"A shambles!" - QPR urged to fix big issue that has derailed 2024/25 season | OneFootball

QPR must do all they can to sort their injury situation after it impacted their current season.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Queens Park Rangers have been told to change the situation with director of performance Ben Williams, irrespective of whether Marti Cifuentes remains at Loftus Road.

After miraculously keeping the R’s up last season, Cifuentes has led the team to a safe mid-table finish this time around.

However, there are major doubts about his future, amid reports that he has had disagreements with CEO Christian Nourry, whilst it has been said that West Brom have spoken to the Spaniard.

QPR told to solve injury issues that have hindered current campaign

It was claimed that one of the disagreements between Cifuentes and Nourry centred on Williams, who is director of performance.

He currently oversees the sports science, medical, physio and nutrition departments remotely from Dubai, with Cifuentes blaming the number of injuries on the fact he is no longer at the club on a day-to-day basis.

And, when asked by FLW about one particular issue that needs rectifying at QPR, fan pundit Louis identified solving the injury problems, which he feels played a big role in the inconsistent performances this season.

“One of the biggest things that Cifuentes has been frustrated by is the number of injuries. Every club gets injuries, but I’ve never seen a season like it in terms of how many important players we’ve lost. Players will come back and then break down again a few weeks later. We’ve not been able to field our best XI more than three times in a row this season. It has been a shambles!

“The director of performance has not been there, which again, it can’t be coincidental. When he came in, we hardly had any injuries, and then he stopped working at the club full-time, and it seems there has been a lack of planning to cover him not being there. It’s not normal, and all these injuries seem muscle related.

“Players have been getting injured in the warm-ups, it’s just not right at all. We’d have had a totally different season if we had a fully-fit squad. You’re going to get injuries, but if the majority of the squad had been fit for most of the season, then it would have looked different.

“The club have either got to get the director of performance back full-time, or they’ve got to look at that role, if he can’t commit, they have to get someone else in. Something needs to be sorted, as you can’t go into next season with the risk of more injuries on a regular basis. You’ll be so inconsistent, and that’s impacted us this season, having a big impact on the team.”

QPR must sort key off-field positions ahead of next season

The issue with Cifuentes and Nourry is far from ideal, and it suggests the problems run deeper at QPR right now.

Clearly, they need to sort out these problems, as the right structure needs to be in place to give the manager the best chance to succeed, whether that’s Cifuentes or someone else.

Injuries can play a massive part for any club, and the R’s will no doubt review what went on when the season finishes, and questions will be asked, particularly over Williams’ involvement.

So, a lot of big calls must be made by QPR over the next few weeks, and it’s crucial they get things right as soon as possible to ensure the foundations are in place for a more successful 2025/26 season.