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- Forty-Four Years Ago Today: Our Greatest-Ever Moment? Little QPR Promoted to the Top Flight
- 33 Years Ago: Chelsea Relegated. (Unfortunately, so were QPR!)...30 Years Ago Glen Roeder Sent Off as Luton as QPR Promotion Challenge Ends...And will miss the FA Cup Final Replay if there is one.
- Birthdays Today for John Gregory (58) and Marc Bircham (34)
- RIP: Twenty-Seven Years Ago Today: The Tragic Bradford City Fire
- Adel Taarabt Profiled/Interviewed in the Times (Courtesy of LFW)
- Ex-QPR Alessandro Pellicori one of those Charged in Match-Fixing "Scandal" in Italy
- For some reason, NOW in the News (The Event was Two Months Ago): Tony Fernandes and Israel "QPR OWNER'S TIES TO 'NO ISRAEL' GROUP"l
- 33 Years Ago: Chelsea Relegated. (Unfortunately, so were QPR!)...30 Years Ago Glen Roeder Sent Off as Luton as QPR Promotion Challenge Ends...And will miss the FA Cup Final Replay if there is one.
- Birthdays Today for John Gregory (58) and Marc Bircham (34)
- RIP: Twenty-Seven Years Ago Today: The Tragic Bradford City Fire
- Adel Taarabt Profiled/Interviewed in the Times (Courtesy of LFW)
- Ex-QPR Alessandro Pellicori one of those Charged in Match-Fixing "Scandal" in Italy
- For some reason, NOW in the News (The Event was Two Months Ago): Tony Fernandes and Israel "QPR OWNER'S TIES TO 'NO ISRAEL' GROUP"l
QPR 37 37
Bolton 37 35
Blackburn 37 31
Wolves 37 25
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Paul Warburton/Chronicle
Exclusive: QPR boss plans massive summer clear-out
NO MATTER what happens with QPR Sunday – a massive clear-out of up to 14 players is expected to start as early as Monday.
The Rs’ Premier League survival may depend as much on the result between Stoke and Bolton as their own game against Manchester City at The Etihad as the season comes to a nail-biting finale.
Even if does end happily ever after for the club, it is almost certainly the end for a number of stalwarts.
Lee Cook, Radek Cerny, Danny Gabbidon, Fitz Hall, Patrick Agyemang, Peter Ramage, Danny Shittu and Kieron Dyer are all out of contract, and Rangers will look to sell Brian Murphy, Rob Hulse, Angelo Balanta, Matt Connolly and Troy Hewitt in the first wave of exits.
The futures of first-team regulars Clint Hill and Heidar Helguson are far from certain, with the Icelander one of six forwards available to boss Mark Hughes.
One of the half-dozen, Jay Bothroyd, has also failed to find a regular slot after moving from Cardiff last summer.
Sparky admitted this week he expects to make a raft of changes in the close season, just as he did at his three previous clubs.
“Every club will look at their current staff and what they need to build and get stronger,” he told the Chronicle.
“And that won’t change no matter what club I’m at.
“We’re looking to make it stronger and that means a number of players will go as a result.”
The fewest new faces Hughes added after he took over a club was five – and that was at Fulham where his only season in charge ended when he indicated the neighbours were not as ambitious as he hoped Fulham Chronicle
Bolton 37 35
Blackburn 37 31
Wolves 37 25
-
Paul Warburton/Chronicle
Exclusive: QPR boss plans massive summer clear-out
NO MATTER what happens with QPR Sunday – a massive clear-out of up to 14 players is expected to start as early as Monday.
The Rs’ Premier League survival may depend as much on the result between Stoke and Bolton as their own game against Manchester City at The Etihad as the season comes to a nail-biting finale.
Even if does end happily ever after for the club, it is almost certainly the end for a number of stalwarts.
Lee Cook, Radek Cerny, Danny Gabbidon, Fitz Hall, Patrick Agyemang, Peter Ramage, Danny Shittu and Kieron Dyer are all out of contract, and Rangers will look to sell Brian Murphy, Rob Hulse, Angelo Balanta, Matt Connolly and Troy Hewitt in the first wave of exits.
