Queens Park Rangers are set to appoint Julien Stephan as their next manager as per Pete O’Rourke.
O’Rourke also reports that an exit deal with Marti Cifuentes, who was placed on gardening leave before the final game of the season, is set to be agreed in the next 24 hours, thus allowing the R’s to officially appoint Stephan.
An Unspectacular Season For Queens Park Rangers
When Cifuentes arrived part-way through the 2023/24 season, he galvanised a club that looked set for relegation to the third tier, leaving fans optimistic heading into the 2024/25 campaign.
If the Spaniard had been able to replicate the 1.5 points per game which he earned in 23/24, the R’s would have been able to sneak into the playoff places.
Unfortunately, they achieved just 1.2 points per game this season, leading to them finishing in a meagre 15th place, closer to the relegation zone than the playoffs.
This was in part due to a horrendous start to the season which saw the West London-based club win just one league game before the 27th of November.
The fans at Loftus Road had to wait even longer to see their side win at home with their first victory coming against Norwich City on the 7th of December.
The R’s home form was a large problem. They picked up just 29 points from their 23 home games, giving them the fourth-worst home record in the Championship.
They also had some problems creating chances and finding the back of the net on a regular basis. Their top scorer was Michael Frey, who scored just eight times in the league last season and their second-highest league goalscorer was right-back Jimmy Dunne. Cifuentes’ men created the fourth-lowest xG and fifth-least big chances in the second tier last season.
Julien Stephan’s Managerial Career
Stephan has enjoyed a fairly impressive career managing in the top tier of France thus far.
His first job came at Stade Rennais in the 2018/19 season. He was initially appointed as interim manager following the sacking of Sabri Lamouchi, but the Frenchman was given the job on a permanent basis after his side beat Astana to qualify for the UEFA Europa League knockout stage.
In that same season, Stephan led Rennes to their first major trophy in 48 years as they beat Paris Saint Germain in the Coup de France final.
The former Toulouse player also helped Rennes to qualify for the UEFA Champions League in the Covid-affected 2019/20 campaign as they finished in third place in Ligue 1.
He was appointed as Strasbourg manager in July 2021 and helped them to a sixth-place finish in his first season at the helm, their best finish since the 1979/80 season, before being sacked after a poor first half of the 2022/23 season.
He then returned to Rennes for another 12-month stint in which he had a very similar win percentage and points per game to his first spell in charge. He was sacked after failing to improve results despite signing a lot of big-name players in the transfer window.
Writer’s View
Stephan has the potential to be an excellent managerial appointment for Queens Park Rangers.
He is young and he has had success at his previous clubs, only ever managing in the top tier of French football. But, he must be backed by the R’s board.
They have already started doing this by tying star player Jimmy Dunne down to a new contract recently, but this attitude must continue for the rest of the summer.
The higher-ups must also give the 44-year-old time to adapt to English football and instil his philosophy in the QPR players.
