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Reply | Injuries
at 09:55 23 Oct 2026
November is too early for anything. A three or four match match winning run in Feb or even March can change the whole picture, while we can still afford to lose two on the bounce now. This squad, if largely fit, I have seen enough of to know we can go on a run when it really matters.
Hull proved last year that looking at net spend and all that is no reliable indication or help in predicting outcomes.
End of November 2025, the play-off positions included Stoke in 4th, Preston 5th. Absolutely meaningless by April. Southampton who made the play-offs were 14th then. Ipswich who were promoted automatically with some swagger were 8th. Hull were 7th but nobody seriously thought they were going up.
It's the Championship. Accumulate points best you can and time the run-in. But above all, get your best players fit and be lucky. |
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Reply | Injuries
at 22:51 22 Oct 2026
We signed Dieng for nothing, got 120 games out of him and then sold him for £2m. This was a decent development club success, but for QPR it was a monumental outlier.
He also had the absolute textbook development route of U21 team, then successful loans through non-league and the pyramid before becoming our number one for three seasons (as long as that fellow 'one season' wonder Smithies was number one).
We sold him for £2m pure profit at his peak, which his subsequent career suggests was the perfect time to sell. Let's see if we get that kind of a markup on any recent free U21 signings soon. For everything the current leadership describes as a "development club" model, Seny Dieng is the textbook example. Selling a few free signings for seven figures every other season is how we get this thing going. For every Eze, you need some Diengs and Kelmans too. We currently have neither in play. |
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Reply | Injuries
at 10:43 22 Oct 2026
We were just talking about ambition and standards. Clive said LF and LH were always happy to just par the 15th in the league based on wages. I disagree, saying the Warbs seasons proved that wasn't true. The money bit actually backs that up. Only we made some sales from the LF recruitment of Dev players.
Hopefully Morgan and Bennie will generate Eze and Kelman income...
The only thing we're doing differently is training at a brand new complex we own and are continuing to develop. We know when that was built. |
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Reply | Injuries
at 10:17 22 Oct 2026
Players brought through in that era, from the same get 'bring in players for Dev-squad to grow into first teamers or sales' that we are doing now: Eze, Chair, Dieng, Manning, plus Amos, BOS , Willock and others like Owen who didn't work out through whatever reason, ie fitness, mentality.
Were they any better or more successful than same in class now of Morgan, Vale, Adamson, Bennie, Pearman, Scarlett...we shall see. We haven't sold or developed a single player yet. Some we bought to develop and sell are damagingly injured at regular intervals, such as Kone and Burrell. This summer we signed the old but injury prone likes of Kamara, Lamptey. Kemper's not exactly a child, nor Cirkin. I like them. But I also liked the signings of Johansen, Odubajo, Dickie and even Austin at the time.
And the only two young players QPR have brought through from Dev squad recruitment to sales for as long as we remember were signed and developed under LF, in that 2019 onwards era: Eze, Kelman. That's £20m brought in from zero fee paid. Over to you Nourry and Dev squad coaching team.
Let's not pretend it's different. That's club propaganda. And yes, those three Warbs years did damage when followed by Beale and Ainsworth. But let's not prejudge this year and next's campaign and the signings made. We spent two summers in a row but we have recouped FA. Let's see. The writing of history needs time's perspective. [Post edited 22 Oct 10:26]
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Reply | Injuries
at 08:28 22 Oct 2026
Haha! Because I climbed upon A VERY VERY HIGH HORSE and wrote a reply to your reply, pressed send and the site had crashed so mercifully swallowed it up. Let's shake.
It's three seasons of Warburton, whatever the circumstances or backdrop. Finishes of 13, 9, 11. Not bad. Not enough.
Well run clubs who have a little ambition should, disaster notwithstanding, give managers three full seasons. I'm sure the plan is the same with Stephan. He's on season number two. I thought at the start it could be a top 8, perhaps 6 season. Looking like maybe a top ten now. Season three will be key, as it was for Warbs.
I think the ambition's the same, on the playing side. You only know how grumpy Warbs was about, say, Masterson because the club let you near him. Stephan is out of bounds to all beyond a zoom. But for Masterson read perhaps Morrison, for Willock's hamstring perhaps Dembele's knee...
Nourry, Stephan, Warburton, Ferdinand, Betsy, Eustace, etc...ambitious football guys who want(ed) to win and succeed. Hoos, Gnanalingam, Reilly: no change there where the big calls are made. And we know where the fish rots typically. |
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Reply | Injuries
at 21:34 21 Oct 2026
This bit is not true, though is it:
"I understand why they did it and what they were working against, but for me there was too much acceptance of mediocrity under Les and Lee's regime - basically we've got the 15th best budget in the Championship and so we finish 15th and can never aspire to or hope for more."
