Forget transfer trolley dash, if Queens Park Rangers are to fulfil big plans they must spend wisely to avoid relegation Pointing the way: QPR's Joey Barton was one of the first new signings manager Neil Warnock made after the club was taken over by Tony Fernandes and Amit Bhatia Photo: ACTION IMAGES By Jason Burt, Deputy Football Correspondent Last Updated: 11:27PM GMT 05/01/2012 Itâs a huge month for Queens Park Rangers. The clubâs new owners, Tony Fernandes and Amit Bhatia, took control at the end of August and embarked on an immediate frenzy of transfer activity with little time to really plan. In came Joey Barton, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Luke Young and so on. The transfer fees werenât huge but the wages, the liabilities for the club, were big. But there was also a nagging doubt as to whether manager Neil Warnock had bought wisely in his last-minute trolley dash. QPR sit in 17th place in the Premier League just one place, and one point, above the drop zone. If they are there come May then it will be a successful season, albeit a nerve-shredding one, but there has been a growing sense of trepidation as the team have slid down the table in recent weeks. Fernandes, a savvy Malaysian businessman â is extremely hot on social networking and has even asked supporters for suggestions on Twitter as to who the club should buy â has grand plans for a new stadium and to make Rangers the team in Asia. But he knows they have to stay in the Premier League. Fernandes and QPRâs chief executive, Phil Beard, who was appointed after working for the London 2012 Olympic bid committee and as the O2 Arenaâs chief executive, are new to football so thereâs always the danger that they might have to pay over the odds and might not be able to easily navigate their way around the shark-infested transfer market. Rangers have their targets â at least two permanent signings including a 'big-nameâ striker (and yes they have discussed a bid for Aston Villaâs Darren Bent before quickly accepting it would be far too expensive) and another loan player to add to Manchester Unitedâs young striker, Federico Macheda. Money needs to be spent. Earlier this week Fernandes, and Warnock, travelled to Manchester for talks over signing Cityâs Nedum Onuoha but they face competition from other clubs interested in the defender. An added complication is that Fernandes, who previously tried to buy West Ham United last June, has other businesses to run, not least the airline AirAsia, and rarely spends two nights together in London as he travels the world. That should change next year as he concentrates more on QPR but he will want to make sure he does so with them still in the top flight. It could be a crucial few weeks ahead.
