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Reply | Richard Kone/Saito/Rhys Norrington-Davies
at 17:37 12 Aug 2025
“Projects” swaying players is absolute BS imo.
Completely agree. I'm getting a bit tired of hearing about "the project".
I was certain our old pal Joey Barton had talked about the project when he joined us in 2011. But I was mistaken. It was actually "the ideas" he was excited by:
"On moving to QPR, Barton said: "My decision was to join an exciting emerging football club that has very exciting short-term ideas and really exciting long-term ideas."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/14650167
Ultimately the ideas must have been unsatisfactory for our former in-house philosopher because by the time he left he was craving a good old-fashioned project:
"Former QPR midfielder Joey Barton expressed his desire to sign for a ‘real football project’ after being released by the relegated West London side."
https://talksport.com/football/281459/exclusive-joey-barton-wants-real-football-
Maybe this is where we've been going wrong all along. Forget about coaches and UEFA coaching badges. What we need is a Prince 2 qualified project manager:
https://www.prince2.com/uk/what-is-prince2
Then again, maybe not
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Reply | Squad numbers out
at 00:34 9 Aug 2025
All true.
But what if we left the number 9 free and then failed to get in another striker?
We would then be playing (at least until January) without a number 9. Which would then become a stick to beat Nourry with.
So giving Celar the number 9 might be erring on the side of caution.
And they might have left the squad numbers announcement as late as possible because they were hoping to have the Ba deal completed.
I have been reading for over a week that the Ba deal was imminent. What sort of visa issues take that long to sort out!? |
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Reply | Squad numbers out
at 22:40 8 Aug 2025
Lyndon Dykes was our number 9 at the start of last season.
He ended up playing 6 minutes!
Just saying. |
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Reply | Pre-season and Perpignan – Awaydays
at 23:40 30 Jul 2025
No, that's not exactly what I'm saying.
If it went to court then a reasonableness test would be applied .
So in Beale's case, joining a Scottish football doesn't escape the restraint of trade clause because it's the same industry. But it is a completely different league so Beale and Rangers could argue that it would be unreasonable to block that move for twelve months. But it could still be held up for long enough to stop managers and clubs trying it.
But if Beale quit football to become a plumber, which might not be a bad option for him, then there's not much any football club could do to prevent it.
Let me put it a different way using a hypothetical example.
If I understand Jon's argument correctly he is saying that once a manager is sacked then he is out the door and there is nothing his previous club can do to prevent him joining another club or demanding compensation.
(Apologies if I've got that wrong but it's the premise I'm going to run with.)
A new season is just around the corner and we all know that once we get to October struggling clubs will start binning their managers.
Let's say for the sake of argument that Yanited's crap form continues into next season and they bin Amorim.
Let's also say for the sake of argument that Sunderland get off to a flier and Regis Le Bris is suddenly a hot property.
Yanited decide they want Regis but Sunderland aren't going to let him go at any price, even if the manager says he wants to go.
If I were Yanited or Le Bris' agent I would quietly suggest he do something so gross and public that Sunderland had no choice but to sack him.
A threesome in the centre circle of The Stadium of Light with a couple of Rooney's grannies wearing Newcastle shirts ought to do the job.
By Jon's logic, if Sunderland sacked him for that he would be able to walk straight into Old Trafford with no compo going the other way.
The fact we have restraint of trade clauses is what stops highly valued wantaway employees getting themselves sacked and walking into a bigger or better paid job the next day.
A restraint of trade clause means they can't pull that stunt. |
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Reply | Pre-season and Perpignan – Awaydays
at 21:20 30 Jul 2025
With respect, you're doing a lot of guesswork there.
The whole point of a restraint of trade clause is to protect an employer from losing a highly qualified sought after employee to a competitor.
So it would be very much in the interest of all football clubs to insist on them.
