QPR Can't Afford To Keep Taarabt in January

After paying Mercedes prices for clapped out Kias with expired warranties, QPR and Redknapp are facing the wrong way in a one way street with no reverse gear and a knackered clutch. The players signed by Hughes, Warnock and Fernandes are on inflated wage packets - that's why Green jumped from the Good Ship Boleyn to join the Bush of Rats - and so are in no hurry to leave, and there's no way in a million years that clubs will pay the stupid sums that the Hoops "invested" in them.

The trouble is, the cost of players is written down over a number of years, meaning that any loss is not realised until the end of a player's contract unless he departs for pastures new part way through that contract. If QPR sell their high priced rubbish in January, at the necessary knocked down prices, then the loss will be quantified immediately, not good news when you have a five year plan and you are looking to build a new stadium.

So, with demand likely to be low for the Warnock and Hughes signings since QPR's promotion anyway, if Redknapp is to wheel and deal, he needs to shift on a player with real value - and there's only one in the entire squad - Adel Taarabt.

His worth to QPR is questionable anyway. Firstly he is "in and out" form wise, a temperamental player who, when in the mood, can be brilliant - witness his goal against West Ham - but who equally can fail to turn up in a match according to his whim. Add to that the fact that he will be claimed for the African Cup of Nations and so will miss games in January and probably February, and suddenly he becomes 'Arry's best bargaining chip, the only motor on the forecourt with an engine, four tyres, windscreen wipers and a gear box. Clubs in hotter climes won't be concerned that he is a poor starter on cold, damp days and may well be prepared to gamble on him.

Trouble is, Spurs are due a cut of any transfer profit, so even with Taarabt's sale, 'Arry's hands will still be tied. Lose to Wigan this weekend, and QPR are down anyway!