Premier League’s ‘worst dressing room’ filled with ‘resentment’ in relegation battle
Former Premier League defender Chris Samba has opened up about his time at QPR in 2013, describing it as the ‘worst dressing room’ he’s ever been in due to massive wage disparities between players
QPR had a wave of investment in the early 2010s(Image: Getty)
A Premier League star has opened up about the most toxic dressing he ever encountered.
Prior to the 2011/12 campaign, QPR owner Tony Fernandes invested heavily in a string of marquee acquisitions after his side earned promotion to the Premier League. Nevertheless, despite the arrival of quality players, the R’s narrowly escaped the drop, leading Fernandes to open his wallet once again.
During the following campaign, the club’s spending surpassed £40million, yet the west London side finished bottom and suffered relegation. Chris Samba, who appeared in merely 10 league fixtures that term, admitted the squad atmosphere proved as poor as their displays on the field.
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“Let me put it this way that [QPR’s] is the worst dressing room I’ve been in in football,” Samba disclosed on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast.
“Harry [Redknapp was the manager]. I don’t think he lost the dressing room; I think the way the wages were being structured was not really good.”
“You had a player on £10k playing with a player on £50k, and you’ll have someone on £20k that plays with someone who is on £100k. So, there’s a lot of resentment. Or, if that player played better than the one who is on more money on that day, he feels some type of way.”
Star players such as Loic Remy, Junior Hoilett, Ji-sung Park, Jermaine Jenas, and even Champions League -winning Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar arrived at Loftus Road.
Yet, much to the frustration of those watching from the sidelines, the spending spree failed to deliver the hoped-for outcomes, reports the Mirror.
Another squad member, Samba’s time proved short-lived and largely unsuccessful. Following his move from Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala in January 2013, the centre-back admitted to being physically unprepared, which led to disappointing displays, an injury that sidelined him for the campaign’s conclusion, and a swift departure back to Russia come July.
“I wasn’t fit. Absolutely unfit,” Samba continued when questioned about his QPR period. “When you finish in Russia, you finish around the 10th of December, and normally, you come back for preseason around the end of February or March.
“So, at the time when I came on the last day of the [January] transfer window, I’m on holiday. A big unit needs a lot of time to prepare, and that’s where my regrets lie a little bit. I feel like if I came in the summer and had a proper pre-season, I could have shown who I really am.
“When I arrived, I remember a simple drill in the week, 20 seconds end of the pitch, 20 seconds rest, 20 seconds back I couldn’t do it.
“I couldn’t do it. But at the weekend, I played, and we didn’t lose, by the way! We drew. So, I’ve been asked, ‘Where do you think you are physically,’ and I responded, ’15-20 per cent.’ I’ve been told, ‘That’s good enough!
“At that moment, I was like, ‘I will play, I will play’, and obviously, over a couple of games, you feel your body just quitting on you, and it is not who I was.
“It was difficult because I was still an individual with pride and work so hard to have a certain level. People knew me as Chris Samba, not as that half-player that you see, so it was difficult, it was difficult.”
