 Friday, 21st Sep 2012 22:14 by Clive Whittingham QPR travel to Spurs on Sunday hunting a first away win in 17 attempts following an improved showing against Chelsea last time out. Tottenham (10th) v QPR (18th)Premier League >>> Sunday September 22, 2012 >>> Kick Off 16.00 >>> White Hart Lane, London, N17 Do you know the thing I never really understood about the Hillsborough disaster? So many people swallowed those lies for so long. The cover up from the authorities that has now been laid bare was known as far back as the Taylor Report and yet so many still accepted the myth that it was caused entirely by drunk, ticketless fans. There had been a crush on that terrace at the semi final the year before, and with Tottenham fans in 1981, and in 1957 with Man Utd's following – fatalities were avoided on those occasions simply because it was policed slightly better. When the prospect of fatalities was raised in the wake of one of the previous crushes Sheffield Wednesday chairman Bert McGee is quoted in the minutes of the meeting as saying “bollocks”. The design of the stadium was flawed to such an extent that it didn’t have a safety certificate and the policing of it that fateful day was appalling. Football – the sport and the stadiums – has changed beyond all recognition since then. But any QPR supporter unfortunate enough to be at Old Trafford last season will know that even now in the sheltered modern era fans are still often seen as scum and treated as such by police and stewards. Supporters know this, they remember the unsafe terraces, and yet for 23 years so many of them were happy to believe South Yorkshire Police's story. It's football tribalism at its worst. Nobody very much cared for Liverpool or their fans in the 1980s and they had form for causing trouble at games – notably at Heysel - so people tutted and rolled their eyes at suggestions that this was all their fault rather than questioning it. There were drunken supporters, and supporters without tickets, but no more so than at any other FA Cup semi final and their presence had little to do with what followed. Football without tribalism would be a pathetic shell of itself. You only have to sample the "atmosphere" at the FA Cup semi finals these days, suffocated under the weight of thousands of corporate guests, to know that. Thankfully the Hillsborough tribute prior to Everton v Newcastle on Monday evening shows that it can be set aside when necessary, and the atmosphere at QPR v Chelsea two days previously showed it at its best. Loftus Road was hostile and passionate last weekend, but things never once crossed the line. It was an afternoon that proved we don't need early kick offs, alcohol bans and evil plastic glasses at high profile games. I thought Anton Ferdinand coped magnificently with the occasion and I was disappointed to hear the CEO of his union, PFA chief Gordon Taylor, say otherwise. Taylor, never shy of taking to the airwaves to drone on in his monotone way expressing an irrelevant opinion nobody wanted to hear, said Ferdinand should have engaged in the handshaking nonsense for the sake of school children watching. Sorry Gordon, but I think standing up for what you believe is right is a far better message to send to children than ignoring your beliefs and going along with an empty gesture to make the Premier League look good on the television. Congratulations to Anton on both his behaviour, and his performance which was the best he's produced for QPR and admirable given the circumstances. Sadly after that much improved showing he is one of a clutch of injuries QPR take into this weekend’s away match at Tottenham. This is a London derby of course, but never really feels like one to me when we go to White Hart Lane – it doesn’t have that same tribal feeling that last week did. Spurs have Arsenal, West Ham and Chelsea; QPR have Chelsea, Fulham and other weird rivalries from the suburbs cultivated during our time downstairs like Watford and Luton. Hell, I probably feel stronger about Reading than I do about Spurs given the flagrant identity theft that’s gone on there over the past 20 years: come on you R’s indeed. Everybody hates Chelsea, I wonder why? Ferdinand is joined on the injury list by Fabio, Samba Diakite, Stephane Mbia, Adel Taarabt, Armand Traore and Andy Johnson who is now out for the season. There’s no good time to pick up injuries, but this could all be especially badly timed for Mark Hughes. Rangers are yet to win in the league this season, the last time we failed to win any of the first four league games was 1991, despite all the new arrivals and this match probably represents the last of the ‘free pass’ fixtures Hughes can expect before expectations start to be ratcheted up a notch. The Swansea and Norwich results can perhaps be put down to a new team bedding in, no wins from Chelsea and Spurs is understandable, but failure to start putting some wins on the board in the forthcoming games with Reading, West Ham and West Brom will see questions asked. The manager’s decision not to even include Luke Young or DJ Campbell in his 25 man squad looks more foolhardy with each passing injury – particularly as they seem to be coming exclusively in positions those two can play. A win here, against an improving but seemingly mentally fragile Spurs side, would be a welcome surprise. Links >>> Opposition Focus >>> Fixture History >>> Referee >>> Tube Closures >>> Travel Guide >>> Betting Preview This SundayTeam News: So, as discussed, QPR have something of a mini early season injury crisis on their plate here. Samba Diakite is not yet fit to return after his unspecified compassionate leave, and the reasons for Stephane Mbia’s non-appearance since arriving from Marseille on deadline day and similarly shrouded with mystery. The others are ore clear cut: Andy Johnson ruptured knee ligaments against Chelsea while Fabio and Anton Ferdinand aggravated hamstring injuries in the same match. Armand Traore and Adel