In a nut shell ... 'Our QPR' is all about us as individual Rangers fans. It's not an LSA thing, it's not a QPR 1st thing, and it's not a QPR Offical Supporters Club thing ... It's a combination all of the above plus *YOU* wherever you are, as we work together with the directors at QPR ... There is no membership scheme, 'Our QPR' is plain and simple ... It's all of us as QPR fans, giving whatever cash we can afford to give, on an on going basis for our football club.
The aim of 'Our QPR' is basically to keep QPR Football Club alive at Loftus Road. To keep other clubs managers away from the squad that Ian Holloway has built, to pay the taxman on time, (which is a priority) to try and help the club to get a better deal on the intrest rate that's being paid out each month on the £10 million loan .... and to try and help Ian Holloway get promotion to Division 1, with the help of 'YOUR' hard earned cash.
Thus making QPR FC a more attractive proposition to potential investors and/or buyers.
I don't want to get into the politics of what's going on at Rangers .... First and foremost, I find that side of QPR incredibly boring. Secondly, we all know the situation the club is in, so I don't have to harp on & on about that .
As a Rangers fan I just want to support my club, my QPR by buying a season ticket, by buying merchandise in the club shop, by following the QPR team home & away, and also on a Saturday afternoon having a few beers & munch on match day with my mates, I think you get the picture which I guess, is not much different from your day out to support The R's.
Now let me tell you of my involvment with the bucket collection today, and a few ideas Rangers fans have come up with to raise cash for this club we all love with a passion.
I took a bucket at 2.45pm and stood at the entrance to the Upper Loft - I was astonished!! by the amount of money Rangers fans were throwing into this bucket as Joe English and myself shouted out ... "Our QPR, help our club with whatever you can give"...
Let me tell you - Not just bronze and silver coins or pound coins, many gave fivers, tenners, and twenty pound notes ... Some gave £50's, some gave four & five £20's, some wrote cheques out for £100 and £150 and £200 and even more .... I was totally gob smacked at the generosity - At no time did any one question where the money was going, or what it was to be used for. In a fifteen minute spell before kick-off, we took hundreds of pounds - You know what ... I became quite emotional as more and more of you chucked money into this red bucket we were holding.
OK then ... half time. I'd been told that we couldn't go onto the perimeter of the pitch to do the bucket collection. It was deemed unsafe as fans would be throwing money, and anyone could get injured from a thrown coin, and to be honest it made good sense!
Unfortunately my hearing aid was switched off when that instruction was given .... I climbed onto the pitch at the front of the Loft ( as Robert Elms spoke ) and again Rangers fans gave and gave their money.
I'm not playing at the heart strings here, but as I near got to the disabled section by the away fans in the West Paddock, people in wheel chairs were shouting at me to collect their money ... One lad in a wheelchair pushed a £50 pound note into my hand and said "Thank you" to me, with tears in his eyes .... what can you say to that.
I walked back to the Loft, ( almost forgot to say ... Geraldine Field was riding shot-gun for me as I collected your money at pitchside) more and more Rangers fans came down to the pitchside to give whatever they could. As I reached the Loft the QPR team came out. I climbed into the Loft and still more Rangers fans threw money into the bucket ... Got to say, I'm still in shock from the amount of money you/we gave .... incredible!!
At the end of the game, Pete the QPR PA man anounced that we'd given over £11,000 to the 'Our QPR' bucket collection .... I thank you all ever so much for whatever you put into those buckets.
So where did the money go? - Well just before I took my seat in the Upper Loft for the second half, Andrew Goss who's another Rangers fan who's in cahoots with Roberts Elms, met me and we took my bucket to the security lads under the Lower Loft so the contents could be included with the other buckets - Robert Elms has opened an account, the money will go into that account and by some type of voting system, we as QPR fans will decide what our money will be used for.
One example ... Mike Pink manager of the QPR club shop, is crying out for funds. We as Rangers fans are buying QPR merchandise faster than he can put it on the shelves - QPR merchandise is a big big way we can all help to get money into Queens Park Rangers FC.
Another example that the 'Our QPR' money can go to is ... and you won't like this one, but it's the tax-man!
Ian Holloway said on BBC Radio London less than a week ago, Rangers fans are turning up in their droves at Loftus Road. Because so many of us have bought season tickets and are selling out the home areas for virtually every match, everyone of the playing staff and non playing staff are being paid with money left over. Olly went on to say that the problem was the tax-man, and NOT the staff wages.
Olly also said that none of the players wanted to leave Loftus Road, and that he hadn't received one single offer for any of them.
I can tell you that Ian Holloway is fully behind 'Our QPR' - Along with Robert Elms, Olly has already made a hefty donation to the fund. Robert Elms has got the bloke who owns the 'Top Shop' chain of shops ( sorry I can't recall his name ) to get involved in the fund & Robert is also trying to get some other well known celebs like Mick Jones of the Clash, and Martin Clunes, to name but two, to also get involved.
I also understand that Harold, Matt, and Alex Winton have a huge sum of money from the 'We Are QPR' fund, that they wish to go to the 'Our QPR' fund.
The ball is rolling, and by hook or by crook we as QPR fans are not going to let the almighty cock-up's of the past, kill our wonderful football club.
I would like to be part of whatever board, or committee, is formed for 'Our QPR' - I believe this is the right way to go about saving our club, and from the way you as Rangers fans have supported the funding today, you also have the faith and belief in this fund. .. I really do want to be part of this new board. I shall see what Robert and Paul Finney and Andrew Goss have to say ... Sadly I don't have bundles of dosh, but I'll give what I can just as many of you have done today.
We don't have a Jim Gregory or a David Bulstrode type Chairman at QPR anymore ... What we do have is a very passionate fan base, a very good QPR director in the shape of Bill Power who's put in a huge amount of his own wealth, and the brilliant Winton family ..... Together, we will take this club forward - It won't be easy, but it can be done.
For those of you who can't get to QPR on a regular basis ... you may live overseas, or maybe you work on Saturdays or for some other reason you just can't get down to see the Rangers play- You can still be part of the 'Our QPR' fund by sending a donation to Geraldine Field at Loftus Road for whatever amount you can spare ... Make your cheque payable to 'Our QPR', Geraldine will do the rest.
'Our QPR' have other fund rasing ideas as well as the bucket collection on match days. They are looking at setting up a direct debit type account. If we all made a donation of just £1 each every month, that's just 25p a week, then 'Our QPR' could raise thousands of pounds each month for Rangers. Who out of all of us would miss £1 a month from their bank or building society account? And this would be on going donation throughout the close season when there is no football being played.
Another fund raiser being spoken about is for Rangers fans to sponsor a square foot of the hallowed Loftus Road turf, for a certain amount. It's just a few ideas that have been spoken about.
At the end of the day promotion to Division 1 has to be the main objective, and with all of our help we can do our bit through 'Our QPR' to help Ian Holloway achieve the dream.
Thank you for you donations today, and thank you for taking the time to read this. Leaflets will be distributed on Saturday for the Rushden match with a bit more information about 'Our QPR' as not evryone has a PC.
Joe Hylton.