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Well, you didn't think I was going to write about Charlton did you?
Too good for you – Preview9th Sep 2026 13:02 As QPR head to Charlton on Wednesday evening, we reflect on the Rangers career and legacy of Adel Taarabt who has announced his retirement from the sport this week.3
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Too good for you – Preview on 13:13 - Sep 9 with 3749 views
Mel features heavily in a great book "The Nowhere Men" by Michael Calvin Although, I found it better to listen to Mel himself on the pod
That special season was probably my favourite in my time of watching QPR, and I was lucky enough to be going a lot in the 90's when we had a great team as well.
I don't even care that uncle Neil hasn't replied to my email yet. Me and my Dad had a lovely old time watching Adel boss the Championship for a whole year. The subsequent decade has reinforced how special that time actually was, I doubt I'll be lucky enough to see something like that again week in week out
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Too good for you – Preview on 13:38 - Sep 9 with 3541 views
Thanks so much for this, Clive! Such great memories - almost brought a tear to the eye! Somebody posted on social media that Tarbs could have been as good as Ronaldo or Messi. Clearly he didn't have their self-discipline but was he as talented? I am not sure, although I am in no doubt that he is the best player I have seen live in a Rangers' shirt, in fact any shirt for that matter! At least he's now got the time to return and take up his rightful place in the Forever R's lineup!
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Too good for you – Preview on 13:54 - Sep 9 with 3439 views
Too good for you – Preview on 13:49 - Sep 9 by MungoJezza
Thanks so much for this, Clive! Such great memories - almost brought a tear to the eye! Somebody posted on social media that Tarbs could have been as good as Ronaldo or Messi. Clearly he didn't have their self-discipline but was he as talented? I am not sure, although I am in no doubt that he is the best player I have seen live in a Rangers' shirt, in fact any shirt for that matter! At least he's now got the time to return and take up his rightful place in the Forever R's lineup!
After spending half an hour procrastinating and watching the highlights... yes. He could've been as good as them and this is a hill I'm willing to die on.
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Too good for you – Preview on 14:23 - Sep 9 with 3300 views
Thanks, Clive, a wonderful tribute to his career. Made me emotional as the Taarabt seasons were the final ones I shared with my dad before he passed. That's what football can give you. Amazing.
Too good for you – Preview on 13:49 - Sep 9 by MungoJezza
Thanks so much for this, Clive! Such great memories - almost brought a tear to the eye! Somebody posted on social media that Tarbs could have been as good as Ronaldo or Messi. Clearly he didn't have their self-discipline but was he as talented? I am not sure, although I am in no doubt that he is the best player I have seen live in a Rangers' shirt, in fact any shirt for that matter! At least he's now got the time to return and take up his rightful place in the Forever R's lineup!
I think it needed a special manager to get the best out of Taarabt.
Warnock went against everything he had previously done in his career by building a team around a flair player.
Alex Ferguson was at the end of his time at Yanited when AT came along but he wasn't afraid of a 'big personality' and it's an interesting (and painful) thought experiment as to what Taarabt might have become if a peak Fergie had gotten hold of him.
Still, our gain was everyone else's loss.
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Too good for you – Preview on 15:06 - Sep 9 with 3056 views
Is Criminal how we let Redknapp get rid of him whilst relacing him with the likes of Jenas that first season he was in charge. Up there with likes of Bowles, Marsh and Wegerle as the great entertainers. Every time he got the ball your bum was off the seat, sometimes he was rubbish but when he was good my god he was good. We were very lucky to see him in a QPR shirt.
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Too good for you – Preview on 15:11 - Sep 9 with 3014 views
Too good for you – Preview on 15:06 - Sep 9 by daveB
Is Criminal how we let Redknapp get rid of him whilst relacing him with the likes of Jenas that first season he was in charge. Up there with likes of Bowles, Marsh and Wegerle as the great entertainers. Every time he got the ball your bum was off the seat, sometimes he was rubbish but when he was good my god he was good. We were very lucky to see him in a QPR shirt.
'The brazen public theft of Joe Allen’s soul' - an absolute joy, described joyously..
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Too good for you – Preview on 15:14 - Sep 9 with 2998 views
For me the ultimate Taraabt moment was that goal against Cardiff. The body swerves to make the Cardiff defence fall over like the parting of the Red Sea. Meanwhile -the ball just rolls forward. Then the curled shot into the far corner. Just brilliant.
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Too good for you – Preview on 15:22 - Sep 9 with 2948 views
Thanks so much for that piece, Clive. Fitting tribute to the genius that is Adel and it brought back some wonderful memories. I still can’t comprehend how he didn’t win our POTY award in the promotion season.
It’s great you didn’t gloss over his flaws and loved the line ‘But when we say “if you’re playing for QPR there must be something wrong with you” there is a picture of Adel Taarabt’s face next to that.’ The true heir to Marsh & Bowles.
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Too good for you – Preview on 15:53 - Sep 9 with 2795 views
Too good for you – Preview on 15:06 - Sep 9 by daveB
Is Criminal how we let Redknapp get rid of him whilst relacing him with the likes of Jenas that first season he was in charge. Up there with likes of Bowles, Marsh and Wegerle as the great entertainers. Every time he got the ball your bum was off the seat, sometimes he was rubbish but when he was good my god he was good. We were very lucky to see him in a QPR shirt.
