#29 QPR's Season So Far - A Different Perspective

LATEST RESULTS

The R's completed their 41st league game of their Championship campaign with another away defeat, this time to Blackburn Rovers, following another predictably poor performance from another injury ravaged QPR team (Even Luke Young got a game). The result saw the R's slip to 4th in the table, comfortably in a playoff position with a 9 point cushion with 6 games to play. However, following QPR's inability to capitalise on Burnley's recent blip that saw them drop 5 points as we only picked up 1, the playoff option remains our only realistic chance of a quick return to the Premiership.

An unexpectedly good start to the season back in August, saw the R's seemingly vindicate the bookies decision in making us favourites to win the league, as we occupied the promotion places whilst being the last team in the country to suffer a league defeat. Then in December after the home defeat to Leicester, things started to take an alarming turn for the worst for Rangers with runs of poor results and performances leading to discontent amongst the majority of R's fans along with much frustration and disappointment. Results were only part of the problem as the R's and Harry had to contend with more than their fair share of injury losses. Harry has not competently dealt with this problem and has seemed lost in finding a solution where others may have done better. On the whole, opinion seems to be that we have disappointed, and let ourselves down... But have we?

After the horrors of last season with disastrous transfer dealings, mercenaries, totally inadequate players and spending way beyond our means, nobody knew what to expect this season. Many an R thought it could be back to back relegation and very few would commit to automatic promotion being realistically achievable this season. Many I have spoken to were content to finish mid table and hoped to maybe make the playoffs. Harry and the board had much to do in the summer and somehow managed to divert and get rid of  most of the dross and financial burdens, whilst bringing in new personnel  (mostly loans, including more dross) and giving us a chance of at least trying to challenge.(On paper)  So where did all the disappointment come from? Disappointment that has lead frustrated R's fans to turn on each other as divided opinions  have met head to head at Rangers games and in the social media.

A major contribution to this has been our old enemy, expectation. Or more accurately, false expectations. In this case the expectation was fuelled by the fantastic start to the season that I mentioned earlier. Our league position has been living off the back of that good start for the last 30 games, as our form since then has been that of a mid table team, not even playoff position form. Look at the tables below they do not lie. It it wasn't for the points and lead we accumulated early season we would not be sitting in the top  4 today.

FORM TABLE OVER LAST 10 GAMES									FORM TABLE OVER LAST 20 GAMES									FORM TABLE OVER LAST 30 GAMES
(SINCE GAME 31)		MP	W	D	L	G	Pts		(SINCE  GAME 21)		MP	W	D	L	G	Pts		(SINCE GAME 11)		MP	W	D	L	G	Pts
1.	B’mouth	10	8	1	1	21:6	25		1.	Leicester	20	14	5	1	44:20	47		1.	Leicester	30	20	6	4	60:31	66
2.	Burnley	10	7	2	1	19:9	23		2.	Burnley	20	11	7	2	33:19	40		2.	Derby	30	17	6	7	51:29	57
3.	Leicester	10	6	3	1	21:10	21		3.	Wigan	20	11	5	4	30:17	38		3.	Burnley	30	15	12	3	45:27	57
4.	Bolton	10	6	3	1	18:7	21		4.	B’mouth	20	10	6	4	32:18	36		4.	Wigan	30	15	7	8	40:29	52
5.	Wigan	10	5	3	2	17:11	18		5.	M’boro	20	8	8	4	21:13	32		5.	Brighton	30	13	9	8	35:25	48
6.	M’boro	10	4	4	2	12:8	16		6.	Derby	20	9	5	6	27:20	32		6.	Ipswich	30	12	10	8	35:31	46
7.	Ipswich	10	5	1	4	10:12	16		7.	Watford	20	8	7	5	34:20	31		7.	B’mouth	30	12	9	9	40:33	45
8.	Watford	10	4	3	3	20:11	15		8.	Shef Wed	20	9	4	7	30:21	31		8.	Reading	30	12	8	10	47:39	44
9.	Brighton	10	4	3	3	13:10	15		9.	Ipswich	20	8	6	6	22:21	30		9.	Blackburn	30	11	11	8	39:40	44
10.	Derby	10	4	2	4	13:7	14		10.	Reading	20	8	5	7	32:25	29		10.	M’boro	30	11	10	9	36:26	43
11.	QPR	10	4	2	4	12:12	14		11.	Brighton	20	8	5	7	21:19	29		11.	Bolton	30	11	10	9	44:38	43
12.	Charlton	10	4	2	4	6:12	14		12.	Blackburn	20	7	8	5	30:29	29		12.	QPR	30	12	7	11	35:33	43
13.	Blackburn	10	3	4	3	18:18	13		13.	Bolton	20	7	7	6	30:29	28		13.	Shef Wed	30	12	6	12	41:35	42
14.	Shef Wed	10	4	1	5	14:14	13		14.	QPR	20	8	4	8	25:26	28		14.	Watford	30	9	11	10	44:38	38
15.	Reading	10	3	4	3	12:13	13		15.	N Forest	20	6	8	6	31:31	26		15.	N Forest	30	8	13	9	41:42	37
16.	Barnsley	10	4	1	5	9:15	13		16.	Doncaster	20	6	5	9	19:25	23		16.	Charlton	30	9	8	13	22:36	35
17.	Doncaster	10	4	1	5	9:15	13		17.	Charlton	20	6	5	9	14:27	23		17.	Leeds	30	9	6	15	42:50	33
18.	Millwall	10	3	2	5	9:11	11		18.	Barnsley	20	5	6	9	19:28	21		18.	B’ham	30	8	9	13	40:48	33
19.	Yeovil	10	2	4	4	14:19	10		19.	H’field	20	5	4	11	25:33	19		19.	H’field	30	9	5	16	37:47	32
20.	B’ham	10	3	1	6	16:23	10		20.	B’ham	20	5	4	11	27:37	19		20.	Barnsley	30	7	10	13	27:41	31
21.	Blackpool	10	2	1	7	7:17	7		21.	Millwall	20	4	6	10	15:28	18		21.	Doncaster	30	8	7	15	26:46	31
22.	H’field	10	1	3	6	10:15	6		22.	Yeovil	20	4	6	10	24:38	18		22.	Yeovil	30	7	9	14	35:48	30
23.	N Forest	10	0	4	6	8:21	4		23.	Leeds	20	3	4	13	20:40	13		23.	Millwall	30	6	10	14	28:47	28
24.	Leeds	10	1	1	8	9:24	4		24.	Blackpool	20	2	5	13	11:34	11		24.	Blackpool	30	5	7	18	22:50	22

