Are QPR trying to form the greatest ever veterans team?

Posted by Daniel Storey on July 30, 2012 in: QPR, Transfer Talk|38 Comments

Just what are QPR up to? They have clearly been backed by a great deal of money, and yet have seemingly ignored the idea that teams need young fresh players. Instead, they are working on the principle of ‘experience is key’.

At the end of last season they had 32 players in their first team squad. These are the players that will be aged 30 or more at the start of the season on 18th August:
Paddy Kenny
Clint Hill
Shaun Derry
Fitz Hall
Danny Gabbidon
Kieron Dyer
DJ Campbell
Jay Bothroyd
Akos Buzsaky
Luke Young
Patrick Agyemang
Rob Hulse
Tommy Smith
Heidar Helguson
Djibril Cisse
Radek Cerny
Danny Shittu
Shaun Wright-Phillips
Lee Cook
Bobby Zamora

So that’s 20 players over 30 years of age. Presumably they will look for some young talent in the transfer window?

This summer, QPR have signed:
Ryan Nelsen
Andrew Johnson
Rob Green
Samba Diakite
Park Ji Sung
Junior Hoilett

Four of these players are over 30. Jesus.

And then as if to almost take the p*ss, the players they are currently strongly linked with include:
Andrei Arshavin
Jermaine Jenas
Craig Bellamy

All three are over 30.

Does someone want to sit the owners and Mark Hughes down and have a quiet word with them?

magichoop

Rubbish article yet again many of those players on list above have left the club. Yes we have signed a few over 30′s but who cares. They have prem league experience which we missed last season in certain games.
We have also signed some fantastic young players and tied existing younger players to new contracts giving a good blend of old and new. We were naive last season and MH has obviously decided on a plan to guard against the same fate this year.
You watch the r’s be a much better team this time around!
Liam Osborne

Do you realise that 12 out of the 21 you listed won’t be in the squad of 25, don’t you? Actually you probably don’t as you are commenting on something you have no clue about. This is me having a ‘quiet word’ with you - don’t waste people’s time writing utter rubbish when you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. Mug
Gus Fring

Nicely researched artice. Paddy Kenny’s gone to Leeds and
Fitz Hall, Danny Gabbidon, Akos Buzsaky, Agyemang, Shittu and Cook have been
released. Kudos on the non-information you just posted genius.
http://www.facebook.com/julian.jest Julian Jest

Paddy Kenny (Left)
Fitz Hall (Released)
Danny Gabbidon (Released)
DJ Campbell (Will Probably be Sold)
Akos Buzsaky (Released)
Luke Young (Will Probably leave)Patrick Agyemang
(Released) Rob Hulse (Money grabbing prick wont leave)
Danny Shittu (Released)
Lee Cook (Released)

You should really get your facts straight before publishing an article that appears on NewsNow ect. Did you take anytime to research the squad? I just checked my facts now, took me 30 seconds to check Luke Young hadn’t been released. You couldn’t be bothered? Or do the facts actually contradict your argument? We do have an old squad but nowhere near the levels you describe, we also have Diakite, Faurlin, Taarabt and Hoillet, who are all likely to start when fit, and are all cracking prospects for the future being that they have an average age of 23…

Andrei Arshavin Jermaine JenasCraig Bellamy

We have not been strongly linked with Arshavin or Jenas you fool. Bellamy yes, but now with Hoillet i highly doubt he will come to QPR. Jenas and Arshavin? Where on earth did you dig them up from? We need a CB, possibly a RB. Our midfield and wide positions are fine, we do not need a moody Russian form player or another injury prone CM. The physio is busy with Dyer.

Daniel Storey, if I were you I would not even edit this article. Just take it down, admit it’s appalling journalism, and try harder next time.
Jscottgatty

6 players of that initial list don’t play for qpr anymore…and we have great youth in traore, fabio, diakite, taarabt, onuaha, faurlin etc. who are all below 25
Harps

My 11 year old daughter could pick at least 12 holes in this article, do you work for the Daily Mail?? Clueless, pointless writing….but other than that….nothing.
Pewterpest

Sad article by someone totally out of touch
Guest

Lazy article. Cook, Shittu, Agyeman, Buzsaky, Gabbidon, Hall and Kenny are no longer QPR players.

Anyone who knows the very slightest bit of information about QPR knows that Campbell, Boothroyd, Young, Hulse are very unlikely to make it into the squad, nor is Tommy Smith.

