Championship 2024/25 Season Preview #12: Queens Park Rangers

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Established: 1882

Stadium: MATRADE Loftus Road

Nicknames: The R's, Super Hoops

Major Honours: Football League Cup Winners 1967

23/24 finishing position: 18

Manager: Martí Cifuentes

Last Season:

Last Season Review

It was a tale of three parts for QPR last season. After a disastrous collapse through the second half of the 22-23 season in the aftermath of Mick Beale's departure to Rangers, FFP struggles meant plenty of players leaving and not many coming in for Gareth Ainsworth. The 4-0 defeat to Watford on the opening day was sadly predictable and, despite a brief resurgence following a change in system, things quickly became untenable for the ex-Wycombe boss, as he was replaced by Championship rookie Martí Cifuentes at the end of October. The Spaniard's reign started promisingly, with three wins in a row early on sparking hopes that the bottom three could be left in the rear-view mirror. Unfortunately, a difficult Christmas period of injuries and lacking squad depth had Rangers 6 points adrift in the middle of January. With no FFP room to work with and things looking almost impossible, new 26-year-old CEO/DoF hybrid Christian Nourry got to work, loaning out Andre Dozzell to Birmingham and using that room to bring in four new signings. From there, things finally clicked. Jimmy Dunne's magical transformation from lumbering centre-back into Cafu ended up in an incredible left-footed volley to win a crucial six-pointer against Birmingham, and with a week to go survival was secured with a dominant 4-0 thrashing to tear apart Leeds' Premier League dream.

Off Season News / Transfers

I wouldn't say we've ripped up the book, but there have definitely been changes at QPR over the summer. Long-time squad members such as Ozzy Kakay, Andre Dozzell, and most notably Chris Willock were released, with transfer business being funded by extra FFP headroom, the EFL's new Sky TV deal, and the £2.5m sale of Sinclair Armstrong to Bristol City. Notable incomings have included:

• Goalkeeper Paul Nardi (30, free) to replace the ageing Asmir Begovic – far more suited to Cifuentes' preferred playing out from the back than his predecessor and looks the part so far.
• Bayern Munich centre-back Liam Morrison (21, undisclosed), who's looked impressive in limited game-time so far.
• Brazillian right-back/winger Hevertton Santos (23, free), a depth option out on the right
• Slovenian striker Žan Celar (25, £1.7m), who comes with an impressive scoring record in Switzerland, but is taking some time to adapt to English football
• French midfielder Jonathan Varane (22, £875k), half-brother of Raphael, who has looked promising (if a little rusty) in defensive midfield
• Japanese Winger Koki Saito (23, loan), fresh from two seasons in Rotterdam and a promising Olympics
• Former Celtic wonderkid Karamoko Dembélé (21, loan -> £1.4m) looks to be an incredibly exciting signing, almost certainly replacing Chris Willock in the starting XI

The Manager

Martí Cifuentes is, not to talk him up too much, a genius. He took a team that had won at home once in over a year (a game that was immediately followed up by a 6-1 loss against a Blackpool side that would end up getting relegated), that was cut adrift at the bottom of the league with Sheffield Wednesday, and had them surviving with a game to spare by demolishing one of the league's best in front of the Friday night Sky Sports cameras. He will undoubtedly be managing at a higher level before long, the only question is whether it's with us or someone else. Expectations are high this year, but getting promoted isn't quite the goal just yet, so hopefully he won't be tempted by teams further up the food chain.

Key Players

Ilias Chair – for a couple of years now Ilias Chair has been the start, middle, and end of everything QPR can muster up going forwards. With a Belgian court case now behind him, he'll be looking to have another strong season with a stronger supporting cast.

Jake Clarke-Salter – his first 18 months at QPR were riddled with long-term injuries, but the former Chelsea centre-back showed his quality throughout the second half of last season, forming one of the Championship's best pairings with Steve Cook and attracting interest from Wolves.

Karamoko Dembélé – QPR's main struggle for years has been sticking the ball in the back of the net, with Lyndon Dykes both bemoaned for his lack of finishing ability and defended for the lack of service he receives. Chair, Lucas Andersen, Dembélé, and Saito is one hell of a selection at this level behind the striker, and Dykes, Celar, and Michy Frey should have plenty to feed on.

Ones to Watch / Talented Youngsters

Rayan Kolli – the most exciting prospect from our academy since Ebere Eze, Kolli has played two league games under Cifuentes, setting up two goals with fantastic crosses.

Daniel Bennie – looks to be a powerful winger, broke into the Perth Glory team at just 17 last year before joining QPR at the start of the summer.

Expected Starting 11 / Tactics

4-2-3-1 – GK: Nardi, LB: Paal, CB: Clarke-Salter, CB: Cook, RB: Dunne, DM: Varane, DM: Field, LW: Chair, AM: Andersen, RW: Dembélé, ST: Celar

After the January business last season, QPR swapped from Cifuentes' preferred 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1, sticking with it through the start of this season. The only question marks are LB (where Paal looks like he may be on his way out, to be replaced by Liverpool's Owen Beck) and up front (where there's no clear favourite out of Celar, Frey, and Dykes). Chair's creativity has always been the key for us, with Dembélé and Andersen hopefully taking some of the pressure away from the Moroccan.

Post-Match Insights
The first league game was something of a disappointment. Rayan Kolli's cross for Lucas Andersen was the perfect start to the season, but Josh Maja scored three very similar goals to sink our opening day hopes. It was only the second time since Martí arrived that we've conceded three goals in a league game, and the ease at which crosses were flung into the box (compared to how effective we were at shutting them down at the end of last season) wasn't ideal. At Cambridge in the first round of the cup in midweek, things started perfectly well, with a fantastic team goal to take the lead and a 2-0 lead by half time. However, after conceding a silly goal carelessly playing out from the back, Cambridge dominated the rest of the game. Although we held on (a rare change from our usual cup exits), it wasn't a vintage performance by any stretch of the imagination.

However, it took a while for us to get up to full fitness last season as part of new Director of Performance Ben Williams' plan to avoid injuries, which ultimately led to an extended period where a set of ageing and injury prone players consistently played 90 minutes across our entire run of good form. If that's what we're doing again, then we may be slower starters once again.

Predictions/Wrap Up

With some exciting new signings and a top-tier manager, this season represents a good opportunity for QPR. However, I don't think we've quite got what it takes to mount a promotion bid just yet. Usually in the Championship, with a few games to go anyone in the top half has a chance to sneak into the playoffs, and my optimistic prediction is that we're in with a chance by the time that rolls around. Think I'll go for 12th.

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