QPR's latest away defeat means they have to remain strong at home to stay in the battle at the foot of the table. On Saturday, fellow strugglers Burnley are in town.
I would call this the "proverbial six pointer” but as QPR aren’t bothering with the away matches this season, I guess that just makes it a bloody important three pointer.
I’m not sure if it was the inevitability of the 2-0 defeat at Swansea — when even the LFW match preview is guessing the score correctly you know it’s pretty bloody obvious — or the simple fact that Swansea are a far better, more settled, more talented side than QPR, but I didn’t feel as despondent or angry sitting in the cold away end at the Liberty Stadium on Tuesday night as I have at other away games.
I was furious after the game at Tottenham in August. Furious that a managerial team with all this combined experience had put together such a crass, ineffective plan to play against a team they all used to be in charge of and seen their team roll over to a side which, lo and behold as it turns out, isn’t that bloody good. I can’t even put into words how I felt watching the team I love more than most things in the world go to the club I hate more than anything else and smile sweetly while taking another 4-0 straight up the arse. Rio Ferdinand’s pre-match presentation followed by his 90 minutes of fawning at the feet of his former employers had me racing to the bottle bank just so I could smash some shit up.
Burton Albion was pathetic but predictable, Southampton a nearer miss than the balance of play really should have allowed it to be, West Ham had me giving up on the team, the season, and almost the club altogether. The feckless, effortless, laboured, half-arsed efforts at Upton Park were shameful. Chelsea was much better but at Newcastle I felt QPR rather hid behind the fact that Alan Pardew’s Gallic army of tippy-tappy counter attackers had been on a bit of a good run — they were crap against Rangers and any modicum of ambition, tempo or threat would have brought at least a point.
Swansea? Much better side. No complaints, no histrionics.
QPR have been oddly unlucky in the way the fixtures have fallen. By Christmas they’ll have played the top ten away from home, bar Man City. You can pick fault with what they’ve done in those games quite easily, but on Tuesday night at least you just had to admit that whatever QPR had done, however they lined up, whatever their philosophy was, they’d have lost the game.
Overall though, I can’t help but think the R’s would have benefited somewhat from the attitude they had to road trips when they first arrived back in this league after a 15 year absence under the management of Neil Warnock. He openly admitted his approach would bring some thrashings, and duly delivered with a 6-0 reverse at Fulham and 2-0 loss at Wigan, but he won three of his first six away games in the top flight. Rangers had their backs to the wall in a 1-0 win at Everton, completely took Wolves apart 3-0 when Ale Faurlin was at the height of his powers and made Karl Henry look an absolute fool, and then thrilled with a rip-roaring 3-2 success at Stoke. In the end those nine points were every bit as important as the famed run of five successive home wins at the end of the season. You don’t stay up with zero away wins — you just don’t.
Harry Redknapp’s claim in his weekly ‘presser’ farce that he has "tried everything” to get a result away from home is alarming. It suggests he’s working from a play-book as thick as a pamphlet distributed by the Tourist Information Centre in Luton.
QPR cannot keep going like this away from home. They’re ninth in the form table for home results and that’s great in a month when fellow strugglers Leicester, Burnley, West Brom and Palace are all in W12. But the bottom of the table is so congested it’s frustrating that they cannot find the consecutive wins that would shoot them up the table, and unhealthy that the repetitive away defeats are now putting on the crucial home matches. Imagine how relaxed and confident the players would be going into this match with Burnley had they somehow won in South Wales. As it is, they know this is another must win/must not lose game and you only have to think back a week and remember how heart-stopping that Leicester farce was.
Another white-knuckle ride awaits tomorrow, and if Rangers are intending to go to out-of-form Everton next Monday and either roll over and die, or sit back and see if they can see out 90 minutes at nil nil, yet again, then they need maximum points here. Terrifying stuff.
