10 Years Today: QPR Launched Blog

[QPR Report]

Update: 10 Years ago, today (June 16, 2005) QPR Report Blog was "born" www.qprreport.blogspot.com/ (and then some three years later - or now almost four years ago - the Messageboard)


As posted couple years ago:

Slightly later this month (not sure of the exact date - because things got mysteriously deleted and the records only go back to December 2005) but it was June 2005 when QPR Report Blog was launched.

And then a couple weeks later or so, QPR Memories
www.qprmemories.blogspot.com/ (which I shortly put very much on the "back burner")

I actually first started a QPR blog in 2002 www.qprupdate.blogspot.com but for some reason (I don't remember why) just started it, posted once/twice and then gave up.

I think whatever a few of my messageboard "critics"/"detractors" say (or even in a couple of cases, have tried and done), for most QPR fans - even those who have totally and sometime vehemently disgareed with some of my views - QPR Report blog has proved a useful informational tool for QPR fans - Especially those who don't wish to spend inordinate amounts of time on the web for QPR matters. And for me at least, QPR Report is especially interesting when you look back or are searching for some QPR matters.

Anyway G-d willing/Inshallah: Here's hopefully to a fair number more years of QPR Report, the Blog.

[blockhead]

happy birthday Blog.

Like many I am a blog follower then came to post on the message board, ten out of ten for effort, its not easy, even your sternest critics would empathise with that,

so well done and keep it up.

also you have saved the club a fortune in PR budget

[canadaranger]

Congrats. That's a huge amount of work and commitment!

[Lonegunmen]

Ok, how about republishing the first Report Blog and the first Report MB thread for old times sake??

[cpr]

Don't know why you bother, nobody reads it.
You never go to games and haven't been since '69 so know nothing.
Nobody agrees with you.
You have your own agenda.
The anti-Paladini stance goes against everything he stands for.
You are an enemy of "true" Rangers fans.



Keep up the good work.

[QPR Report]

Sadly the first QPR Report Blog posts mysteriously disappeared. I was never completely certain whether it was something I somehow deleted myself - or whether something else happened.
When QPR Report was launched it was a time of "feel good" - Gianni was just a background figure while Caliendo I'm not sure if he was even that To me it was Holloway and Bill Power and Devlin...and QPR were just about to win Ibiza, etc.. And then of course a few weeks later, came the Sheffield United game and whatever happened/didn't happen; arrests; Boardroom coup, etc. And the blog became a little controversial (the opposite to what I intended)

An early messageboard thread, I can more easily look for.

If you look back: Quite a number of QPR boards have been launched in the past five years. And of course several others relaunched Off the top (and no offense intended): QPR Dot.org which "took over" from .org' .. Vital Football QPR (and other Vital Football), Indys, Ade's site, Scott's site, Podcast, and of course WATRB

[londonranger]

First found the blog and then couldnt believe that we had quite a bit in common except he is a computer expert and I am a

computer minimalist. Mikes encyclopedic kmowledge and his research on our club are fantastic, plus the time effort and dedication. He also taught me a lot about use of computer and being one of the first messageboarders, which he dragged me to kicking and screaming, which now I really respect. Posting and writing about the Rs, and all the rest of the spinoffs, and learning and reminiscing and finding so many new colleagues, has been a big addition to my life. also I hope I have contributed as one of the first. Had no idea that one could communicate with fans on net. Being out of england for a while except the visits to see games and family, I used to use the BBC World service by SW radio and the Weekly International Express. Well congratulations Mike Mazzeltov, to all of our healths and Mikes, You Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrs. Report has brought them alive.

[Macmoish]

Wasnt going to do this self-congratulatory crap, but for the record, I see from last year post it was five years ago today, I did the first post as "QPR Report" when Gianni was little more than a gleam in my eye and Ecclestone was a name I had a vague consciousness as something to do with racing!

qprreport.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=4389

Ha!

The first QPR Report posting was June 16, 2005

Ian Holloway was the Manager

Bill Power was the Chairman

Mark Devlin was the CEO

And QPR had just won the Ibiza Tournament

And so many things that one would have never envisaged had not yet occurred

Sorry. I don't normally do this "self-indulgent" stuff. Won't again till I note the first anniversary of this board (sometime in October!)

[Macmoish]

Bump...Marking six years

I hate sites who excessively "navel-gaze" or who pretentiously self-proclaim themselves to be the "most popular" or the "best" or even "the Number One" site...

So I'll just say: Six Years wow....



