaller teams, they did spend huge in the transfer market during their time in the league but signed many massively dud players which was a mistake in their part which made them relegated during the 2012/2013 season, good friends!!!🙏

[simonkevnorris]

Briatore did not resign from the F1 team he received a lifetime ban from F1 due to his part in getting Nelson Piquet Jnr to crash in the Singapore GP which allowed his team mate (Alonso) to win the race as he had already done his pitstop. The ban has been lifted as Briatore has appeared on the F1 grid a number of times.

[andrewbryce]

They signed Christopher Samba for £15m in the January transfer window. Poor guy was unfit as the Russian season was on its 3 month winter break. Ridiculous signing by Harry Redknapp. Samba got thrown under the bus as he clearly wasn't ready to play. The whole dressing room was a mess due to the huge difference in wages between the majority of players and the new signings. Also never give Mark Hughes money to sign players as he wastes it every time.