This post has been merged from a topic called 'Charlie Austin (rumour)' by james03

QPR are probably waiting for a club that makes a poor start to panic and buy him at the end of the window. I reckon that'll happen too. I could see him ending up at West Brom.

This post has been merged from a topic called 'Charlie Austin (rumour)' by james03

Shocking bet. I wouldn't have gone near that at 100-1 now. You think we'd spend over 20 million on 2 target men within a few weeks , when we've already got Murray. I'd be happy to be wrong, but you should have put the stake on the lottery, or pullis f***ing off before a balls kicked.

This post has been merged from a topic called 'Charlie Austin (rumour)' by james03

Agree with this. I don't personally think that the interest surrounding him is as big as published. He will move but not to us, even if we do have a bad start, which will largely be due to its toughness. We have done our business now in attack, expect attention is now being focused on another CB.

“ [T]here are known knowns; there are things we know that we know.There are known unknowns; that is to say there are things that, we now know we don't know.But there are also unknown unknowns – there are things we do not know we don't know. ”
—United States Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld

This post has been merged from a topic called 'Charlie Austin (rumour)' by james03

WRONG

NOW there maybe one more signing

This post has been merged from a topic called 'Charlie Austin (rumour)' by james03

I doubt they will pay the asking price. They're silly if they do. The fact is, QPR are in a simply awful position. Austin has one year left on his contract, so they can't bargain as most clubs will simply wait out the year and sign him for free if they want him. Furthermore, he's already failed one transfer medical so fit or not, the question mark over him remains and either reduces his value or will be used as a negotiating tool. Next, there have, to the best of my knowledge, been no firm offers for him at all this summer and certainly the auction for his services that QPR envisaged has not materialised. And lastly, until he proves otherwise he remains a one-season wonder in Premier League terms no matter how good you think he is.

QPRs best window to sell him was really immediately after the season ended, when he was in the England squad, his recent exploits were fresh in the memory, and teams were still formulating their summer transfer market plans and had money to spend. Now, most clubs have done the bulk of their buying and Austin is left on the shelf. QPR are in a very poor position and they're making it worse by making public noises about how they "want Austin's future sorted before the window closes." That is simply going to help his price drop even further, by the day.

I'm not sure why Austin has been so overlooked - probably a combination of all the factors above - but you can bet neither QPR nor Austin himself thought that three days before the season began he'd still be in a QPR shirt with no real interest in his services from anywhere. I almost feel sorry for Rangers, and I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up playing for them in the Championship. If he does move, I suspect it will be around deadline day and for a deal closer to 10 million than 15. It may also be to an ambitious Championship club like Middlesboro rather than to a team in the PL.

The market may be going crazy generally but Austin is a salutary lesson that you can't take anything for granted.

Sydenham by birth. Selhurst by the Grace of God.

This post has been merged from a topic called 'Charlie Austin (rumour)' by james03

Stop the clocks, I agree with Syd TWICE IN ONE YEAR !!

"It's not the bullet that's got my name on it that concerns me; it's all them other ones flyin' around marked 'To Whom It May Concern.'"