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- Recent QPR Transfer Gossip: Player-by-Player
- Ex-QPR Youth Player Takes over as Preston Manager
- QPR Youth's Next Round Opponents will be known next week when Newcastle play Watford (January 19 at Newcastle)
- Bolton's 110 Million Pound Debt
- The New QPR Training Ground?
- Farewell to Darlington?
Neil Warnock: My world has been turned upside down :(
What I Learnt This Week
Neil Warnock Saturday 14 January 2012
I was feeling pretty good last Saturday night.
To have come back from 1-0 down with 10 men at a club in such good form as MK Dons was a good effort which spoke volumes for the character in the side, especially as we haven't won an FA Cup game in 11 years! Then at 8.30 on Sunday morning I received a text from Phil Beard, QPR's chief executive, and I knew it was all over. The hardest 22 months of my career, but also the most rewarding, had come to an end.
Phil's text only said that the owners had been talking overnight, and could he come over and see me, but I knew. There had been a bit of chatter on Twitter and I had heard rumours, so the writing was on the wall, I just didn't realise it was in such big letters. I'd still been putting in bids for players on the eve of the FA Cup tie and I thought I'd get a bit more time. I'd fulfilled my remit, to get to the transfer window outside the bottom three, and was confident I'd get Alex and Nedum Onuoha in to fix our problems at central defence.
Only six weeks ago I talked with the board and we said it would be a difficult period until January because of the opposition we had, but then we had a winnable run of fixtures which, with the team strengthened, would provide the opportunity to move up the table. It is not as if we had been playing badly. We've been undone by individual errors. I still feel we have played some fabulous football and in those last eight games, other than against Manchester United, we could have had so many more points. Only those around the club realise what I've had to contend with – at least until my book comes out. But I'm not going to whinge today, it'll only give ammunition to all those columnists who like to have a dig at me.
I phoned him and said, "come over". It was difficult for him, he's only been at the club a few months. I was disappointed [owner] Tony Fernandes didn't tell me to my face, but he's all over the world and it's difficult for him. I don't feel any animosity like I did at Sheffield United. I felt the circumstances of leaving there were unjust and there was bad feeling when I left, but I don't feel like that here. I don't bear any malice towards Tony or [vice-chairman] Amit Bhatia. When you put that money into a club you are bound to want your own manager. I just don't fit in with the mould of a Premier League manager. I treat the club's money as if it were my own and I resent paying over the odds.
I just said to Phil straight away: "Don't worry, pal, it's not your fault. I think it's wrong, I feel I've done all the hard work and now someone else is going to get the benefit, but I'm bound to feel like that." He was as good as he could be in the circumstances. We had a couple of hours talking about things and he agreed to delay the announcement until after the FA Cup draw so I could tell the rest of my family. That was handy as I couldn't get hold of [my eldest son] James till the afternoon.
After Phil left I called Mick Jones, my assistant, and asked him to meet me at the training ground. I told him there, but he'd already guessed. I then phoned Keith Curle, my coach. He was surprised. He felt we had a great chance of moving up the table. We cleared out the office – I've never seen so much junk. It's a bit like moving house, though some of it pre-dated me. Given the turnover at QPR before I got there, some stuff could have been from three or four managers back.
The news broke early evening and then the phone began to ring. I just let it take messages. There were lots from managers, they know it could be them next.
Monday I just spent time with the family, letting it all sink in, and replied to some of the calls. The players were off so I couldn't say goodbye to them until Tuesday. Then I went to the training ground and gathered them all together. I told them I'd never forget last year, that winning the Championship was one of the most fantastic moments in my life. I said this season with a bit of luck we'd be in the top half of the Premier League. Finally I said, 'Thank you lads, for so much enjoyment', then I headed west, into the sunset, literally since I then drove to Cornwall.
2. Email support reduced my wife to tears
My first thought after Phil came round was always to get back to Cornwall to reflect on the last 22 months. When I said last week that I had done 10 years' work in less than two, I think everyone associated with the club will understand why I used those words.
Crystal Palace was special for me, but QPR topped the lot. If it turns out to be my last job I couldn't be prouder of managing such a fantastic club with such loyal fans. When I have left clubs in the past, you expect a handful of touching letters. This time I've had more than 2,400 emails, and to a one you are all supportive in thinking we would have stayed up this year, which was great to know.
