Ian Holloway has signed a new 1-year rolling contract to celebrate promotion to the first division with Rangers.
Since the final whistle at Hillsborough on May 8th at 5pm, Rangers’ officials have been thrashing out a new deal with the man who made it all possible. At first negotiations were said to be "going well and at an advanced stage" but after a couple of weeks and the rejection of the first deal, doubts started to cast in the mind of the R’s supporters as to whether Ollie was to stay or move-on.
However lengthily discussions came to an end this week and Ollie has agreed a 1-year rolling contract at the club. This puts him in charge of QPR for our return to the first division since being relegated 3 years ago.
Coinciding with the contract signing came strange news from Burnley who claimed that Holloway was in the running to become there new manager. The source said, "Ian Holloway pulled out of the race to be the new Burnley boss because of personal preferences". Whatever this means is left to be desired amongst fans but more likely is that Ollie was seeing what else was on offer in case of the Rangers contract falling through or maybe just plain speculation on Burnley’s part. It was said however in the negotiations that Holloway would not settle for anything less than he thought reasonable to support his family. We can carry on talking about until our hearts our content but the main thing is that our man has signed and firmly in place to battle it out in the 2nd tier of English football next season.
Exciting times now lie ahead with our manager in place and a place in the first division guaranteed. What’s there to talk about now? Well plenty... who is going to be offered a new deal and who will be released? Who is to be his new assistant following Kenny Jackett’s departure to Swansea and whom has Ollie lined up as possible new signings for the new season and era at Loftus Road.
Italian investor Gianni Paladini has expressed his interest in signing a few players, most notably Benito Carbone of Parma. Paladini said, "Carbone is a class act who would fit in brilliantly at Rangers and would not break the bank at the club". Stephen McPhee of Port Vale was another recommended but he now seems bound to join a Portuguese club headed by Mick Wadsworth. McPhee netted 27 goals this season and Paladini said, "I’ve seen him play six or seven times this season and he has impressed me every time".
Paladini’s transfer targets are obviously going to differ from Ollie’s and it is yet to be seen if Paladini has any influence over who is brought to W12 this summer. It is widely tipped that two players are likely to be signed this summer. R’s fan and former loan signing Lee Cook is set to sign from Watford after rejecting a new deal. A source close to the player has told supporters, Cook was waiting to see if Holloway remained in charge and will wait for an offer before making a decision on his future. Barry Hayles is another out of contract this summer and has been tipped to join after early talks between clubs and player went very well.
Meanwhile Lee Camp will not be starting next season between the sticks as Derby gave a "hands off" warning to Rangers. Camp is still firmly part of the Rams plans and only joined the R’s on loan to gain experience. This may come as a disappointing outcome for Camp who seemed to really enjoy his time at Rangers and showed it with his passionate promotion celebrations at Hillsborough.
Now we our back where we belong and have our man in place we need to strengthen the squad for the likes of Leeds and West Ham and consolidate our position. Maybe even a playoff spot is in the offering. Before we get to excited we should make our first priority signing up the likes of Bircham, Furlong and Carlisle up for another year or two to give ourselves the best possible opportunity next season.
Come on U R’s