Key Players

Players like JCS and Colback are important but any team is only as good as its weakest link or links. Our form this season has been dire and even if we could have included Colback and JCS in all of our starting teams I'm not sure we'd have done much better.

I can remember last season when JCS, Colback and Illias all played in the team that got taken apart by Blackburn at home.

Of course having players with their capabilities is going to be a plus but only if the rest of the team are also able to perform at the Championship level. If we go back to that Blackburn game and look at the team it was,

Begovic
Larkeche, Dunne, JCS, Paal
Duke McKenna, Colback, Dozzell
Chair, Dykes, Armstrong

Subs, Archer, Kakay, Cannon,EDB, Koli, Smyth, Kelman

Of the entire 18 man squad that was available that day I struggled to pick 6 players that IMO were Championship class.

If we now look at the team who played Blackburn this season it was,

Nardi
Santos, Cooke, Dunne, Paal
Field, Varane
Smyth, Demebele, Saito
Frey

Subs, Walsh, Ashby,Morgan,EDB, Andersen, Madsen, Lloyd, Celar

I'd suggest that our squad has improved slightly, but I'm again struggling to identify more than 6 of them that could currently be described as Championship standard. Apart from Nardi and possibly Dembele, our new signings have been disappointing.

It seems all we've done is substitute the likes of Larkeche, Duke McKenna, Dozzell, Cannon, Kakay etc., for some equally sub standard players. It also hasn't helped that our first team squad still includes players like Smyth and EDB who are League One at best.

IMO we will have another very difficult season because our key players are Cook, JCS, Dunne, Paal, Field, Chair, Colback and they are mainly a mixture of old timers and sick notes who we rarely get to play in the same team. Nardi is a very important player but not key as I'd be confident that Walsh would also do a good job. As I see things we have 8 players who we know are Championship quality if we can keep them fit and maybe another two who could develop (Dembele and Frey) into Championship quality players although both have to show their better form on a more consistent basis.

Its probably too early to be judging players like Varane, Saito, Madsen and Celar because they haven't played many games although there has been brief glimpses that they could be decent.

Being able to play our key players is important but we will always be vulnerable because our first team includes too many weak links.

Huge blow, would expect them to do a bit of business if they can. Hayden and Joe Morrell would both be improvements on the back up we already have. I’d also expect JCS to break down again before the end of the season given that it looks like muscle injuries he’s struggled with.

This is not based in knowledge but I think I read somewhere that a player needs to be a free agent before the transfer deadline to be signed after the deadline... Perhaps someone else knows better?

Ryan Jack would be another option. Scottish international released by Rangers in the summer.

just not going to be our season 


www.westlondonsport.com/qpr/qpr-duo-sidelined-for-weeks-with-injuries