The first night in Cornwall, Sharon was a wreck, crying her eyes out. I thought at first she was re-watching the last episode of Downton Abbey, but she was reading the emails. You know about my IT prowess, but I would like everyone to know that Sharon is going to reply to every one using my words. It will take a while, but I do seem to have a lot of time on my hands at the moment. Having read every message, I couldn't believe all the stories so many people told, they were simply quite amazing. It struck home once again how much football clubs mean to people. I would like to say to the fans, thanks for everything.
My old secretary from Crystal Palace, Chris, was among those who rang (not so "old", or she'll bollock me!) When I think back I've had some fantastic secretaries who have had to put up with a lot, and now I've left Caroline, who's also been a complete superstar. It seems I'm thanking people, so why not add Mick, my football wife, and Curley, my naughty son, who've both been fantastic and I couldn't have done it without them. I know it sounds like I'm saying goodbye to everything but I honestly don't know where my future lies at the moment because my world has been turned upside down momentarily, but I'm sure it will right itself for next week's column. I do hope I don't get the sack from this now as well!
It is disappointing to have another crack at the top flight ended prematurely, but football's not just about the Premier League, wonderful as it is. When I got to the top flight with Notts County, I turned a move to Chelsea down because I wanted to stay loyal to the group of players who had pleaded with me to stay to give them a chance. It would have been easy to take the money, and I'm sure I could have stayed in the top flight with Chelsea. My career could have been very different. But I've never taken the easy way out and, though I've always done some strange things with my career, when I look back I don't have many regrets. That said, I do envy Mark Hughes. I have never taken over a club that just needs the icing putting on the cake. I've always had to scrap for the ingredients to make the cake in the first place. Mark has taken over a fabulous club with the cake already made, he just has to put the icing on. With the fixtures coming up it is a great time to take over.
3. Cheesed off after long walk at the Cheesewring
To blow the cobwebs away down in Cornwall, we all went out for a walk with the dogs on Bodmin Moor. We bumped into some ponies and went to Minions and the Cheesewring, an ancient heritage and mining site on the south-east tip of the moor. It was a fabulous walk, but about a mile after we left, Sharon said: "Have you got the lead, Will?" There was a long pause, then he said, "I put it down at the Cheesewring". Back we went.
We went into Tavistock and, while parking the car, Sharon overheard two elderly ladies who were 10p short for the meter. I walked over and gave them 10p. I've never heard two women squeal so much, you'd think they'd won the pools. We then came back to our car 20 minutes late with no sign of a traffic warden anywhere. It was quite a change after being in London. Last week Sharon got a ticket for being three minutes over time in Richmond. They are sad, aren't they? You don't get that in Devon and Cornwall.
We finished off with a cream tea in the local post office-cum-café. I hadn't had one for ages and I'm still not sure whether the cream or jam is supposed to go on first. In the circumstances I thought I could give the Dukan diet a miss. Talking of which, I had to laugh at Sky's coverage on Sunday night. They sent a poor old reporter to hang around Loftus Road but there was obviously no one around so they dragged three blokes out of the Springbok pub nearby. They were all slightly inebriated and one said: "Warnock, he lost four stone and he was never the same." I felt like texting Sky, saying: "Surely you can get someone better than that?" Never mind me losing four stone, they looked like they could each lose four stone and more.
4. Palace coup made me and Wills jump for joy
Tuesday night I enjoyed watching Palace's Carling Cup semi-final win over Cardiff. While I think Malky Mackay is a brilliant manager, Will and I couldn't help but jump up when Palace scored. I made a lot of friends at Palace, and I was thinking in particular about my mate Justin, a top financial wizard who is an absolutely bonkers Palace fan. After the times they've had over the last few years, it seems such a special time for them, although everyone knows the tie is far from over. It was good for me and William to be able to forget about events at QPR for a night. It is difficult for kids when your Dad is a bit high-profile and he gets the sack. You don't feel like it affects them but it does in their own world. I'm sure he'll come through it and be stronger for it.
5. Here's to you, Mr Robinson
Today I'm going to watch Plymouth v Burton. Paul Peschisolido, who played for me at Sheffield United, is Burton manager and Ben Robinson is chairman, the same chairman who was there when I was manager in 1980. He's an amazing man, who always backs his managers. I can't remember how many times he supported Nigel Clough through bad times, and Pesci when he had a poor run-in at the end of last season. Now Burton are in the play-off places. I'm pleased for Ben, he's put his whole life into the club and it'll be nice to catch up with him today.