The futures of first-team regulars Clint Hill and Heidar Helguson are far from certain, with the Icelander one of six forwards available to boss Mark Hughes.
One of the half-dozen, Jay Bothroyd, has also failed to find a regular slot after moving from Cardiff last summer.
Sparky admitted this week he expects to make a raft of changes in the close season, just as he did at his three previous clubs.
“Every club will look at their current staff and what they need to build and get stronger,” he told the Chronicle.
“And that won’t change no matter what club I’m at.
“We’re looking to make it stronger and that means a number of players will go as a result.”
The fewest new faces Hughes added after he took over a club was five – and that was at Fulham where his only season in charge ended when he indicated the neighbours were not as ambitious as he hoped Fulham Chronicle
Patrick Barclay - LONDON EVENING STANDARD!
I’m sorry QPR, but country is behind Bolton in Premier League survival race
As we approach the Superest Sunday of them all, on which three crucial issues — those of the Premier League title and the remaining places in the Champions League and Championship next season — will be settled beyond speculation, the image of Fabrice Muamba ought to loom ever larger. It might be a good idea to suspend the word “vital”.
For Bolton Wanderers will be relegated if they fail to beat Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium. They might even go down if they win at Stoke while Queens Park Rangers are lending the Mancunian title narrative a final twist by denying City at the Etihad.
In either case, the question might occur of whether even the minor fixture congestion caused by the wait for Muamba to begin his recovery from heart arrest at Tottenham was a factor in Bolton’s inability to beat the drop.
If it were asked of Owen Coyle, the admirable man who manages Bolton would no doubt swat the notion aside, emphasising its insignificance next to the near-miracle of Muamba’s survival; to judge from what we have seen of Muamba over the past few weeks, it would not be the greatest of surprises if one day he resumed his career, and then the division in which it took place would hardly be the point.
But we, the great body of neutrals, would not be human if we didn’t wish Muamba’s clubmates well at Stoke and QPR fans ought to be prepared for that.
To an infinitely lesser extent — and I don’t expect Arsenal supporters to be remotely as sympathetic to this view — there will be human interest in whether Harry Redknapp’s season comes to a happy ending with victory at home to Fulham while Arsenal slip at West Brom, not so much because of the England job that wasn’t but because one day the Spurs manager went to court prepared to spend the night in prison and, unless I am mistaken, the relief of avoiding such a fate did not wholly ease the shock. He could do with a restorative summer. Standard
I’m sorry QPR, but country is behind Bolton in Premier League survival race
As we approach the Superest Sunday of them all, on which three crucial issues — those of the Premier League title and the remaining places in the Champions League and Championship next season — will be settled beyond speculation, the image of Fabrice Muamba ought to loom ever larger. It might be a good idea to suspend the word “vital”.
For Bolton Wanderers will be relegated if they fail to beat Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium. They might even go down if they win at Stoke while Queens Park Rangers are lending the Mancunian title narrative a final twist by denying City at the Etihad.
In either case, the question might occur of whether even the minor fixture congestion caused by the wait for Muamba to begin his recovery from heart arrest at Tottenham was a factor in Bolton’s inability to beat the drop.
If it were asked of Owen Coyle, the admirable man who manages Bolton would no doubt swat the notion aside, emphasising its insignificance next to the near-miracle of Muamba’s survival; to judge from what we have seen of Muamba over the past few weeks, it would not be the greatest of surprises if one day he resumed his career, and then the division in which it took place would hardly be the point.
But we, the great body of neutrals, would not be human if we didn’t wish Muamba’s clubmates well at Stoke and QPR fans ought to be prepared for that.
To an infinitely lesser extent — and I don’t expect Arsenal supporters to be remotely as sympathetic to this view — there will be human interest in whether Harry Redknapp’s season comes to a happy ending with victory at home to Fulham while Arsenal slip at West Brom, not so much because of the England job that wasn’t but because one day the Spurs manager went to court prepared to spend the night in prison and, unless I am mistaken, the relief of avoiding such a fate did not wholly ease the shock. He could do with a restorative summer. Standard
