With eight weeks until the start of the season, and no movement in or out of Loftus Road so far, Kick Up The R’s columnist and LFW message board regular Kevin Cole surveys the lie of the land in W12.

Over the last four transfer windows, QPR have brought in 30 senior professionals – either on permanent deals or long term loans. Of the 30, only nine have left and that includes four loanees returning to their home clubs. Each transfer has added to an unbalanced, dysfunctional squad where far too many are lacking any level of commitment.

The sheer number of transactions has contributed a huge amount to the relegation. It is clear that there are far too many factions who do not get on. But another summer with a large turnover of players is on the cards. I’m reminded of the Irish directions which state “If you’re trying to get there, I wouldn’t start from here”. Adding to the difficulties is that I’m not convinced anyone at the top of the club has an idea where we’re supposed to be going.

Many fans want to see a return to the QPR of the late 60s through to the early 90s, where we brought through players from the youth set up and supplemented them with others bought cheaply and developed before being sold on at a massive profit. As an alternative to the policy of the last two seasons it has its attractions. A return to that romantic ideal will take far too long to produce short term results, although it wouldn’t be a surprise to see some deals along those lines. However, the main priority has to be to reduce the wage bill which wasn’t sustainable in the Premier League and is even less so in the Championship.

Normally, the easy option would be not to renew contracts that expire. There aren’t that many players out of contract and there are question marks over those that are about to be. Radek Cerny has already retired and Rob Hulse is certain to go. Brian Murphy has just been offered a two year extension. I cannot see Clint Hill going from club captain to another club, just because his deal expires this month. Tal Ben Haim, who only signed a six month deal in January may have done enough to secure an offer - especially when he has shown a desire greater than many others, is unlikely to be a high earner, and can cover the whole of the back line. DJ Campbell wasn’t deemed good enough for the Premiership, but his goals during his loan spell at Ipswich suggest he could be an asset in the Championship.

Can we afford to turn down any reasonable deals for any of the most highly paid individuals? Especially, when there is a clear demand. Julio Cesar has been encouraged to find another club, with Arsenal the likely destination. Joey Barton would love to return to Marseille, who are desperate to have him back or not that fussed depending on who you believe. Either way I’d be surprised if he is still here in August. Adel Taarabt hasn’t been consistent enough to become a Premier League star, but his performances have attracted plenty of attention while Loic Remy’s six goals in half a season have acted as a fine advertisement. The obvious downside for the latter is the pending court case. Chris Samba hasn’t done much to justify his transfer fee or the eye watering wages, but a bid close to what we paid, would see him on his way.

In the next group, are the players who are not wanted by the manager. Esteban Granero’s agent is already looking for another club, while Anton Ferdinand and Djibril Cisse spent time on loan overseas and both loans could be converted into permanent moves. Jose Bosingwa surely cannot play for Rangers again. It was noticeable that when the booing of the fans at the Newcastle game forced Redknapp into taking him out of the firing line, it was Newcastle players, rather than QPR ones, who tried to comfort him. The future of Stephane Mbia, Samba Diakite, Ji-Sung Park and Junior Hoilett are all open to doubt.

In the unlikely event that all the players named were moved on, we’d be left with a small squad, significantly short of the quality required to prosper in the Championship. So, while we need to move plenty out, we will also need some carefully targeted replacements. Ideally, we would like young and ambitious players who see QPR as an improvement to anything they have achieved before. Every other club from the bottom half of the Premiership downwards is looking for the same, so it won’t be easy.

I suspect that Harry Redknapp came in believing he could do enough to keep us up. He couldn’t and, after six months in the job, has a far better idea of the scale of the mess he’s walked into. His recent demeanour has been similar to that of a bulldog chewing a wasp and prompted suggestions that he is no longer committed to the job. Fernandes assures us that he is “pumped”. Let’s hope he is. He’s certainly got the contacts and experience. If he can pull off the majority of the changes required, and do it in a single summer, he’ll have earned his reputed £3m salary and we may start next season with a lot more hope and enthusiasm than seems likely at this stage.

Pictures – Action Images

Photo: Action Images

jo_qpr63 added 00:48 - Jun 18 If anyone can wheel and deal ,Arry can. (apparentley)
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WallyRanger added 01:16 - Jun 18 He's not a f*cking wheeler dealer! I'd preferably like to see us offload some of the unwanted faces (or try to) and the disinterested ones before we bring anyone in, but then if we aren't quick enough we could be left with more barrel scrapings like we have since promotion back in 2011
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timcocking added 02:22 - Jun 18 If i owned another team, i wouldn't touch any QPR players.
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timcocking added 02:22 - Jun 18 I am worried.
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ozexile added 05:13 - Jun 18 We won't see any action till early July. I fear we're gonna be stitched up on a few deals. Clubs aren't going to offer good money for our players.
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ShotKneesHoop added 05:19 - Jun 18 QPR is the ultimate "not fit for purpose" football club. The only purpose it serves is to line the pockets of "has been" or "never was" footballers and managers, who never wanted to be here in the first place. However they can't escape anywhere else because no other club could afford to sign anyone associated with such a toxic mix. Unless someone else owning an airline with ideas of buying their way to instant success wants to create a brand. I fear the worst as there are no other mugs around. We are the Sargasso Sea of shyte

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Kaos_Agent added 05:49 - Jun 18 We can only hope that some buyers fall for the argument that the stellar abilities of Bosingwa, Granero etc will only resurface if/when they leave the dysfunctional stew which is QPR at the moment. And there may well be some truth to that. Tony is apparently still in it for the long haul and is willing to keep writing cheques, so it's hard to know how bad the financial situation actually is for the club.

