"Antisemitism in Football" - Excerpt from the Government Report "Government Action on Anti-Semitism"

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  Brief football-related Excerpt from the UK Government Report from the Department for Communities and Local Government "Government Action on Anti-Semitism"

II Antisemitism in football

"While not as overt as abuse directed at black players in the 1970s and 1980s, there has been a worrying rise in antisemitism in the last few years that has received less back-page coverage than it perhaps ought to have done.

At the urging of the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism and following a special meeting of the Cross Government Working Group on Antisemitism, the Football Association held a conference to highlight their work to tackle antisemitism in football. Among the issues of concern that were discussed was the nature of communication between the Football Association and the Jewish community specifically with reference to former West Bromwich Albion striker Nicolas Anelka who was fined £80,000 by the English Football Association after making the "quenelle" gesture during a match.

The Football Association said that in the 2012 -13 season they had handled ten disciplinary cases involving antisemitism. Five were in the professional game and five at grassroots. Nine resulted in some kind Of Football Association action, either punishment or education (for young players in grassroots football.

Reports to Kick It Out of antisemitic incidents rose by 284% from the 2012-13 season to the 2013 - 14 season, from 7 incidents to 57. This was mainly due to social media: the number of incidents involving antisemitism on social media rose from 2 to 43. Overall, 20% of reports to Kick It Out involve antisemitism.

The Premier League is now working with the British Council to run cultural awareness programmes for footballers and will be running equality training for youth teams.

The Football Association has introduced Strict Liability for clubs regarding fans’ behaviour. This means that clubs are no longer able to argue the due diligence defence, that if they have taken all reasonable steps to safeguard against (for example) racist chanting then they can’t be punished for it. The Football Association will also punish clubs if there are two offences involving the same club within 12 months."

Merry Christmas From Loftus Road - From #QPR Players And Staff

                                                    Merry Christmas...Happy Hannukah!

QPR and Air Asia Chairman Tony Fernandes Says No Change in His Position at QPR

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Tony Fernandes Says No Change in Running QPR

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 A couple days ago, a brief part of a supposed interview with QPR (and Air Asia) Chairman, Tony Fernandes in some publication, was sent around originally on twitter; and then reposted on various QPR Messageboards.

   In that apparent interview excerpt, Fernandes said "...I have moved out of Formula 1 Work and [English Premier League team] QPR work. I am now leaving it to Ruben (Gnanalingam) and Amit (Bhatia, son-in-law of Indian tycoon Lakshmi Mittal) to take  a bigger role in managing this. I am also reducing the number of directorships I have in Tune [group]. I will be spending more time in Malaysia working on Air Asia and Air Asia X"  Original Twitter Link

  A number of people took note of this and further disseminated it in tweets and on Messageboards
"@QPRReport If anyone missed yesterday: Snippet @TonyFernandes interview saying was leaving more to Ruben & Amit Running of #QPR  http://goo.gl/zhx4hV
 
 Last Night, Chairman Fernandes declared in a tweet: "absolute rubbish as per normal. No Change in my position Chairman as long as everyone wants Ruban and Amit have always helped"

Tony Fernandes        ✔ @tonyfernandes

@QPRReport absolute rubbish as per normal. No change in my position. Chairman as long as everyone wants . RUBAN and amit have always helped
7:23 PM - 27 Nov 2014

#QPR Fan Sites - Club Meeting– September 2014 – Minutes

Thanks to Ian Taylor and the others in the QPR Communications Department; to Mark and to the Fan Reps from the other boards


FANS SITES MEETING – SEPTEMBER 2014 – MINUTES

Date: Wednesday 24th September 2014
Venue: Loftus Road Stadium
Agenda
-QPR Player / You Tube
-New Matchday App
-Former Player Recognition
-@qpr handle
-Players Social Media Conduct
-London Call-In
-#weRtogether campaign
-Lower Loft
-New Stadium PR
-AOB

Introduction
• Ian Taylor (Head of Media & Communications) thanked everybody for attending and touched upon the previous fan site meetings over the past year, re-iterating their usefulness and that they were part of a wider effort by the club to improve communication with supporters over all areas of the business.
• Ian Taylor stated that the meeting was to discuss items relating to the media department, and that he, Paul Morrissey (Press Manager) and David Scriven (Webmaster) would not be able to speak on behalf of other departments, but any feedback that did overlap would be passed on where appropriate.
• Recent issues such as the Lower Loft and New Stadium PR were added to the initial agenda very late on, but Ian Taylor thought it was essential they were discussed from a communications perspective.
(QPR – QPR Media / FS – Fans Sites)


*QPR Player / You Tube
Why have there been so many changes recently in terms of what is available through each platform? Why don’t we get extended highlights for free on You Tube this season?
QPR - The service offered through Player has changed recently. This is owing to pressure that has been applied through other clubs offering much of their interview content free via their YouTube channels. It has been a difficult decision for us, but ultimately we have decided to follow a similar path.
QPR - The prime benefits of the Player service are the live audio commentary from every first-team fixture, and extended match highlights which are not available anywhere else. In the Championship, we were able to show some highlights on our YouTube channel and London Call-In, but PL broadcasting rights prevent this, so this is a major driver for the Player service.
FS - We felt this was not clear to fans (that it’s a restriction placed on the club, not a decision by the club) and should maybe be explained.
QPR - Player video does not work on some mobile devices and this is something the 3rd party developers have been promising to resolve but we have not yet seen any progress on this problem.
FS - This was raised as probably the biggest issue as all YT content is freely available on mobiles – thus driving people away from player, in addition to the free content available elsewhere.
FS - There are fan complaints about the standard of video in the ‘paid for’ player offer – especially compared to the free video available via youtube.
QPR - The club explained video quality of QPR player cannot be at the level of YouTube simply due to the scale of the Youtube infrastructure and the encoding we require to get the video into player.
QPR - We can only put 30 seconds of Premier League highlights on YouTube / Facebook 14 days after the match. Therefore, we can no longer provide regular highlights the day after a game on these platforms, which is why Player is the default platform for highlights in the Premier League.
QPR - Embargo times: Saturday game (Sunday midnight), Sunday game (Sunday midnight), Midweek game (midnight that night). We will continue our highlights on Player as normal. Please note, these have moved from midday to midnight (Premier League rules).
QPR - Other media outlets (Mail / The Sun / BT Sport / Sky etc) publish our pre and post-match press conferences for free. Previously in the Championship, we were the only people filming the pre and post-match press conferences. We are forced to put out more content for free so we are not charging fans for a service which is free elsewhere.
QPR - Fans may have noticed we now use our YouTube channel to raise the profile of our academy with highlights and post-match interviews every week. We also use the channel, as well as the Ladies Facebook page, to raise the profile of our Ladies team.
FS - The coverage on the academy and ladies team was welcomed and seen as a positive step.
FS - It was recognised that the site has significantly improved over the past months, although still within the very out-dated site design and structure we are using. It is very likely the club will move away from the centralised templates shared with other clubs when the contract comes up for renewal in 2017.