As you can see from the tables above, we have consistently performed as a mediocre mid table team for 75% of the season so far.(30 of 41 games) The point I'm making here is if you take away our good start and look at what's left, then maybe there would not have been the expectation that most of us have coveted this season. Instead we may well have been content to have consolidated our status a championship side, abated any relegation fears and even have started to get excited about maybe sneaking into the playoffs. Things may not have seemed so bad then and maybe we could all accept that this team is not good enough for automatic promotion. We are what we are, deal with it. It would certainly have made the season a little bit more palatable than it has been to date. Had our season gone this way, but the early season form we had was to happen now, we would be ecstatic and swinging off the rafters, still only 4th, but happier none the less.

As it turns out though, something cataclysmic will have to happen if we are to miss the playoffs and even Harry and Co have finally conceded that its our best option for promotion, even though recent performances indicate this was accepted some weeks ago. Leicester and Burnley are far more deserved of the automatic promotion places than we or the rest of the division are but the last spot is up for grabs, so why not us? I don't think we are ready, or good enough, to go back up yet, but neither are any of our fellow challengers. We could still end up in May having our glory day at Wembley and return to the Premiership, whether we are ready or not. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Should we fail to accomplish promotion this year it will probably be a fair reflection of where we are as a football club. Harry will probably go, the time is right for that, and our disastrous financial shenanigans will no doubt see us face a transfer embargo come Jan 2015, but this does not have to be a bad thing. If we are to be honest, QPR as a club and a business is not run very well. Much as I like them, Fernandes and Beard have been dangerously naive in their football dealings and they don't seem to have learnt much from their mistakes. This would be an opportunity to get the right infrastructure in place for our club and to get us doing what has traditionally worked best for QPR. Start with getting in a QPR man in as Manager, someone with passion for the R's and who wants to manage the R's. Then get the right mixture of older pros that want to come and play for QPR (before the ban) and bring in the players from our development squad. Those with something to prove and the hunger to succeed, like we used to. It would be great to turn this club around in a similar way to what they have achieved at Southampton, not so long ago they were in the 3rd tier. Now they are a formidable Premiership side that plays attractive football with an abundance of homegrown talent that's improving all the time, and this was achieved without being silly with money. Take note uncle Tony and Co, that's how we used to do it at Loftus Road. Imagine if we could do something like that in the next few years, that would be nice!

ALEC STOCK

Finally I would just like to share my pleasure in QPR finally acknowledging one of the all time greats in QPR history, Alec Stock. The Yeovil home game was deemed Alec Stock day and this great QPR man was honoured and remembered for his 10 years service building all we love about QPR and of course, arguably our greatest achievement in the double winning season of 67/68 plus back to back promotions. Rangers fanzine " A Kick Up the R's" has a brilliant article about Alec Stock in its latest issue that has been excellently penned by regular R's writer John O'Mahoney. A better article on Alec Stock you will not find anywhere, a must read for a definitive account on how this man bought QPR forward. If you can't get a copy go to www.akutrs.co.uk for details.

So with 5 games to go and 6 points to clinch a playoff place, it's likely that Harry will just be seeing out these games in preparation for the anticipated playoff lottery. I hope he takes the opportunity to blood some of the talent Steve Gallen has been developing for our future. Has the season been that bad, all things considered.? In our case, when you look at it in another way, as above, things are easier to accept and you can be realistic....so no... things haven't been as bad as we initially thought......for a team in mediocre form for most of the season. What do you expect????

I don't anticipate much happening until, most likely, the playoffs, so blog to you then.

Come on you R's

The Bush Ranger

#28 Great Expectations

Last month I wrote optimistically and in hopeful expectation, that our beloved Rangers would shake off the unconvincing performances that they had served up to date and hit peak form, resulting in a run of magical displays that would see us romp home to achieve promotion in fantastic style. Well, cue the reality check, and look where we find ourselves this short month later. The R's just managed to scrape wins against Huddersfield and Bolton but true to form failed miserably when faced with better quality opposition, i.e. top six sides. Having managed just one point from the last twelve,drawing with Burnley and losing successive games to Derby, Reading and Charlton, the R's surrendered an automatic promotion place and now sit in fourth position seven points behind second (with a game in hand) but with an inferior goal difference.

Doyle's debut goal in front of the delighted Irish R's
gathered  in the School End  v Burnley

Therefore, it would seem that QPR's true worth in this league is finally beginning to unfold. To put it bluntly, not good enough for top two, with promotion via the play offs unlikely given the R's inability to overcome top six opposition. To be honest, even though we have managed to stay in the top three for most of the season performances were far from being convincing enough to justify it, or, to suggest a sustained stay near the summit. Furthermore I wont be too bothered if we don't get promotion this year because we are light years away from being ready to have another go at the Premier League, and I can well do without the misery of the last two seasons.

So, depending on what your expectation's were at the beginning of the season, what has gone wrong? Is this QPR team overrated or under performing? Personally I think it's a bit of both. Harry has assembled a bunch of older journeymen, brimming with experience but in all honesty past their best and hoping to get a least one more good season out of them. Much has been expected from this team as the media and betting markets made us favourites for promotion, primarily based on these player's bio's and pedigrees.

Having said that, this group of players should be achieving and producing both more and better than they are at present, so you have to say there is an element of underperformance, of which the manager and his coaching staff are largely to blame. Messer's Bond, Jordan and Downes have a lot to answer for as they consistently turn out teams that are impotent in attack and devoid of any kind of offensive plan. You can't help but think that different personnel would achieve more with this

Latest results

vast squad at their disposal. Need I say more than that our best period of form was when we had Steve McLaren as coach, who has now gone on to take Derby from the bottom end of this division to third, above us, and as the divisions top scorers - A sad loss for QPR there. To be fair we have been unfortunate with injuries to key players with the most obvious being our major source of goals in Charlie Austin, but we do have a considerably large squad of over thirty players so should be able to cope better than anyone else in this division.