Onwards and Upwards

[maudesfishnchips]

well done all

[harlowranger]

Great work Mac , thats a hell of a lot of time you have committed to this site.Well done.
You have a great Board and a good Team (me excluded of course) but of course its the quality of some truely amazing posters that makes it !
Keep on posting everybody!

[Macmoish]

Thanks Harlow for all your contributions and help (and future help! )

One clarification (which I edited at the top to make clear): It's six years since the QPR Report Blog started. This messageboard is just under three years old (as of October). (I'll make up another "celebration"/commemoration" milestone re this messageboard in a few weeks )

[Lonegunmen]

One item of interest caught my eye....

Power behind QPR
By Ian McCullough

It has often been said, usually in dreamy tones, by many a football supporter, that they would give money to the club they love and support when they win the lottery.

London Irishman Bill Power is someone who has fulfilled the first part of that dream although the money he has invested in Queens Park Rangers is his very own hard-earned cash and not the type made by buying a lucky dip ticket from the local supermarket.

While London football is now dominated by the nouveau-riche Chelsea courtesy of the billions of Russian oil magnate Roman Abramovich and the charismatic, free-flowing on their day, but enigmatic Arsenal under Arsene Wenger, there was a time when QPR were the talk of the capital.

At a time when Irish emigration to London was rife during the late 1960s and through to the ’70s, many settled in west London areas such as Hammersmith, Shepherds Bush, Kensal Rise and Greenford and the team whose ground sits just off the Uxbridge Road became the focal point for a many of the new settlers in the capital and their offspring.

Power, the son of Wexford parents and an Irish passport holder, was one of the many who were hooked by players such as Rodney Marsh, Les Allen and Mark Lazarus lighting up the pitch that the youngster could see from his bedroom window overlooking Loftus Road from the White City Estate adjacent to the ground.

Forty years on and with memories of Marsh, Stan Bowles, Don Givens, Gerry Francis, Les Ferdinand et al, just that, Power stepped in to help out the club that had been such a huge part of his life.

Less than 10 years after finishing as top London club in the Premiership, Rangers were on the brink of going out of business as they slipped into the third tier of English football for the first time in 40 years.

Years of fecklessness both on and off the pitch had taken the club into administration and the only way it was able to get itself out of the parlous situation was by taking out an ill-advised £10million loan with a little-known Panamanian company ABC Loans.

The repayments were costing the club £1m-a-year in interest alone and after failure to reach the old First Division after a play-off final defeat by Cardiff, the club spent the whole of last season on the verge of slipping back into administration despite an average gate of 16,000 and record season-ticket sales.

Various parties had expressed an interest in putting money into the club, but to no fruition. The reluctance of former chairman Chris Wright to sell his shares to interested parties despite having declared he was no longer interested in the club proved a stumbling block and QPR needed investment ASAP.

Step forward Power, a season-ticket holder of over 20 years and an electrician who made his money by setting up Datasat, a Satellite communication company.

Among their clients are governmental departments from numerous countries, including Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and the Buckinghamshire-based company are now among the world leaders in their field.

“It was a complete stroke of luck that I got into the business,” he admitted. “I was working as an electrician and I had just moved into a new house and a new family moved in next door and Phil Emmel, who is now my business partner, asked me if I could have a look at some circuit plans for a job he was about to embark on.

“He then asked me to help him out on a few jobs abroad and shortly after we set up the business and were very fortunate just getting in at the right time and we have done well to get where are, thanks to some hard work.”

While business was booming for Bill, the team he followed was not. A family called the Wintons had bought two players for the cash-strapped club so Bill made a phone call to QPR’s former chief executive to offer some further help and ask about the possibility of purchasing another player.

He explained: “Apart from my family, QPR have been the biggest part of my life and something I have dedicated a great deal of my time and support to.

“So I picked up the phone and couldn’t believe it when I was put straight through to chief executive David Davies.

“I made an initial investment of £200,000 which was accepted and was invited to sit in on a couple of board meetings, but I realised shortly after that there were a few things that didn’t make sense.

“There were some steps being taken that were costing us more money than was being brought in, like planning to install a whole new computer network with new equipment for staff, and bringing in even more personnel to an already oversized staff.”

In addition to Power an Italian former football agent Gianni Paladini had also become a shareholder along with another London Irishman Kevin McGrath — a senior partner in an asset management company in the City.

With the club losing money hand over fist, a number of changes had to be made with the first being at the top where senior staff were ousted followed by a number of redundancies.