*New Matchday App
What is the latest with the App? How successful has it been etc?
QPR - We are one of six clubs currently piloting this app. Brighton & Hove Albion worked with Sussex University 12 months ago to come up with a solution to improve mobile connectivity inside their stadium. The app works by sharing internet connectivity between users running the app who can get online to access basic matchday information.
QPR - It also works away from the stadium in the week and serves as an app to access latest QPR news. We’ve some ideas about what we’d like to do next with it like integrate QPR Player in it and also ticketing, shopping etc … however we must first decide if we are going to continue with it as whilst the trial has been free, we’re looking at costs of 5-10k for the app and 5k a year running costs.
FS - General feedback from those in the group who had used the app was positive, although one member reported issues accessing the app during the last home game – something the club will look at.
FS - It was raised that the “sharing” element of the app should be made a little more transparent to the end user.
FS - The other benefits of the app (greater connectivity on match day) should probably be pushed more visibly, as this is a frequent complaint of fans at the game.
FS - There were also questions raised about the need to download 2 apps on android devices which is something the club will look into with the developers to try and align with iTunes and a single-app approach.
QPR - Concerning in-stadium Wi-Fi, the club have yet to find a solution that is effective; this includes having tested the services proposed at several other grounds around the country.


*Former player recognition
What is being done now? How receptive have former players been to the club’s new ideas?
QPR - Continued effort being made to improve this aspect of the club – IT & PM met with R’s fans Martin Percival and Chris Guy.
QPR - Ray Wilkins, Richard Langley, Wayne Fereday, Andy Sinton, Kevin Gallen, Rob Steiner, amongst former players already in attendance at fixtures this season , A small number of tickets are set aside for every home game for former players and partners.
QPR - Some former players wish not to attend. Others happy to do so, but not interested in the on-pitch interview so it is not always visible to the fans in the stadium when we are inviting former players back to the club.
FS - This was discussed by the group as there was a lot of surprise that players we all remembered fondly may have reservations about putting themselves in front of the fans on the pitch. It was suggested that we should think about other ways of reassuring the players in order for them to receive the recognition they deserve on the pitch.
FS - It was mentioned that the continued effort the club is making in this area is welcomed and, along the same lines, asked if there were any plans to also approach any players from our legendary 1975-76 squad, particularly in light of the memorable Paul Morrissey interview with Ian Gillard. The likes of Webb, McLintock, Hollins, Masson, Givens and Thomas would be hugely popular.
QPR - Trevor Sinclair, Clive Wilson, Rufus Brevett all confirmed for upcoming fixtures.


*@QPR handle
A discussion about the handling of the @qpr twitter handle with QPR Report
QPR - Admit we could have handled the situation better, and IT & AH apologised to Mike / QPR Report.
QPR - Contact at Twitter on @qpr: "It is a great benefit to football clubs to have short, easily identifiable @handles, so that fans understand at a glance how to interact with their club before, during and after matches. It is not enough for QPR to just continue with the excellent, on-Twitter conversations they have. In order to reach more fans, they need to promote the @handle and relevant hashtags in and around Loftus Road. Those calls to action - on the dugout, for example - will be all the stronger if they point to @qpr, which is the identity fans would expect the club to own on Twitter."
QPR - The @qpr account has only tweeted four times since July 29th 2014.
QPR - Disappointed that we couldn’t work together as the point of these meetings is to work together.
QPR - Understand now that we could have retrieved the situation after initial fall-out, but didn’t feel like that at the time. If we could have been tipped off that it was still retrievable, it would have been useful to know. Surprised conversations were taking place between members of the group, and no-one actually let us know. If we didn’t do enough in the end to satisfy him, why couldn’t one of the guys say to us on the quiet, it would have been good to have been told by others involved ‘Listen, he’s not happy but if you do X, Y and Z, you might be able to sort this out amicably’?
FS - It was raised that the vast majority of people have never heard Mike's side of the story, which seems unfortunate in terms of getting a more overall and balanced understanding of the issue. Fans will inevitably jump to their own conclusions otherwise. It is noted however that he did offer to share his correspondence with the club to our group, but in the end it was decided against doing so because this wouldn't have allowed enough time for other matters on the agenda.
FS - QPR Report’s representative stated that he and others from the forum encouraged Mike to hand over the handle to the club.


*Players social media conduct
On-going concerns about the players tweeting their views on non-footballing matters that don’t necessarily portray the club in the best light
FS - There was a discussion around the unease created by some players’ comments, especially Joey Barton, when he strays into politics and/or religion. It was felt that the club needed to be able to distance themselves from personal comments that may have offended some of our fans. Our fanbase is extremely diverse and we must be mindful of comments that may upset any fans, as they will inevitably be linked to the club. However, the group also accepted the upside of the access to players on twitter is that we actually learn far more about the individuals playing for our club than ever before (for good or for bad).
QPR - As discussed previously, new code of conduct in place for all staff.
QPR - Working towards integrating ‘all views are my own’ into bios of players.
QPR - Individuals reminded of twitter behaviour as and where relevant.


*London Call-In
What is being done this season and going-forward to improve the show?
QPR - New studio setting.
QPR - Intention to have regular on-sofa guests.
QPR - Plans to move to Harlington restricted by internet limitations when players are in building.
QPR - Club looked into dedicated internet connection, and cost was substantial.


*#weRtogether campaign
How successful was the campaign and what was the feedback like from the club?
FS - This campaign was welcomed as extremely successful and positive by all – the timing of it, and the introduction of Steve Black, were seen as key factors in uniting both the team and the fanbase.
FS - The mosaic at Loftus Road in the semi-final, and the flags at Wembley, were both seen as high-impact initiatives that helped created the atmosphere. It was also mentioned that the Derby fans were frustrated that their teams hadn’t done anything similar.
QPR - 382,000 views to #weRtogether related content.
QPR - Joey Barton, QPR Player: “The campaign really helped the fans to relate to where we, as a club, were coming from, and the mind-set that was within the training camp and the group of players. For us to be able to see that playing out in social media space amongst the supporters was very powerful. We certainly felt galvanised by it and anybody who turned up at Wembley saw first-hand how together our football club became. From the volunteers who put out 40,000 flags for the fans – which was a Sisyphean task in itself – to the people who supported us, to the players on the pitch, it was a powerful occasion. For what it’s worth, I don’t think we would have made it to the Play-Off Final without the unity that existed between the players, staff and supporters. It’s amazing the impact that campaigns like the #weRtogether one can have. It may seem relatively simple or futile to the outside eye, but when you see how powerful it was during the most vital games of our season, it’s a huge credit to everyone that was involved in it.”
QPR - The campaign has been shortlisted in the Football Business Awards on November 6th, as well entering into this season’s Digital Football Awards.


