QPR 0 Swansea 5: Swans rip Rangers to shreds with Michu and Dyer at the fore

If we did not know what new Swansea manager Michael Laudrup was bringing to the Premier League we do now - brilliant bargains.

For QPR manager Mark Hughes, who has spent considerably more, this was total humiliation.
Two-goal Michu and the elegant Chico Flores made a mockery of their £2million price tags and looked worth 10 times as much as they cost Swansea.

Magic man: Swansea's Miguel Michu (right) celebrates the first goal of the 2012-13 season

Marvellous: Michu set Loftus Road on fire

MATCH FACTS

QPR: Green, Onuoha, Ferdinand, Hill (Wright-Phillips 64), Da Silva, Taarabt, Park, Diakite (Derry 86), Hoilett, Mackie, Cisse (Johnson 77). Subs not used: Murphy, Nelsen, Dyer, Zamora.

Booked: Fabio, Diakite

Swansea: Vorm, Rangel, Williams, Chico, Taylor, De Guzman (Augustien 70), Michu (Gower 84), Britton, Dyer (Sinclair 77), Graham, Routledge. Subs not used: Cornell, Tate, Moore, Richards, Tremmel.

Scorers: Michu 8, 53, Dyer 63, 71, Sinclair 81

Booked: Rangel, De Guzman.

Referee: Lee Probert.

Attendance: 18,072.

Playing behind Danny Graham, Michu found all the space he required to cause havoc in QPR's disorganised defence.

His first goal after just eight minutes owed much to a confident run by Wayne Routledge and even more to a hopeless flap from a clueless Robert Green.

But there was nothing Green could do about Michu's second, which came from an exquisite touch. His curled strike temporarily flew outside Green's post then came back in again in good time to take Swansea clear.

At the back, Flores had tidied up after Michel Vorm's save from Jamie Mackie.

And Michu's fellow Spaniard was composure and comfort on the ball personified.

Indeed, Flores could be one of the Premier League's most impressive defensive finds this season. Weaving everything together was Jonathan de Guzman, a midfielder on loan from Villarreal.

Rout: Swansea were rampant

 

QPR were hopeless. Both Michu and Flores hit the bar as Green looked less and less interested in dominating his area.

In front of him, QPR's defence looked no more competent. Clint Hill missed his 63rd-minute interception and allowed an under-hit pass from Routledge to find Nathan Dyer.

Cue Swansea's third. And Dyer was able to slot another within eight minutes thanks to a much better pass from Kemy Agustien.

Blunder: Green made a bad start to life in west London, conceding the opening goal after eight minutes

Three and easy: Nathan Dyer - who also got a double - makes it 3-0 to the visitors with a cool side-foot effort

QPR fans had begun to leave by then, so some were spared the sight of Michu setting up Scott Sinclair for what might be his last goal for Swansea.

Of his super signings, Laudrup said: 'Chico and Jonathan worked with me at Mallorca, it's about knowing people and knowing the personality of the player.

'But there are huge economic problems in Spain. You can get a lot of quality for a reasonable amount in Spain right now.

Change in fortunes: QPR chief Tony Fernandes (left) having a laugh... but he wasn't smiling later (below)

Big fall: Like Junior Hoilett (above), Mark Hughes's QPR will be stunned by their demolition at the hands of Swansea

Off the pace: Adel Taarabt and his colleagues will need to step it up after this embarrassing opening day defeat

'But nobody could have dreamed of this score, I'm very pleased for the players.' But he also warned: 'There could be bad days, weeks, maybe even a bad month to come, but when we get a result like this we must use it for the future.'
As for QPR, Hughes said: 'I think Ji-sung Park was one of the positives for us. His energy was important, but there weren't too many supporting him today.

'We weren't able to build any kind of team performance, but maybe it is better that this happened now so there are no false pretences.'

Boo boys: Michu - who hit two goals on his Swansea debut - celebrates in front of seething QPR fans

Good to be back? QPR new boy Park Ji-sung was first out of the tunnel since completing his move from Manchester United

Good start: Michael Laudrup will be pleased with his introduction to life at Swansea

Outspoken Blackburn chief Singh vows to tackle the 'world's most impossible job'

It hasn't taken taken long for the outspoken opinions that made Shebby Singh a household name across Asia to ruffle a few feathers in English football.

Singh, the man charged with guiding Blackburn Rovers back into the Premier League, global advisor to Indian owners Venky’s, and a popular television pundit, might have won himself some new friends by announcing at a fans’ forum on the eve of the Championship season that manager Steve Kean will be sacked if he loses three games in a row, but his unguarded comments about Kean and midfielder Morten Gamst Pedersen have not gone down so well inside Ewood Park.

