Hoop Dreams - QPR FC

Following the end of last season, in which Gareth Ainsworth took the hot-seat after the depature of Paulo Sousa, QPR began what was termed an exhaustive search to find a new manager. The treatment of managers at Loftus Road has been the most scrutinised part of the Briatore years as the owners continually show a willingness to chop and change but also to interfere with team selection and player purchases.

At the start of the close season there was a period of the usual wild tabloid rumours over who would take the job (I think Pele had to be the best suggestion which demonstrated the new rule when it comes to reporting on QPR - you can pretty much make it up now because anything is believable). The announcement then of Jim Magilton was surprising with so many expecting a big-name who could attract players from around Europe. It was reported that Magilton's appointment rested heavily on his performance in his interview which supposedly greatly impressed the club's owners.

His playing career took in Oxford United, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton and finally Ipswich, where he also held his one and only managerial post prior to joining the Hoops. He spent three years at the club, in which time he turned them from a club which toyed with relegation to one at which a play-off spot is now expected.

In his second season with the Tractor Boys, 2007-8, they finished in eighth, just a point off the play-offs, though Magilton couldn't recapture that form last season despite some heavy investment. That may worry QPR's supporters, because he clearly had money to spend and still couldn't turn the club into a sure-fire promotion proposition, which is surely his aim at Loftus Road.

His appointment looks very similar to that of Iain Dowie's - both ambitious young managers with less than sparkling track records at management. The key will be if Magilton gets more time than Dowie. If the club struggles in the opening months, Briatore has already shown that he has little patience. But Magilton needs to be given a settling-in period in which he should try and settle on a formation as quickly as possible; QPR lost too much ground over the last twelve months by switching tactics and through squad rotation. He should be able to quite quickly identify the players who stand out above the rest. If he shows faith in them and in turn, the owners show faith in him, his appointment may look more astute than it does right now.