6. Losing little Ellie puts it all into perspective
At the end of the day, football is a game and I've had the chance to live my dream. For some time I've supported a charity in Looe called Ellie's Haven. Last week Ellie lost her battle against a rare genetic illness which meant she needed round-the-clock care. She was six. She never complained and her mum and dad were devoted to her, so let's get things in perspective. The charity, which is seeking to raise funds to create a holiday retreat in Cornwall for children with long-term illnesses continues. Go to: www.ellies-haven.org.uk Independent
SCOTSMAN
t from the Scotsman
Glenn Gibbons: QPR wrong to question Neil Warnock’s commitment
The Scotsman
Published on Saturday 14 January 2012
Neil Warnock could hardly be described as the poor man of Good King Wenceslas fame gathering winter fuel, but it would have been no picnic, either, to have been sacked by the end of the first week of the new year.
Nor would the departing Queens Park Rangers manager have drawn any consolation from being accompanied out the door by the wounding words of the directors who inflicted the misery. “The board’s commitment to retaining our Premier League status ultimately led to this decision,” said the statement, an allusion to the team’s present precarious perch one point above the relegation pit.
Could the board’s commitment to such an objective possibly be any deeper than that of Warnock? Their words suggest that they believe it is, at a stroke betraying a preposterous arrogance and directing a slight at the manager that might almost be actionable.
Whatever mistakes and failings may mark their tenure, managers are renowned for a pathological attachment to a relentlessly demanding job that makes them – this is widely accepted – a little less sane than the rest of us.
None, not even the frequently irritating Warnock, warrants the slightest doubt over his ambition and commitment; these are the twin forces that keep him slightly mad.
But the QPR board’s insult chimes with that which is regularly hurled at directors themselves by supporters’ bodies. This takes the form of agitation by the latter to have “a fan” on the board, with its unmissable implication that the sitting tenants are not themselves supporters.
Since the board members of the overwhelming majority of clubs in Scotland support their club in the most declarative way of all, by willingly “investing” money that is recognised as irrecoverable even before it is handed over, this insinuation may be seen as the most hurtful insult of all.
The implied censure seems to be most often the tool of supporters’ “trusts”. These are organisations who appear to be distinguishable from old-fashioned “associations”, or even “clubs”, only by their self-elevation, an assumed superiority rooted in the belief that they are smarter than the average fan.
Their feverish desire to have one of their own on their club’s board, however, seems to ignore the very real probability that the nominee, if successful, would himself no longer be an “ordinary fan”, but a director.
But surely no football supporter raised in Scotland, the cradle of British socialism, should need reminding that the short route to consultation with the board is withdrawal of patronage. One match of near-total absenteeism would be enough to get the average chairman and his colleagues round the table, listening to grievances.
In such a circumstance, the unsettled supporter might even learn something of the enormous difficulties and complexities of running a football club.
If mistakes have been made by the directors, they could then be admitted and addressed, an outcome that would surely appease the bulk of even the most implacable fans. Scotsman
TELEGRAPH
Telegraph/Alan Smith
New boss Mark Hughes will offer Queens Park Rangers more scope to reach their goals
After only a couple of days, the Queens Park Rangers players will already have realised that life is going to be very different under Mark Hughes. Habits will need to change. So will attitudes in training.
Neil Warnock, after all, was old school in terms of his demands from a physical and tactical standpoint. The emphasis lay in exhorting his team to overcome their opponents through hard graft and aggression, by winning their individual battles all over the pitch. Nothing wrong with that, of course. Those kinds of principles must form the basis of any successful side.
Calling the shots: Mark Hughes will be methodical in his pursuit of success at Loftus Road
Yet Hughes takes things further. He pays much greater attention to the data offered by his sports science department. And, from Monday to Friday, the sessions put on by his loyal assistants, Eddie Niedzwiecki and Mark Bowen, will be extremely intense on Queens Park Rangers. There is no letting up under the demanding Hughes.
Nowhere was that more evident than during the Welshman’s first job in club management - the four years he spent at Blackburn. Back then, with funds limited, he did, admittedly, go down a fairly physical route with the way his team contested for the ball.
Opposing managers and players would complain about the ferocity of certain challenges, with people such as Andy Todd and Lucas Neill often involved. Under Hughes, in fact, Blackburn were the sort of team you didn’t look forward to playing. Win, lose or draw, a good scrap was guaranteed.
Yet Hughes also showed a knack for getting the best out of players. David Bentley, for instance, has never played so consistently well as he did at Ewood Park, where Hughes had him shuttling up and down the right wing and delivering dangerous crosses.
In addition, Hughes was beginning to show his keen eye for a player. Christopher Samba, Ryan Nelsen and Roque Santa Cruz were all great signings. Solid characters too - something Hughes always looks for in potential targets.