Otherwise you're going to look very silly if the bloke you sack ends up keeping one of your rivals up while you go down. (Try explaining that decision at a fans forum) :-)
The link I posted before sets out the legal position regarding restraint of trade, gardening leave, and finally how the two can be used in combination for a period up to 12 months.
https://littletonchambers.com/what-constitutes-restraint-of-trade-in-football-pl
In reality agents and managers will probably say that if you're that desperate to keep us then you have to pay top dollar for our services. So it isn't all bad news for the poor old manager. |
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Reply | Pre-season and Perpignan – Awaydays
at 20:19 30 Jul 2025
Maybe I'm not expressing it very well but it is essentially the case that clubs can block a former manager from working for a direct competitor. Not forever, but certainly for a period up to 12 months.
(Leicester were still in the PL when Marti was put on gardening leave but I think it was obvious by then where they were heading)
It's not the sort of thing that tends to get publicised so it's difficult to think of a direct example.
But think of how many PL managers in recent years have been sacked early in the season, get linked by the bookies to every job going and yet sit out the whole season before trying to get back in the game next summer.
I can't prove it but I would guess some form of restriction on their subsequent employment had a bearing on the matter.
In truth courts don't like restraint of trade and the LMA can afford the best lawyers so it probably doesn't get exercised too often.
FWIW - think about the Marti example.
All the reports suggest we got £500k compensation for him to join Leicester.
To my mind that seems a little light.
Reports suggest we first tried to recruit Marti in 2022 but couldn't afford whatever Hammarby were insisting on.
We subsequently appointed Mick Beale. He jumped ship and the reports I read suggest we got £1m from Rangers.
It seems to me very unlikely that when we did eventually recruit Marti his buyout clause would have been less than the £1m we demanded for Beale. Especially since we had to pay Hammarby to get him in. OK, he was almost at the end of his contract in Sweden but I'm sure we still had to pay something for him.
I don't know what the exact circumstances around Marti going on gardening leave were. But if all he had to do was sit tight and run down his notice period then he could have left at the end of his contract as a free agent.
The fact that we still got some compensation suggests to me that we must have had further leverage, and a restraint of trade clause is the most plausible explanation.
So with reference to your final paragraph I don't think we did get full value for Marti's release clause:
"In relation to the action QPR took in placing MC on garden leave, I recall saying at the time, it's only legal if there's such a clause in MC's contract. However, the issue is if he were employed and someone wanted him, then QPR could insist on the full amount of the release clause. Whereas once he is on garden leave and someone wants him, the potency of the release clause dilutes with each passing day." [Post edited 30 Jul 20:24]
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Reply | Pre-season and Perpignan – Awaydays
at 09:06 30 Jul 2025
Sorry mate, but you're wrong.
Restraint of trade clauses are used in sport:
https://littletonchambers.com/what-constitutes-restraint-of-trade-in-football-pl
Post-termination restrictions are more
common in manager contracts. Clubs understandably want to prevent
ex-managers poaching ex-players and coaching staff for their new clubs.
Whilst those restrictions are arguably legitimate to ensure contractual
stability and avoid short-term, player/coaching staff departures, any
such restriction must be “proportionate” in duration, usually
of no more than 12-months (i.e. 2 transfer windows). In the author’s
view that would be a reasonable period to allow clubs to find
replacement staff or tie down existing staff to new deals.
An alternative way for clubs to protect
themselves is for the manager contract to include an express notice
period clause coupled with garden leave. As such the manager is given
notice and placed in the “garden” on full pay, so that the
contract does not end but, of course, the manager cannot join a
competitor club during his notice without being in breach of contract,
an eventuality which will usually be accounted for by way of a
considerable contractual liquidated damages clause payable by the
manager (and/or his new club) to the former club. As for a
post-termination restriction, the length of the notice/gardening leave
provision is key to enforceability. For the same reasons set out for
post-termination restrictions, 12-months would seem to the very top-end
of reasonableness. |
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Reply | Pre-season and Perpignan – Awaydays
at 10:00 29 Jul 2025
"I remain happy to follow the reporting from WLS on this as opposed to Kensal T’s"
I'm not a reporter.
You made an ill-informed statement. I corrected it and explained to you what the law is.
If you think refusing to acknowledge that makes me wrong then I guess that's up to you.
But if you were capable of thinking it through you would realise that what I said is entirely consistent with what WLS has reported.
The detour into quoting philosophers at the end was a telling giveaway.
Very on-brand with stainrods_elbow.
