The seemingly never ending tug of war between QPR and Crystal Palace over midfielder Darren Ambrose is finally over, with the Eagles emerging as victors.
News:
Rangers had hoped to take advantage of a dire financial position at Crystal Palace this summer by taking Ambrose, who scored 20 goals from midfield last season, from the Eagles for £750,000. Neil Warnock had picked the former Ipswich trainee up on a free from Charlton last summer and revitalised his career that had appeared to stagnate at The Valley. Ambrose himself seemed keen to move, agreeing a deal at Loftus Road, and with Selhurst Park administrator Brendan Guilfoyle stating the transfer was crucial to the survival of the club everything seemed set for the move to take place.
However a successful takeover at Palace put the deal on hold and although there have been rumours both ways since, with new Eagles boss George Burley claiming the player wanted to stay while R’s assistant Mick Jones said the deal for him to come to Loftus Road was still on, the final decision seems to have gone in favour of the South London outfit. Darren Ambrose today signed a new three year contract with Palace, committing his future to the club and at the same time removing the key bargaining chip QPR held with his original deal due to expire in 12 months time.
Ambrose told the official Palace website: “It has been a hard few months with all the speculation about my future but I am now delighted to be sitting here signing the new contract. I have always wanted to remain at this football club and I am pleased it is all resolved.
“The new owners have come in and made a great impression and everyone has really made me feel wanted and now it is about me working hard and getting ready for the new season starting against Leicester City. It was great to see George Burley appointed as he was someone who gave me my chance as a kid and he knows how to get the best out of me. It's great that I am going to be working again with him at such a big club as this. We have such a great fan base and I just wanted to repay them for all their great support last season by signing this new contract with Crystal Palace Football Club.”
Burley himself said: “We are trying to build a club and its important to keep your best players. It's fantastic news for the fans of the club to see both Paddy and Darren commit their future. Paddy is going to be the club captain this year and in my opinion is one of the best central defenders in the Championship. After all the speculation it is great to see Darren sign and this is a great bonus for everyone at the football club. Both have accepted offers which keeps them at the club for three more years and I am sure both will help us to hopefully have a very good season."
To further add to Warnock’s woes it has been announced today that central defender Fitz Hall will be staying with Rangers. Hall has two years of a highly lucrative contract still left at Rangers that his form and injury record scarcely justify and after loaning him to Newcastle for the second half of last season, where once again injury restricted him to just seven appearances, Rangers were keen to offload him this summer. However the spectre of matching the huge wage Hall currently earns at Rangers has put potential suitors off and a potential extra squad place and wage that could have gone on improving the team will instead be Hall’s again this season.
Putting a brave face on it, Warnock told the Uxbridge Gazette: “I asked Fitz what he wanted to do - and he reckons he wants to stay with us. He thinks the set-up here now will suit him, and that’s fine by me. When he’s on song, Fitz is one of the best readers of the game in our league, and I can see how he might be valuable to us.”
Warnock has added to his squad today, by bringing in Jordan Hibbert on a six month contract following his release from Barnsley. The 19 year old central midfielder was a junior with Chelsea and recently had a trial at Leeds following his release from Oakwell – he comes on a recommendation to assistant manager Mick Jones. Hibbert told the Kilburn Times: “It's a great opportunity for me and I'm just really grateful to Neil Warnock. It's up to me now to prove that I'm worth keeping at the club."
Rumours:
Reading have again moved to deny newspaper reports linking winger Jobi McAnuff with a move to QPR. The Mirror reported for a second time over the weekend that the winger is set for Loftus Road in a deal worth £1.5m and even went so far as to say he had told Reading he wanted to leave the Madejski after learning of QPR’s interest and a potential salary of £13,000 a week. Reading manager Brian McDermott told the Crowthorne and Sandhurst Times: “That’s not true. It’s completely untrue.”
Former R’s:
Michael Meaker has been speaking about QPR’s second consecutive London Masters triumph after his hat trick turned around a 3-0 deficit in the final against West Ham. The 39 year old Mangotsfield United player has been a star in the competition for Rangers and is looking forward to the national finals in Birmingham on September 5. Meaker told the Kilburn Times: “It was great to win the tournament again and hopefully we can come back and retain it a third year running. The new boys who came in made a big difference and I hope they'll all be there for the national finals because this year we're looking to do better than we did last time. It was all new to them and maybe that was why we started off slow against Tottenham, but that first half gave us a kick up the backside and we never looked back. QPR were my first pro side and they're always going to be one of the most important things in my career. The fans were fantastic again, as they were last year, and I know it means a lot to them, winning tournaments like this."
Championship shorts:
- Ipswich striker Jon Stead will travel to Bristol City this week to discuss terms after the two clubs agreed a fee for his services. Want away City midfielder Paul Hartley will not be joining Hearts however after the SPL side withdrew from a deal to sign their former charge back from Ashton Gate.
- Sheffield Wednesday have accepted a renewed bid from Burnley for goalkeeper Lee Grant. Earlier approaches by Brian Laws for the reigning Owls’ player of the year had been rebuffed. The Owls have rejected a bid from Nottingham Forest, believed to be around £300,000, for Jamaican winger Jermaine Johnson however.
- Cardiff manager Dave Jones says he remains committed to the Welsh club despite a continuing transfer embargo and rumoured interest in his services from Premiership side Fulham. Jones said: “I'm fully committed here. I'm fully behind this football club. I can assure our fans that I am - as always - 100% working at this football club to try and get things right, as I have done every season and during the season."
- Coventry have signed 21 year old striker Lukas Jutkiewicz for an undisclosed fee from Everton. The Toffees snapped the striker up from Swindon when he was a teenager and he bagged 12 goals during a loan spell with Motherwell last season. He has previously spent time on loan with Huddersfield and Plymouth.