QPR blogger Gareth Parker puts fingers to keys for LFW for the first time, reflecting on the important role supporters can play in the success of Rangers' host of new signings.

We’re just into our second season in the Premier League and for some it’s like we are defending a Champions League title; such are the expectations being placed on the team.

A new influx of players this summer has got R’s fans’ hopes high, and I include myself in that.

It’s understandable considering the squad we now have at our disposal. The likes of Cesar, Bosingwa, Park, Granero and Cisse to name but a few, all playing in the famous blue and white hoops would have been laughable not so long ago. But with any new addition there needs to be time afforded to settle in and learn the ethos of a side, which is made that much more difficult when you basically go and sign half a team every transfer window.

Over the past few seasons I’ve noticed fans at games unreasonably shouting abuse at our own players. Now I won’t say watching Shaun Wright-Phillips, for the tenth time in a game, pick the ball up with options to pass then choose to run aimlessly into trouble isn’t bloody annoying - by that time the action deserves most to rise their feet with annoyance - but players are human at the end of the day and play well when inundated with confidence. One sure fire way of knocking that is when supporters jump on their backs.

Taarabt is a prime example of this. It’s obvious when he’s not happy, like when he’s pulled off the field of play or when the moans reign down from the stands after he’s tried to pull off something special and failed. The thing people forget is when it works we’re in raptures and not one person is shouting ‘you should have passed it’.

The player most lacking in that confidence at the moment would be Robert Green. There’s a number of factors behind this: joining a new club and after a month or so seeing his position become redundant is one, the other is us.

Yes he’s already made a few errors, but players make those all the time and carry on fine. Halfway through the first game of the season against Swansea the Paddy Kenny chant was sung amidst the other less delightful abuse like ‘Your sh*t’. To be honest the performance that day on the pitch was as disgusting as some of the things I heard. The thing you’ve got to ask your self is when does it stop? If Julio Cesar is unable to keep the ball out the back of our net, are you going to ‘give it to him’ as well?

I spoke to Charlton Athletic midfielder Bradley Pritchard – my cousin as it goes - about how much players react to fans and particularly new players. We came to the conclusion it’s all about first impressions for those in the stands reviewing those on the pitch and also the player and how he views those who support the team.

It depends on the player and his mentality too, if you’ve played for some of the biggest clubs in the country and have international experience for say a nation like England, then it’s less likely that whatever comes from the stands will affect you a great deal. However, younger players with less experience or those new to the country won’t react as well one way or another. It affects how you play your football sometimes the decisions made.

QPR have signed a player who I think will need everyone’s backing and that’s Cameroon international Stephane M’Bia. I’ve kept an eye on his tweets during his transfer to us, one thing for certain is he loved Marseille and the Marseille faithful loved him. I get the impression he didn’t request to leave and maybe didn’t want to leave. That’s fine, he was settled, but he is with us now and as a sportsman will always want to do his best by winning. The athletic defensive midfielder, who also can play in central defence, signed a two-year contract with the Hoops; my guess is that relatively short length of deal was at his request and not the club’s.

If things don’t go well from the off I fear followers will show him disdain and I can’t see M’Bia reacting well to this. I can see the headline already ‘M’Bia home sick’ with only a two year contract it really only means we are guaranteed to have him for a year. The club won’t want him going free if he decided against extending.

It’s down to all of us to really get behind this side and make all the players feel part of QPR. I’ve a feeling that this squad will pick up performances and when we hit that run we’ll be a match for most we just need to show a little patience in the meantime.

Gareth runs the R Block Facebook group which you can visit and interact with at www.facebook.com/rblockqpr

Tweet @R_Block_QPR

Pictures – Action Images

Photo: Action Images

westlondonisrs added 23:27 - Sep 6 even though i was less than enthusiastic about signing rob green.(as i dont think he is any better than paddy kenny)i will support him to the hilt every game cos he is now a qpr player.and i think every qpr fan feels the same.game in game out the qpr fans support the team from the first minute to the last.at swansea game i was so downhearted,but even at 5-0 down we gave our team every encouragement and support we could.the sound of that at loftus road to a team beaten, neigh ,thrashed was unbelievable.what supporters we are.now mark hughes we have the players all we need is a team.its still a work in progress lets hope it progresses quickly.COME ON YOU Rs

