QPR Club Focus – Beckham on the radar as Hoops dare to dream of topflight survival
Jay Bothroyd has admitted he and his teammates are still flabbergasted by their 3-0 demolition of Wolves at the weekend and went on to say the morale is very high at the club. It is perhaps too early in the day to be talking about Premier League survival but the Hoops are already touching shoulders with accomplished Premier League teams in the middle of the table and, forgetting the early defeats to Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic, the R’s have had little to be melancholy about. As the new kids on the block a few hiccups are to be expected while they adjust to the unforgiving nature of Premier League football. It has to be said, though, that Neil Warnock’s decision to sign the likes of Joey Barton, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Luke Young was right on the money. Not only do they provide that pinch of quality the squad will depend on at times this year but also the knowhow to survive at the top.
The full backing of owner Tony Fernandes should only put the minds of fans further at ease. Many football club owners have singlehandedly destroyed teams in the past with their own selfish ambitions but, to give credit where it is due, the business mogul appears to be one of the better sort, accepting of his role as a backroom figure and nothing more. A West Ham fan he may be but Fernandes has fond memories of watching matches at Loftus Road as a child and appreciates just how invaluable the fans are to the club’s very existence, which is something many owners take for granted these days. Warnock openly admits to being very excited by the club’s immediate future and has the financial backing of his chairman to thank for that.
Warnock has denied gossipers that David Beckham could soon be playing his football at SW12, though the business magnate is still understood to be in pursuit of the LA Galaxy midfielder. According to reports made by BBC Sport, Fernandes believes QPR would be an ideal club to relaunch Beckham’s football career in England, after eight years abroad playing for Real Madrid and then AC Milan during the MLS offseason. With the prospect of playing for Great Britain at London 2012 in mind, Fernandes considers West London to be an excellent location for Beckham to move to if he is to have a realistic chance of being selected. The chairman may be keen on bringing the set piece specialist to Loftus Road in January but assures the decision will be left to Warnock and him alone, whose job it is to decide whether he would be suitable.
Those less inclined to watching Championship football are yet to be awed by the full potential of 22-year-old Adel Taarabt and will only remember the tricky Moroccan from his less celebrated days as a Tottenham player. Warnock, however, fully expects him to be just as influential this season even with the signing of experienced topflight professionals. He is yet to score so far this season but he is still tipped to be the main attraction at Loftus Road even with Wright-Phillips and Barton in the side. Talking to BBC Sport Warnock said: “He's got no excuse now. He's got a team that are capable of giving him the ball in dangerous areas and he's got to perform.” While Taarabt asked for an improved contract over the summer, the manager insists he will have to sit tight until after Christmas at which point Warnock himself will be first to negotiate a new contract with the club.
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