FLW look at eight of Queens Park Rangers’ biggest transfer flops in their history.
QPR have had their fare share of transfer blunders over the years, in both the Championship and the Premier League.
This summer was a busy one for the club in the market, with Gareth Ainsworth and co. intent on avoiding relegation for a second season running.
That business looks like a mixed bag at the moment, with Martí Cifuentes now at the helm to replace Ainsworth in the hopes of surviving the drop. January may be a big month for the club to turn things around in the market, but previous windows have also seen their fair share of mistakes.
Here, we take a look back through time and at some of the worst in their history and eight of the biggest transfer flops that supporters will have quickly wanted to forget.
Pascal Chimbonda
Chimbonda’s stint with QPR was brief and forgettable for both himself and Rangers fans. In January 2011, he joined on a short-term contract from Blackburn and would barely take the field for the West London side.
In April, it was confirmed that Chimbonda was to be released by the club and would not play for the club again after manager Neil Warnock froze him out.
Chimbonda’s time was fairly pointless and he didn’t impress much in the three appearances, which spanned only 72 minutes of football. His last appearance came in a shambolic 4-1 defeat to Scunthorpe United.
Bob Taylor
In 2000, Taylor signed for Wolverhampton Wanderers for £1.55 million on a four-year deal, commenting that City’s signings of Paolo Wanchope and George Weah meant his playing time would be limited at the club.
He only made 12 first team appearances for Wolves, scoring three goals and suffered with then undiagnosed circulatory problems in his legs. Whilst at the club he was sent out on loan three times, one of which was to QPR.
Four games and no goals or assists, whilst also looking way out of his depth towards the latter stages of his career made him one of the worst signings in recent memory. It was no coincidence that he played so little for both Wolves and QPR.
Ben Gladwin
Ben Gladwin joined QPR from Swindon Town in a double switch which also saw Massimo Luongo make the move to the club in 2015 for an undisclosed fee. Whereas Luongo would go on to become a fan favourite at Loftus Road, racking up over 150 appearances in that time, Gladwin was less effective during his spell with the Championship.
That’s despite coming with a strong reputation. Gladwin would play only 17 games at QPR, registering one assist, and heading out on loan multiple times, before sealing a permanent move to Blackburn Rovers in 2017.
The 30-year-old is now playing for Crawley Town in League Two, following another stint with Swindon recently. He was forgettable and a completely unsuccessful piece of business for the side.
Tal Ben-Haim
Tal Ben-Haim
Ben-Haim was signed by QPR on a short-term deal in January 2013, and both he and the club would have been hoping to use his wealth of top-flight experience to their advantage during his stint with QPR.
Despite his age, it came as somewhat of a surprise when the defender ultimately failed to make an impact at Loftus Road. The Israeli centre-back had previously featured for the likes of Portsmouth, Manchester City, and Chelsea in the Premier League.
He would make only six miserable appearances for the R’s, before his eventual release by the club relegated to the Championship. Ben-Haim was a disastrous addition considering what he brought on paper.
Samba Diakite
The Mali international arrived on loan in January 2012 and made nine Premier League appearances between his signing and the end of the season, even scoring once in a huge 2-1 victory over Arsenal at Loftus Road.
That start was promising but Diakite signed permanently the following summer and only made 14 league appearances as his side were relegated to the Championship, and the midfielder was then discarded by Harry Redknapp.
His last appearance for the club was in 2013, but he only permanently left in 2016. He was a bit of a hothead and accumulated many cards, including two sendings off, as well as a further 11 yellow cards in just 23 games during his stint at Loftus Road.
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