Guest columnist Chris King couldn’t be more delighted by what he’s seen from the first two outings for the new look QPR side, but a note of caution remains.
Integrating five new faces into a starting 11 is never easy, and many managers would baulk at the prospect of disrupting a settled side in favour of any fresh arrivals, no matter how illustrious they may be. QPR’s debutants last Monday night were certainly this, with Shaun Wright-Phillips, Joey Barton, Armand Traore, Anton Ferdinand and Luke Young all pushed into first-team action in front of an expectant, buoyant Loftus Road crowd.
In the end, the game was a bit of an anti-climax, perhaps inevitably given all the hype that surrounded it. This didn’t mean that Rangers were unimpressive, however, far from it. Nor was it a boring 0-0 draw; it may perhaps be slightly ironic to say this given the still-gargantuan ticket prices at Loftus Road, but few would have felt short-changed by the lack of goals.
Barton was effervescent in his new role as captain, floating around the pitch with impunity and dictating the play in midfield like the seasoned Premier League star he is. The difference made by Young’s experience at right-back, meanwhile, was so noticeable that – no offence to Bradley Orr – it looked as though QPR had swapped a naïve teenager for a seasoned, battle-hardened veteran.
Ferdinand could well, despite the cynicism that surrounded his arrival in some quarters, be the stabilising antidote to the R’s defensive shakiness, so evident against Bolton and Wigan. Yet the real star of the show was Wright-Phillips; his electric pace lit up the supporters, and the quality he delivered from the right-wing was, if anything, too much for Jay Bothroyd, who was guilty of some profligacy in front of goal on the night.
And this wasn’t a one off either – Rangers carried on the promise of the Newcastle performance into Saturday’s game at Wolves where the slick passing and dominance of possession brought about a fine 3-0 win.
As a club, QPR’s name was made in the sixties and seventies by its flamboyant entertainers, particularly the two greatest players to ever pull on the blue and white hoops – Stan Bowles and Rodney Marsh. Wright-Phillips’ energy, ability to find space and willingness to take people on could just transform the way people feel about Rangers; had his delicious chip not been cleared off the line by Steven Taylor last week perhaps we would still be discussing one of the great goals in the ‘television era’ of the club’s long history. He was unlucky at Molineux too, striking the post with a firm shot from 20 yards in the second half.
For me, however, the greatest thrill of all has been the way the new signings have rubbed off on the ‘old guard’ - last season’s heroes who dragged us up from the foot of the Championship to be able to play on this grand stage. Shaun Derry was imperious in midfield against Newcastle and Wolves, belying his years and demonstrating the sort of energy and tenacity players half his age would struggle to match. Alejandro Faurlin was able to dictate the play alongside Barton, and hold the ball in midfield; for the first time he looked comfortable in the ‘best league in the world’.
As for the mercurial entertainer, Adel Taarabt, he was back to his scintillating best against Newcastle – not all the Moroccan’s tricks came off, and he was at times as frustrating as normal, but the link-up play between Taarabt and Wright-Phillips left the assembled supporters in the stadium hungry for more, and presumably salivating at the prospect of both being let loose on the Premier League. The ease with which Taarabt was able to find Wright-Phillips in space, having never played together before, was such a positive sign, and something that could certainly be exploited as a counter-attacking tactic away from W12.
The last piece I wrote for Loft For Words attracted some criticsm; my views were termed ‘idealist’ as well as ‘romantic’ and I was slammed for apparently trying to burst the bubble of positivity that is now surrounding the club. Just to refute some of these claims, I am as happy as any other fan that we now have a genuine chance of progressing in the Premier League, and I couldn’t be more ecstatic to support a ‘proper club’ again. I’ve seen enough of the hard times at Loftus Road to know a good thing when it comes along, and it seems the new regime fits this description.
I just wanted to make a point that most people had ignored, that the new signings were extremely expensive and that the character of the club has probably changed irreparably now. If anyone believes that Wright-Phillips and Barton aren’t being paid huge amounts of money by the ‘Fernandes/Bhatia coalition’ this is an extremely naïve position to take, in my view.
I’m not here to try and spoil the party, but with the financial system we now have in place Queens Park Rangers cannot afford to be relegated. Now this is great, in some ways, because it forces the players we’ve spent such huge sums on (at least in terms of wages) to keep us in the division. However, I will not be railroaded into ignoring the facts; in the Championship we spent the most on agents, at £1.8 million, according to a recent report; this suggests something about the way we conduct ourselves in the transfer market.
Of the promoted sides, we would certainly have the biggest wage bill. There is a school of thought which dictates that ‘undisclosed’ fees are technically no fees at all; this is a fallacy. We have spent big to beat the drop, and this fact must be acknowledged. I desperately hope we do stay up, and perhaps my alleged romanticism comes from my disdain for the Premier League and its focus on finance, not football.
In short, I hope we survive and I love and support the club as much as anyone else, but I will not ignore the facts. I didn’t grow up supporting a club which other clubs might describe as the ‘Manchester City of the bottom five’, and I doubt many other QPR fans did either. Bhatia and Fernandes have rejuvenated the club, but they must not lose sight of the essential characteristics which made us what we are today.
Tweet @chriskking