A first win of the season at the seventeenth attempt has brought QPR back into contention at the bottom of the Premier League, but this weekend’s trip to Newcastle is a reminder of false dawns past.
Premier League >>> Saturday December 22, 2012 >>> Kick Off 3pm >>> St James’ Park, Newcastle
Newcastle has become a bit of a regular venue for a QPR’s false dawn in recent years.
Back in 2009, Jim Magilton’s side travelled to the champions-elect amidst a glorious run of four goal thrashings and televised comeback victories. They were superb that night at St James Park, with Ben Watson opening the scoring and turning in a performance that suggested much greater things were in the offing for him than simply warming the bench at Wigan Athletic. Within a month it had all fallen apart: the team lost twice in three days conceding eight goals in the process, Magilton went a bit mad and head butted Akos Buzsaky and by the end of the season Rangers were onto a fourth different manager and deeply entrenched in a relegation battle.
The last visit here, in January, was actually the first league game in charge for Mark Hughes. QPR were seventeenth in the Premier League – a position they managed to finish in and would absolutely kill for now. There was much talk in the match preview that day of Hughes needing to hit the ground running with a series of more winnable games through until March preceding a daunting run where QPR would play the top eight during the final ten matches of the season. Of course we now know that Hughes won only one of those supposedly easier games, and QPR then stayed up by beating the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal instead. Hughes then ripped the team up – only three starters from our last trip here 11 months ago are likely to feature this weekend – and made it a lot worse.
The last time we made the long journey here people were still coming to terms with the sacking of Neil Warnock, the man who basically picked up the pieces of Magilton’s team and put it back together with a handful of his own additions to such a wonderful extent that a club which looked destined for League One actually won promotion to the Premier League within 18 months of him arriving. Given the amount of time afforded to Mark Hughes this season, when clearly he’d done a dreadful job at great expense in the summer and the team was getting worse rather than better, Warnock’s sacking by Tony Fernandes was undoubtedly hasty and I would say a mistake.
That’s me speaking with hindsight again, because after the debacle at MK Dons in the cup I voiced the opinion that Warnock had potentially lost control of his dressing room having added big personalities like Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joey Barton to it, and then allowed the latter to publically bully Adel Taarabt who’d been the star of the show the previous year. Warnock was also fairly selective with the truth earlier this week when he once again spoke about how harshly he’d been treated at Rangers – talking about how the club has been too ready to add mercenaries on big salaries at the expense of the good, honest team he put together while conveniently forgetting that he brought in Barton, who’s openly admitted only coming for the money and knowing it was a mistake immediately, and loaned out Clint Hill to Nottingham Forest.
The reaction to a Neil Warnock return to Loftus Road, should we play Leeds again, would be an interesting one. For everything he achieved, and the way the club has slipped since his departure, he should be cheered from the rafters but his constant moaning about the way he was treated at QPR and the way he cast aside everything that happened between El Hadji Diouf and Jamie Mackie, and everything he said at the time, to sign him up at Elland Road has soured relations somewhat.
But to be honest, I looked at Warnock on the touchline at Wednesday night’s match between Leeds and Chelsea and not only felt sorry for him, but also wished we’d stuck with him. I think he was foolish to leap straight into the Leeds job – a club he’s never liked, a club that has never liked him, a club with a complex boardroom situation that is in no way conducive to success on the pitch, an awkward fit for both parties. I think he did it while still bitter from being sacked at Loftus Road, hoping that he would be able to get a quick promotion and prove everybody wrong, when really Leeds are a badly-run, sickly club and, watching them this season, a very limited team indeed.
I’ve seen it argued that we would not have stayed up last season had Warnock remained because we wouldn’t have won those big matches at the end of the season. But given that Rangers beat Chelsea at home, and won three away matches, in the Premier League under Warnock I’m not sure why people think that’s the case. Mark Hughes lost a series of relegation six-pointers immediately after arriving against the likes of Wolves, Bolton and Blackburn – would Warnock have lost all those as well? We’re guessing really aren’t we, but given how things turned out under Hughes it’s hard to believe they would have been much worse had we just kept faith with the man who’d done enough for the club previously to at least be afforded the rest of the season to turn around a slump in form pre-Christmas.
