Routledge QPR deal off. So what’s the future for the lad?

Posted on June 24th, 2011 | 15 Comments |

What's the future for Wayne Routledge now that his QPR transfer is off?
Unwanted at the Toon?
As QPR pull out of contention to sign Newcastle United’s Wayne Routledge, the player will be back with the club for pre-season training. But does he have any sort of future at Newcastle?

Wayne Routledge, who spent the second half of last season out on loan to QPR, appears to be somewhat in limbo at the moment.

He was originally loaned to QPR to cover for Jamie Mackie, who was crocked by an injury to his cruciate ligament and, although Mackie is expected to be fit again for next season, Routledge was allegedly at the top of Neil Warnock’s list of players he wanted to sign permanently.

Allegedly, Routledge was available to QPR for £1.5m. QPR have however taken themselves out of contention to buy Routledge now. It is thought they have done so in order to keep money back to sign a new striker after losing Danny Graham and Steve Morrison to other clubs and finding they couldn’t afford Peterborough’s Craig Mackail-Smith. A QPR insider apparently said:

“It’s a question of budget and priorities.“

Routledge himself has apparently twitted that he expects to join Newcastle for pre-season training but I can’t help but think he won’t get much of a look-in as far as the Newcastle midfield is concerned next season.

Routledge scored 3 goals and provided 7 assists in his 17 appearances for us when we were in the Championship but only provided 1 assist (and no goals) in his 19 appearances for us last season.

The reason he was loaned to QPR was that Alan Pardew considered him to surplus to requirements as far as Newcastle’s future plans were concerned. Back in January Pardew said:

“Well I think there’s opportunities for players that come along and you have to weigh it up. I mean, was Wayne gonna be a long term first team player for us? And I don’t think he was. QPR offered him that position, and I felt that is best for him and best for the club that we took that opportunity.

“You know, when you bring players in I think it’s important that they affect your first team. There are occasions, and there will be, when I bring in a player to full up the squad, so to speak.

“But you know, I just felt that the Wayne one was a deal that was right for him, more importantly, and right for us. Because You have to sort of move on players to grow, and, you know, we have to get better than Wayne and that’s what we’re gonna aim to do.”

Hmm, it doesn’t sound like Pardew’s a fan of the player at all.

The player got a fairly mixed reception from fans with some saying he injected much-needed pace and would ‘come good’ eventually and others saying he simply wasn’t Premier League class.

But, for now at least, he’s still a Newcastle United player, although one I expect will be moved on before the summer is out.

NUFCBlog Author: Hugh de Payen I'm a baby-boomer of the punk rock persuasion, currently exiled in Somerset for crimes committed in a previous life where locals keep trying to poison me with something called 'scrumpy'. Hates sprouts, coat-hangers, Cilla Black, ornaments, Steven Seagull movies and 50 Cent (he's not worth 10). Hugh de Payen has written 634 articles on this blog.

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Comment on this post

15 Responses

  1. Decent player…stupid to let him leave on loan as at one point we were putting simmo on the wing

    Reckon he’ll be off to brum

  2. he looked really good for rangers last season. so on that basis i wouldnt be suprised if our – salad dodger – of an owner that knows absolutley sweet fa aboot footy will be telling his – yes man – of manager that he will be playing on the right wing for us next season.

    the less spent the better – eh mike.

  3. in my opinion he does have good pace, but no end product

    running down the wing is great, but he didnt stop – running the ball out of play. I dont think he would be a great loss if he went TBH

  4. Barton is the only decent winger we have had in terms of directly influencing the score. I dont think Jonas has many goals or many assists despite all his running and drawing of fouls.

  5. hughie can you get me comment from oot the bin & hoy it up – i should be in 2nd place like.

    cheers marra.

  6. I think he could be quite a useful member of the squad – if wayne would be happy with that. He would get his chance in the cup games.
    Surely he can’t be on big wages and he does have something to offer, he could still come good……

  7. Great championship player, seems to lack confidence in the prem.

    I’d sell if we could, especially since Pardews negative comments about him. It’s bad enough lacking confidence but when your manager shows contempt it must be difficult to see a future here.

  8. Routledge is 26 – could there be space for improved delivery and decision making with age?? Or will it just mean that his 1 killer attibute – pace – fades with age and he remains ala Lee Clark: THE JIGSAW, FALLING TO PIECES IN THE BOX.

    On keepers, i really don’t rate Krul, he’s incapable of keeping clean sheets, and he’s good at some things, but low shots driven into the corners seem to create a diving-flapping reaction from him, like a fish fired out of a canon.

    We do still have 4th keeper Swedish Ole Soderberg – at 21 – but cant find records of him ever playing…anywhere…

  9. I thought AP was bang out of order with those comments at the time. Why be so cruel to the boy? It’s just not good representation of the club.

    I really liked watching Wayne in the CCC, but it was so frustrating in the prem. You just felt that he needed to learn just one more trick to make it, but it never seemed to come. Left-backs seemed to be able to push him wide and out of play at will.

    He’s a good lad, and I really feel for him – he must be absolutely gutted that QPR don’t want him, having just won promotion. If he does stay I still think he could be a good squad player, but he can’t be happy about the prospect. Perhaps a loan to one of the other new promotees – give him another chance to learn that ‘one last trick’?

  10. Routledge is a ccc player – Hughton will get him on loan for the season.Perhaps we could get ben Foster and use WR as part ex? :-)

  11. I think he still has a lot to offer and would be happy for him to stay with us. Really surprised Warnock didn’t want him. I think he’s a player who would benefit from the SBR approach, ie more encouragement.

    I think we should keep Forster as well, lets see what he can do in the EPL.

  12. Since WR seems to have no future as a winger, and NUFC are stuck with him at the present, why not see if he can play defense? He is way fast, and is cautious by nature, and those are two great assets for a defender.

  13. Agreed with Tattyheed @ 10, let him go off to Brum. CH obviously liked the lad.

  14. can’t we just give him up to swansea or something?our midfield’s already packed and frankly all he can do is run,so he’s better off trying for the olympics than getting a spot in the first eleven

  15. Swansea have the much better Scott Sinclair and the once linked with us Darren Prattley who can play on the right Arka. I tend to agree with the throng in shipping him off to Birmo, maybe him and Guthrie to Birmo in return for Johnson and cash?