A Kick Up The R’s columnist and message board regular Simon Dorset (Roller) reflects on the latest batch of YTs released by QPR, and the unfulfilled dreams of one die-hard Rangers fan in particular.
The annual release of players from the Elite Development Squad at this time of year always brings the harsh realities of the sport into sharp focus. I can’t begin to envisage how painful some of those conversations must be when a player, who may have been in the QPR academy for more than half his life, is told that he is no longer wanted by the club. However much any player is expecting it and however much he is prepared for it, the final confirmation must hit like a hammer blow.
As highlighted by the recent reincarnation of the "Where are the now” thread, this need not signify the end of their dreams to be professional footballers. A number of graduates from QPR’s academy are making their mark in teams lower down in the leagues. Lee Brown’s last minute winner clinched Bristol Rovers promotion to League One, Michael Harriman continues to impress at Wycombe, Jamie Sendles-White has just signed a contract extension at Swindon while Angelo Balanta enjoyed a victorious return to Loftus Road last season with Carlisle and played against the R’s again last week for Aldershot. The released players will probably have to readjust their sights, although hopefully not as much as Wes Daly who is now playing for Egham Town in the Southern League Division One Central.
I find it hard to believe that it is almost three years since our Under-18 team, led by Darnell Furlong, beat their counterparts from Inter Milan and Liverpool to win the Newark International Soccer Classic in New Jersey. Unfortunately winning that tournament is going to be the high point of some of those lads’ careers at QPR with Aaron Mitchell, Harley Wise, George Butler and Andreas Komodikis, the scorer of our fifth goal in the final, among those released. It is impossible not to feel some sympathy for Wise, a lifelong Rangers’ supporter, who has been with the club since he was seven, but I’m more disappointed that Mitchell has been released.
Aaron Mitchell had a fantastic tournament in New Jersey. He followed up his second half hat-trick in the semi-final with another couple of goals in the final, but, despite looking composed and clinical in front of goal, it would appear that he was not developing into the goal scoring midfielder that we are crying out for. He is joined by Michael Anastasiou, Nathan Corkery, James Haran, Martin Herdman, Leon Lobjoit, Joseph N’Guessan and Ben Pattie in leaving Loftus Road.
And then there is Frankie Sutherland. If I could have somehow empowered any player to have been the one who finally broke through into the first team from our academy it would have been Sutherland and for just one fleeting moment, under the scorching Austrian sun in the 2013 pre-season friendlies, Sutherland raised hopes that it would be him. Reacting smartly to intercept a poor pass, he burst through a tackle on the half-way line and powered towards the Udinese penalty area before clinically slotting the ball home beyond the despairing dives of the last defender and goalkeeper. It was a smashing goal but a false dawn, and, unfortunately, a rare highlight in a career otherwise beset with frustration.
Last year, just before Easter, Clive and I were fortunate enough to interview Frankie Sutherland. Despite QPR’s imminent relegation from the Premier League, the atmosphere at Harlington was buoyant, especially among the EDS players. Michael Doughty’s surprise appearance against Sunderland had breached the hitherto impenetrable barrier to the first team and Darnell Furlong and Reece Grego-Cox had forced their way through in his wake. With previously stifled hopes renewed, Sutherland was only too happy to chat eloquently about his career to date and possibilities for the future.
Sutherland was only nine when he attracted the club’s attention while playing for Ruislip Rangers and was swiftly signed up. His name was always to the fore as he progressed through the youth ranks for both club and country with the 2009/10 season being especially memorable. Sutherland played a prominent role in winning the Youth Alliance National League Cup for QPR in a team which also included Michael Harriman and Michael Doughty, having already represented the Republic of Ireland in the Qualifying and Elite rounds of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship, opening the scoring in their 2-1- victory over Bulgaria.
Although Sutherland was progressing through the age groups for the Republic of Ireland, he had stalled at QPR. Eager to gain first team experience, he happily accepted the opportunity to go on loan to Portsmouth in January 2013 but unfortunately suffered an exasperating month in a less than friendly environment. Immediately after he made his debut, coming off the bench against Hartlepool, the Portsmouth chairman announced a sudden change of policy and insisted that the club’s own youth players were to be selected ahead of loans. Sutherland returned to QPR with just that one appearance to his name. He readily admits that it was a difficult time for him, even if it was character forming.
The following season, and despite that goal against Udinese, he was still making little headway at QPR so Sutherland agreed to a one-month loan deal at Orient where he was made to feel far more welcome than he had been at Portsmouth. Russell Slade, Orient’s manager, introduced his gradually into the team’s style of play, before giving him his debut in the first round of the FA Cup against Southport. "For the first half hour I was buzzing and thought I started really well. Then from a throw in I went on a run with the ball and I felt a snap and the excruciating pain! I was on the gas and air after that and it was just a blur.” Sutherland had suffered to the obligatory anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Sutherland worked hard at his rehabilitation, sharing the treatment room with Ale Faurlin who was on a similar recovery schedule, but was thwarted from regaining full fitness by the untimely arrival of the end of the season. His frustration spilled over into the new season and by the end of October, and despite his previous harrowing experiences, Sutherland decided to try to kick start his career with a loan spell at AFC Wimbledon where he was finally rewarded for his perseverance; "I thoroughly enjoyed it."
His initial month was extended until January, for the first time Sutherland was benefited from a loan. "Neil Ardley, the manager, was at Cardiff academy and, while he understood you need to win and need three points, he was also developing me for when I went back to QPR. I was picking things up all the time and I've taken things I learnt there and brought it back here.” When he returned to Loftus Road he did so with glowing compliments ringing in his ears and a very sweet memory of a glorious goal against Portsmouth, curled beautifully into the top corner from outside the penalty area, firmly lodged in his brain.
Shortly after his return QPR underwent an incredible transformation. Redknapp quit in a fit of pique having not been allowed to lavish yet more money on ageing has-beens and was replaced by Chris Ramsey who had a mandate to promote the younger players within the club. Sutherland was as excited as anyone about the new possibilities: "With Redknapp leaving and then Chris coming in as manager and Les being here, all of a sudden this has become a fantastic opportunity to develop and hopefully play for QPR for many years, maybe six months ago that wasn’t the case”.
Even in Ramsey’s inclusive new culture, the "light at the end of the tunnel” rarely shone on Sutherland, who was only selected for the substitutes’ bench once in the remainder of the season and so I was as surprised as I was pleased when he was offered a further year’s extension on his contract in the summer of 2015. Sadly, his hard work and best endeavours were not enough to enable him to break through into the first team and his subsequent loan spells at Dagenham and Redbridge and Crawley Town, both near the foot of League Two, correctly suggested that he would not be offered another one.
Frankie Sutherland has only ever wanted to play for QPR. Born in Ruislip, he is a lifelong supporter and as passionate about the club as you or I. When respectfully asked whether some of the teams he’d spent time on loan with were more his level, he defiantly responded "This is the club I support, I want to play here.” Sutherland didn’t ever ask for anything more than the chance to prove himself. To be fair to the club, they gave him every chance to succeed and, despite all the frustration he endured, he briefly, just briefly, got to live his dream.
As inevitable as it had become, it is a great shame to see him leave QPR; good luck Frankie and all of the other released players.
Simon Dorset is a regular contributor to the A Kick Up The R’s fanzine and also recently wrote pieces about Ale Faurlin and Clint Hill for his online blog.
The Twitter @RollerRanger
Pictures — Action Images