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Post by Macmoish on Feb 8, 2011 9:07:20 GMT
Edit/Bump (Harold Winton, Seven years ago, (RIP)
QPR Official Site - HAROLD WINTON
Posted on: Tue 09 Feb 2010
It is with deep regret that the Club has learned of the passing of Honorary Life President Harold Winton.
Winton passed away last night after a five year battle against Cancer.
As a mark of respect, the Club will be holding a minute's silence prior to our Coca Cola Championship fixture against Ipswich Town at Loftus Road this evening.
Gianni Paladini, told http://www.qpr.co.uk: "We are all extremely saddened to hear of Harold's passing.
"He was a true QPR fan, who not only supported the Club through thick and thin, but also helped assist in helping secure the services of Doudou, Dan shiteeeeeeetu and Marc Bircham.
"He was a true gentleman and he will be missed by everyone at the Club."
The thoughts of the Club are with the Winton family and their friends at this difficult time.
May he rest in peace.
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Post by Lonegunmen on Feb 8, 2011 12:57:58 GMT
Yes, a very sad loss and grateful thanks to him and his family for their awesome support during QPR's darker years and beyond.
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Post by weavie on Feb 8, 2011 17:57:52 GMT
howard god bless you for everything
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Post by Macmoish on Feb 9, 2011 1:21:48 GMT
Dave McIntyre Blog
URL: wp.me/pFeRV-ad
Memories of Harold Winton
By davidmcintyre
A year ago tonight I was in a very sombre mood indeed.
I was contacting various people connected with QPR to give them very sad news about Harold Winton’s condition, and asking them to think about what they might like to say the following day when, sadly, I would probably be putting together a tribute to him.
Harold’s sons, Matt and Alex, had agreed that I should do this in preparation for the inevitable news that would follow. Harold had been suffering with Cancer for some time.
Perhaps the person most synonymous with the Wintons is Dan Shittu, who was number one on my list that evening. But Shittu was on international duty with Nigeria and I was unable to get hold of him in time.
Shittu later paid his own tribute to Harold, who funded the player’s move to Rangers from Charlton and took a keen interest in his career after that.
Harold also agreed to help Rangers with the signing of Marc Bircham, who was sad to hear the news about him and said some nice words. Nick Blackburn had his differences with Harold while chairman but was sincere in his tribute, as was another former Rangers chairman Bill Power, who had great affection for him.
One person Harold always had a particularly soft spot for was Gary Waddock, who also paid him a nice tribute.
A sign of the esteem Harold was held in was that, after the news that he had passed away, so many others – some of whom I didn’t even know knew Harold so well – were keen to add their own tribute. He was known to many more former QPR players than I realised.
Harold is most known for his involvement in the Doudou, Bircham and Shittu deals, and it’s for those that he was invited to join the board and later given the title of honorary president.
But he also worked tirelessly behind the scenes during some incredibly traumatic times for QPR. I had a ringside seat for the battles that were fought during that awful period, and can vouch for the fact that Harold was at the forefront of the daily fight for the club’s survival.
He was later joined by the likes of Power, Kevin McGrath, Gianni Paladini, Dave Morris and others, but for a time he was the club’s leading firefighter.
Bringing in players was the fun – and the public – part. There was plenty more going on away from all that. There were bills to be paid and battles to be fought.
I liked Harold a lot. I never told him so, because I’d never tell a bigwig at QPR something like that. Plus we had our differences. He would sometimes be unhappy about a story of mine, never more so than one that suggested Ian Holloway was looking to replace Doudou, which Harold took great exception to.
But like Holloway, Harold didn’t tend to bear grudges. On one occasion, in 2006, I was banned from the press area at Loftus Road because of a falling out with the regime. Harold, who was poorly at the time, didn’t know about this and in any case was unhappy with me about something.
When he found out a few weeks later, he insisted that he would “sort it”. I didn’t say at the time because I didn’t want to seem ungrateful, but I didn’t want him to get involved, as I was worried this would leave me owing him something. The Wintons are good people, but they knew how and when to call a favour in. I didn’t want to be in that situation.
A few months later, Harold and I had a disagreement over a story I’d done. I waited for him to remind me that I owed him one and was an ungrateful so-and-so, but he never did. Not then, or other times when we were on opposite sides.
He was always fantastic and engaging to speak to. Mad as a hatter at times, often touting some idea he’d come up with, and almost always with a plan to get this or that player to QPR by hook or by crook. The return of Lee Camp, for example, was something he had tried to bring about several times before a deal was eventually done.
There was also conflict. Harold was hugely supportive of Holloway and Paladini, but fell out with them for very different reasons. His relationship with the latter was affected by the boardroom coup of 2005, which Harold was deeply unhappy about. Later, the sale of Dean Parrett and other issues caused real acrimony.
Harold wasn’t perfect but there were some misconceptions about him. More recently, Paulo Sousa’s problematic reign opened many eyes to how the internet can be used to influence opinions. People seem wise to it now. But previously, Harold was a messageboard target in a way that made the Sousa debacle look tame.
