http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/footb...275?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter QPR's training break in Dubai last month became a âstag partyâ according to first-team players. In claims that will embarrass the clubâs hierarchy, members of Harry Redknappâs starting line-up told Mirror Sport the week-long camp in the Middle East descended into a âjokeâ. Manager Redknapp did not stay in the same hotel as the players and his coaching staff. Early-morning training sessions lasted barely 90 minutes before the squad were left to their own devices, which saw all-night benders for some and huge bar bills run up, according to accounts given by three players to Mirror Sport. Some players were said to be incapable of training as a result of their partying, resulting in reprimands from Redknapp. In a series of astonishing and candid admissions, players broke ranks to reveal the Rangers camp is split into dressing-room cliques, with jealousy over the massive wage differences and anger at a perceived lack of application by some of the squad. With just two wins from 27 Premier League games, Rangers require a near-miracle if they are to avoid relegation. But what was supposed to be a team-building break instead became a glorified âholidayâ. One player admitted: âDubai was a week when we had the chance to sort out the *problems. Everybody wanted to do that. âBut we ended up going there for a holiday. It would have been better if weâd stayed here in London. âWe had training very early in the morning. Weâd start at 8am and be finished, every day, by 9.30 at the latest. "It was very warm and after that we would just go out. âThen in the evening some players were out, until 3am, 4am, 5am â and then went to training at 8am. It was like a stag party. âSome looked at it as if we had a five-day holiday. It wasnât one or two of us. Thatâs the problem.â Redknapp and his wife Sandra stayed in a different hotel from the Royal Meridien in which the squad and coaching staff were housed throughout the week. Another senior member of the team added: âIâve never known anything like what happened in Dubai. âWe had all day to ourselves. That meant shopping, the pool, nightclubs. We were on holiday, it was just a party. âSome of the bar bills were enormous, huge, in the tens of thousands of pounds for one night. âTwo or three players couldnât train the next day. It was that bad. âWe have to take the blame for what we did. We know that. âBut some of us think that if the manager had been in the same hotel he could have controlled what was going on. âWhat sort of club allows a team with 17 points and only two wins all season go and do this? "Itâs impossible to survive like that and so this club isnât going to survive.â Redknapp confirmed on Friday night he had stayed in a separate hotel and that the players had only trained for 90 minutes each day. Quizzed over the specific allegations of drinking, he replied: âIf it happened they must have done something I didnât see. "I donât believe what youâre saying. I canât see it.â The claims appeared damning and set to cause outrage among QPR fans. Three of Redknappâs squad told MirrorFootball: How the clubâs training camp in Dubai last month was treated by some players as an excuse for a week-long bender. The scale of the dressing-room schisms. And the recriminations at the pitiful display against Manchester United last week. âWe were all out. Players got sucked into it, we know that, even if we thought the next day, âHow can you spend that much money on a night out?â. âLooking back, itâs hard to believe what we were doing. We know it was unacceptable and unprofessional. It wasnât good behaviour. âHarry told us he was upset, especially when he saw two or three players who just werenât able to train at all. But that was it.â Redknapp insisted on Friday night his players had âtrained harder on this trip than on any trip Iâve ever been onâ. He added: âWe worked the maximum, man for man, worked our socks for an hour and a half, every day. âNo one was ever late. I was the first one on the training ground.â The Rangers boss said he was perplexed by the drinking claims, adding: âIf it happened, they must have done something I didnât see. "I donât believe what you are saying. I canât see it.â Another player conceded the week was not ideal given the next game was against Manchester United. QPR lost 2-0 at home. He admitted: âGiven that sort of preparation, after a week like that, it was almost impossible for us to play against United. âFitness-wise, it was a disaster. When we played United, they didnât play â they didnât have to. "They have some great players, but some arenât 100 per cent fit and have had injuries â and they were running past us like we donât exist. That just shouldnât happen.