Taarabt are injury doubts whenever it’s a day of the week with a Y in it. One thing Spurs are not short of is quality goalkeepers with Brad Friedel, Hugo Lloris, Carlo Cudicini and the “spider trapped under a glass” Huerelho Gomes all on their books. That’s a gratuitous collection, and it’s already causing trouble with French football personalities including Didier Deschamps and Fabian Barthez queuing up to slate Andre Villas Boas’ decision to select Friedel ahead of Lloris so far. By so far, I actually mean one league match in which Fridel was the man of the match. Interesting to see who starts here and what the repercussions are – Friedel’s run of 308 consecutive Premier League starts is coming under threat.. Spurs fielded a full strength team for Thursday night’s game with Lazio and are likely to stick with Clint Dempsey ahead of Gylfi Sigurdsson. Emmanuel Adebayor remains a doubt and Benoit Assou Ekotto is definitely out meaning Kyles Walker and Naughton will continue at full back. Elsewhere: Man alive it’s a full weekend without West Ham on the television. I’d forgotten what these felt like. The Hammers host Sunderland on Saturday at 3pm after Swansea v Everton have opened the weekend action in the early televised game – they’re both playing magnificent football at the moment and Everton v Newcastle was a treat on Monday so this has all the potential to be a humdinger. Newcastle, fortunate to escape Goodison with a point, fielded a reserve side in the Europa League during the week ahead of a winnable home match with Norwich this Sunday. It’s pretty run-of-the-mill stuff elsewhere on the Saturday list ahead of the fireworks on Sunday. Chelsea v Stoke, West Brom v Reading and Wigan v Fulham don’t exactly set any pulses racing and the only real intrigue in Southampton v Aston Villa is the home side’s record of four defeats from four matches and what a fifth set back may mean for likeable manager Nigel Adkins’ position under a notoriously ruthless owner. Sunday we have Liverpool v Man Utd followed by Man City and Arsenal in a double bill actually worthy of Sky’s Super Sunday moniker. No Monday Night Football from the Premier League this week. Referee: Our official this week is Phil Dowd from Staffordshire, most recently seen by QPR fans doing his level best to keep Samba Diakite on the field for the full duration of his debut against Fulham but unfortunately relenting after the thirteenth foul in 33 minutes. Dowd is slightly fortunate to be taking up the whistle for his thirteenth consecutive season in the top division having failed the Premier League fitness test back in May. For his full case file click here. FormSpurs: Having decided that we do just about class this as a London derby, it’s now time to roll out a stat that will make us wish that we didn’t. Tottenham have not lost a home game against another London side since September 2007 – a run of 19 matches which of course includes our 3-1 defeat on this ground last season. They have drawn all three home matches so far this term though, conceding late goals after sinking too deep and becoming too negative in 1-1 draws with West Brom and Norwich in the league. QPR: Take all the evil numbers from the Man City preview and add one to them. QPR have now gone 16 league and cup matches without a win away from home stretching back to the 3-2 win at Stoke last November. The draw at Norwich in August is only the second point Mark Hughes has won on the road in nine months as QPR manager. Only Blackburn (45) conceded more goals on their travels last season than Rangers (41) although the Hoops’ total was skewed slightly by two six goal defeats in West London derbies. They lost more away games (14 out of 19) than any other team in the division last season - bottom placed Wolves lost just ten. Their record in London derbies last season was actually pretty decent though with victories against Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal in the league at Loftus Road – all four away clashes in the capital ended in defeat however. Prediction: Winner of last season’s LFW Prediction League Nathan McAllister writes: "Tottenham are still looking for their first home victory under Villas-Boas - something of a surprise considering they were so potent at White Hart Lane last season. Other than the Manchester sides only Norwich managed a victory there, with Spurs winning 13 and drawing three of the remaining 16. Spurs played in the Europa League this week, which on the face of it should go in our favour. However, it was a home fixture and this time last year when we played a team three days after they’d played in the Europa League we got absolutely smashed. I also think Spurs have bought quality replacements for Modric, Van der Vaart and King in Dembele, Dempsey, Sigurdsson and Vertonghen, and although Villas Boas’ reputation has taken a bit of a battering since he’s been managing in England I think much of this might be due to him being easy to dislike rather than general incompetence. The Spurs job may turn out to be a much better fit for him than the Chelsea one. “Overall, I’m hopeful about Sunday, but not very optimistic. Against Chelsea I thought a lot of the football Rangers played was technically a level above anything I’ve seen from any Rangers side, and without the ball we looked far more solid and well organized from front to back. I don’t see us being dominated the way we were in the first half of this fixture last season. However, I’m a little concerned by our lack of goals so far (two in four matches). Spurs, on the other hand, in Bale, Sigurdsson, Dempsey, Adebayor, Defoe, Lennon (the list goes on), have no shortage of players who offer that little bit of extra quality in the final third who I think will come good sooner rather than later." Prediction: Tottenham 2 QPR 0 Tweet @Loftforwords Pictures – Action Images Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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