The wheels at Loftus Road are in motion!
Saturday sees QPR travel to Peterborough United in their first official friendly of the summer with fans eagerly awaiting the debut of new signing Josh Scowen from Barnsley.
It's also all-go behind the scenes as Ian Holloway and Les Ferdinand look to bring in any new additions to the side before the season opener against Reading on Saturday 5th August.
Join our QPR reporter Phil Spencer for the Thursday lunchtime webchat at 12pm to discuss at the latest goings on.
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And finally a look ahead to Saturday's friendly...
What kind of challenge to QPR face when they travel to Peterborough on Saturday?
A tricky one! Despite it being a pre-season game, Peterborough will be determined to put in a good display to set themselves up for the start of a season where they’ll be looking to push on towards the play-offs.
It’ll also be interested to see how Michael Doughty performs in his first game against the Hoops after his move a couple of weeks ago.
The game will be a 120-minute match, with four periods of 30 minutes to allow both managers the chance to see all of their squad in action, so you’re likely to see a large number of players looking to impress Ollie as the new season edges closer.
Quantity or quality?
How many signings do the club need to make this summer?
The squad undoubtedly need strengthening, but the focus should be on bringing in the right players rather than making wholesale changes.
In past years the club has had a huge turnover of players, which isn’t good for consistent performances.
I think the club should focus on bringing in three or four quality players and add to the squad which is already in place. I’m sure a few more will head out the exit door before the end of august too, and so it may be a case of playing the waiting game to ensure the club signs the right players and avoids “panic buying”.
A question about the Stan Bowles Benefit match
Why haven’t the club been able to sell more tickets for the Stan Bowles Benefit match?
I think it’s a difficult one. My thoughts are that many football fans will have booked holiday in between the schools breaking up for summer, and the new season beginning which could impact ticket sales massively.
Obviously we want Loftus Road to be as full as possible, but realistically the average attendance for competitive games is in the region of 14,500, meaning that to sell out the venue for a friendly could be tricky in prime holiday season.
The club are doing absolutely everything in their power to sell as many tickets as possible for the match, and all I can do is urge fans of QPR, and football in general, to spread to word so we can get as many people to the game as possible.
Another question about summer recruitment
What positions do the club need to strengthen?
The main area to improve is the defence.
In my opinion the side appear too frail at the back leading to us conceding too many goals. An approach is needed to build from the back so that we can rely on the team conceding minimal goals, meaning that we are not out of a game before it’s really started, especially if we are to be battling in the bottom half of the league again.
As well as the defence, the side need one or two attacking players, maybe another winger and a number 10, as creativity is what’s really missing from the side, and I think the strikers we have at the club will finish chances if they have those opportunities created for them.
A question about the gaffer...
Is Ian Holloway the right man to lead the club into the new season?
I’m firmly behind Ian Holloway. Last season was far from being good enough, but Ollie came in and was tasked with pulling together a largely disjointed squad of players.
What he showed was that his methods behind the scenes had potential (despite results on the pitch not necessarily reflecting it).
In my opinion, Ollie can’t be judged until he’s had a full pre-season with the team, and until he’s had chance to make the squad his own. He’s started to do just that as he streamlines the squad to what he wants, and I believe that by the end of August the team will be significantly improved on the team we saw in spells last season.
Now you're putting my head on the block...
What are your predictions for the new season?
Last season was too close for comfort for a club like QPR. The focus this summer must be on making improvements to the team and not making wholesale changes, because in my opinion that doesn’t solve anything.
It all depends on what the club can do in the transfer market, but if the club can recruit three or four experienced Championship signings I’d expect the side to be pushing around 13th/14th in the league.
A question about the club's most sought after asset...
Will we be able to keep Alex Smithies at the club?
I’m adamant that the club will be doing everything they can to keep Smithies at the club.
The keeper is one of QPR’s biggest assets and they certainly wouldn’t sell without getting an exceptional deal for him.
There’s been a lot of speculation around interest from sides such as Huddersfield and Sunderland, but until that speculation turns into concrete interest, there isn’t a decision to be made.
As far as we know, Smithies is happy at Loftus Road after recently signing a new long-term contract, and so the club will be confident that he will remain at Loftus Road when the transfer window shuts.
A question I've received a lot on social media in the last week or so...
Why haven’t we made more signings in the transfer market?
A difficult question to answer. The transfer market is particularly volatile at this stage of the season with most managers still in the stage of assessing their squads ahead of the new season. This often leads to inflated price tags, something which QPR are not willing to be held to ransom over.
What the club are trying to avoid is focussing on quantity over quality, as this hasn’t exactly proved fruitful in recent years, so Les Ferdinand and co. will be working tirelessly to ensure they are getting the right player for the club, while also ensuring they are not paying over the odds.
It was always unlikely to get all our business done before the start of the season, but we still have just over three weeks until the start of the season to bring in further additions.
The first question is in and it's about QPR's new signing...
What will new signing Josh Scowen bring to side?
From what I’ve seen of Scowen I think he could be a great signing. He’s very much a deep-lying midfielder who loves to put in a challenge and give the opposition a difficult time.
Don’t get me wrong, he’s fully capable of playing as well, but his main strength is his ability to add some bite into midfield, something which the current squad desperately needs.
