London – Harry Redknapp is facing a fight to offload his “overpaid” players as he plans a Queens Park Rangers clear-out.
The Loftus Road manager wants to raise cash by moving out the players he believes are surplus to requirements.
Speaking on Saturday after the 1-0 defeat at Newcastle, Redknapp said: “There’s an awful lot of players at this club earning far too much money for what they are – far, far, far too much money for their ability and what they give to the club.”
A number of former manager Mark Hughes’s signings are expected to be slashed from Redknapp’s squad in the next two transfer windows.
These include defender Jose Bosingwa, who was last week fined £130,000 by the club for refusing to sit on the bench for the club’s 2-1 win over Fulham. He will lead the planned exodus.
Without naming Boswinga, Redknapp said: “He didn’t want to be on the bench and didn’t want to be a substitute, so he went home.
“He has been fined two weeks’ wages, £130,000. Not too bad for two weeks – decent isn’t it?”
Dai Mail understands Djibril Cisse, Samba Diakite and Stephane Mbia, who were all signed on lucrative contracts by Hughes, are facing the axe.
But club officials fear the players on big salaries will not be easy to shift because they will not be prepared to take the significant wage reduction needed to secure a move elsewhere. Continuing his attack on players not justifying their high wages, Redknapp said: “I don’t really want to see the owners have their pants taken down like they have in the past. A lot of agents made money out of them.
“I fined a player last week and he was earning more than any player earned at Tottenham (Redknapp’s previous club). You shouldn’t be paying massive wages when you’ve got a stadium that holds 18,000 people.
“Newcastle holds 52,000 and most of their players will be nowhere near the wages some of the players are earning here.”
QPR will now fear relegation is beckoning after this defeat and skipper Ryan Nelsen revealed that Redknapp was not just angry at the amount of money some of his players earn.
“The manager is not very happy. That’s our first defeat under him and obviously he hates losing,” Nelsen said. “He’s not very happy at all, but everyone is a wee bit disappointed with that performance to tell you the truth.”
A late goal by Newcastle striker Shola Ameobi, on as a substitute, saw Redknapp’s side beaten 1-0 but Nelsen admitted the driving rain had made the game enjoyable to play in.
“I love those conditions,” the central defender said. “I’ve got to admit it was fun out there for most of the match. St James’ Park is one of my favourite places, especially with the rain lashing down and wind biting and the crowd is really passionate.
“Maybe I’m just old and sentimental but that’s what English football is all about. Good old English football. It was like the Alamo at times. I swear I heard the horns and the cavalry coming.” – Daily Mail