after 45 years of supporting QPR have to admit we appear to be turning into the embodiment of everything that's wrong with the "modern" game. Please God we'll never be Man City or Chelsea but a few portions of stability, sense, integrity, team spirit and the like certainly wouldn't go amiss
really do hope so ...just my natural caution / pessimism birthed through experience ...really really hope it comes off, but...
so you don't like the club signing real quality players and you would not like them to win things?????
Yes man city and Chelsea wanted to be winners quickly so bought in bulk to reach the top in a couple of years. But let's not kid ourselves that this is just the "modern" game, and look back to the past with rose tinted glasses! Anyone who has ever won anything relevant like leagues, European cups etc. has done so by buying it. Real Madrid, Barcelona, man utd, ac milan, inter Milan Lyon, bayern Munich, Liverpool!! They all won things because they acquired the best players in the world and paid top wages. It's certainly nothing new, and I see absolutely nothing wrong with what we are doing. And the fact of the matter is we have still spent less on our own squad this year than Chelsea spent on one person:- Eden hazard.......
DT2 is that David lynch or a thin ray winstone ? You're not back on your black lodge trip are you son?
All in favour of building a quality squad capable of competing at increasingly high level. My concern is at the speed, scale and (despite assurances - cost) of transition. Norwich and Swansea both demonstrated last season the value of adding quality to traditional values of team spirit, continuity and building a Club ethos whereas we appear in serious danger of repeating the mistake of trying to reconstruct a squad which is capable of playing like a team each time the transfer window opens. We just about got away with it last season. For me - Rob Green was/is a good, sensible and necessary signing in an area which clearly needed stregthening. Now - a mere few weeks later - the length and size of his contract is just not justifiable in the light of Cesar's signing and defies claims to reasoned targetted planning. Similarly I am excited as anyone about the arrival and potential arrival of quality midfielder after quality midfielder yet we are all patently aware of other gaps which remain unaddressed. Sure I am excited at what is happening at our Club but I can't pretend I wouldn't be more confident if we were adopting a step by step incremental approach more in line with the infra structure and history of our club rather than the contemptous practice of chucking as much dosh in whatever direction it flies as often as possible in the hope that sooner or later things fall right. Very much hope my anxieties prove to be unjustified and either way always a Ranger! Certainly aint boring folks!!
Lets hope we win something before we build a new stadium then hopefully us true oldish fans will be able to run round Wemberly with our willys hanging out Not old enough to remember 67 82 86
Very good post Sexton. I share your concerns somewhat, especially the financial concerns if it all goes belly up. Lets just try to enjoy our new players and hope it all falls into place. The day I hear a few rounds of "Sparky Hughes blue and white army" is the day that I think we have accepted the new players and are happy that we as a club are all pulling in the same direction. The fact that the manager is ex-Chelsea I don't think helps in making some people feel he is our's but in time, hopefully that will change. A couple of wins on the spin would certainally help and a victory over our neighbours would be very welcome. I can't see consecutive victories coming in the next couple of weeks but hopefully they might before the end of September. The only thing certain in life is that there will be change. Lets embrace the change.
Swansea were very successful over a number of years, reaching the play offs a couple of times before going up, so already had the nucleus of a good footballing team. Norwich had a smart board who grabbed a bright young manager and two successive promotions built up a lot of confidence(plus they spent well). But they had a poor run in the last 3rd of the league last year and will have to work very hard not to get relegated this year. We, on the other hand, managed somehow to win one of the toughest leagues in the world to get out of with virtually the same team that nearly got relegated the year before. TF and AB have invested so much time and money in QPR to make us sustainable, that they need to make sure we stay in the premier league, leaving nothing to chance. With all the new rules and regulations coming in, such as how youth players can be taken by the big teams for next to nothing, and uefa financial fair play, teams outside the premier are gonna have a tough time competing to level they are now. So it's imperative we stay up. The club has already stated this is a one off, freak transfer blitz, of which we will not see the like again. So get over your worries and just enjoy watching some wonderful talent at loftus road, that for once isn't supplied by the away team..........
And here we have another quality response. Three very good posts, that in summary.....Let's enjoy the Rs and the journey. We can't do anything about our squad and signings. We haven't actually spent that much in real terms anyway. The only question is can this many incoming players perform as a team? Let's wait and see. After signing Rowan Vine and Rob Hulse in recent years, things can only get better...Surely. I love Rangers, whatever happens. Have no fear, enjoy it.
Good post mate We're not all the same and this is most certainly a perfectly reasonable opinion/feeling. You mention the length and size of Green's contract. The way I see it it's far from expensive, actually a very sound investment even with the signing of Cesar. The facts are, 1) it's a 2 year deal 2) £50k/week (though reports say it's considerably less). But for the sake of it let's use the 50k to make my point. It will cost us approx £2,5 mill/year in wages, £5 mill in total over his contract period. For instance next summer if Green/Hughes decides it's time to move on he will most certainly fetch a fee, probably around £2,5 mill making him free of charge for the entire first season. Even if he stays and he costs us £5 mill for the duration of his stay, in my opinion that's not a bad price to pay for having a good back up in the toughest league in the world. Especially with Cesar's injury record.
I can understand Sexton's view. Our board are obviously trying to fast track our development (which is great for us fans) but a bit of a risk in itself. Has it ever been done before for a club this size? It also makes us a very easy target for critics which p*sses me off no end. There are so many fans of other clubs out there willing us to fail, because we've taken a short cut to the finish line. I think if total player wages and transfer fees were disclosed for all clubs it'll make it easier to digest but at the moment, it's placing all our trust on TF and his men.
Just been on the west ham forum to check their threads out. Not one thread even hints at a worry that they're moving too fast, or buying too many players. Worries about whether their new team will gel in time are non existent, and yet they've spent more than us! And interestingly, bought just as many players?!
I'm not sure they are trying to "fast track" our development mate. I think they're just trying to ensure that we stay in the Premier League this season. Achieve that and then the other plans.....new stadium and more quality players should fall into place. I obviously get all the concerns over spending, but we simply have to trust the Board's judgement. This or chucking money in a collection bucket? I know which I prefer!!
I'll be round later with me bucket then Col. (Notes only please and none of your old foreign coins that you haven't been able to use since the Euro came along. Thanks)
