When Mark Hughes was appointed QPR following the departure of Championship winning manager Neil Warnock, he knew avoiding relegation was the top priority.
Now six months on and thanks to a dramatic last day salvation Hughes finds himself still managing a Premier League outfit, one who has the potential and financial backing to have a good season. The least the QPR faithful will be expecting is to not to go into the final day at Anfield needing a win to avoid relegation.
Already the comings and goings at QPR are in full swing. Following the ecstasy of the final day; celebrating Bolton’s demise, no fewer than 8 players left Loftus Road. Taye Taiwo and Bruno Perone went back to their parent clubs having spent the season on loan at QPR, where as it was the end of the Premier League road (for now anyway) for Danny Gabbidon, Peter Ramage, Lee Cook, Rowan Vine, Fitz Hall and Danny Shittu. Some of whom have Premier League experience and even with their advancing years could still provide teams with an extra bit of quality, teams such as Southampton, West Ham and Reading for instance shouldn’t ignore these players.
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However the more eye-catching and eyebrow raising stories coming from Loftus Road are the signings Mark Hughes has made. The shrewd business of signing Robert Green from West Ham, Andrew Johnson from Fulham and Ryan Nelsen from Tottenham; incredibly on all free transfers, just shows the intent for the upcoming season from the Welshman. Add to these three high quality signings the permanent deal for Samba Diakite – which is set to be completed in the near future; QPR look to set the foundations on what could be a solid season for the London club.
With the new season not starting for another month and a half, there is still time for the Welsh Wizard to wave his wand over the transfer market and pick out a few more gems. Who will QPR be on the lookout for? If the transfer rumours are to be believed Stephen Ireland could be on the list on potential players wanted to fill in for the troublesome and suspended Joey Barton.
The “bad boy” midfielder will be missing from the QPR team for at least the first 12 games of the season; so a creative midfielder who will show as much passion as Barton is needed. Is Stephen Ireland the man to fill Barton’s boots? More importantly who can fill those boots and who will want to anyway? Questions that no doubt have crossed Hughes’ mind but as he has proved with his first signings he is no fool when it comes to transfers.
Reuniting the partnership of Zamora and Johnson that did so well for Fulham, could be the tip of the 2012/13 season’s iceberg in regards to QPR. The front line of Zamora, Johnson and Djibril Cisse adding the width and pace of Shaun Wright-Phillips on the wing could be a major catalyst and threat this season and will provide goals and more importantly just might provide the QPR fans with a season to remember.
Overall, if these transfers are the success that they can potentially be then QPR will be on the up and could aim for an upper mid-table finish. With a few more quality signings the Mark Hughes and QPR salvation could be well on its way to completion
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