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- Waiting Developments on Warren Farm - QPR's Future Training Ground
- QPR's Much-beloved Assistant Manager, Bruce Rioch Turns 65 (Flashback to his QPR Exit)
- 12 Year Flashback: Lua Lua Destroys QPR at Loftus Road
- Q and A with QPR CEO, Philip Beard
- QPR London Call In Tonight - "Adam Hulme
- "The Premiership Sack Race"
- Ex-QPR Jamie Cureton Makes League Two "Team of the Week"
- Ex-QPR Antonio German Trying to Make The Brentford Team
- Defoe Lifts Lid on Spurs Chaos!
MIRROR - View from La Liga: QPR have a gem in Granero, but will Hernandez finally live up to his potential at Swansea?
Spanish football expert David Cartlidge gives us the lowdown on the two latest exports from La Liga to the Premier League
..... Esteban Granero
..... Esteban Granero
One of the biggest coups of the transfer window, and one of the most interesting.
For too long Granero had been warming the bench at Real Madrid, and time had certainly come for him to move on – though anyone who suggested that QPR would be his next destination most likely would have been laughed at a few months ago.
Still, the London club have bolstered their midfield considerably with an exquisite footballer who will bring composure to Mark Hughes’ team.
Granero is an interesting character in midfield as he’s difficult to pigeon hole with other well known Spanish players and perhaps lands in a bracket all of his own.
In his early days with Real Madrid’s Castilla branch and Getafe, Granero was an exciting attacking midfielder. Although he usually played in a wide position he never really offered natural width but instead an option to drift inside and link with the attack.
As he matured he dropped into a deeper midfield role, and for José Mourinho at Real Madrid he was seen as a defensive option but not in the traditional sense.
Instead of charging around and lunging at players Granero prefers to observe the game and shut out any potential gaps before they’re exploited.
Most of all though he’s excellent in possession of the ball, removing pressure from games with his efficient distribution – he won’t play any killer passes or try a Hollywood ball but the 25 year-old's strength lies in his simplicity.
Often his type of player is the most difficult for many football fan's to truly appreciate, but what is undeniable is his quality.
His relationship with the more advanced players in QPR’s system, take Adel Taarabt and Park Ji-Sung for instance, will be key to how QPR develop the system over the course of this season.
Granero is by no means at the level of Santi Cazorla or David Silva, but he’s certainly a quality player that QPR have done well to acquire. Mirror
- A Slew of other Michael Wale Reports at the Bushman Archives
Soccernet - Barton debut delayed
September 6, 2012
By Fabien Perrin, France correspondent
Joey Barton is currently in limbo, as the French Football Federation looks set to uphold the midfielder's 12-game ban, delaying his Marseille debut.
Barton, 30, arrived at the Stade Velodrome last week, but could be made to wait until mid-November to make his first Ligue 1 appearance, as he has another eight games left on his domestic suspension after getting sent off for his previous club, Queens Park Rangers, on the final day of last season.
Despite his inability to play domestically for a further two months, Barton is available for selection in European competition, which would allow him to appear for Marseille in their Europa League opener against Fenerbahce on September 20.
After much discussion, Barton will be wearing the No. 6 shirt for Marseille, as he looks to make a mark on the other side of The Channel.
"At first, I was offered the number 17, but it would make too many comparisons with Stephane Mbia, so I refused. I asked for 16, but was told that it was in principle reserved for goalkeepers. I told myself that I would take the number six, but it was Alexander Ndoumbou's," the Englishman explained.
"I went to see him to ask, and told I could have it. Otherwise, I would have taken the No. 29 without any problems."
Barton's arrival has caused much excitement among his team-mates, who cannot wait to play alongside the controversial midfielder.
"Everyone is waiting to see him play. We know his qualities, his aggressiveness, his ability to get the ball into feet. He is still a good player. I think he can bring us a lot," Marseille winger Andre Ayew said. Soccernet
ESPNStar/Alison Chin - Park: Leaving United was difficult
Queens Park Rangers captain Park Ji-Sung revealed that he left Manchester United with a heavy heart, but he is excited by his new challenge at QPR.
Park told ESPN Star Sports that deciding to leave the team he had spent seven years at was not easy, but he felt the time was right for a new challenge.
"It's very difficult to leave Man United. It's such a big club and I had such a great time. Great fun, great staff, great players," he revealed.