In 2019, they seized control of footballing appointments from the board after McLaren, appointed Warburton and finished 13th.
Encouraged, they invested in the team and finished 9th in 2020-21. But for Covid, who knows?
Encouraged even further, they invested again and really went for it. Manager, players, LF all spoke about it. They weren't doing what you describe at all. They were more explicit than anyone at club now, other than Dunne. Finished 11th. Disappointing.
But those three seasons are all better finishes than Nourry's three placings. They went for it again the next season with Beale and, well, it cost them their jobs. Not Hoos, obviously. He gave himself a promotion. But the others.
Worth pointing out that that 2020-21 play-off push was badly derailed by injuries too. It's not just happened under Ben Williams (I also have strong muscle memories of managers stretching back from Holloway through Francis to Jim Smith all saying "I've never known an injury crises like this...").
Let's not be revisionist. Nourry and Stephan are no more ambitious than Ferdinand and Warburton, their standards no higher. Imagine trying to tell either Les or Warbs you felt that. It's rubbish.They just have more money to play with. For now.
No need to invent recent history. |
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Reply | Injuries
at 13:04 21 Oct 2026
I think the plan was probably to rotate both full back positions.So Kember/Cirkin one side and Mbengue/Lamptey on the other with Adamson getting in on it too.
That works on the right if Lamptey manages those 15+ games you're talking about this season, but now totally collapses with Mbengue's ACL. I still think we'll get a dozen games out of Lamptey - and perhaps as you say they may be valuable, especially in the spring - but I'm fearful of Adamson carrying it through the winter. He's exceeded expectations, but he's played fewer than a dozen career games at this level so there's a drop off to come. Mbengue's injury is a big problem.
I wonder if we may see Cirkin in a DCM role or playing advanced of Kember too in coming weeks, especially away at Southampton. |
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Reply | Injuries
at 10:06 21 Oct 2026
It's mid October. Can we not give a 26-year-old player signed on a free with an injury in July a little bit longer before deciding it was a 'total farce'?
His performance at Blackburn transformed that game and, as keen as Keeley Adamson is, he could play for another ten years and not produce an assist for the winner that Lamptey did that afternoon. So I'm going to give him the length of his contract rather than three months.
We have seen chronically injured players with real pedigree and class overcome those physical issues to perform heroically at QPR (and elsewhere) before, like Paul Furlong, Heidar Helguson, even Sam Field. I have not seen too many physically robust but technically limited players succeed to fans' expectations. Lamptey is 26. Younger than the chronically injured Furlong when he signed.
Whether we have the right people here fixing players, getting them fit etc...that's a different question. The signs since Williams came are not good! But midseason, in the words of JFH, it is what is.
I do think it's endemic at this level and am not sure there's a magic bullet. I have always thought Steve Gallen has done miracle work at Millwall and would have swapped him for CN in a heartbeat. However, there's a nine-page thread on the Millwall board titled 'Injuries' asking why this is the third season they've been derailed by them and demanding an enquiry and heads on sticks... |
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Reply | Injuries
at 17:16 20 Oct 2026
Clearly, these are depressing injuries to key players and understand the despondency. Feel it too.
However...do we know what the injuries are?
Burrell was injured with Jamaica, so seems harsh to blame QPR.
Madsen I saw the contact that injured him, I think.
Lamptey was also a contact injury, pretty sure.
Chair, however, that was a muscle. Or was it? Still obviously top secret to maximise the competitive advantage of not having your best player available.
Saito and Dunne, we are not allowed to know.
Lloyd, an ankle, sounds like a knock.
Mbengue and Dembele are ACLs and that's just the devil's work. Not sure again you can blame QPR (though Mbengue's knee was strapped. Was it the same knee?)
I know we want to burn the witch but unless they're muscle injuries, it's hard to mitigate beyond not playing so many games in such a short space of time at the start of the season. If most medical departments are having nightmares, is it really all the medical departments? Or is the schedule and the intensity? I lean towards the later.
The players who are available need maximum support. So all "I'm done with Vale", "Kolli is out of his depth", "Kone is fat and lazy" etc posts must be paused, surely.
Hope we can get through these next four games without any further serious injuries to key players, then regroup for the next onslaught. |
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Reply | Charles's gambit
at 17:46 15 Oct 2026
With Fuseni and particularly Ward, both of whom Kember breezed by as if they were Marcin Kus and Zesh Rehman. It was incredible defending, if we'd conceded like that this board would be in flames. [Post edited 15 Oct 17:46]
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Reply | Charles's gambit
at 17:32 15 Oct 2026
"I thought he should have gone long because we didn't really gain anything from when he finally played across to Jimmy at right centre back."
