Darnell Furlong, the latest recipient of the Daphne Biggs Young Player of the Season award, talks to LFW about his first team breakthrough, growing up with that surname, and being there for that Oldham goal.
QPR's youth set up has been much maligned in recent years, and not without justification.
While hard working, talented coaches like Steve Gallen have remained a vital constant, it's suffered from the club's failure to invest in its infrastructure, stiff local competition, poor scouting and a succession of different managers and boards only with eyes for short-term first team gains and scant regard for a long-term plan. Category two, potentially about to be downgraded to category three, it hasn't produced a regular QPR first team player since Ray Jones and any talent that has crept through — Dean Parrett and Raheem Sterling — has quickly been snaffled up elsewhere.
Two years ago, however, the club's Under 18 side travelled to New York for a tournament that would make the long-suffering fans in W12 sit up, take heart, and note down the name of the juniors involved. Rangers, more acclimatised to playing Colchester and Barnet at that time, swept aside Inter Milan 3-1 and Liverpool 5-1 to win the whole thing. Aaron Mitchell won the tournament's Golden Boot award and Reece Grego-Cox scored a fine goal in the final.
The side was captained by Darnell Furlong, a small boy with a big surname, and he’s one of those now finally threatening to smash through the glass ceiling that has existed in W12 for so long.
There’s a story about Darnell on that trip which speaks volume for the character of somebody who has grown into one of the club's brightest young prospects. The tournament starts each year with a dinner on the first night for all the players and staff of clubs that have travelled from all over the world to take part — Inter, Liverpool and QPR were joined by the likes of Maccabi Haifa. The teams kept much to their own groups that night, as you'd expect of teenagers in a strange, foreign, place to do, but Furlong had other ideas for his players. Before the food was served he took the squad around the room to shake hands with the other players who were taking part, introduce themselves and QPR and wish them all the best for the week.
Then they thrashed them all out of sight.
You'd expect nothing less of the son of a player who remained dignified through fierce criticism and abuse at the beginning of his QPR career and then won the Loftus Road public over with crucial goals and magnificent performances. Manager Ian Holloway called him a "Rolls Royce centre forward".
Furlong Jnr grew up watching his dad play for Rangers, but has only been told about the tough start he had in later years. "I didn't really know about it when it was happening, I didn't experience it myself. It's something I've been told about," he says. "I was there for the Oldham goal. It was a crazy moment. I was only young but I felt the place erupt like I never have before. I've grown up watching them through the leagues, to play for them myself I almost can't believe it."
The name, according to Darnell, doesn't come with any added pressure, and nor does Paul play the role of the pushy parent in the car home after the game.
"It's all I've known since I've grown up, it's not like my dad wasn't playing and then was playing - it's all I've ever known," he points out. "It's not a pressure to me, I just have to get on with it. I don't notice a difference. He's not 'you should have done this or you should have done this' but he tries to help me because he's been there before. If there's a scenario that I could have done better with he'll tell me, but not in a way that's going to make me go into my shell. It's all constructive, I'm very grateful I've got that."
Darnell, like his dad, started as a striker in his Sunday league days before being picked up by QPR after an open trial day for under 11s at Harlington.
"When I started at the academy I was a striker, but the coaches here can sense you may be able to do a better job somewhere else," he says. "I started off by shifting into central midfield — I saw it as a positive, because if I can play two positions I'll get more opportunities. I started playing right back at 15s and 16s.
"When you're Sunday league the best dribbler plays up front and the one who can kick it furthest plays at the back. In the academy everybody is good in their position, they're more adapted to their position and it's what the coaches see in you."
Sitting down and speaking to Darnell Furlong can feel a little bit like interviewing Benjamin Button. Still only 19, but calm and considered, laid back and open, intelligent and well spoken. There's no folded arms and monosyllabic teenage grunts here, he thinks about the answer and elucidates on the points he's making, hands shifting around in front of him constantly to further express what he means. He’s the sort of boy you pray your daughter brings home. The sort you never get sat next to on the tube.
Such a grounded attitude was needed in the spring when a change of manager and injury crisis at right back thrust him into the first team picture for the first time. There has been criticism that it was too much too soon, after he was given a torrid time by first Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez in a 2-1 defeat at Loftus Road and then Yannick Bolasie in a 3-1 shellacking at Crystal Palace. Was caretaker manager Chris Ramsey making a political point, picking a kid for the sake of picking one, because investment in youth was suddenly trendy and good PR at Loftus Road after Harry Redknapp's steadfast refusal to even consider the club's younger players for cup matches or dead rubbers in the league? Opinion is split.
Furlong seems to have taken the experience in his stride, rightly pleased with his senior debut up at Hull City, and taking the lessons from the subsequent appearances against the two best wingers the top league in this country has to offer.
"It's been a drastic change," he admits. "I started off this season having played a couple of times for the 21s, now I've played a couple for the first team. It's a massive change and I've just had to try my best and deal with it all.
"I didn't know I was definitely starting at Hull until we got into the dressing room. I knew there was a chance, because I'd done the work on team shape in training. I think they kept it from me so I could be relaxed. I was really nervous but I wanted to go out and have a good warm up and do everything I have been doing. I wouldn't change much with my first game. If I could be the best on the pitch then that's obviously what I wanted but realistically that's not going to happen so I just tried to be steady and defend well. The first team players were talking to me, helping me along, telling me where I needed to be. I just got on with it and did the best I could.
"Arsenal was nerve wracking again. Before I'd just been a spectator and if you'd asked me who's the best in the Premier League I'd have said it was possibly Alexis Sanchez. To then be in the dressing room knowing I was coming up against him was scary. I just tried to do the best I could. It was tough.
"Ever since Chris has come in you've been able to see a pathway to the first team. With a couple of us playing the other boys have seen it and they're trying their best to get there. It's better than it has been for a long time, the players are able to see it and it makes them better than they were before."
In the latest in a series of summer squad overhauls in Shepherd's Bush, QPR may not have to look too far for their right back option in next season's Championship.
The Twitter @DarnellFurlong, @loftforwords
Pictures — Action Images