For some time there was an implication that, among other things, Harold was responsible for various leaks and negative stories about QPR, was hell-bent on self-promotion, and couldn’t stop talking to the press.
Harold let that go without comment. As did I – the person who wrote 99% of the stories in question, and as such was the only person who knew the truth, while fiction was being presented as fact on messageboards.
It was a sad time. Harold and I had had our differences, but this was a sick and elderly man who’d done a lot for the club and was being demonised unfairly.
Ironically, Harold worked tirelessly to prevent leaks and worked to uphold the club’s reputation at all times. He could talk for England, but was actually very reluctant to comment on anything on the record, and was constantly putting the squeeze on me in various ways to try and prevent things getting into the public domain.
Far from being a sneaky leak, what Harold actually did was take the bull by the horns and speak publicly about something when he felt the need to. But these occasions were in fact very few and far between.
After Harold died it wasn’t appropriate to dwell on these things. But a year on, maybe it’s the right time to reveal that, actually, there were only five occasions when Harold sought publicity. In all five cases he initially tried to get his way via private persuasion.
The first was after the promotion in 2004, when there were divisions behind the scenes and Harold had fears about where things were heading.
The second and third occasions were over attempts to replace Holloway with Ramon Diaz, and later the 2005 boardroom split that led to Power and Mark Devlin being ousted. In both cases Harold was unhappy with me because he felt I should have written something sooner than I did.
The fourth was after Power and Devlin were removed, and Harold was unhappy that Paladini and the Monaco group were in sole control. He took his position as honorary president seriously, and felt that he should say publicly that he was concerned, and pointed to examples at Wimbledon and Stoke of what can happen when a club comes under foreign control.
The fifth and most controversial was Harold’s public call for Holloway to be replaced.
For his role in Holloway’s exit, Harold perhaps won’t be judged favourably by some. But he had his reasons, and it’s also the case that he had fought tooth and nail to keep Holloway in the job on several occasions when he was close to the sack. He had also backed him financially.
Once the club’s president and a former key ally made it known he wanted him out, the game was up for Holloway and he knew it. But that was Harold. One afternoon my phone rang and Harold’s number appeared. I knew from experience it wasn’t a good sign. He said what he had to say about Holloway and told me to do what I wanted with it. I warned him that the fans may never forgive him, sarcastically thanked him for wrecking my relationship with the manager, and that was it. That’s how Harold operated. In that respect he was as far removed from sneaky as you can get, so whispers that he was behind a series of leaks couldn’t have been further from the truth.
Whether he got the Holloway issue right or wrong, one thing is for sure: Harold loved QPR and had its best interests at heart. I also have no doubt that his involvement in Rangers took its toll on him, and on Matt and Alex.
Top of the league and owned by billionaires, it’s easy now to lose sight of what a mess Rangers were in a few years ago, and Harold’s role in getting the club to where it is today.
In May, if Rangers are promoted, Neil Warnock and the players will rightly bask in the glory. So will the owners and board. But Harold will have played his part too.
He was mad, yet when it mattered he was the voice of sanity. That was the great Harold paradox. And no matter how bleak things were – and boy were they bleak at times – Harold always had a Del Boy-like enthusiasm and belief that if we could just get this player or win that battle, then this time next year we’ll be millionaires.
In the end, it turns out he was right.
The likes of Briatore and Ecclestone may not remember him, but that wouldn’t have bothered Harold. He would, though, have wanted to be fondly remembered by QPR fans, who were always most important to him.
And, for what he did for his club during its darkest days, he ought to be remembered. Not just on this, the first anniversary of his passing, but always.
davidmcintyre.wordpress.com/2011/02/08/memories-of-harold-winton/
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Post by Macmoish on Feb 9, 2011 1:34:24 GMT
A really good piece by Mr. McIntyre. Congratulations.
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Post by Lonegunmen on Feb 9, 2011 4:48:03 GMT
errrr Weavie, it the late Harold, not the late Howard
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Post by Macmoish on Feb 9, 2011 7:58:25 GMT
These were the tributes and memories on this board at the time after Bill Power Announced it here I have just received a phone call to let me know that my dear old friend Harold Winton has died. Most of you will know of him by name if not personally. A true R. I argued with him every other day while I was at the club because it didn't matter what I tried to do it was never enough for Harold because it was our Rs that we were talking about. My love and condolences to the boys and family. Unreplaceable x Read more: qprreport.proboards.com/thread/10687#ixzz3QwuMzxv1
The Various other messageboard tributesqprreport.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=10687 |
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Post by Zamoraaaah on Feb 9, 2011 18:08:05 GMT
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Post by Macmoish on Feb 10, 2011 7:59:56 GMT
Found this 'flashback'..Reminder not just the father has been of help.)
