Chris Samba opened up about his time at Queen’s Park Rangers in 2013, describing it as the worst dressing room he’s ever been in.
Ahead of the 2011/12 season, QPR owner Tony Fernandes splashed the cash on a series of high-profile signings after his team secured promotion to the Premier League. However, despite the influx of talent, the R’s barely avoided relegation, prompting Fernandes to dig deep into his pockets once more.
In the subsequent season, the club’s transfer expenditure exceeded £40million, but the west London outfit ended up rock bottom and were subsequently relegated. Samba, who featured in just 10 matches in the league that year, confessed that the team dynamics were as dismal as their performance on the pitch.
“Let me put it this way that [QPR’s] is the worst dressing room I’ve been in in football,” Samba revealed 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.”
(Image: Charlie Crowhurst)
Star players such as Loic Remy, Junior Hoilett, Ji-sung Park, Jermaine Jenas, and even Champions League-winning Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar joining the ranks at Loftus Road. Yet, much to the dismay of those observing from afar, the investment failed to yield the desired results, reports the Mirror.
Another member of the squad, Samba’s stint was brief and far from fruitful. After transferring from Russian outfit Anzhi Makhachkala in January 2013, the centre-back confessed to being out of shape, which resulted in lacklustre performances, an injury that knocked him out for the season’s tail end, and a hasty return to Russia come July.
(Image: Richard Heathcote)
“I wasn’t fit. Absolutely unfit,” Samba continued when asked about his QPR stint. “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.”