Owners set the tone...

Tony Fernandes (the flamboyant owner of Air Asia) has recently bought Queens Park Rangers Football Club - and already he is making huge strides in building the club as HE wants to see it...  The changes he has made already have really excited their supporter base and given them hope that this will be the start of something to remember....  A wealthy owner with big plans.......  sounds good eh???

Given that their former ownership structure saw some of the world’s wealthiest men lining up for a chunk of the club - maybe QPR fans should hold off on their excitement.  Their expectations on news of the previous ownership would surely have been excitement - but ended in increased ticket prices and under investment in the team...

So mere wealthy owners does not necessarily mean you have a good club.  What you need is owners to ‘set the tone’....

If you have an owner who shows himself/herself to have a passion for the club (rather than turn up for the big events only), if they show their is a plan for the future (rather than a scattergun approach) - then it is exceedingly likely that the club will move forward.

Owners set the tone...

Your staff will follow your lead, the efforts that the CLub make will be driven by your example, the ‘feel’ about the club will seem to emanate from your utterings, from the way that you do your business.

Which is why it was so refreshing to see Tony Fernandes make such an immediate statement about what he wanted the future of QPR to seem like.

• He issued an immediate refund to those fans who have (in his mind) overpaid the extortionate prices set by the previous regime - showing (whether it was a PR stunt or not) that his heart was with the fans....
• He spoke about the need for a bigger stadium....  giving an insight into his aspirations and plan.
• The club are already in the market for some high profile (and expensive) players - showing that they mean business this season.

Now the club will start to ‘feel’ that they are big time, that they will survive (and more) this season - all driven by the owner.  Compare this to the previous owners  - raising prices (to bank all that they could from their one season in the sun), keeping the purse strings tight (knowing that failure would lead to relegation and loss), and keeping themselves out of the media (when they should have been talking about their plans).  

Being a clever boss, an owner who has a plan and is prepared to communicate it and back it up - does not guarantee a success (as many others should be doing the same) - but it is the best way to give your club the shot in the arm that it needs.

So owners = lead us to success = show us how to do it!!