Hogan Ephraim has extended his QPR contract until 2012 but the transfers of Rob Hulse from Derby and Tommy Smith from Portsmouth await league approval.
It would be fair to say that few fans would have had Hogan Ephraim in their starting eleven at the start of the season but after an impressive pre-season campaign he has hit the ground running in 2010/11 producing some of his most consistent form for the club. Ephraim started 16 games on the spin at the end of last season without really impressing but after a goal and two assists from the opening month of the campaign news breaks today that Ephraim’s contract, due to expire next summer, has been extended by a further 12 months. Neil Warnock tried to sign Ephraim, first from West Ham and then later from QPR, when he was the Palace manager so this news should not come as a surprise.
Warnock told the club’s official website: “It's his just reward for his performances. We're building for the present day, as well as the future, and he's the type of player we want at this football club. He loves the game and his enthusiasm is remarkable. He's a key member of the squad and we're delighted he's agreed an extension.”
Ephraim said: "I'm very happy. I was in the last year of my contract, so I'm just delighted we've managed to get it sorted after a few months of negotiating. I'm really enjoying life under the gaffer and I'm playing some of the best football of my career at the moment, so things couldn't be much better. We've made a great start to the campaign and this is the strongest QPR squad I've ever been part of - everything is heading in the right direction."
Whether Ephraim will be supplying Jamie Mackie and Heidar Helguson against Middlesbrough, or Tommy Smith and Rob Hulse, is still unclear. QPR announced the transfers of Smith and Hulse had been agreed just before 7pm last night subject to league approval that the necessary paperwork had been completed before 6pm. That approval was expected to come through today but has yet to materialise and rumours are starting to circulate that the deals, particularly the Hulse transfer from Derby, were not completed in time. If that is the case Rangers are likely to loan both players for the first half of the season and then sign them in January but it is a needless and annoying hassle we could have done without.
The uncertainty is particularly galling as Tottenham have had no problem getting approval for their transfer of Rafael van der Vaat, done well after the deadline but blamed on a computer glitch, and Arsenal managed to sign Andrei Arshavin two days after the January deadline 18 months ago blaming the poor weather for the delay. If QPR are forced to loan two players that they have, to all intents and purposes, bought then it smacks of big club v little club bias once again from the authorities.
One deal definitely not done in time was the loan of young defender Lee Brown to Hayes and Yeading. Subscribers to the club’s official text messaging service were informed (and charged of course) that he had moved to the Conference outfit yesterday however today it has been confirmed that the paperwork had not been submitted in time and he must now wait for the loan window next week. Brown spent time with Salisbury City on loan last season in the same division.
Somebody that is definitely at QPR, and buzzing after scoring three times in five games so far, is striker Jamie Mackie who has been reliving his memorable (for those who stayed for it!) equaliser at Derby on Saturday.
Mackie said: “It's one of the best comebacks I've ever been involved in and a lot of the lads were saying similar things after. It was just incredible. We looked down and out, dead and buried at 2-0 down, but we showed the belief that we have as a group of players. The celebrations were unreal at the end.
"I had to hold off a couple of defenders to create the space, but once I was in the box it was all about staying calm and composed. It all happened so quickly, and thankfully I managed to drill it beyond Bywater's outstretched arm. I lost it. I was so emotional. We know we didn't play at all well, but to show such courage and resilience to get a positive result tells you all you need to know about this group of players. There's an unbelievable spirit in the camp and that showed with the celebrations at full-time. It felt like a victory coming so late in the day.
"To be sitting at the top of the table going into the break is a massive boost for the lads. If we'd have lost at the weekend with a two week break looming it would have been tough, but we got a draw and we're still top of the table with an unbeaten record. That's a huge fillip for the lads and changes the complexity of the whole break."
Finally an unusually strong looking QPR reserve side beat their counterparts from Ipswich 2-0 in a behind closed doors match at Harlington earlier this week. In a departure from the recent policy of blooding the youngsters in these second string fixtures Rangers fielded a side made up entirely of first team players with Martin Rowlands and Akos Buzsaky both starting as they recover from respective injuries. Buzsaky, and defender Peter Ramage, scored for the R’s.
Reserve manager Ronnie Jepson told the club’s official website: “It was a good opportunity for not only Rowly and Fitz to play, but also members of the squad who haven't been starting first team games. Rowly played half an hour last week and stepped it up yesterday. He did fine and there was no reaction. He looked comfortable out there and his match sharpness will gradually improve with game time. He was able to keep up with the pace of the game and had plenty of touches, which will do his confidence the world of good. Encouragingly, he didn't shirk any challenges either when they were there to be made.
"It was a good opportunity for them to get some match minutes. It keeps them topped-up, fitness wise. The senior lads applied themselves very well, their attitude was spot-on and they were a great example for some of the younger members of the squad."
QPR: Cerny, Parker, Ramage, Hall, Borrowdale, Buzsaky, Leigertwood, Rowlands, Agyemang, German, Clarke
Subs: Rose, Oastler, Brown, Doughty, Hibbert, Trialist, Trialist
Ipswich: Lee-Barrett, Ainsley, Dunbar, Hourihane, Brown, Eastman, Lambe, Cawley, Murray, Healy, Griffiths
Subs: Clark, Cropper, Bennett, Lavery, Meekings, Jones
Three of our former charges were on the move on deadline day. The most surprising was Marcus Bent who has somehow managed to get himself another club – joining Premiership side Wolves on a half season loan from Birmingham. Quite why Wolves would want to loan out Andy Keogh to Cardiff just to loan in Bent, who managed just three appearances and no goals for QPR in a half season loan last year, is beyond me.
More predictable was one paced left back Chris Barker making his move to Southend permanent on a free transfer. Barker joined the Shrimpers on loan from Plymouth, where he was deemed surplus to requirements by Peter Reid during the summer, and has now made that switch permanent.
And our one time Aussie hopeful Nick Ward was also a mover yesterday, joining Wellington Phoenix after injury restricted his first team opportunities at Melbourne Victory.
- Shorn of their star midfielder on deadline day and now outside the transfer window with £6m in their pockets Reading have given Lee Hendrie a trial with a view to earning a permanent contract. Hendrie was released by Derby at the end of last season.
- Forest are hopeful that midfielder Paul Anderson will be back in action in less than a month. Anderson left the field early against Norwich at the weekend and rumours quickly circulated that he had ruptured his knee ligaments. However the club now believes he may be back in action by mid-September.