FLW’s QPR fan pundit identifies prior managers who may have been given more time in their roles. Martí Cifuentes has received praise since taking over as QPR manager last season.
The Spaniard took over when Gareth Ainsworth was fired, with the squad in relegation trouble in the Championship.
However, the 41-year-old managed an amazing turnaround in the squad’s fortunes, leading them to safety with an 18th-place finish in the table.
Supporters will be hoping Cifuentes stays at Loftus Road despite reports tying him to the Sunderland job.
The team has struggled to retain a manager in recent years, with five different coaches leading the Hoops in the 2020s alone.
QPR
Neil Critchley assessed According to FLW’s QPR fan analyst Louis Moir, Neil Critchley, the club’s most recent manager, deserved more time in command.
While he believes the 45-year-old was doomed to fail, he admits he would have loved to see the current Blackpool manager take on a few more games to see if he could turn things around.
“I think looking at past managers, there’s obviously not a lot of choice, but if you had to pick one out, I sound like a hypocrite because I was calling for him to be gone at the time because he didn’t last long at all, Neil Critchley,” Moir told Football League World during the interview.
“Obviously, things did not go well, but I believe he was fired prematurely.
“By all means, it probably wasn’t going to work out because the signs were there straight away, I just don’t think he fit, like him and QPR just did not match up.”We had a successful start under him.
“Obviously, he only survived that game, but I recall us playing extremely well at night against Sheffield United, and they were going well, and we looked like a wonderful team.
“I believe that if we hadn’t lost to Fleetwood in the FA Cup, he would have called out the players, and it has always gone downhill since then.
“I’m just saying.”
He could have been allowed a few more games to see how things turned out.”Except for him, you can’t think of anything positive about the other managers.
“The ones that didn’t do well because they were just diabolical really, but I would’ve been interested to see how Neil Critchley would’ve gone with just a few more games under him.” Critchley was appointed by the London club in December 2022, following Michael Beale’s abrupt departure to Rangers.
He oversaw only 12 games at that tenure, leaving in February 2023 with just one win to his name.
Ainsworth succeeded Critchley, which led to the entrance of Cifuentes, so everything turned out well for QPR in the end.
Critchley has now returned to management at Blackpool, leading the Seasiders to eighth place last season. Cifuentes has performed better than many QPR managers.
QPR have changed managers several times in recent years, particularly since Mark Warburton’s departure.
However, Cifuentes has stood out as their best appointment, so there will be few who wish to return to Critchley, Ainsworth, or anyone else.
It would be a significant blow if the Spaniard left for Sunderland, but a move to the Stadium of Light is improbable at this time.
Critchley has returned to Blackpool, where he was previously successful, which is certainly a better environment for him to be working in, as things just didn’t click for him at QPR, even if he may have deserved another few games to improve.
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