As proof, look at his signings at Manchester City. Vincent Kompany, Pablo Zabaleta, Joleon Lescott, Gareth Barry and Nigel de Jong still play a key part in Roberto Mancini’s plans. Not that he gets everything right. Jo proved a complete flop while the Robinho experiment had to be abandoned.
The Brazilian, in fact, featured in the 3-0 thrashing at Tottenham in December 2009 that may have sealed Hughes’s fate. Unusually, the manager’s game plan imploded that day when his left-back, Sylvinho, was destroyed by Aaron Lennon, having been left with no protection by Robinho in front.
That kind of thing hasn’t happened many times to Hughes and it certainly didn’t happen much at Fulham, where he again prepared a very organised team who went on to finish eighth.
And so to tomorrow’s test at Newcastle, where I wouldn’t expect the new boss to be too adventurous. Anything he can take from the Sports Direct Arena will be regarded as a bonus given the team’s form over recent weeks.
But as a former centre-forward himself, I’m sure Hughes will like the attitude of Heidar Helguson, whose tremendous work ethic has been embellished by a creditable eight goals so far. Not especially tall, Helguson is a great header of the ball, partly because he times his jumps very well.
Maybe, then, Hughes can get a bit more out of Shaun Wright-Phillips, who he signed at Manchester City, to provide some service for Helguson. The Icelander is adept at pulling away from his man on the far post (Fig 1). A good Wright-Phillips cross could therefore set Hughes on his way. Telegraph
Georgina Turner/Sports Illustrated
New QPR manager Hughes faces dilemma with enigmatic Taarabt
Adel Taarabt was a star for QPR in the Championship promotion run
The temperamental Taarabt is prone to sulking both on and off the field
Reports suggest that QPR is ready to cash in the talented but inconsistent Taarabt
QPR is still undecided about what to do with enigmatic midfielder Adel Taarabt.
Clive Mason/Getty ImagesSpeaking after Queens Park Rangers' lung-busting win over Stoke City in mid-November, then-manager Neil Warnock broke off from analyzing the minutiae of the match and looked at the gathered hacks with the luminous eyes of a Jackanory storyteller. "I love this league," he said. "It's an incredible journey." That journey detoured into murkier territory after the victory at Stoke, with Rangers not having won since, but Warnock -- who got the club promoted at the first attempt after 16 different managers had overseen 15 years in the lower divisions -- will still have been stung by the owners' decision that preserving Premier League status is a job for another man.
There was a moment's pause in which the brutality, the swiftness of the decision throbbed white hot in front of our eyes before rumors that Mark Hughes would be the other man gave everyone an excuse to look away. Whatever Warnock had achieved, the squad he had been able to assemble in the last frantic days of the transfer window after Tony Fernandes' buyout had never really managed to gather momentum except to put together a run of defeats. If the excitement over Hughes' arrival is arguably disproportionate to his CV, it is at least worth keeping in mind that the former Blackburn, Manchester City and Fulham manager is responsible for bringing talents such as Christopher Samba, Vincent Kompany and Moussa Dembele to England.
He has a couple of weeks in which to spend Fernandes' money and will expect to be dialing the numbers of better players than Jay Bothroyd and Armand Traore. Already he has been linked with moves for Chelsea's Alex and Didier Drogba, Fulham striker Bobby Zamora, and Aston Villa poacher Darren Bent. Though Samba has suggested to L'Equipe that his search for a more ambitious club than Blackburn may take him back to France, with PSG, the self-confident Hughes will believe he can sell a reunion. He has been extremely positive about the state of his relationship with his new chairman, and virtually guaranteed new signings before the window closes.
In among the inevitable comings and goings, Adel Taarabt makes his way to the African Cup of Nations with no official word on his future at the club. The Moroccan playmaker is variously described as moody (subbed off at halftime in the 6-0 hiding by Fulham in October, he got the bus home rather than watch the rest of the game); complex (last summer he walked out on Morocco because he was not in the starting line up, but by October he was back and after scoring a free kick against Tanzania, he ran to embrace the coach) and ill-advised (struggling for game time at Tottenham, he said he wished he had joined Arsenal, but that Real Madrid and Barcelona would call soon). Earlier this season Warnock said he would happily drive Taarabt to France if he could get the right price, but of late he had begun to praise his former captain's attitude and commitment.