*Lower Loft
What happened at the recent home fixture against Stoke City? Why did it happen? What is being done?
FS - The level of negative feedback in the forums over the activities against Stoke City, where multiple fans complained about being refused entry or being treated badly by stewards at the entrance to the Lower Loft was raised. This has created a significant amount of negativity and it is generally felt that this was handled very badly.
FS - The question as to whether the Lower Loft is the right place for the family stand was considered a separate issue to the apparent abuse of the current system in place. The Club received complaints from other family season ticket holders about adults attending without juniors and using bad language.
QPR - Club received complaints from other family season ticket holders about adults attending without juniors and using bad language. As a result we opted to monitor those attending to discover the extent of non-compliance to the requirement to have an Under 16 year old in the family group.
QPR - To be clear, no one was refused entry, despite a few delays.
QPR - Some of the stewarding was inappropriate on the day and Operations have taken responsibility for this and replied to all emails from fans voicing their concerns.
FS - It was raised that over-zealous stewarding has often been the root of problems at the ground, not the way to solve them.
QPR - Next steps – the club has written to every adult Season Ticket holder in the Family Stand.
QPR - A group of families will be invited into Loftus Road for a meeting with club staff to discuss any outstanding issues This meeting will take place before the next home match (Liverpool) and Customer Services, Box Office, Marketing and Operations will all be represented.
QPR - There is no intention of preventing anyone following the official guidelines on seating in the family stand from attending the Liverpool match.
QPR - The guidelines around the family stand are that any ticket holder who should normally attend with a child but finds themselves in the situation that the child is unable to attend the game must get in touch with the club at the earliest possible opportunity. This should be done either by phone to the box office in advance of the game or in person at the box office on the day of the game.
QPR - In the meantime, we welcome any further feedback. Please email boxoffice@qpr.co.uk


*New Stadium PR
The fact that we now find ourselves in a situation whereby the matter is being played out in the media, with what appears to be two opposing sides
FS - We are very disappointed with the image that this apparent ‘dispute’ with a former sponsor is happening in the public eye and were keen to know if this could have been avoided by the club.
FS - It is unfortunate that only negative stories are appearing in the press.
QPR - Owing to the current and sensitive nature of this subject, we aren’t in a position to discuss at length.
QPR - All PR is controlled and decided by Forty Shillings, whose area of expertise is in the PR of such projects.
QPR - Consultation with fans sites / fans groups will continue over the coming weeks and months.

Update: #QPR's COO Unequivocally Confirms QPR #WarrenFarm Training Ground Going Ahead

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Just to Update the previous post:

  QPR Fans have been led to believe that QPR had abandoned their plans for a new Training Complex at Warren Farm

  But at this past Tuesday's London Assembly "Regeneration" meeting with QPR's Chief Operating Officer, Mark Donnelly and others,  Donnelly spoke about the new Stadium and area plans.  He then unequivocally stated the QPR Training Ground at Warren Farm in Ealing was going ahead.

- Donnelly's comments start at around the 40 minute mark of the London Assembly Video of the Meeting-  www.london.gov.uk/webcasts/38356/asx



   I'll leave to others to "Square the Circle" with previous comments about the QPR Training Facilities.

#QPR Still Interested in #WarrenFarm?...QPR COO Meets With London Assembly Regeneration Committee

   QPR Fans have been led to believe that QPR had abandoned their plans for a new Training Complex at Warren Farm

 But this past Tuesday a tweet from the London Assembly Member, Murad Quershi who serve on the Regen Committee declared: @muradqureshiam: At Regeneration Committee @londonassembly where @qpr 's Mark Donnelly confirms club is still committed to Warren Farm facilities in Ealing”

In response to a query:  QPR REPORT @QPRReport

@MuradQureshiAM @LondonAssembly Can You Clarify? Because #QPR Fans have been led to believe @QPRFC was no longer "committed to #WarrenFarm"

Murad Qureshi @MuradQureshiAM Follow

@QPRReport @LondonAssembly @QPRFC I ask QPR about Warren Farm in meeting on Tuesday & a clear response that the club is still committed

As for this past Tuesday's London Assembly meeting with QPR's Chief Operating Officer, Mark Donnelly

London Assembly

QPR V West Ham- Assembly examines their regeneration schemes

15 September 2014

The London Assembly’s Regeneration Committee will meet tomorrow to examine the stadium-led regeneration schemes underway at the Olympic Park and proposed at Old Oak Common.

The Committee will hear from West Ham United FC and QPR FC on how they plan to engage with their local communities and deliver successful regeneration schemes.
The Committee will question the following guests;

• Neale Coleman, Deputy Chair, LLDC
• Tara Warren, Marketing and Communications Director, West Ham United Football Club
• Mark Donnelly, Chief Operating Officer, Queen’s Park Rangers Football Club
• Kim Bromley-Derry, Chief Executive, London Borough of Newham

The Committee is also inviting Londoners living or working near a football stadium to have their say on how rebuilding or refurbishing facilities has affected them or benefited their community. The survey is currently live.
The meeting will take place on Tuesday, 16 September from 10.00am in Committee Room 5 (The Queen’s Walk, London SE1).

Media and members of the public are invited to attend. The meeting can also be viewed via webcast.
Ends
Notes to editors:
1.    The stadium-led regeneration survey: http://talklondon.london.gov.uk/content/impact-new-stadium
2.    Gareth Bacon AM, Chairman of the Regeneration Committee, is available for interview. See contact details below.
3.    As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.

For more details, please contact Lisa Lam in the Assembly Media Office on 020 7983 4067. For out-of-hours media enquiries please call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the Assembly duty press officer.  Non-media enquiries should be directed to the Public Liaison Unit, Greater London Authority, on 020 7983 4100. London Assembly

Archived webcasts are normally made available within a couple of hours of the end of the meeting.

Regeneration Committee - Tue 16 September 2014, 10am (With QPR's Mark Donnelly)
www.london.gov.uk/webcasts/38356/asx

www.london.gov.uk/webcasts/38356/asx

Renaming #QPR "London FC"

  Reading Terry Venables' new autobiography, "Born to Manage" (a prize from Queen's Park Rangers FC), I was fascinated - and shocked - to read that Terry Venables, when manager of QPR back in the early 1980s, had suggested changing the name of QPR to London FC. But QPR Chairman Jim Gregory had demurred.

