Manager Mark Hughes was scathing of referee Anthony Taylor, his assistants and their reasons for allowing Mikel Arteta’s winning goal at Arsenal on Saturday. Tony Fernandes continues to publicly support Hughes as Rangers’ losing run drags on.
Replays showed that Arteta was clearly offside when he scored the only goal of the game on Saturday as Rangers stretched their abysmal start to the season to nine games without a win.
Hughes told the club’s official website: “We’ve been in to see the officials and they’ve come up with some cock and bull story about Ryan Nelsen being off the pitch and playing him onside. I’ve got absolutely no idea what they’re on about.
“Prior to the sending off I was actually making a positive substitution because I thought we looked the most likely to win the game. The sending off is a disappointment. At that stage it was hard to take because I felt we were in total control of the game. We have to make the right decisions at key moments in games and unfortunately this year we’ve done things that have hurt us and haven’t been able to recover from them.”
Later Hughes told West London Sport that he believes he maintains the backing of chairman Tony Fernandes.
The Welshman said: “He watches every game we play and has the same view we all have, that in terms of performance and what we’re producing football-wise, he feels more than happy because he knows we have the potential to win games in the Premier League. I’ve got a better team than when we won games last year. We had a team and a squad that wasn’t at the level we have now.
“The vast majority of our games have been against teams in the top ten. We’re hopefully having a run of games coming up that will enable us to get maximum points. I know that at some point we will start winning games again. We’re producing good football against some of the top teams in the country.”
And judging by Fernandes’ Tweets over the weekend Hughes seems to be justifiably secure in his position. Fernandes said: "I honestly believe we have one of the best managers in the Premier League. We are in for the long term, whatever happens. We love QPR. I’ll be there at Reading so Rangers fans I’ll be available to meet and chat. Trust me on this one. Keep the faith. Stability is the key. Completely right. Mark has my backing and the shareholders. We need a little luck and no injuries. What's written in the press is all rubbish."
‘What’s written in the press’ refers to stories in The Daily mail and Daily Mirror this morning saying Hughes would be fired this weekend if QPR fail to win at the tenth time of asking against fellow strugglers Reading at Loftus Road.
Fernandes’ fellow shareholder Ruben Gnanalingam was less equivocal in his support after watching the latest setback. He Tweeted: “It’s gonna be a long and stressful season ahead.”
The players are also publicly stating their support for the boss. Esteban Granero told the Fulham Chronicle: “The game was hard, and we had chances as well as they did. And after losing many games, a first win would be like an injection of confidence. But we’re very happy with him. He’s the best manager you can have, and he prepared us well for this game. We knew exactly how it was going to be. Now, we must train hard again, and look to the next match for a first three points.”
Veteran centre half Ryan Nelsen added on London 24: “Obviously the sending-off changed it for us a bit, not because we were down to ten men but because we had to change the back line and that was two new players after Armand’s injury. When you change two people in any back four, especially at the Emirates in the last ten or 15 minutes, it’s difficult.”
Red-card villain Stephane Mbia Tweeted: “I'm sorry about Saturday. I've learned for next time. Thanks to fans and team for the support. Very focused for next important dates.”
One of the positives was the man of the match performance by goalkeeper Julio Cesar who made a string of outstanding saves. Hughes told West London Sport: “Over the years I had the pleasure of playing with the likes of Schmeichel and Southall, and he’s right up there. It’s not only his ability as a keeper. His mentality in the dressing room is huge for us and that’s a benefit we’ll tap into. He understands what it takes and he drives people around him. He inspires people with his manner and his presence. He’s on a par with the top keepers in the world in my view.”
Charlton manager Chris Powell has defender striker Rob Hulse after his late headed miss see denied the Addicks a win at Wolves. Charlton were forced to settle for a draw at Molineux after Hulse’s late sitter but Powell told London24: “We had the match-winning header and I was expecting the ball to be in the back of the net. But Rob was excellent. He was very selfless. It is a lonely role playing up front on your own at times. Sadly he just couldn’t the goal that would have given us the three points. But we are new to the league and when you go to Leeds United and get a point that maybe you should have turned into three, and then do the same at Wolves, you kind of think it is going against you. But that is where we have to learn quickly about being clinical when those chances come.”
Another much maligned striker, Jay Bothroyd, also seems to be coming good for Sheffield Wednesday. After finally opening his goalscoring account at the seventh time of asking in their recent controversial draw with Leeds, Bothroyd turned in an impressive performance in a 3-0 win at lowly Ipswich this weekend. That was bad news for DJ Campbell however, who played 83 minutes for the home side who are without a manager following Paul Jewell’s sacking last week. Ipswich remain bottom of the league.
