The release of vastly decreased season ticket prices has been welcomed by QPR supporters today and will hopefully prove an important first step in rebuilding and reuniting the club.
Premier League >>> Sunday May 12, 2013 >>> Kick Off 3pm >>> Loftus Road, London, W12
Ahhhh the summer - the bit that QPR are good at. Positive PR and spin with no pesky defeat on the Saturday to undermine everything.
It's come early this year, for the football club if not the weather men, because the 2012/13 campaign has been so truly horrendous that it has effectively come to a close for QPR long before the fixture list suggests it should have done. Rangers weren't very good for the first seven months of the season and with relegation to the Championship confirmed they have now failed to score for four matches in succession. Not since Paul "don't be nice to me, tell me how much I'm sweating" Jewell's dire Derby side cruised through the final 13 games of the 2007/08 campaign with two draws, 11 defeats, and three six goal set backs has a team put the cue on the rack to quite this extent.
This QPR playing squad, the vast majority of whom have massively underperformed since arriving at the club compared to the performances they produced at their previous more illustrious employers, are now out on a limb. Disowned by the club's chairman who said their attitudes to defeats ("never mind, which nightclub are we going to?") had shocked and saddened him and, as of today, also by the manager Harry Redknapp.
Just a week after Redknapp claimed ability, rather than attitude, has been QPR's problem this season he rowed back from that and jumped onto Tony Fernandes' side of the fence. Redknapp said in his press conference today: "Lots of things have to change here, the whole discipline of the club has to change. I've had to pussy foot around with some of them this year because they're here, we can't do anything about it, we needed to get the best of them, but next season it's about hard work, coming in on time, and if they don't like it we'll get rid. Next year they won't be coming in late, we don't want red cards, people doing silly things, people Tweeting all the time. Next year there are no excuses."
The straw that broke Harry's back appears to be the conduct of Stephane Mbia who took to his Twitter account on Bank Holiday Monday to first of all ask Joey Barton if he fancied swapping places again so he could return to his previous club Marseille, then claimed it had all been a joke, then said it wasn't a joke and as QPR weren't willing to talk to him about his future he would like to switch with Barton after all, then said his account had been hacked. QPR, tired of a season of poor behaviour and lousy performances from under committed millionaires, fined the midfielder two weeks wages.
So there they stand, like youths from a bad family out on a street corner, disowned by their parents and with the QPR fans filling the role of neighbours looking on from their upstairs windows and talking about how wonderful the area used to be before that lot arrived.
It's now Redknapp's job to clear out as many players as he can and put together a squad that looks like it cares about what it's doing. It's Tony Fernandes' job to rejuvenate a support base disillusioned with not only the club but, in many cases, the sport in general, and increasingly looking for other things to do with their Saturdays (and Sundays, and Monday nights). How much stomach Redknapp has for his side of the fight at this stage of his career remains to be seen, but Fernandes has hit the ground running in typical style today.
Rarely can a release of season ticket prices been met with such unanimous approval. The news this morning that tickets at Loftus Road next year will drop by more than £200 in gold and in the region of £150 in silver stopped the pitch fork wielding, torch lighting angry mob that usually masses at this time of year right in its tracks. We’re by no means seeing a welcome arrival of the German model to these shores as QPR are still expensive by the standards of other Championship teams in the area – and some Premier League teams - but by their recent standards next season's prices are cheap and the huge reductions are very welcome.
Credit to Fernandes and CEO Philip Beard for that, and of course the club's Malaysian owner couldn't resist a little publicity stunt earlier in the day when he picked a student from Twitter who couldn't afford even the new prices and offered to buy a ticket for him "for Christmas". But credit also to representatives from the club's supporter groups who got wind that perhaps the reductions in prices wouldn't be particularly big – if they happened at all – several weeks back and engaged in a mature, sensible dialogue with the club who duly listened and acted accordingly.
It's that sort of communication that was sadly lacking even six months ago and the club has worked very hard in recent months to increase across all fronts. Aside from the team, which the supporters have grown to hate almost as much as they do the Chelsea XI down the road, there is a small sense that the feel good factor may be returning to Loftus Road. Supporters feel they're being listened to, and the club have today seen the rewards of such engagement by attracting universal praise and positive PR for their ticket pricing when, had they gone with what perhaps they planned to originally, they could have been plunged into another shit storm.
Ticket prices have been a contentious issue at Rangers for years, more so since Flavio Briatore hiked them to Premier League levels at the first opportunity while also appointing Iain Dowie as his manager. In the first game that season, at home to Barnsley, the QPR fans heckled new goalkeeper Radek Cerny within ten minutes of his debut beginning. I remember standing up after a quarter of an hour of that first match of the season myself and, to my eternal shame, yelling: "do you think this is worth £600 Flavio?" That colossal rise, and the various hikes that followed it, bred contempt between the fans and the club. It alienated people and damaged the atmosphere at home matches. Excluding the Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool home matches since promotion when has Loftus Road been bouncing even as half as much as it was back in 2004/05 when Ian Holloway led the team back into the Championship? This unique stadium could have been an asset to Rangers in the modern Premier League but apathy and alienation have become ingrained in the support base through years of rip off prices, poor communication and a sense that the club just didn't care about them.
Today's ticket prices, and the grainy photographs suggesting the team will be lining up in two proper QPR kits next season, just started to put a little bit of that positive vibe back into the club. Perhaps this summer and next season won't be so awful after all. Perhaps we really can be QPR again. Fingers crossed.
Oh… Yeh… Newcastle or somebody like that this Sunday I think.
