HAMMAM’S ALARMING TACTICS
AHEAD of their 2003 Division Two play-off final against Cardiff City at the Millennium Stadium, Queens Park Rangers checked into the Celtic Manor Hotel in Newport. In the early hours on the morning of the match, with the players asleep, Neil McNamara — a bodyguard employed by Cardiff owner Sam Hammam — set off the fire alarm. The QPR squad had to jump out of bed and assemble outside. McNamara was fined £1,000, but the episode cost QPR far more as Cardiff won 1-0 after extra time to secure promotion.