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Jason Burt/The Telegraph
Queens Park Rangers midfielder Joey Barton comes off second best in manager Mark Hughes' statistics
“Looking forward to the game against Wigan tomorrow,” tweeted Joey Barton in January. “First time in a while we actually have a plan and seem organised.”
Under par: Joey Barton is marked down for his tackling Photo: AFP
By Jason Burt, Deputy Football Correspondent11:15PM GMT 16 Feb 2012 Comment
The Queens Park Rangers captain was responding to criticism from former manager Neil Warnock about the dangers of players communicating via social media, suggesting the likes of Barton had helped him lose his job.
New QPR manager Mark Hughes is certainly a different breed to Warnock and leaves nothing to chance.
His first job, since being appointed, has been to change the club’s approach — revolutionising training, using sports science and doing exactly what Barton said.
Hughes is certainly a man with a plan and while back-to-back defeats against fellow strugglers Wolves and Blackburn Rovers have been a setback, he does sometimes take time to get his ideas across.
Hence taking the first-team squad for a week’s training in Portugal to hammer home his way of working.
Hughes’s backroom team have already bought in a huge amount of statistical and analytical data — training is now tracked using GPS technology – and the manager has spoken highly of his liking for ProZone.
Warnock was not a devotee of such an approach.
All of this should be good news for Barton, given his plea for greater organisation – except for one thing. When his data was analysed, the results, it seems, were disappointing.
For example, his pass completion rate in that Wigan match was just 50 per cent (fellow midfielder Akos Buzsaky’s was 91 per cent and he scored a goal).
Other figures relating to tackle success rate, crossing accuracy and shooting were also not great, it is thought.
Hughes now has a huge welter of facts and figures to work with as he continues to assess his squad and consider the future.
Given Barton is the captain, and on wages of at least £60,000-a-week, and possibly as high as £80,000-a-week, then it would seem that the new approach shows he needs to raise his game Telegraph
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Posted on: Fri 17 Feb 2012
It was another hard training session for the squad this morning, with the normal two-hour work-out under the Portugal sun.
Samba Diakite took part in his first session with the squad and seemed to impress his new team-mates, with Anton Ferdinand remarking: "That boy has got FEET," which we can take to mean the loan-arrival from Nancy has decent ball control - and he isn't short of pace either!
Off the pitch, Diakite seems to have settled well and has been hanging around with Armand Traore, Adel Taarabt and Taye Taiwo.
Meanwhile, Taarabt left Joey Barton open-mouthed with a fully-committed and perfectly-timed sliding tackle on Anton Ferdinand as the Moroccan continues to impress everyone with his work-rate since his return from the African Cup of Nations.
A sporting contest has developed over the past 48 hours with Jamie Mackie and Barton taking on Shaun Derry and Clint Hill in a whole variety of challenges as 'points' are up for grabs.
It seems battle-lines are drawn on anything from rugby drop-kicks to bowls! According to the R's skipper, himself and Mackie are clear leaders.
And Barton appears to have picked up the nickname "The Natural" due to his natural ability at all sports. Rumours that he gave himself the tag are at this stage unconfirmed.
There has been plenty of banter on the pitch too. At one stage this morning, striker Rob Hulse filled in at centre-back, and remarked afterwards: "The gaffer thought defence was my natural position I was playing so well!"
Mackie responded: "Yeah, especially when you got forward and had a shot!"
This evening also saw Mackie speaking live with QPR's official phone-in show London Call-in at 7.40pm.
Particular credit goes to Mackie's professionalism for managing to complete the interview despite the "distractions" of Barton.
Manager Mark Hughes said prior to the team's departure for the Algarve that he is keen to give the players the opportunity to bond away from the pitch.
Early signs are that the short break is having the desired impact. QPR
Goal.Com - Morocco’s Adel Taarabt may be dropped for poor attitude at the 2012 Afcon - report
Coach Eric Gerets is said to have lost his patience with the QPR winger and his lack of professionalism during the tournament in Gabon & Equatorial Guinea
The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) group game against Gabon that ended in a 3-2 win for the co-hosts may prove to be Adel Taarabt’s final match in an Atlas Lions jersey, at least so long as Eric Gerets remains in charge of the Moroccan national team according to Lionsdelatlas.net.
