into the Premier League, for although having been featured in English football's highest tier as a Tottenham player, he had never made a breakthrough into the Spurs' starting XI. The start of the season held much optimism for both QPR and Taarabt, yet this soon gave way to speculation that he would move away, and his name was associated with the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Napoli. This was coupled with the arrival of Joey Barton in the August transfer window, who was immediately installed as captain, taking the role from Taarabt. These factors had the unfortunate effect of unsettling Taarabt and he was unable to recreate his form from the previous season. By early November, he had taken over 20 shots yet scored zero goals. Prior to this, he had often let his temper get the better of him. During the 6–0 loss away to Fulham on 2 October, he was substituted at half-time. His attitude provoked criticism from his teammates, with Joey Barton being particularly vocal. Taraabt was again substituted at half-time for a poor showing in the 3–1 defeat at Tottenham and was subsequently omitted from the side for the matches against Manchester City and Stoke City. During this period, continued speculation linked him with PSG, and Warnock even admitted he would gladly accept an offer for Taraabt if the right one came along. Adel was considered the best Arab player of 2011 for the Argélia Le Buteur newspaper. Taraabt went on international duty and also had some minor injuries which also saw him left out of the side at this stage. Warnock was highly critical of the player's agents during this period and laid much of the blame for him being unsettled at their feet. He advised him to rethink the advice they had given him and said, "They won't make him better and I think it is a shame. Adel can always make money but he is better than that. I will be sad if he ends up going to make some money because I think he has great ability." Still left out of the side throughout most of November, subsequent injuries to his teammates saw a recall, however, and he was commended for his performance in the 2–0 loss to Manchester United on 18 December. He sustained this level of improved performance against Sunderland and Swansea City. On 31 March, Taarabt scored the first