So what of Harry and his contribution to where we find ourselves today? Don't get me wrong I like Harry and think he should stay to the end of the season and see where we are at then, but, he does have his limitations and flaws and is responsible for a number of mystifying team selections and tactical decisions, so he must shoulder his part of our shortcomings. How has he failed to respond to the fact that while they have both been magnificent this season, Dunn and Hill's limitations have been exposed when faced with the higher quality attacking sides in the top six and have struggled to cope, resulting in the goals that have seen us fail against those challenging with us for promotion. Why does Harry consistently leave Onuoha out of the starting eleven, even more so now with Simpson out injured, surely Ned can do a better job than Aaron Hughes (another of Harrys older acquisitions). I don't think Harry knows what his best team is, certainly not his best midfield or the best way for us to play. He is far to cautious and frightened of losing resulting in arguably the most boring and worst football we have seen at the Bush in decades, which in turn has manifested itself in the poor atmosphere at Loftus Road this season.

Dunne rewards the Irish R's that travelled to the game with
the 2nd goal of the game from an Irishman in hoops

The January transfer window resulted in Harry making the most of loan signings again, bringing in four strikers, two defenders and midfielder Ravel Morrison. Delatorre and Donaldson are two for the future (who will no doubt never get a chance if the status quo is maintained) Doyle is a good addition, already having scored twice, Keane is a wild card and Maiga is another of Harry's mystifying decision's (despite his goal v Burnley). We now have around eight loan players at present, not the most stable of foundations for a club with ambitions of promotion and establishment in the Premier League. Furthermore our promising and more importantly, useable youth have been overlooked by Harry and farmed out on loan as Harry opts for these loan signings, again mystifying when we are talking about players like Hitchcock....say no more.

It could be argued, that tactically Harry and his staff have been found wanting this season. The rest of this division has sussed QPR out now and know we can have as much possession of the ball as we want because we wont do anything offensive, they know how to rough us up and unsettle us and it is to our detriment that neither Harry nor his coaches have come up with a way of changing it for us or making us unpredictable. The players are not blameless in this neither and there is plenty to say about them and I will touch on this next time, but collectively, QPR have failed every major test they have had to face this season, things will have to change dramatically if the promotion dream is to be achieved.



3500 R's at Charlton - deserved more than
 the pitiful R's performance they witnessed

Since the recent injection of wealth into the club, many R's (myself included) have suffered from something  we never used to have as R's fans, and that is expectation. In the old days all we had was hope, and that was enough. So with regard to the rest of the season I am yet to be convinced that we have what it takes to be promoted, let alone establish ourselves in the Premiership. No longer am I waiting to see something that is not going to happen this season... but I hope it does. There are no quick fixes for what Tony Fernandes wants our little club to achieve. However things have to be done in the correct way and we haven't started doing that yet. We have to build, use more of the youngsters and grow. A few seasons in the Championship could be what we need to establish a team that can be the start of a continued presence competing in the Premiership. So lets forget talk of new stadium's and the like and get on with the real job in hand. I just hope that we can survive the financial consequences if we don't achieve promotion this year. Fernandes assures us we can and that this is a "long term project." (Remember when we used to be a football club) It will take time to get it right and time can't be rushed, we have to be patient, it will come. Let us all hope!

QPR Fans and social media - my tuppence worth.

Having invested over forty years of my life into supporting QPR I think I have earned the right to be critical of the team I love and nothing hurts more than to be less than complimentary about the R's. I find it annoying that some R's fans in the social media take such exception to R's fans being critical of the team we all love. If you can't be honest about your club with fellow people that love the club too then football has indeed run its course. To those that take exception to such comments I respectfully put it to you that you have an aversion to the truth and to continue to deny our failings, makes R's fans look stupid to outsiders. Either way if that is the way you feel I respect that and would expect the same - it doesn't mean we love the R's any less. So come on all R's lets lose the expectations and rediscover our hope.

Come on you R's

The Bush Ranger. 
 
 

#27 Waiting to Peak

In my last blog I wrote about our (then) forthcoming run of four big fixtures against top sides in the Championship and how we would be able to tell what we were made of after this run, however sometimes things are not always as clear cut or predictable as we would like. Especially where QPR are concerned.

Recent results

So, how did the R's get on in those four games? They had a dream start by beating Blackpool for an overdue away win. After being second best for the first hour in appalling conditions, a slice of good fortune saw them take the lead and as then dominate for the rest of the game, winning 2 nil, but could have had four or five. Typically, the remaining three games saw an alarming dip in form as we lost at home to Leicester, who out "one nilled" us, albeit in a more convincing way than we have done on numerous occasions this season. The R's followed that up with another defeat at Nottingham Forest where we have never won, so no change there then. In fact my heart sank when I looked at the starting eleven. It was bad enough missing Charlie, but starting Henry and Zamora left me with no hope for this game. Both games were live on Sky and our performances in both games did very little to justify our lofty position in the league to the viewing TV audience.

Having gone into the Christmas period sitting on top of the league with a good opportunity to consolidate our top dog status against our closest rivals, two defeats and goalless draw against Watford pushed the R's to 4th and then back to 3rd in the league as form side Derby joined the mix at the top. With the exception of the Forest game (in which we were awful) we hadn't really played much different to most of the season, i.e. plenty of meaningless possession, little creativity and a shortage of clear cut chances, however the big difference was not being able to score a goal and hold out, having drawn four blanks in the last five games. It would be fair to say we were far from convincing when push came to shove, but having said that, despite the dip in form, we are still up there, with as good a chance as anyone of achieving automatic promotion.

Just as I was about to conclude that maybe we don't have enough to get out of the first gear I waxed lyrical about in my last blog, the mighty Super Hoops turned their fortunes around in an almost complete reversal of the away fixture at Doncaster when he played host to them on New Years day. This time it was the R's turn to turn a one goal deficit into a victory with a superb late winner from Charlie Austin. Again, not a very convincing victory but we made our luck that day and I can't help feeling that last gasp winner could be a significant turning point in our season.

