Are Rangers on their way back? A win at Southampton and all other results going their way could be the start of something special according to Greg Sangwine.

It’s been quite a weekend in the Premier League relegation dog fight. Many had thought that Reading, Wigan and Aston Villa would be defeated with games against Everton, Liverpool and Manchester City but QPR winning away at Southampton was not expected. A weekend many experts expected to effectively relegate QPR and be a huge boost to Southampton has turned out very differently indeed.

It seemed to many as if three teams - Wigan, Reading and Aston Villa – were fighting over two spots however we now have a situation where five teams are still fighting for survival. QPR are still clinging on by their finger nails. And there could yet be other teams pulled into it - Stoke’s recent form has given hope that their anti-football will be played in the Championship next season and fans in the Potteries were calling for manager Tony Pulis to go during a weekend defeat to West Ham.

The facts say there is now a seven point gap between QPR in last and Southampton in sixteenth. Southampton still hold a three point lead over Wigan and Aston Villa and a four point lead over Reading but their situation is not as strong as many would have thought prior to kick off. This weekend other teams will suddenly be looking over their shoulders worrying that Rangers’ expensive players could actually gel together to fight for a comeback. In the case of Reading and Aston Villa they’re playing each other and therefore points must be dropped.

Should QPR find a way to win back to back Premier League games for the first time in 17 years this Saturday then you really could say that it is game on in the relegation race. Wigan play at Everton in an FA Cup quarter final and you’ll be sure that a QPR win would filter through to them. Their defeat to Liverpool damaged their goal difference and that yet may come in to play. Southampton have a tricky looking away game at Carrow Road.

The psychological effects of back to back wins for QPR ahead of a trip to Villa Park would be absolutely huge. A week ago QPR looked dead and buried and Southampton took a lead at Newcastle which showed them having moved to 30 points in the ‘as it stands’ table. Smart money certainly says Southampton and the seasoned survivors Wigan will likely stay in the league and QPR will drop out but if Rangers do make the most unlikely of comebacks I’m sure the first two weekends in March will be where experts will say it all changed. Fans of Wigan, Southampton, Aston Villa and Reading will be hoping that Sunderland beat QPR and ruin their survival chances.

Last year at this time QPR travelled to a Sunderland side distracted by an FA Cup quarter final replay against Everton after a dramatic Jamie Mackie inspired comeback against Liverpool. More than 1,000 Rangers fans took the trip hoping that we’d drag ourselves out of trouble with a second win in four days but a truly awful performance and 3-1 loss followed. Recently, I wrote that Rangers only do things for the sake of entertainment and a forum post prior to the Southampton game that we’d stay up because we’ll win our next five games. Admittedly it was more in hope than expectation but if we beat Sunderland and for the second week in a row other results go our way we’ll all believe won’t we?

On paper QPR should have never been in this mess but the 2012/13 Premier League season could yet turn into one of Harry Redknapp’s greatest ever achievements.

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davman added 23:08 - Mar 6 No Chance. We are QPR and that is not how we roll. A point on Saturday and then none v Villa.
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GetMeRangers added 23:25 - Mar 6 Davman... you have a point, but more rangers would be to lose home games and win at Villa, esp if Villa scrap a win at Reading and look to be getting clear
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N12Hoop added 23:45 - Mar 6 To have any chance of survival, and I still don't think it is going to happen, we need either Remy or Zamora, preferably both, to be fit and at least 1 of them able to start in any game. Given that we may not see Zamora the rest of this season there must be a major doubt over this happening and Mackie and Bothroyd are not going to find the net enough to win us games.
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Jigsore added 00:29 - Mar 7 My outlook on the subject changes every game. One week it's 'definitely' down, the next 'WE'RE STAYING UP COYRS'. I don't even know what to think anymore.
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rsonist added 01:41 - Mar 7 Maybe "maybe this is a race isn’t over after all" isn't a sentence after all.
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Kaos_Agent added 01:56 - Mar 7 We've been operating on the assumption that Hughes hung us out to dry but wouldn't it be odd if some of his players do actually conspire to help keep us up? Let me see - just lately we have Hoilett, Park, Bosingwa, Green...and Cesar We may have to get revisionist with regard to old Mark. I hope so but I won't be convinced until after Wigan at home and even then the credit must go to 'Arry for getting the pieces right and getting them in the mindset to 'put in a good shift'...

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DesertBoot added 02:58 - Mar 7 Wouldn't give any credit to Hughes. His own signings on the whole were hopeless under his guidance.
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QPRski added 07:26 - Mar 7 We will have a much better overview after the next matches, They will all be very difficut and we will need to be disciplined and grind out results. We need to take one match at a time and the next match is certainly winnable, but our recent history has a poor track record of such fixtures. I hope that we moderate our escalating expectations and emotions, but give 100%+ vocal support at LR. That when it will be needed.

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Roller added 07:49 - Mar 7 As ever, this is one of the great "joys" of supporting QPR, you just never know what is around the next corner. I'm very nervously waiting for Saturday, it is going to be a massively important match. As QPRski says, those of us lucky enough to be at Loftus Road need to be on our game too.
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Lewes_r added 08:35 - Mar 7 We definately need Remy to replicate cisse's form at the back end of last season. No goal machine, no chance. Hes the only one with the quality to do it, but its still a big ask.
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QPunkR added 11:47 - Mar 7 I'm still not convinced and think we'll go down. We are, however, looking a hell of a lot better now than we did last week. Just think we weren't as good as everyone thinks at Southampton and should be cautious about being too optimistic - remember this is QPR we're talking about here!
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CiderwithRsie added 12:11 - Mar 7 KaosAgent: Ah, but that's the point with Hughes. No-one [or very few] said "My God what is Hughes doing signing this shower of sh*t?" Quite a few said "How can QPR afford two international goalkeepers and why do they want two anyway?" But everyone was appalled at just how badly the expensive players played. Either he failed to spot that once-decent players were past their sell-by date or he just couldn't find the formation or motivation they needed. If Redknapp now does it just shows that Hughes was the problem. PS isn't "Sangwine" the same word as "sanguine" meaning "optimistic"? Living up to it here, I think, but hell why not, there's plenty of time for misery.

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Hoops4ever added 23:49 - Mar 7 I agree with 'CiderwithRise' there'll be plenty of time for misery over the summer, IF, we go down. In the meantime we've got another 2-3 months of top flight football to enjoy and to believe in miracles! Can't complain that life as QPR fans is BORING can we!! And if the worse does happen?.......Well, I don't for the life of me see us going the way of Portsmouth, Leeds or Wolves and I'll be putting a 'Monkey' on us winning automatic promotion or, if we survive, European football the season after! Got to go as there're some chaps at my door with 'White' coats.....wonder what they want this time of night?

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Kaos_Agent added 03:15 - Mar 8 CiderwithRsie - Bad choice of words when I said "We may have to get revisionist with regard to old Mark. I hope so.." because what I meant was if his signings wake up and help the cause then I would be prepared to acknowledge that he didn't hire all duds. Remember he got Nelsen too. But as a manager/motivator he certainly was a complete bust.
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Eltham_Ranger added 09:14 - Mar 9 I am an optimistic person but to be a QPR fan you kind of have to be. But the meaning of Sanguine is actually melancholy. We'll win today though!
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