Sorry for the delay, I was watching an interview with Adam Duritz of the Counting Crows. I saw them at the Apollo on Monday night, if there is a better live band in the world, I’d like to see them. For the record I didn’t compare the two of them, but I have to say that Adel was, in my opinion, more impressive on Saturday than Andros, but let’s not descend into personal prejudice. Do you think this is a little knee jerk? If we replace the whole team there will inevitably be a “gelling” period. Can we afford that? Can we afford not to have that? This is so difficult. To go the young and hungry route, that I was so adamant about before we started in the Premier League, we need a new manager in my opinion. Redknapp and a large swathe of the exiting squad is our best chance of a quick return to the top flight, a new manager, maybe Poyet or Robinson, is our better bet to building a club. Do you agree or not? Personally I’d be very pleased to see Adel stay (as you’d expect, although I completely understand your position) and to be fair to him, he has been as committed to our cause as anyone this season. I definitely agree about the danger of keeping as many of the current squad as possible, but as ever nothing is cut and dried. However a brand new squad is very unlikely to obtain promotion immediately, which does show what a great job Warnock did. So would you be happy to remain in the Championship for a couple of season while a proper club is built? I would, but will Tony Fernandes and the other investors? Bloody Mark Hughes has really ****ed this up.
I used to listen to them back in the day. I hope you enjoyed the show. Not the whole team, no. There is a core group of players there that could compete well in the NPC. But the mercenaries just will not be up to it in that division and besides, we simply have to get rid of them or we could bankrupt ourselves - despite the deep pockets of our owners. It took just one hanger-on, Jimmy Bullard, to nearly sink Hull City a couple of years ago after their relegation. We've got a whole army of them. I do agree with you to be honest. That is a major concern but I guess I was just answering your question in what I would do if I had the power. Maybe Redknapp isn't the man for us next season after all. Either way, I can't see him taking us back up without some major surgery to the current squad. There are some very big decisions coming up for the Board. So has Mackie, bless him. Not a brand new squad but a seriously modified one. That's why I believe Reading are in a much better position than we are. To be honest, we're in a real mess. As opposed to staying there indefinitely? Because I'm telling you man, the current lot have not a cat in hell's chance of challenging for promotion next season. They may even get us relegated to League One. That's how rancid I think this squad is. It doesn't sound like it Rolly mate. If what Beard said the other day is true, then I'm mightily worried about where we're headed. He did indeed. Royally.
The Counting Crows were magnificent, it took a monumental effort not to go back up the following night to see them again. It would have been a different set, maybe with Mr Jones and A Murder of One! They gave everything that QPR didn't on the Saturday before. I think that Beard was saying what he thought he had to, fortunately the team will never be his responsibility. Just as you baulked at a perceived comparison of Taarabt and Townsend, the comparison of Adel and Jamie is a non-starter for me. I'd be very pleased to see Adel as part of our team next season, especially with Faurlin to prompt him, but, as I'm sure you recall, the style is most important to me. Regardless it will be a very interesting summer. Thinking back to "Warnock's" summer I will try to withhold judgement until after I have seen us play a few matches as I was not impressed with the signings of Kenny, Derry, Hill and Mackie, but I don't see this level as being Redknapp's forte. It will be a long summer.......
Now THAT Swords and Roller was a good read. I'm agree with both of you to an extent - there needs to be a clear out. The NPC is a tough, competitive league and we need tough competitive footballers to compete.. and we aint got nearly enough of them. As I said a couple of weeks ago.. short term.. best chance of bouncing back up? 'Arry every time. But he won't get in potential. He doesn't work with the long term in mind.. never has. So, for me, get (1 example of the top of my head) Eddie Howe in and build.
Watched the Leicester v Watford NPC game (1-2) and thought these teams matched our current level where you have to grind out results to finish at the top of the heap, or get in playoff contention. Just looking forward to seeing us win a few games next season.
I believe that your blinkered prejudice towards Taarabt makes any real, meaningful debate about him with you impossible. Adel has many frustrating traits but is undoubtedly one of the most talented players to ever where our shirt. Whenever he is absent, our creativity is virtually zero. Townsend is great to watch...very direct and pacy. However, I think he'll be a much better player in two or three years' time, as his end product is often quite poor (I know he smashed a beauty against Sunderland) at present. The endless debate concerning Taarabt is a bit of a red herring imo. I believe it's more an argument for and against flair players. Nearly all flair players come with quite a bit of baggage and have done throughout the past. A hard working flair player, with the attitude of a Mackie say, is incredibly rare. This makes Rooney so unique imo. Put Matta, Silver, Bale etc in our current team and I believe we'd be having the same debate. I do however acknowledge that an outrageous talent like a Taarabt needs to have a team built around him and that was impossible this season with so many players not being up for the cause. If Adel were to stay, we would need to put him in that central attacking role that was so effective in our promotion year. However, I can't see Harry doing that and so I believe we will be saying cheerio to Adel. At least that would put an end to this endless cycle of debate eh? Or would it?
Fair post and I'll openly admit to being biased against the lad. I just can't stand his play so if and when he does things well, I concede that I'd probably miss it to a certain extent. But COL, you of all people shouldn't saying that someone else has a blinkered view of Taarabt!! Take the Fulham game for example. I was in the Pub all ready for the game but when I saw his name on the team-sheet I just wanted to walk out of there. I thought we might have seen the last of him. He went on to play absolutely terribly, losing the ball practically every time he got it. Then he went and scored a goal and won a penalty! But I was so disgusted at the rest of his play that I still considered him to have had a bad game and was delighted when Harry finally hauled him off. You would have a totally different viewpoint to that but I just can't help it. He drives me insane! I also know that now we're back in the Championship, he could conceivably recapture the form he had at this level a couple of years ago. But I actually don't care any more. I've gotten to the point that I just can't stand the sight of him so if it sounds like cutting your nose off to spite your face, then it probably is. I hold my hands up. It doesn't make an awful lot of logical sense but I've reached the end of my tether with that young lad. P.S. Anyone notice how fat he was in the last few games? I don't want to get into another row but I believe that in this day and age, with guys getting paid 30-odd grand per week, for a professional athlete to be in such a state is shocking.
Not lose the ball every time he receives it? Play more than 5 good games in an entire season? Not be overweight when being paid a salary of 1.5 million to play one football match a week? I could go on and on because the list is endless. BTW, yes he scored a goal and won a penalty (which shouldn't have been as it was a dive) but how do you know what way the game would've panned out if we had a player in there from the start who didn't lose the ball every time he got it and could pass it 5 yards to a team-mate? In such a crucial position like the one Taarabt plays in, if we had a proper player in there, we mightn't have found ourselves 3-0 down in the first place. I can't understand how you don't see the negative impact his overall contribution to the team has. How on earth can you watch that guy play and think he's good for QPR? Its baffling.
