Taarabt strop a storm in a tea cup, insists Warnock
FULHAM (6) vs QPR (0)
QUEENS PARK RANGERS manager Neil Warnock insisted Adel Taarabt’s petulant response to being substituted was not his main cause of concern after watching Andrew Johnson’s hat-trick inspire a rout of his side.
Morocco midfielder Taarabt, who recently lost the captaincy following the arrival of Joey Barton, failed to emerge for the second-half and was rumoured to have fled the stadium.
Rangers were already trailing 3-0 at that stage, a Johnson brace sandwiching Danny Murphy’s penalty, and Warnock’s charges fared little better after the interval with the former England forward completing his hat-trick, the first by any Fulham player in the Premier League, before Clint Dempsey and Bobby Zamora added further gloss to the scoreline.
“I don’t think you can get carried away too much. You get days when Adel comes off. You’re going to get days when he throws his toys out the pram,” said Warnock, who refused to confirm whether the former Spurs star had stormed off.
“I’ve more worries than any individual when you lose 6-0. I don’t think you can blame Adel Taarabt today.”
Meanwhile, Fulham manager Martin Jol urged Johnson to commit his future to the club after the 30-year-old, who is in the final year of his contract, took his season’s tally to nine in all competitions.
“It’s up to him,” said Jol. “I won’t go into details but it’s a good contract. You would be happy with it. We have offered him this year, next year and an option of another year. It’s a good offer.
“Other people are doing the negotiations. I will back him all the time and hopefully he is good for us this season.”
Swans on song
SWANSEA moved up to 10th in the Premier League following an impressive 2-0 home win over Stoke. England Under-21 international Scott Sinclair’s first-half penalty and record signing Danny Graham’s first goal for the club, which arrived five minutes from time, ensured a second win of the season for Brendan Rodgers’ side.