bestbrother Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 QPR - The Ballad of Big Tone Every 100 years or so the stars align, magic happens, mystery surrounds all that behold it and time stands still. This year is that 100th year and it began with a meeting between one of the brightest minds in football and an owner ready to share the experience. My meeting with Big Tone began with a simple "Are you a winner Big Tone? Because I am and with me the feeling of success will be greater than ever" With that simple statement, he looked into my eyes, I gazed back at him, he pouted, I sipped my wine, he touched my knee, I giggled like a school girl, he put his hand in his pocket, my eyes glazed over (is this the moment)... he got down on one knee and there it was, a contract to manage Queens Park Rangers. Of course I said yes, the restaurant all stood up and applauded and Big Tone carried me out in one swift motion, it was the most passionate job offer and acceptance known to man... the stars had aligned and the mystery could begin. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bestbrother Posted May 17, 2018 Author Share Posted May 17, 2018 2017/18 - The Championship Years Football is played on the pitch we all know that, but what the fans dont understand is the hard work off it to provide that on pitch experience. A month had passed since I met with Big Tone and the time had come to finally put our relationship to the test... money, everything would boil down to money. If I got the backing, the on pitch product would work, if not, then I may as well end this update here. Fortunately, I got some backing and the fun could begin. To cut to the chase, best part of £100,000,000 and a club record signing in the form of Cameron Borthwick-Jackson (£32,000,000) would be spent. John Egan, Ryan Fredericks, Daniel Bentley, Bobby Reid and Jarrod Bowen all came in as we poached the best that the Championship has to offer. The books were balanced with £13,000,000 and with that we were ready for the arduous season ahead. Season: It started with a kiss as me and Big Tone got things going as we hosted Reading on opening day. After that, things tempered off a little as Reading beat us 0-2 leading to a chorus of boos from the Rangers faithful. Fortunately things picked up, we would muller Sheffield Wednesday 7-0 at Hillsborough in our next outing, whilst chugging along in the Littlewoods Cup with wins over Plymouth and then Swansea. The goals continued to flow as Sylla headlined our attack alongside Jarrod Bowen and by the end of September we topped the table with 8 wins from 11, whilst furthering our adventure in the Cup with a win at Bristol City. Things were clicking, football was flowing, goals were a plenty, so it came as a surprise when we mustered just 1 point from a pair of home games to open October. Back to back 5-0 home wins followed as we dumped Aston Villa and Brentford, before the big one in the Littlewoods Cup Quarter Final saw us travel to Manchester City. A miracle 2-1 win with 9-men saw us saunter into the Semi Finals and leave us just one tie away from the Final, as we continued to shuffle along at the top of the Championship winning 5 straight to end 2017. January had arrived and it was time to show a bit of ambition, we had added to the squad in the summer... January: Another £100,000,000 I said... and I got it as once again we raided the best that the Championship had to offer. £30,000,000 got Hourihane and Kodijia out of Aston Villa, £20,000,000 saw Forestieri and Lamine Kone sign... £15,000,000 landed Josh Murphy and the last drabs saw us talk Kouyate out of West Ham and into the Championship. It was a gamble but one that would pay off if we landed that big Premier League payday. Run In: With all the new faces arriving things would take time to settle and they did. We chipped away at the top of the Championship, more by the fact that no one else fancied putting a run together, rather than us dominating. We would fall out of both domestic Cup competitions, losing 2-4 on aggregate to Manchester United in the Littlewoods Cup, whilst Wolves topped us in the FA Cup 4th Round. 4 away defeats in 6 games saw our lead at the top of the Championship dwindle away as the chasing pack slowly got their act together, but our steady form at Loftus Road held us in good stead and when we picked up 6pts from wins over Sheffield Wednesday and Preston in early April, the title was won and we could celebrate our return to the top table of English football. It was a miracle season where we scored over 100 goals and collected 90pts en route to our crown. "We did it Big Tone" i exclaimed later that night "And the promotion was just as sweet" Table: Transfers: Overview: EFL Championship Champions (Promoted) FA Cup 4th Round (lost 1-3 Wolves) Littlewoods Cup Semi Final (lost 2-4agg Manchester United) Avg Attendance 16797 Biggest Win 7-0 Sheffield Wednesday (A) Biggest Defeat 1-4 Hull City (A) Top Goalscorer Bobby Reid (27) Most Assists Jarrod Bowen (21) Worst Discipline Ryan Manning (10Y / 4R) Supporters Player of the Year Bobby Reid Individual Awards Championship Golden Boat Idrissa Sylla (26) Championship Team of the Year Daniel Bentley, Ryan Fredericks, John Egan, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Massimo Luongo, Bobby Reid Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 Littlewoods Cup? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northernpilgrim Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 1 hour ago, Nobby_McDonald said: Littlewoods Cup? The EFL Cup, what used to be the League Cup. Hasn't been the Littlewoods Cup in quite a while though (not since 1989-90). SSince then it's been sponsored by Rumbelows, Coca-Cola, Worthingtons, Carling, Capital One and now Carabao. The only sponsor before Littlewoods was the Milk Marketing Board (when it was the Milk Cup) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 I know. I was wondering why you were calling the League Cup the Littlewoods Cup when it is 2017/8 on your game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.