The National's Sport cover for the Tuesday, May 12 issue, featuring Kalba, relegated domestically from the Arabian Gulf League, and Queens Park Rangers, headed back to the Championship from the Premier League in England.
In the UAE, Kalba's constant yo-yo act has Ahmed Rizvi wondering if the top flight really needs 14 clubs:
“They come, they get thrashed and then they are back in Division One.
“That has been the story of Kalba in the Arabian Gulf League on their past two visits to the top division.
“They have looked completely out of their depth, have failed to be competitive and have never been able to change perceptions.
“Kalba have been the proverbial poor cousins no one likes to invite to their birthday party, but they have played in the AGL twice over the past three seasons, thanks to the decision to expand the league to 14 teams in the summer of 2012.”
Meanwhile Richard Jolly writes of hapless QPR:
“If QPR don’t learn the lessons from an increasingly tawdry recent past, they will be condemned to make the same mistakes. And as 2015’s demotion bore distinct similarities with 2013’s dismal descent to the Championship, history has already repeated itself at Loftus Road.”
Jolly quotes chairman Tony Fernandes:
“I can reassure all Rangers supporters that the building blocks are in place to move things in the right direction for the future.”
“Really?” he asks.
“Because they need a clear out and a new culture.”
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