Alright?
Yes, as the great Jim Morrison said, “people are strange.” Around an hour ago the news has been confirmed that Neil Warnock has left his job as the manager of my employers to move to fellow Championship side Queens Park Rangers. Their high turnover of managers has been the subject of a previous blog entry (“Loft the Plot,” 15 January), but despite this I do not think Warnock’s decision strange – others I realise do. Circumstances at Palace are not exactly favourable, with the club still in administration (see various previous entries) and no obvious purchaser making strides towards a purchase just yet. Warnock could have lost his job at any time if the club’s administrator Brendan Guilfoyle had decided that his somewhat inflated salary was no longer within the club’s budget, or if a new owner did come in a decided to take a new approach. With his contract expiring in June laying him off would be affordable. His new employers are super-rich, and with a new contract agreed even a sacking in April will see Warnock walk away with his entire contract paid up for a month’s work.
No, what is strange are some of my fellow Palace fans’ perceptions of Warnock. It is fair to say their opinions of him have worsened somewhat in the last fortnight as he refused to deny the press reports linking him with his new job, with him being accused of deserting the Palace fans who sang his name and pleaded with him to stay until the bitter end of his time at Selhurst Park. From that perspective you can understand their (though my own opinion of him has worsened to a degree, I still respect what his achieve with no resources available and so do not include myself in this group) gripe.
My own perspective on Warnock will depend greatly on what his next moves are. Tonight he has, as one would expect, spoken of his excitement and “admiration” for his new club, without even so much as mentioning the fantastic support he received in the last few weeks. This for one has upset me, as I feel we as supporters deserved more. More critical though is whether or not he decides to ‘return’ to Palace and help himself to our top players. He knows – as indeed everyone else does – that the administrator cannot refuse any offer. Unlike other managers, he is also acutely aware of all contractual obligations of the Crystal Palace squad. He is in a prime position to bring in our players to QPR.
I’d hope though that morality will prevent this from happening. Palace teeter, unfairly, on the brink of relegation following the deduction of ten Championship points for going into administration. Already we have a very small squad of players, barely enough to cope with the strain of the playing ten matches in twenty-seven days recently, that will now be led by a new manager, most likely one with little or no experience of the task to be undertaken. If he is a decent man he will bring in players from elsewhere. If he isn’t, I’ll probably be joining others in barracking the man when QPR come to face us at Selhurst in April. Looking at the current table, it could be what is known as a “relegation six-pointer.”
I hope to bring some good news for a change next time I write.
Ta.