I've already muted stainrods_elbow and will be adding Beans to that list.
It would be very public spirited of you to provide a list of all your aliases so I could mute them all at once.
That way I will be spared any more of your ill-informed, half-baked, pseudo-intellectual posturing. |
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Reply | Pre-season and Perpignan – Awaydays
at 23:03 28 Jul 2025
I can answer that for you.
It's called a restraint of trade clause.
It allows an employer to prevent an employee joining a direct competitor after their employment ends.
They're quite common for key employees such as, oh I don't know, managers of competitive sports teams.
QPR could have used this as leverage to get compensation for him joining Leicester, even if he had resigned:
https://www.davidsonmorris.com/restraint-of-trade/
"Restraint of trade clauses are usually introduced at the outset of the employment cycle, within an employee’s contract of employment, especially in the context of skilled and senior employees who are key to the overall success of a business. This can help to deter these individuals from competing against their former employer if they resign or their employment is otherwise terminated, either by setting up a similar business or by going to work for a direct competitor. Equally, this type of clause can be used to stop these individuals from taking with them other key employees, or valuable business through clients and suppliers." |
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Reply | Pre-season and Perpignan – Awaydays
at 21:08 28 Jul 2025
I really don't get what point you're trying to make here.
The exact facts around Marti's departure aren't public knowledge and aren't likely to be made public.
Whether he jumped or was pushed the truth remains that he was a popular manager who will be a tough act to follow.
That might be unfair on Julien Stephan but it is the way of the world and would be the same for any new manager at any club tasked with replacing a popular predecessor.
I'm sure Julien Stephan has assessed the situation and backed himself to come in and succeed anyway.
Good luck to him. [Post edited 28 Jul 21:10]
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Reply | Kelman:Here We Go
at 12:02 27 Jul 2025
How much would we have got for Chair and Eze if we had sold them at the end of their loan spells?
A lot less than Chair is worth now. And it wouldn't have made a dent on what we eventually got for Eze. Not forgetting what we might still get if he does move clubs this summer. |
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Reply | Kelman:Here We Go
at 11:17 27 Jul 2025
BOS
Manning
Dickie
Dieng
Willock
All recent players who increased in value while playing for us.
But we either didn't sell at the right time or mismanaged the contracts.
We got a fair wedge for selling Sinclair Armstrong to Bristol City.
And be careful what you wish for regarding Chair. His value has increased since his Stevenage loan and he probably would be sold if we got the right offer.
And then there's Varane who is still a work in progress.
[Post edited 27 Jul 11:21]
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Reply | Nourry interview
at 12:39 26 Jul 2025
Nourry did come to us with a reputation for being able to deliver a winning presentation.
But Mick Beale is also renowned for his delivery of an irresistible PowerPoint.
Where I think they both struggle is when they are put on the spot.
Beale seemed at times to blurt out the first thing that came into his head, without thinking through the implications. The way he handled the links to the Wolves job being the obvious example, but there were others (remember London, Mick!?).
Nourry seems to be the other extreme when he's under pressure. He seems terrified of saying the wrong thing or exposing his lack of knowledge / experience and seems to be searching for very precise responses to cover his back.
So one's an incontinent BS merchant and the other's a constipated sophist. |
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Reply | Nourry interview
at 22:35 25 Jul 2025
Basically he produced a summary of an interview broadcast on French TV.
Not exactly Pullitzer Prize winning material.
So technically correct but essentially massively overselling his Guardian experience. [Post edited 25 Jul 22:36]
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Reply | Nourry interview
at 22:13 25 Jul 2025
Around the 12:30 mark he's talking about his background in football and mentions that early in his career he was writing for The Guardian on European football.
I don't remember this coming up before and I can't find any articles written by him (although I haven't looked very hard!).
Is he still trying to pad his CV!? Odd thing to do when you've been in the top job for over a year.
Overall I don't think he comes across as a natural communicator. But maybe that will come with time (or intensive media training!)
David McIntyre has always said that "big personalities" do well at QPR.
Neither Nourry nor Julien Stephan seems the gregarious type. Things could get bumpy if (when) we hit one of our trademark six-game barren spells. |
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