Shebby Singh: a man on a mission

Singh has apologised publicly and personally to both men but the 51-year-old former Malaysia international and Asia’s answer to Alan Hansen is not about to change despite the controversy building around him.
‘I call a spade a spade,’ says Singh. ‘There is a job to do, a responsibility on my shoulders. It’s a fresh challenge and it’s time for me to put my money where my mouth is.
‘As a football pundit we are most loved if we say nice things but we are most hated if we don’t. So be it.
‘ESPN Star Sports was televised across 21 countries, all of them football crazy. Man United v Liverpool can draw 250million viewers.

Under fire: Steve Kean (right) has seen his preparations hit

‘It will take a long time for some people at the club to accept they have got an in-house pundit as a global advisor who has been sent here to oversee the present and future of the club.
‘I’ve never been too popular and I don’t think anything will change. But I will get the job done.
‘I saw them (Kean and Pedersen) personally first and apologised, and then it was only right that I apologised in public. I’m wrong, I’m sorry.
‘Whether they accepted the apology or not, that’s not something I can determine.’
Singh was quite happy living in Singapore and delivering his opinions on world football alongside his old ‘sparring partner’ Steve McMahon to viewers every Monday night when Blackburn’s owners Venky’s asked him to become their head of football development for Asia last summer.

Straight talking: Singh will not change his outspoken style

After the club were relegated in May, Singh was given the title of global advisor and parachuted into Ewood to work alongside Kean barely a month after writing a newspaper column in Singapore calling for the Scot to be sacked.
Before leaving a 15-year career in television to move to Lancashire’s Ribble Valley, however, he asked his son Sonuljit, 22, for his opinion.
‘He’s my go-to man,’ says Singh. ‘We were having a chat about this and he said, “do you know what you’ve done? You’ve walked into the most impossible job in the world!”.
‘That’s my son’s opinion of it. Yes, it’s a big challenge but the bigger the better. It’s better to have tried and failed than never have tried at all, that’s always been the way I approach life.
‘Please call me a student of the game. I’m not an expert or a guru, I’m still learning the game. Football is my passion, my vocation, my hobby, my everything.’
Singh’s honesty might attract controversy but it’s a breath of fresh air to the fans who have been desperate for better communication with their club since the Jack Walker Trust handed over control to India nearly two years ago.
He is well aware of the criticism of the Rao family and their matriarchal head Mrs Anuradha Desai – or ‘Madam’ who stood against her brothers and spared Kean the sack at the end of last season – but he insists the owners have learned from their painful introduction to English football.

Target: Blackburn Rovers' Norwegian midfielder Morten Gamst Pedersen

Money has been made available for eight new signings so far this summer, meaning Blackburn are among the favourites to go back up at the first attempt.
‘I’ve come into this with my eyes wide open,’ says Singh. ‘We’re all aware of the situation but we don’t like to bring it up. That’s the promise I made to my bosses. It’s history. You can’t change history but you can influence the future.
‘Madam has watched me on TV, she knows what I was saying and thinking. I said things that had to be said, the same as what a lot of fans here think. Coming here is a progression, not a new start for me.
‘I’ve been sent by the family to get promotion. When I met with them this summer, Madam said, “Shebby, do what you have to do – I want promotion”. I recall the moment because that’s the motivation.’
Singh holds up his mobile phone to reveal the motto on his Blackberry Messenger. It reads: ‘Promotion or die trying’.
‘It’s as simple as that for me,’ adds the man who had an 18-year playing career for club and country in Malaysia. ‘Along the way if people get upset, if people think that’s the train they don’t want to be on then fine.’

Fresh start: Blackburn's new signing Dickson Etuhu (centre) during training

Singh insists that Venky’s have no intention of walking away from their investment.
‘A lot of people have underestimated the family,’ he says. ‘They are here to stay. There is a way forward – it’s not the end of everything.
‘Yes, there’s a lot of a hurt which everybody feels and financially the club has been hit. It’s been painful and detrimental to their name and reputation, but there’s a stronger resolve now.
‘My bosses run a conglomerate, an empire. With their other business entities, they trust people they put in place to get results.
‘Right until the end last season I think the owners were possibly fearful of what might happen but they depended on the manager to have told them that.
‘I have shouldered a lot of the pressure but certain things only time will heal. Things like putting the squad together for Steve. I don’t think we could have done any better.
‘The club has come down, Steve was the man in charge and still is. We need to go back up. Now it’s time to step back because this is where the football begins. Team selection and tactics entirely belong to the manager, and we can only hope we get the right results.’
Blackburn might be out of the Premier League but, with Singh at the helm, it’s unlikely they will be out of the spotlight for long.

