The trouble is, Hughes does not have a magic wand and the QPR squad is anorexic thin. Unless Fernandes is willing to give Sparky mega bucks, it is likely to be a long haul to avoid the drop given the paucity of talent in the Hoops dressing room. The injury to Faurlin - rumoured to be out for the season - is devastating, whilst the relationship with Barton is likely to be tense at best. Warnock had to pander to the tweeting twat, having brought him to the club; Hughes, on the other hand, has to stamp his authority on the club and will not stand for any of Barton's nonsense. Expect a twattering ban to spark the first battle between the two and don't be surprised if Barton is out of the door before the end of the month.
All the transfer speculation at the moment centres on defenders, but will Wayne Bridge really make any difference? He was bloody ordinary in a West Ham shirt last season and another half season in the stiffs will have done nothing to sharpen up his performances. Samba is a target, but if Tottenham's interest is genuine, then surely he will end up at White Hart Lane - if Blackburn are willing to sell. Tell me, why would Blackburn contemplate selling their captain to a rival in the battle to avoid the drop? Meanwhile, it is the failure to score enough goals at home that is the real cause of QPR's struggles.
QPR will be thanking their lucky stars that Newcastle will be without Ba for the weekend fixture but the match still represents a difficult opener for Hughes, especially with Faurlin and Barton both ruled out. A heavy defeat could puncture the Sparky bubble first game up, and the hoped for O'Neil style effect may then never materialise. The Hughes nightmare would see Blackburn beat Fulham on Saturday, sucking the Hoops into the bottom three, followed by a three goal thumping at the hands of the Barcodes, anchoring the Rs to a relegation spot. It could prove an uphill battle from there!
I would have taken Hughes over Fat Sam any week of the month.
ReplyDeletefor once you make a valid point fingers crossed the barcodes are off their game
ReplyDeleteDo we smell the sound of you slamming into reverse? Looking forward to spending that five mil now...
ReplyDeleteAlmost a balanced point of view,went a bit negative towards the end,but on the whole a MASSIVE improvement HF.well done.
ReplyDeleteLet's see 2010
ReplyDeleteSparky had mega bucks in the past and he did sweet FA with it - you know nothing.
ReplyDelete20:13 he has to do.... back-peddling and negativity are his middle names.
ReplyDeleteHughes wouldnt of taken the job if we didnt have ambition so lets see, its a shame we have lost a few quality players to injury but tactickly he could get the best out of the players he has. A draw against NUFC would be a good start.
ReplyDeletePeople can knock Hughes and QPR but Hughes has always finished in the top half of the table with his teams so anyone that says its a bad appointment is clueless.
ReplyDeleteEven HF can see posatives so it must be a good choice.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, Hughes would take any Premiership job at the moment. He burnt his bridges badly when he walked out on Fulham, expecting the Villa job. His judgement was shown to be flawed and he made himself unpopular into the bargain. He must have been feeling pretty desperate as the months ticked by and he remained unemployed.
ReplyDeleteFOAD
ReplyDeleteI bet the players are over the moon they finally have a proper manager. Warnock is a joke, an abrasive, stubborn old man who's out of touch with modern football management. I can see why you like him HF! :D
ReplyDeleteGood article HF.I hope this move changes your view that the Blackburn,Birmingham and QPR owners are all the same.I'm sure that Hughes would not have signed for the other two, however desperate he may be for work.As for Barton,if the' sparks 'fly, and its his fault, the ridiculous wage he boasts about could be saved,but we would need to act quickly to replace him.Hopefully it won't come to that and he devotes all his energy to keep us up, and not being his usual[odious]self.I also hope its not too late to get Warnock favourite Dyer off the books-another waste of money along with' dozy Gabbidon...I do though, have to thank Warnock and his team for getting us rapidly promoted,they can be proud of what they achived, and will be always remembered in our history.
ReplyDelete£7m bid tabled for Christopher Samba
ReplyDeleteYou must be gutted HF, Fernandes is turning out to be an excellent chairman.
The replacement of Warnock with Hughes, will have been a costly excercise, done with the best interests of the club. Previous, and possible future transfers, along with massive wage bills, must mean that QPR are running at a significant loss.Fernandes and co are showing theirselves to be serious about the future with their funding and decision making...Looks like its not all bullshit after all - What do you say Hammersfan?
ReplyDeleteHe may turn out to be an excellent chairman but you can't base that on a failed £7m bid. If he bids £25m for Rooney, will that make him Superman?
ReplyDeleteWales, Blackburn, Man City, Fulham and now QPR.
ReplyDeleteCan nothing stop Mark Hughes' inexorable rise to the top? LOL.
In all seriousness, he won't only have a problem with Barton, he will have one with Tarraabt as well. He's sulky enough at the best of times! Best to cash him in for £10m while you still can I think.
I think HF has acquired medication for his mental health issues, hence the improvement in writing.
ReplyDeleteInteresting argument Den, but it aint going to help him if QPR are relegated is it? So he felt he had to be rid of Warnock - and you and I have no idea what clauses there were in the Gobby One's contract which may have allowed termination on the cheap. Aren't there rumours that Warnock was planning to retire at the end of the season anyway?
ReplyDeleteThe point made below about failed bids meaning nothing is very pertinent. QPR offered for Parker of course, but knew that the offer would not result in a deal. An offer was made for Johnson, but it was derisory. Blackburn are very unlikely to accept a bid from QPR, and Fernandes may well know that!
Until we see money change hands, I would be wary if I were you. Hughes needed to get back into football - or find himself having to accept the Wales job again, a backward step. He is making all the right noises but he has to. And he may believe Fernandes, who has an added reason for talking big money in order to land Sparky. But if every bid is rejected, how can Fernandes be blamed? The game may, therefore be to bid on players he knows he can't buy.
22:04; FOAD? Funny, Original and Difinitive? Not a bad artiicle but I'm not sure I'd be quite so fulsome in my praise. Still, it's nice to see one of the anonymice being so positive... good man!
ReplyDeleteDave says,
ReplyDeleteMove along West Ham fans, There's nothing to see here.
Another Icelandic scenario? Very possibly HF. Certainly this Fernandes chap talks a good fight. Now, where have we heard that before? Oh, yea, that's it; at West Ham.
ReplyDeleteMy message to the Gers would be simple - bidding for players like Samba when you absolutely know you haven't got a cat in hells chance of attracting a real quality player to a club in 17th place in mid January, is really not much of a risk is it? Remember our failed bids for players such as Beckham that turned us into a laughing stock?
No, the reality is that TF will be grateful to attract the likes of Wayne I used to be a Big name Player Bridge, or Emile how the fcuk did I ever get to play for England Heskey - all on £90k a week. And, if this is the case, they'll be utter poo!
If you were going to bid for Wayne Bridge headmaster you'd probably have to go four or five clubs. On the other hand, for Heskey one spade would probably win the contract. Oops, I'm probably not meant to say that!
ReplyDeleteEl Martillo sounds as though he enjoys a bit of man on man action (1930). Funny place to come out though, TGGC.
ReplyDeleteWith Hughes now in charge, we have more chance of attracting above average players, than we would have had with Warnock.I cant see Hughes
ReplyDeletewasting time by playing silly transfer bid games with unrealistic targets - I feel that would be too humiliating for his ego...The coming few weeks will show if you are right HF!
lol Headmaster. You're right, I do like a bit of man on man action! Girls against boys football is OK in year 6 but not really appropriate at premier league level don't you think? I assume that's what you meant!
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