  Venables writes "I even suggested changing the club's name, but I have to admit that Jim Gregory was uneasy about the idea.  His love affair with QPR was genuine. When I put it to him that London FC would be a name for the future, he could see what I was trying to achieve but never sounded convinced."

"I find it astonishing that London is the capital city, yest there is not one club with London as part of its name.....Rangers is not even in Queens Park. That was why I wanted to see us adopt a new name . London FC would have been simple, straightforward and instantly recognisable but it didn't happen as it went against the grain for traditionalists such as Jim."


  Ironically just a few years ago (September, 2008), Charles Sale in the Daily Mail reported that "The super-rich owners of London Championship team QPR have been discussing changing the name of the club to Queens Park City in order to emphasis its location in the capital. Renault boss Flavio Briatore...has been openly debating the idea with friends in football and motor racing." Daily Mail

  In response to that Sale article, QPR Chairman Flavio Briatore issued an official Statement
"This is pure fabrication and I don't know where the story has come from. I haven't spoken to anybody about this subject. "I don't know the journalist, but I know the story is totally untrue and we will be contacting our lawyers to pursue this matter further. "I can categorically deny that there is any truth in this article...."

QPR Officially Join the Premier League Today

-- From the 1880s and on! - The Bushman QPR Photo Archives 

- QPR Report Messageboard
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- Follow QPR REPORT on TWITTER!

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 - QPR History: Queen's Park Rangers Rules of 1896-97 (from the Bushman Archives)
 "...the colours be green and white stripes"

- 1896-97 Member's Card of the Man who gave the Club the name, Queen's Park Rangers (Bushman Archives)



- QPR Programme Editorial from 1957


- From 1963 Video: Frank Sibley Interviewed on the eve of his making his QPR Debut at the age of 15 (Still the youngest QPR 1st team player)

- Year Flashback: David McIntyre's  Player-by-Player Assessment of the 2012-13 "Team"




- QPR Officially join the Premier League Today

Premier League "...Queens Park Rangers join the champions of the Championship, Leicester City, and Burnley in getting promoted to the Barclays Premier League. They will formally become members of the Premier League at the shareholders' meeting on 4 June. " Premier League[/quote]

Explaining the Process and Meaning of Premier League Membership

Premier League - Thursday 06 June 2013

Premier League AGM marks changing of the seasons
The promotion of Cardiff City, Hull City and Crystal Palace to Premier League is formally confirmed

At the Premier League's Annual General Meeting in Darlington on Thursday, 6 June, one of the procedures undertaken is the formal end of the 2012/13 season and the start of the 2013/14 campaign, where the relegation and promotion of clubs are confirmed. This is done through the transfer of the ownership of shares from the relegated clubs to those promoted.

The Premier League is a private company wholly owned by its 20 member clubs, who each are a shareholder (the FA holds a "golden share" with the ability to vote on certain issues). Although the Premier League is a company incorporated in England under the Companies Acts, it differs from a normal company in how it manages its affairs.

In contrast to a normal commercial company, the Board of Directors has less power to manage the Premier League's affairs, with the shareholders being more active in the decision-making process, in that they are consulted on and make all significant commercial and operational decisions.

Shareholder meetings, where such decisions are made, are held at regular intervals during the course of the season with the AGM taking place at the close of each season. During shareholder meetings decisions have been made on matters such as youth development, governance, solidarity payments and media facilities.

The 20 clubs who will gather for the AGM this year will include the three promoted clubs, Cardiff City, Hull City and Crystal Palace. Before then, the Premier League asks the three clubs who were relegated from the Barclays Premier League at the end of the season (Wigan Athletic, Reading and Queens Park Rangers) to transfer back their share certificates that confirmed their status as a shareholder in the Premier League, which then cancels them.

Before the AGM, the Premier League Board of Directors meet and confirmation is made of the cancellation of the relegated clubs’ shares and the three new share certificates for the promoted clubs are signed by the Premier League directors and company secretary. The clubs are entered into the share register, as required under company law.
At the AGM, Anthony Fry, the new Premier League Chairman, formally welcomes the new clubs to the League and the clubs are awarded their framed share certificates.
Then they will await with anticipation the release of the fixtures for the 2013/14 season on 19 June to see who their opponents will be. " Premier League

- BBC - Football League clubs to discuss B-league plan at AGM Football League clubs will meet in Faro, Portugal on Thursday for their Annual General Meeting, where the issue of B teams will be top of the agenda.

RIP: QPR & WBA's Clive Clark (Scorer of two goals in the 1967 League Cup Final!)

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RIP Clive Clark, QPR, WBA, QPR, Preston....age 73

Clive Clark: Photos and other Memories



-- From the 1880s and on! - The Bushman QPR Photo Archives 

- QPR Report Messageboard
-
- Follow QPR REPORT on TWITTER!

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Old QPR Videos from 1921...1923...948

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                                           Cup Tie Itis (1921)

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-- From the 1880s and on! - The Bushman QPR Photo Archives

- QPR Report Messageboard
-
- Follow QPR REPORT on TWITTER!

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- OFFICIAL QPR STADIUM SURVEY
  Fill in! ESPECIALLY The question re your view of the capacity of the stadium!

- QPR1st's  recent "Draft" Stadium Survey


- Year Flashback: An Annus Horribilis: The Decline and Rise of QPR

- 13 Years Ago: QPR Relegated to Division 3


MAY 1, FAN FORUM WITH THE CHAIRMAN & OTHERS
Updated: April 22:
“@ijtaylor81: Panel for #QPRFansForum confirmed. Details to follow on www.qpr.co.uk in the next 24 hours ... #QPR


(The last QPR fan forum was held last October -  without Fernandes taking part)

  ‏@tonyfernandes

Fans forum on may1st. Beers on qpr report hahaha see you all there. Ask me whatever you want. It's our club. Come on you Rsss

IanJTaylor @IJTaylor81 Follow

As revealed by @tonyfernandes ... Fans Forum scheduled for May 1st. More details re invites, the panel, timings etc to follow this week #QPR

8:28 AM - 20 Apr 2014


OLD QPR VIDEOS  (From Pathe News)

- Compilation of Previously posted old-QPR Videos


Fight For The Cup QPR V. Sheffield United (1923)

More Scenes Of QPR V. Sheffield United (1923) 

 Cup Tie Itis (1921)

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Queen's Park Rangers 1 Derby County 1 

1967!

1970 Derby County FA Cup

1969: Tommy Docherty's Aston Villa vs QPR

#QPR Announce May 1 Fan Forum With Chairman Tony Fernandes

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- From the 1880s and on! - The Bushman QPR Photo Archives

- QPR Report Messageboard
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- Follow QPR REPORT on TWITTER!

