http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/qpr-stopper-rob-green-promises-5075152? QPR stopper Rob Green promises fans: If we go down this season, we'll go down fighting 22:30, 30 January 2015 By Dave Kidd The Hoops keeper believes this team is more committed to the cause than his former colleagues who threw in the towel two years ago Tom Purslow please log in to view this image Green fingers: Rob Green keeps out Man United hitman Radamel Falcao If Queens Park Rangers are relegated this season, Rob Green is adamant it will not be due to a lack of team spirit and commitment. And if that sounds like a statement of the obvious, that millionaire Premier League footballers should always be 100 per cent dedicated in their efforts to maintain top-flight status, just listen to Green’s scathing verdict on QPR’s last relegation two years ago. As the keeper prepares to face a Stoke side managed by former Rangers boss Mark Hughes, he could barely be more damning about the absence of heart in the team largely assembled by Sparky but eventually taken down by Harry Redknapp in 2013. It is a story of mercenaries who had no identity for their club and little care for the financial black hole they would leave behind. And Green, 35, insists he is not talking about one or two bad apples, but a significant majority of that QPR squad. Serena Taylor please log in to view this image We can rule Britannia: Rob Green says players are up for relegation battle He said: “Two seasons ago, it wasn’t deliberate it was more an apathetic feeling of, ‘It’s not my club, it’s not going to be my problem, if we’re relegated, I’ll leave in the summer’. “And most of them, probably all of them, were right. They’ve all left and what’s left is the ones who want to get stuck in. “Players were saying, ‘Yeah, you’re probably right, we probably will be relegated’. You’re saying, ‘No, this is really going to affect my life, this is really going to affect people’s jobs’. “It wasn’t even people pushing in the opposite direction, it was just a general apathetic attitude. “If you went to someone in the street and explained it would sound weird but to get the right gel of good lads in the dressing room who want to work and do the right things is quite tough. “People will say, ‘Surely that is a prerequisite for people coming into work’. But two years ago, evidently that was not the case here. PA please log in to view this image Star man: Green denied Alexis at the Emirates - but has seen the R's lose 10/10 away “When you’re one of the guys who actually genuinely cares, it is really tough. You’re fighting a battle alongside maybe half a dozen lads – or not even that many in that instance – where you are going against the tide of wanting to succeed, at least wanting it desperately. “At most clubs, as a rule you’ll have a good bunch of lads and one or two others who may need to be swayed by the general attitude. It’s the skill of a manager to get the right spirit.” Rangers, promoted via the play-offs last term, will be fighting to avoid a record 11th straight away league defeat at the Britannia Stadium, but Green claims a lack of spirit cannot be blamed this time. He said: “Now we have people who really take on board what the club means and that makes life a whole lot easier. At our last game against Manchester United, we were applauded off the pitch after a home defeat. People can see the effort and the genuine disappointment of the players. “It should be a bare minimum requirement that you drag yourself off after a game. That’s why the Premier League is the success it is, it is 100mph and 100 per cent commitment – which is probably to our detriment in other things. “People show displeasure if you’re not committed. Show that maximum effort and they give you all the time in the world.” Julian Finney please log in to view this image Harry's game: Redknapp is hoping to get one over former QPR boss Mark Hughes Redknapp was given a vote of confidence by owner Tony Fernandes after the United defeat following boardroom discussions over his future. Green does not want a managerial change and said: “It’s like moving house, if you do it twice a year, you don’t know where you are. You want a period of time living in the same house. “The away form hasn’t been good enough. Sometimes the timings weren’t good. We played Newcastle, West Ham and Southampton when they were on really good runs and Manchester United when they signed Radamel Falcao and Angel Di Maria and played all the big guns on the same day. “But there have been three or four games where we haven’t done ourselves justice, all away from home.” Who will win this one? QPR Stoke
So if we went down last time because 80% of the squad didn't give a toss, what will be the reason this time? Players not good enough? Manager and coaches clueless? I reckon it will come down to the horrible bad luck of having to play the top ten teams both home and away at some point during the year.
Nobody ever mentions the real reason why we will go down It is because we are playing in ****ty thin hoops again. We always go down in thin hoops.
What else can he say? But others above are right to ask if it's not for a lack of effort and commitment, just why is it that QPR are so dire again this season? But I'm not sure I buy Green's story anyway. In the games I've seen, I'm not convinced I've seen evidence of a team that's "fighting" for survival.
Classic PR nonsense - every week we get another player spouting positive, empty clichés. It's just media fluff, means nothing. The fact that (all) clubs think that in some way we (the fans) believe this kind of hype is the saddest part of the whole charade.
No, I think most of us who go to LR regularly can see that, overall, there is a lot more effort is being expended by the team compared to two seasons ago. That's why the crowd generally seem very supportive rather than booing certain players and agitating for the manager to go. But I agree that the clichés are repetitive and tiresome!
That's only partly true, in my opinion. The defence often looks second rate as a unit, as against Stoke yesterday. That's poor coaching. Hill shouldn't be getting a game at LB at his age. That's "not good enough". I would choose Caulker in preference to Dunne now, for his greater mobility. That's poor selection. IMO, the jury is still out on whether Caulker is actually good enough. That's "money wasted on crap". (Possibly.) The same four charges could be levelled at our midfield (where's the speed and creativity) and our attack (where's the cover at striker).