The R's confirmed their annual early exit from the FA Cup as they succumbed to a heavy defeat against a buoyant Everton side with the R's dismal display difficult to relate it to their league form. Despite whatever Harry may have said about "taking the cup seriously", I very much doubt they were and I would imagine motivation for this game was not on par with the league games this season, resulting in a display reminiscent of the misery of last season. Harry waxed lyrical about unacceptable displays, not being happy with the performance and how the team had to do better but, remember, this was the FA Cup and we are QPR. Was it ever going to be any other way, especially with the R's hierarchy hell bent on returning to the Premiership at the first attempt and now the club have announced the new stadium plans at Old Oak a lot of the clubs planning rests on where we end up at the end of this season. (More on the new stadium in future blogs)

Charlie Boy's last gasp winner v Doncaster

So on to Ipswich away, with a point to prove and nothing less than a win a must. Another healthy away R's following of 1500 plus were treated to away victory that saw the R's score three goals and Austin wasn't one of the scorers! QPR were not overly convincing having been matched and occasionally bettered by our hosts, but they showed strength of character and again made their own luck to eventually come out as comfortable winners. Interestingly Ipswich had the majority possession, as did Doncaster and Bournemouth, but our potency in attack was much better in those games than when we boss the possession stats and we benefit from playing higher up the pitch when we have the ball.  All the more pleasing about the result was getting three different players on the score sheet which in itself is an improvement and a step in the direction we need to be going if promotion is to be achieved.

The victory leaves QPR in 3rd place five points behind Leicester and one behind Burnley, but five ahead of Derby who are 4th. The important run of games proved not to be a conclusive as I was hoping but I can conclude that we are still up there challenging, without having reached the potential we have been waiting for all season. Some have commented that we may already be in our top gear (after my last blog "Stuck in first gear") but I still believe there is the potential for more to come from this team. It has been well documented that we have a quality squad with players that come with big reputations. A lot of these players are still to live up to these reputations and potential. If they do, (If they still can) then I would like to think we will see something much more acceptable in terms of performances to go with improved results and maybe even a touch of class. I have to stress that this will not happen unless the squad perform to their capabilities and stop doing "just about enough" - because we are going to need more than that. Harry and his staff are going to have to be more inventive and we will need to strengthen in the transfer window particularly up front.

Nico celebrates QPR's opener at Ipswich

Player wise Henry and Zamora are truly dire and shouldn't be in the squad. Messer's O'Neil, Hoilett, Traore, Jenas, Kranjcar, Phillips and Assou-Ekotto (someone remind him he's paid to be a defender) all have more to give and will have to up their game as mentioned earlier. Green has been OK but still frightens the life out of me, Barton has been diligent and solid, all be it a little overrated and there is room for more from him too. The defence have been solid and Charlie Austin has proved his worth and has not disappointed, but sadly AJ has not got 90 minutes in him although he does make a difference offensively when he 's on the pitch.  A lot of responsibility has been unfairly put on Tom Carroll to be the midfield genius that produce miracles at will. He is a good player but I think he is bullied in the Championship and his game is better suited to the Premiership where refereeing is more sympathetic to his type of player.

So there we have it, into the second half of the season and still in the mix and we haven't got going yet. Or have we? It's a difficult one to call but I can say we have not been the best team in the Championship so far, but we could be and I think we should be. The pressure is on Harry to get us back up at all costs, so results take priority over style, I'm sure Harry doesn't like it but he knows what has to be done. I would like to think that it is all going to plan and this is where Harry wanted to be come the turn of the year ready to turn it up as the final chase begins. We could be following that tried and tested template of not peaking to early but waiting to peak at the right time, the business end of the season. As it stands now that is a possibility and although some of the football has been sterile it has been an enjoyable season so far and our expectations have not been extinguished... not yet anyway. Surely there's some good stuff to come yet. I just get the feeling that last minute winner against Doncaster was the turning point in our season. (not rational, just a feeling) Maybe things will be more clearer come the end of the month, I doubt it though, this season is going to go all the way to the end.

Come on you R's

The Bush Ranger

# 26 Stuck In First Gear

RESULTS

With Christmas just two weeks away, QPR are still in the leading pack and are joint top of the Championship on points with four games to go before the halfway point in the season.

Following our first defeat of the season at Burnley, the R's averted a negative run by securing a goalless draw a few days later at Wigan, in what was a drab and boring affair not befitting of the excellent R's support after a run of three consecutive away games. That run of away games was Rangers first test of the season. in which we didn't do well as we only picked up two points from the nine available. This was subsequently overturned when the R's reliable home form quickly dispatched Derby to secure three points, albeit not as convincingly as our previous home outing, with plenty of huffing and puffing but no real punch.

The next game was at the home of the fake Hoops in Reading (aka Chelsea Town) and was the early kick off on the Saturday, courtesy of football's masters at Sky. QPR started brightly and could have, and should have been three nil up after ten minutes. But a combination of another opposition keeper having a stormer against us and the usual missed sitters put paid to that, as we faded away and let Reading back into a game that should have been dead and buried. Sure enough the R's found themselves a goal down early in the second half following a Reading throw that should have been QPR's. Barton put away a nice free kick to salvage a point for the R's late on but it was the R's celebration that was all the more pleasing. As the ball nestled into the net Barton raced to the dug out, closely followed by his team mates as they held aloft the hooped shirt of their stricken team mate Ali Faurlin.

Ali, as you all know, was cruelly stricken with another ACL injury against Derby just as he was approaching his best from again, having been one of the very few highlights at Wigan. Injuries have plagued the R's this season and it is fortunate that we do have an abundance of midfielders having once thought we had too many. What is alarming is the number of players we have that have fallen to hamstring strains and niggles and some work needs to be done to reduce these occurrences. In fact the welfare of QPR players past and present should always be considered by the club and I hope they do right by Ali and offer him an extension on his contract. Good luck in your recovery Ali, you will never be alone.

FAURLIN NOT FORGOTTEN

Another unconvincing performance saw the R's overturn Charlton with another home victory and another one nil. The victories and haul of points at home are more than welcome but many an R's fan has acknowledged that it has not been the most entertaining or exciting of seasons to date. For some reason we seem to be obsessed with our possession stats, quite content to tip tap the ball sideways, in our own half, much to the relief of the opposition as they take a chance to take a breather without any hint of a threat on their goal from QPR. Why, with the talent we have in our squad,  are we devoid of any kind of attacking prowess? Why don't we push further up the pitch, use the width in our team and actually get behind opposition defences? Matt Phillips has gone some way to changing this in patches, but the onus seems to be on grinding out narrow victories. All very well as long as stupid mistakes don't lead to opposition goals, as was the case at Doncaster.

