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Only fools rush in

Championship QPR
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There won't be an early attempt to tie up Emmanuel Ledesma’s permanent signing despite his immediate impact at QPR.

Rangers have the option to buy Ledesma for around £2.2m at the end of his season-long loan from Genoa.

But they do not have to wait until then and are free to try and complete his transfer before the summer.

Few would complain if the club looked to do so now rather than later in the season given Ledesma’s recent displays.

Reading comments from fans after his hat-trick against Carlisle, it’s clear some are worried he could be snatched by another club and feel he should be signed sooner rather than later.

But Rangers are in no rush and so far have not given in to any temptation to try and make the move happen.

His long-term loan means Ledesma’s immediate future is definitely with QPR and the option to buy at an agreed price of three million euros is watertight.

It also doesn’t take a genius to work out that promotion to the Premier League would go a long way to making sure Ledesma is still with Rangers next season.

So nothing has changed since Ledesma’s initial loan was agreed – apart from his profile.

I didn’t see the Carlisle game as I was a away for a couple of days but a colleague who went along was more than impressed – with Ledesma especially.

Two older observers have even told me they haven’t seen a player like him at QPR since the days of Rodney Marsh and Stan Bowles.

As a Roy Wegerle fan I definitely wouldn’t go along with that.

It’s also too soon to judge Ledesma, who has so far run riot in two cup games against lower-division sides and tasted the harshness of Championship football in the defeat at Sheffield United.

Bigger tests lie ahead – one of them being the sheer number of games played in this country.

And the tough away games will be real examinations of both Ledesma and Rangers’ promotion credentials this season.

But he is so exciting – a player every Rangers fan seems to be talking about at the moment.

So exciting that despite knowing, as most of us do, the terms of his move from Genoa and being out of London and away from all things QPR, I couldn’t help wondering if maybe, just maybe, the last few days had convinced the board to get the deal to sign him done.

Unaware that a toddler sitting near me in a coffee shop was warming up for the mother of all tantrums, I called Gianni Paladini to find out if Ledesma was tied to a chair back in west London being deprived of sleep until he signed a 10-year contract.

Paladini confirmed that he wasn’t and that no attempts were being made to get Ledesma signed at this stage. He has after all barely unpacked his suitcase.

Paladini has also lived in this country long enough to have been very English in not commenting on what may have sounded like a child or animal being tortured in the background.

Unlike one afternoon when I was speaking on the phone to Ian Holloway downstairs at TV Centre.

It was a Thursday and he was going through the names on a very long list of players injured for the game that Saturday, when Paul O’Grady walked past me talking to some people quite loudly.

At first Ollie ignored this and carried on bemoaning his injury list but as the commotion in the background continued, he finally asked: “Are you with Lily Savage?”

Back to Paladini. We haven’t always seen eye-to-eye but he was in a chatty mood on Wednesday and naturally on a high after the previous night’s game.

Seeing as we were mates all of a sudden, I tried to steer him towards some transfer news but he quickly steered the conversation back to him and Iain Dowie spotting Ledesma playing at a summer tournament in Italy.

Well fielded. But I always know what they’re up to over there, despite their best efforts.

In fact with a good telescope, I reckon I could quite literally see what they’re up to from here. Now there’s an idea.

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comment by WALK53 (U8524633)

posted Aug 28, 2008

Ledesma is good but i think what QPR need is erm, sign him up. ok

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comment by zone1ranger (U12559759)

posted Aug 28, 2008

I don't think we need to worry or question Ledesma's form away from home or in so called tough English matches. He was the only player who turned up at Sheffield United away.

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comment by 3LionsOnTheShirt (U10145425)

posted Aug 28, 2008

He played one decent game against a fairly poor side. And that's enough for you? I'd like to see how he plays against a bigger side in our own league first and see how he handles it for a few games. We have him on loan for now, so lets see how it goes, one game at a time.

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comment by Matthew 11:28...Come follow weary friends (U12875224)

posted Aug 28, 2008

Excellent column again David, nice one.

Anyway, what's your prediction for Saturday against City?

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comment by ViewFromThePaddock (U5753014)

posted Aug 29, 2008

How's that telescope doing David? There's a lot of talk about Watson signing from Palace (and a lot of hope that Cranie will be joining him).

Without jeopardising any deal on the table, is anything like that likely?