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- Four Year Flashback: AKUTRS looking  back at Club-Fan Relations under Gianni Paladini

- On This Day, 28 Years ago: QPR Lose in the League Cup (Milk Cup) Final to Oxford United!



MAY 1, FAN FORUM WITH THE CHAIRMAN


QPR Chairman Tony Fernandes today (Sunday) announced there would be a May 1, Fan Forum, with the Chairman taking part. Details to follow.


(The last QPR fan forum was held last October -  without Fernandes taking part)


Tony FernandesVerified account ‏@tonyfernandes

Fans forum on may1st. Beers on qpr report hahaha see you all there. Ask me whatever you want. It's our club. Come on you Rsss

IanJTaylor @IJTaylor81 Follow

As revealed by @tonyfernandes ... Fans Forum scheduled for May 1st. More details re invites, the panel, timings etc to follow this week #QPR

8:28 AM - 20 Apr 2014

#QPR "On This Day": Death of Mike Keen...QPR Staying at Loftus Road/Building New Stand...Famed "We Shall Return" Editorial...Second Ferdinand Hatrick in 3 Days...

 

On This Day in 1969: QPR beat Stoke 2-1 (Stoke with Gordon Banks in goal).  Spratley Clement Hazell Hunt Harris -Bridges Watson Sibley I.Morgan - Leach Clarke Sub Wilks (Leach 2)

-  45 Years ago Today: The Famed "We Shall Return" Editorial in QPR's Final Home Game of a Disastrous but unforgettable - 1968/69 Season -

- Flashback: The Unforgettable 1968-69 Season

- From the 1880s and on! - The Bushman QPR Photo Archives (including the above) -

- QPR Report Messageboard
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- Follow QPR REPORT on TWITTER!
-_____________________________________________

- Five Years ago: Death of Mike Keen Announced

  21 years Ago Today: Les Ferdinand's Second hatrick in 3 Days (Video)

- Last Season's Premier Clubs' Finances Compared (including QPR)


- 64th Birthday for Ex-chairman Flavio Briatore

 

- Flashback: Flavio Briatore on QPR as an International "Brand"

- FC Business: QPR Top Social Media Table in Championship


- QPR Still contributing to Julio Cesar's Wages?



46 Years Ago


On This Day in 1968, QPR played Jimmy Scoular's Cardiff, with Wilks in for Rodney...And Cardiff, with John Toshack wearing #10...QPR were 3 points clear at the top (p35, 49 points).Ipwsich and Blackpool with 46 points... Cardiff 6 away from bottom! (although Cardiff were in the European Cup Winner Cup Semi Final) QPR won 1-0....

In the South East Counties League, QPR were top with 42 points. Chelsea 2nd with 39....

And in the programme: Announcement of the New Stand (later to be called South Africa Road Stand)

"We have decided after a lot of discussion and speculation, that our future is here and that we mean to stay."

http://qprreport.proboards.com/thread/38807/announce-staying-loftus-build-stand#ixzz2yf4Q0smf

 

xxx

"Ian Taylor confirmed that QPR would own the stadium" - Club-Fan Meeting Report

- From the 1880s and on! - The Bushman QPR Photo Archives

- QPR Report Messageboard
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  Below:  Report of Monday's meeting between the Club's Communications Department and Representatives of various QPR Messageboards.  Minutes of the agreed upon-report was  very graciously - and speedily - written up by Neil Dejyothin. This report is being posted on the various QPR Messageboards.


   Profound thanks to QPR's Ian Taylor and Paul Morrisey for holding the meeting


   There's much of interest in the meeting report. For me, the single most important sentence in the  report was  "Ian Taylor confirmed that QPR would own the stadium."



JOINT REPORT

Date: Tuesday 1st April 2014

Venue: Loftus Road Stadium

In attendance: 

From the club: Ian Taylor & Paul Morrissey

From the fan sites:  Clive Whittingham (LoftForWords – www.loftforwords.co.uk), Paul Finney (Open All Rs Podcast – http://playbackmedia.co.uk/podcasts/qprpodcast/), Steve Sayce (Indy Rs – http://www.indyrs.co.uk), Ron Norris (QPRnet – http://www.qprnet.com), Colin Henderson (QPR Report – http://qprreport.com), Matthew Woolf (WeAreTheRangersBoys.com – http://www.wearetherangersboys.com), Simon Dorset (QPR not606 – http://www.not606.com/forumdisplay.php/51-Queens-Park-Rangers) & Neil Dejyothin (minutes)

Agenda

• Introduction
• Social Media

• Owner's usage
• Vine platform
• Media team's usage
• Player's usage

• London Call In
• Malaysia Live Streaming
• Communication around new stadium
• Personnel update
• Former players and staff recognition
• Promoting the youth / other areas of the club
• AOB

Introduction

• Ian Taylor thanked everybody for attending and touched upon the previous fan site meetings over the past year, re-iterating their usefulness and that they were part of a wider effort by the club to improve communication with supporters over all areas of the business.
• Ian Taylor stated that the meeting was to discuss items relating to the media department, and that he and Paul Morrissey would not be able to speak on behalf of other departments, but any feedback that did overlap would be passed on where appropriate.
• Ian Taylor confirmed there would be a formal meeting arranged with supporters with QPR Chairman Tony Fernandes.

Social Media

Owner's usage – on-going concerns about owner's social media output / false promises, etc

There were several concerns raised regarding the way Tony Fernandes uses Twitter to communicate with fans. 

These included the following:

