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QPR face many challenges

Another defeat for QPR yesterday and the latest set of accounts  from March, showed the club was losing around £2million ($2.4m) a month, and sporting director Les Ferdinand left his position in June and has not been replaced.  The Athletic reckons this is the sorry tale of a club stuck in an ominous downward spiral.

A big part of QPR’s problems has centred on their recruitment, namely their inability to cash in on prized assets.   Kevin Gallen, who now works as a full-time scout for Crystal Palace, says: “Recruitment in a football club is the most important thing. QPR’s recruitment over the years hasn’t been good. That part drastically needs to improve.

With QPR unable to bank a hefty fee since Eze joined Crystal Palace for £20m in August 2020, they are sailing close to breaching financial fair play (FFP) rules. This means they have little spending power to improve the squad. Under the rules, Championship clubs are allowed losses up to £39m in a three-year cycle.

In the latest set of accounts in March, QPR lost £24m. This amounts to around £474,000 a week. It showed almost £90m was still owed in various loans and player transfer instalments, as well as an outstanding settlement over FFP breaches.

However, now the Eze sale has rolled out of the three-year cycle, it will be replaced by whatever the club loses this year. Their last set of accounts showed that, apart from Eze, they have only generated a profit from player sales greater than £10m twice in the last decade.

Another stumbling block for QPR is the size of their stadium in west London. Loftus Road has been their home for more than 100 years but holds fewer than 20,000 people.   Alternative sites have been looked at for more than a decade but after exhausting the search, plans are afoot to redevelop the main stand.

While the club’s search for a new ground ended in frustration, they do at least boast a new £20m training ground in Heston. This includes seven pitches for the first team and academy.   QPR fans raised £6.8m to fund the training ground via a bond scheme. It is hoped the site will help attract and bring through the best upcoming talent.

 

 

 

 

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