QPR's NEW BADGE - OUR STORY

Firstly lads I just want to say I'm just sharing my thoughts with you. Feelings are obviously running high on here at the moment over Langstone, badge, re brand & all sorts so I'm not here to antagonise but to share something we had at QPR you are all now experiencing yourselves.

I've supported QPR for over 30 years now. I go to near enough every home & away game & have done since as a nipper, its my club & love them. All I've ever known is blue & white hoops, birthday cards, cakes, posters, bed covers the lot you know what I'm saying. As I got to 14 ish I dropped out the football scarf & top & started wearing decent clobber & since then have never once wore & football top, hat scarf, now that's not me being 'to cool' or any shit like that its just me but it doesn't mean I love the club any less.

So down the years after going regularly to such places like Grimsby, Cheltenham, Chesterfield, Mansfield, Cardiff etc my loyalty could never be questioned. Then.. It was a new dawn, we had years of scrimping but then the waiter (Paladini) had brought on board two extremely successful businessmen in Bernie Ecclestone & Flavio Briatore who were then joined my the richest man in the UK Lakshmi Mittal, it was like.. What?! QPR? Us? It was like all our Christmas came at once it was what we'd all wanted for years, successful people with money to come in & take us to the next level.

Anyway to cut a long story short they promised Premiership football within 4 years. Premiership football WAS delivered within 4 years but some may say at a cost. A cost? I will explain.

Last game of the season 3 years ago word spread around the pubs pre match that there was to be a 'big announcement' before kick off, it was all a bit strange so as usual we had our liquor & strolled up the Bush to the ground as we sat there 15 mins till KO time all this dramatic music came on & loads of people came out onto the pitch, they started to unravel a massive plastic sheet which turned out to be our new club badge! Everyone was like 'are they fcuking serious' .. No words prior, no talks between club & fans just boom out of the blue our badge which I had grown up with & all er knew was gone, like that to be replaced by a ponsey crest with swirls & a fcuking crown on it. To say the atmosphere was shit that day would be an understatement. It was the first time I realised it didn't matter how much more I loved the club than Briatore or how longer I'd been going, I effectively wasn't paying the bills, he was, so therefore could do as he pleases. I was gutted, pissed off, angry & my feels were not exclusive, it led to a lot of in fighting between fans, animosity for the pro & against factions (sound familiar) & ultimately it spoiled my summer.

I spoke to my brothers about it & one of them Arthur said to me 'listen this is football now, its how it is its a numbers game, these guys could be the best thing that's ever happened to us IF they stick to there promises & bankroll promotion & then back us in the Premiership' until then he said 'let's give them that chance' 'yes its sad about the badge but honestly what do we want a badge with sentimental value or a club on the up going places?' 'If they fcuk up & lie to us we will kick off, hound them out & all the rest of it but until them give them the chance to see through there vision' And he was right they DID stick to there word, they did back Warnock & they did ultimately leave us in safe hands with Tony Fernandes & the Mittal family.

The point I'm making is as hard as it is to see your badge gone & of course your colours (not sure how I'd of reacted to that tbh) I feel these guys who are ploughing in money for overheads etc & no doubt transfers must be given a chance. I'm not saying accept it but give them the chance to make you a giant once again. I was so bitter about our own troubles with the owners but look now, without them would we have Ji Sung Park, Junior Hoilett, Mark Hughes, a 45,000 seated stadium being planned & all the rest. That only came about because the owners did it their way plain & simple.

I'm not telling anyone what to do as its not my place all I'm saying is in the long run it could be vital & lets honest bloody good times for Cardiff City Football Club.

Sorry for going on just wanted to explain best I could from a fan that has experienced much the same as what you are going through.

Great post, I like you have supported my Club Cardiff for a long time and you are right they pay the bills, and so must be given the chance to see if their plans work, Cardiff will change hands in the coming years, the Malasians are the custodians at this time, so let's show a little patients and understanding and things will work out for the best in the long run.

Great post Stan and respect your views but...

Your new crest is very well designed and looks professional (though I know you dislike it), ours looks like it have been designed by a kid in pre school, it would hurt less if it was designed properly, some of the designes posted here are way better and would have been happy enough to have one of those. Also you still have your colours and hoops intact. What do we have left of our club colours?

It's interesting that it's similar (in a way) to an older badge u had , what year I'm sure Stan u will know but looking at the variety of badges u had its similair at least.

http://images.google.co.uk/search?num=1 ... iWhQeL2IF4

Still, as u say a big shock when they unveil it and none of the fans knew

Reading this thread got me thinking, and after a litlle bit of digging, we are on our 9th different badge in just over 40 years at the Swans! The last major change, I'm sure I read somewhere that they held a fans forum, yet there was only one design on display.