Another club changing managers today is League One side Scunthorpe United. They re-appointed Brian Laws for a third spell after Alan Knill was sacked in the wake of a 3-0 home defeat by MK Dons for whom Angelo Balanta played a full 90 minutes. At the other end of the table, second bottom Bury drew at home with Walsall with Troy Hewitt sent on as a sub for the final half an hour for his debut.
The Championship turned into a former QPR defender goal-fest at the weekend as Peter Ramage, Damien Delaney and Matt Connolly all scored rare goals. Delaney’s was his second of the week and third in four games following earlier strikes against Burnley and Millwall and when Ramage got his first of the season as well it set their current club Crystal Palace up for 2-1 away win at league leaders Leicester. That despite another ex-R Dougie Freedman leaving his managerial position at Selhurst Park during the week to take charge at Bolton.
Leicester’s defeat let Cardiff sneak back to the top of the table with a 4-0 home win against Burnley. Connolly scored the third late on with a fine header and now has three in 11 matches for the South Wales side since moving there in the summer. It’s already the best goalscoring season of his professional career.
That trio could soon be joined in the Championship once more by our old chairman and sporting director Gianni Paladini who is said by ITV’s Central Tonight to be close to concluding a deal to buy out debt-riddled Birmingham City. Despite earlier denials by Paladini, ITV is reporting that the deal does involve financial backing from Flavio Briatore.
Central Tonight reports a source saying the takeover will involve an initial down payment of £15m, £20m to invest in the squad and a further £10m upon promotion to the Premier League. The club is currently saddled with £20m of debt.
Gareth Ainsworth certainly knows plenty about how Paladini operates, having been at QPR for the duration of his reign and twice serving as caretaker manager during Flavio Briatore’s ownership. Despite a weekend home defeat by Oxford, Ainsworth has impressed in his latest temporary spell in charge at League Two Wycombe and wants to be considered for the job full time.
He said: “QPR whetted my appetite and that’s when I decided that I did want to be a manager. We had a cup tie at Manchester United that we only lost in the last few minutes. That was really special and Sir Alex Ferguson said some nice words about me after the game, which was great. It was volatile at QPR with the situation there with Flavio Briatore and the people there. But to work in that chaos and mayhem was an experience that has helped me now.
“A lot of things that happened did open your eyes. Flavio was okay, he wanted the club to be successful. He would ask you why players he bought weren’t in the team and how players were doing, but he never picked the 11 – even though some people thought he did. He was involved in a lot of the team meetings but he had invested a lot of money in the club and it was his right to do that.”
- Referee Mark Clattenburg has been left off the list for this weekend's fixtures after Chelsea lodged an official complaint about abusive comments he is alleged to have made to John Obi Mikel during Sunday's controversial home defeat by Man Utd. Chelsea had two men sent off and lost 3-2 thanks to a Javier Hernandez goal that was later shown to be offside on the replays.
- In the earlier Sunday game a perfectly good goal by Luis Suarez was disallowed in injury time for offside, leaving Liverpool to settle for a point from the Merseyside derby with Everton. Neither manager was happy afterwards with Brendan Rodgers saying the goal should have stood, and David Moyes saying Suarez should have been sent off earlier anyway for a foul on Sylvain Disdin.
- Southampton boss Nigel Adkins insists he is the man to turn around his club's fortunes after Spurs inflicted a seventh defeat in nine games on the Saints on Sunday. Adkins said: "There was always going to be a time when we had to batten down the hatches and battle against the storm. This is a great challenge and one we are all enjoying. This is the top division in the world and we are giving a good account of ourselves."
- Sunderland captain Lee Cattermole, 24, has signed a new contract which will keep him at the club until 2016.
- Reading boss Brian McDermott has unconvincingly claimed that Danny Guthrie's absence from the squad that drew 3-3 with Fulham at the weekend was not down to a reported training ground row. McDermott said: "There was no bust-up. Danny wasn't selected to play. Danny has been here for a short period of time and he needs to fit into our ways. He has to train really well, get himself in the team and the squad and we'll go from there."
Train and tube closures for this weekend's match with Reading:
- No Northern line at all on the Edgware branch or from East Finchley to Charing Cross and Kennington on the High Barnet branch.
- No Metropolitan Line service between Aldgate and Harrow-on-the-Hill.
- Jubilee Line suspended between Stanmore and West Hampstead.
- No District Line between Wimbledon and Putney Bridge.
- The Hainault loop of the Central Line is closed.
- No Waterloo and City Line services on Sundays.
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Pictures – Action Images