QPR fired Former Manchester United star Mark Hughes this week after after only 10 months in charge, and with 8 defeats in 12 games - an no wins - it's easy to understand why. The buck ultimately stops with the manager, but Reds legend Mark Lawrenson has laid into QPR's pampered stars, and laid the blame for the club's demise squarely at their feet.
Speaking to the BBC yesterday, Lawro conceded that Hughes must take ultimate responsibility for the London club's atrocious results, but he suggested that the competitive edge of QPR's players has been dulled by their massive wages. He scathed:
"The performance put in by some of Mark Hughes's QPR [players] was nothing short of disgraceful. The players clearly were not bothered - they were playing for themselves, not QPR or Hughes.
"Hughes has not spent that much money in the transfer market, but a lot of his players are on big wages and the danger with doing that is you can't keep them out of their comfort zone".
Selfish players on fat contracts just going through the motions? That's par for the course in the Premier League, and if you look through the QPR squad, you'd be hard-pressed to find many players who are at the club for anything other than money.
Do the likes of Cisse, Cesar, Bosingwa et al give a damn about QPR? I doubt it, but they play every game, whilst crowd favourites like Jamie Mackie have to make-do with constant sub appearances.
I remember watching Hughes' first press conference after being announced as QPR's manager, and you could just sense he was doomed to failure, and that's what happened.
And to think the Welshman was actually touted as a possible replacement for Rafa Benitez in 2012 (!)
Hughes' failure should come as no surprise though: ex-Man United players never make great managers; you only have to look at Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce and Roy Keane to see that.
Jaimie Kanwar
Speaking to the BBC yesterday, Lawro conceded that Hughes must take ultimate responsibility for the London club's atrocious results, but he suggested that the competitive edge of QPR's players has been dulled by their massive wages. He scathed:
"The performance put in by some of Mark Hughes's QPR [players] was nothing short of disgraceful. The players clearly were not bothered - they were playing for themselves, not QPR or Hughes.
"Hughes has not spent that much money in the transfer market, but a lot of his players are on big wages and the danger with doing that is you can't keep them out of their comfort zone".
Selfish players on fat contracts just going through the motions? That's par for the course in the Premier League, and if you look through the QPR squad, you'd be hard-pressed to find many players who are at the club for anything other than money.
Do the likes of Cisse, Cesar, Bosingwa et al give a damn about QPR? I doubt it, but they play every game, whilst crowd favourites like Jamie Mackie have to make-do with constant sub appearances.
I remember watching Hughes' first press conference after being announced as QPR's manager, and you could just sense he was doomed to failure, and that's what happened.
And to think the Welshman was actually touted as a possible replacement for Rafa Benitez in 2012 (!)
Hughes' failure should come as no surprise though: ex-Man United players never make great managers; you only have to look at Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce and Roy Keane to see that.
Jaimie Kanwar
It's weird that you pick out Cisse and Cesar to make your point, when Cisse has regularly been on the bench behind Zamora, and Cesar has clearly performed as well as could be expected, and couldn't reasonably be dropped for his inferior counterpart.
ReplyDeleteYou could go through any squad and be hard-pressed to find players that aren't there for the money anyway. Do any of you really think the likes of 'crowd favorites' like Allen, Lucas, Agger et al would be sticking around at Liverpool if they were earning a fraction of what they could be earning elsewhere??
Can anyone tell me WHY Mark Hughes is given so many jobs in football?
ReplyDeleteWhat has he achieved as a manager ?
Frankly he comes over very boring and manages like a Journeyman.
Not a outstanding at any feature of coaching or management judging by what we see on the pitch.
Players are NOT stupid, they'll soon work out if your tactics or knowledge are not up to it
its the same at every club we have downing cole they dont give a dam as long as they get paid incerdently rodgers as not done much better at lfc but wer supposed to give him time a few half decent performances but most of it as been dross thursday another prime eg you start with your strongest team then rest players as and when the game is won not the other way round .i know i have been vocal in my dissaproval of rodgers but where out of the capital cup europa is now a must win game and for what why rest players oh i forgot we have to play the mighty swansea this weekend[no offence swans] but rodgers needs to start realising his excuses are starting to run very thin and between now and january he needs to start turning it round or hes out of a job as well
ReplyDeleteML is just pandering to the press as all the bbc pundits do its easy to seat in a studio and talk rubbish
ReplyDeleteverygoodpostjustneedssomepunctuation
ReplyDeletePlease?
Bought too many players at once. Got to be of real quality, those players, to get away with so many new players, especially the 'flair' ones. Your rarely going to get that sort of 'unit' & 'all hands on deck' mentality required for relegation battle so quick with that number of new players as well as the type of some of those players. Hughes has a somewhat inflated reputation as a manager as well, so question marks over him. Did well for Rovers and Wales, beyond that it is questionable to say the least, his reputation.
ReplyDeleteWhen you say he was touted as a replacement for Rafa in 2012, do you mean in 2010, or do you mean a replacement for Dalgish in 2012 or do you mean an alternative to Rafa for Chelsea? It isn't really clear.
ReplyDeleteAs for Hughes, I always thought he was a good manager, but since leaving Blackburn, he seems far too convinced of his own brilliance. It could be the ego check that he needs to get back on track, but I could see him taking the easy way out and either managing a club abroad (in a minor league) for big money, the same scenario but with an international side (U.A.E. for example) or becoming a pundit.
It is always sad when a manager gets the boot. but in all fairness, despite their failings they still walk away with a fat paycheck.
ReplyDeleteWho cares about QPR or about Lawro?
ReplyDelete