please log in to view this image QPR chief executive Philip Beard has revealed the club are not prepared to accept another relegation scrap after their summer transfer spree. Manager Mark Hughes bought enough players to field an entire new team before the August window shut after Rangers avoided the Premier League trap door by the skin of their teeth last season. The recruits included several big-name players and Beard told London 24: "We haven't made the investment of this summer to simply compete at the same level as last season. "The investment has been made so that we feel we are a club which can compete against - and beat - every club we play. "We all believe that the squad we have now should be able to get stability in the Premier League - not fighting for survival." Beard played down fears QPR had spent beyond their means, especially on wages. He said: "Some clubs have spent £12million or £15million on one player. You would struggle to get that sort of number for all the players we have signed. "What we have done is strike a balance. I have looked at it long and hard, and there are some very talented young players we have brought to the club who I think will be available for a long time to come." The summer transfer window was QPR's third in a row that witnessed a huge influx of players but Beard was confident such a turnover would not be repeated. He also defended the decision to sign goalkeeper Julio Cesar from Inter Milan barely two months are recruiting England's Robert Green. "The club now has two very strong goalkeepers, and Mark will decide which one plays when," he said. "It wasn't something in his mind, that Julio Cesar could come to the club a very sensible way, and we decided to take that opportunity. The best teams have strength in every position." http://www.teamtalk.com/news/2483/8056389/QPR-have-high-target-Beard
That's Hughes card marked right there I think - "We haven't made the investment of this summer to simply compete at the same level as last season"
Very much sounds like it. I will be surprised if they wait til the New Year this season if we aren't out of the bottom 5/6 by mid November.
Indeed CCJ so in theory we should see a marked improvement in performances and more importantly results?
We should. I saw a marked improvement in Saturday. Tough couple of fixtures coming up but not impossible to get something from them.
Yep. That comes across loud and clear in the statement. I'm sure MH is astute enough to recognize the situation. The only questions that remain are a) has he been astute enough in the transfer market and b) are his tactics astute enough to make use of his squad.
Whats the measure though? 'Played well but garned few points, still in bottom 3 - 6'? or 'Ground out draws, insipid but mid table will suffice'? At some stage - not too far off I imagine - Swiss Tony et al will want to see points on the board and mid-table security. When you look at where we currently sit plus our short term fixtures thats quite an ask isn't it? Baggies away will be tricky
I would say in response to your questions - a. Yes I think generally he's done well on this b. Debatable as the squad contains 4 million midfielders of varying persuasions and already we've seem a Tarararararabat flounce. Hard to keep them all happy. You can't make Park captain and then not play him. You don't sign a minor Galactico and not play him. You need a Hoilett / Tarrarabat flash. You need a Faurlin.
I think you are mixing up the two points. The reason he will struggle to get the tactics and the attitudes right is because his business in the transfer market was so skewed towards midfielders. He just doesn't have the options across the back or up front to do much other than to play Barcelona style. As I have said before that could work for us but the team need the other half of the Barca equation: pressurizing the ball when we don't have it as well as patient build up when we do.
Looking at our fixtures the measure could well be being out of the bottom 5/6 by mid November as I said. That is through and incluiding the Southampton game and includes a few comparitively "easy" fixtures where we ought to pick up the points, and also includes the big guns in our next few games where we are not expected to win, but last season did better than in the "easy" games. They can't wait much longer than that.
I thought "high target beard" = moustache? Agree with the above comments - the objectives and expectations have been clearly defined and the board have done more than enough so it's left to the man who's in charge of the playing side (moreso than the players). I wouldn't react until Xmas or December at the earliest but still remain resolutely confident that we have an excellent team and a man to bring home the results (with or without stylish performances).
Thats because the board and all of the managment will be extremely embarrassed after the mass influx of players, if we end up in a relegation scrap again.
Yes the stakes are quite high. MH can't be under any illusion on this. They chopped Warnock and won't hesitate to chop again if its not working