Cisse was quality last year and key in survival, as was Clint Hill.

So that’s 14 dealt with fairly easily.

Some are deadwood.

As for the new signings, only AJ and Nelson are old (relative to their positions as Green is a GK) and they were signed as experienced backup.

In short, this is a terrible article. Try again.
Simon

A fair few of those players have already left the club so pointless article unless its correct
M Milan

Daniel Story whoever you are, you have just made yourself look a right idiot,do some reseach,get your facts straight and then write a story,worst peice of so called journalism i have ever seen!
Sam Johnson Uni

I find it funny that you criticize the singing of park, you must be the only journalist doing that – please consider the Alex Ferguson did not want him to leave

We lacked experience last year as has already been said so to get that know how the players which are affordable ( i mean players not on completely stupid money) are going to be older i am sure we will now look at add a little more youth what about the work we are doing on our academy

Please take a little more time to research your articles, then apply some logic and then write your article – i am bad at writing but i could have produced something better than this article
Hayesboy

Is Daniel Storey trying to be the worst sports journalist ever?

Yes……going by that article.
Hoopla

I was going to give this bloke some stick, but you lot have done a cracking job! What a twat.
KevinD

You are wrong. None of the following players will be part of the squad on 18 August: Paddy Kenny, Danny Gabbidon, Fitz Hall, Akos Buszaky, DJ Campbell, Patrick Agyemang, Rob Hulse, Danny Shittu and Lee Cook. They are either out of contract and/or left the club or about to go.

Regarding young players in the squad, in addition to Samba Diakate and David Hoilett coming in, we have also signed Fabio Da Silva on a season long loan. We also have Armand Traore, Adel Taarabt, Alejandro Faurlin, Matthew Connolly, Nedum Onuoha, Hogan Ephraim, Max Ehmer, plus a number of players coming in through the youth team such as Michael Harriman, Bruno Andrade, and Michael Doughty, most of whom featured in the recent tour of Asia. Not to mention other under 30 players such as Anton Ferdinand and Jamie Mackie.
Whatsup

Most of flaws in your article have already been pointed out to you. A further point to make is the hiring of 4 experienced (yes over 30) youth scouts and money being provided for an academy. Most of what was wrong with QPR last season was down to being naive , so experience was required., Having said that I too would like to see younger players in the squad but given the choice between an 18 year old from Harrow Borough and Craig Bellamy to cut the mustard, I know who would be in my squad.
Mitch

As misinformed this article is and somewhat bias as there are more than three heavily linked with QPR. I agree that it would be nice to see younger faces such as Junior Hoilett who can clearly play at this and has potential to get better. Rather than someone such as Bellamy who hasn’t got many years left and would leave good players i.e. Johnson out of the team.
jamois

I won’t repeat the facts as stated by the many below. Instead, let’s have a look at what most are projecting to be QPR’s regular starting line-up for the coming season (so far!) and key subs:

Green (32)
Fabio (22)
Ferdinand (27)
Onuoha (25)
Traore (22)
Diakite (23)
Faurlin (26)
Park (31)
Hoilett (22)
Taarabt (23)
Cisse (30)

Subs:
Mackie (26)
Barton (29)
Zamora (31)
Johnson (31)
Nelson (34)
SWP (30)
Hill (33)
Helguson (34)

There is a lot of interchange around the front four. Hughes has created competition for places. Arguably, Zamora, Johnson, Mackie, Hill (even Barton) all warrant a place in the team. I’m not here to debate that.

But the average age of that first 11 is 25.7 years.

In consideration of these facts, I have to declare you, the author, to be a muppet. Choose another pastime.
Jak

ive just followed through
Ufeeeee

garbage…ignorant lazy so called journo
Damo666

So. Very. Bad. Can’t wait to read your other stuff!
MKQPR

Based on the players I think will make the 25
man squad only 22 players picked other 3 places up for grabs.

