Let me interpret: "You attention-seeking prat, Swords Hoopster, why don't you post on the thread titled "Adel Taraabt" and not start your own thread, don't we have enough new threads about the same subject that are started by people like you over and over? "
Well I actually like swords however how many times do we need a Taarabt debate ffs? Swords go get a brass and let all that pent up inside you out your feel better for it pal
I thought that was a fantastic OP Swords. I can appreciate that your post took a lot of effort and a huge degree of honesty on your part. There's no other player that generates more thread inches than Tarbs on this board. That tells us a lot. As I stroll down the Uxbridge Road on a matchday, It's Taarabt that I hope will be the one player on his game. He is the man. If he plays well then the whole team seems too, and we usually go on to win. Yesterday being the prime example. Within seconds, you could see Adel was up for it, the through ball to Cisse, the audacious effort from 35 yards. The go to man, the player that we all wanted to see stand up and lead Rangers to victory. All season I have waited to see which player would stand up, grab the bull by the horns and lead by example. I thought Park, Granero, Cisse and Hoilett would be the one's to do this. None of that lot have. Adel tried against West Ham earlier in the season when he came on, but when Diakite got sent off the momentum also went. So when I hope it's Taarabt who is on his game more than any other, it is because there is no one else in our side that can influence and change a match like he can. No one else with that touch of magic and that unique ability to get the faithful off of their seats with excitement. When he has an ineffectual and stroppy game, that is what frustrates fans. Like yourself and others and yes sometimes me. We must all agree he has a unique ability, it's just the inconsistency that divides those who adore him and those less tolerent. If Harry can massage his ego and give him a little hug and tell him how special he is then we might see the real Adel with more regularity. A bit like Warnock did and then for some mental reason wanted to stop being a father like figure to him and cast him adrift. Anyway, back to your OP. If Adel has a bad game, I will say so, and have done. But when he's good we should celebrate it. I have a feeling that it will happen a lot more under Harry, he knows how to utilise talent. Look what he did with Bale and to some extent Van der Vaart.
Having watched the QPR greats from back in the day Adel richly deserves his place alongside them. Let's not forget how as captain he dragged us back to the Premier League much like Marsh did so many years ago. If Adel was British all would be forgiven, he's saintly in behaviour compared to Bowles (not that difficult has to be said!) and Marsh too wasn't all that at City or later still alongside Best and Moore at Fulham, yes I saw them there too. Adel is of our greats but the pathetic bigotry of the usual suspect blinds him to reality. ****ing pisses me off which is why I called him out. The offer is still open btw.
Nice idea swords...but dont think you are ever gonna calm the tarbs lovers I'm happy to roll with it though !
Great posts (particularly Swords and Nines). Expanding the OP further, I think it's fair to say that being in a minority on long-running issues does leave a sense of siege mentality. I had similar experiences when trying to be upbeat about Hughes. There were just a few of us left who thought he needed the go at the three easier games prior to his sacking (I still stick by that being the best thing to do). I did get to the stage where saying something positive about Hughes himself - his record elsewhere or any of his strengths (and he does have a few despite his failure with us) - was guaranteed to get a mob reaction and I ended up doubting whether or not to bother including parts of posts at all. Wasn't pleasant and so I sympathise with Swords and Queens on this because there's some truth and validity in what they say (even though I do love great moments from skillful players even if the fleeting moment is unproductive and the individual is flawed or not the finished article).
" That's a good point Matt..re Hughes, I often felt the same. You didn't want to stick your head above the parapet, so you let it ride. Although looking back now hindsight is truly a wonderful thing. Although in truth, the same could of been said about Warnock. With all the best intentions in the world, when do you decide that enough is enough? A bit similar to Taarabt in some respects. He might pull out a match winning performance in ... 1 in 3, 1 in 7 ? ( Insert your ratio here....... ? ) But would you rather we had an Adel Taarabt within our ranks playing week in, week out? Or say a ..Tommy Smith? ( or other? ) feel free to choose. A steady unassuming player that will give you more consistency but will render you quite ordinary. You can choose any player you like over Adel. Who would you swap him with that will improve us?
