Two home matches in a week, starting tonight against Sheffield Wednesday, will go a long way to determining the immediate future of QPR head coach Chris Ramsey.
Darker nights, colder mornings, QPR and Leeds United ramping up their pitches for the most farcical club of the season award — winter is truly upon us now.
Starting a Monday with Uwe Rosler as your manager and finishing it with the sweatmeister general Steve Evans in charge and the chairman suspended by the Football League is really going some, but don't rule QPR out of the race just yet.
The timing of the announcement about Neil Warnock's return to the club was covered at the weekend. It was crass. Anything short of a dominant, 3-0 victory at St Andrew's against a high-flying Birmingham side was inevitably going to lead to the chanting of Warnock's name. It totally undermined Chris Ramsey, even before he set about doing that himself with some more weird and wonderful decisions during the game.
What exactly Warnock is here for, whose decision it was to bring him in and what he's going to be doing is yet to be really addressed.
There was talk during the summer that Gerry Francis may return to Rangers in a coaching role he has been doing alongside Tony Pulis at Stoke, Palace and now West Brom for the last few years. Certainly looking at the shambolic state of QPR's defence that might not have been a bad call, and the whole idea of having a more experienced man alongside Ramsey has been voiced several times and has plenty of merit. Dougie Freedman has Lennie Lawrence with him at Forest, as another for instance.
But Neil Warnock for that role? Francis and Lawrence gave up the managerial game a long time ago but Warnock was a number one in the Premier League less than a year ago. His arrival will inevitably set tongues wagging about him looking to replace Ramsey. If he's not, then what exactly is he going to do on the football side? Warnock had Mick Jones, Keith Curle and others with him to do the coaching, he did the old-style management. If we're looking for somebody to coach us out of our defensive woes I'm not sure Neil Warnock is the man.
He spoke after his very harsh sacking at QPR about the need for experienced football men like himself to serve as a conduit between the football side and the boardroom side at many English football clubs. The inference being that wide-eyed foreign owners with no experience of the sport are increasingly being taken for a ride by agents and players and getting their fingers burned. Tony Fernandes himself admits that has happened at Loftus Road during his ownership so having somebody like Warnock in that role here would be a valuable addition. Warnock mentioned the idea again in the quotes published by the official website on Saturday.
But, hang on a minute, isn't that what Les Ferdinand is here for? Where does Warnock's arrival leave him?
It just looks absolutely set for Warnock to move into Ferdinand's position with another head coach, possibly Shaun Derry, underneath him instead of Ramsey. The whole thing is tremendously destabilising to the present regime.
"Good" will be the general response to that, the tide now almost completely turned against Chris Ramsey following Saturday's defeat (leaving QPR with a less-than-hideous four wins, three draws and four defeats from the season so far — hardly sacking form on the face of it).
It may well be that Chris Ramsey is not up to the job. It's pretty easy to make a strong argument for that at the moment. But QPR would do well to hold their nerve and hang on as long as possible, not only because the idea of putting an entirely new structure in place apparently based around long-term objectives and platform building only to then dismantle it before Bonfire Night with the team in the top half of the table is daft, but also because managerial changes do not work for QPR.
The new manager bounce experienced elsewhere doesn't happen here. Mark Hughes won two of his first ten matches, Harry Redknapp won one of his first seven and three of his first 17, Chris Ramsey won three of his first 15. It's not like things improved for any of them too much after that, which suggests the manager isn't the problem at QPR and makes the hunger to change them all the time a little odd. Why do we think it's going to get loads better with a new man?
The answer, I guess, from those who do still believe QPR’s problems are entirely down to the manager and curable by replacing him, is that QPR have made bad managerial appointments before and might make a good one this time. You can say that Ramsey was too inexperienced in a number one role and shouldn't have been given the job in the first place, and that Harry Redknapp was over the hill and didn't give much of a shit. Harder to make that case for Mark Hughes, who has done particularly well before and since bombing in W12.
Nigel Pearson is a particular favourite of the baying mob, but looking at his (overall decent) record doesn't bode well for his chances of success at QPR. After all, after taking the job at Hull City (another recently relegated Premier League club with big debts) he won one of his first six including a 4-0 loss at mighty Millwall. Overall he won three of his first 17, at which point presumably we'd want him sacked — that record being far worse than Ramsey's this season.
Back at Leicester for a second time he won three of his first 11 games and then started the following season losing three of his first five and crashing 4-2 at home to Burton Albion in the League Cup. Leicester finished that season below halfway in the Championship with just three wins from their final 18 games. What he subsequently achieved — a charge to the title and survival in the Premier League — is what makes him attractive to QPR fans but would our club, in its current mood, happily sit through the 18 months of what went before at Leicester without turning on him? Three wins in the final 18 games of the season, I suspect the old pitch forks and flaming torches would be marching past Quashie's Roti Hut once more.
That's without getting into Pearson's erratic behaviour at Leicester last season, the circumstances surrounding his son that saw him leave the club, and his relationship with Hoos which all make his appointment here unlikely.
Neil Warnock won just four of his first 17 at Leeds, three from his first 18 at Palace. Shaun Derry got one draw and five defeats from his first six games at Notts County, won just two of his first 11 and then after winning those went on a run of eight defeats from ten.
Ramsey isn't doing himself many favours, may well not be the man for the job, and you shouldn't stick with the wrong man blindly because you've sacked too many managers before. But the manager isn't the overall problem at QPR and hasn't been for some time. There's no indication from the previous appointments made by the club that things will get any better after another change. Unless they're going to leave it to Lee Hoos, who took Eddie Howe to Burnley and Pearson to Leicester in the first place, what possible precedent or hope is there that the current board at QPR can be trusted to get another appointment right if Ramsey is sacked?