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westlondonisrs added 23:35 - Sep 6 heres hoping our first win is against chelsea.looking forward to that game immensely.loftus road will be rocking.
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Myke added 13:11 - Sep 7 The whole booing thing is an interesting concept. is it peculiar to soccer, or is it aimed at any professional sport, or is it a cultural thing? I pose this question, because here in Ireland, where Gaelic Football is our national sport, no-one would dream of booing the opposition, never mind a member of your own team. And it's certainly not due to a lack of passion, if anyone wants to see raw passion at it's most fervent, tune into Croke Park next Sunday at 3.30pm to watch 80,000 hysterical fans cheer on their heroes from Galway and Kilkenny as they try to win the All Ireland Hurling Final. Despite this hysteria and a high degree of inebreiation, there will be no aggro, no need for segregation; a Kilkenny and Galway fan will stroll into the ground, side- by- side, sit side- by-side and cheer on their teams successes, while sitting silently through their failures. And they all pour out of the stadium afterwards in their tens of thousands, the victors and the vanquished...side-by-side. Is this because it's an 'amateur' sport? ie. the players don't get an official wage for the huge level of effort and commitment put in. Is it because there is no transfer policy, therefore all the player's are local, one of the stars of the team could, literally, be your next-door-neighbour- who you would have a drink with next week, After all you couldn't slag off your neighbour could you? Or is it a cultural thing? Do the Irish not 'do' booing or violence? Are we more interested in singing and drinking and having the craic, even when our team is crap, as so eloquently illustrated at this summers European Championship? Not so, I would say: if one attended a local soccer match, watched by the same people (albeit in much smaller numbers) that watch the hurling and gaelic football matches, one would be stunned by the behaviourial change of the spectators. NOW they hurl abuse at the opposition, and indeed their own (non-local) players. Now they engage in threateniing behaviour with the other teams fans. And I witnessed Roy Keane - arguably the greatest Rep of Ireland player ever - to be roundly booed by his own 'fans'. I'm not much of a rugby fan, but whenever I attend a big International at the Aviva Stadium (formerly Landsdowne Road) there is never any aggro, in what is now a highly competitative professional sport. So aggro and booing seems to be peculiar to Association Football? These findings are inconclusive due to my lack of attendance at other professional sporting events,although anecdotally these other sports seem, for the most part, peaceful.Cricket is equally as revered as football in England so any ideas on why the majority of booing of both the opposition and ones own players occurs only at football matches?

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ShackletonR added 13:30 - Sep 7 The key word you used in your blog is confidence, in the first half against Swansea after we went 1-0 down we played some good football without scoring, at one piont i thought a goal could come any time, obviously in didn't we then got frustrated and lost the plot in our shape, the defence had no idea were the next man was and we were put to sleep. Rob Green looks all at sea in goal, no organisation and commanding of the defence, i dont know why but he is void of all confidence but the team needs a confident keeper it gives the defence a boost knowing you have a strong character in goal, so i believe Ceaser will give us this, The game against City the first 25 minutes was the most negetive football i have seen in a long time( well since Chelsea played Barcalona) if that was through lack of confidence or tactics it was poor, not untill we went behind again and in the second half did we start to play, why do we have to go 1-0 done till we start to play, its like oh shit were losing now we better pick up or the crowds going to be on our backs, lets start playing with that attitude from the start then the confidence will grow. The break will hopefully do us good and give MH time with most of the players and work out his best side and formation as 3 games suddenley becomes 10 and only 12 points on the table then the last stands of confidence will shorely be gone. Urrrrs

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Kaos_Agent added 21:08 - Sep 7 Myke, from where I sit in Canada there is no systemic problem of fan violence in any of our sports. Vancouver's rioting was more about boozed up instigators congregating in a central area which had a poor policing plan, rather than a "fan problem". One does see Canadian football (i.e. the "get a first down" type) and hockey fans booing their own teams but generally only if performance is well below expectations. Opposing fans generally happily sit beside one another. New York's sports teams' fans tend to boo any poor performance; the attitude is "we're paying big money and you're earning big money so you better show up, or we expect the owners to buy someone else". Maybe this attitude extends to the Premier League now? From what you say, it sounds like it's at every level.

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