“Basically I had put my money into the club which was gratefully received but I was being ignored and decisions were being made without my knowledge,” said Bill.

With the new board in place, Power was asked to become chairman of the club.

“It was a great honour to be asked to be chairman and something myself and my family are very proud of but not something I ever envisaged or was aspiring for when I made that phone call last year.”

So with the club’s long-term future looking far rosier than 12 months ago after a tax bill was paid off in the summer and investment being made in players and money available to manager Ian Holloway to spend, optimism is high in W12 after a respectable return to the Coca-Cola Championship.

“I am very confident that we will be back in the Premiership within three years. We have a very long way to go at the moment but we are making the right progress,” he said.

“The loan is still a major millstone around our necks and we looking to get a plan agreed to re-structure the payments as at the minute and hopefully that will be resolved.

“We are also very close to securing a site for a new training ground. This will not come out of club funds and will be a gift to the club and a sign of our intentions.

“Myself, Kevin and Gianni are not in the Abramovich mould, none of us have money to chuck away, but we all believe in what we are doing and, hopefully, that will see us back where we feel we belong.”

www.irishabroad.com/news/irishpost/sport/powerbehindqpr.asp

www.qprmemories.blogspot.com/

[RoryTheRanger]

Well done all, only been here 5 months (I think) but I have loved my time here

Onwards and Upwards

[Jon Doeman]

It's a great job you do Mac,
appreciated by all 'right thinking' QPR fans.
Not by XXXXXXX, but he's a pr1ck, but he still reads it!


Edited by markqpr.

Sorry Jon, even though most if not all agree with and share your sentiments, insulting someone who is not a member here, however much he wants to be otherwise he wouldn't try multiple sign ups and using proxies to rejoin, goes against the board's ethos.

He's always best just ignored.

[Lonegunmen]

I guess you are referring to the person whom can log in anytime he chooses to but keeps telling everyone he has been banned?

[Macmoish]

Lone: I think you're referring to "The Apparatchik" while JonDoeman is referring to "The Wannabe"

[5hourslateR]

This is my daily fix, thank you all.

[londonranger]

Happy Birthday from three of the mods.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dePMU8R131s

[Zamoraaaah]

I've ordered the cake.

[londonranger]

Zed, better tell Mac that his cakes have a file inside them.

[Macmoish]

Actually I think such a cake might include something a little different to a file!

[superckat]

Mac, Congratulations. 6 years and you've done a great job and provided a great source of information for QPR fans. I first came across Macmoish about 15 years ago when although no blog existed you provided QPR information on various messageboards. mainly Battletank's dot org site.

All credit to you and thanks for providing the blog and messageboard that have brought us all together.

[Macmoish]

"I could have been a contender!"

Perhaps I could have worked it so Gianni and his colleagues could have sent me stuff to post. And then I would been have the "In the Know" Man...People would have come to my website because they thought I was in the know.

I could have made up stuff to mix in... Perhaps faked an interview with the big man.

Thrown in some stories I read on other boards or in the press - portraying them as my own stuff

And of course served as an inveterate apologist for Gianni

And I could probably have done it in a nice format

I would have of course retained the Yiddish (not Hebrew) terminology. And I do know some Arab terms as well, which would be applicable to a certain wannabe poster on this board.)

Ah well

At least I didn't sell my soul or engage in falsehoods or become an apologist. And at least I'll be my (hopefully QPR-Supporting) grandchildren in the face and say I didn't nothing to disgrace the brotherhood of QPR supporters.

[Jon Doeman]

I would have of course retained the Yiddish (not Hebrew) terminology. And I do know some Arab terms as well, which would be applicable to a certain wannabe poster on this board.)
============
You've seen that then!

[cpr]

Jun 16, 2011 16:37:05 GMT Macmoish said:

Actually I think such a cake might include something a little different to a file!

Unlikely, it contains a file on you.

[cpr]

Jun 16, 2011 17:02:56 GMT Jon Doeman said:

I would have of course retained the Yiddish (not Hebrew) terminology. And I do know some Arab terms as well, which would be applicable to a certain wannabe poster on this board.)
============
You've seen that then!

Would this be an Arse as opposed to Rs?

[isleworthranger]

Congratulations and heres to the next six years

[moriarty]

Happy birthday to the blog

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

let's hope there's many more years to come.

Thoroughly enjoy the company on here!!

[Macmoish]

Jun 16, 2011 17:19:43 GMT isleworthranger said:

Congratulations and heres to the next six years

Inshallah!


Thanks