Michael Mancienne

I took my time choosing who would get my vote for the Supporters Young Player of the Year award. I agonised on whether I should vote for a permanent QPR player rather than a loanee, and in many ways, that felt like the right thing to do.

In the end, I banked with Michael Mancienne and I’m about to tell you why.

I think he would be an excellent addition to the side.  We know what he can do because he’s been with us for the past couple of seasons, and he must enjoy it here because he wouldn’t have come back otherwise. In a sense, he’s the perfect fit for us and what we’re trying to achieve with young players over the next few years.

This season he’s improved and performed consistently well. Consistency is a major attribute for any player and it’s pleasing to see him playing well on a frequent basis because it’s a great platform to build on. His passing has got better (but still needs work) and he doesn’t do those crazy dribbles and wild shots on goal anymore, which was part of his game last season.

He’s shown some terrific moments of quick feet this season, performing twists and turns when on the ball that has left his opponent completely out of the game and nowhere to be seen. At other times, he’s tackled and intercepted well and does a good job of anticipating danger. He times his headers well, but could probably improve the power and distance he gets on them.

In the early part of the season, before the investment arrived, he played extremely well in a shaky defence and played a key role in keeping the score respectable at times. I still believe had he played in the 5:1 defeat to West Brom earlier in the season, then John Gregory would have lasted longer.

The reason we should buy him outright is because it’s obvious he has potential and will get better with time. He should in theory improve when he broadens out his frame and that will be significant for him and will probably determine whether he makes it at Premiership level or not.

Experience over time will also naturally help him and allow him to take defensive performances by the scruff of the neck too, which he doesn’t quite do at this time, but he is just a kid, so you can’t expect it.

Where I’d like to see him improve most is  developing a mouth because he’s a quiet lad on the pitch. Over the next couple of years and as he gets older,  if he can become more vocally self-assured, he will become more commanding and when that happens, he has all the attributes to play at the top level and has the time on his side to do it.

There’s a danger that by voting for him (and if he wins) that you inadvertently draw attention to him and consequently hike up the asking price. But I think he’s worth that risk and I’d much rather he realises now how much we want him here than not.

I don’t think we can lose by going after him. He may cost a little, but we are more than likely to reap the rewards with his continued development and if it doesn’t work out, he should retain his market value or better still, it will go up!