Doncaster away was a truly dire display and easily in the top ten of the worst games I've seen in over forty years. The R's travelling support numbered at over 1600 that day and they deserved much better than the tripe served up that was disguised as a football match. An enthusiastic, buoyant and vociferous support that was singing away under the stand before the game was slowly worn down and subdued by what they witnessed as the match progressed, a very bad day at the office that is best forgotten. Fortunately, as with our previous defeat, we only had to wait a few days to put things right as the R's recorded their biggest win to date scoring three for the first time this season. Harry finally started with two strikers with the Andy Johnson tenacious and refreshingly effective. To their credit, Bournemouth played some nice football and were one of the few teams to have the majority of the possession against QPR. They passed the ball well and moved it about in areas that caused the R's concern but are a little naive and are lacking the quality they need to convert their possession football into something that will establish themselves in this league. Could it be that not having so much of the ball forced the R's hand and produced a more effective attacking performance? It would seem that way as we next played host prominent bus parkers Blackburn, who have not lost at QPR since 1993. They conceded an obscene amount of possession to the R's as we served up sterile and uninventive goalless draw. Despite playing with two wide men for most of the game, the R's didn't make many clear cut chances and rarely excited an R's crowd that have been starved of watching any real excitement this season, which in turn has had an adverse effect on the atmosphere at Loftus Road of late.

PHILLIPS OFF THE MARK

Having said that, it is a means to an end and Sunday's this season have been infinitely better than last season and winning games is always a heart warmer. What amazes me is that despite the fact that we have not dominated or crushed anyone this season, scored bag loads of goals or more importantly, not got out of first gear, we are still joint top of the league. So you could be forgiven for thinking or even expecting there's better to come. A good indication of whether or not that will happen will become evident after our next four fixtures. They are against Blackpool away, Leicester home, Forest away and the Watford away. Four games against teams from the business end of the table with no games against minnows to fill in the results between theses bigger games. This will be a real indicator of what this team has got and what its made of. This will bring us to the exact hallway mark in the season. Will we still be top? Will we still be up there? Will we have moved up out of first gear and started to dominate? It's a big test and we'll have a better idea in the new year. I'd like to think we will move up a few gears we all know we have, rather than remain static as we did last season.

Yossi Benayon has just joined the R's on a short term deal and although he's 33 I think he could be an effective solution to our attacking issues along with a fully fit Nico Kranjcar. I would play him wide with Phillips on the other flank and seriously consider selling Hoilett to Stoke in January if that fool that used to manage us wants him. I would imagine Harry's transfer activity will be influenced on what he sees in these next four games.

And so to the FA Cup draw and QPR's annual half hearted appearance in this classic but sadly devalued cup completion. This is a major domestic trophy and only one of three trophy's that is possible for us and many others to win. Why do teams treat this wonderful competition with such disdain? (And the League Cup come to think of it?) We have been paired with Everton and a trip to Goodison Park and Harry has declared that we are taking the FA Cup seriously this year. All I can say is remember when he said we'll be making mind blowing signings, nuff said! Either way serious or not serious, this will be a tough one for QPR but you never know. I'd love us to win this cup.

So, four big games coming up, two of which will be live on Sky, Leicester home and Forest away and thank you for the free coach travel to Forest Tony Fernandes. Here hoping the R's can up it a gear or two. Next blog in the new year.

Merry Christmas to you all.



Come on you R's.

The Bush Ranger.

#25 Flattering to Deceive

As we approach the end of October with about a quarter of the season gone, the R's sit in the leading pack still harbouring hopes and expectations of a swift return to the Premier League. How twelve months can make a difference, as we approached our twelfth game of the season being the only undefeated team in England as opposed to being the only team without a win over the same period a year ago.

So what has changed? When I last blogged in pre season, we still had a lot of dross to rid ourselves of. Somehow, we have managed to move most of undesirables from the club, be it permanent or loan moves. Harry has been widely credited with this, but judging from his numerous "I haven't got a clue what's happening with him" comments, I'd say it was down to Beard and his staff. Whoever it was down to, thank god we have got rid of the likes of Bosingwa, Mbia, Park and the like. In fact, QPR have either sold, released or loaned out no fewer that twenty players and in doing so reduced the R's exuberant wage bill.



RESULTS
 

Sadly one of those to leave was the limited but effective and committed Jamie Mackie, surely he could have done a job for us this year in some capacity. Also sent out on loan was the increasingly problematic genius that is Adel Taarabt. The R's favourite that was indisputably instrumental in our dominant championship success in 2011 never really lived up to expectations in the Premier League and stories have emerged about his poor attitude and disruptive effect on the team. Harry had enough, so off he went, to our inconspicuous little neighbours in SW6, to warm the bench over there. I am grateful for all he did for us and for his odd flashes of brilliance in the Premier League but, his contribution no longer merited the expensive concessions the rest of the squad had to endure in order to accommodate him and his ego, the time was right for him to go. However he was not in as much demand as he believed he was, so had to settle for a mediocre role and the prospect of another relegation battle in the Premier League. Some of our young emerging stars have been loaned out to gain first team experience and I wish then all the best and support them whilst looking forward to their return, however the likes of Taarabt, Mbia, Remy and the like had no desire to stay at QPR and there have even been reports of Taarabt kissing the badge of FFC. So, in my opinion, while they are wearing the shirt of another club, they aren't QPR and can rot in hell. We don't need that sort back at QPR. As for Christopher Samba, well enough has been said about that debacle. Then we have Julio Cesar, (and his greed) with all his wealth, surely he could have taken a pay cut in order to play first team football somewhere before fulfilling his wish of playing in a home world cup. Instead he has opted to collect an obscenely huge salary for doing nothing at QPR, watch him retire after the world cup.

On a positive note, Harry did manage to sign Charlie Austin and the reliably solid Richard Dunne on a free with Simpson and O'Neil also joining for no fee. Matt Phillips and the unexpected signing of Karl Henry beefed up a squad that is still woefully short in attack and at the centre of defence although Harry has recently bought in Chevanton on a short term deal (whilst serial crocks AJ And Zamora are side-lined yet again) along with the man mountain and USA international centre half Oguchi Onyewu. Deadline day loan deals of Assou-Ekotto, Nico Kranjcar and Tom Carroll completed first phase of Harry's plans to right all that was wrong about QPR last season.