• Statements that promised a lot and then failed to deliver, which raises fans expectations and then disappoints if they don't come to fruition. The obvious example was the promise of a new club crest and fan consultation by February, which then never materialised and has now been delayed.
• Specific fans being singled out for their positive or negative feedback, where the general view in the room was that some constructive feedback was being portrayed as negative when it wasn't, and that it causes a divide between supporters.
• Making announcements about deals way ahead of time, such as the likelihood we'd partner with Nike as our new kit suppliers last year, but the formal announcement was only made recently. It is not consistent with the club's policy on formal announcements.
• Tweets that create tension within the club and its supporters that should be relayed behind closed doors, such as the tweets about Harry Redknapp and the players ahead of the Charlton match, which were not helpful to the club or its supporters.
• Ian Taylor acknowledged all of these issues. The media team provide advice and recommendations to Tony Fernandes and the board on a weekly basis.
• The shareholders own the club and are entitled to voice their opinions and views and hopefully the positives of communicating with fans in this manner outweigh the negatives. They feel it's good to have a Chairman that wants to communicate, even if it sometimes causes challenges.
• Steve Sayce said that the perception of Tony Fernandes is that he is painted as a media and web savvy person – so it was important the message gets back to him that some of his social media communication was not one hundred percent helpful.
• Steve Sayce touched upon some examples where Tony Fernandes had singled out fans for their negative criticism and that this has created a divide amongst supporters who use that platform, which is something we should be keen to avoid. Steve also felt that recently Fernandes has portrayed a message that he was only keen to engage with supporters who were providing positive feedback.
• Steve Sayce touched on issues with previous Chairman in the past playing supporters against one another – and that was something we certainly don't want to see repeated again and there was a real worry that some of Tony Fernandes' exchanges with fans could cause this to happen. Steve felt that some of the tweets have come across as provocative and likened it to somebody throwing stones in a pond and then walking away.
• Steve Sayce said that a previous message about us "winning and losing together" is not true, as we do not appear to lose together very well.
• Ian Taylor said they fully acknowledge that mistakes have been made and it's something they're trying to manage.
• They feel there is a fine line and a balance to be struck.
• There was a lengthy discussion about what was and wasn't constructive feedback, and the general feeling was that the constructive feedback is often being taken as negative when it shouldn't be.
• There was a general discussion on how Fernandes can sometimes react too emotionally after a result, which often leads to a string of exchanges that can lead to something else, such as his decision to meet with supporters.
• Ian Taylor confirmed the media team were first made aware of Tony Fernandes' decision to meet with supporters through his post on Twitter. The details of this meeting are not finalised yet, but will be soon and will hopefully take place in April or May. They hope to make this available to a wide spectrum of supporters, such as those with the most loyalty points.
• Neil Dejyothin said that it was a good opportunity to offer other supporters a chance to discuss matters with the Chairman or any future fans forums. There should be some opportunity for a random draw to take place that covers all season ticket holders, and that it's important that not just the same group of fans turn up for each of these events.
• Some discussion was had about how in touch Tony Fernandes was with the team and its current performances. Ian Taylor confirmed that Fernandes watches most games when he is abroad, either via a stream or is sent DVDs of the games.
• Neil Dejyothin mentioned that the tweet discussing Harry Redknapp and the team was ill-timed and not something for public consumption and felt it was destabilising.
• Ron Norris felt it was an odd tweet, causing lots of horrible negativity to build up.
• Ron Norris felt a better approach for Fernandes would be to hold a Q&A every few weeks or so on Twitter for an hour – he could invite questions in and then select a few and answer them. This would provide some structure and allow for more measured responses. Everybody agreed this was a good idea and worth exploring further.
• The general feeling amongst everybody that Fernandes needs to stop singling out supporters, either for positive or negative issues and such a regular Q&A may help address that.

Vine platform

• Matthew Woolf asked whether the Vine platform was an official QPR channel, and mentioned that people are reporting that it slows down their devices. He mentioned the WATRB site could no longer embed QPR clips on their forum.
• Ian Taylor confirmed that vine.co/OfficialQPR is the clubs official Vine channel and can be accessed via the web or by downloading the app.
• The service hasn't slowed down any platform the club have used and the club embed clips onto its website without any problems at all. These include Wall and Storify. It's possible that the forum software or content management system that WATRB use could be the source of the problem considering the club haven't experience any issues. Paul Morrissey provided some suggestions to Matthew to investigate.
• Vine is created primarily for smartphones and isn't really intended for computers, it's similar to how Instagram works.

Tweets from the media team criticising other clubs for breaching the Football League highlights publication embargo – was this an appropriate use of social media by club representatives?

• Steve Sayce said he was surprised about how the club used Twitter to lodge a formal complaint against another club in the public domain, which didn't seem appropriate behaviour or what a fan would expect to see from using the platform.
• Ian Taylor explained that there had been numerous clubs breaking the embargo and they had contacted both The Football League and the club involved about this on more than one occasion.
• QPR respect the terms of their contract and do not want to break the embargo. They feel it's unfair because when a club breaks the embargo it has a direct impact on any potential income the club can make in terms of losing hits by sticking to the rules.
• They had no joy with contacting those involved to try and settle the issue and in the end they felt going public would help raise awareness. It had the desired effect and since then, only two clubs have broken the embargo since and those who have broken it have been made to remove the content they'd put online.
• Steve Sayce said that we are all very much learning about social media and how to use it, and expects the club to lead by example and how to use this medium. He re-iterated he was surprised to see the club use it to publicly settle a dispute with another club.
• Paul Morrissey said it was a route the club didn't intend to go down again and that their relationship with the involved club had actually improved as a result.

Player's and staff usage

• Matthew Woolf raised a recent example where a member of staff tweeted inappropriate comments on Twitter about one of our own players.
• Ian Taylor said the club are aware of the matter and it's being dealt with internally.
• Ian Taylor said that since these fan site meetings started, the player’s usage of Twitter has improved overall, albeit acknowledged there are still the occasional slip-ups. This was a view generally shared by all in attendance.
• Ian Taylor confirmed that all of the player's and staff's Twitter accounts, with the exception of his own, were personal ones, but that the media team review all material published on social media against the FA Guidelines for any content that may bring QPR or football in general into disrepute. If they believe any action is required, they inform senior management immediately.
• Ian Taylor cited an example where a player had recently been involved in an exchange with somebody over Twitter and had posted personal information about that person, which was later taken down as a result of this process.
• Ian Taylor said that since the initial meeting – social media guidelines have now become a part of everybody's standard contract and that there are serious implications for the players and staff in terms of punishment if they don't adhere to them.
• Ian Taylor said that as a result of these new guidelines, some of the players have actually removed their accounts.
• Paul Finney said that the official club Twitter accounts often re-tweet messages from the players' personal accounts. Therefore there is a lack of consistency here, particularly as the club are happy to re-tweet positive messages, but when there are posts that they don't like, they step away and don't want to be involved.
• Ron Norris raised that the players use of Twitter, whether it was positive or negative, was interesting because you learn more about their character and personality and what they're really like. He saw this as a positive overall.
• A general discussion was had about the use of social media and how it can impact on a player or staff, and that for many of them, it goes beyond the club they are presently employed with and can extend to past clubs or rivals. They are constantly under attack on these platforms and some may not have the correct education and training to deal with the constant scrutiny they're under. 
• In general there are not too many positives for the players, albeit, it was agreed that when players like Clint Hill, Jamie Mackie, Bradley Orr and Shaun Derry among others were using it, you could really get a sense and feel of the team spirit and friendships around the club. Joey Barton later joined in, but on the flip-side, when that banter started to die down and the team were struggling – it created a perception where fans could read between the lines and connect stories of a dressing room split or lack of harmony and team spirit back to these things.
• There were discussions about young players, and some examples of players at other clubs who had hundreds of followers, but then having made their senior debut, suddenly saw themselves within minutes gaining thousands and thousands of new followers and becoming known on an international scale. The platform is powerful and needs to be handled well.
• Ian Taylor said that the club are putting plans in place to hold workshops and tutorials for the 16-18s and Under 21s from the summer. This will be focused around improving their understanding of journalism and how to use things like social media, and will be held at a college where the club themselves will attend and deliver the training.
• The workshops will be run with David Baker from the academy education programme.
• Everybody agreed this was great news and a really good initiative.

