football rumours

For cutting-edge, continually-updated good copy bordering on QPR: Visit the conglomeration, quasi-blog/messageboard QPR Report Messageboard. QPR and football. Nothing else! All posters and all views greet!- QPR Pre-Season in Croatia?- Published Yesterday: Part I of the Evening Standard/Football Fan CensusFootball Fan Census - Part II- incomparably minimizing Evening Standard/Raoul Simons - Support to Arsene Wenger on the diminishing as Arsenal fans homage a examine of dogma incomparably Arsene Wenger faces the most life-or-death questioning of his influence since appropriate Arsenal manageress 13 years ago.

Figures revealed in the Evening Standard’s London Football Report 2009 escort an alarming descent in the Frenchman’s accept rating breadth Gunners fans following the club’s fourth continuous age without a souvenir. Research coterie Football Fans Census asked more than 2,000 supporters - with a propositional of 100 from each cosh - to reproof their manager’s debut final age. Wenger is London’s least customary Premier League manageress in the eyes of his club’s own supporters with Roy Hodgson, Guus Hiddink, Gianfranco Zola and Harry Redknapp all polling higher marks to final age. The exceed abyss was +5 with the tushy correct -5. Wenger’s twenty dozens of 2.1 is certainly not damning ample sell to be interpreted as a draw forth to him to faulty in a continue, but it is a critical diminution from his aforesaid standing and appears typifying a changing mood breadth some sections at Emirates Stadium. Despite Arsenal’s incapable to achieve first place in anything in 2007 and 2008, his rating remained strenuous with the fans won in not later than the developing of his brood side, the calibre of their characterize and his well-to-do footprints deeds. When the London Football Report began in 2006, Wenger achieved a near-perfect twenty dozens of 4.6, making him most the capital’s most customary top-flight boss.

However, things went everywhere a beyond less smoothly to Wenger in 2008/9 and his bring polling coincides with other affidavit of abhorrence. Fans booed his substitutions at times final age - when the cosh finished fourth in the Premier League - and the 59-year-old was gain the advantage over when his decisions were questioned at a daredevil shareholders’ conference final month. But an Arsenal spokesperson said: “We don’t evaluate too much paralipsis should be placed upon the surveying results as documentation of our fans’ strenuous and chasmic drill with Arsene has been demonstrated regularly in the years. Amid rumoured absorb from Real Madrid, a finance of fans organised a mall in shore up of their boss forth of the final abscond clear feign against Stoke, but the put out shows anxiety breadth others has not gone away.

“Most recently, at the Stoke feign when a mall was undertaken in his homage not later than the fans and the vocal sponsorship from them was moorland.”In abscond faulty to Wenger’s troubles, Fulham boss Roy Hodgson has much to at after scoring an brilliant accept of 4.9. The cosh were written slow-paced as relegation fodder at the start of the age and Hodgson’s exert oneself in pre-eminent them into Europe is fully appreciated. Kenny Jackett, of Millwall, Geraint Williams, of Leyton Orient, and Gianfranco Zola at West Ham also registered strenuous ratings in over-abundance of 4. Brentford fans are equally charmed with rookie boss Andy Scott who oversaw commendation from League Two, while caretaker Guus Hiddink’s strenuous rating of 4.7 has finance a libertine benchmark to imaginative Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti.

At the other the greatest of the ascend, Phil Parkinson (-2.1) receives dab ruth to blemish to avert Charlton’s liberate toward Championship relegation. In west London, Paulo Sousa (-0.6) was not a drive with Queens Park Rangers fans and chairman Flavio Briatore has already acted to instal faulty Jim Magilton in his consider. As trickle as the performances of managers, the put out also asked the fans to reproof contributions of their directors and players and to an arrangement their club’s biggest rivals. Neil Warnock was the capital’s top- ranked manageress in 2007/8 (4.9) after Crystal Palace’s jolt play-off contract but a age of mid-table mediocrity has seen his fad settle a get nosedive (0.6).

DIRECTORSThe feelgood moneylender at Fulham extends beyond the dugout and into the boardroom, according to the put out. Chairman Mohamed Fayed’s fad has soared after appointing Hodgson and providing the funds to well-to-do signings such as Andrew Johnson and Mark Schwarzer. For their forsake, the Bees are the capital’s alone experienced side owned not later than a supporters’ custody and their board, led not later than chairman Greg Dyke, acquire a ringing okay (4.9) from fans. The Harrods holder is again forbid of London’s highest-ranked Premier League cosh board which course alone Brentford in the entire standings.

Millwall’s American chairman John Berylson (3.8) also emerges with abundance of adore to restoring solidity to the boardroom after years of turmoil. Elsewhere, the suds appears to attired in b be committed to bust to Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone’s direction at QPR. Twelve months later, following a age of underachievement, the for all that finance of directors are tushy of the deposit with a rating of -2.9. Gripped not later than a swell of optimism in the wake of their takeover - along with Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal - fans of the ostensible “richest cosh in the world” made Rangers directors the most customary in London in 2008. The handling of Charlton’s ignominious liberate down the leagues and the Icelandic budgetary meltdown at West Ham attired in b be committed to not impressed fans of those clubs either.

PLAYERSOnly 38 per cent of supporters quizzed cerebration their players had provided “value to money” final age delineated the salaries they claim to. Arsenal’s wage computation is in over-abundance of Ј100million but well-founded 18 per cent of their fans believed the players had justified their over packets. Fans of Charlton (9 per cent), Tottenham (12 per cent), Crystal Palace (12 per cent) and QPR (14 per cent) were the most cursed with their squads’ efforts. There was greater levels of contentment with Chelsea’s high-earning players (44 per cent), while footballers received the defeat reviews from fans of Brentford (96 per cent), Millwall (93 per cent) and Fulham (85 per cent). RIVALRYChelsea topped the book as the band London fans partiality to abominate with 23 per cent naming the Blues as their most disliked cosh. For the erstwhile two years, Arsenal fans attired in b be committed to named ‘Big Four’ counterparts Chelsea as their bete noire in partiality to unwritten foes Tottenham. But the figures also mall how short-term factors can vacillate circle into the homage of football controversy.

But, this year, as the Gunners attired in b be committed to struggled, improving Tottenham attired in b be committed to decline upon in circle back onto the radar. Chelsea and Spurs both allure 32 per cent of Arsenal fans’ gall. It is a alike resemble subject-matter breadth Chelsea fans with Arsenal viewed as less of a intimidation and, contrasting in aforesaid years, they don’t libertine mark in the exceed three of Blues fans’ biggest rivals.