Good point Dave. How did Taarabt not get another starring role tearing up the Championship again?
But then we had the terrible misfortune of having Redknobb as manager
Too good for you – Preview on 15:14 - Sep 9 by dsw2509
For me the ultimate Taraabt moment was that goal against Cardiff. The body swerves to make the Cardiff defence fall over like the parting of the Red Sea. Meanwhile -the ball just rolls forward. Then the curled shot into the far corner. Just brilliant.
I've been going since 1970 and OMG that season with Adel was the best ever.
I'll never forget seeing him lift that beautiful trophy, that we had stolen from us in 75/76. Never mind that Sky and the PL had devalued it, Football League Champions, our name on it with all those illustrious clubs. I was delighted.
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Too good for you – Preview on 18:38 - Sep 9 with 2239 views
I’ll never forget that season getting back to the Crown and Sceptre after we’d dicked Reading 4-0 or something and Adel ran the show from start to finish. I knew we were going up and it was only November
It was the first and only time I’ve ever seen anyone rainbow flick the ball over his own head to beat someone in a game, after which he was hunted down by three enraged Reading defenders and hacked to pieces
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Too good for you – Preview on 18:46 - Sep 9 with 2212 views
Too good for you – Preview on 18:38 - Sep 9 by queensparker
I’ll never forget that season getting back to the Crown and Sceptre after we’d dicked Reading 4-0 or something and Adel ran the show from start to finish. I knew we were going up and it was only November
It was the first and only time I’ve ever seen anyone rainbow flick the ball over his own head to beat someone in a game, after which he was hunted down by three enraged Reading defenders and hacked to pieces
"It was the first and only time I’ve ever seen anyone rainbow flick the ball over his own head to beat someone in a game, after which he was hunted down by three enraged Reading defenders and hacked to pieces"
Many years ago, I was playing as a left back for an amateur side and we got drawn in the cup against a far, far better team. The striker was so good he actually did the overhead flick thing against me. The next time he got the ball, I absolutely clattered him and the ref felt so sorry for me, he didn't even book me.
"Remember to listen to me but look at her. Don't get it the wrong way round. That would be hideous."
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Too good for you – Preview on 09:37 - Sep 10 with 1572 views
Without a shadow of a doubt the best player I've ever seen play for QPR, and that 2010/11 team was the best QPR team I've ever seen with my own eyes.
I made 33 games that season, I only missed three from New Year's Day onwards (Norwich away, Millwall away, Middlesbrough away). The most I've ever done in a year and by the end, as silly as it sounds, the success of it felt as much my success as the team's as I'd seen so much of it. No regrets on the money or time it cost.
Its just such a shame, from Adel's perspective, he didn't have the career he should have done. Its natural from a QPR perspective to compare him to Ebere Eze a decade later. I loved Eze too, but Adel was just that extra bit special, but when it comes down to it Eze is going to have had the more successful career (and actually given Eze has now won the FA Cup, Premier League, and has a World Cup bronze medal already has had a more successful career) because Ebere's had the better work ethic that Adel needed to get to that next level.
But man, what a time to be a QPR fan.
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Too good for you – Preview on 10:54 - Sep 10 with 1502 views
Last year me and my mate were waiting for our wives by the toilets at Primavera Porto. My mate is a Spurs fan and was wearing a jersey due to the recent Europa League triumph. Some random Portuguese lad comes up to us and starts talking football and Spurs. All very jolly. He turns to me and asks if I support Spurs too. Nah, followed by the usual "oh you might not know them" routine, eventually saying QPR.
He clasped his hands to his heart and went "Adel Taarabt" and looked positively whistful.
What a player
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Too good for you – Preview on 11:04 - Sep 10 with 1457 views
Too good for you – Preview on 14:31 - Sep 9 by KensalT
I think it needed a special manager to get the best out of Taarabt.
Warnock went against everything he had previously done in his career by building a team around a flair player.
Alex Ferguson was at the end of his time at Yanited when AT came along but he wasn't afraid of a 'big personality' and it's an interesting (and painful) thought experiment as to what Taarabt might have become if a peak Fergie had gotten hold of him.
Still, our gain was everyone else's loss.
It wouldn't have worked at Man Utd. The rest of the team would have had ego's too big to play second fiddle There is no way he could have missed training and the others let him get away with it.
See what Joey used to try and do to Adel, there would have been 6 or 7 like Joey at Man Utd
Anyway, Fergie couldn't even handle Ravel at Utd, he wasn't ready for Adel ;p
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Too good for you – Preview on 11:21 - Sep 10 with 1426 views
Too good for you – Preview on 11:04 - Sep 10 by nick_hammersmith
It wouldn't have worked at Man Utd. The rest of the team would have had ego's too big to play second fiddle There is no way he could have missed training and the others let him get away with it.
See what Joey used to try and do to Adel, there would have been 6 or 7 like Joey at Man Utd
Anyway, Fergie couldn't even handle Ravel at Utd, he wasn't ready for Adel ;p
I disagree.
Fergie had Cantona. Busby had Best.
They tolerate egos up there as long as they deliver on the pitch. A 'Fergie-type' of manager would have protected a player like Taarabt as long as they performed.
Warnock and Clough were those types of managers. Paolo '0-0' Sousa wasn't!
Anyway, let's just agree to disagree. This has been a great thread for appreciating Taarabt's contribution to us and his well earned right to be recognised as one of our best players.
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