• Neil Dejyothin raised that the official QPR accounts are often re-tweeting other associated accounts, which can lead to a lot of duplication if you happen to follow them all. He suggested that perhaps there is another Twitter account created that's sole purpose is to do this, so if you only want to follow one and get all the news of all the accounts, you could.
• Paul Morrissey and Ian Taylor acknowledged the idea, but also stated that part of the strategy for some of those accounts, such as the QPR Ladies, is to help raise awareness about them, but they also took on board the potential for a person to be spammed with the same information.
• Clive Whittingham said that in comparison with other clubs, the club's use of Twitter and social media was one of the best out there.
• Steve Sayce said that the recent improvements to the mobile version of the website were a lot better and that the innovation and other areas the club explore, such as Storify, Google Hangouts, and Vines were really good.
• The general view in the room was that there was excellent and innovative work being done across all social media and there was a great consistency to it as well.

London Call In

• Simon Dorset asked if there was any way London Call In could be freshened up and wanted to know who the show was primarily aimed at, such as the die-hard supporters. He felt that there wasn't anything in the show for him personally – and that the type of conversations had been ones he'd ordinarily have done the pub (albeit more explicit).
• Ian Taylor said that there would be a review of the format at the end of the season and that they would assess changes with a view to implementing them over the summer. The London Call In will always be compared to the Open All Rs Podcast, which is at the other end of the scale in terms of topics and discussion – and it's unofficial.
• Paul Morrissey said they are looking at the balance of the show and want to better utilise their access to the players and staff, which is the main reason people want to watch and which is their unique selling point, and they hope to be able to deliver something a bit more spontaneous and reactive, with a more relaxed feel. They feel the current format has reached its natural lifecycle and has hit a ceiling.
• They're happy to take on board any ideas.
• Simon Dorset raised that perhaps things like Financial Fair Play could be discussed, as nobody understands how it works or things like treatment news and injury news.
• Paul Morrissey said that modern day manager's like to keep their cards close to their chests and do not want any information revealed about the state of their players. This approach in recent years has been reflected right across football.
• Clive Whittingham said they should focus on that wider access. It was agreed by all in the room that the Behind The Scenes press videos were a fantastic and fascinating addition this season and that the more content produced like that, the better.
• Neil Dejyothin said perhaps they could focus on similar themes for players and staff – and what it's like and what it takes to become a player or a coach, or what's it like to be a part of a football club, whatever the role, etc.
• Ian Taylor and Paul Morrissey said that the London Call-In was a platform for fans to air their views and that fans from the group would be welcome to attend on the show.

Malaysia Live Streaming

• It was raised whether QPR can stream live matches anywhere outside the UK, or is this restricted to just one country?
• Ian Taylor confirmed that the agreement covers Malaysia only. The Football League will not grant the club rights to extend this into any other territory.

Communication around New Stadium

• There was a request for a general update on the state of play – and questions were asked on why the club made such a big announcement before several property, environmental and legal issues are resolved?
• It was also discussed that the 2018 completion date appears to be ambitious and there is a question mark whether it's really deliverable in that time, as well as whether QPR would own the stadium themselves.
• It was also asked what fan consultation would be expected.
• Ian Taylor stressed that the whole process is obviously complex and sensitive.
• The Club have taken on board an external property PR company called Forty Shillings, who are helping manage the new stadium and training ground announcements. 
• Forty Shillings have been involved with Arsenal's Emirate Stadium and Wembley Stadium developments.
• All of the PR and communication messages linked to the new stadium are calculated and strategic. The initial announcement was made to create awareness and bring a lot of stakeholders and landowners to the table for discussions. They're making fantastic early progress on a complex, complicated and huge undertaking project. 
• The London location makes the project even more complex than the likes of MK Dons and Coventry City.
• Ian Taylor reminded everybody in the room that the club has never publicly put a timescale for the completion of the project.
• Ian Taylor said there communication with fans would be key to the project and towards the end of the season a wider consultation will take place and that there will be a number of public consultations around the wider project and stadium when the time is right. Those are the next steps and there will be more details in terms of infrastructure and general updates.
• The club has already started liaising with fans with a recent transport survey after the Wigan Athletic fixture. They are mindful that this may be irritating but everybody in the room said they actually enjoyed receiving those surveys.
• Ian Taylor confirmed that QPR would own the stadium.
• Steve Sayce asked in what form the consultation would be in and that questions also need to be asked about how the legacy and history of Loftus Road is handled. Steve mentioned that fans would want reassurances about this, as it will break our hearts to leave what is a very special place to a lot of us.
• Ian Taylor confirmed that various discussions are in place on how best to pay tribute to Loftus Road and that it's very much part of their thinking and plans.
• Neil Dejyothin said that the PR surrounding the new stadium needed to be handled with care, and that the club have to find the right balance about being excited to move, or talking about all the corporate extras a new stadium could bring – because in reality – fans don't really care about that and if they suspect the move isn't to do with football or QPR first, they're more likely to be upset, especially if they don't feel the new stadium represents what's special about their club.
• Clive Whittingham asked who was responsible for overseeing the new stadium project and a discussion was had about the difference between people at the club who live very different lives to fans making key decisions about what is and isn't good about a stadium.
• The owners and senior management's experience of football is very different to the supporters, they may come to every match, but they sit in a different environment and are from a very different world to most fans and that we come to football for different reasons. Clive said he would be interested to know what senior management would say their best and worst five stadiums would be and is confident they'd be quite different to most fans.
• Ian Taylor re-iterated that fan consultation would be key to all of this – and that we would have the opportunity to share our views and that they needed to be taken on board. Mark Donnelly is currently overseeing the project for both the new stadium and training ground – along with other influential figures within the trade.
• Neil Dejyothin said the QPR1st Supporters Trust were currently researching and putting together information that may be useful for the club and supporters to consider and that more details on this would be announced soon on www.qpr1st.com.