Links >>> Ings return makes impossible possible — opposition focus >>> Relentless Burnley benefitting from Dyche’s limitless approach — interview >>> Seven star QPR give O’Rourke debut to forget — history >>> Moss in the middle — referee
One of those ‘tear in the fabric of reality’ moments that Patrick Agyemang used to slip the occasional goal through sees Mobido Maiga equalising in this fixture last year with a sizzling three yarder. QPR led twice before half time with goals from Kevin Doyle and Richard Dunne but were pegged back by Danny Ings and Sam Vokes before Vokes stole in to give his side the lead for the first time. Maiga’s debut goal sealed a 3-3 draw but long term QPR might have been better off if he’d missed. This scoring appearance as a substitute kept him in Harry Redknapp’s thoughts for the rest of the season and the QPR fans were forced to suffer seven further calamitous appearances from one of the worst footballers who has ever played for the club. On one particularly dreadful showing at Bournemouth he was actually seen to stop mid match and raise his palms to the away end by way of an apology for his incompetence. On the plus side, QPR have now found a use for Shaun Wright-Phillips: stationing him permanently at the gate of the Harlington training ground to make sure Maiga doesn’t try to sneak back in.
Burnley are missing long-serving centre half Michael Duff with a calf injury, but long-term injury victim Sam Vokes is rumoured to be pushing for a return. Left sided utility man Stephen Ward picked up an ankle knock against Newcastle on Tuesday.
Elsewhere: Newcastle v Big Racist John and the Boys kicks the weekend off at 12.45 on Saturday and either through boredom or because he dislikes Alan Pards Pardew as much as everybody else, Jose Mourinho has decided to try and start one of his tremendously interesting "war of words” today by claiming the Toon try much harder against Chelsea than anybody else. Smack that snooze button and roll over in bed tomorrow, the sports pages have nothing for you.
Elsewhere it’s a weekend of six pointers at the bottom with QPR and Burnley obviously front and centre of mind, but watch out also for Tigers Tigers Rah Rah Rah against West Brom and their under-fire boss Alan Irvine — neither side can buy a win at the moment. Likewise Leicester who go to Aston Villa on Sunday. Good news for Rangers that teams around them are guaranteed to drop points if they can capitalise.
Man City v Everton is the "game that matters” on Saturday evening, while Southampton’s inevitable collapse into midtable continues apace against Louis Van Gaal on Monday. Big Fat Sam’s Big Fat Brand of Entertaining Football against Swansea Swans is almost as big a clash of styles as Meticulous Mark and the Taffic taking on Arsenal’s ideals.
Tottenham face Palace and The Men of Liverpool together as one host Sunderland for want of something better to do with their time.
Referee: Jon Moss, a referee who usually likes awarding penalties in QPR home matches, is back in the Bush this Saturday for the first time this season. Mike Dean and Mike Jones, meanwhile, both drop down to the Championship after a series of recent howlers. For all Moss’ recent stats, and full QPR case file, please click here.
Burnley: After going the first ten matches of the season without a victory, the return of Danny Ings to the Burnley attack has sparked a run of two wins and two draws from four games, lifting the Clarets off the bottom and above QPR and Leicester in the table. Away from home they’ve been awkward apart from a 3-0 beating at Arsenal and 4-0 set back at Swansea. They drew at Palace and Leicester, lost 1-0 at Swansea and won 2-1 at Stoke last time out. They’ve scored in seven of their last eight matches. The Clarets are unbeaten in their last nine league and cup games against QPR. Sean Dyche’s side have conceded nine headed goals this season — a league high.
Prediction: Reigning Prediction League champion WestonSuperR climbed to seventh in this year’s competition by calling the Swansea defeat right. This week he says…
"I am sure the bookies will have us firm favourites for this one and why shouldn't they with such strong home form? If we create 30+ chances like we did last Saturday then surely Charlie Austin will get on the score sheet once if not more.
"The main worry on Saturday is that Burnley have hit a bit of from themselves and that they have Sean Dyche. I rate the Burnley manager and he will certainly have his team well prepared for this match and should be able to highlight plenty of weaknesses if he has studied our matches.
"I could really see this going either way and think, like Leicester, Burnley will understand our weaknesses at the back and come and have a go. Expect goals, expect it to be frenetic at times but I'm going to remain positive and predict we will have just enough for three points.”
John’s Prediction: QPR 2-1 Burnley. Scorer — Charlie Austin.
LFW’s Prediction: QPR 3-2 Burnley. Scorer — Charlie Austin.
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