500 Days of Summer

THE season has barely been concluded for Queens Park Rangers and already the frenzied speculation of the tabloid media is beginning to wear thin.

While it would take an immense effort for the current crop of players to maintain Rangers' place in the top flight, the rumours have been somewhat disrespectful to the players that made it all happen.

The summer is set to be long and drawn-out given the amount of early speculation combined with Rangers' seemingly never-ending wait to play top flight football once more.

Neil Warnock set to be sacked, Warnock axing 15 players, Rangers going for internional players and managers - rumours that are not only undesired but unhelpful in terms of managing expectations.

There have been some plausible rumours of signings that would be welcomed - Jimmy Bullard is useful when fit, Andrew Johnson and Zoltán Gera also have top flight pedigree.

The only place the line is drawn is with names such as Joe Cole. Not that the Liverpool man isn't a fine talent indeed but the figures being bandied about in terms of wages make this a relative non-starter.

It seems the rumours that blighted Rangers progress in the early days of Flavio Briatore are rearing their ugly head once more - for Cole read the laughable Luís Figo rumour of 2008.

Continental management being linked once again and whether this has any grounding it shows an immense disrespect for the man that has engineered a fine revival at Loftus Road.

Despite the current squad working extremely hard and earning their right to play in the Premier League, strengthening will be necessary in order to compete effectively and retain their place.

Admittedly it makes a refreshing change from the antics that have helped QPR become one of the most talked about clubs in recent seasons, but a little more of a restrained attitude from the media would be welcomed.

Regardless of my opinions however, the speculation will continue, expectancy levels will flutter and it will be a roller-coaster of a summer, let alone the start of a new campaign.

In the same way that supporters took the ramblings of tabloid newspapers with a pinch of salt with regards to the FA punishment, the same cautious nature should be applied to the positive press.

So while many can enjoy the summer, the process of waiting for the fixtures to come out and the rumour and speculation that fill the void will have me longing for the season to begin again.

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