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If past experiences are anything to go by, The Champions of The Championship normally do pretty well, when first promoted.
The difference this time around is that we are QPR and we don’t do conventional stuff, so it’s conceivable that despite new signings coming into the club our main ambition for the coming season is to get 40-42 points to stay in the Premiership.
We will need to target points against certain clubs and anything gained elsewhere will be a bonus. I am sure the master tactician Mick Jones will be working even harder to gain points on the teams who he perceives will be struggling this season.
You only have to look at recent seasons to see a surprise lurking around the bottom 6 of the Premiership, though casting that aside let’s look at what could easily be the bottom 6 clubs in The Premiership 2011/12. The most likely bottom 6 clubs for the Premiership in my opinion are Wolves, Wigan, Blackburn , Norwich, Swansea and ourselves.
It’s obvious that other clubs like WBA and possibly my favourites to struggle Fulham might be in the bottom half dozen, but in reality if you support any of the 6 main teams mentioned you will be looking over your shoulder throughout the coming season
Wigan Athletic
Roberto Martinez showed great loyalty is sticking with Wigan Athletic after being approached by Aston Villa, but he will have his work cut out to keep Wigan in the premiership next season.
Despite remaining in the bottom three for the majority of the season, Wigan managed to retain their Premier League status on the last day of the season, defeating Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium thanks to a goal from Hugo Rodallega..
Though they have secured the most lucrative sponsorship in the clubs history they will need much more on the pitch to prevent a repeat of previous seasons. At this stage of pre-season it could be argued with Tom Cleverley going back to Manchester United and the inevitable departure of N’Zogbia before the start of the season they could be weaker this coming season.
Wolves
Having struggled to acclimatise to the Premiership, you can only see another struggle ahead for Mick McCarthy this season. He will no doubt strengthen in certain areas and they do have a proven goalscorer in Kevin Doyle. The partnership with Steven Fletcher will be interesting to watch but should not hold any fears for the majority of Premiership clubs and the tendency to concede early goals in matches will count dearly come the end of the season. They are looking to shore up the defence with the imminent signing of Kevin Johnson from Birmingham City but the transfer market would have gone mad if the deal goes ahead at the forecast 7 million pound. However, it would show Wolverhampton Wanderers will not be shy to spend money if needed.
Blackburn Rovers
Up to recently it was QPR fans who felt the most hard done by in the Premiership, but that honour must go to Blackburn Rovers fans. This is a club who promised so much to the fans. All the talk of big signings including Adebayor, Ronaldinho and even Beckham have been generated by The Blackburn Rovers PR people. In reality its been..ALL TALK. They have signed no-one of note and it looks like powerhouse Chris Samba will be sold on. The owners have showed a lack of ambition since keeping with Steve Kean and its odds on that is set to continue. I actually think Blackburn will do well to avoid relegation this coming season.
Now for the teams that got Promoted
Norwich City.
It might surprise many, but I think they will do better than many people forecast. I don’t believe they have actually signed superstars but in Paul Lambert they have a very good manager who like our own Warnock manages to get the best out of his teams. The club have bought 6 players already into the squad and this will give them a huge advantage come the start of the season. A good pre-season beckons and I anticipate of all the 3 promoted clubs they will probably get off to the best start. Whether this can be maintained is anyone’s guess but in players like Grant Holt you have an under-rated striker who I think will do well in the premiership. The back-up of strikers they have now also means they won’t lack for a shortage of goals. It remains to be seen if like Blackpool last season, they can prevent them from going in at the other end.
Swansea City.
They have a completely different style of play to our own, but with the introduction of Danny Graham as the main target man indicates they might well mix it next season. You have two excellent wingers in Dyer and Sinclair. The latter showed what a fantastic footballer he was last season and whatever the fate of Swansea next season he is one player who will go onto big and better things. They have already sealed the loan signing of Steven Caulker from Spurs and with more signings to come, the shrewd Brendon Rogers will also be in the market for another striker in the coming weeks. Like many teams that go up via the Play Off route they are likely to struggle come the end of the season.
Our very Own QPR..
We all craved new signings and its likely come the start of the season we will have them. Talk of DJ Campbell and Jay Bothroyd have the makings of a tremendous partnership even at premiership level. What we lack is pace on the flanks. We saw in Kyle Walker last season what extra it gives you have a player overlapping on the wings and in Orr and Hill we have hardworking players who will die for Warnock but might just come up short against the majority of Premiership Players.
We are also relying on the return of Jamie Mackie to the form he showed early last season. If you were to Speak to the player, Mick Jones or Warnock they would convince you he has everything. They know far more about football than I ever will and you have to respect their judgement.
In Paddy Kenny we have one of the best keepers even at this level and Alejandro Faurlin has so much untapped potential, I forecast he will be a star against most Premiership opposition. One big question mark as we approach the start of the season is the position of Adel Taarabt. A player who has provided so much memorable moments from the 2010/11 season that you simply don’t know where to start. He has ambitions of being a great and at this stage of his career it could go either way
The club will decide if the timing is right and more importantly if the price is right, but on a personal level I would like him to stay until January.
We will then see if he is the real deal, if we do than we will see an even greater influence in the Premiership with points on the board which can only help our cause come the end of the season.