Personnel update

• Clive Whittingham raised an issue whereby the club have announced staff arrivals in the past, only not to mention when they've left. This has happened on several occasions with some scouts and more recently with Shaun Hallet, who was leading the Warren Farm project and had a couple of videos dedicated to him on QPR Player when he first arrived.
• This obviously leads to the question of who is running the scouting and training ground projects now? And why does the club not mention when some staff have left?
• Paul Morrissey said that the usual policy was to announce both a person’s arrival and departure, and it was simply a mistake that they hadn't announced when somebody had left.
• Ian Taylor said that Mark Donnelly, who Shaun Hallet reported in to, is running both the Warren Farm and stadium project. Ian Butterworth is overseeing the scouting set-up following Ian Broommfield's departure. The scouting structure beneath remains unchanged.
• Neil Dejyothin raised that he would like to see more consistency with the departure messages, and that sometimes they were too short and cold, that you could sense the club were frustrated with whoever was leaving – or in some cases – it gave the illusion that something happened when you may not have realised.
• There were others who disagreed, saying that some who left didn't deserve it, and it puts the media team in an awkward position. The media team generally took this point of view, albeit they acknowledged Neil's point of view too.
• Neil Dejyothin understood those concerns, but said that standards and ethics, and the consistency of that should be adhered to whenever possible. There doesn't need to be a big fuss made (unless they are worth it), but a simple "thank you, we're disappointed it didn't work out and good luck in the future", no matter what, just helps show our class as a club a bit more.
• Neil Dejyothin raised the point about standards and ethics again, and that while it didn't work out for Jose Boswingwa and that he didn't help himself, it wasn't helpful that his personal information was revealed in a press conference and that contributed massively to his downfall in terms of how he was perceived by supporters. The club put itself in an awkward position and that had long lasting effects, which were avoidable.

Former players recognition

• The Alec Stock day was well received, as was Wayne Fereday's half-time appearance on the pitch, and it was asked what is being done to build on that, especially in light of some recent comments by Ian Gillard on the Open All R's Podcast where he clearly felt there was more room for improvement.
• Ian Taylor said the media team in particular are passionate about doing a better job of recognising former players and staff and some of the recent initiatives are a step towards achieving this. They were disappointed they didn't seem to reach the standard Ian Gillard expected, but are determined to put this right.
• Clive Whittingham, Neil Dejyothin, Paul Finney and Steve Sayce spoke about the expectations of some of the former players and staff, and raised that the lack of knowledge and history about QPR at board level may play a part in those peoples perception of treatment. It's possible they want to be greeted and welcome by the owners and directors, but it's not clear whether those people in the club know who these people are well enough and what they mean.
• Ian Taylor said that going forward there will be a better focus on particular milestones, such as birthday's or anniversary's for former players and staff and the club will be highlighting fixtures next season to build on that.
• Paul Morrissey said they recognise that a lot of the work done is still more reactive than pro-active, and that some of the measures they're putting in place are to move towards being more pro-active about these matters.
• Ian Taylor accepts there has been a mismanagement on the clubs part in terms of looking after its former players, staff and key figures, but they are now constantly striving to ensure the club makes forward strides in this area. 
• Ian Taylor confirmed that Andy Sinton, Phil Parkes and Clive Wilson will all be guests of the club between now and the end of the season and that the Winton Family have been invited to the Nottingham Forest game and the club will be running a programme piece about their involvement over the years and paying tribute to the late Harold Winton.
• Ian Taylor said that the W12 area of the stadium always has a former player as a Guest Speaker and that they hope to involve whoever that is with other activities around the stadium on a match day in future.
• Paul Morrissey said they will be having some discussions about potentially renaming some of the boxes to legendary players or staff, and that a Hall of Fame and other initiatives are being discussed and proposed, but obviously with Loftus Road being a small stadium, it may be that some of those things can't arrive until we move to a new ground.
• Ian Taylor said they hoped to have a legend present at every home match next season, but also stressed that some former players and staff were not actually interested in returning – because their interest in football was not the same since retirement.
• There was a general feeling in the room amongst those who attended, that despite the lack of space, we ought to have an area in the stadium dedicated to former players and staff, and that we lacked this in comparison to a lot of clubs. It's something the club should consider as a priority and would go a long way to accommodating those key figures and making them feel more welcome.
• Ian Taylor said they were meeting with some other fans to discuss ideas to help with this and were keen to take on board any ideas from all.
• Colin Henderson said that it would be worthwhile for the club to consider doing a Q&A on the website with former players and staff, so that younger fans could learn more about them.
• It was recognised by all in attendance that the club is making progress, but that also that it will take time to get to the level we'd all love it to be. The work being done now is a positive start and a good step in the right direction.

Promoting the Youth

It was asked what more could be done to promote the Youth?

• Ian Taylor said that this area has improved significantly since the appointment of Andy Watkins (Club Journalist) around fifteen months ago. The club do more press and PR on the youth and other set ups than most other clubs, including the QPR Community Trust and QPR Ladies.
• The official QPR website alone has published 81 articles since the start of 2014, which includes 55 articles on the Under 21s and 26 on the Under 18s.
• There is a comprehensive Academy Review in the match day programme, latest match reports from both the Under 21s and Under 18s fixtures and there are both manager and player reactions, squad stats, fixtures, results and tables. There is also a "Getting To Know" features where we focus on a different youth-team player each work and coverage has expanded from one page to four pages.
• They are happy to take on board any further ideas.
• Clive Whittingham said that the piece he did on the youth team that were done as a result of these meetings on LoftForWords was one of the best received features the site has had in the past year, and many around the table would love to do it again. Paul Morrissey and Ian Taylor were more than happy to arrange another one of these in the future.
• Neil Dejyothin said that the coverage of the QPR Ladies was excellent and they now feel like a part of the club from the outside. It's a huge improvement.
• Ron Norris said that it would be great if they could somehow do a story on following a player from his mid-teens up until the point he wins a professional contract, and have an archive over a period of time that shows what it's like to go through that process.
• Steve Sayce said that his eyes were really opened when he did the recent Tiger Feet walk and found out about so much amazing work the Community Trust do. He felt he'd only known about fifty percent of what they did before, so any further promotion of their work would be welcome.
• Paul Morrissey said that they obviously had to get the balance right and be careful about how much news they put on the official QPR site, as obviously most supporters are going there for news and information about the team.

AOB

• Ian Taylor said they are waiting on confirmation of Tony Fernandes' diary ahead of his meeting with fans in April or May. The club's Supporter Liaison Officer, Andy Rees, will be liaising with fans in due course.
• Neil Dejyothin spoke a little bit about the meetings over the past year and that the media team could be proud of what they've achieved in that time. It was recognised that it was brave to meet and engage with supporters in the way they did, and they've had a fantastic season to date, and hopefully feel, as all of us do, that the relationship they've had with supporters is the best it's been in years.