Taarabt has the kind of talent that every player longs for: tricky, whirling-on-a-sixpence skill and often-delightful vision. When he was younger, local children in his neighborhood in southern France forced him to play with older groups because they grew tired of being outwitted. By the time he arrived at Spurs in 2007, aged 17, he was already being described as the new Zidane. But my gosh, didn't he know it. When Harry Redknapp likened Taarabt to Paolo di Canio, the comparison leaned more on the tantrums than the trickshots; he recently described him as "a bit of a fruitcake." Though the Tottenham manager believed he had a prodigious talent on his books, it seemed he could not shake off the feeling that Taarabt could lose the team as many games as he might win; Redknapp could not fathom a way to include him in the team without being unsettled by thoughts of him trying to do too much or not trying to do anything at all. Like the skillful Mexican forward Giovani dos Santos, Taarabt was sent out on loan.
In Warnock, Taarabt seemed to find his ideal manager: a man so besotted by his talents that he built the rest of the team around him. Ostensibly lining up as one of three attacking players stationed behind the main striker, Taarabt was given license to play wherever he pleased. And why not, when he made so merry against Championship opposition? He was good in the 2009-10 season (scoring a memorable solo effort against Preston, a team he almost single-handedly took apart as QPR came back from behind in the return fixture) and great in the 2010-11 season, scoring 19 and setting up another 16 league goals. The only rule, enforced with a fine, was: don't pass to Adel if he's in our half.
"There were times last year when we played with 10 men either because he threw a strop or decided he didn't want to play," Shaun Derry said in the London Evening Standard, recently. "But when he is on form, he is like two men because it takes two to stop him." Taarabt was a luxury and a necessity at the same time, but in the top flight, Warnock seemed unsure about the 4-2-3-1 formation in which Taarabt had prospered. Once Joey Barton arrived from Newcastle it was no longer the default QPR shape, and Barton was now the man to keep happy, given the captain's armband and established in a central midfield three that forced Taarabt and Shaun Wright-Phillips up alongside Heidar Helguson. The Moroccan was wretched in that position as Rangers lost 3-1 to his old club, Tottenham, and his energetic replacement that day, Jamie Mackie, gained favor. It was at this point that Warnock's European road trip became a possibility, as Taarabt welcomed rumors of £20 million ($30M) interest from Paris Saint-Germain.
This 'incredible journey' is a long one, though, and Taarabt has turned in noticeably improved performances in recent weeks -- from various positions. Coming on as a substitute against Manchester United and Sunderland he played on the left wing and as a right-sided forward, respectively; starting behind Heidar Helguson against Swansea and Norwich; and in his most familiar role in a 4-2-3-1 against Arsenal. "He's been fantastic," said Warnock. "He knew he had to knuckle down and become more of a team player, and he has. He's lost weight, looked sharper, and been an all-around better player." The trouble for QPR, though, is that despite this new and improved Taarabt, the team took just one point from those five encounters.
The paper talk is that Hughes will take the first opportunity to get Taarabt out of the door, though Qatari outfit Al-Sadd blanched at the £15 million ($22M) asking price. Newcastle apparently hopes for a cheaper deal, and it is easy to see the appeal of Taarabt for Alan Pardew, who has the kind of side in which he could allow the player certain positional liberties. Might Hughes yet take on the challenge of keeping Taarabt happy at Loftus Road? He has managed Robinho -- a player that Santos FC claimed to be "ashamed of having produced" -- after all.
Not that Robinho's spell at Manchester City was any kind of success. In addition to flying back to Brazil without permission having grown disillusioned midway through his first season at the club, his away form was embarrassingly predictable, and predictably embarrassing; he once ran only 38 meters during a match at Stamford Bridge. Hughes, whose resting expression is mildly peeved in any case, was regularly described as being 'livid' with his huffy forward, but was prepared to steer a course between outright rollickings and softly softly man-management nonetheless. His patience may have been extended by the vulnerability of his own position if he could not get City's record transfer to perform, of course, and Fernandes is unlikely to hold such ruthless ambition for Taarabt, who cost only £1 million ($1.5M). With no desperate need to sell, though, Hughes might just fancy a six month-shot at the new Zidane.
Georgina Turner is a freelance sports writer and co-author of Jumpers for Goalposts: How Football Sold its Soul. Sports Illustrated
DAILY MAIL
Hughes exempt from axe should QPR suffer relegation, says CEO
By Laura Williamson
Mark Hughes will not be sacked even if he fails to keep Queens Park Rangers in the Barclays Premier League.
The Welshman pledged to see out his two-and-a-half year contract after joining QPR this week and chief executive officer Philip Beard said Hughes' is safe whatever league the club compete in next season.
