Why Queens Park Rangers will not bounce back at the first time of asking
It all started so badly for Queens Park Rangers at the start of 2015 as they failed to add any quality additions to their squad and lost manager Harry Redknapp who resigned after the January failings.
Chris Ramsey was appointed as the man to try and stop what seemed like an inevitable drop into the Championship and it started so promisingly for him. QPR finally won their first away match of the season, but that was as good as it got for them as they bowed out of the top flight without putting up much of a fight. Their relegation confirmed with a 6-0 hammering by Manchester City.
Just when QPR fans thought that it couldn’t get worse, Joey Barton accused senior players including Chile striker Eduardo Vargas of being bad eggs and causing problems in the dressing room. This in itself was a bad revelation, but Adel Taarabt has come out this week and accused players of not caring about the club and just looking to line their pockets. He also claimed that players were declared unfit and injured in public when really they were fully fit.
These appalling revelations coupled with a potential fine of up to £50 Million for failing to comply with Financial Fair Play Rules when they were last in the second tier has started the summer off very poorly for the club. They have also lost some big players such as Joey Barton, Adel Taarabt and loanee Mauricio Isla who returned to Juventus after a mixed loan spell.
The club have tried to turn around the demise and set up a promotion push by bringing in new players, but are they really good enough? QPR have signed young Swindon stars Ben Gladwin and Massimo Luongo, but having only been playing in League One it will be a big ask for them to immediately be in a side who look to be at the top of the Championship and I see these moves as ones for the future.
The Rs have shown a noticeable change in transfer policy this summer, opting for youth and potential, over household names.
Another signing was Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, who is a very talented player but the winger scored just 9 league goals in 36 appearances for League One Table Toppers Bristol City. His versatility could make him a good addition as he can also play as a centre forward or just in behind the striker, but he hasn’t been consistent enough to give fans confidence that he can be a star for the club.
The biggest signing so far this summer for Rangers though is the return of Scottish International forward Jamie Mackie. He was a fantastic servant for the club and did a brilliant job for QPR after joining from Plymouth Argyle in 2010. His first spell at the club started incredibly but a broken leg in January 2011 checked his progress. QPR were promoted at the end of the 2010/11 season and when he returned to the side towards the end of 2011 and was a key player under both Neil Warnock and Mark Hughes.
Mackie’s biggest contribution was a superb performance off the bench at home to Liverpool, when he inspired his side as they came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 with Mackie scoring the winner. He also scored QPR’s second in the defeat to Manchester City which won the Manchester club the title. He continued to do a very decent job on the wing during the next season, but left the club for Nottingham Forest after Rangers failed to secure their Premiership status.
Since leaving QPR Mackie has never really got going and has struggled at both Nottingham Forest and on loan last season at Reading, although he did excel in the second half of last season. Mackie’s non-stop running and commitment makes him a very good player to have, but considering he has barely had a look in over the last 2 seasons is he really good enough to be the club’s marquee signing?
Add those 4 players to the squad and you have a team that looks ok, but there are only a few names that stand out such as striker Charlie Austin, goalkeeper Rob Green and midfielder Sandro. These 3 are quite clearly Premiership quality but the rest of the squad look weak and if any of these 3 (with the exception of maybe Green with Alex McCarthy waiting in the wings) were to be sold or injured then QPR would be severely weakened.
With money not readily available with the fine looming over QPR’S head it means they haven’t been able to bulk up their squad and whilst their starting 11 looks reasonably strong, they have no depth whatsoever and injuries to key players could even lead to a relegation battle. Armand Traore has also stayed at the club despite strong criticism of his commitment to the side and if he continues to act the same it is only going to affect QPR negatively.
Even the biggest of diehard Rangers fans will know that they will have to produce something really special to bounce back straight away and with the negatives massively outweighing the positives it looks like they are destined for a long stay in the second tier.
[interaction id=”55a59a38529840a30ede2504″]
[separator type=”thin”]
Take advantage of @CampoRetro’s FREE printing this weekend. Get any legend on shirts from £15 http://bit.ly/1CSHHj7
