uRRRs blog Underwhelmed

Posted: June 3rd 2009
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Can you be ‘whelmed’? Under- and overwhelmed undoubtedly (though clearly not at the same time)...but whelmed...it’s from the dismantle / mantle school, I guess.

Today, I am mostly underwhelmed. Confused, too. And just a bit pissed off.

For the record, I’ve always quite liked Ipswich Town (having grown up in the Bobby Robson era at Portman Road). I always thought Jim Magilton was ok too. My problem with his appointment as our new manager (at least he’s been named manager rather than ‘head coach’) lies in the fact that it shows our infamous owners’ 4 year plan up as hogwash.

All three of Magilton’s new owner-appointed predecessors (that’s Luigi De Canio, Iain Dowie and Paolo Sousa, in case you’ve struggled to keep up) arguably had stronger CVs than Magilton. So even if you buy the spin that LDC left for personal reasons; that Briatore decided quickly that Dowie was a mistake and felt it best to act swiftly to rectify said mistake; and that Sousa really did breach club discipline...and from buying that spin, are prepared to accept that the 4 year plan does exist...how can Magilton be deemed a step forward, or even a standing still appointment.

He’s just been sacked by Ipswich for failing to achieve precisely what our board sees as next season’s minimum objective, namely a Play Off place. OK, so his card may have been marked as soon as Marcus Evans swept into the Suffolk boardroom...maybe he wanted a Hollywood name as much as QPR’s owners, for all their flamboyance, appear not to want one. But what has he said or done to be charged with leading the QPR ‘project’?

Most of us were similarly underwhelmed when Ian Holloway was appointed. His previous tenure at Bristol Rovers (the only club on his managerial CV) had gone sour, and it was generally felt that many bigger, more experienced names simply didn’t fancy the job. One suspects that, for different reasons, the same is true right now. We can but hope Jim has the impact Holloway had.

Within days of Iain Dowie being appointed a year ago, rumours circulated that if he got us up, he would be rewarded with a handsome pay off as we went for a sexier name to cope with Prem life. I actually had no problem with that concept – in many walks of business, it’s quite commonplace to appoint someone to achieve a specific goal, then replace them for the next phase of ‘the project’. The fact that it was being openly discussed at least demonstrated that there were many (both on the board and amongst the fanbase) who felt it within Dowie’s capabilities to get us promoted.

I don’t foresee similar conversations about Jim Magilton in the weeks to come. Maybe, though, zero expectation is a good way to start the season. He has inherited a good squad. If he can bring in a reliable striker and a decent left back, it’s a way above average Championship squad. Let’s hope he’s backed to do just that, and can then show what he’s made of.

uRRRs!