So within this MINI League of A league
My 3 to go down will be
Wigan, Blackburn, Swansea
The difference this time around is that we are QPR and we don’t do conventional stuff, so it’s conceivable that despite new signings coming into the club our main ambition for the coming season is to get 40-42 points to stay in the Premiership.
We will need to target points against certain clubs and anything gained elsewhere will be a bonus. I am sure the master tactician Mick Jones will be working even harder to gain points on the teams who he perceives will be struggling this season.
You only have to look at recent seasons to see a surprise lurking around the bottom 6 of the Premiership, though casting that aside let’s look at what could easily be the bottom 6 clubs in The Premiership 2011/12. The most likely bottom 6 clubs for the Premiership in my opinion are Wolves, Wigan, Blackburn , Norwich, Swansea and ourselves.
It’s obvious that other clubs like WBA and possibly my favourites to struggle Fulham might be in the bottom half dozen, but in reality if you support any of the 6 main teams mentioned you will be looking over your shoulder throughout the coming season
Wigan Athletic
Roberto Martinez showed great loyalty is sticking with Wigan Athletic after being approached by Aston Villa, but he will have his work cut out to keep Wigan in the premiership next season.
Despite remaining in the bottom three for the majority of the season, Wigan managed to retain their Premier League status on the last day of the season, defeating Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium thanks to a goal from Hugo Rodallega..
Though they have secured the most lucrative sponsorship in the clubs history they will need much more on the pitch to prevent a repeat of previous seasons. At this stage of pre-season it could be argued with Tom Cleverley going back to Manchester United and the inevitable departure of N’Zogbia before the start of the season they could be weaker this coming season.
Wolves
Having struggled to acclimatise to the Premiership, you can only see another struggle ahead for Mick McCarthy this season. He will no doubt strengthen in certain areas and they do have a proven goalscorer in Kevin Doyle. The partnership with Steven Fletcher will be interesting to watch but should not hold any fears for the majority of Premiership clubs and the tendency to concede early goals in matches will count dearly come the end of the season. They are looking to shore up the defence with the imminent signing of Kevin Johnson from Birmingham City but the transfer market would have gone mad if the deal goes ahead at the forecast 7 million pound. However, it would show Wolverhampton Wanderers will not be shy to spend money if needed.
Blackburn Rovers
Up to recently it was QPR fans who felt the most hard done by in the Premiership, but that honour must go to Blackburn Rovers fans. This is a club who promised so much to the fans. All the talk of big signings including Adebayor, Ronaldinho and even Beckham have been generated by The Blackburn Rovers PR people. In reality its been..ALL TALK. They have signed no-one of note and it looks like powerhouse Chris Samba will be sold on. The owners have showed a lack of ambition since keeping with Steve Kean and its odds on that is set to continue. I actually think Blackburn will do well to avoid relegation this coming season.
Now for the teams that got Promoted
Norwich City.
It might surprise many, but I think they will do better than many people forecast. I don’t believe they have actually signed superstars but in Paul Lambert they have a very good manager who like our own Warnock manages to get the best out of his teams. The club have bought 6 players already into the squad and this will give them a huge advantage come the start of the season. A good pre-season beckons and I anticipate of all the 3 promoted clubs they will probably get off to the best start. Whether this can be maintained is anyone’s guess but in players like Grant Holt you have an under-rated striker who I think will do well in the premiership. The back-up of strikers they have now also means they won’t lack for a shortage of goals. It remains to be seen if like Blackpool last season, they can prevent them from going in at the other end.
Swansea City.
They have a completely different style of play to our own, but with the introduction of Danny Graham as the main target man indicates they might well mix it next season. You have two excellent wingers in Dyer and Sinclair. The latter showed what a fantastic footballer he was last season and whatever the fate of Swansea next season he is one player who will go onto big and better things. They have already sealed the loan signing of Steven Caulker from Spurs and with more signings to come, the shrewd Brendon Rogers will also be in the market for another striker in the coming weeks. Like many teams that go up via the Play Off route they are likely to struggle come the end of the season.
Our very Own QPR..
We all craved new signings and its likely come the start of the season we will have them. Talk of DJ Campbell and Jay Bothroyd have the makings of a tremendous partnership even at premiership level. What we lack is pace on the flanks. We saw in Kyle Walker last season what extra it gives you have a player overlapping on the wings and in Orr and Hill we have hardworking players who will die for Warnock but might just come up short against the majority of Premiership Players.
We are also relying on the return of Jamie Mackie to the form he showed early last season. If you were to Speak to the player, Mick Jones or Warnock they would convince you he has everything. They know far more about football than I ever will and you have to respect their judgement.
In Paddy Kenny we have one of the best keepers even at this level and Alejandro Faurlin has so much untapped potential, I forecast he will be a star against most Premiership opposition. One big question mark as we approach the start of the season is the position of Adel Taarabt. A player who has provided so much memorable moments from the 2010/11 season that you simply don’t know where to start. He has ambitions of being a great and at this stage of his career it could go either way
The club will decide if the timing is right and more importantly if the price is right, but on a personal level I would like him to stay until January.
We will then see if he is the real deal, if we do than we will see an even greater influence in the Premiership with points on the board which can only help our cause come the end of the season.
So within this MINI League of A league
My 3 to go down will be
Wigan, Blackburn, Swansea
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