Dowie sacked as Briatore flexes his muscles in QPR boardroom
David Hytner, The Guardian, Saturday October 25 2008
Flavio Briatore reasserted his authority in the Queens Park Rangers boardroom yesterday by sacking Iain Dowie as manager. There has been turmoil behind the scenes at the Championship club, where the chairman, Briatore, clashed with the vice-chairman, Amit Bhatia, after the latter released a personally signed statement pledging to reduce ticket prices at Loftus Road.
Briatore telephoned Gianni Paladini to accuse the club's sporting director of undermining him and promised he would be sacked. Paladini, though, was spared at a meeting on Thursday attended by all the major powers and Briatore instead turned the knife on Dowie.
The Italian has been unhappy with Dowie, who took over in May, for some weeks and suspected the manager had criticised him behind his back for a lack of support in the transfer market. Briatore helped to bring a clutch of players to the club, including Daniel Parejo, who is on loan from Real Madrid and on a huge contract by Championship standards. But Parejo and Emmanuel Ledesma, who joined on loan from Genoa, have not been in the starting line-up in recent games and Damiano Tommasi, the Italian midfielder, has yet to make a first-team appearance.
Briatore is understood to have suggested yesterday that Dowie ought to start certain players in today's game at Reading. A disagreement ensued and the club statement announcing the termination of Dowie's contract with "immediate effect" swiftly followed. Gareth Ainsworth, the veteran midfielder, will take caretaker charge against Reading but he will not be the long-term appointment. The club have sounded out Terry Venables and Steve Cotterill and the board are undecided whether to go for a British or foreign coach. Early suggestions that Roberto Mancini, the former Internazionale manager, will come in are wide of the mark. Tommasi, having already been brought in, is a possibility and so is Alan Curbishley, the former West Ham manager.
Briatore... who is supported on the QPR board by Bernie Ecclestone and Bhatia, the son-in-law of Lakshmi Mittal, whose family owns 20% of the club, now have a truce, but the possibility remains that the Mittals will try to buy out Briatore and Ecclestone.
QPR have won one of their past six league matches and currently lie ninth in the table.
David Hytner, The Guardian, Saturday October 25 2008
Flavio Briatore reasserted his authority in the Queens Park Rangers boardroom yesterday by sacking Iain Dowie as manager. There has been turmoil behind the scenes at the Championship club, where the chairman, Briatore, clashed with the vice-chairman, Amit Bhatia, after the latter released a personally signed statement pledging to reduce ticket prices at Loftus Road.
Briatore telephoned Gianni Paladini to accuse the club's sporting director of undermining him and promised he would be sacked. Paladini, though, was spared at a meeting on Thursday attended by all the major powers and Briatore instead turned the knife on Dowie.
The Italian has been unhappy with Dowie, who took over in May, for some weeks and suspected the manager had criticised him behind his back for a lack of support in the transfer market. Briatore helped to bring a clutch of players to the club, including Daniel Parejo, who is on loan from Real Madrid and on a huge contract by Championship standards. But Parejo and Emmanuel Ledesma, who joined on loan from Genoa, have not been in the starting line-up in recent games and Damiano Tommasi, the Italian midfielder, has yet to make a first-team appearance.
Briatore is understood to have suggested yesterday that Dowie ought to start certain players in today's game at Reading. A disagreement ensued and the club statement announcing the termination of Dowie's contract with "immediate effect" swiftly followed. Gareth Ainsworth, the veteran midfielder, will take caretaker charge against Reading but he will not be the long-term appointment. The club have sounded out Terry Venables and Steve Cotterill and the board are undecided whether to go for a British or foreign coach. Early suggestions that Roberto Mancini, the former Internazionale manager, will come in are wide of the mark. Tommasi, having already been brought in, is a possibility and so is Alan Curbishley, the former West Ham manager.
Briatore... who is supported on the QPR board by Bernie Ecclestone and Bhatia, the son-in-law of Lakshmi Mittal, whose family owns 20% of the club, now have a truce, but the possibility remains that the Mittals will try to buy out Briatore and Ecclestone.
QPR have won one of their past six league matches and currently lie ninth in the table.
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