• Fernandes says he will 'definitely' review ticket
prices
• Neil Warnock describes the deal as 'momentous'
Queens Park Rangers' new owner, Tony Fernandes, has
vowed to review contentious ticket price rises before the club's
next home match and to reconnect with disenfranchised fans after
taking control in a £35m deal.
Neil Warnock hailed the deal, which
ends the turbulent tenure of Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore,
as "momentous", the manager saying it would give him the platform
to keep the club in the Premier League. "It's a fantastic day for
me personally. As a manager, results determine if you get the sack.
You hope you are given a fair crack of the whip and have an
opportunity to try."
Warnock will now target players including West Ham United's
Scott Parker. "Up to today I did fear if we had enough structure to
progress. To be on a level playing field with a third or two-thirds
of the Premier League is a great opportunity for me, my staff and
my players."
Fernandes, with a personal fortune estimated at more than £200m,
underlined his support for Warnock and promised to back him in the
transfer market, with a renewed bid for Parker already under
consideration. The Malaysian, a lifelong West Ham fan who has
failed in two attempts to buy the East End club and in the process
fell out with David Gold and David Sullivan, said he had always had
a "soft spot" for QPR, having lived on the Uxbridge Road
for "many years".
But although the AirAsia chief executive pledged funds to invest
in the long-term development of the club's academy and
infrastructure, and is believed to have promised Warnock around
£10m for players, he said fans should not expect a benefactor with
limitless funds."I don't believe you can run any venture that isn't
profitable. You have to build a proper structure for the business to develop," he said.
Fernandes, the co-owner of Formula One's Team Lotus, pointed to
his experience in that sport in controlling costs and exploring the
potential for exploiting social media and new ways of engaging with
fans and sponsors.
"My whole life has been building things. At AirAsia I bought the
airline for £250,000 and it was two planes and losing lots of
money," Fernandes said. "In the first year we did 200,000
passengers and 10 years on we're doing 32 million. I think football
is a fantastic business if run well and it's a fantastic
brand-building business for the things that we do."
His long-term business partner, Kamarudin Bin Meranun, has also
invested in the deal and will join the board. Fernandes said QPR
were a "rough diamond" in a "fantastic location" and had "huge
potential to develop into something special".
Despite winning promotion to the Premier League, disgruntled
fans have been concerned by huge ticket price rises and a lack of
investment in the team. Fernandes said they would "definitely"
review ticket prices.
"We will seek views from the management and fans. Talk is easy
but implementation is much more difficult. My view is that this is
a club for everybody and, if we have to make changes, we will. If
we are to make an announcement, it will be before the next home
game."
Amit Bhatia, who resigned as chairman in May after clashing with
Briatore over issues including ticket prices, will return to the
club as vice chairman. Lakshmi Mittal, the Indian steel magnate
with a £17.5bn fortune, has retained his 33% stake in the club.
Phil Beard, who was director of marketing for London's successful
2012 Olympic bid and oversaw the Millennium Dome's conversion into
the O2 arena, will be the club's new chief executive.
Fernandes said that he and Bhatia would explore the
possibilities for exploiting QPR in Asia and India and said his
AirAsia and Malaysian brands would be "heavily involved" in the
club. One of them is likely to be emblazoned on QPR's shirts.
Fernandes, an avid Tweeter, said he hoped to use social media to
make bring the club closer to fans. "The power of social media is
to be as close to the fanbase as you can. They can interact with
you and tell you good and bad. That's the way I want to run the
club, I want to be open and transparent." He said he had already
received hundreds of messages from fans.
Warnock, who saw his team beaten 4-0 at home by Bolton Wanderers
in their first Premier League match for 15 years, said it was
unlikely any new faces would come in before Saturday's match at
Everton but he would be "disappointed" if there were none before
their match against Wigan Athletic on 27 August.
"We have got to look to the future now. It gives me a fighting
chance to bring the players in that I think are needed to stabilise
us at the top level," Warnock said.