It started the move that led to the first goal.
He broke the line, not across too. Move is here. It's clearly heavily rehearsed to break low blocks. He's a 21 year old on loan, he's not got carte blanche to play jazz at 0-0. Everyone knew where they were meant to go, ball was always coming back to either Ronnie or Charles to go left long:
https://www.instagram.com/reel |
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Reply | The next three matches
at 16:44 15 Oct 2026
One game at a time.
Birmingham is tough as it's soon, some looked out on their feet at the end and they've had an extra day. But after that it's two Saturdays, which may give us a chance to have a couple back (certainly Cerkin). Then it's a Tuesday and a Saturday but both at home.
One game at a time though. I don't think the league really takes shape until the new year anyway and there's no point looking at it. Just gotta keep plugging away, getting points. |
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Reply | The Starting XI v Derby I think JS will select
at 13:29 13 Oct 2026
I imagine Stephan will play Mbengue right back for that reason, bring in Vale for JCS, moving Edwards back into CB and perhaps Kone plays first hour. Smyth looked in discomfort at the end of his shift too, so wonder if Scarlett comes in? May benefit from Kember behind him.
Think we may see a team more like that at WHU on Saturday v Brum, though. |
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Reply | Radio 4
at 12:21 13 Oct 2026
The piece starts at 2 hours and 45 mins in, Clive is up a couple of minutes later but the section is five mins long and worth listening as a whole.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/p |
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Reply | Development team.
at 11:19 13 Oct 2026
Good luck to Oisin.
Interesting to read this line in the official welcome piece:
"The youngster is now targeting more trophies in England with our 2024/25 Premier League Cup winners and reigning London Senior Cup champions."
Because elsewhere on this thread a 1-5 home defeat is waved away by several as "results don't matter in boys football, it's all about development".
Interesting then that the club is still going on about a "boys football" result from 18 months ago, that I watched celebrated with fireworks, and yet not one of those players is anywhere near the current first team, a few have left professional football altogether, none are playing above L1/SPL and those two had already turned out for the first team by then. We even binned the coach who achieved it.
So in that very specific but significant case, the result definitely mattered more than development. |
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Reply | Awful team selection
at 17:31 12 Oct 2026
Thought of you while reading this story about Will "why would you say he'll play for England" Lankshear just now, Gazza.
Being compared to Harry Kane!! (you may want to add some more exclamation marks). Disgraceful.
I quote:
"Such has been Lankshear's form, there has even been talk of a step up from the England under-21s, for who he scored on his debut last month."
You may wish to compose a stern email response to the BBC.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/fo |
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Reply | Man City - GUILTY
at 12:37 9 Oct 2026
Wow! Did not know that was in progress even. Definitely needs wider airing. |
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Reply | Man City - GUILTY
at 09:03 9 Oct 2026
He's right though! Needs a bit more of this from football people, I think. Weirdly, the only other coach I've heard speak like this about it is Neil Harris who said a very similar thing, though in slightly more measured tones. |
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Reply | Rare QPR Footage
at 18:13 7 Oct 2026
What a game this looked. Harry Redknapp scores an absolute worldie winner, punches the air, jogs back to halfway. Simpler times. Shame nobody was allowed to tackle Bobby Moore, too. |
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Reply | Julien Stéphan Interview
at 16:20 7 Oct 2026
"I want to send a message, everyone at the club wants to send a message to the young players..."
I found that a bit of a disappointing answer as to why Leon Scarlett was picked and what he has going for him. Especially as he said it maybe five times without once really saying what quality in particular Scarlett has other than workrate and personality.
I know why he's saying it. If you're good enough, you're old enough, etc, and he's someone other kids can now aspire to be.
I want more. I want a 16/17 year old winger starting ahead of more experienced (and to my eye more accomplished) players to be exceptional. And I want the coach to vocalise that.
We've been here so often before. Most recently with Sutton. But I see a lot of Shopido - stop laughing - in Scarlett. He was a year older at 18 but he made a big impact on his debut against Leeds in a 3-0. JFH said he'd be around the team all season...40-odd games in eight years.
Feels a bit Warbs saying this, but I do think that shirt must be 100% earned and not sent as a message to players we may not have even signed yet. I'm not sure it does us fans nor Scarlett any favours.
Maybe being harsh on JS, but don't like youth as a totem.
Really interesting interview, though. He especially liked your questions, Clive. |
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