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Reply | Surprise Cirkin addition marks another statement of QPR's intent - Signing
at 15:33 18 Aug 2026
Great piece, thank you as always Clive.
One thing that's struck me about the "development club vs. progressing up the league" debate you mention towards the end is that they're not mutually exclusive. Pushing towards the playoffs isn't just fun for supporters, it also puts the players we're hoping to sell far more prominently in the shop window; surely it's easier to get £10m for Richard Kone if we're in 5th rather than 15th.
I can understand the reasoning behind throwing Walsh, Larkeche etc into the first team, but if it keeps us stuck in the bottom half of the table then it's a false economy. Hopefully investing smartly in the rest of the team, which this deal with Cirkin feels like, will give us a better chance of not just improving the team on the pitch, but securing the sales that our trading model demands. |
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Reply | More to life
at 15:14 14 Aug 2026
Don't know what else to say beyond what's already been said, but sending you and your family huge amounts of love, Mart. |
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Reply | First reaction for Millwall defeat
at 19:34 8 Aug 2026
Thought we looked decent overall: solid at the back, moved the ball quickly and with purpose, looked in good physical condition for the start of the season. Definitely the better team over the 90 minutes.
My main concern was our lack of cutting edge up front: Kone, Chair and Burrell were all disappointing, and we created next to nothing in the first half. Between the four penalties and Charles' clanger I feel like we lost focus or confidence at key moments, and gave the game away.
No reason for panic, but definitely plenty of things to work on ahead of next weekend I think. |
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Reply | WALLLLĹLLLL match thread!
at 16:08 8 Aug 2026
Four absolutely honking penalties, plus Charles' ridiculous clanger in the first half: feel like we've properly bottled the key moments there, even if the rest of the performance was alright. |
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Reply | Finishing position this season?
at 12:50 7 Aug 2026
For what it's worth, Gab Sutton's just published his full set of Championship predictions, and has us in... 8th, just sneaking into the playoffs!
He also has West Ham in 3rd, and Lincoln avoiding the drop, when they've been 1st and 24th in every other prediction I've seen, so make of that what you will.
I think 9th to 12th feels about right for us: we've definitely got the potential to be in and around the playoffs, but I think cracking the top 8 might just be a step too far for us this year. [Post edited 7 Aug 12:52]
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Reply | Optimism
at 23:35 3 Aug 2026
We've spent decent money by our standards, the coach has had a year with the squad, the CEO's had a couple of years to bring in his players and staff... I think it's perfectly reasonable to be feeling relatively optimistic, and looking for progress.
Nobody's saying that's guaranteed though, or that we'll be challenging the parachute payment teams, but aiming a little higher than 16th feels totally justified to me! It's nice to have a bit of optimism given that everything since Warburton left has felt so chaotic. |
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Reply | Jadon Sanchez —Desperate To Revive His Career
at 08:02 3 Aug 2026
Roberto Baggio levels of nonsense, this. Sancho was on something like £200k a week at United, his attitude appears to be terrible, and his recent football’s not been much better - we have better wingers already in the squad. Never happening in a million years. |
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Reply | More money...more, more, give me more.... the ever increasing greed in football
at 11:43 29 Jul 2026
Completely agree that FIFA are rotten, and that UEFA should be prepared to at least threaten to leave, but personally I'd be really sad if they did end up having to splinter off. Even if the quality of the Euros is higher, there's something special about a World Cup.
Blatter and Infantino's strategy of bribing the smaller associations to shore up their support base, then being as corrupt as possible, has obviously been terrible for the sport. But if you're a smaller African, Asian or South American association then you've almost certainly done better out of FIFA over the last few decades than you might otherwise have done, which is (corruption aside) a broadly good thing.
UEFA need to act, but I really hope this doesn't end up just being about the richest nations shutting themselves off from everyone else, or demanding more control of the game and its finances. [Post edited 29 Jul 11:44]
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Reply | Treading Water
at 16:39 21 Jul 2026
I think with the money we've spent, the players we've signed (particularly the strikers), the fact Stephan's had a year to get used to the club, build relationships with the players and so on, we should absolutely be aiming for a significant improvement on our league position from the last few years.
Breaking into the top half would be a good first step, but if we keep everyone fit and in form then there's no reason we shouldn't be challenging for the playoffs. |
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Reply | This year's out of the blue signing - Tariq Lamptey
at 12:18 21 Jul 2026
It's a bold move to take a physio department that's already getting pelters from all sides, and decide that what they really need is for the club's two biggest summer signings to come with extremely obvious injury issues.
I think this is a reasonable gamble though, particularly given that Mbengue offers us a solid option while Lamptey gets back to full fitness. Harvey Vale arrived in even worse condition, remember, and we've done such a good job of rehabilitating him that all his hair's grown back as well.
The potential upside to getting things right here is huge: there surely can't be many left-backs in the Championship who'd look at a fully fit Poku and Lamptey lining up opposite them, and feel anything other than a deep sense of dread.
Really feels like this season is going to hinge almost entirely on how many of our players we can keep fit. I hope for all our sakes that Cycling Ben's been eating his weetabix. |
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Reply | England Thread 🏴
at 20:36 17 Jul 2026
Yep, I like Rice and Anderson but they’re the same type of player. If we’d had a Wharton type alongside one of them I think the Ghana game would have gone very differently, for one thing.
