21st May 2009
Who will be the new manager of Queens Park Rangers?
By thegodfather

It has now been over a month since the departure of Paulo Sousa and a replacement has still not been announced. It is vital that the board get this appointment right – they simply cannot afford to keep sacking managers every few months. Despite the silence from the club, rumours have been circulating on the messageboards and in the national newspapers. So, who are the possible candidates for the job and are they likely to establish Queens Park Rangers as promotion contenders next season?

Luigi De Canio

Former Rs’ manager Luigi De Canio has reportedly emerged as a leading contender for the job. De Canio was appointed as John Gregory’s replacement on 29th October 2007, with the Hoops struggling at the bottom of the league. With the help of several signings in January, including Rowan Vine and Akos Buzsaky, the Italian managed to improve results on the pitch and guide Rangers to a respectable 14th place finish.

De Canio became popular with the Loftus Road supporters, mainly because of his style of play. The team played entertaining, attacking football and seemed to have no problems scoring goals. For this reason, many fans would like to see him reinstated as manager.

However, De Canio’s tactics meant that Queens Park Rangers were often left vulnerable defensively. The Rs seemed to struggle to hold on to leads and conceded far too many last-minute equalisers – notably against Wolves and Hull late in the 2007/08 season. The Italian’s record wasn’t particularly impressive either, only winning 12 of his 35 matches in charge.

If he were to be appointed as the new manager, he would certainly receive strong support from many QPR fans. But would it be a step in the wrong direction?

Jim Magilton

Magilton has emerged as a possible candidate for the QPR job over the last few days. He enjoyed an illustrious playing career, which lasted over 17 years. In 1999 he signed for Ipswich Town and went on to make over 250 appearances for the Tractor Boys. After the departure of Joe Royle at the end of the 2005/06 season, Magilton was appointed as the new manager of Town, with the announcement coming as a big surprise to many.

In his first season in charge, Magilton guided Ipswich to a 14th place finish – well clear of the relegation zone. The next season saw Town establish themselves as play-off contenders thanks to their terrific home form. Unfortunately for the supporters, the club missed out on a place in the top six by one point.

During the summer of 2008, Magilton spent a lot of money on new signings such as Ivan Campo from Bolton Wanderers. Hopes were high at Portman Road. However, the team failed to live up to the expectations of the fans and sunk into mid-table mediocrity. After failing to reach the play-offs, Magilton was sacked on the 22nd April 2009.

Magilton would not be a popular appointment with the Queens Park Rangers supporters. His tenure at Ipswich was not particularly successful. That said, he does have a lot of experience at this level – certainly more than the likes of De Canio. But is he really the man to take Rangers forward?

Gianluca Vialli

Vialli has been linked with Queens Park Rangers on numerous occasions since Flavio Briatore took control of the club. The Italian began his managerial career with Chelsea and won several major trophies during his time at Stamford Bridge, including the League Cup, the Cup Winners’ Cup and the FA Cup. However, after a poor start to the 2000/01 campaign, Vialli was sacked.

The former Juventus striker then took up the managerial vacancy at Watford in 2001. After making some very expensive changes to the coaching staff and the squad, Vialli guided the team to a disappointing 14th place finish. He was sacked after just one season in charge.

With his Chelsea connections, Vialli is unlikely to be QPR fans’ first-choice for the job. He enjoyed a successful few years at Stamford Bridge, but his spell at Watford turned out to be a complete disaster. Has he been out of the game for too long?

Paul Ince

Ince was one of the first to be linked with the Queens Park Rangers managerial position after the sacking of Paulo Sousa. The former England international midfielder started his career in management with Macclesfield Town in October 2006. Ince managed to guide the Silkmen clear of relegation, securing the club’s Football League status on the final day of the 06/07 season.

The former Manchester United midfielder then moved on to Milton Keynes Dons during the summer of 2007. Ince led the Dons to both the League Two title and the Football League Trophy at Wembley Stadium.

Ince’s impressive record attracted the interest of Blackburn and he was announced as Rovers new manager in June 2008. The team started the season badly, finding themselves in the Premiership relegation zone and Ince was eventually sacked in December 2008.

As can be seen, Paul Ince has proved that he is capable of getting teams promoted out of the lower divisions of the Football League. Would he be able to cope in the Championship?