Probably the biggest shock of all was Joey Barton's return to the team after being banished to Marseilles for the last twelve months. (contrary to what he tweeted) Even more surprising was Harry's decision to pair him in midfield with his long standing enemy Karl Henry. It's a hard one  to understand when you consider Harry was trying to build a close knit team, its unlikely they are best of pals now, or even talking to each other but there are no rumours of it damaging the new found bond and spirit in the team. (It may even turn out to be a stroke of genius.)

ROCK SOLID

It would seem that QPR's aforementioned new and improved bond and team spirit has been a major factor in the R's great start to the season and has bread the belief and confidence to grind out the results required, whilst plugging the leaky defence that plagued us in the PL for the last two seasons. Ultimately this culminated in a record breaking eight games without conceding goal and remaining undefeated in our opening eleven games. This form saw the R's at the top of the table for most of  that run and we currently sit in the top three with a game in hand.

Although I am delighted we are challenging at the top I think we are fortunate to be where we are and that our lofty position in the league flatters to deceive, something still doesn't seem quite right yet. We have managed to amass our haul of points on the back of a some poor performances and ugly wins and it would be unwise to say we are comfortably sitting near the summit of the league. We have ridden our luck and with our game largely based on not conceding, we have on the whole been devoid of any penetrative out and out attacking or dominance and you could argue that we are challenging for promotion having not really got out of first gear yet.

It is understandable that Harry had to stop the team leaking goals but it has lead to a lot of passing the ball sideways in our own half without really getting anywhere, (Henry the crab) with no one wanting to take the ball forward for fear of losing it, even though inevitably that is what we do. Although our ball retention has improved massively on last season, we are still the cause of our own undoing by giving the ball away cheaply, particularly O'Neil, Hoilett, Henry and Barton, but most of the team can be included amongst those guilty of losing possession too often. This can be further compounded when playing Barton and Henry together in the middle and you shouldn't expect to see anything exciting happen when this is the case, even more so when you add O'Neil to the mix. That's not to say they haven't done well this season it's just that this combination is not conducive to what we want to see at Loftus Road in terms of attacking flair. The introduction of a not fully fit Nico Kranjcar to the mix has gone a little way to abate the lack of flair and I think once fully fit, Nico will play a significant part in providing the missing ingredient we our looking for this season. Barton has been influential this season and is comfortable at this level but still blights his game with avoidable misplaced passes and poor dead ball delivery, but on balance has earned his place in the team. I am not his greatest fan but he is an R and while he is giving it his all for QPR I am able to tolerate him. (Just)

If we are to move up a gear and really start to dominate games in the way we did in 2010/11 there are a few players that are going to have to start delivering, the biggest culprit being Junior Hoilett. We have been waiting over a year for him to start producing the form that lead us to sign him but disappointingly, he is rapidly beginning to morph in to the new Sean Wright-Phillips. A bad first touch and poor ball control, coupled with an inability to deliver the ball without giving it away has on the whole been the story that has far outweighed any good that he has produced. I also wonder why one so young is so prone to injury and question his fitness and effort in training, at the very least he needs to work on his strength and conditioning regime. How long do we have to wait before he starts to produce? With fewer opportunities for the equally disappointing SWP I would like to see Phillips given the opportunity to produce the kind of form he did at Blackpool and add some much needed attacking prowess that has been missing since Andros Townsend returned to Spurs. Should this be the case, it should afford Austin the chance to play his normal game up front as he has had to carry the burden of being our only striker for many weeks now and for that reason I don't think it is fair to make a judgement on Charlie Boy yet, but he is getting goals and scores penalties!

HAPPY TEAM MATES

It is good to see Harry looking up for it again and he seems to be committed to the cause even though he has a tendency to go on a tangent and spout some pure bullshit eg "we will be making some mind blowing signings" need I say more? He was very astute in securing the temporary services of Steve McClaren, who made a huge contribution in his short time with us and will be missed now he has moved on to Derby. Harry has also been a little distracted whilst plugging his book of late and I believe it has been an unnecessary distraction to him and he took his eye off the ball for the Burnley game, picking the wrong starting eleven that day, but you've got to love him.

In summary the results to date have been fantastic even though some of the performances have not merited them. You have to be a lot of things in this league if you are to be successful, and winning when your not playing well is one of them. However if we are to maintain our challenge we are going to have to up our game. We are going to have to commit ourselves to being more offensive and move our possession game higher up the pitch and score more goals. Being overcautious and playing deep only invites opposition pressure and we don't cope with that very well. AJ will be back soon and along with Chevanton we will have a few more options on the attacking front and will have the ability to play two up top again. Until I see that happen I am not going to raise my hopes too high and I have to admit the prospect of playing Premiership football this time next year does not fill me with excitement, not yet anyway. This team needs to evolve to reach its potential. Will it happen? If so, how quickly? It should, but we will have to wait and see. In the mean time, it's good to be enjoying supporting the R's again. Weekends have been great!

Come on You R's

The Bush Ranger.

#24 QPR 2012/13 - An Unmitigated Disaster

 

It has been a while since my last blog post. It has been too painful to write about the plight of our beloved QPR but, time is a great healer and today, inspired by the release of next seasons fixtures, I am ready to blog about the R's.



NEW KIT
 

I wont go into too much detail from our final games of last season, as you all know we only got a point and only one goal from Stoke onwards. In fact from the Villa game (which we had to win to turn the season around) we only got two points. Suffice to say were just  not good enough and dare I say, we should have gone down the year before. Having said that, we were truly awful last season and it was easily the worst season I have ever had in over forty years following the R's.



