Club Confirms Taarabtâs Future in Bizarre Press Release 'We are pleased to confirm that Adel Taarabt will be staying at QPR this summer.â A great opening sentence from yesterdayâs club statement but, as is the way with QPR, thatâs only the half of it. On the face of it this is fantastic news as we were all pretty much resigned to losing Adel this summer. The squad had barely lifted the trophy in May before the player himself was suggesting his future lay elsewhere. After months and months of rumours and some great work by his agents linking him to some ridiculously unrealistic clubs it seemed set that he would move to newly wealthy French side PSG. Bids of up to fifteen million pounds had been mooted and it was said that forty percent of any fee received would have to go to Tottenham as part of the original deal made to sign him last season. PSG surged ahead in the rumour stakes and even Neil Warnock spoke openly of the situation last week telling Sky Sports âFlavio Briatore is dealing with all the transfers at the moment. He's dealing with PSG and Adel himself.â Then yesterday the club announced that this wasnât going to happen. âDespite receiving a substantial bid for our Moroccan international, we rebuffed all approaches and indeed, we are keen to build for the future in the Barclays Premier League, and not sell one of our prized assets," they said. There is a big difference between the way Warnock was selling it and ârebuffing all approachesâ. Weâll probably never know quite what the truth in that one is but you would assume rather than ârebuffing all approachesâ we simply didnât get the cash we wanted for him. Regardless Taarabt staying here is great news, itâs as good as a new signing and Iâm delighted heâll still be around. He is unpredictable, brilliant and frustrating but whether he is throwing a strop, belting in a twenty yarder or embarrassing some poor defender he makes the extortionate entrance fee seems something like worthwhile. There is bound to be question marks as to whether the player himself is happy about the situation though. Heâs not exactly been backwards in coming forwards in suggesting he could do better than Loftus Road and you do wonder if he might have a bit of a classic sulk on right now. The statement takes steps to reassure us this isnât the case, âTaarabt is fully committed to the Club and is looking forward to proving his undoubted star quality for QPR in the Barclays Premier League,â it reads. We shall have to wait and see if that is indeed the case, personally though I really do believe that a solid season in a struggling Premier League side will give him far more exposure to a big move than playing in the French league would. Whether Adel will quite take it like that remains to be seen. âOur decision not to sell him only serves to reiterate the ambition and commitment we have both shown to QPR since we arrived here.â The statement continues before veering off into a bizarre and paranoid sounding justification of Briatore and Ecclestoneâs tenure in W12. âWe saved the Club when it was close to relegation from the Championship and just one week from liquidation. At this time, Flavio Briatore outlined a four year plan to reach the Premier League, which was achieved. We have always owned approximately 70 per-cent of the shareholding at the Club and have been the major benefactors since our arrival.â There is little doubt that their investment came at the right time and it is perfectly clear that they have financed the club in a way that many simply would have not been able to. They have spent plenty on players and huge amounts on salaries and Iâve no doubt we would be nowhere near the position weâre in now without their arrival. Whether that is a good thing or not could be argued till the cows come home. I also donât see anything wrong in being both grateful for their investment and judgmental in what they have done with it. I would suggest though that Flavioâs four year plan was going up in smoke up to April 2010 and it was only the arrival of Warnock combined with Briatore stepping into the background that saw the club find some stability, culminating in last years promotion. That wasnât an example of a successful four year plan, more like a totally disastrous two year one followed by a completely different twelve month one that itâs debatable whether Briatore can take any credit for. From there the statement turns quite viciously on our manager or our coach as it insists on calling him. âNeil Warnock is our coach and we are working closely with him in a professional and confidential manner to try to achieve our aims and objectives,â it says before betraying some of that confidence. âWe are aware of some issues that have been raised in the press by the coach, but we have discussed these with him internally and he has agreed to be more reserved in terms of what he discusses in the future.â Warnock has certainly been outspoken of late, complaining that he has no money to spend, that he will have to try and keep us up on the cheap without much support and has little chance of capturing any of his preferred targets. That has clearly rankled the board who took this chance to dress him down in public. Perhaps Warnock has played a clever game here, if he has been told he can keep Taarabt and will get some further cash to spend in exchange for shutting up for a while then really he has won the media war. It remains to be seen if thatâs the case though but itâs a positive scenario thatâs worth clinging on to. That doesnât dilute the fact that the bosses have publically asserted their authority over him and the use of the word coach instead of manager really worries, particularly when you remember how our last âcoachesâ were treated. It raises doubts over Warnockâs future at the club and whether a strong personality like his can quite swallow a public rebuke like this. Frankly I was surprised he was still here before this press release came out, he seemed to be grimly sticking it out in the hope that a potential sale of the club might go through. Iâm even less sure heâll see out the season now. âWe are fully committed to strengthening our status as a Premier League Club next season and in due course, build for the future,â continues the rant. âNow we are in the Premier League, we intend to stay here. We believe this Club can achieve great things and we are looking forward to the Barclays Premier League season.â This is the strangest part for me, the club has been eerily quiet of late, no transfer fees paid, concentrating on trialists and free transfers, no new kit, no new club sponsor. It smacked of disinterested owners hoping to be shot of the place sometime soon. This sudden declaration of continued commitment then sounds very odd. Could it be that having realised that a sale just isnât going to happen right now and with the season fast approaching theyâve realised they have little choice but to support the business. Do they feel they now have no option but to invest once again before they are left with a team bottom of The Premier League and worth far less than the 100 million they allegedly want for it? Time will tell on that and indeed on what their idea of âstrengthening our statusâ is. It doesnât necessarily mean weâll suddenly splash on out on some big signings, this statement after all does allude to the possible signing of Danny Gabbidon as if it were some kind of massive coup. Itâs also concerning that a potentially re-energised Flavio Briatore isnât always going to be a good thing for our reputation. So yet another bizarre outburst from the club leaves us slightly more baffled than we were before. What can we take out of thatâs positive? Adel Taarabt will be a QPR player next season, at least until January. Regardless of how and why the PSG move didnât happen that really is good news. Typically of QPR though they manage to take something quite positive and coat it in such smarming arrogance that you actually find yourself more irritated than ever. http://www.qprnet.com/index.php/qpr-editorials/166-editorial-240711
well w ritten northolt . exactly how our i read the situation , a back tracking statement because the goons cant sell the club .