Swords, don't take it to heart mate. I always appreciate the effort that an individual has made to create their own thread. It takes a lot of guts. Some people forget that there is a human with a busy life on the other end of these thread starters. Trying to construct a post that is interesting and thought provoking, that takes an epic effort for an untrained writer to produce. It's all too easy to copy and paste someone else's endeavour and take the plaudits. Or even create a match day thread that gets six to ten pages of responses. Easy peasy imo. I've done it myself in the past. But in saying that, I have also tried to find a different angle as a thread starter to generate a stimulus on our great board. Some work, some more than often don't. For whatever reason, some threads touch a nerve. Others simply disappear without a single response. ( One of mine did earlier. Hey ho, I'll still keep on trying. I shan't make a song and dance about it.) Some thread starters are so well articulated that they deserve a more measured response. Such as this one. The cream always rises to the top, and patience is a virtue. Cliches are good. Be patient my friend. If you build it, they will come. Hopefully!
Great OP, swords, and after the first page of (mostly) single sentence responses that seem mostly based on responses to the poster rather than the post (yep, Yappy, I'm looking at you), some good responses - 9's as usual has something useful and thought provoking to say. I'm very much in the pro-Taarabt camp. But at the same time, he can frustrate the hell out of me. I'm not saying that with his skill level he could be up there with the likes of Ronaldo, Messi or Zidane (whilst I know he can be good, I'm not sure he's in that level), but he should certainly be in the same bracket as Scholes, if his consistency were better. He is the player that most of us look to to produce that moment of magic, to turn the game - be it through a bit of outrageous skill, as with his second yesterday, or through his very presence drawing an additional player to him, creating more room for others. Sadly, he doesn't do this as often as he might - as often as we or anyone else would hope a player as gifted as he is should do. I've no idea if this is down purely to his own attitude, a sense of entitlement he feels where he sometimes thinks he should be playing for one of the big teams, or where the problem lies. Probably a combination of all of the above. The sad truth is that when he's in the mood, he's a world beater. And when he's in a mood, he plays like the spoilt kid who wants the ball all of the time, and will go home in a strop if he doesn't get it. I've been desperately trying to wrack my brains to think of a player to compare him to from my era (about Italia '90 onwards) and sadly I can't. Probably the closest I can come is Gazza. A player who could do pretty much what he likes when he wanted, but never seemed to want to all the time. (Yes, I know that Gazza was more consistent, but he had demons of his own that affected his playing consistency) So yes, I am pro Adel, despite what I say above. Which probably shows that whilst I am pro Adel, I can see plenty of reasons for his decisiveness.
Hope I'm not reopening a can of worms but we seem to have reached a point where we are all prepared to acknowledge both the good and the bad. So why the snide reference to "Tarbs lovers"?
l think to assess Taraabt is pretty easy. compare him to any other player in our team and then weigh up the pros and cons of either a good or bad game. if Adel plays bad then people question him yet if he plays well then he is a match winner as proven on Saturday. i can't honestly say that another player in our team can have that effect. the fact that he warrants thread after thread proves to even the doubters that he has ability beyond question. my opinion is, since christiano ronaldo left the league there isn't a more skilful player than adel. that isn't a comparison by the way! what separates good players from class players is 'speed of thought'. we as English (most of us) are not used to seeing such skill in our own players and prefer the Stuart downings etc ha ha. Henderson at Liverpool cost 20 million, Taraabt on that basis is worth 200 million. this guy will in my opinion play for one of Europe's biggest clubs sooner rather than later so lets embrace the fact he is with us and delivering the goods.
That Imaz is a brilliant point and because he is Moroccan with French heritage he is looked upon as lazy etc Same as Bosingwa in a way His heart is not in it now he is madams also he wouldn't sign a boy's autograph book ... Calls for him to never wear a shirt again. It these Anglo saxon attitudes I struggle with the most. It's a great point if Adel was English then I believe we as a nation would of eaten him by now as we do with anyone who shows promise His goal Sat had fulham fans praising him ... I think he is unique and his goals and performances already have made him a legend in my book I said yesterday he is our best player to wear the shirt I today stand by that
Yorkie, wasnt meant puposely as a snide comment. Not sure how else to word it though. this player has supporters who worship him through thick and thin, rightly or wrongly. not sure what else i could call them? My appologies if anyone took offence and i have been positive in the Tarbs threads so far. I'm sorry but i just dont buy into the best in the league stuff that gets posted (bobs commment) I openly post that he has matured and is twice the player he was last season, but he was appaling last season, so othat dont mean much. Believe me when i say, i so desperately want to be proven wrong and him to set the world alight..but...facts are...he aint yet ! Not gonna get into this again but want to give him the whole season to prove what he is...we'll know by summer as if he's as good as some think, then he'll be off to man city, united etc. Sorry yorkie...wasnt meant to be a dig.