That, for me, means there has to be a really compelling case for making another change. I'm not sure 11 league games, of which only four have ended in defeat, and twelfth position in mid-October is compelling enough.
Links >>> Gallen’s first goal — History >>> New Thai approach — Interview >>> Haines in charge — referee
Andy Johnson begins his typically provocative celebration in front of the Sheff Wed fans after giving QPR a 2-1 lead just before half time when these sides last met on this ground on the opening day of the 2013/14 season. Wednesday had taken an early lead before Nedum Onuoha and then Johnson secured a quick turnaround, and ultimately a victory, for Harry Redknapp’s side.
Wednesday will take a late check on Marco Matias who has a jippy tummy after a dalliance with a pickled egg in his local chip shop. Alex Lopez has tai chi classes on a Tuesday so can’t travel.
Elsewhere: So with Massimo Cellino suspended again and the man who swore he’d never work for Leeds in charge, the Champions of Europe head to Rupert and Tarquin on Wednesday night. Two other games scheduled alongside it — Wolves v Abacus, Mad Chicken Farmers v the Derby Sheep.
Two matches on the Tuesday between sides beginning with B — Brighton v Bristol City and Bolton v Birmingham — so we’re well through the looking glass now. Huddersfield v Franchise is the game of the night by far with Rotherham v Waitrose not far behind.
Tigers Tigers Rah Rah Rah welcome Ipswich, Nottingham Trees take on Big Spending Burnley, Charlton host Preston and Middlesbrough play Cardiff.
Referee: Tyne and War official Andy Haines is the man in the middle for Tuesday night’s game, his first QPR game since he was a late replacement for Simon Hooper in a 2-0 loss at Burnley almost two years ago to the day. Details of that, his other QPR appointments, and his recent stats are available here.
QPR: The loss at St Andrew’s made it just one win in six for QPR and two wins from their last eight. It evened the record for the season out again at four wins, three draws and four defeats in the league. The R’s conceded two again, taking the goals against tally to 22 from just 11 games played — it was the tenth game in all competitions Rangers have conceded at least two goals in a game. At Loftus Road this season they’ve won two, drawn two and lost two in all competitions. QPR lead the league in points won from losing positions — seven, level with Brentford — but have also lost more points from winning positions — ten — than anybody else. They’re unbeaten in seven home fixtures against Sheff Wed dating back to 2000.
Sheff Wed: Wednesday’s weekend draw at home to Hull snapped a four game winning run, but they’re still unbeaten in six which includes that cup upset win up at Newcastle. They’ve lost just three times all season, at Burnley and Ipswich and at home to Middlesbrough. Away from home they’re unbeaten in three, winning at Newcastle and Brentford and drawing at Bolton. They’ve kept just one clean sheet in their last ten road trips of which only two have been won, and four drawn.
Betting: Our tame professional odds compiler Owen Goulding tells us…
"I will be making my way down from the north to attend my first game at Loftus Road this season and like everyone else, I have little idea of what to expect. It would be easy to say we will be conceding at some point during the evening, but in truth, QPR are probably the most difficult team to form opinions about in the Football League. Being a Rangers fan is like playing Revels roulette- you pray you don't get lumbered with coffee, but you know the packet contains more coffee than anything else.
"When trying to assess a match, from a compiler's point of view, its often best to try not to look for things that aren't there and focus on what is apparent in front of you. Take off any Rangers hat and the simple fact is we just cannot defend. Perch will sit this one out which is a blessing based on recent performances until you realise Mr Ramsey will just put an out of sorts and out of position Nedum Onuoha in his place. Konchesky will continue in his quest to give away more free kicks than any other player in the history of the game, and the centre back pairing will be changed once more.
"Sheffield Wednesday on the other hand are playing decent football, have a very settled side and are slowly climbing the table. They look to have a decent outside chance of the play offs with a forward line of Forestieri and Joao likely to cause the Rangers back line a few problems. Michael Turner has slotted in at centre back alongside the dominant Tom Lees and this has tightened up their goals against column in recent weeks. Unbeaten in their last six, I cant see QPR beating them here. Lees has caused many opposing defences trouble from set pieces so far this season and its hard to see a QPR side who look incredibly vulnerable every time a ball comes into their box not suffering again on Tuesday. I'm not sure of exactly how this game will go, but id be amazed if QPR didn't concede and wouldn't be shocked for that to be from a set piece. Therefore my recommended bet has to be for Tom Lees to net at anytime at a whopping 14/1. Its Revels roulette time....
Recommended Bet: QPR v Sheff Wed - Tom Lees to Score at anytime - 14/1 (10bet/Betvictor)
Prediction: Reigning Prediction League champion isawqpratwhitecity tells us…
"Wednesday are on a strong five game unbeaten streak, not even counting winning at Newcastle in the League Cup, while our form is up and down like the bride's nightie. However, by Tuesday night we will have had more than 48 hours benefit of Neil Warnock's benevolent presence (a truly bizarre, awful appointment, and Ramsey's on a hiding to nothing now). I reckon we were due for a win anyway."
Jim's Prediction: QPR 3-2 Sheffield Wednesday. First Scorer — Jay Emmanuel Thomas
LFW's Prediction: QPR 2-2 Sheffield Wednesday. First Scorer — Jay Emmanuel Thomas
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