| Paul Murray - Patreon on 17:15 - Feb 3 with 3343 views | TheChef |
Loved Paul Murray, oh to have him in our midfield now.
Clearly a very good central midfielder, but Gerry seemed to think he could also do a job at right back.
Chronically mismanaged, unfortunately. | |
|  |
| Paul Murray - Patreon on 19:03 - Feb 3 with 3207 views | gigiisourgod |
Was my fav player until the injury. Incredible midfield really to think he was here at the same time as Quashie, Trev and Impey - amazing how we never tore the division apart really. | | | |
| Paul Murray - Patreon on 19:41 - Feb 3 with 3159 views | MedwayR |
We were well set in the mid-90's but still found a way to f**k it up. Around that time we had the likes of Gallen, Dichio, Quashie coming through, quality players like Impey, Sinclair, Bardsley, Maddix and Macca as well as the experience they brought, plus the likes of Brevett & Barker. All we had to do was forward plan a little and get a suitable replacement for Sir Les and we'd have been fine. Even when we went down we should've smashed that division with the team and players we had. Such a shame. | |
| |
| Paul Murray - Patreon on 21:16 - Feb 3 with 3026 views | Superhoop83 |
Penrith!
Are you the farmer? | |
| |
| Paul Murray - Patreon on 02:07 - Feb 4 with 2861 views | superhoopdownunder |
Thanks Clive
Paul was a talented played and ended up playing 140 games and scoring 7 goals for us.
Probably never reached his full potential - injuries would not have helped. | | | |
| Paul Murray - Patreon on 06:24 - Feb 4 with 2817 views | Hayesender |
Well at least that more or less comfirms that Palace game was dodgy as fck | |
| |
| Paul Murray - Patreon on 07:02 - Feb 4 with 2802 views | E15Hoop |
I think the home game with Wycombe has been rescheduled to close to season's end, hasn't it? Maybe we can have a quiet word in Wild Thing's ear this time, if we need to (hopefully not), assuming that they'll be already down by then..😜 | | | |
| Paul Murray - Patreon on 07:44 - Feb 4 with 2766 views | Northernr |
There's always one you either forget to ask or get reminded about afterwards and this time, unfortunately, it was a really good one, reminded to me by our old mate Blue Ree.
There was a game at Watford towards the end of Ray Harford's time, first time we'd played there for years, huge away following, we boloxed it up, Steve Slade for an equaliser late and then Allan Smart won it in the last minute. Vinny Jones played and played like a madman, got a yellow that was really a red. Afterwards there was a story that he'd turned up late and drunk, with an entourage, and demanded to play, having not been in the team originally, and it went off in the dressing room with Murray inervening to stop him attacking some of the more timid, younger players.
Anyway I went back and asked afterwards and all I got was...
Yes, it happened, but not much to say. He turned up and stank of spirits. I think Ray was too scared to drop him. He was having a go at everyone so I chipped in. It kicked of a little bit. Only handbags.
Sorry guys, my bad, would have been good to probe that one. | | | |
| Paul Murray - Patreon on 08:51 - Feb 4 with 2704 views | BrianMcCarthy |
Excellent interview, Clive. He comes across really well. Had a tough ol' career and while he doesn't seem to feel sorry for himself it's hard not to have sympathy for him. | |
| |
| Paul Murray - Patreon on 09:56 - Feb 4 with 2624 views | TheChef |
His favourite manager was Mick Wadsworth, I would never have guessed!
Didn't realised he signed the season we dropped out of the Prem, that must have been a kick in the teeth. | |
| |
| Paul Murray - Patreon on 10:44 - Feb 4 with 2569 views | slmrstid |
Enjoyed reading that, he was my favourite player when I was 9/10 years old. I had his name and number on the back of my shirt in the 99/00 season. | | | |
| Paul Murray - Patreon on 12:30 - Feb 4 with 2490 views | daveB |
When we went down I was sure that we'd walk the league with Gallen, Dichio, Murray and Quashie plus Mcdonald, Bardsley, Brevett, Impey and Sinclair, a real wasted year that was especially when we got Spencer and Peacock as well.
Shame that injuries really affected him, he was a good player for us | | | |
| Paul Murray - Patreon on 12:48 - Feb 4 with 2472 views | TheChef |
Hard to pinpoint what really went wrong that season.
Losing Gallen to injury in the second game didn't help but that can't have been the only factor.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996%E2%80%9397_Queens_Park_Rangers_F.C._season
Apparently Wilkins wanted to sign Abedi Pele??
Of course it's also hard to say if we'd had done any better if Wilkins had stayed in the job. | |
| |
| Paul Murray - Patreon on 12:49 - Feb 4 with 2471 views | CamberleyR |
Absolutely a wasted year. With the players mentioned we shouldn't have been pissballing about in lower mid table early on. We knew after Gallen got injured he was out for the season but Houston in his wisdom thought that we could plug the gap with Steve Slade and Lee Charles until he finally realised he needed a proper striker up there and signed Spencer.