OLD KIT

But why was last season such an unmitigated disaster? Especially after all the optimism and hope our transfer activity instilled in even the most pessimistic of R's fans. We will never be able to put it down to one single reason, but one thing is for sure Mark Hughes is the main reason, That and his signings that failed to deliver, some of which were an utter disgrace. On the playing side, I think the players never recovered from playing so well at Spurs and losing and then getting dumped out of the League Cup by Reading days later, when this completion was earmarked as the "one we were gonna try and win this year." As the close season has gone on, we are hearing little stories about the club, players bad attitudes, players consistently late, bad feelings and rifts among the players. The clubs real grafters were stuck on Championship contracts, whilst our big shot new signings waltzed in on their millionaire Premier league contracts without justifying themselves at the club. It seems too, that Messer's Beard and Fernandez have been very naïve and have been fleeced by many an agent. We now know that all was not well or happy at Loftus Road and indeed we had not made much progress as a club since the days we were the laughing stock of football under Briatore and regimes before.

Relegation hurt, but what hurt more was the damage done to footballs perception of QPR. We used to be a club that many a football fan all over the county used to say" oh you support QPR, I don't mind them, its a good club" or words to that effect. We were (and still are) the perennial strugglers that always gave it a good honest go, mainly on limited resources and against the odds. The last two seasons in the Premier league has seen QPR sell its soul in pursuit of being an established Premier League club. Football has seen us throw money at overrated and washed out mercenary signings that have failed our club and brought about our failure. Football has watched as QPR has been amongst the leaders in the buying table at the close of each transfer window, spending beyond our means, as our rich Sugar Daddies insist that all is fine on the financial front at QPR and all the figures add up. This is fine while the Sugar Daddies are still interested in the club but what happens when they lose interest? We the fans will still be here to pick up the pieces again but will they? At the moment our rich owners are enthusiastic in the R's and the plan to build a new stadium. The Stadium project far outweighs the disaster of relegation. As a commercial project in W12, it would certainly reap huge rewards on their investment into the club and it is this project that keeps the focus of our owners. Football has seen QPR fail in spectacular fashion and once again we are a laughing stock with many a football fan gloating at such an epic demise.

HARRY - READY TO REBUILD

But what of the useless players we are lumbered with after relegation. Again, lack of football knowhow from the board leaves the club to suffer, as we are stuck with inadequate players, on big, long contacts that are going to be difficult to move on. I remember the days when QPR would lose it's best players because we could not pay them enough. Now we can't get rid of players because we are paying them too much, this just isn't QPR. Harry has been constantly going on about it and has been whinging to all who will listen in the press since before the season ended. After the Wigan game Harry's whole demeanour changed, he looked broken and beat, and I only hope old Harry comes back when we report back for pre season, because if he isn't ready to give it 100% he should say so now. Personally I think if he can get his head right, he's the right man for QPR, I think he has genuine affection for the R's and is one of us now. The state of the club and some of the squad he has inherited has pushed him to the edge, but hopefully now he has the backing of the board, Harry can put together a squad that can get us back up.

Enough of last season now and on to next season and the welcome decision by the club to reduce the season ticket prices in line with our last outing in the Championship. This will go a long way to ensuring our gates don't dip too much and should provide a better return than the meagre two home wins last season. I look forward to not only seeing more wins but more goals and the sound of Pigbag blasting out a lot more this season. Another good decision from the club was to bring back the thicker hoops to our home shirts as opposed to those stupid "Tesco Value bag" hoops and the return of the Red and Black hooped away shirt. The new pitch is good news too but I think we need to paint the back of the Paddock White again, as although blue looked good and think it was bad luck!

On the playing front we are linked with Danny Simpson having lost out on Wayne Bridge. Harry spat his dummy out over this one but did we really want another 33 year old, injury prone has been on big money, I don't think so. Looks like the board have learnt something from last season. With the transfer window set to reopen on July 1st it will be interesting to see who we can get rid of. It would seem that Cesar is Arsenal bound, Granero's agent has said he is moving on, Remy will surly go as it's a world cup season (subject to pending court case). Mbia and Traore don't want to play in the Championship (which is fine by me, they can go. So can Barton, SWP, Hoilett, Green, Ferdinand, and Diakite) whilst Park will be looking for a move and Taarabt is subject to the usual speculation regarding a move and we can only hope and pray that someone, somewhere..... anywhere, takes Bosingwa away from W12.

Harry says he has identified a number of players that he needs to get the R's back up and that the club are actively perusing these targets. I think we need to get at least two new strikers as Zamora (apart from not being very good) needs an operation that would rule him out for a season and if he doesn't have it will be playing in pain and will only be able to play for 40 to 60 minutes a week. I hope they give DJ Campbell another year, he can do it at this level and he's the right kind of player for QPR. Harry has mentioned a lot of the squad aren't up to two games a week so the next month or so will be interesting. I also think that Green is just not good enough, even for the Championship, he makes too many mistakes and is too much of a liability and will cost us points over 46 games. Paddy Kenny must have earned QPR 10 or 12 points on his own the season we went up, that is the bench mark we should be looking for if we are to challenge. Green is nowhere near that so I would like to see a keeper come in or give Murphy a decent chance.

So, with the fixtures released today, we find our opening fixture at home again, this time to Sheffield Wednesday who battled relegation for most of the last season. Let's hope we can put an end to the opening day disasters we have had in the last two years. I think its too early to say how we will do next season as there is a lot of rebuilding to do before them. The only sure think is we wont go up without changes.

WE WANT OUR TROPHY BACK!

In the mean time, as we hope and dream of a successful promotion season back to the premier league, I also hope that we get our soul back as a club. I hope we get our old QPR back with players who want to play for QPR and give it there all for the club. I hope that we can be sensible in our transfer dealings, knuckle down and put some honest graft in. I hope we get our credibility back and enjoy our football and being QPR again. So I leave you with a link to our celebrations when we won promotion back to the Championship in 2004. I choose this promotion because it felt so much better than 2011. We did it against the odds, with real QPR people, who wanted to play for QPR. There were no FA charges or doubts. We earned it and it was great. Just look how the R's packed Leppings Lane end in our last game at Sheffield Wednesday. How great did that feel?

Watch it. It will make you feel good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIhR4kkuv_o

I, like my fellow R's fans will be watching in anticipation over the coming weeks to see how we manage in our rebuilding project and how we do in our pre season. Another lesson learnt by the club is our pre season tour will be in Devon and Austria. Good call.

Will blog again next month unless something major occurs.

Onwards and upwards. Come on you R's.

The Bush Ranger.

