Ranking the 7 best QPR wingers in the 21st century - Matt Phillips = 4th | OneFootball

Ranking the 7 best QPR wingers in the 21st century - Matt Phillips = 4th | OneFootball

Icon: Football League World

Football League World

·12 November 2023

Ranking the 7 best QPR wingers in the 21st century - Matt Phillips = 4th

Article image:Ranking the 7 best QPR wingers in the 21st century - Matt Phillips = 4th

Highlights

  • QPR's decline from promotion competitors to relegation battlers has led to the appointment of new manager Marti Cifuentes and raised hopes for the future.
  • Key players Ilias Chair and Chris Willock will need to step up and perform well in order for QPR to have a chance at avoiding relegation.
  • The article discusses the best wingers to have played for QPR in the 21st century, with Junior Hoilett, Chris Willock, Jamie Mackie, Matt Phillips, Gareth Ainsworth, Akos Buzsaky, and Lee Cook all being mentioned.

Queens Park Rangers have made a poor start to the campaign and will be keen to get themselves back on track as quickly as possible under Marti Cifuentes.

The R's have declined from being promotion competitors under Mark Warburton for much of the 2021/22 campaign to relegation battlers during the latter stages of last season and the start of this term.


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Now they're under a new manager, many QPR supporters will be more optimistic about their future, but positive results will be needed sooner rather than later to give themselves the best chance of escaping the drop.

It won't just be up to Cifuentes to get results though - the R's key players will need to step up to the plate - with Ilias Chair and Chris Willock two players who can make a difference.

Not only can they make a difference, but both can operate out wide and sticking to a similar theme, we have listed who we feel as the West London side's seven best wingers of the 21st century so far.

7 Junior Hoilett

The Canadian won promotion to the Premier League with the R's - and registered 13 goals and 13 assists in 122 competitive appearances for the club.

That may not be the most impressive record - but he was certainly a talent at Loftus Road and is deserving of his place in this list for lighting up West London at times.

He has gone on to appear for the likes of Cardiff City and Reading.

6 Chris Willock

Willock has proved to be a shrewd buy and it would be a massive shame if they lost him on the expiration of his contract next summer.

The ex-Arsenal man can be a game-changer on his day and it's just frustrating that he hasn't been too consistent during his time in the English capital.

He would probably be higher up on this list if he was, but he's still an asset and could prove to be a crucial player under new boss Cifuentes.

5 Jamie Mackie

Mackie had two spells at Loftus Road and did well during both, even stepping up to the top tier well.

His achievements at the club don't come as a major surprise considering he enjoyed a decent career in the EFL, stepping up to the plate for other teams as well including Reading, with the winger guiding the Royals to the FA Cup semis back in 2015.

4 Matt Phillips

Phillips is another player who's still in the game, but he's currently playing for QPR's league rivals West Bromwich Albion and in fairness to him, he hasn't disgraced himself under Carlos Corberan.

He was a useful figure for the R's too and deserves to be high up on this list considering he didn't just perform well for the club in the Championship, but also stepped up to the plate in the top flight and that has to be admired.

Not every player in this list has secured top-tier football with the West London side and because of this, his achievements deserve to be recognised.

It's just a shame that they were unable to hold on to him.

It's a shame for Ainsworth that his managerial spell at Loftus Road didn't work out the way he would have wanted it to.

Having the summer window to turn things around in the capital, it looked as though the 50-year-old was going to transform the team following a rough 2022/23 campaign.

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to do well enough during the early stages of this term, but can still be classed as a QPR legend for playing a key part in guiding the club to the First Division.

2 Akos Buzsaky

Doing well during the 2007/08 and 2009/10 seasons, the Hungarian contributed to QPR's rise to the top tier.

Scoring 24 times in 125 competitive appearances, his scoring rate has to be admired and it's just a shame he wasn't able to make more of an impact for them at the top level.

1 Lee Cook

Cook may have only scored 13 goals in 196 appearances for the club, but he registered 37 assists in the process and that's a very, very impressive record.

His contributions helped to keep the club in the second tier and the R's will have been delighted when they had the opportunity to re-sign him permanently from Fulham.

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