Queens Park Rangers are bottom of the Premier League at the turn of the year with just 10 points from an available 60, even worse than their point scoring record is the fact that they’ve only managed to win one game in 20 attempts.
History shows that the four other teams to have had 10 points or less going into the new year have all been relegated, Derby (7), Sunderland (6), Sheffield Wednesday (9) and Bolton (10).
They’ve gambled by changing managers and bringing in star players on pay packets to match, but still there has been prohibited success. Looking in from the outside there seem to be a number of issues with the team, any natural hunger for the game has all but evaporated from the West London side, there is no evident leader on the pitch at Loftus Road and in Harry Redknapp’s words there is an unhealthy case of “too many players earning too much money.”
QPR’s problems date back a long way, but the final game of the 2011/12 season has had a big effect on them this season. On that day, then, captain Joey Barton violently struck out against members of the Manchester City team, ending up in an FA 12 match ban and the club stripping him of the captaincy.
This had a big impact because, love him or hate him, Barton is a natural leader, someone who’ll go to extreme lengths for his team and team mates, he is someone who understands and carries the fire, love and passion worthy of captaincy. These sanctions combined with others that had been enforced on him gave him little option but to leave the club, at first it was Fleetwood Town whom he trained with, before making a French switch to Marseille.
After Barton’s departure there were few who stood out as candidates for the leader role, former captain Adel Taraabt, ex-Blackburn skipper under Hughes – Ryan Nelsen and possibly Anton Ferdinand who had captained the club in the past on a non permanent basis, stood out as potential candidates. But instead Ji-Sung Park was made captain.
Park is busy player and has proved very useful for Manchester United and PSV as well as captaining his country but lacks the charisma, leadership and desire of a great Premier League captain. In many ways Park’s suitability for the captaincy is very symbolic of the way the team have played this season.
you’d think beating Chelsea yesterday might be relevant to this article no?
Nice article Joseph.
Perhaps you didn’t notice the little matter of QPR beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge yesterday?
Or that Joe Cole’s going to West Ham?
I’d like to suggest a new article called: ‘This is Futbol – a site that lacks insight, originality or knowledge’…
Thanks for the responses,
Unfortunately this article was written and scheduled well before QPR’s 1-0 win last night.
It’s out of my hands when the article’s go up and as I say, it is unfortunate that the timing is how it is.
I still believe the main points to be relevant though.
Thanks,
Joseph
Very poor article. Clearly has no in depth knowledge of QPR. If he had then he would have mentioned Derry and Hill who are both more qualified than Ferdinand.
It is not the lack of an effective captain but poor choice of players by Hughes. The balance of the team has not been right as there are too many footballers who are not as good as they think they are and too few fighters. It is no coincidence that the team plays better with the 5 players who got QPR promoted in the side.
Yes they lack fire and desire, because they are having comunication brake down, when they make Park their captain, too bad it was all business to sell Air Asia to the Korian people and now QPR fan swallow the pill of higher ticket and a loosing team
Completely irrelevant. We have leaders and they were winning at Stamford Bridge last night. Idiot.
Fair enough on the timing Joseph, it’s FutBol editors who rather stupidly allowed this to be posted a day after one of the most rousing performances for a couple of year – well, since the comeback from 0-2 down to Liverpool before winning 3-2 last year.
That result was the beginning of our fightback an eventual Premier League survival. I think the Chelsea result wil do the same.
No desire, spirit or leadership? I have to disagree with your approach of tarring the whole squad with the same brush.
Step back 6 weeks and you may have had a case. Sure, there are one or two the who are just not interested in the fight for survival, or putting in a shift.
But there are good players there fighting hard every week – not only the old crocks of Derry, Nelsen and Hill – but the likes of Mackie, Diakite, Mbia – and perhaps the biggest surprise of all, former prima donna Adel Taarabt.
And 2,000 QPR fans wh out-sang the Chesea faithful all night.