Some QPR supporters may not love it but latest Les Ferdinand move could prove a masterstroke: Opinion | OneFootball

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Football League World

·7 February 2023

Some QPR supporters may not love it but latest Les Ferdinand move could prove a masterstroke: Opinion

Article image:Some QPR supporters may not love it but latest Les Ferdinand move could prove a masterstroke: Opinion

QPR supporters will likely have been frustrated not to see a new striker sign before the end of January but yesterday the west Londoners announced the arrival of Chris Martin, who joins as a free agent after being released by Bristol City at the end of the winter window.

It’s a move that appears to have taken many fans of the Championship club by surprise and you can understand why on first impressions large swathes of the Loftus Park faithful may find it a hard one to get excited about.


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Martin is 34 now and was deemed excess to requirements by a team that have spent most of the season languishing in the bottom half of the second tier table.

But there are reasons to suggest that director of football Les Ferdinand’s latest move could prove to be a masterstroke for the R’s.

First of all, it should help to solve a clear issue facing the west London club. With Lyndon Dykes sidelined due to pneumonia and Tyler Roberts missing the Huddersfield Town game due to an apparent hamstring injury, Jamal Lowe and Sinclair Armstrong are Neil Critchley’s only striking options.

More depth was definitely needed and though supporters would have been hoping for a more exciting addition before the deadline, the struggles of the likes of Sunderland and Swansea City to add more forward firepower in January shows it was a difficult market to deal in.

Martin’s goal tally is down significantly this season but that’s due to a lack of opportunities, which is more down to the rise of Tommy Conway and Sam Bell than his own failures.

He scored 12 goals and provided six assists in 45 appearances for the Robins last term, which suggests he is still more than able to contribute at this level despite entering the twilight of his career.

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Martin arrives as a cost-effective option but one that can help to get the best out of the R’s key attacking players – Lowe, Ilias Chair, and Chris Willock.

It’s telling that, as per FBREF, the new R’s arrival’s stats over the past year are most comparable to Blackpool’s Gary Madine and Critchley will want him to play a similar role.

Madine chipped in with goals here and there for the Tangerines during Critchley’s reign – bagging nine in 2021/22 and eight the year before – but arguably his most important role was to help the likes of Josh Bowler, Jerry Yates, Shayne Lavery, and Keshi Anderson by winning headers, occupying defenders to create more space and linking up with his teammates in the final third.

Martin will surely be tasked with doing the same for the R’s and that could help the likes of Chair, Lowe, and Willock to flourish once again.

The R’s were never likely to be able to sign a striker to fire them back into play-off contention in January so their best hope is likely drafting in a player to help get the most out of the attacking weapons already at Critchley’s disposal.

Martin looks well suited to that role and could prove the doubters wrong in W12 in the coming months.

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