Dennis Wise

Former Chelsea midfielder, Dennis Wise, has been tipped by many journalists to succeed Paulo Sousa as Queens Park Rangers manager.

Wise’s first job in football management came at Millwall. In 2004, he led them to the FA Cup final at the Millennium Stadium, where they lost 3-0 to Manchester United. Despite this and establishing the Lions as Championship play-off contenders, Wise left the club at the end of the 2004/05 season.

The former Premiership midfielder’s next job came at Swindon Town. After an excellent start to the season, which left Town occupying an automatic promotion place, Wise left the club and joined cash-strapped Leeds United.

Wise wasn’t able to guide Leeds United to survival in the Championship and the Whites suffered relegation to League One. Things got even worse when the club was docked 15 points by the Football League as a result of its financial problems. Despite this, Wise won the first seven games of the 2007/08 season and managed to get the team challenging at the top of the table.

Then, in a bizarre move, Wise left United to become an Executive Director at Newcastle United. After the departure of Kevin Keegan, he came under criticism from many fans of the Magpies. Wise eventually left Newcastle when Alan Shearer was appointed as manager on an ‘interim basis’.

For many Queens Park Rangers fans, Wise would not be a popular choice. Although he enjoyed successful periods with Millwall, Swindon and Leeds, many would argue that this was down to Wise’s Assistant, Gus Poyet.

Aidy Boothroyd

Aidy Boothroyd is the latest manager to be linked with the Queens Park Rangers managerial position. The former Watford man certainly knows how to get promoted to the Premiership.

In 2005, to many people’s surprise, he was appointed as the new boss of the Hornets. This was to be Boothroyd’s first job in management and many pundits suspected that Watford would struggle with such an inexperienced manager. However, he took the Championship by storm, reaching the play-off final at the Millennium Stadium and thrashing Leeds United 3-0 to gain promotion to the Premier League.

The season that followed would prove to be disappointing. The Hornets did reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup but finished bottom of the Premiership and were relegated back to the Championship.

Watford started the 2007/08 season very well indeed, finding themselves 9 points clear at the top of the Championship table after 12 games. However, after losing 4-2 to QPR at Vicarage Road, the Hornets began to struggle and only just reached the play-offs, where they were thrashed 6-1 on aggregate by Hull City. After a poor start to the 2008/09 campaign, Boothroyd resigned as manager of Watford.

Boothroyd likes his teams to play long-balls up to a big, strong target-man. This tactic brought him much success during his time at Vicarage Road – but would it be as effective with Queens Park Rangers?

Alan Curbishley

Many Queens Park Rangers fans would like to see Curbishley appointed as manager. He spent fifteen years in charge of Charlton Athletic, winning them promotion to the Premiership and establishing them as a top-flight club. He eventually left the club in 2006 after managing 729 Athletic games.

Curbishley then became manager of West Ham United in December 2006, with the Hammers deep in relegation trouble. He somehow led them to safety, registering a 1-0 win over Man United at Old Trafford on the last day of the 06/07 season to secure the club’s survival. He left West Ham in September 2008 after several players were reportedly sold without his permission. It does seem unlikely that Curbishley would become the manager of Queens Park Rangers when he left the Irons because of an interfering owner.

Other names suggested by the media…..

Alan Pardew – the former Reading, West Ham and Charlton Athletic boss was linked with the QPR job by several newspapers. Could he be the one to take the Rs to the Premiership?

Steve Coppell – since his resignation as Reading manager, there has been some speculation that he could take the job at QPR.

Steve Cotterill – the former Burnley manager has been suggested as a possible candidate for the QPR job by some on the messageboards.

Antonio Tapia – he is currently managing Malaga in Spain. They lie in 8th place in La Liga. The board would be taking a risk in appointing him – he has no experience of managing in the Championship.

Terry Venables – The former QPR and England manager could be in line for a shock return to management at Loftus Road. Has he still got what it takes to reap success at this level?

Sven Goran Eriksson and Luiz Felipe Scolari – in the extremely unlikely event that one of these two managers was appointed, top-class players would certainly be attracted to Queens Park Rangers.

Conclusion

Whoever is appointed as the new manager, it is incredibly important that he is given full control of first-team affairs and is given a substantial amount of money to invest in the squad. If this doesn’t happen, then it is likely that I will be writing another article about possible candidates for the QPR managerial position early next season.