"I thought it was the right time to leave and when QPR offered me I found it interesting, it's my challenge."
His former club made quite a splash in the transfer market this summer when manager Sir Alex Ferguson signed Robin van Persie from Arsenal. Although the Korean did not manage to take the field with van Persie, he was confident the Dutchman would keep up his excellent form and score plenty of goals for his new side.
"He's going to score a lot of goals with Man United, he showed last season at Arsenal he has the ability," Park said.
"At Man United, all the players are great and they can help van Persie to score like last season and even better."
Narrowly escaping relegation on the last day of the previous campaign, QPR are a far cry from the title-aspiring United side he signed from, but Park pointed out that fighting for survival is not a new experience for him.
"You know, when I was in Japan, they also wanted to survive in the first division, so it's similar like that, but QPR have more ambition to improve the club," he shared.
"They are just not happy to be safe in the Barclays Premier League, they are looking forward to levelling up and to go as high up as possible as they can. I am happy to be part of the club's ambitions, to help the team to achieve their dreams."
Despite the club's aspirations, Hughes' team have only collected one point out of the nine on offer so far. However, the midfielder believed the wins would come once the squad's new signings gelled together.
"Actually we have a lot of new players, transfers, summer signings. Everyone knows we have quality, and everyone needs time to know each other and play together," he stated.
"We are disappointed with the results of our first three games but we still know we can get better in the next three games. Each game we are getting better, so looking forward to the rest of the season, we are confident to improve."
QPR host Chelsea at Loftus Road for their upcoming Premier League fixture. ESPNStar
Strait Times/Chan U-gen -Gangnam not Park's style
There are many things Park Ji Sung can do on the football pitch but Gangnam Style is not one of them.
The Queens Park Rangers captain admits he is a fan of the quirky but wildly popular K-pop hit, but will not consider doing the dance as a goal celebration.
"Yeah, I know Gangnam Style. I like it," said the South Korean in a light-hearted moment during an exclusive phone interview with The Straits Times on September 5.
"It's great. I know that guy, he's my friend. Actually I can't dance, but I like their singing."
That has not stopped the fleet-footed midfielder from missing a beat in his meteoric climb.
His is a story of a Goheung County boy, rejected by Korean clubs and universities due to his small frame, who rose to become Asia's most-decorated footballer - a four-time English league winner and a European champion with Manchester United.
His is a story of survival, a word that litters his vocabulary. And it is his perseverance in this singular pursuit that has defined him as the tireless performer many have come to know as "Three-lung Park".
Said the 31-year-old: "I was eager to be a success in European football. I wanted to survive, to prove to myself that Asian players can play in Europe.
"When I survived, then everyone saw and changed their minds about Asian players in Europe.
"That was great for me, but when I started football here, I just thought about my own survival."
From mere survival, his boundless energy and high workrate made him a "big-game" player and a cult hero among Red Devils fans.
Some of his most memorable performances came during the road to their 2008 Champions League victory, when he displayed outstanding flank work and man-marking skills against Roma and Barcelona.
But for all his exploits on the field, Park believes that mental strength trumps all other attributes. It was his mental tenacity, fuelled by the drive to survive, that helped him through two of his lowest moments during his time at Old Trafford (2005-12).
The first was the injured right knee that put him out for nine months in 2007.
The second was the heartbreaking experience during the 2008 Champions League final, when the manager Alex Ferguson left him out of the team.
Recalled Park: "He spoke to me and he explained to me. I can understand it in my head, but my heart still hurts.
"But I had to think about my future and believe that I can still play."
He has since shrugged off the setbacks to become an inspiration to other Asians such as United's new signing, the Japanese Shinji Kagawa.
For Park, a new challenge with QPR awaits, as they aim to better their 17th position from last season. And he will surely be hoping to dance a jig at the end of this season - even if he may not be good at it. Strait Times
- PFA's List of Players Out of Contract/Looking for Clubs -including Buzsaky, Borrowdale and Deane
- Eleven Years Ago: Brian Melzac Consortium Seeks to Buy QPR
- Sixteen Years Ago: QPR Linked to Terry Venables and Alan Curbishly to Replace Ray Wilkins
- The Official QPR Players and Staff (and Owners) Twitter List
Club by Club List of the 25 Squads and who Counts as Home Grown`