#23 Not Cutting the Mustard

QPR have played four crucial games since my last blog post with twelve valuable points up for grabs in our quest to stave off relegation. Two of those games were six pointers against fellow strugglers at the bottom of the Premier League. Games we went into on the back of our first back to back successes in the premiership and in good form by our recent standards. So how many points did we amass out of the twelve up for grabs.......one. One solitary point from twelve despite our efforts, that now leaves our beloved QPR staring relegation certainty in the face. I, like many fellow R's have been gutted to the core since the Villa game and I have not been able to blog about the R's until now, simply because I was just too upset. But now on the eve of our home fixture against Stoke, I like many other R's, am beginning to come to terms with the almost certain prospect of QPR playing back in the Championship next season.

Why did we fail so miserably to earn the required points in those games? Well a mixture of bad fortune, failure to execute chances and same terrible mistakes, pretty much like the rest of the season. Villa away should have seen us home and dry by half time, as chance after chance went begging with the woodwork also chipping into to deny the R's, whilst the Villa keeper was in inspired form. This was compounded on the stroke of half time when the R's failed to deal with a harmless Villa threat and conceded the equaliser. The second half saw a rejuvenated Villa get another two goals as a lack luster second half performance saw R's players guilty of unforgivable defensive errors that cost us dearly. Spur's loanee Townsend was again in inspirational form as he bagged another goal for the R's along with Jenas. Ultimately the game ended in defeat for QPR as three thousand plus crestfallen travelling R's made their way home wondering just how we managed to throw three points away. Down but not out, yet, and a two week wait for our next fixture away to Fulham.



Jenas celebrates his goal at Villa

True to form the R's managed to mess this game up in even more spectacular style than the previous game at Villa as the two break appeared to have not been of any benefit to the team. Two calamitous mistakes by R's record signing Samba saw him concede a penalty after 8 minutes and get caught in possession to gift Fulham's second goal on 22 minutes. This was further compounded by a Clint Hill own goal on 41 minute to see QPR go 3 nil down echoing memories of our disgraceful drubbing at the Cottage last season. After Zamora had  already wasted our best chance in the first half, the look on Harry's face when the third goal said it all. You just can not plan for individual errors like the ones that littered QPR's first half performance. However a determined Taarabt pulled one back for the R's on 45 minutes after a good finish to give us a glimmer of hope.

Undeterred, the magnificent R's away support remained in fantastic voice throughout, and at half time you would have thought it was the R's that were winning. A more determined R's came out in the second half and with nothing to lose the pressure was now on as wave after wave of QPR attack was launched on the hosts resulting in QPR being awarded a penalty. Sadly, Remy failed to convert as Schwarzer parried and one of four encroaching Fulham players cleared away the subsequent rebound. Undeterred, Remy made amends for his missed spot kick by converting another great chance minutes later, to reduce the deficit to one goal. The R's huffed and puffed for the remainder of the half, easily hammering Fulham in the second half but a combination of great saves from Schwarzer and the R's failing to finish saw the R's leave the Cottage with no points again and a second consecutive three two defeat.



Taarabt - on target again against Fulham

The following week QPR played hosts to perennial strugglers Wigan, in a game that simply had to be won. It would have been a sell out had Wigan managed to sell more than three hundred and forty tickets and the atmosphere was anxious. This was further compounded when Zamora was sent off for an inexplicable high footed challenge on Wigan's Gomez after twenty minutes. With everything for QPR to play for, Wigan failed to take advantage of the extra man and a blood and guts performance from the R's in the second half saw than take the lead with a a fantastic wonder goal form Remy with 5 minutes remaining. This sent the R's faithful into a frenzy as the atmosphere suddenly ignited to a crescendo of sound. As the clock ticked over for 90 minutes, a further 4 minutes of injury time was to be played. The R's back four were coping with Wigan assaults with Samba launching the ball to safety a few times in the dieing moments. Than in the last minute of injury time, QPR's resident clown, Mbia, gave away a needless free kick in a dangerous position. Mbia is a bit like Marmite, in that you like him or you don't. He is a nice bloke but, as a midfielder in the Premier League he is sadly lacking and naive. He persistently fouls and is always left on the deck whilst being guilty of many shameless dives. I have often said he is not ready to be a  midfielder yet and he would be best employed as a right back this season, as we have other players than can do the midfield job. Needless to say the resulting free kick was converted by Maloney to earn Wigan an undeserved point and silent the Loftus Road faithful. This proved to be the last kick of the game and looking around you could see on everyones faces, that they know the game is up for QPR and we are all but down. So very, very disappointing and so very, very painful. Not only did we fail to get the results we needed now,we have failed to get the results all season and the mess we are in is a result of the failings since August when the season began.



Remy scores wonder goal v Wigan

Harry and his troops headed to Everton the following week, still hurting after the cruel way in which fate conspired to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory the week before. The performance was predictably poor. As QPR rolled over and died after going one down just before half time to a wickedly deflected shot. The remainder of the game saw the R's offer very little and we ended the game losing 2 nil. The result leaves QPR ten points off safety with five games and fifteen points to play for and the likelihood of QPR's short Premiership tenure coming to an end soon.

To me, the last two seasons in the Premiership have been the most miserable in over forty years following the R's. For me it has been a nightmare and I've never felt comfortable with our Premiership status, something just didn't seem right. Yes there have been some good bits but on the whole it has been a horrible time compared to all the other years. This has been more painful than the other relegation's I've supported the R's through and that is because of the hope that we get from an era when we have been afforded the best resources and financial backing in our history. That hope fuels the agony and things have gone so very badly and wrong.

Most R's fans seem to have accepted that QPR will be relegated and many are talking of looking forward to next season in the Championship. I myself am reasonably optimistic about our prospects in the Championship, but then again I was optimistic about this season due to signings and the like. We should have done much better this season, but we have not. We should do well next year in the Championship, but will we. This is the QPR roller coaster and who knows who will still be with us next season on the playing and management side. We must wait and see. But we must get it right next time.

In the mean time, although there is a queue of fat lady's waiting to sing, it ain't over yet. And while there's a chance you don't give up,  because you never know.

So,Stoke at home tomorrow and three points to be won. Should we lose, its possible we could be relegated on Monday should results go against us. But, should we win, the fight is still on and Stoke are dragged into even more trouble.

What ever division we are in I'm QPR till I die.

Here we go again. Come on you R's.

The Bush Ranger