In his autobiography, Barton has this to say about our Neil:

"The consensus of my new team mates (at QPR) was that Warnock was a man-manager, plain and simple. The only way he could be classified as a coach was if you had taken his teeth out and installed a set of seats in his mouth...

QPR had assembled a solid senior pros..but Warnock allowed the squad to be compromised by a couple of over-indulged wasters (eg Taarabt) He let the mavericks get away with murder, ignored the lack of unity and tried to rule the rest by fear.

Warnock has cultivated a media image as a bluff, straight-talking Yorkshire man but I found him much colder and infinitely more fragile than he intends to appear.

The manager was a peripheral figure on the training ground for much of the week and his coaches seemed complacent, a self-perpetuating boys club. Very little work was done on the training pitches; even less on team shape or opposition analysis."

Warnock conflct.jpg

I'm uncertain about how accurate Barton's (maybe sensational?) comments are. Perceived wisdom is that Warlock knows what it takes how to get out of the Championship - and Lord knows he's done it enough times. But the accusation of a lack of coaching and tactical nous strikes a chord - he does however seem to leave substitutions until too late in the game.