QPR had "dark times ahead" - Neil Warnock changed everything | OneFootball

The former QPR boss has been showered in praise

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Queens Park Rangers enjoyed immense success at the start of the 2010s.

During the latter half of the previous decade, QPR had spent most of their time battling in the Championship’s mid-table, with a relegation scare in 2006 highlighting that the club were more likely to suffer the drop than fight at the top of the second-tier.

However, that all changed when Neil Warnock was appointed as Rangers’ boss in March 2010, with the club 20th in the table. After finishing that season 10th, QPR’s new boss immediately transformed the side and had them competing for promotion the following term.

Players such as Adel Taarabt, Clint Hill and Jamie Mackie were crucial across 46 games as QPR seemed to bypass any threat that came in their way of the Premier League.

At the end of the season, the Rs were crowned champions, four points clear of second-place Norwich City.

Given all the success that came during this period, the decision to appoint Warnock as manager proved to be one of the best choices Queens Park Rangers have made during their modern history.

Football League World’s QPR fan pundit, Louis Moir, definitely thinks so and believes that it can’t be understated how much of an impact the Rs former boss had following his arrival at Loftus Road.

Neil Warnock celebrated for transforming QPR

“If we didn't appoint Neil Warnock when we did, I dread to think where the club may have been heading. Before he came in, we were struggling. We were looking over our shoulder in terms of dropping down to League One,” started Louis.

“Warnock coming in, bringing the players that he brought in, was exactly what the club needed. As a manager at this level, you find it hard to get better than him.

“It was just a key time during that period to bring him in. It was looking like dark times ahead, but to turn it around so quickly and win the league in the way we did is just quite a ridiculous job.

“It was just a shame that we sacked him when we did because I think it was quite harsh. If we kept him, you don't know what would have happened. But even if we went down, we could have come straight back up.

“It was brilliant getting him in when we did, and it was much needed for the whole club at the time.”

QPR have failed to hit the same heights since Neil Warnock’s departure

Warnock was dismissed by QPR at the beginning of January 2012, after a run of eight games without a win in the Premier League.

The West London outfit were sitting 17th in the top-flight standings, but that wasn’t satisfactory for the higher-ups at Loftus Road. They would end up surviving the drop that year, but succumbed to their fate the following season and were relegated back to the Championship.

Although Queens Park Rangers would return to the Premier League for another season after winning the 2014 play-offs in dramatic fashion, they were soon playing second-tier football once again and have since failed to hit those heights.

Whilst Warnock enjoyed further promotion success with Cardiff City, QPR have finished within the second-tier’s top 10 on just a single occasion since their return to the division in 2015.

Obviously, it is impossible to tell how the Rs would’ve faired if Warnock had remained in charge, but his subsequent success proved that he still knew how to achieve promotion to the Premier League.