Redknappâs expanding midfield collection can add guile to QPRâs bump n' grind Sunday, 8th Sep 2013 16:06 by Clive Whittingham Ask QPR fans prior to deadline day what the team needed most and âmore central midfieldersâ wouldnât have been high on the list. So whatâs the thinking behind the arrival of Tom Carroll and Niko Kranjcar? Facts Niko Kranjcar is a 29-year-old Croatian international who has worked with Harry Redknapp twice before at Portsmouth and Tottenham. Rangers agreed a season long loan deal with his present club Dynamo Kiev and forced the transfer through with ten minutes to spare on transfer deadline day last week. Redknapp first signed Kranjcar for Pompey on deadline day in August 2006, paying Hadjuk Split £3.5m for the midfielder. While playing in his homeland Kranjcar won domestic Croatian league and cup honours with both Split and their fierce local rivals Dinamo Zagreb where he started his career as a youth team graduate in 2001. He scored on his Zagreb debut as a 16 year old and became their youngest ever captain at age 17. He continued adding to his medal collection at Fratton Park, winning the FA Cup in his second season there, but that success came at a heavy financial cost for the club which has since seen them plummet into the bottom division of English football. Harry Redknapp, the manager who masterminded the finest period in the clubâs recent history, jumped ship to Tottenham after the Wembley triumph and with Pompey struggling to pay the bills in 2009 he made another deadline day move for Kranjcar and paid £2.5m to take him to White Hart Lane. He made 32 appearances in his first season in North London but found first team opportunities limited after that. In all he made 42 starts and 30 substitute appearances before he moved to Kiev in June last year. The fee was anywhere between £2m and £7m depending on which reports you believe. He has represented Croatia at every level from Under 16s up to the seniors and has 79 senior caps and 15 goals to his name to date. Kranjcar scored for Croatia at Wembley in a 3-2 win in the lead up to Euro 2008 which of course meant Steve McClarenâs side failed to qualify for the tournament. Little Tom Carroll, now 21, is a product of Tottenhamâs academy system, which he joined in 2008. He signed his first professional deal in the summer of 2010 and then in January 2011 moved on loan to League One side Leyton Orient. Carroll was part of the Oâs team that took Arsenal to a replay in that seasonâs FA Cup â he made his professional footballing debut in the first game. - See more at: http://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/footba...e-to-qpr’s-bump-n-grind?#sthash.niNvtmOM.dpuf
A good read and although I don't always take to Clive's tone, he makes a number of good points. I really hope he's right about Harry switching to 4-2-3-1 although it's hard to see Krancjar and Carroll playing in the same team with that (or any other) formation. To be fair Clive agrees with this and mentions that Barton, Kranjcar and Carroll may be competing for the one attacking spot behind the forward. Interesting times ahead!!
I think it's definitely 4231 with Carroll and Krancjar alternating in the central position. Hopefully Barton and Faurlin will be the holding players with Jenas and Henry as back-up.
I don't usually comment on his stuff, as I don't like it much but that doesn't mean he shouldn't write it and that it can't be enjoyable. But does anybody else feel that the comparison of Tom Carroll's looks to 'an Operation Yewtree victim' is both unnecessary and frankly creepy?
good grief ... again read another article by this Clive bloke and another 15 minutes i won't get back ... not a fan at all i 'm afraid in fact it's a lot worse than my waffle
Another good read- i'm not really sure what there is to dislike in that article. I don't think the points he's made have been written in article form elsewhere (although some have been mentioned on forums). I had no in depth idea about carroll/ekotto/kranjcar's history at other clubs prior to reading, so i'm glad Clive's researched it to save me from having to. I don't understand what some people expect from a QPR article really? (DT). In 5 minutes I've read a few good points and gained a bit more insight into the club. What more do you want?
Good read. If it's not broke don't fix it is bang on the nail. But hopefully we will go on getting results so that gradually, probably at home first, we can be more adventureous.
Fair enough. I think he will though. BAE will start at LB imo and one of Carroll or Krancjar in centre mid. Hopefully Hoilett will start too.
Kranjcar often played on the left of midfield at Spurs and often with BAE at left back they linked well together in an attacking role, it may be that Carroll will get the central role with Niko outside him on the left...
After researching that quote, I do. "The Derby fans said Carroll, whose build and appearance make him look more Operation Yewtree victim than professional footballer, struggled with the pace and physicality of it all." "Little Tom Carroll" "Your reference to Operation Yewtree reminded me of the headlines when Spurs got beaten in Bern in 2010: 'Young Boys interfere with Tottenham'. Dunne can jump on anyone who tries to interfere with Tommy." Is enforcer Richard Dunne meant to be his sugar daddy? "Carroll is the kind of player, physically, that the Spanish treasure and the English usually bomb out in favour of a less-talented, more athletic boy, but his eye for a pass is exceptional and his ability to move the ball incisively between the straight lines of the average Championship team could see him star in a more adventurous QPR set up." "Redknapp added weight to the theory by leaning out of his car window on Monday night and saying 'weâll play through Tom' before handing him the number ten shirt." Police âfind wall with *****phile victim names on it as a result of Operation Yewtreeâ please log in to view this image http://metro.co.uk/2013/07/28/polic...-it-as-a-result-of-operation-yewtree-3901907/
Could be. I'd prefer Phillips and Hoilett on the wings when both fit. However, how nice to have good options eh?
