QPR’s talisman Adel Taarabt. Photo credit: Wonker
If, a few years ago, you’d have told me that, by 2012/2013, my beloved Queens Park Rangers would be looking a lively outside chance to achieve a Premiership top ten finish, I would have asked you to get real and stop trying to cheer me up. I started going to Loftus Road regularly during the 1995/1996 season when they were relegated from the Premiership and it has largely been pretty grim viewing since. On my watch, QPR slipped into the third tier of English football, entered administration and clocked up some hugely embarrassing losses along the way (like losing at home to the, er, mechanics of Vauxhall Motors). But first Ian Holloway and then Neil Warnock lifted QPR out of the lower league wastelands and, last season, the superhoops returned to their (sort of) rightful place – the megabucks Barclays’ Premier League. For most of the season QPR flirted (often heavily) with relegation and it was only on a sickeningly tense final day that QPR beat the dreaded drop (thanks ultimately to dogfight rival Bolton’s inability to beat Stoke).
Side-stepping the trap-door to the Championship on Survival Sunday felt a watershed moment at the time and so it has already proved. QPR’s retention of their Premiership status has allowed Malaysian owner Tony Fernandes to green-light his ambitious plans to transform little old Rangers into a Global Brand. This summer, Uncle Tony has ploughed money into improving the training facilities, playing and coaching staff. There’s even talk of a new 45,000 capacity west London (phew!) stadium within three years.
The mood in Shepherd’s Bush around QPR’s second-season prospects is frighteningly upbeat. For a support base reared largely on crushing disappointments, the current feel-good factor is verging on alarming. To those who remember when fans filled buckets with coins to bank-roll the signing of diminutive striker Jamie Cureton, the sight of big-name players like Ji-Sung Park joining is all, well, a little unreal. But there genuinely are plenty of solid reasons to be realistically expect QPR to not only avoid another squalid relegation dogfight but actually push hard for a top ten finish.
Hughes is a Premiership standard gaffer
Manager Mark Hughes might not be as immediately likeable as a Holloway or Warnock but his modern, thorough approach to the game is ideally suited to the Prem, where statistics-based ‘moneyball’ is king. After QPR dramatically escaped relegation, Hughes vowed that no QPR team on his watch would find themselves in such a perilous position again. Fulham fans would surely disagree but Hughes strikes me as a man who doesn’t make empty promises. He’s canny enough to know that statements such as the one he made at the Etihad come back to haunt you if you don’t deliver and he must feel confident he can take QPR places. Let’s not forget that Hughes has delivered top-half finishes at Blackburn and Fulham with a lot less transfer kitty dough to play with than Fernandes has already coughed up.
Twitter-friendly top brass have won over fans
Fernandes routinely reminds the press that he is one of the most transparent Premiership club owners and it isn’t all hot air. He spends plenty of time interacting with the fanbase on Twitter – as does co-owner Amit Bhatia – and that’s a roundly positive thing. Fernandes and Bhatia’s openness is a breath of fresh air after the somewhat dictatorial reign of cashmere-clad Centurion Club supremo Flavio Briatore. Its sounds cheesy but the current top brass’ willingness to communicate and share long-term strategies really has fostered a feel-good feeling of togetherness around the club. The fan’s fondness for Tony and Amit means the ground on match day is far happier place than it was in the days when Briatore was bringing on Gavin Mahon (anyone who has seen The Four-Year Plan will know what I’m on about)
Park will boost shirt sales in Asia and improve the midfield
QPR’s somewhat over-the-top press conference to announce the capture of Manchester United’s Ji-Sung Park was a touch embarrassing. The club may not be admitting it but South Korean captain (and heartthrob) Park is a little bit of a shirt signing. Indeed, there are already reports of the QPR Superstore (or shop) being over-run by Korean holiday-makers desperate to see where their country’s famous son has pitched up. But to say Park is just a shirt signing is not fair; you don’t make 133 for United because you’re big in Asia. Park’s a tireless worker with good technical ability and, crucially, he’s won silverware and will bring that winning mentality to the club. I’d not be surprised if he’s made captain by Man Utd old boy Hughes.
