QPR return from the international break and head to Newcastle in a dire league position, but with form and confidence improving. So what’s sparked the turn-around, and what do the R’s still need?
And so we return from the latest round of crucial international qualifiers for a tournament that everybody qualifies for anyway and highly charged, vitally important friendly matches — the third such laborious, fortnight-long stoppage already this season and we’re only in mid-November.
Football could learn a thing or two from Rugby Union. Simply call these fixtures test matches, and suddenly the fact there are no points at stake, no league tables to consider and no trophies on offer doesn’t matter a jot, everybody gets jolly excited about them anyway and pack out the pubs and hospitality tents to "yah” and "rah” about just how ruddy brilliant it is. The Guardian described England’s recent home game with New Zealand as "crucial” ahead of next year’s World Cup. New Zealand won. Both teams will still be in the World Cup. That result will not count towards the World Cup. Crucial? The most ludicrous thing I’ve seen written down since the message board post proclaiming Hull at home (the first of 38 QPR league fixtures this season over nine months) was, quote, "a must win game”. Cameron’s Broken Britain.
Rangers could hardly have been in a darker place last time we all took two weeks off to pray for our players’ fitness while they farted around in the corrupt sham that is international football. A 2-0 defeat at West Ham, where QPR were yards off the pace and thrilled to death about it, and Harry Redknapp sat sullenly on the bench taking calls on the mobile phone he says he can’t use, was the last action before the time off and the church was restless. Cats were being kicked up and down living rooms across West London as the optimism of the summer drained away into too many away match surrenders.
There was talk of Redknapp getting the sack but something in that fortnight may have turned QPR’s season around just in time. QPR came out all guns blazing against Liverpool in their next game, were dreadfully unlucky to lose, and maintained that performance level through difficult games with Aston Villa, Chelsea and Man City, accruing four points in the process and, just as importantly, bringing back confidence, belief, atmosphere and optimism to Loftus Road.
The changes that seem to have turned the season around have been obvious and pronounced. Redknapp has decided to start with Bobby Zamora up front where previously he was only considered fit enough for a substitute’s role and is playing more direct to the front man. This is suiting Charlie Austin a lot better, as he can feed on Zamora’s flick-ons and lay-offs rather than having to do the hold up and lay stuff himself. As the ball is getting there much earlier there is more space for Austin to finish in, as opposed to the start of the season when opposition teams had time to file back into shape while QPR pissballed about with sideways passes to nothing back down the field. From looking like he was struggling at the higher level, Austin has become the form striker in the league with four goals in three matches and England are now having a look.
The Chileans have settled and are playing well. Mauricio Isla, originally brought in as a right wing back only for the system to be abandoned after two matches, initially looked wholly uncomfortable when asked to play right back instead but he is now looking something like the player Rangers thought they’d loaned in the first place. Eduardo Vargas came off the bench against Liverpool and scored twice, elevating him in the minds of Redknapp and the supporters — suddenly QPR have a talented, threatening right hand side made up of two players who know each other well and play in a very specific way that will challenge any full back they face this season. Chile, remember, the team that Roy Hodgson described as "having a goalkeeper with number 10 on his back” when they came to Wembley with their unique, fabulously entertaining style a year ago.
Yun Suk-Young has finally been given a chance at left back and seized upon it like few before him. Rarely has a player in that position influenced a match as much as he did the win against Aston Villa. It has also helped that Rio Ferdinand, so disappointing but seemingly undroppable up to and including West Ham, was left out and then suspended. Richard Dunne has performed admirably instead of him, and Steven Caulker looks a better player as a result.
But, QPR aren’t going to stay up with moral victories and creditable performances in defeat. In many ways the last month was easy — Rangers couldn’t possibly get any worse, and nobody expected them to get anything from three of the four games anyway. There’s a lot of work still to do and the rest of November and December looks very much like shaping the entire season for the Super Hoops.
Five home matches against Leicester, Burnley, West Brom, Palace and Swansea. Anything less than three wins surely has to be seen as a failure. Five away games at Newcastle, Swansea, Everton, Arsenal and Burnley. Rangers cannot go on losing every away match, describing trips to places like the Emirates Stadium as "bonus games” and sitting back on the idea that they’re going to frighten their way out of trouble by roughing people up and getting the crowd going at Loftus Road. Two or three road wins are going to be required, and there’s no reason a couple of those can’t happen this month either.
There are different ways of staying in this division. When the R’s managed it last, in 2011/12, they did it the Wigan way with a whole load of unlikely wins strung together right at the end of a dreadful season. Aston Villa do it by essentially being crap throughout the campaign, but making sure they win a game a month to stay in touch, and then do just about enough. Our opponents on Saturday, Newcastle, do it by stringing together sudden bursts of victories in amongst months and months of poor form and results — from bottom of the table without a win after seven, they’re now eighth with four wins on the spin. If QPR play as they have done in the last four matches consistently over the next ten they’ll find themselves similarly placed come Burnley away on January 10.
But there is much still to worry about and do. There was no pressure against Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea whereas QPR will know they’re expected to win the forthcoming home games which changes the dynamic of them. Will the new style work as well against a side that might come to Loftus Road happy to take a point, rather than going out to win the game? How much use can we really get out of Bobby Zamora with the fixtures roaring around thick and fast and what alternative do we have to him when he’s out? What are we going to do at left back when Yun Suk-Young goes to the Asia Cup in Australia in January?
