Andy Johnson returned to action for the first time in nearly a year in a 0-0 draw at Exeter this evening, and afterwards pledged to stay with the club amidst speculation he may be moving elsewhere.
Johnson has been linked with a move back to his former club Crystal Palace but after the game told BBC London: “I’ve had a good two weeks, I haven’t missed a session and I feel really sharp and fit. I’m a tiny bit behind the boys because they’ve played last season and I’ve been out for a long time – it will take time but it’s coming back. QPR stood by me last season and I will stand by them this season. I’m a loyal player, I worked hard last season and a lot of the staff here put in a lot of work to get me back fit. I feel like I owe the club helping them to get back into the Premier League.”
Rangers fielded a different side in both halves, but neither impressed greatly and in the end the R’s were slightly fortunate to escape with a 0-0 draw after only forcing one serious shot on goal in 90 minutes.
There was also a run out for injury-plagued full back Luke Young who got through a half unscathed, and a first sight of South Korean full back Yun Suk-Young who struggled badly. Boo-boy target Jose Bosingwa, who only came on at half time, was substituted 20 minutes from time after a lousy outing beset with possession concession and arguments with the referee. Belgian midfielder Ryan Sanusi, who is on trial at the club from Dutch club Willem II, replaced him for the closing stages.
Pre-season friendlies, particularly the early ones, are merely fitness exercises but there was little to suggest QPR have progressed greatly since the end of the relegation season. There will also be a concern about how Rangers will cope in a competitive League Cup game against Exeter on the same ground in a month’s time.
Afterwards coach Joe Jordan, fielding the media questions with Harry Redknapp confined to the stands after minor knee surgery, said: “It was just good to get some football into the boys. There’s no problem with the spirit of the players. They’ve shown some great application in training, which is what you’d expect. Now we move on.
“There were lots of positives tonight. Andy Johnson looked sharp. There are a few players who have had injury problems in recent times, and Andy is one of those. There are also others who have carried little knocks and it’s great for all of them that they’ve come through tonight and can move on.”
Exeter (first half): Krysiak, Woodman, Baldwin, Sercombe, Oakley, Doherty, Dawson, O’Flynn, Gosling, Jagger Cane, Anderson.
Exeter (second half): Krysiak (Pym 55), Bennett, Coles, Gow, Davies, Moore-Taylor, Reid (Grimes 82), Keohane, Wannell, Tillson, Chamberlain (Nichols 82).
QPR (first half): Green, Traore, Hill, Wright-Phillips, Granero, Onuoha, Jenas, Young, Mbia, Hoilett, Zamora
QPR (second half): Murphy, Simpson, Derry, Ferdinand, Park, Johnson, Faurlin, Mackie, Bosingwa (Sanusi 74), Ben-Haim, Suk-Young.
Attendance: 2,327 (377 away)
Of course, no Adel Taarabt in either of those teams and the writing seems to be on the wall for him at QPR now with Dave McIntyre reporting on West London Sport that the Moroccan has been sent home from the training camp for various breaches of discipline.
Redknapp sold Taarabt to QPR in a cut price deal when he was manager at Spurs and the relationship between the two has been deteriorating for some time.
Interesting though that Steve Cotterill, who left his job as QPR coach earlier this summer to focus on getting a manager’s job somewhere else, was fulsome in his praise for Taarabt’s attitude when he spoke to the local press down in Cheltenham this week. Cotterill said: “"I have known Harry a long time and I appreciated him taking me in. It was was good to work with the higher-profile players like Júlio César, the Brazil goalkeeper, José Bosingwa, who won the Champions League the year before with Chelsea, and I had good relationship with the players. Experiencing Adel Taarabt was also good because people might think he's difficult to manage, but he's a fantastic boy."
But the emphasis, publicly at least, from QPR this summer is on discipline and team work. New coach Steve McClaren used his first interview with the club’s official website to hammer home that point. He said: “The team got relegated, so there are problems. And we have to solve those problems, on the field and off the field. That’s what Harry’s doing. They key thing is we’ve got to build a team. That’s the most important thing. I don’t think you can set targets to say we’re going to do this, or we’re going to do that. The first thing is we have to build a team; a team that can compete and a team that can win football matches. That’s the platform – work hard, work hard together. If you don’t have that, it’s such hard work and you’re going to struggle. That’s probably one of the reasons why QPR are now in the Championship. We have to assess that first, before anything else. You have to blend, you have to be together.”
Taarabt, it seems, is going to be the first fall guy of this new regime.
Esteban Granero did play for the first half this evening as his agent continues to tell anybody that will listen that he is set to be reunited with his former Getafe manager Michael Laudrup at Swansea City. That story has been peddled for so long that Swansea have now moved to distance themselves from the former Real Madrid man.
Wales Online reports that City’s interest has cooled since they signed Johnjo Shelvey for £5m from Liverpool.
