Warnock deserves a second chance at the top
Premiership 
/ Paul Moon / 03 June 2011 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market
Whether he is the best man to take the club forward from this point is debatable but he has definitely at least earned the chance to have another stab in the top flight.
It all ended in tears and court cases the last time Neil Warnock was a Premier League manager but he deserves another go at trying to keep a newly-promoted side up, this time with QPR. But Paul Moon wonders if he will be given a fair chance.
After their promotion to the Premier League, QPR appear uncertain as to which direction to take with little evidence of genuine ambition. The club resembles a trinket and despite vast wealth, Formula One tycoons Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone have not injected significant funds into the club. In fact, the latter has hinted about selling his stake.
So, should QPR stick to the frugal approach and Neil Warnock or open the chequebook and employ a marquee manager? The vibes coming out of the West London club suggests Briatore and Ecclestone are not convinced that Warnock is the right character for their boutique club though they have given him the dreaded vote of confidence. And we all know what that normally means.
With limited resources Warnock has done a magnificent job getting QPR promoted into the Premier League especially when relegation beckoned towards the end of the 2009/10 season. He was the club's seventh manager in less than three years, inheriting a squad heavily staffed with loan players. Back in October 2010 we looked at some of the unfair diatribe that follows and surrounds him.
Neutrals are intrigued to see if he can translate his bargain basement endeavours into something more consequential. He deserves to take his chance in the Premier League after being unceremoniously cheated out of it in 2006/07 with Sheffield United when West Ham escaped natural justice.
Whether he is the best man to take the club forward from this point is debatable but he has definitely at least earned the chance to have another stab in the top flight. He should be given a six month assessment after being supported in the summer transfer market, though one suspects he will get neither. Ominously, when Warnock outlined his thoughts on player acquisitions he was assured he would 'be able to keep his best players'.
Bridging the quality gap between the Championship and the Premier League is a perennial test for all clubs but on a personal level Warnock needs to change tack. Using commotion and emotional outbursts, as part of a siege mentality, are not the best tools in the more sophisticated Premier League. No one is absolutely sure how much his ranting and raving is genuine but we will learn more about the man next season.
Managing expectation is always a problem but Warnock's propensity to shock has alarmed some by saying things along the lines of "we are not good enough for the top half and will accept fourth from bottom now'. This typical off the hip rhetoric gives ammunition to his detractors and contradicts our claims regarding his intelligence.
Unlucky though Sheffield United were, Warnock failed to keep a newly promoted side in the Premier League so why should this time be any different? The reality is that unless QPR spend and buy wisely they look in trouble irrespective of who is in charge.
Generally Warnock likes British players who put in a shift as opposed to raw talent and this manifests itself throughout the squad. He claims his best and most trusted players are Paddy Kenny (33), Clint Hill (32) and Shaun Derry (32) and labels them 'bread and butter players'; this merely highlights the lack of class. For this season he desperately needs a new spine including a goalkeeper, centre-half, a central midfielder and a striker. The latter two in particular will have to be a bit more than just hard-workers because in the Premier League they'll be surrounded by opponents who have just that little bit extra.
A budget of £30m might not be enough and it is hard to envisage Warnock spending this amount of money anyway. One suspects egos and meddling will result in more surprises before the new season starts. Latest Betfair Prices on the Premier League Winners show QPR to be trading at [850]. Other prices include: Manchester United [3.0] Chelsea [4.1] Manchester City [4.9] Arsenal [8.8] Liverpool [12] Tottenham [65] Bar [490].