I was also a bit surprised to see that in the 70's we had a Welsh dragon for a couple of years? As for our centenary badge, I'm not a big fan, and it was just announced without any consultation. Your badge isn't great but if I was a Cardiff fan, I'd have far more difficulty with the red kit to be honest.

Great post. My father-in-law grew up watching QPR and altohugh lived in Penarth for 30 odd years now still a loyal QPR fan so QPR close to our family. Anyway as Stan says the owners will do it their way regardless we just have to go with for a bit so what happens.

Some interesting responses in this thread.

As some have mentioned the colour change is the more damaging act but it really does come back down to the same thing, the owners will do it their way & their way only. They are used to control & have not made fortunes by being fools. Yes this is a risky strategy & it seems some would say they are not keeping their promises (so far) but until they have pushed through 100% their plans no one will know how things will turn out.

I hope for everyone's sake you go up next season because if you don't I can see massive problems ahead. Animosity towards the board, each other, will VT stick around? All kinds of equations come into it.

Malky has his work cut out & unfairly in my opinion has a huge amount of pressure on his shoulders now due to this whole fiasco.

Some interesting responses in this thread.

As some have mentioned the colour change is the more damaging act but it really does come back down to the same thing, the owners will do it their way & their way only. They are used to control & have not made fortunes by being fools. Yes this is a risky strategy & it seems some would say they are not keeping their promises (so far) but until they have pushed through 100% their plans no one will know how things will turn out.

I hope for everyone's sake you go up next season because if you don't I can see massive problems ahead. Animosity towards the board, each other, will VT stick around? All kinds of equations come into it.

Malky has his work cut out & unfairly in my opinion has a huge amount of pressure on his shoulders now due to this whole fiasco.

Very true Stan,

They have put that pressure on Malky and he will cope with that pressure but not necessarily deliver promotion.
I've said it for a while if we don't go up the shit will hit the fan.

Sometimes I'm glad I'm 200 miles away from it all cos I'd be tempted to go down and cause a riot n all

There will be an awful lot of questions to be answered

I was also a bit surprised to see that in the 70's we had a Welsh dragon for a couple of years? As for our centenary badge, I'm not a big fan, and it was just announced without any consultation. Your badge isn't great but if I was a Cardiff fan, I'd have far more difficulty with the red kit to be honest.

I agree SJ, that is the killer for me. I wouldn't be too chocolate about that badge on a blue kit, 'cos it does look shite but I'd prefer it to an awesome looking badge on a red kit if I'm being honest 'cos that is where our identity has been lost, in the colour change.

Stan if they had changed the badge beyond recognition and the kit colour simultaneously it just wouldn't be recognisable as QPR to the rest of the country and that would hurt. Imagine they got rid of the hoops, as a QPR fan for many, many years what value do you place those blue and white hoops at in terms of the person you are and the affect they have had on your life?

Not even a close comparison.

The club kept and honoured the hoops, they didn't change them to red and white hoops and if anything the new badge highlights your identity - it certainly does not detract from it.

Our club has not given a shit about our identity.

Course its a close comparison, both our badges were completely changed?!

I mentioned about us not having our colours changed & that I don't know how I would of reacted, as it didn't happen I can't say how I would of felt.

The point being when owners this day & age get a grip of a club, pay the bills etc ultimately they can do what they want but its not always for the worst I made the example that by our owners doing things their way it has paid off for me, QPR FC, other Rangers fans & the whole club, staff etc.

In a nutshell Cardiff City Fc can flourish big time if things go the way the Malaysians have planned.

Whilst I agree your badge was changed, it is still identifiable as your badge. Yes the 'scrolls' were added and the initials dropped, but the hoops were incorporated - your identity was preserved and if anything enhanced, in the same way as Arsenals or Wales has been for example. People may or may not like It, but take the name off and it is unmistakeable as a QPR badge.

I would suggest that ours has not been improved upon, nor does it retain/enhance our identity.

The principle is the same.. Both clubs struggling and new owners coming in making huge changes!! For the better hopefully..

Occasional violins. Mate to be honest I couldn't even contemplate not seeing us in hoops or blue & white. As I said in my original post I don't know how I would of reacted because as you say badges & kits are the main things behind a clubs identity.

As I see it changing a club crest, especially without consulting or without input from the clubs lifeline the fans is unforgivable for me. It didn't go down well at all but we came out the other side stronger, bigger & hopefully onto good things.

Just got to hope your owners 'vision' pans out in similar circumstances.