Sunday, 9 September 2012

How far can QPR go this season?



A significant proportion of the 2012 summer transfer window deadline day was spent with football fans talking about QPR's new signings. So with so many well respected and recognised talent in their current squad, I think QPR ought to be aiming higher than to merely survive in the premier league this season.

Admittedly, QPR's start to the 2012-13 season has been far from perfect. A catastrophic 5-0 opening day defeat at the hands of Swansea city left many hoops fans feeling very concerned about the season ahead. The week after wasn't as bad as a Bobby Zamora goal earned a respectable point away at Norwich.

September began with a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester City but Mark Hughes would have been proud of the way his players remained positive and managed to equalize whilst the score was at 1-0. Also, many of the west London side's new signings were unable to play. So how about these new signings, and where will they fit in? Will they improve QPR's position in the league? In this article, I will be discussing where the west Londoners go from here.

In goal, many thought Robert Green, who arrived from West Ham earlier in the summer, would be the number one. However, just over a week after Green's terrible performance against Swansea, QPR confirmed the arrival of Julio Cesar from Internazionale. Sadly for Rob Green, I think it would be ludicrous for Mark Hughes to leave the former champions league winner Cesar out of the starting eleven.

Surprisingly, the only central defender QPR bought in over the summer was Ryan Nelsen, which was surprising considering the defence was widely considered to be the reason QPR only survived by the skin of their teeth last season. Another player that has been brought in is former Chelsea right back Jose Bosingwa who looks set to be one of QPR's most regular features this season.

As for midfield, the squad will in my opinion gain a player with sheer class in former Real Madrid man, Esteban Granero. Granero made his hoops debut against Man City and looked decent on the few occasions when QPR were on the attack. Potentially, he and Alejandro Faurlin could form an excellent technical central midfield partnership for the club. Another new signing who could help feature heavily in the centre of QPR's midfield is Stephane M'Bia who joined the hoops on a two year deal from Marseille with QPR's disgraced former captain Joey Barton joining the French club on loan. M'Bia may also play at centre back though so it's difficult to predict how much he'll play in central midfield.

One of the biggest team selection dilemmas manager Mark Hughes will have to face this season will be who will be the hoops first choice striker. Amongst the contenders are Bobby Zamora, Jamie Mackie, Andy Johnson and Djibril Cisse. Both Zamora and Johnson started against Manchester city but with so many central midfield options and talented wingers which include Shaun Wright-Phillips, Junior Hoilett and new club captain Ji Sung Park, it's quite possible that Hughes will choose to start only one striker at the majority of QPR's games this season.

Below is the line-up I'd choose if I was Mark Hughes presuming every squad member was fit (4-5-1)

Julio Cesar
Jose Bosingwa
Anton Ferdinand
Ryan Nelsen
Fabio da Silva
Ji Sung Park
Esteban Granero
Stephane M'Bia
Alejandro Faurlin
Junior Hoilett
Bobby Zamora

So how far can this team go? Due to their team that includes numerous highly decorated players, I think it would be safe to presume many of QPR's players will be aiming for a mid table place. However, due to some suicidal defending at times, I think the 2012/13 season maybe one with some considerable difficulty for QPR. So I think a 14th place finish will have to do for the fans of the hoops. However, once the squad gels, which shouldn't take long QPR can be expected to hit their stride and should improve each season. It may be a slow process but QPR should look to become a solid premier league side sooner rather than later.

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