â That defeat left Rangers seven points adrift of safety, with games running out. According to another player, too many of the squad believe they are already doomed. âThereâs a feeling from some of us that other players donât give a s***, that theyâre just here for the money,â said the player, a regular starter. âSome are going around saying they canât wait for the end of the season so they can move. âWhen you hear that, you know the trouble youâre in â 50 per cent of any team is having the right team spirit. âThe manager is supposed to be the leader, but a lot of us think heâs going to leave in the summer as well. If thatâs the case how is he going to get the players going?â Redknapp insisted only last week he would stay, even if relegated, but the player added: âThereâs resentment between the players who have clauses in their contracts which will see them take wage cuts if we go down, and those that havenât. âAt the moment, the foreign players are in one section and the English players in another. There is not enough bonding, no *atmosphere where we fight for each other. âWe all feel bad for the chairman and owner, but they donât see whatâs happening to the club. âThe training ground is like a free-for-all, a million people who shouldnât be there because they are friends of someone or another. Thereâs no structure, things are a mess and Iâve never known that at a club before. âYou canât hope to survive with that chaos. No one wants to be part of a team relegated in disgrace and winning only two games in the season, but thatâs the way itâs heading.â Redknapp was accused of taking his eye off the training ground ball in January, although, as at Spurs â who he took to three successive top-five finishes â he delegates to his coaches, currently Joe Jordan, Steve Cotterill and Kevin Bond. âDuring the January window he was barely there,â said one of the players. âA lot of us thought he was concentrating on trying to buy one or two players and forgetting about the 22 already here. âOur problems arenât going to be solved by one or two players. Itâs a joke. âThe club is in a mess. How can any club like this hope to be in the best league in the world? "We all have to take responsibility, but whatâs happening isnât right.â
Only problem is if this was true then they would have blown the whistle blower yet no direct quotes wonder why? Kick them when they are down They should be strung up
Sounds like that's hill talking to me. I can believe it, after all there has to be some reason why this lot are so shocking and its not in the fail.
This can now go only two ways from here on in. It could be our Muslim players. They don't drink. Two of them are also regular starters and probably on the lower band wage. ( Taarabt and Traore. Diakite too but not a regular starter. ) There's your trio. ( If true. )
If it is true I don't see it as the worst idea in the world - no amount of training or hard work previous has changed fortunes - a chance for a fractured dressing room to sort themselves out -
There was something posted last week about this and this just seems to confirm what we were told. THe club really does seem to be shambolic and rudderless. Tomorrow could be the beginning of the end for this lot...
Hopefully not mate, I hope it has the opposite effect. We shall know at about 16:50 ish though. This game may well define our season. Someone please step up to the plate.
I agree. One player said broccoli flies around the moon. Another thinks that purple causes palpatations.
Sounds a bit far fetched alright but would you really be surprised if a watered down version of the OP did actually take place? The trip had this written all over it before they even left.
In a place where drinking is barely tolerated? Just think what they'd have done in the boot camp in the Outer Hebrides with all those distilleries? The strong whiff of male cow poo suggested by five or so unnamed players saying that they were in Vegas for a jolly.
Oh and we lost to the champions elect 2-0, our game plan scuppered by a wonder goal on the same weekend Reading lost to Wigan 3-0 at home They must really have been on one...
Matt, I never even mentioned that game. I don't know why you're on the defensive with me. I just had a thread before they left - linked above - saying that I didn't like the idea of this trip. A couple of people agreed with me. That doesn't mean that anything quoted above actually happened. But it does mean that I'm not waffling with hindsight and that I expressed concerns about the trip before they left, that's all. Lets hope its all nonsense and my uneasiness about it was misplaced.
Sorry lads that's Harry all over. Never there, different hotel ( what's that all about ) the only thing he has In Common with the players is his wages comes from the same source, well part of it, can't prove all of it does, as it comes in brown envelopes and is in cash. Most over rated and over paid manager ever.
But some of us think that if the manager had been in the same hotel he could have controlled what was going on. . . . . we must have the oldest squad in the prem why are they acting like teenagers they are meant to be professionals and should be able to control their own behaviour no wonder harry stayed elsewhere they are coming across as a bunch of ****s I wouldn't want to be in the same hotel either
