Like few other clubs in the Premiership at the minute, QPR can boast a very healthy transfer war chest. They general consensus is that Neil Warnock simply ran out of time in his hunt to bring in the players he wanted to at the end of the last transfer window, and he ended up spending more money on some slightly ill-considered players, who might not be at the London club now if Tony Fernandes' money had been available at the start of the window. If QPR want to be a force in the Premiership they will have to conquer this first season, and stay in the Premiership at all costs: but they must also do so without acquiring too many mercenary players on inflated wages and with egos to match. They must also be careful not to run before they can walk as a Premiership team - there have been some good performances so far this season, and Loftus Road is a difficult place to go and get a result, thanks to the size of the stadium and the atmosphere created by the home fans, but team spirit was a big thing in getting QPR up into the Premiership, and changing the team too much is a dangerous game to play, even for such a rich club. But changes do need to be made if QPR want to kick on, and cement their position in the Premiership which is presumably Objective Number One for Fernandes and Warnock.
What They Need
At least one heavy hitting striker, possibly two. Bobby Zamora will once more find his name appearing in a lot of newspapers and online articles dedicated to likely movers and shakers in this window, and QPR are already said to be interested in the currently (allegedly) disgruntled Fulham striker. He certainly has the ability to pop up with a few good goals, but he is not the striking messiah some might believe, and he needs a helping hand up top, and while Jay Bothroyd and DJ Campbell are reasonable enough players they are not top half of the Premiership players by any means. In truth, QPR probably need to spend a good £15m on finding the right recipe of someone who can profit from Shaun Wright-Phillips forward runs (that doesnt necessarily mean a straight-forward centre-forward as the crosses dont always come into the box from that option) and from Joey Barton's long balls from deep which Andy Carroll profited from so well when the pair linked up at Newcastle. But January is a seller's market, and the opportunity to unearth a striking gem whose value isn't temporarily inflated by a good £10m is a rare thing indeed. The Londoners could also do with a stronger spine, and in particular another centre-half to shore up Anton Ferdinand and Danny Gabbidon, offering competition or even another option when Ferdinand looks out of place (his positional sense can occasionally badly let him down, and he fouls players in dangerous areas way too much).
Outgoing?
Unfortunately for the squad who got QPR into the Premiership, those who gain promotion are invariably not those who will cement the team's position in the league, nor those who will take the club onto the next level. With that in mind there are a lot of players currently on the books who will not be around for much longer if Fernandes and Warnock are serious about making a play for sustained presence in the top division. The names of Fitz Hall, Tommy Smith, Bradley Orr, Tommy Smith, Jamie Mackie and Shaun Derry may have been big players in the past few seasons, but they will quickly find themselves in the shop window when Warnock starts to bring in the higher calibre of player that becomes available to richer clubs who manage to stay in the Premiership first time round. That will of course lead to some instability, and a period of transition, which usually means such big changes are made during the summer months, but any one or number of those players may find themselves available to Championship clubs with one eye on acquiring players who know how to get out of that division to use an old cliche. So, QPR fans, what do you think? Where can Neil Warnock spend Tony Fernandes' millions to turn QPR into a Premiership power? And who does he need to get rid of along the way? Let us know below.