Taarabt is a Ranger until 2016
Earlier this week, Moroccan magician Adel Taarabt signed a three-year extension to his current deal, which will keep him at the club until 2016. Securing Taarabt is a quite superb piece of business by the board. On his day, he is one of the very best technical players in the Premiership. While he initially struggled to make an impact last season, his improved form in the last few months was key to survival. Taarabt has indicated a willingness to work more for the team – a prerequisite for a Hughes player – but, thankfully, will not be too bogged down with too much defensive responsibilities. The club’s decision to hand him the famous number 10 shirt (Stan Bowles, Rodney Marsh, Kevin Gallen, and, er, Jay Bothroyd) and endless references to him as a “maverick” on the official website demonstrate that the powers-that-be recognize he is fundamentally a freewheeling showman. Morocco’s insane decision to omit him from their 18-man Olympics squad is great news; it means he’ll have a full pre-season to lose a little excess flab and hit the ground running. Here’s hoping he can do this to Swansea’s Joe Allen again in five weeks time:
There’s more to come from Zamora and Cisse
Djibril Cisse and Bobby Zamora were Hughes’ big-money acquisitions in January and both did their bit to secure safety. But both could have done more. Cisse got himself sent off twice (both times pretty idiotically) and ended up missing seven games. Zamora seemed to be carrying a few knocks and only really turned it on in a few games. With a full pre-season behind them, the front pair should start the season firing on all cylinders. Despite the addition of Andy Johnson, they surely remain the first choice pair if Hughes opts for a 4-4-2. Another forward who has plenty still to prove to the Rs faithful is Shaun Wright-Phillips, who proved woefully ineffective in his first season at Loftus Road; he made 26 starts and came on eight times but failed to pierce the onion bag.
Ale Faurlin is back
Until his mid-season knee injury against MK Dons, Argentinian midfielder Alejandro Faurlin had been arguably QPR’s most impressive performer. Going into QPR’s first season back in the Premiership there some who feared he’d struggle to hack the physicality of the top league but Ale sure put himself about – in fact, he made the most tackles of any Premiership player in the first half of last season. The goods news coming out of the QPR physio room is that Fuarlin is ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation and is set to complete a full pre-season. Having Faurlin back in the midfield engine room for the season opener against Swansea – a real possibility – is a huge boost for the Rs. Faurlin’s importance to the team and the long-term project is underlined by the fact that he was chosen to model the new third kit (a sky blue monstrosity from Lotto) which was revealed to a muted response earlier this week.
Diakite is (maybe) the new Vieira
Ten minutes into Samba Diakite’s excitable QPR debut it was pretty damn obvious he was going to get himself sent off. He did. But the rangy, athletic Malian midfielder recovered from his foolhardy start to prove a big player in the run-in. Initially on loan from French side AS Nancy, he’s now a QPR player and looks to have a very bright future ahead of him. There are already some talk around Loftus Road (mostly me, to be honest) who reckon he has the potential to be the new Vieira. With the arrival of Park and return of Fuarlin he has a tough job on his hands to make the starting lineup but he’s certainly good enough to squeeze his way in.
Sorry Paddy but the grass is greener with Green
Goalkeeper Paddy Kenny was one of the undoubted stars of the promotion-winning season but he struggled badly at points last season. While he did make the odd stunning save – who can forget the moment he palmed over Robin van Persie’s goal-bound drive? – he was at fault for too many goals. His failure to keep out Graham Dorrans’ blast at The Hawthorns (in a 1-0 loss) had me pretty much convinced we were down. Indeed, he has been rated the third worst keeper in terms of percentage of shots saved (64.2%) by Opta. Kenny’s departure for Leeds, where he will team up with Neil Warnock for the fourth time, is a good thing; he’s done us proud but we need better quality between the sticks. New signing Rob Green (from promoted West Ham) should be a marked improvement on Kenny. He’s England’s number 2 and is highly rated by the likes of David Seaman.
Squad upgrade underway
The signings of Andy Johnson and Ryan Nelson haven’t generated the same buzz around the bush as the capture of Park but they should prove solid squad additions. Johnson and Nelson played some of their best football under Hughes and add plenty of Premiership experience to the dressing-room. Adding Johnson and Nelson is all about improving the options and I know I’d rather see those two in the 25-man squad than the likes of Luke Young and Rob Hulse. Hughes was forced to field some weaker players in big games last season (Buzsaky away at Chelsea springs to mind) but should have more firepower from the bench in 2012/2013.
There’s more to come … Hoilet?
QPR have been the most active Premiership club so far this summer and the player acquisition drive isn’t over yet. Of the 25 who have set off for the pre-season of Asia, three are raw youngsters (Michael Harriman, Max Ehmer and Michael Doughty) who are very unlikely to make the 25-man squad. This suggests at least three more signings are in the pipeline. As is always the case, fan messageboards are awash with updates from supposedly ITK (in the know) posters who claim that this or that player has been spotted looking for west London property or having his medical. Most of it is unsubstantiated rumor but one name does keep cropping up: Junior Hoilet. QPR are reportedly locked in a tussle with Bundeliga side Borussia Monchengladbach to sign the Blackburn forward and I’m really hoping Hughes and co can win the day. Hoilet or Wigan’s Victor Moses was the best player in the bottom half of the Premiership last season and he’d be a wonderful addition. He’s young (so has sell-on potential) and the sort of player who scares the life out of opposition defenders due to his dribbling ability. The prospect of Hoilet lining up alongside Taarabt against Swansea is almost too exciting to ponder.
