The Football League Paper says...

Ollie’s return is good news for football...

THERE will be many people delighted to see Ian Holloway back in football management with QPR. The Bristolian is one of the game’s characters and, let’s face it, football needs them.

While Sky Sports will no doubt miss him, it’s a plus for football that’s he’s set to return to the dugout. His teams attempt to play the right way and who will ever forget the style with which he guided Blackpool into the Premier League on that great adventure.

QPR supporters are also grateful for the promotion he earned with them and the way he led the club in financially difficult times.

We’re sure there will be a great atmosphere for Ollie’s homecoming against stuttering Norwich City at Loftus Road next Saturday.

But we shouldn’t get too carried away. Even in the time since Holloway was sacked by Millwall in March 2015, the lifespan of a football manager has got shorter and shorter.

QPR haven’t set the world alight under Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and are struggling to compete with the cash-rich Championship big guns.

Let’s hope Holloway has been revitalised and re-energised by his spell out of management, like he was when he left Leicester in 2008 and returned a year later at Blackpool.

There was a feeling when he was axed by struggling Millwall that he wasn’t enjoying what he was doing anymore.

We all want to see an enthusiastic, bubbly, quote-a-minute Ian Holloway like in the old days. If he can be that man again, everyone at QPR will be delighted.

He may well give the R’s an immediate lift and get the best out of the players. You often get that honeymood period with a new boss.

If he can sustain it and eventually take QPR back to the Premier League, it will be another great adventure. Enjoy the ride while it lasts, R’s fans.