If that’s frustrating for supporters like me, imagine what it’s like for Warnock. No wonder he can’t help but allow his annoyance to seep through every now and again. I doubt he’s ringing up newspapers and asking for an opportunity to rant about QPR either – more likely he’s just honestly answering questions that are put to him. To be honest, however irritating it is to hear him still going on about it, and even allowing for his rose-tinted spectacles view of the job he did at Loftus Road post-promotion, he’s not wrong in a lot of what he says. The hope now is that Harry Redknapp is able to salvage the situation, rather than by just another false dawn over the Tyne.
All being well there will be a raft of West Brom preview material up on Christmas Eve, but should I not make the deadline on that let me take this opportunity to wish all readers and QPR fans everywhere a really happy and peaceful Christmas. Thanks for your support of the site.
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Team News: After a first win of the season at the seventeenth attempt against Fulham, QPR are likely to stick with the same team for this weekend’s trip to the North East. That means Robert Green will continue to be preferred in goal to Julio Cesar. Bobby Zamora and Andy Johnson are long term injury victims which means the attack rather picks itself until Harry can wheel and deal (“fuck off”) in January and I’d suggest that after his match winning performance last weekend Adel Taarabt is likely to be utilised behind Djibril Cisse again with Mackie and Wright-Phillips in the wide roles. Ji-Sung Park has been ruled out for several weeks with a knee injury which I’m sure you’ll agree is devastating news.
Newcastle returned Hatem Ben Arfa to their team for the recent match at Fulham to great effect – he scored a fabulous goal – but he aggravated the injury that had kept him out of action in the first place and has subsequently been ruled out of this match. Yohan Cabaye is also sidelined along with long term victims Ryan an Steven Taylor – all of which can only be good news for QPR.
Elsewhere: Now QPR suddenly seem keen to actually play their way into the relegation battle, rather than just scraping along the bottom and watching it all go on over their heads, it’s time to start showing an interest in some of the other teams near the R’s in the table. That makes Southampton v Sunderland and important game for them and for us with the winner potentially putting daylight between them, the loser and the rest of the relegation zone. Rangers will also be hoping that Arsenal pick up where they left off at Reading on Monday with a similar performance and result at Wigan, and the Royals don’t recover sufficiently to spring a surprise at Manchester City. Aston Villa are just above all of this after a decent recent run and their trip to Chelsea for the second televised match on Sunday is an intriguing one given the host’s erratic form.
At the top, Man Utd go second this weekend with a Sunday lunchtime trip to Swansea so they’ll know what City have done and what they need to do to maintain the current six point gap at the top of the table. Tottenham have Stoke at home while the season’s surprise package West Brom can further their European ambitions with victory against Norwich at The Hawthorns but must snap a four game winless run to do so. Liverpool v Fulham is the Saturday evening game on ESPN – not the best pick I’ve ever seen from a television company it must be said.
Referee: It’s a first QPR or Newcastle appointment of the season for our referee this Saturday, Kevin Friend from Leicestershire. Friend started the season with 15 yellows and two reds in his first two matches which s fairly intimidating but he’s calmed somewhat since then. Still a relative newby to the Premier League list, his appointment at the Community Shield game in August suggests he’s somebody the authorities have earmarked for bigger things. Refereed both QPR’s meetings with Everton last season – one draw and one win. For a full Rangers case file please click here.
Newcastle: If you’ve spotted QPR’s tendency to allow a player who hasn’t scored in ten years to notch a rare goal, or a team that hasn’t won for six months to post a 3-0 victory, then watch out for Mike Williamson this weekend. Despite standing six foot four and going up for every corner the former Watford man hasn’t scored a goal for Newcastle in 91 appearances, and the Magpies haven’t scored directly from a set piece all season. I think we can see where this one is going can’t we? Williamson isn’t actually much good as a centre back either, and the absence of Steven Taylor from the heart of the defence has coincided with a run of seven defeats and three draws from the last 11 games for Newcastle. They haven’t won away from home in the league all season and their lone victory in that 11 match run came against a Wigan side reduced to ten men with the time barely into double figures. Man City, Man Utd, Swansea and West Ham have all already won here this season.