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johnhoop added 07:10 - Jun 18 Unfortunately,as I'm still intending to buy a season ticket and will be witnessing it at first hand,the coming season shows every indication of being a massive clusterf--k to rank alongside the previous two.I have rarely looked forward less to a season than the one that is fast approaching.
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marty7 added 10:11 - Jun 18 Good article, and I agree in the main with everything, including ShotKneesHoop (totally agree) hinting at the fact the manager never wanted to be here. In my opinion, he's one of the worst money grabbers at the club. I believe that if your face doesn't fit with 'Arry, you don't get a look in, eg. Faurlin almost begging to come back to the club. Aside from Taarabt's goals, he was easily the best player for us in our Championship winning year. The other thing that is only slightly touched upon, and then never mentioned again, is the youth at QPR. Are we forgetting that we already have a few hungry youngsters in and around the squad in Max Ehmer, Michael Doughty, Michael Harriman and Frankie Sutherland. Yes we do need a couple of additions to our squad once we move out the flotsam and jetson, but if we can't find HUNGRY players, then give these young boys a chance! Let's hope that if 'Arry can indeed "wheel and deal", he doesn't bring in more "has beens", "never was beens", or "wanna has beens"! COYR's!

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probbo added 10:35 - Jun 18 Spot on marty7. Some of Redknapp's more recent press comment suggests that he wants to stay although I must admit I still have my doubts (on both whether he wants to stay and whether he's the manager we need for the long term). It will be hard for potential signings to commit if there are any doubts as to whether he'll stay on as manager, something NW experienced two summers ago (that and the lack of funding). On the sales side, it may involve the owner having to take a massive haircut but we really do need to offload those who contributed very little last year yet still consider themselves above the Championship - the late 70's to 90's was my golden period of following the R's and i'd love to see the youth given a chance. Certainly trying to buy success proved to be a complete disaster for the R's

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HastingsRanger added 11:12 - Jun 18 The only way out of this mess is to sign / keep players who have the hunger or something to prove or some respect/allegiance to the club (or any combination of the 3). There is a handful of those at the club at the moment and it really needs bolstering. But I am guessing both TF and HR are holding back until some of the time wasters or money wasters are off loaded. The clock is ticking and it's not looking good. Sorry to be so negative but finding it difficult to see signs of the required change.

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westolian added 13:51 - Jun 18 Agree with Hastings I think Hoilet, Campbell, MBia and Diakite could rip the Championship apart. Get back Faurlin and Bob's yer Uncle We may even stop the slide into Div 1 !
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Pablo_Hoopsta added 15:49 - Jun 18 Im wondering this is the quiet before the storm. If HR was to leave Id rather he had done so by now. As he hasnt, we have to assume he will stay and God willing do the work he is most well known for and get some deals done, both in and out. IMHO there are some we should just bite the bullet on and pay them off to get them out of the squad and remove their disruptive influences. In any case, I am beyond wanting this or that, absolutely no point in getting the hopes up only to be dashed a week or so before the season kicks off and we find we have another new manager! So we continue doing what we do...

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probbo added 17:03 - Jun 18 It would be quite bizarre (although not totally unexpected) if the management let Campbell go this summer. A proven scorer in the Championship and much fitter than the ageing Zamora. I can't see much downside and he seems keen to stay.
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Pablo_Hoopsta added 19:47 - Jun 18 Probbo - just keep in mind our at the time top scorer being sent to Notts Forest (spit!) on loan....different personnel in charge but will lessons have been learned? Nothing amazes me anymore with my beloved Hoops!
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ShotKneesHoop added 21:15 - Jun 18 We just keep on fookin every thing up. You can roger me with a pineapple if we get anywhere near the playoffs. With the current personnel, mid table looks tough. Derby away is already a FMG result.
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TacticalR added 21:43 - Jun 18 I think you pointed out months ago that Harry (not to mention the club) had banked everything on us staying up, and as relegation got closer and closer the wind seemed to go out of his sails. I am not sure there was ever a golden age of good business at QPR. I certainly remember the fans getting more and more hostile to Richard Thompson as he sold off our crown jewels, with the sale of Ferdinand the final bit of good business that had us laughing all the way to the third tier. So part of the trick is hanging on to the right players, if you can. And there's nothing wrong with spending money on good players, if you can. It's the strategy of spending money on awful players with big reputations that has done for us.

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ShotKneesHoop added 22:46 - Jun 18 The age of good business finished when we bought the Brady brothers from Millwall for £750 in 1964, plus Terry McQuade on a free. Even worse was swapping George McLeod for Mark Lazarus plus £2,000 in 1965, and its been downhill ever since. This is a better thread that the forum, maybe we should keep posting on this. By the way, I think 'Arry is really Tommy Docherty sent back to haunt us.

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ShotKneesHoop added 22:47 - Jun 18 The age of good business finished when we bought the Brady brothers from Millwall for £750 in 1964, plus Terry McQuade on a free. Even worse was swapping George McLeod for Mark Lazarus plus £2,000 in 1965, and its been downhill ever since. This is a better thread that the forum, maybe we should keep posting on this. By the way, I think 'Arry is really Tommy Docherty sent back to haunt us.

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BushRangerW12 added 21:17 - Jun 19 The summer should prove to be very interesting. It should give an indication as to what the board have learned in the last two seasons. Read more on my latest blog post at http://beataboutthebushranger.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/24-qpr-201213-unmitigated-d
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