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Welcome to fortress Loftus Road, surrender your reputation at the door — guest column
Welcome to fortress Loftus Road, surrender your reputation at the door — guest column
Monday, 23rd Apr 2012 19:13 by Chris King

Chris King on the remarkable turnaround in QPR’s fortunes on their own patch and what still needs to be done to secure Premiership survival.

Four wins on the bounce at home are unusual for any team. Even more incongruous, however, is that three of these victories took place against Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Liverpool. Perhaps the above title may need to be added to a plaque above the players’ entrance, just as a memento of this most incredible run of results.

Saturday’s game followed a similar pattern to the Arsenal and Liverpool ties. Allow the opposition plenty of possession on the edge of the area, and organise in such a way as to nullify the threat posed by their creative outlets, while maintaining a sense of urgency in the final third of the pitch. On Saturday, it was panic stations at the back for Spurs almost from the off, with Brad Friedel being forced into a succession of poor clearances and mistimed kicks into Row Z by the pressure of Bobby Zamora, Adel Taarabt and Jamie Mackie, who had a whale of a time forcing Benoît Assou-Ekotto and his comedy hairstyle into hurried clearances and a couple of untimely slips.

Taarabt, being asked to fulfil an unfamiliar defensive role by Mark Hughes, was the catalyst for all that was good about the home side’s sporadic attacking forays. His sublime free kick, curled past Friedel following a questionable handball decision against Sandro, made it 1-0 after 24 minutes to set up the most agonising hour or so of the season.

It was a heroic effort to keep the visiting side at bay, and Luka Modrić, Gareth Bale, Aaron Lennon (a second half substitute), and Rafael Van Der Vaart were made to look incredibly ordinary. Spurs had no answer to the R’s defensive wall, marshalled expertly by Joey Barton, who since his self-imposed Twitter moratorium has been a far better on-pitch presence and mercifully begun to resemble a proper, inspirational captain. Taye Taiwo’s jittery beginnings in W12 were long behind him, as he superbly neutered the threat of Lennon following his introduction after the break, and the Rangers goalkeeper illustrated to the assembled footballing press and television cameras just who the real King Kenny is with a series of tremendous saves, and that ever ready nature that is the mark of a top ‘keeper.

When the whistle blew after an inexplicable five minutes of added time, the relief and tumult around the stadium was evident on the faces of every QPR supporter. The R’s had done it, despite a late sending off for Adel Taarabt, which referee Mark Clattenburg managed to make an absolute mess off, when he first booked the R’s playmaker and then “remembered” he’d brandished the yellow in the first half, forcing him to dismiss Taarabt amidst bemusement and fury from fans and Hughes alike.

Not all the results went Rangers’ way at the weekend, particularly Norwich City’s dismal surrender in their clash with Blackburn Rovers, which brought Steve Kean’s side closer to QPR and Wigan, who occupy sixteenth and seventeenth places respectively. Despite the run of results, and this most unexpected of victories, Rangers will still have to pull off one of the greatest escapes in Premier League history to avoid the drop. Hughes side are, infuriatingly, still hamstrung by an absolute inability to play away from home.

The R’s haven’t won a match on the road since November, 3-2 against Stoke City, and have lost their last five games away from Loftus Road. Something has to give, but with Chelsea and Manchester City the remaining trips to be made, we might have to wait until next season to correct that abysmal record by which time we may be in a different division. A crumb of comfort lies in the fact that Chelsea could, if successful against Barcelona in their midweek Champions League showdown, be somewhat distracted and “less bothered” about chasing fourth spot.

It is difficult to create the sort of intensity and vitriolic atmosphere for the opposition that the supporters managed on Saturday, in grounds that are not our own. Despite this, it certainly appears that Hughes is bedding into the role slightly more than he was in the early months of the year. Rangers have spirit, belief and tenacity, but also the sort of organisation that has been lacking from so many games this season. A slow starter, undoubtedly, but Hughes’ Premier League experience cannot be doubted. With the tantalising prospect of a potential double over Chelsea, and the personal glory for the boss to be garnered through coming away from Stamford Bridge with even a point, stopping the away rot cannot be entirely ruled out.

One minor snag will be the absence of Taarabt, which may well see Akos Buzsaky brought back into a narrow five man midfield alongside Barton, Mackie, Derry and the wonderfully combative and mobile Diakité, supporting lone Ranger Bobby Zamora up front. Zamora’s hold up play against Spurs was sublime, and could prove pivotal in ensuring that Chelsea don’t rule the possession statistics as playing Cissé might enable them to. As for the Frenchman, his suspensions looked to have doomed QPR to relegation a few weeks ago, but he is available again just in the nick of time.