QPR: The win against Fulham lifted the gloom around Loftus Road and got rid of what Paul Finney described on the Open All R’s Podcast as “the zoo on our back” as opposed to just the traditional monkey. It lifted QPR off the bottom of the table but they now have five points to make up to the team above them highlighting the importance of consecutive wins. QPR haven’t won consecutive matches since promotion back to the Premier League – the last time they managed it was victories against Doncaster and Sheffield United in the Championship in March 2011 some 56 league games ago. The last time they did it in the top flight was December 1995 when they beat Villa and Bolton at home. To break that duck this weekend they will have to win at Newcastle for the first time since 1993, and also get a victory away from home for the first time in 23 attempts dating back to November last year at Stoke. Nevertheless, they are unbeaten in four games under Harry Redknapp with three draws and a win giving some hope to the beleaguered Super Hoops – Redknapp in fact is unbeaten in eight matches as a manager as he won three and drew one of his last four matches at Spurs. His last defeat was a 1-0 seat back at Loftus Road against QPR in April oddly enough.
Betting: Professional odds compiler Owen Goulding writes…
“QPR make the long journey north in the hope of achieving a second win on the bounce. It’s hard to assess last week’s game; QPR played very well, although Fulham were dreadful. The midfield partnership of Mbia and Faurlin looked like a raw version of the classic Viera/Petit combination that brought Arsenal so much success back in the day, and with Taarabt having one of those days in front of them it looked very good indeed. This also seems like a good time to be playing Newcastle. With only one win in their last eleven games, and that coming when Wigan were reduced to ten men basically from kick off, Harry will be confident of getting something from the trip. The Toon Army are nervous and this is being reflected in their play, and with Ben Arfa and Cabaye among others still out, there isn't much sunshine on the horizon for the Magpies.
“The betting on this game sees Newcastle currently available around 11/10. This price would of been 2/5 a few months ago which shows not only how much respect is given to the Harry influence but also, more telling, how badly Newcastle are playing at the moment. I think QPR have a good chance to put a victory on the board, but couldn't be backing them at 11/4. I think the draw is of interest at 5/2 but considering the nervousness of the Toon defence at present, and the fact that Taarabt will be giving the likes of leaden footed Williamson pre-match nightmares, I'm going to be recommending an interest on the Moroccan to add to his recent goal scoring and net at an anytime goal scorer price of 7/2 with Coral. For those who like a first goal scorer bet, he is available at 10/1 at Corals also.”
Prediction: Enthused by last weekend’s win against Fulham, Prediction League champion Nathan McAllister is backing QPR for a narrow defeat this weekend. Merry Christmas…
“In last week’s Fulham preview, despite urging Redknapp to recall Ale Faurlin and drop Jose Bosingwa (both of which he did), I wrote that I expected a few more weeks of frustrating team selections and disappointing results before we see him picking our best side. Not for the first time this season I was way off the mark, especially as I’d also suggested he play Granero further forward and central (basically the exact position that Taarabt played in and produced his match-winning display). Never have I been so delighted to be proved wrong.
“Both the win and the quality of the performance has really helped lift the gloom around Loftus Road, and the three draws that preceded it can now be viewed in a more positive light as part of a four game unbeaten start to Harry’s reign. I’ve been trying to remind myself this week that Rangers still have a mountain to climb to get themselves out of the hole they’re in, but survival this season does at least look plausible again. Seven points from the next four games would put Rangers on 17 points after 21 games, exactly the same number of points they had at that stage last season.
“If Rangers can produce a display of similar quality this weekend then they are in with a decent shout of getting something up at St.James’ Park. Newcastle have been significantly weakened by the absences of Cabaye, Ben Arfa and the Taylors (particularly Steven) and are struggling for form. However, while watching their game with Manchester City last week, I was thinking that were Newcastle to play as well against Rangers that they would probably win, and Alan Pardew said the same thing in his post-match interview. Rangers are also perhaps a little unfortunate not to be playing them in a weekend after a Europe League game. I’m going with a home win just because I think it’s the most likely of the three outcomes, but I won’t be surprised if Rangers are able to continue Redknapp’s unbeaten start.”
Prediction: Newcastle 2 QPR 1
QPR Scorer: Cisse
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