Taarabt is said to have completely lost focus in training after Morocco lost their second game and were effectively eliminated from the continental competition. Gerets was clearly unimpressed with the winger’s childish attitude and elected not to use him in the final group match, resulting in a narrow 1-0 victory over Niger for the north Africans.
It isn’t the first time that the QPR player has had a run in with his coach, the first coming when he elected to abandon the squad on the eve of a crucial 2012 Afcon qualifier against rivals Algeria after he learned that he wouldn’t be in the starting lineup. The Atlas Lions played their best game under Gerets won 4-0, with Taarabt’s replacement, Ousamma Assaidi, playing a starring role in the rout.
A final answer on Taarabt's fate will be delivered when Gerets announces his squad for the February 29 friendly match against Burkina Faso that Morocco have scheduled in order to gear up for 2013 Afcon qualifying.
Goal.com
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Evening Standard/Vivek Chaudhary The battle for Warren Farm
A dilapidated west London sports ground is at the centre of a battle between Queens Park Rangers and their multi-billionaire owners and a non-League side with their own wealthy investors.
The Premier League club and Southall Football Club, who play in the Middlesex County Premier League, will submit their proposals to Ealing Council tomorrow to take over Warren Farm, a neglected sports ground on the border between Osterley and Southall.
QPR's owners Tony Fernandes and Lakshmi Mittal,
who between them are worth an estimated £20billion, have identified Warren Farm as the site for a new training ground and academy and are planning to spend around £6million on bringing it up to Premier League standards.
Warren Farm is currently made up of 30 football, cricket and netball pitches many of which Ealing Council admits are "not fit for purpose."
The changing rooms and other buildings have changed little since the 1960s, when the site was taken over by the local authority for use by schools and clubs.
The Southall proposal is to develop Warren Farm into a state-of-the-art community sports complex specialising in football, cricket and rugby.
Despite the fact the club are up against two of the Premier League's richest owners, those behind the Southall bid insist that they too can draw upon some serious finances and are backed by a group of wealthy Asian businessmen who are willing to invest almost £20m into Warren Farm.
The Southall plan has also secured the support of some high-profile names from the world of sport.
Former international cricketers John Emburey and Alvin Kallicharran are set to oversee the development of a cricket academy while former Tottenham manager Peter Shreeves and ex-Liverpool striker David Johnson will be involved in football
development and coaching.
Southall, the club where Les Ferdinand began his career, are located in the heart of the capital's largest Asian community.
Officials claim that their plans for Warren Farm could increase the popularity of sport and increase general fitness levels among people living in the area.
According to Government statistics, the district of Southall suffers from widespread deprivation and lower levels of life expectancy and sports participation than other parts of the country.
Charanjit Singh Gill, vice-chairman of the football club, said: "Generally, British Asians have not fully embraced sporting culture and suffer many health problems because of bad fitness. Our plans for Warren Farm could help to change all this and make a real difference to the Southall community. We are also confident that a new facility will help us develop top-level Asian
sports stars.
"QPR are not interested in the people of Southall. Why should they be, they are a professional
football club?
"If they take over Warren Farm, do you think ordinary people will be allowed to use the facilities there? We want to create something that will benefit the people of Southall and the surrounding area."
Ealing Council is offering a 200-year lease on Warren Farm and insists that it will carefully evaluate all proposals before making a decision in June. It admits, however, that the needs of the community must be taken into consideration.
A spokesman said: "We will look at all bids equally and investigate them fully to ensure that they can deliver. The winning bidder will have to meet a certain number of criteria for Warren Farm, the facilities they will create and what they can offer.
"For us it's about getting the best deal for the residents of Southall and the rest of the borough."
QPR, who are 10 levels above Southall in the League pyramid, have refused to be drawn into a row with the club and were unwilling to reveal any plans they may have for the local community should they secure Warren Farm.
A spokesman said: "It's very early days and we cannot comment in detail at the moment." Standard
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