QPR once again go in search of their first FA Cup win in 11 years when MK Dons visit Loftus Road for a Third Round replay on Tuesday night.
FA Cup Third Round Replay >>> Tuesday January 17, 2011 >>> Kick Off 8pm >>> Loftus Road, London, W12 >>> Live on ITV4
I don’t think it’s unfair to say that QPR need this fixture about as much as Lisa Riley needs another bacon sandwich.
Although this replay does mean that Joey Barton will be available for the crucial weekend fixture with Wigan it’s an absolute ball ache in every possible other way. Having played just 48 hours ago at the other end of the country I think playing this game means that Mark Hughes will possibly only have two full training sessions before that match which may negate the effect of Barton’s return somewhat. Hughes likes things done in a certain way, and players must buy into what he and his coaches want from them, so time taken away from the training ground is not time well spent. This week Hughes would probably like to be training, or negotiating transfers, not preparing for this.
And less we forget that even achieving the bloody replay in the first place cost us the services of our Player of the Year in waiting Alejandro Faurlin who was stretchered from the field at Milton Keynes last week with ruptured knee ligaments.
I’ve never bought into the idea that a cup run is a bad thing that automatically denigrates the league form, and given that the Premiership title is beyond the reach of all but a handful of clubs it drives me crazy to see clubs that are only ever going to get silverware by winning a cup competition casually tossing away their places in them every season. But I don’t mind admitting that I’m already sick of this bloody third round tie, and we’re only halfway through it.
Even if Hughes was minded to just throw out a team of kids and not care too much about the result, QPR’s long run of ten games without a victory may make him think twice. We need a victory, any victory at all, particularly at home. If only to remind the players what it feels like, to boost the confidence of the players who score the goals, to just improve the mood slightly. Perhaps more to the point, QPR need a win because they don’t need another defeat. They don’t need a “can’t even beat a League One side” cloud of misery gathering over them ahead of a massive match at the weekend.
We can’t forfeit this match so let’s try and use it as a positive. A win here, a win against Wigan at the weekend, and suddenly we’re riding a Mark Hughes shaped wave of optimism into a highly charged home fixture with Chelsea. Imagine how much the mood would improve if we won that as well.
I’m sorry, that’s the very definition of getting carried away. A win here, even a scrappy one, would be QPR’s first in this competition for 11 years. You don’t accumulate a record like that over such a long period of time by making light work of evenings like this. And whatever happens, ‘light work’ isn’t a term I expect to be writing in the match report this time tomorrow.
Links >>> MK 1 QPR 1 Match Report >>> Opposition Focus >>> Original Match Preview
Team News: Mark Hughes has an admirable record in the FA Cup as both a player, three times a winner, and a manager, twice a semi-finalist with Blackburn. Whether he’ll be placing much importance on the competition for QPR initially given our league position remains to be seen – we’ll know when we see the starting 11 on Tuesday night. Alejandro Faurlin is out for the rest of the season and Joey Barton serves the final match of his three game ban.
Elsewhere: If you’re wondering why on earth this match has been chosen for television coverage, a quick glance down the list of games that went to replays should probably provide you with an answer. Eye catching matches are thin on the ground. Leicester v Forest, an East Midlands derby between two of the Championship’s surprise strugglers, is the standout fixture while Wolves and Birmingham will hopefully serve up something better than the dirge they produced first time around. Non-league Wrexham host Championship Brighton hoping to finish the job on their upset and win a televised game against Newcastle. Bolton will surely finish off Macclesfield at the second attempt, and you’d think Dagenham have probably missed their chance against Millwall as well.
Referee: Premiership referee Phil Dowd is the man in the middle for this game, his second visit to Loftus Road this season. Previously he took charge of our 0-0 home draw against Newcastle in September, and my how the mood and form of the players has changed since then. For Dowd’s full case file please click here.
QPR: The numbers are certainly not making pretty reading for QPR fans at the moment. Into the bottom three for the first time since August this weekend, with just four wins in 23 matches in all competitions and only one of them at home. They haven’t won an FA Cup game for 11 years, and were knocked out of the League Cup earlier this season by another League One side Rochdale. They haven’t won in ten matches (three draws) and have won only once in 13 (nine defeats).
MK Dons: The Dons controversially lost their weekend match against Carlisle to a frozen pitch at very late notice after failing to take adequate note of the cold weather. That means they haven’t played since drawing with us ten days ago. They have scored in all but one of their last 13 matches and only three other clubs, including the two Manchester giants, have scored more goals than them in the league this season - 48. They currently sit fifth in League One and have only lost once at home all season, to Preston. They have won six of their 12 home matches this season but have never reached the FA Cup fourth round and could face Chelsea with a victory here. They reached this stage of the competition with a 3-1 win at Barnet and a 6-0 home win against Nantwich in the previous rounds. They have lost just one of their last 11 matches and scored 32 goals in those matches – QPR have scored 12 in their last 11 games by way of comparison. They have won nine, and drawn two of their last 12 matches.
Prediction: QPR desperately need a win just to breathe some confidence back into a demoralised squad. Everybody has something to prove for the new manager again so although I expect plenty of changes to the team but I’m expecting an improved performance and, strike me down, a victory. It will be scrappy and not great to watch but I think we may finally manage one here.
QPR 2-0, 17/2 with William Hill
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