Northolt - I have read the statement on the BBC sports site, which is where I am guessing you may have seen the same................ After reading the article I was left asking myself one question - who is to be believed? One one hand it is frequently reported that Adel wants to leave for PSG or somewhere else and now the board stating he is committed to QPR! I have read so much about what is allegedly going on at Loftus Road this summer it has become almost impossible to be sure about anything now. For the sake of QPR's potential survival in the PL I hope he stays BUT I am not not convinced of either the players commitment or that the speculation about him leaving is going to stop until the transfer windows actually closes.
Aww bless. Personally Thai, I reckon you should be worried more about your own survival campaign than ours, you seem to spend a lot of time on our board whipping up fury. Agreed our team looks a bit short atm. We've probally only got 4 player of proper Premier League quality and we need more...... That is 4 players more than you have tho buddy..... Worry about yourself, not Qpr + Taarabt.
When people actually take the time and try to have a sensible thing to say and/or show a little respect/support for your club, why do you (in particular) have nothing decent to say in return?
Thai, you are forgetting that complete and utter turmoil is the norm at Loftus Road. It is when it all goes quiet that I start to worry.
Not forgotton RC, just a little gobsmacked with 3 things 1. The amount of it 2. The variety of 'on goings' 3. Just how long it's been going on! As I no longer live in the UK I only tend to pick up scraps of information, mostly provided by Northolt so do not really know much other than what I read. What sort of media coverage is all this getting? If this was Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea etc I would guess it would be all over Sky Sports News every day.
But you're a Norwich fan.........? Why does the goings on at Loftus Rd concern you so much? Like I said, you should concentrate on your own clubs shortcomings before coming on here with your 'I dont believe Taarabt' ****.
Bakes will you stop starting on people, he came in peace! Warnock is the one to believe Thai, that's why he's been gagged, the statement is bull.
Because I am a football fan who does not wearing tinited glasses that obscure my vision I never said I 'I dont believe Taarabt' **** as you put it, if you read my reply again. The gist of the reply was it is hard to believe just what is said by either Adel or the board, everything conflicts each others statements, which even you can not argue with. Once again you have re-enforced my belief that if anyone other than a QPR fan has an opinion you do not agree with will get 'special treatment' on this board. I am not worried about any shortcomings on the part of Norwich City. Like most Norwich fans I do not expect success or survival. Anything above 18th will be a bonus, if we come back down then so be it. Hopefully we will bounce back quickly like we normally do and not leave it for over a decade to return. Try to learn with objective viewpoints, even if you do not agree with them
I think you are probably right in your assessment I am not in the habit of buying books from players or managers but if NW does have a book published, and being the sort of man he is (out-spoken on occasions) I am sure he will, I will buy it. Would be good to read his version of events.
You wont finish above 18th, sorry.......... You may get 19th tho, Swansea look terrible. Objective viewpoints?? All we get from Norwich fans are 'What do you think of Eccleston?' or 'I don't believe Taarabt or your board'. How about 'Norwich are pony and their signings haven't improved their first 11 at all'? That's a good subject for you to tackle Thai
As neither of us have a crystal ball we will need to wait to find out what happens and then I will come back to remind you of this discussion if we end up above you or avoid relegation
I bet you are wrong Like I said before, we don't expect much this coming season so have nothing to lose other than PL status, which is not the end of the world for a small club like Norwich.
It has been going on for over 15 years now, but is only just starting to get noticed now. While we all complain about it regularly, most of us wouldn't swap with any other club. We do have the ultimate rollercoaster ride at QPR.
This sumeers 'goings on' pale into insignificance compared with some of the dramas we've had in W12 recently.... Gunfights in the boardroom Kiyan Prince Beating up the Chinese u21 national side Ray Jones 100 managers in 2 years Naomi Campbell in the stands Ali Faurlingate Administration relegations galore Getting spanked by Vauxhall motors... etc etc We've had it all in W12.
As far as I'm concerned, Thai, you're always welcome here. Just because you post Intelligently thought out pieces, rather than wumming us (probably in response to being wummed) Good luck for the season, and if I look into a crystal ball, I think we'll be playing you guys in the 2012-13 season. Just not sure which division we'll both be in! If anyone can keep you boys up, it's Lambert, and if anyone can keep us up then it's our gagged manager. As long as he can take his gag off at half time. And I agree - I do hope he writes a biography, it'd sell like hot cakes!
Bit of a one sided cynical view if you ask me. It's bernie & flavs club and Neil works for them. I think he's played this v well, he's got tararararabat to stay plus bothroyd and some experienced prem signings. Many people here need to give the negativity a rest. We're up and personally I think Neil will keep u's up. He's publicly stated this is his last job before retirement. He won't blow it this time like the blades did. It's about time to ****tu or get off the pot as me dear old nan used to say. Start believing lads. That's what seperates us from the badge kissing fat franks up the road. Wait til that Abdul tarant Nutmegs JT at the bridge. I'll be getting the beers in that night. Whilst I'm on can anyone tell me what ' fillet de panga' is? It's on the menu over here but I can't get me google working. V tasty though Up the R's!
