Hoop Dreams - QPR FC

Paul Hart became the sixth QPR manager under Flavio Briatore to be dismissed last night with team tactics and fall-outs with players both cited as reasons for his sudden departure.

Hart was only appointed on 17th December after the last managerial crisis when Jim Magilton was dismissed for an alleged fracas with midfielder Akos Buzsaky.

He lasted a sum total of five games, only one of which was a win, with the miserable 3-2 FA Cup defeat to Sheffield United on Tuesday night, which Briatore attended, blamed for his so sudden exit.

It means Hart equals the previous record, held by Tommy Docherty, for the shortest period as a permanent manager of QPR, lasting just 28 days.

He was originally only appointed until the end of this season as a supposedly experienced head to lift the club out of the shambles surrounding Magilton's departure, but Briatore and colleagues were clearly not too impressed by what they were seeing.

As a result, Mick Harford steps up as caretaker boss for the second time in his career after taking over the reins when John Gregory was sacked in 2007.

Two theories for Hart's ludicrously short reign were emerging last night.

The first suggested that a falling-out with loan player Adel Taarabt had fatally undermined his position. Taarabt made just two starts under Hart, who placed greater faith in striker Patrick Agyemang. Taarabt was supposedly far from happy at only being brought on as a late substitute in that 3-2 cup defeat.

The second theory highlights Hart's tactics as the prime reason for his unceremonious departure.

Hart publicly acknowledged his belief that QPR needed to return to no-nonsense, cautious football and was booed by his own supporters in only his second game in charge for bringing on two defenders late on, effectively playing six at the back (ironically in his only win, a 2-1 victory over Bristol City).

A tendency to rely on long balls to striker Agyemang, who failed to score in the five games he played under Hart, didn't help the new manager's popularity.

Either way, it still seems a ridiculously short period to expect anyone to have a meaningful impact on a team and it marks a new low in Briatore's relations with managers.

If the first theory is correct, then it shows a worrying trend towards player power at the club as Magilton's falling out with Buzsaky was the primary reason for his departure.

If the second is true, it shows that Briatore is unwilling to allow a manager to actually manage, to instil the tactics he sees fit, however unattractive to the eye. Remember that in interviews following Paulo Sousa's departure, Briatore acknowledged that the board had requested he play a 4-4-2 brand of attacking football and as soon as that started to wane and as soon as the board disagreed with changes made in team selection, he was also out on his ear.

It also shows up how short-sighted Hart's appointment was in the first place. Instead of hanging on to find a candidate they were truly happy with, the board jumped at the first trouble-shooter to offer his services and then were surprised just days later when he turned out not to be the Second Coming of Christ.

Who would seriously consider this job now if they are to be treated as disrespectfully as a succession of managers have been up until now? All the money in Briatore's coffers may not be enough to lure a truly quality manager to Loftus Road.