FIFA show their true colours by getting tough on... socks and shin-pads

Of all the issues they might have dealt with to boost your enjoyment during the new Premier League season, the lawmakers at FIFA have chosen to demand that all tape holding up socks and shin-pads must be the same colour as the sock.
Never mind goal-line technology, Sepp Blatter is getting tough in the sock department. It will be a challenge for kit men up and down the land, first sourcing the right colour tape to match the socks their team are wearing on any given day, and then explaining to players with their own rituals and superstitions why it is so.

In charge: Fifa president Sepp Blatter

Although it is a FIFA rule change and thus applies to all levels of the game, referees are not expected to impose it with great energy in parks football, where sometimes socks don't match, let alone the tape.
The players' equipment rule-change comes in to help assistant referees looking across the offside line see the distinction between the teams after some players had taken to using so much tape on their socks that it might be difficult to tell clearly what colour the socks were.

Stoke are the latest club to show an interest in Liverpool’s Charlie Adam.

The midfielder has also been linked with a move across the city to join fierce rivals Everton.
Toffees boss David Moyes is considering an approach for the player, who's deemed surplus to requirements at Anfield.
The former Blackpool midfielder joined Liverpool only last summer for a £9million fee. 
He could be available for as little as £5m. Moyes' brother, Kenny, is also Adam's agent.

In demand: Everton are considering a £5m swoop for Scotland international Adam

Olympics golden girl Jessica Ennis has told thousands of people in her home city: 'This is my home and this is the place that I love.'
More than 10,000 are thought to have crammed into Sheffield city centre to welcome the gold medal-winning heptathlete back.

Homecoming: Jessica Ennis is greeted by thousands of fans in Sheffield

Many at the front of the barriers had waited for more than four hours for Ennis to appear on the stage outside the City Hall.
When she stepped out and waved to the crowd, she was greeted by deafening cheers and a sea of Union flags.
Ennis told the vast crowd: 'Thank you so much to every single one of you here.
'If I could thank you all individually, I would. There are so many of you. You've been incredible - not just these past few weeks, but the past few years.

Support: Ennis praised the city and its people

'You've always been there to support me. I can't thank you enough.'
Ennis was asked to unveil a golden version of the plaque commemorating her achievements which is already outside Sheffield's Town Hall.
Council leader Julie Dore said: 'You have truly helped to change this great city of ours from a city of steel to a city of gold.
'Sheffield is your home and we know you are so proud of the city - maybe as much as we are of you.'

Spoils: Ennis shows off her precious metal

Juventus keen on City striker Dzeko as Bayern also show interest

Juventus have made a move to sign Edin Dzeko from Manchester City.

The striker has been linked with Bayern Munich.
City will consider bids for the former Wolfsburg star but would want to recoup more of the £27m they shelled out for him 18 months ago.

Moving on: Edin Dzeko is wanted by Juventus

 

Juventus are keen to keep the fee low so that they can get close to Dzeko’s hefty wage demands.

The Serie A champions are prepared to offer £75,000 a week after tax, which would still mean a pay cut for the 26-year-old.
City may offload defender Dedryck Boyata to FC Twente.

We won't let you have Moses on the cheap, Martinez warns Chelsea

Chelsea will hold talks with Wigan to finalise the protracted transfer of forward Victor Moses on Sunday when the two clubs meet in the Premier League.

Wigan value the Nigeria international at £10million and want Chelsea to pay £7m up front - something which the European champions have refused to do so far.
Moses will earn in the region of £40,000 per week if he completes his move to London, but Wigan manager Roberto Martinez has warned Chelsea they will have to meet chairman Dave Whelan's valuation first.
He said: 'I would rather lose Victor for nothing next summer than let another club get him for less than he is worth.'
Meanwhile, Chelsea have held talks with the Spanish FA over a proposed September break for Juan Mata, who after playing a key role for the club last season featured for Spain at Euro 2012 and the Olympic Games.

Impasse: Victor Moses has been chased by Chelsea throughout the summer

   

Chelsea want to rest the 24-year-old from the start of next month - a period that includes Spain's fixtures against Saudi Arabia and Georgia on September 7 and 11.

The current World and European champions are understood to be giving serious consideration to the request.