The two things which have consistently let England down are being unable to break through a low block, and being unable to organise a low block ourselves when defending a lead against high-quality opposition. Insanely frustrating that Tuchel was specifically brought in to correct those, and has failed at both of them. |
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Reply | England Thread 🏴
at 10:20 16 Jul 2026
Of all the heartbreaking England losses I've seen, this was perhaps the most infuriating and avoidable. First half was very cagey but we'd played well, got in front, it was all there for us.
Serious questions to be asked of Tuchel with the subs, but it felt like a collective headloss to me: really have to question whether there's something psychologically ingrained into the team at this point, given how often exactly the same thing happens (we go 1-0 up against a good team, sit way too deep, concede, get knocked out). We've definitely progressed from the pre-Southgate era, in fairness, but we have to find a way to get over this new barrier.
With hindsight something's been off this entire tournament though. Squad was horribly lopsided, we've not named the same back 4 from game to game, and not rotated the midfield despite Rice clearly being injured / exhausted (why bring Mainoo if you're never going to play him?)
Feels like we've survived on guts and moments of brilliance from either Kane or Bellingham. If they both have off nights and we retreat into our shells, we're a very easy team to pick off.
I'm giving England one more home Euros. If we do the same thing again then I'm giving up on them. Actively masochistic at this point: I feel like Sideshow Bob, and every tournament's a rake. [Post edited 16 Jul 10:21]
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Reply | QPR Squad 2026/27
at 12:35 14 Jul 2026
Wouldn't expect us to sign another CB unless we sell or release someone - Dunne and Ronnie as starters, Morrison and Clark-Salter as backups, Smith and Akidileni as development prospects feels like more than enough in terms of numbers. Whether they're good enough (or stay fit enough in JCS' case) is another question, of course. |
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Reply | Summer transfer rumours 2026
at 19:43 13 Jul 2026
"Nourry's on the phone,
Varane wants to go home.
Boots in hand,
Don't make a sound,
It's time to go." |
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Reply | Pierce Charles confirmed
at 15:56 10 Jul 2026
This is my concern too. Neither of these deals work if the player ends up on the bench, but only one of them can start.
I can see it working - start the season with Charles, who already knows the league, then bring Ward in slowly over the course of the season, get him used to the Championship and set him up to be our number 1 next year - but that relies on a lot of things going right!
It’s also what we should have done last year with Nardi and Walsh, but we flubbed it.
Both keepers look like solid signings, but I feel like the critical thing will be how we handle them. [Post edited 10 Jul 15:57]
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Reply | Summer transfer rumours 2026
at 12:18 9 Jul 2026
Don't know much about either of these - Charles is pretty highly rated as a prospect though, right? Either way, it's good that we're getting our business done in key areas as early as possible. Hopefully both keepers will be in the squad in time for Saturday.
One slight note of caution: according to Wikipedia Ward's contract with Motherwell runs to 2027, so we will presumably have paid a fee for him, which wouldn't make sense if he's coming here as backup. At the same time, I can't imagine that Man City or Charles would have agreed to a loan without guarantees that he'll get playing time.
Something about the expectation that both keepers are likely to have, and the risk of us ending up rotating them rather than having a settled number 1, makes me a little bit uneasy. |
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Reply | England Thread 🏴
at 21:00 28 Jun 2026
Attack’s been a mixed bag - Rashford and Bellingham look good, Kane’s in decent nick, Saka, Gordon and Madueke not quite doing it - but the real issue for us is defensive. Konsa’s been a liability, Guehi looks off the pace, fullbacks either injured or out of form. Not being able to name a settled back four through the group stage should be a warning sign, as should the fact we were extremely lucky not to concede against both Ghana and Panama,
I expect us to be good enough to get past Congo, but I’d have Mexico as heavy favourites at the Azteca. Thinking anywhere past that feels super optimistic to me. |
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Reply | The ultimate World Cup thread
at 16:33 14 Jun 2026
As weird as it sounds, I reckon Scotland are more likely to nick a point off Brazil than Morocco. Aside from the equaliser I thought Brazil were really poor last night, and assuming they beat Haiti will already be as good as qualified by the time they face Scotland.
Wouldn't be surprised if the pressure and anticipation got to the Scottish players as well - they seemed very nervous and disjointed last night, you could tell there was a real fear of crashing out first game. I think they'll be better next time, even if I still expect Morocco to win. [Post edited 14 Jun 16:34]
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Reply | New Kit 2026/27
at 16:12 14 Jun 2026
Agree with all of this. Interesting cultural collaborations and linkups can absolutely grow a club's fanbase (Arsenal have done this super successfully over the last decade, even when they weren't winning anything) but as you say it has to be part of a coherent wider strategy.
As a club we've spent a lot of time over the last two decades trying to cut corners and be a bit too clever for our own good. When that inevitably comes back to bite us, we just seem to move onto the next fad. Signing loads of Shaun Wright-Phillips types, breaching FFP, signing players from minor foreign leagues, getting very into data, getting a cycling coach to do our fitness, appointing a flash young CEO with zero experience... it's all part of the same mindset, ultimately.
This kit launch feels like an extension of that theme, sadly. Other clubs are working with influencers, quick, let's get some influencers in. Where's the joined-up strategic thinking from the top? What's our core identity as a club and as a brand? What are we selling that people can't get at Fulham, Chelsea or wherever else, and how does linking up with Beta Squad push that message? I'm sure lots of people at the club are having those conversations, but it doesn't really feel like that story is coming through clearly. |
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