[h=1]Taarabt turns from fruitcake to QPR wizard[/h] Wizard? Fruitcake? Catastrophe? Whatever they say about Adel Taarabt, it is no surprise that the man from Fes can be a magician and he made his mark on Queens Park Rangers' chaotic season in the most emphatic way by scoring twice to see off Fulham. QPR's first win of the season, at the 17th attempt, took them off the bottom of the table and Taarabt was outstanding. If the first - a deflected shot seven minutes after half-time - had a slice of luck, the second had the touch of genius, as Taarabt waltzed from the halfway line through a crowd of defenders before curling the ball past Mark Schwarzer with the outside of his right boot. It was like watching Matthew Le Tissier at his best. "The first was lucky, the second was very good," said the Moroccan afterwards. Fulham substitute Mladen Petric scored in the 88th minute to set home nerves jangling again, but QPR held out to give Harry Redknapp his first victory as manager after three draws since he took over from Mark Hughes last month. And if Redknapp is to live up to his Harry Houdini reputation as the great escapologist, he knows the secret will be making the most of Taarabt. "Yes, getting Adel in the right position is important," the manager said. "He has played off the left but he's not as effective out there, so I freed him to play in the hole. We try to get the ball to him at every opportunity because he can do damage to anybody. He's as strong as an ox on the ball, people can't knock him off it. "He's not a lightweight with skill, he's a strong, powerful player with the ball. It was a great performance." Taarabt's talent has been evident since he made his debut as a teenager for Tottenham under Martin Jol, who described him as a "wizard, sometimes in a good way and sometimes in a bad way". But the Moroccan's mentality has been questioned by a succession of managers. "He's hard work," admitted Redknapp. "He can be a bit of a nut but his heart's in the right place, he wants to do well and he thinks about the game. I took him off at Wigan last week and he wasn't in the best of moods. He didn't behave well so I called him into my office on Monday and had a good heart-to-heart chat with him and he's responded to that. "He's temperamental but he's an amazing talent. He needs to harness that talent and just play. I said, 'Don't throw your arms up when you lose the ball, don't stand with your hands on your hips, just get after the ball if you lose it otherwise everyone sees that you made a mistake and it gets highlighted'. And he did that and he was fantastic." When QPR lost 6-0 at Fulham last year, Taarabt was substituted and left Craven Cottage at half-time, leading to disciplinary action from the club. On Saturday he was lauded by fans and staff alike. "That's what I'm saying," Redknapp added. "Talented people like that are difficult to handle." Redknapp compared him with Paolo Di Canio, whose career he resurrected when they were both at West Ham in the 1990s. "Paolo was difficult to handle but he was a genius who could win you a match and Adel is the same. He can be a top, top player. He's like Di Canio, doing things nobody else can do. He nutmegs people, he goes past two or three and they're hanging on to him, but they can't get the ball off him." Taarabt hardly played at Spurs and Redknapp sold him for pounds 1?million in 2010. "He used to come back to see his mates and I'd say to him, 'You're making me look a fool, Adel. I keep seeing you on TV and you're worth pounds 20?million. I sold you too cheap!' "He wasn't a player I wanted to release. He's grown up now, he's better than he was. He was a complete fruitcake at Tottenham." Armand Traore, QPR's Senegal international, said: "I've known Adel since I was 14 or 15, so I know what he's like. He was a catastrophe," laughed Traore. "We used to play together in the French national team at junior level.. I used to overlap him and he would nutmeg the same guy four or five times. The manager used to say, 'If you don't pass the ball, you come off'. Adel didn't care. He was getting penalties, scoring goals. "He's now improved a lot in terms of work-rate, and matured as a person. I think he's got further to go. We see some goals in training no one has seen." But QPR fear a call-up by Morocco for the Africa Cup of Nations is imminent. "I was in that situation last year," added Traore. "If you say no to your country, you and your family will get slaughtered." FROM DNA