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comment by HoopsyLoopy (U8027336)

posted Aug 29, 2008

That ExiledInLa is a real puzzle ain't he? Over 3,000 miles away he keeps telling us to calm down about Ledesma. Even mentally-challenged fools amongst those who have been regularly attending QPR this millenium can tell that even after 3-5 games Ledesma is of a different order to ANY player seen down Loftus Road.
My brother,a former season ticket holder,lives and works as a radio journalist in Pasadena,20 miles from LA, but shows none of your curmudgeonly sceptism. Certainly EJL has a lot more tricks and potential than Ribery & Ibramovich -both execrable in Euro 2008 - who you list as faves in your profile.
When I was last in that souless freeway of a city in 2004 my sports mad bro took me to a Galaxy game ....no atmosphere,sterile toothless footie,he took me to The Staples Center to see a Lakers game of PattercakePattercakeEasytoScoreJumpalotBall and to watch The Dodgers play RoundersForBoys which had the crowd constantly leaving their seats to stuff their faces and the crowd halved half an hour before the end,(a la Arsenal).I.E. American Sport(no s!) is two-bob so I do feel sorry for you Exile.

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comment by 3LionsOnTheShirt (U10145425)

posted Aug 29, 2008

HoopsyLoopy -

GET LOST.

Did I insult you? Did I get in your face? Grow up why don't you? I don't go around jumping around all excited about every little thing that happens every moment of the day. That's what kids do.
All I'm doing is looking at it long term.

My name is the way it is because it's for Beckham, cos he is, isn't he?

You thought Ribery was execrable (like your mouth) - but he came off injured. Ibrahimovic was not, he scored a screamer, if you can remember in between your sickly pint pukes. And of course you have nothing to say about Messi, because he's also another Argentinian, of the same mold as Ledesma. I know a bit more about Argentinians and European football than you will EVER know.

You were in LA in 2004? Lucky you. They tossed you aside for being an ugly West London lout, didn't they, and didn't even give you the light of day, I bet, with your pale skin that get hurt in the sun so easily. Awwwwwwwww................




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comment by 3LionsOnTheShirt (U10145425)

posted Aug 29, 2008

Oh yeah, as the articles says:

ONLY FOOLS RUSH IN.

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comment by HoopsyLoopy (U8027336)

posted Aug 30, 2008

Oooohhh,get her...
Exiled,a little bit of an o.t.t. hissy fit response wasn't that?
Have I really insulted YOU or got in your face?
I'm glad you cleared up my mistaken assumption about your Username,but you respond with a few of your own...a 'lout','pale skin'?..tut-tut...don't confuse internet embellished personas with reality.
I am interested in being INSTANTLY-the internet is no place for your self-regarding conceited 'long-term' view - amused ,entertained & enlightened & having a laugh or a rant-whole point of 606. My mouth is far from 'execrable'..one of the reasons I like BBC 606 is the moderating that tries to prevent sweary aggressive cyber bullying vendetta merchants.
Miss my bro,wish he was back in Blighty down Loftus Rd.Hate LA,don't hate you.Stick to the argument...I think Ledesma is phenomenal you do not..the rest is froth.(Although I can't stand your constant use of 'YOU lot think',we have many different ways of seeing things..but WE are QPR.)
Look forward to more comments from you and wonder how you got such an encyclopaedic knowledge of Euro footie and why you're so sure it's more than mine? winkeye

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comment by SuperHooper64 (U13245446)

posted Sep 2, 2008

Back to Ledesma. From what I have seen, including an exceptional display against Carlisle last Tuesday, this guy has all the makings of another Diego Maradona, let alone a Stan Bowles.

Crowd whispers of "better than Ronaldo" (lol) swiftly turned to chants of "sign him up, sign him up, sign him up" echoing around the ground.
This sort of excitement has been far too rarely seen at the Rangers so, I welcome it with open arms, regardless of how rediculous it may seem.

We all know that this optimism and delight often turns to frustration and despair so let's give it a while and see what happens, enjoying the young pretender's skills while they remain on display across our grass.

At least we know nowadays that we will not be forced to sell him by financial pressures.

Who knows, with a good season, a new Ledesma song (a la Marc Bircham's "he's got blue hair")and promotion to the Premiership, we might be able to tick all the boxes and he could even join the QPR legends one day. We can hope.

Optimism should be defined as being a Queens Park Rangers fan.

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