All QPR have really done in the last month is prove they’re capable. They’ve stood at the end of the bed and waved it around a bit. Now it’s time for some actual points, and there’s no reason the first of those can’t come at injury-hit Newcastle tomorrow despite the Magpies’ recent resurgence.
Links >>> Pardew fights on in Ashley’s modern football fairy tale — opposition profile >>> Protests, Pardew and a French Emile Heskey — opposition interview >>> Jan Stejskal’s last second penalty save — history >>> Foy’s first QPR date of the season — referee >>> Travel Guide
Loanee Ben Watson celebrates QPR’s opening goal at St James’ Park in a Championship fixture back in 2009. The R’s were eventually held to a 1-1 draw by a Newcastle side that went on to win the division with 100 points, but at this point in the season with Jim Magilton’s men sweeping all before them it looked like QPR could be their main rivals for the title. Sadly, Rangers’ season soon descended into a typical farce after Magilton’s sacking for attacking Akos Buszaky after a defeat at Watford. Also pictured here Gary Borrowdale, Jay Simpson, Rowan Vine and Wayne Routledge. The Newcastle scorer was Marlon Harewood.
That’s in stark contrast to Newcastle who have mounting injury problems, particularly at centre half where neither Fabricio Coloccini nor Steven Taylor are expected to be available. Mehdi Abeid, who did such a good job of protecting the back four at West Brom, freeing up Jack Colback for a very effective central midfield performance, is also out as is his natural replacement Cheick Tiote. Promising youngster Rolando Aarons is also injured.
Elsewhere: The "game that matters” this weekend is Arsenal v Louis Van Gaal on Saturday night.
Now that’s out of the way let’s have a glance around the rest of the division, because there are one or two intriguing ties spread over three days this weekend. Aston Villa, for instance, host Southampton in the Monday Night Football with the home team descending at the same speed as Roy Keane’s mood and the Saints showing no interest in quietly slipping away from the top four as everybody seems to be expecting them to do.
Everton, perhaps struggling a little bit with the extra burden of Europe, and certainly not defending with any conviction, host Big Fat Sam and his Big Fat Brand of Entertaining Football and don’t rule out an away win there. QPR fans will keep half an eye on Leicester v Sunderland, who are both in poor form, and Burnley’s visit to Meticulous Mark and the Taffia.
On Sunday, will The Men of Liverpool fancy a trip down to Selhurst Park where the sight of 300 topless teenage boys jumping up and down and pretending to be Italian is now rated as the best, most intimidating atmosphere in the league? Neil Warnock said: "It’s just what we needed if I’m honest.” And then it’s Tigers, Tigers Rah Rah Rah, who have pulled off the not inconsiderable feat of improving their team considerably only for the results to get worse, hosting Tottenham who are going backwards faster than a Sheffield United chairman who’s walked into a feminist society meeting by mistake. Who wants to win the least?
Big Racist John and the Boys host West Brom at The Empty Stadium on Saturday at 15.00, concluding this vitally important, well-read roundup of The Best League In The World.
Referee: QPR’s old chum Chris Foy is the man in the middle for this trip to the North East. Best remembered by R’s fans for reducing Chelsea to nine men at Loftus Road in hilarious circumstances, this is his first QPR appointment of the season so far. He was in charge for Newcastle’s 4-0 defeat a Southampton earlier this term so here’s hoping for a repeat of that. To relive that magical day in Shepherd’s Bush, and read the rest of his QPR case history, please click here.
QPR: Queens Park Rangers’ away form this season is atrocious. The R’s have played six, lost six, scored two and conceded 15. However there were signs at Chelsea on their last road game that Harry Redknapp’s side may be coming to grips with the task and, who knows, might even pick up a point away from Loftus Road soon. The R’s have taken four points from their last three games, which is as many as they took from the first eight, highlighting the improvements made. Charlie Austin has six goals this season, four in his last three, making him the sixth top scorer in the division.
Prediction: Reigning Prediction League champion WestonSuperR tells us…
"There has been a marked improvement in our performances recently and you could certainly argue we have deserved more than the four points we have got from the last four matches. I’m actually not as convinced as others seemed to be by our performance v Villa and the first half v Chelsea but certainly the second half of the Chelsea game and the Man City match as a whole did see us finally look much more of team and gives us hope for a good run of fixtures during November and December.
"Unfortunately we seem to have caught Newcastle at a time where they are currently one of the form teams of the league and they are always difficult to beat at St James’s Park. I am certain we will go there and improve on our away performances so far this season, although that isn’t difficult, but do question whether we have enough to take anything from this match, especially when you consider our diabolical record on the road.
"I have fond memories of watching Grandstand and hearing of Stejskal’s last minute save to give us a famous 2-1 win and would love more than to see something similar again but I will let me head rule my heart and predict a narrow win for the Geordies.”
John’s Prediction: Newcastle 1-0 QPR. No scorer.
LFW’s Prediction: Newcastle 1-1 QPR. Scorer Eduardo Vargas.
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Pictures — Action Images