I have always maintained and still do to this day that if Spencer (and Peacock to a lesser extent) had been signed two months earlier we would have been promoted. | |
| |
| Paul Murray - Patreon on 12:54 - Feb 4 with 2461 views | TheChef |
Ah yes all good points.
My mind has blocked out Slade and Charles appearing in a QPR shirt. | |
| |
| Paul Murray - Patreon on 12:56 - Feb 4 with 2450 views | toboboly |
"96 league clubs" ............er...........
Despite that a great interview. Thank you Norf (and Paul). | |
| Sexy Asian dwarves wanted. |
| |
| Paul Murray - Patreon on 13:14 - Feb 4 with 2429 views | Northernr |
We also got Matt Jackson in on loan to cover for Bardsley's injury, and he was great, but Houston pissed about with him deciding whether or not to make it a perm and he went elsewhere, leaving us to make do with Brazier and Mark Graham back there.
I remember Nick Blackburn interviewed in AKUTRs saying they couldn't understand it, Houston had money to spend and the board wanted to sign players but he kept saying he wanted to assess what he had first. Like you say if Spencer, Peacock and Jackson had been in from the start we'd have at least made the play offs.
The other huge error at this time was spending £2.5m on Mike Sheron, who'd been a 12 goal a season striker his whole career bar one four month hot streak at Stoke and promptly went back to being that for us, meanwhile Charlton pay £900k for Clive Mendonca. | | | |
| Paul Murray - Patreon on 13:38 - Feb 4 with 2394 views | TheChef |
Yeah Sheron was the following season wasn't he? Still top scorer with 11 goals, but should have had more from him for that money. And we nearly got relegated too, but for Jamie Pollock. | |
| |
| Paul Murray - Patreon on 14:05 - Feb 4 with 2353 views | CamberleyR |
Clive Mendonca who promptly went and scored nearly 30 goals for Charlton to get them promoted. I went to the Grimsby away game in early October that season and Mendonca scored the first that day and remember him as a constant threat all game. Houston obviously had his eyes shut that day or maybe he was just a generally shit judge of a player. He ultimately scored 19 that season in a team that eventually got relegated. | |
| |
| Paul Murray - Patreon on 14:17 - Feb 4 with 2332 views | DannytheR |
Houston did also famously knock back the chance to sign Paulo Wanchope after he scored six in three reserve games for us on trial... [Post edited 4 Feb 2021 14:18]
| | | |
| Paul Murray - Patreon on 14:18 - Feb 4 with 2328 views | daveB |
I think in a recent match preview Clive mentioned about bad timing at QPR, if Fernandes had been owner in the Thompson days we'd have probably won the league and if Thompson was in charge in 2012 we'd probably still be in the prem.
In this 96 era Wright looked such an exciting owner with money to spend and big dreams but he hired some of the most boring and shit managers possible and it took years to recover. | | | |
| Paul Murray - Patreon on 14:23 - Feb 4 with 2316 views | TheChef |
And yet according to Blackburn there was money to spend, but Houston procrastinated.
To bounce back would have made such a big difference to the club, we missed out hugely.
Wasn't Clive Berlin CEO at that point as well? I don't get the impression he did the best for the club in the circumstances, unfortunately. | |
| |
| Paul Murray - Patreon on 14:25 - Feb 4 with 2313 views | Northernr |
TBF to him though, Houston had excellent pedigre at Arsenal and had done well in extended caretaker spells. I was young, but I don't remember many saying it was a bad idea. Blackburn subsequently claimed in the AKUTRs interview that he'd wanted Curbishley, and had an agreement he would come, but they went Houston instead and then next time he refused because the money had gone.
Harford, likewise, was flying in the First Division at West Brom, they were fuming he left. | | | |
| Paul Murray - Patreon on 15:11 - Feb 4 with 2268 views | daveB |
Curbishley was the obvious one to go for when Wilkins left, Venables was an option as well just after Euro 96 but he went to Portsmouth instead as a Director of football. Easy to say now but Houston never felt like a good fit, I quite like Harford at first he spoke a good game but both of them were classic good number 2's, neither was particularly good as managers. | | | |
| Paul Murray - Patreon on 15:17 - Feb 4 with 2260 views | Northernr |
Murray also backs up something that was said a lot at the time - that Harford was rarely there. Basically a nice big pay packet at the end of his career. We had a pre-season tour in Northern Ireland his first summer and he missed the second friendly altogether to fly home and go racing. Wright/Blackburn et al only found out about it when they turned up at Glentoran or wherever it was and he wasn't there. | | | |
| |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
