I fear for qpr if they sell adel taarabt, says trevor sinclair

QUEENS Park Rangers are finally back where they belong, according to Trevor Sinclair.

But the Loftus Road legend hopes history doesn’t repeat itself and Rangers lose their Premier League status if they sell their best player this summer.


Rangers return to the top flight this season for the first time in 15 years.


Back then winger Sinclair was one of the stars of the Hoops’ mid-90s side who punched above their weight in what was then the *Premiership.


But England striker and top scorer Les Ferdinand was the biggest of the lot.


And when he was snapped up by Newcastle for £6m in the summer of 1995, Rangers fell apart.


After three consecutive top 10 finishes they were relegated in their first season without Ferdinand.


Now 16 years on, the west Londoners are facing another fight to hang on to their main man.


Adel Taarabt inspired Rangers to the Championship title and promotion last season with 19 goals and a string of sensational displays.


But that has alerted a whole host of clubs to the mercurial Moroccan’s talents, led by French duo PSG and Marseille.


And Sinclair fears the loss of talisman Taarabt could have devastating consequences – just like Ferdinand’s exit all those years ago.


Asked what went wrong for Rangers when they went down, Sinclair said: “We let Sir Les go. Simple as that.


“I wouldn’t say we were a one-man team, it was just the weight of goals he got.


“And he was a leader. We all looked up to him.


“At the time Danny Dichio (who replaced Ferdinand in the QPR side) was a young lad with not that much experience.


“He did well when he got the opportunity but he just couldn’t come up with that amount of goals in that season.


“Les and Taarabt are different types of player but people might make the comparison with their goals and both being influential.


“Taarabt looks like he has the charisma and belief in himself. If he has that, then the rest of the squad can take a lot of confidence from him.


“To see him go would be a body blow for the squad. Let’s hope we can still convince him to stay and give it a year with QPR.


“But, if I’m honest, it looks like he could be moving on.”


If he does, the one consol-ation for boss Neil Warnock would be the big fee Rangers would bank for the £13m-rated ace.


For a club with such wealthy backers – billionaires Lakshmi Mittal, Bernie Ecclestone and millionaire Flavio Briatore – Rangers have been surprisingly quiet in the transfer market.


So far this summer they have brought in just Jay *Bothroyd and Kieron Dyer on frees.


And Sinclair is adamant they will have to spend to stay in the league.


Sinclair added: “The club are back in the Premier League, which I think is where they belong. It’s been a long time. Too long.


“I wouldn’t have imagined when we got relegated that year that it would be this long because ever since I was a kid I always relate QPR to being in the top league.


“It’s a big, big task for them to stay there though. Survival has to be the main aim.


“But Neil will know what he has got and if everyone stays fit he might say he has got a chance. The chances are

everyone won’t stay fit, so he will probably bring in a couple more players in.


“And I’m sure if he thinks he needs to strengthen he will be looking for the money to make that happen.”

 

Nice one Trev

“The club are back in the Premier League, which I think is where they belong"

 

He said exactly what I said in an earlier thread you can't be losing your best player even if the money seems good otherwise relegation is a possibility. It happened 15 years ago. Those who say let Tarabatt go are allowed they point of view but wait and see what happens.

 

I think NW is being very cute with regards to Adel. IMO saying that he bought Dyer to replace Adel who he thought was leaving is Neil's man-management skills coming to the fore again. Hopefully Adel will now want to show that he is the No1 in his position and we'll keep him at least till Jan. (Fingers crossed!!).