A half of football too for Shaun Derry who believes that despite his advancing years he has a key role to play in a 46 game Championship season. He told’s the club’s official website: “I still feel I can play a role for the club. People might look at my age but I’d like to think they will judge me on what I bring to the football field and how fit I am. I have always prided myself on being one of the fittest at the club and I feel that I am in that same situation again.
“There are times in the past where, with the greatest respect, I’ve felt the pre-season training has not been sufficient. But I can’t say that’s the case this season. We’re all coming off with a real sweat-on after each session and we’re going home feeling tired, just like you should do during pre-season.”
Centre back Chris Samba has spoken for the first time since returning to Anzhi –Makhachkala six months after leaving the Russian side to join QPR for £12.5m.
Samba told The Mirror: “I was getting mentally ¬prepared for the battle in the Championship to come back up. Tony Fernandes is a great man. Tony wanted to keep me and help him back up, but I believe the offer from Russia was too good to let it pass by. I was not planning to go anywhere. I wanted to reward the club for their support by helping them come back up.
“I wasn’t 100 per cent fit ¬during my time at the club. So I couldn’t give my best to the club and the fans who deserved better. They are great fans and then stood by the team despite the results. Rangers already have a great squad. But it is true that with the money they have got, I hope they do some smart recruitment to get the players they need to face the battle for promotion.”
Clint Hill has warned about the pitfalls for footballers on Twitter. Hill briefly had an account on the social networking site and has seen team mates Jay Bothroyd, Joey Barton and Chris Samba frequently trip themselves up with their public statements on the site. Hill told the Fulham Chronicle: “I tried to get used to it, but I was spending all my time on it. I think I can use the time better with my two kids. There’s a market for it, of course there is. But if you’re going in there, you’re going in there with your eyes open and you’ve got to expect everything coming your way. I know there’s been a lot of players who got in trouble with things they say on the spur of the moment. There’s a lot of people out there who will say things just to get a reaction – and you’ve got to be careful.”
Ian Holloway has been reunited with his former QPR loanee Jerome Thomas at newly promoted Crystal Palace. Thomas scored three goals in ten appearances over two separate loan spells at Loftus Road back in 2002 when Holloway was the manager. Olly has now picked him up on a permanent basis for his newly promoted Eagles following his release from West Brom at the end of last season.
Taye Taiwo has joined Turkish side Bursaspor on a three year deal after a one year stay with Dynamo Kiev.
Jim Magilton has been appointed as the elite performance director of the Irish FA on a four year contract, overseeing the organisations’ coaching prgrammes and attempting to arrest the defection of Northern Ireland’s young players to the Republic.
Magilton said: “Eligibility is massive, I think that once we have a structure in place and are working closely with young players and have time with them, it naturally helps to build relationships and with people. I will get to know the boys, get to know the parents and if they decide to switch there isn’t a lot we can do about that. But as long as we can look them in the eye and say we have done everything we can for them then that’s all we can do. This role is important and it’s been a long time coming.”
- One of the Championship’s other star attractions is definitely staying put though. Burnley striker Charlie Austin failed his medical at Hull City after a £4.5m fee was agreed. The former Swindon man has dislocated his shoulder three times in recent seasons, but bagged 28 goals in 40 appearances last term.
- Bolton have signed Hamilton midfielder Gary Fraser at the second time of asking. The player rejected a move in January after a fee was agreed and a medical passed but has now moved on a free transfer at the end of his contract in Scotland. The 19 year old will however spend next season on loan at SPL new comers Partick Thistle.
- Jay Emmanuel Thomas’s descent through the Football League continues with a move from Ipswich to Bristol City. Former Forest winger Paul Anderson moves the other way in part exchange. Ipswich have also signed Forest striker David McGoldrick on a two year deal.
- Blackburn have signed centre back Mat Kilgallon on a free transfer and defender Alex Marrow for an undisclosed fee from Crystal Palace. Left back Martin Olsson has left for Norwich.
- Owen Coyle’s total rebuild of relegated Wigan continues apace with striker Grant Holt arriving from Norwich for £2m and former West Brom forward Marc Antoine Fortune from Celtic. Another ex-Bagie, goalkeeper Scott Carson, has returned to this country from Bursaspor in Turkey to compete with Ali Al-Habsi for the number one spot. Striker Arouna Kone has however left in a £6m deal with Everton, managed of course by Coyle’s predecessor Roberto Martinez.
- Barnsley have signed defender Lewin Nyatanga on a free transfer from Bristol City.
- Brighton have completed the permanent acquisition of defender Matthew Upson. The 34-year-old former England international spent the second half of last term on loan on the south coast from Stoke.
- Bournemouth have signed Mohamed Coulibaly after a successful trial. The 24 year old can play as a striker or a winger and made five appearances in the Swiss Super League for Grasshoppers last season.
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