'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
With confirmation of QPR’s inevitable relegation from the Premier League coming after one of the worst games in the history of the competition, interest has turned towards the future of manager Harry Redknapp, now secure, and that of his squad, which is anything but. QPR have the seventh highest wage bill in the Premier League (!) at over £50m a year, which will be added to by returning players like Joey Barton, Djibril Cisse and Anton Ferdinand, all of whom are on at least £40,000 a week.
Harry Redkanpp has been saying that the problem for him is that he has a squad on big wages and long contracts, which makes them difficult to move. Here, I will look at what Redknapp will have at his disposal next year, what chance they have of moving some of it on and who they could keep. QPR really need to shed at least half their wage bill next year and still be competitive. It’s an uphill task but Harry likes nothing more than a deal. He’ll need to make plenty of them.
For the purposes of the contracts, I am using available public domain information.
Contract £70k a week until 2016Can they sell? Cesar has done well in the Premier League and won’t be willing to drop down a division and they might well get interest at a low price, something like £1-2m at most given his huge contract.Will he be there next season? No. He’s worth a gamble at £1m for a top division team but QPR might need to contribute to his wage.
Rob Green
Contract £50k a week until 2014Can they sell? No. Green has been a disaster in the Premier League and no club in their right mind would pay him even half his current wage. He has no reason to move.Will he be there next season? Yes. He only has a year left and would be a decent option at Championship level. Plus, who would buy him?
Chris Samba
Contract £100k until 2017 (!)Can they sell? This was a disastrous signing. Not only has he been awful but look at that contract. He can sit tight on £100k a week until he is 34. It is a ruinous contract in the top flight but in the Championship it will be as high as many clubs entire weekly bill. I don’t think Redknapp will look to sell though. He’s his marquee signing and is stubborn enough to see it through.Will he be there next season? Yes.
Anton Ferdinand
Contract £40k a week until 2014Can they sell him? No. If, for some reason, a Premier League was interested in him why not wait until next year and get him for free?Will he be there next season? Yes. And probably starting.
Suk-Young Yoon
Contract £15k a week until 2016Can they sell him? He was signed without a plan in January, he’s not played at all since coming, and won’t be at all desirable for anyone else.Will he be there next season? Yes. He might also find himself starting by default next year.
Nedum Onuoha
Contract £45k a week until 2016Can they sell him? £45k a week to Nedum Onouha? It’s almost unbelievable but it’s a symptom of why they are where they are. He’s shown he’s not a Premier League player but he should be solid a level down. Quite apart from the fact that unless they say someone can have him for free and persuade them to pay this wage. Is there another club stupid enough?Will he be there next season? Yes. Impossible contract to shift and might be a decent player in the second tier.
Contract £60k a week until 2015Can they sell him? This was always going to be a poor signing. Taking a player with previous pedigree on a free just because you are offering the biggest wages is never going to work. Bosingwa never fancied the fight and so it showed. He’s not worth any money and is pretty much done as a player unless they can dump him back to Portugal. The contract is going to make that almost impossible unless they pay about 3/4 of it just to get him out of the building.Will he be there next season? No chance. Redknapp sees him as too negative an influence and would probably rather pay him not to come in.
Stephane M’Bia
Contract £55k a week until 2014Can they sell him? Yes, although ironically considering other contract errors, his is too short to get full value. He could certainly tempt someone at £3-4m but he might be happy to sit tight and get paid.Will he be there next season? No. I can see this as a deadline day sale. You just can’t pay someone £55k a week in the Championship if they can get money for him.
Samba Diakite
Contract £25k a week until 2016Can they sell him? Who would want him? He started OK but has simply given up. Another who they would have to eat a significant loss on just to get out of the club.Will he be there next season? Yes. They can’t just pay everybody off and his wage isn’t as bad as some others.
Esteban Granero
Contract £55k a week until 2016Can they sell him? Yes. It’s amazing to remember that this was considered a coup at the time but like Bosingwa there is always a warning sign when a player is signed for no reason and joins a poor club for huge money. He hasn’t applied himself at all. However, he still has cache in Spain where he could be loaned or sold on the cheap.Will he be there next season? No.