Evening Standard - Brothers will raise £1m to help QPR
By Gerry Cox 22.01.02
Alex and Matt Winton have been invited into the Queens Park Rangers executive boxes tonight, but the brothers will move back to their regular seats by the time the match kicks off.
The pair, who run Ghost Menswear, have been feted by Rangers fans since putting up the money for Daniel Shittu's transfer from Charlton and paying the wages of striker Doudou.
Standard Sport broke the story and the brothers are now well on their way to raising £1million from fellow Rangers fans to help manager Ian Holloway sign more players.
They have set up 'We are QPR' plc to attract investment to the troubled club and have become honorary life members of the club's Loyal Supporters' Association.
The only voice of protest appeared in The Observer's letters pages this weekend, suggesting they were a couple of "savvy businessmen" out to make a profit by horsetrading in footballers, and questioned whether they were true QPR supporters at all.
Alex is quick to refute the suggestion. "My brother and I have been Rangers supporters since we were kids. Our father, Harold, hosted the team's party after winning the League Cup in 1967 and loads of our family are season-ticket holders.
"Tonight, I'm supposed to be going to a box hosted by Maurice Fitzgerald, who is putting together a consortium to try to buy out Chris Wright, but it will be a fleeting appearance before I go back to my usual seat. I'm probably one of the most vocal fans in the stand, so the last thing I'd want to do is watch from an executive box."
At last week's game against Bury, the Wintons took part in the club's halftime entertainment, spinning around a traffic cone 10 times and then staggering to the penalty area before taking a spot-kick past the club mascot Jude the Cat.
After getting a standing ovation from fans, a dizzy Alex beat his brother and two other supporters to the first prize, a digital TV set-top box.
But this solidarity with the supporters is also the main reason why the Wintons came up with their innovative scheme. Rather than get involved in the politics and financial consequences of trying to take over the club, which has been in administration for nine months, the Wintons would rather have a direct influence on the pitch by helping to fund player acquisitions - and so would many other supporters, to judge by the response they have had.
In return, investors stand to receive a percentage of any future transfer fee for those players.
"I'm confident we can reach £1m by the end of the season," Alex said. "The interest has been vast and we haven't been able to keep up with it all so far. There are wealthy fans offering to invest up to £100,000, which is the maximum we would allow, and others who want to put in anything from £100 to £10,000. We are not loaded, and we are not in it to make a quick buck. We simply want to do our bit to ensure that Ian Holloway can either keep his best players or add to the squad he has. Ian is a major factor in all of this - he is the most honest manager you could wish to meet and has really turned the club around. With the Shittu deal we went to him to see if we could help fund it, because we knew he had no money to spend.
"Now he is coming to us, suggesting players we could invest in, and we are in talks with a French striker, as well as looking to take over the wages of a couple of first-teamers and reserve players.
Holloway is likely to field the same side that beat promotion rivals Stoke on Saturday, although Alex Bonnot and Aziz Ben Askar are available again.
QPR v Bournemouth
7.45pm, tonight, Loftus Road
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Post by Macmoish on Feb 8, 2012 8:31:33 GMT
Bump...
I thought it was two years ago, tomorrow. But a Finney tweet notes it was two years ago today
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Post by fraserinbc on Feb 8, 2012 17:50:36 GMT
As I have mentioned before, I would love to see something substantial (i.e. not a box or a bar) named after Harold Winton, maybe in our new stadium (if and when).
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Post by Macmoish on Feb 8, 2013 7:56:53 GMT
Three years ago today: RIP Harold Winton From a 2009 Indys Interview with Mark Lazarus"....SR: The night before the Cup Final….. ML: We all stayed at the Winton Hotel, owned by the Winton family. It was a fairly relaxed evening, a few of the boys played cards. Fats Domino also happened to be staying at the hotel, and he sung some songs at the piano for us. We all joined in with ‘Blueberry Hill’. Alec Stock just let us get on with it and as I’ve said previously, I can’t speak highly enough of the man. He was pretty easy going that evening, but that said, no one would dream of taking liberties. In the morning, we boarded the coach to Wembley, and it was a journey that will stay in my mind for ever. There were thousands of people lining the streets and walking towards Wembley. Because of the crowds, the coach went quite slowly and it took us a long time to arrive. We did pass the guys carrying the coffin and we all laughed when we saw that. We heard later that by the time they arrived at Wembley, there were thousands following the coffin. That day it seemed like the whole of West London was out on the streets cheering us on...." www.indyrs.co.uk/?p=319 |
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Post by Macmoish on Feb 8, 2013 9:17:25 GMT
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Post by Macmoish on Feb 8, 2014 11:35:18 GMT
Bump another year
Four Years ago
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Post by Macmoish on Feb 6, 2015 8:07:07 GMT
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Post by Macmoish on Feb 8, 2015 7:40:29 GMT
Bump
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Post by Macmoish on Feb 8, 2016 7:33:09 GMT
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Post by Macmoish on Feb 8, 2017 7:12:15 GMT
Bump - 7 Years ago
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