The Stoke City game on May 6, which worryingly some appear to be labelling a “forgone conclusion”, will, if not decide whether the R’s stay up, condemn us to relegation if it is lost. All those of a blue and white persuasion will be watching Aston Villa-Bolton Wanderers on Tuesday very keenly indeed. With two games in hand on Rangers, Bolton could either profit from this, or it could well be the nail in their coffin. Playing catch up is difficult enough at any time of the year, particularly with a small squad still reeling from the near-tragedy of Fabrice Muamba, and one playing on tired legs.

Still, for now, the haunting echo of “The R’s are staying up” will be the soundtrack to many a Queens Park Rangers fan’s week; at home at least, there’s no stopping us right now.

Tweet @chriskking, @loftforwords

Pictures – Action Images

Photo: Action Images



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jamois added 19:53 - Apr 23
I think you're right Chris and he may well play Buzsacky. But I'd like to give Chelsea a go post their Barcelona hangover and not be as docile as we've been away in our last few games. Everyone is saying how great we've been with one up front recently but, until each sending off occurred, I thought we looked very dangerous with Zamora and Cisse up front in the previous games. And Traore on the left isn't a bad shout either.
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Eltham_Ranger added 20:33 - Apr 23
Really well written.
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gueRRilla added 22:56 - Apr 23
Hard call whether to play Cissé or not. Could be risky putting him into such a highly charged atmosphere. Surely he couldn't get sent off again though?!
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ScubaHoop added 02:07 - Apr 24
Before joining us he'd only ever been sent off once in his entire career but I'd still not risk starting him, if we could keep 11 men on the pitch till 75 mins he'd might be worth bringing on.
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timcocking added 03:06 - Apr 24
I think he'll play Cisse.
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ozexile added 05:31 - Apr 24
Don't think it will be Cisse. Buzsacky I'm sure will play. Point here could be priceless. Although when we at defensive away from home we're awful.
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BrianMcCarthy added 07:00 - Apr 24
Enjoyable read.
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WokingR added 08:38 - Apr 24
I can't help thinking that Buzsacky is too lightweight and not the battler we need for this fixture.
Traore on the left of midfield will give us plenty of options attacking and defending.
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dixiedean added 09:24 - Apr 24
It does worry me that it's taken as read that Stoke is 3 pts in the bag,so we can afford to lose away at the other 2. The last 3 home games v Gooners Swans & Spurs ( and presumably this Sunday) have all involved the same game plan, which won't work v Stoke, so I hope Hughes has another game plan up his sleeve.It will be different where we have to make the running. For me Traore is a no-brainer to replace Adel. Sadly I think Buzz is now a bit-part player and hasn't looked at home at this level apart from his long-range shooting/free kicks. Otherwise he doesn't have the physique/ pace to be really effective in Prem. Harsh but i think true.Cisse will be brought on if needed to stretch their ((hopefully) tired legs later in the game.
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ellersliehoop added 10:08 - Apr 24
Completely agree that the same tactics wont work against Stoke, they will launch it forward towards Crouch for starters, and they're also not expected to win unlike Liverpool/Arsenal/Spurs so the emphasis will be on us

I also think Buzz is a bit out of his depth at this level, he's not mobile enough to play central midfield so where else does he play?
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adhoc_qpr added 10:28 - Apr 24
Buz has looked the part at this level for me recently, plus against Chelsea his threat from set pieces, good corner deliver and long range shooting could all be invaluable in what i hope will be a tight game.

Cisse tracks back even less than Taarabt, and certainly less than the new improved Taarabt so you can't play him on the left.

The only other option would be to play Traore on the left if fit - and get some pace on the left wing for counter attacking.
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francisbowles added 14:01 - Apr 24
It has to be Traore for me, pace and tracking bac. Same tactics again, as their pitch is quite narrow as well which is how they got away with it against Barca despite only having 28% possession. We may bring Cisse back against Stoke.
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Antti_Heinola added 14:06 - Apr 24
Nice to see Chris abandon his ultra-critical stance, finally. Nice piece.
Of course, now Chris appears optimistic, relegation is almost certain ;)
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JB007007 added 14:38 - Apr 24
Good article Chris.
Agree with Adhoc about Cisse and his tracking back. Buz can be a bit hot and cold so I would go Traore on the left. Mata could give us a tough afternoon and with both Taiwo and Armand looking after him it may be a better option. At least we've got the choices now.
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QPRBrian added 17:20 - Apr 24
Have Taiwo and traore started in the same team yet...? I would go for that v Chelsea but think buzz will be picked. Agree with ellerslier in that v Stoke despite our strategy, human nature may take over in our NEED to win and therefore our patient plan is undermined.
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