Joey Barton
Contract £65k a week until 2016 (!)Can they sell him? So QPR were the only club that would touch him when he left Newcastle and still lumbered themselves with this contract?! Unreal. No club in England would go near him even regardless of the contract. Besides, Redkanpp has had positive things to say about him and likes turning around a rogue.Will he be there next season? Yes. Can’t possibly get rid anyway and might be useful in the Championship where he should offer quality.
Alejandro Faurlin
Contract £30k per week until 2014Can they sell him? he was outstanding last time in the Championship before being bizarrely cast aside by Hughes. He would interest teams, perhaps in Italy where he is now, at £2-3m for sure.Will he be there next season? Maybe. He’d offer class but is one of the few players not on an albatross contract who they may also get re-sale money on.
Park Ji-Sung
Contract £70k a week until 2014Can they sell him? No. Who would pay for a 32-year old whose game was based on physicality so has hit a rapid decline? Oh that’s right, QPR. But no one else. Also, £70k a week! Never buy from Ferguson or Wenger.Will he be there next season? No. I see Park as the type who would cancel his contract and perhaps head home to wind down his career in a less taxing league.
Contract £30k a week until 2016Can they sell him? He’s a tweener. He needs a league between the Premier League and the Championship because he’s not good enough for the first and too good for the latter. I can’t see why any club would want to sign him.Will he be there next season? Yes. Incredibly considering they are a Championship club, his contract is reasonable and he has shown he can excel in the second tier. Plus, who exactly has been impressed by him over the last two years?
Shaun Wright-Phillips
Contract £65k a week until 2014Can they sell him? Would you buy a 31-year old winger and pay him £65k a week? Exactly.Will he be there next season? Yes. He can do a job in the Championship and only has one year left on his deal so they may as well get some value out of him.
Contract £50k a week until 2016Can they sell him? Last year he was a hot property but he’s lost his way at QPR. However, his pace and goals are too valuable an asset in the Championship to be getting rid of. As ever, the contract is absurd. Twice as much as Villa pay Cristian Benteke for example, and can’t be moved.Will he be there next season? Yes. Unlike pretty much all of the above he is young and can still be resuscitated. Pace is a weapon and he has a lot of it.
Jamie Mackie
Contract £18k per week until 2014Can they sell him? Who to? He’s a decent Championship player who offers the grit and determination that Redknapp desires.Will he be there next season? Yes. He knows his way around the league and isn’t at the club for the money.
Contract £80k per week until 2017 (£8m release clause activated)Can they sell him? I don’t think they’ll have a choice. His relegation clause has been activated and he’s shown enough in a terrible team to interest a Premier League club. He is definitely worth spending £8m on for teams like Newcastle, Sunderland and Villa.Will he be there next season? No. I’d be surprised if he’s there in July even.
Bobby Zamora
Contract £60k per week until 2014Can they sell him? £3m a year and he doesn’t like football. Yikes. He’s one of these players who keeps getting chances, so possibly, but this contract is ludicrous. If the fact that he hates football doesn’t put teams off, surely the money would.Will he be there next season? Yes. Redknapp seems to rate him and he’d be impossible to shift.
Andy Johnson
Contract £40k per week until 2014Can they sell him? He’s lost his pace and hardly plays any more because of injury. So obviously everyone wants to sign him right? What other possible reason could there be to pay him £40k a week? Maybe because he saw QPR coming. Literally no re-sale value, so they may as well keep him and see if he can do something in the Championship.Will he be there next season? Yes, by default.
Djibril Cisse
Contract £60k a week until 2014Can they sell him? No, but he won’t want any part of the Championship. Will probably take his release before cashing in in Qatar.Will he be there next season? No. Less than no chance.
Jay Bothroyd
Contract £30k per week until 2014Can they sell him? They probably won’t want to as he has shown he can do well in the Championship previously.Will he be there next season? Yes. And although he won’t justify the wages in real terms, if, as is very possible, he can grab 20 goals I’m sure QPR will think it worthwhile.
Good luck Harry!