Rob Green (32)
Radek Cerny (38)
Brian Murphy (29)

Luke Young (33)

Clint Hill (33)

Armand Traore (22)

Fabio Da Silva (22)

Nedum Onuoha (25)

Ryan Nelsen (34)

Anton Ferdinand (27)

Matthew Connolly (24)

Shaun Derry (34)
Samba Diakite (23)
Alejandro Faurlin (25)

Adel Taarabt (23)

Shaun Wright-Phillips (30)

Park Ji Sung (31)

Junior Hoilett (22)

Jamie Mackie (26)

Djibril Cisse (30)
Bobby Zamora (31)

Andrew Johnson (31)

Average Age – 28.40yrs

Premiere League Average Age Last Season
26.35yrs

Don’t see the big deal
personally good mix of old and young
http://www.facebook.com/pete.mccullagh Pete McCullagh

Idiot alert. One player in the first list is a starter maybe two with over half not playing anymore.
Pat Bateman

Probably the worst article of all time
http://www.facebook.com/people/Alex-Qpr-Cottee/847670631 Alex ‘Qpr’ Cottee

Dear me…is this some sort of joke? Quite evidently, the writer of this ‘article’ fails to grasp the concept of a SQUAD..and also appears to be of the opinion that once you’re 30, you’re career as a footballer is over. Erm, hello?! I believe Man U were quite happy with Scholes and Giggs last season!

This is like something the Sun would post up, with no clear picture of how our first 11 looks to be shaping up. Let me outline it a bit for you.

(My) First Team
GK – Rob Green (32..hardly over the hill for a keeper is he?)
LB/RB – Fabio Da Silva (22)
CB – Anton Ferdinand (27)
CB – Clint Hill (33)
RB/CB – Nedum Onuoha (25)
CM – Samba Diakite (23)
CM – Ali Faurlin (25)
AMC – Adel Taarabt (22)
AML/AMR/ST – Jamie Mackie (26)
AML/AMR – Junior Hoilett (22)
ST – Djibril Cisse (30)

Bench
Armand Traore (22), Shaun Wright-Philips (30), Ryan Nelsen (34), Matt Connolly (24), Bobby Zamora (31), Ji Sung Park (31), Andy Johnson (31) or Michael Harriman (19)

Obviously, Park will probably start instead of Mackie or Adel, but I do believe my first 11 has an average age of 26, where all but TWO players, one being the keeper, are over 30! OMG!

But yeh…maybe we should have a word with old Hughesey eh?? He’s obviously got no idea. You compete and utter pillock.
Carlosantonastaso

Rubbish, find another job!
R0bert91

Think your a prat mate 30 years and older, so what get a life, someone wants to have a word with you not mark hughes
Jessica Motual

If you are going to bore us with shallow pieces like the above then at least do your homework.
BoBo ChaCha

Take down your report! The whole world is laughing at your stupidness!
JW

Well this is terrible, eh, Daniel?

Be a good lad and take the piece down.
Mdlazarus

oh my god, bit of a touchy bunch here aren’t they? im assuming this popped up on a QPR article aggregator like newsnow and everyone jumped on their keyboards in a rage to defend their cute little club. I like how many people accuse Storey of not doing research without having taken the time to look at the nature of this website.
also, QPR and Mark Hughes are miserable entities in the EPL.
http://twitter.com/MonkeyPicks Monkey

Had to check this wasn’t written by Shaun Custis.
http://twitter.com/IamAWatka Ashley Watkinson

Plenty of QPR fans on here defending their team, as you would expect. Perhaps a better question to throw out there would be to ask them to explain how their team managed to finish so far behind (almost relegated) Norwich and Swansea, despite throwing money around (not necessarily on transfer fees, but certainly on wages) and having managers with a combined total of about 9 years experienced in the Premier League, whilst Norwich & Swansea spent so little and have managers who had no experience in the Prem.
http://www.facebook.com/paul.p.moore.7 Paul Premier Wig Moore

Like West Ham will do well! Pmsl
Jealousy is an evil trait, good luck with it
Robbiequinn67

What a terrible artical you should do some research mate. half the players you mention are not at the club anymore and quite a few havent been for some time. Do you know anything about football or do just make it up as you go along?
rob

agree with all the comments, you are talking utter bullshit!!
Blairrlucas

You clearly know nothing,before writing such rot maybe you should check your facts.You obviously wrote this recently as you’ve Made mention to Bellamy and arshavin,yet you haven’t mentioned that half your list have either gone or are on their way.Why bother you uninformed sad individual.
G–A ranger

Any chance u could do a piece on Team GB??
Could do with another belly laugh.
sisa

The writer of this piece needs to go to night school to learn a bit about writing. This article is crap.

Are QPR trying to form the greatest ever veterans team?

Search OTP

Comments

OTP Mailout

Sites we like

Featured

Previously on OTP