Neil Warnock has ended his silence on the future of shamed striker Marlon King and hinted that QPR may be in line to secure his services after all.
King was jailed for 18 months last year after punching a woman in the face after she spurned his advances in a Soho nightclub. King denies the offence and says he is still planning an appeal, despite now being released from prison after serving nine months of his sentence. There has been widespread condemnation of his attempts to pick up his football career due to the nature of his crime, and a string of 13 previous offences that includes another assault against two women who he chased through the streets of the West End while yielding a belt buckle.
Last Friday Neil Warnock told the Victoria Derbyshire programme on Five Live that he was not considering a move for the striker following his release, but the QPR manager's position appears to have softened this week. Warnock is quoted in today's Daily Mail as saying: "'We haven't got a 20-goal-a-season man and you do need one. He has served his time and we live in a country that we say when they have served their time give them another opportunity. He is a good player and I think he will score goals.
"I am not condoning what he has done but I look at some of the other cases of players who have got into trouble in the past. People have killed people and they never got the stick this lad has got. Whoever takes him he will want to prove himself."
LoftforWords is strongly of the opinion that this low life scumbag should not be allowed anywhere near Loftus Road to watch a match, never mind actually earn a wage and play for the team. We strongly urge all supporters who feel the same to contact the club and make their feelings known.
In more positive news Adel Taarabt has been rewarded for his goal, assist and fine performance against Barnsley with a place in the Championship team of the week.
Taarabt lined up as part of a three man supporting cast for lone striker Heidar Helguson at Loftus Road on Saturday, but has been named in the left wing spot of the division's team of the week. The Moroccan forced a penalty with a powerful run for the first goal and scored the third himself from the spot, although he had smashed the ball into the net prior to the whistle going anyway.
Fredy Eastwood and Danny Graham were rewarded for their brace's on the opening weekend with the striking positions, while Darren Ambrose was selected in the middle of midfield after scoring for palace in a 3-2 win against Leicester. Ambrose told Five Live on Monday night that he had agreed a contract with QPR during the summer only for the new Palace owners to pull the plug on the deal, but that he was happy at Selhurst Park and was pleased to stay.
Full Team: Neil Sullivan (Doncaster), Jamie Peters (Ipswich), Darren Ward (Millwall), Rob Jones (Scunthorpe), Darcy Blake (Cardiff), Garry Thompson (Scunthorpe), Darren Ambrose (Palace), Brian Stock (Doncaster), Adel Taarabt (QPR), Danny Graham (Watford), Freddy Eastwood (Coventry).
After the game Warnock told reporters he was delighted to have Taarabt on board this season. He said: "Twenty years ago I wouldn't have taken Adel Taarabt, but I've said to my players to look at the good things he does and not the bad. We have to find a way of using that. When I came here last season he'd already been bombed out by the two previous managers. But I spent a lot of time with him and have to say I enjoyed working with him. I said to him that sometimes I'd drop him, or play him on the wing, and I didn't want him stamping around or throwing his shirt when he was substituted. He thinks he should be playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona, and I've told him that if he sticks with me he can get there. At the moment, they wouldn't touch him with a barge pole."
Two of Rangers' more impressive performers at the weekend were newcomers Clint Hill, who took no prisoners at left back, and Shaun Derry, who displayed a passing game not always apparent during his career in the middle of midfield. Both have been speaking about the result and the season ahead today.
Derry told the PFA website: "I think we had about four or five debuts on Saturday, and that can be difficult in itself. We had a new goalkeeper and new full backs so it was it was pleasing also to start the new season with a clean sheet. The team has been backed for the last couple of years but we are probably one of 12 or 13 clubs who will be hoping to win promotion. So, we’re one of many and we are not getting above ourselves just because we’ve had one good result.
"I don’t think there is going to be an outstanding team this season. If you look at Newcastle and West Brom last year, you would have backed those two clubs to go up. You can’t really put your name on any club this season because, as I’ve said, there are 12 or 13 sides who are trying to do the same job."
Clint Hill told the club's official website: "It's one game, we can't get carried away by it. There are another 45 to go so you can't read anything into it. The season is a long, hard slog - we're going to have our ups and our downs. It's important that we keep level-headed and see where that takes us. The team performance was pretty good, really. To score four goals in your first game of the season is always a bonus.
"The game was actually a lot tougher than the scoreline suggests. They had a few chances when it was 1-0, so it could have gone either way at that stage. The lads were tremendous. It was a physical battle, but that's what it is going to be like for most of the season so we have to be prepared for that. There will be a few teams who will play football, but for 90 per cent of it, it's going to be a right battle. That's what this league is all about, and that's why it is so entertaining. We've got to roll our sleeves up and win the battle first and foremost - then the footballers in our team can go and win us the game.
"Over the pre-season the lads have stuck together, gelled really well and socialised so we've got a brilliant team spirit here," he added. That's so important - it's massive, absolutely massive. A strong team spirit can get you anywhere."
Former R's:
It didn't turn out to be a debut to remember for Damion Stewart at Bristol City as the Jamaican was sent off for a professional foul in a 3-0 home defeat by newly promoted Millwall. Stewart was joined by fellow debutants David James and Nicky Hunt but City were comprehensively destroyed by Wall, managed by former QPR duo Kenny Jackett and Joe Gallen.
Chelsea are set to cut their losses on winger Scott Sinclair by selling him to Swansea for £500,000. The fee could eventually rise to £1m but represents a disappointing end to an initially promising Stamford Bridge career for Sinclair, who was picked up as a teenager from Bristol Rovers' youth team. Sinclair spent time on loan at QPR, among a host of temporary moves earlier in his career, and scored once in nine appearances but largely flattered to deceive and lacked commitment to the Rangers' cause drawing criticism from supporters. New Swansea boss Brendan Rodgers worked with Sinclair when he coached the juniors at Chelsea.
Championship Shorts:
- Sheff Utd have completed the signing of former Man City defender Stephen Jordan on a one year deal following his summer release from relegated Burnley.
- Ipswich are hoping to tempt Jason Scotland to join them after a year on the fringes of the Wigan Athletic team. Latics boss Roberto Martinez said: "It's fair to say there is strong interest there from Ipswich Town. A few other clubs have also asked us about Jason. It's not the first time that a few clubs have been in for one of our players.
- Cardiff and Swansea have united in their criticism of Nottingham Forest chief executive Mark Arthur who said over the weekend that his club were one of ponly a few in the Championship with money to spoend and both Peter Whittingham and Darren Pratley wanted to sign for them. The South Wales rivals have hit back and accused Forest of trying to unsettle the players, who are both in the final year of their current contracts. Cardiff boss Dave Jones said: "If that's not tapping up I don't know what is. He has no right to say it and he should go though the proper channels to say it rather than through the media, spouting off that our my player is unhappy. If he is talking to Whitts on that score, it must be his brother because that is not Whitts is telling me. We've put an offer to Peter Whittingham and his stance is he wants to see what happens here, whether the club wants to move forward."
- Middlesbrough's dire start to the season continued today with the news that Willo Flood dislocated his knee in Saturday's 3-1 defeat by Ipswich and consequently faces a long spell on the sidelines. Manager Gordon Strachan said: "We're not going to see Willo for a long time, it's a bad injury. That's a bad blow because we saw last year when he first joined us that he was a real asset."
- Portsmouth made it safely through the first round of the League Cup with a two one win at League Two newcomers Stevenage. Nadir Ciftci and Michael Brown scored in the first half for Pompey, who named just four youth teamers on their bench.