Links >>> Opposition Focus >>> History >>> Tube Closures >>> Referee
Team News: Redknapp also told reporters at the press conference this morning that he wouldn’t necessarily be picking a team with one eye on next season for the remaining games given that he’s hoping to move many of the current squad on this summer. Chris Samba may yet stay despite his reported pay packet, but Redknapp still insists he isn’t fit enough to play so Nedum Onuoha will start againat centre back.
Newcastle have doubts about midfielder Moussa Sissoko who is struggling with an ankle injury, winger Sylvain Marveaux who has a groin complaint and defender Davide Santon who is hamstrung. Goalkeeper Tim Krul and left back Ryan Taylor are long term absentees and will miss both the remaining games meaning former Charlton man Rob Elliott keeps his place between the sticks.
Elsewhere: Following Wigan’s 3-2 home defeat by Swansea during the week the teams at the foot of the Premier League are breathing a little easier. The Latics are in the FA Cup final against Man City this weekend meaning their league match with in form Arsenal has been put back to Tuesday. They sit three points behind Newcastle and Norwich with two games to play and almost identical goal differences meaning Roberto Martinez’s team need a minimum of a win and a draw from their remaining games with the Gunners and Aston Villa while Newcastle and/or Norwich lose both their remaining fixtures. If Wigan win both then the Magpies and the Canaries need another win themselves.
So all Wigan eyes on not only Newcastle’s trip to Loftus Road this weekend, but also Norwich’s home game against West Brom. Given that Norwich are at Man City on the last day and Newcastle host Arsenal, both will be hoping to get their points on the board this weekend rather than take it down to the final round of games.
Sunderland are also only three points ahead of Wigan, but with a superior goal difference. They too could be relegated if they take a point or less from their remaining two games and will also look to this week’s home match with Southampton rather than next week’s trip to Tottenham as their best hope. Southampton, who face Stoke on the last day, can still be caught themselves one point or less and two Wigan wins while Aston Villa (home to Chelsea, 40 points) and Fulham (home to Liverpool, 40 points) are also not quite over the line yet but surely soon will be.
The other issue to be settled is the three into two for the remaining Champions League places. We already know that Chelsea on 69 points go to Villa while Arsenal on 67 await Wigan during the week so it’s all eyes on Spurs this weekend who really have to win in a televised Sunday lunchtime game at Stoke.
If you fancy getting involved in the David Moyes/Alex Ferguson wank fests then more fool you but it’s Everton v West Ham and Man Utd v Swansea this weekend if so.
Referee: Lee Probert has been seen at more QPR matches this season than Andy Johnson, and he’s back for a fifth appointment this weekend with Newcastle in town. The Wiltshire official most recently took charge of the R’s 3-2 defeat at local neighbours Fulham as a late replacement for the listed official Jon Moss. For his ever growing QPR case file please click here.
QPR: It looks like goals might be the issue here for Rangers. They haven’t scored in their last four matches in the Premier League, or their last four and a half meetings with Newcastle since Ben Watson gave Jim Magilton’s side an early lead at St James’ Park back in 2009. They’ve failed to score on 15 of their 36 outings in the Premier League this season. It’s league’s worst home record meets one of the league’s worst away records this weekend with QPR boasting just two victories on their own ground this season – their worst haul at Loftus Road in living memory.
Newcastle: The numbers make grim reading for Newcastle who have won only once away all season and conceded 66 goals in total, which is more than QPR and only one shy of the other two sides in the bottom three Reading and Wigan. The Magpies have always won at least two away games in the Premier League since it was formed in 1992 so need a victory here to avoid setting an unwanted record. They have kept only two clean sheets on the road in the league this season but one of them came last week at West Ham when the influential Fabricio Coloccini returned to the defence in the wake of home humblings by Sunderland and Liverpool. The Geordies have won just one of the last nine and conceded 19 goals in those games.
Prediction: Reigning Prediction League champion (for another fortnight at least) Nathan McAllister tells us…
“I know there’s nothing riding on this game for Rangers but god I hope they win this Sunday. This is nothing to do with wanting to see Newcastle relegated (I don’t). I’m just absolutely sick to death of Rangers getting a kicking in the media, day after day, whether it be for incompetence on or off the pitch. It’s really intensified since relegation was confirmed, and I know most of the criticism is justified but this just makes it all the more depressing to listen to. So Rangers, this Sunday, try to give us back something resembling pride, something to make us feel just a little more hopeful about next season. Please.
“There were signs against Arsenal last week that the team was trying to do precisely that, but that was typical QPR: upping performance levels considerably against a team in the top five after being absolutely rank against virtually everyone else. If Rangers stay true to form they’ll roll over for a Newcastle side still fighting for their Premiership lives – although ‘fight’ is perhaps not the first adjective that would come to mind for anyone who had witnessed Newcastle’s last two calamitous home performances against Sunderland and Liverpool. Newcastle have won just one away match all season, but exactly the same could have been said about Stoke before they cantered to a 2-0 victory at Loftus Road just three weeks ago. At least Rangers will have a good chance to break their four game goal scoring drought against one of the Premier League’s most porous defences. Only Wigan and Reading have conceded more (and only one at that) than the 66 conceded by Newcastle. However, even that comes with a caveat. Newcastle’s best defender Fabricio Coloccini has recently returned from a fairly lengthy injury and helped his side follow-up their 6-0 drubbing by Liverpool with a very respectable clean sheet last week at West Ham.
“All in all I’m expecting another grim day for a Rangers team with nothing left but to go through the motions and complete the final 180 minutes of this absolute turd of a season.”
Nathan’s Prediction: QPR 1 Newcastle 2
Scorer: Remy
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