Back in business: Hughes will be in charge whatever happens this season
Beard said he 'hoped' Hughes would stay even if QPR were relegated and confirmed the former Fulham and Blackburn Rovers manager does not have a break clause in his contract that would allow him to walk away for free.
He added: 'As far as I'm concerned, Mark is here now to help us fulfil both on the pitch what we want to achieve and help me with his expertise and his team implementing a training ground we can be proud of for the club.
'I'd be crazy to say that I haven't even thought about what we'd be doing if we didn't stay in the Premier League.
Backing: Beard (right) wants to see Rangers on a secure footing
'My job is to make sure that the business can be effective for the medium- and long-term.
'My job is to try to do that off the pitch and I hope we've found the manager - the right person - to come and do it for us on the pitch.' Daily Mail
Jamie Jackson/Guardian
New manager Mark Hughes not safe from sack should QPR be relegated•
Philip Beard, right, the QPR chief executive, did not rule out Mark Hughes being dismissed if the club were relegated.
Mark Hughes could be sacked by Queens Park Rangers if they are relegated from the Premier League, according to the club's chief executive, Philip Beard.
Hughes succeeded Neil Warnock on Tuesday and takes charge of his first match at Newcastle United on Sunday. Asked if the manager would stay regardless of relegation, Beard said: "I hope so. As far as I'm concerned, Mark is here now to help us fulfil both on the pitch what we want to achieve and help me with his expertise and his team implementing a training ground we can be proud of for the club."
But pressed if the 47-year-old would be sacked if QPR, who are 17th, did go down, Beard did not rule out the prospect: "The aim is that Mark is here for a very long time and sees through the objectives and the aims. My job is to try to do that off the pitch and I hope we've found the manager – the right person – to come and do it for us on the pitch.
"Every football club – and there are probably 12 or 13 of them – have got to contemplate what happens if they don't perform as well as they need to on the pitch. That doesn't mean our shareholders go away and we pack up our bags and don't implement what we've been talking about. I'm a small cog in the wheel but I came here because I believe that the shareholders have got a vision that they want to implement."
Regarding Hughes having a release clause in his contract, Beard said: "Not that I know about." He added that he has made contingency plans for relegation. "My job is to make sure that the business can be effective for the medium- and long-term," he said.
"I look at business plans all the time and contingency plans. I hope what we've done over the last couple of days means that I don't have to get those numbers out. But I'd be crazy to say that I haven't even thought about what we'd be doing if we didn't stay in the Premier League." Guardian
MAIL/Sami Mokbel
EXCLUSIVE: Fulham boss Jol sends Sparky flying into a rage
Mark Hughes is furious with Fulham manager Martin Jol after he accused the new QPR boss of lacking staying power.
The Dutchman blasted Hughes on Thursday for what he perceives as an inability to stay in a job for a sustained period.
Referring to Hughes's 12-month stay at Fulham last season, Jol said: 'Hughes is very brave to talk about ambition. 'If you look at the clubs he has managed - it's been two years at the most.'
Hughes, whose new team face Newcastle on Sunday, is apoplectic at Jol. A source said: 'Mark is deeply disappointed by Jol's comments and feels his words are completely unfounded.'
Prior to his spell at Fulham, Hughes spent five years in charge of Wales and four years at Blackburn. The war of words will add spice to a heated rivalry between the clubs, who meet on February 25. Mail
ESPN/Soccernet -Jol renews hostilities with QPR's Hughes
Fulham manager Martin Jol has hit out at his predecessor Mark Hughes, claiming the new QPR boss never stays in a job for more than two years.
Jol and Hughes have traded barbs in the public arena since the Dutchman took over at Craven Cottage last summer. At the time, Hughes stated the club were not ambitious enough for him to remain as manager. It is a claim Jol evidently rejects.
"It is not always about money if you are talking about ambition," Jol is quoted as saying in the Daily Mail. "We are ambitious, but last time he was here he said maybe Fulham are not.
"Fulham played in a European final and that is not easy to achieve. Of course we have been playing in the Premier League now for years, so it is a different club.
"When I came here I knew Fulham were ambitious, so I never said to the chairman, 'I want this or that'. Our ambition is to be a very good club in the Premier League and hopefully in the next couple of years we can win something."
Hughes recently declared he would be willing to stay on at Rangers should the club be relegated, but Jol remains skeptical.
"He is very brave to say that. If you look at all the clubs he has managed, it has been for two years - at the most," he said. ESPN