QPR manager criticizes weight, effort of winger Adel Taarabt

Queens Park Rangers manager Harry Redknapp publicly criticized both the work ethic and physical conditioning of the team's winger Adel Taarabt, The Associated Press reported on Sunday.

In his remarks, Redknapp said Taarabt, a Moroccan international, had refused to train properly and that he was "about three stone overweight," or about 42 pounds.

Redknapp added that the winger was "not fit to play football, unfortunately. He played in a reserve team game the other day, and I could have run about more than he did."

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Taarabt, 25, has been limited by ankle problems, playing in only three of the team's eight matches so far this season. He was on loan to AC Milan for the latter half of last season.

The Rangers are 1-6-1, with their most recent loss, 3-2 at home against Liverpool, coming on Sunday.

Karl Henry, one of the team's mid-fielders, admitted that after the loss to Liverpool, the club's players accused one another of making mistakes that "an under-11 team would be embarrassed about."

With just 4 points on the season, QPR is tied for last in the Premier League. The club will close out the month with a home match against Aston Villa, currently twelfth in the league, on Oct. 27.

- Christopher Woody