 Friday, 26th Apr 2013 19:32 by Clive Whittingham QPR travel to Reading on Sunday with both sides certain to be relegated and desperate for the season to end. It’s quite a turd for Sky to polish as their Super Sunday offering. Reading (20th) v QPR (19th)Premier League >>> Sunday April 28, 2013 >>> Kick Off 1.30pm >>> Madejski Stadium, Reading >>> Live on Sky Sports 1 Death, when it finally comes, isn't always a dramatic and sudden affair. Sure you could be hit by a passing bus or suffer what the tabloid press might term a "massive heart attack" but you're far more likely to sort of drift off downhill over a number of years. It's the bit where you're laid up in bed sloshing around in the consequences of your own incontinence that never makes the final cut at the movies and it's that state that QPR currently find themselves in. Rangers have been finished as a Premier League team for quite some time, but are forced by the fixture list to play out a series of pointless matches interspersed with the club's usual collection of calamities and PR disasters that enable the great and the good of the sport to gather around the bedside and tut about what a terrible mess it all is. Last weekend's 2-0 defeat against Stoke was a strong contender for the worst game of top flight football played since the Premier League was launched in 1992 and QPR's insipid display contributed fully to the hellish spectacle. It's been a niggly week since then, with Jay Bothroyd's tattoo of four lethal weapons on his torso drawing flappy hands and liberal sentiments from the lefties and Julio Cesar's decision to go to a fancy dress party in a full Chelsea kit to mimic David Luiz rivalling it for lack of forethought. Harry Redknapp, looking and sounding for all the world like a man who wishes this was all over so he can either leave or start working on a recovery plan for the next season, laughed off both incidents at his weekly press conference today and even joked he was considering a tattoo of his own. He must pine for the early days of his managerial career when he spoke to the local newspaper's sports reporter twice a week and the pressure to make a long lasting story out of absolutely everything didn't exist. Most QPR fans also seem happy to ignore Cesar's transgression – if you can even call it that –and laugh at what they see as a storm in a tea cup. If QPR were sitting midtable and Cesar had replicated the outstanding form of January and February across the entire season then it wouldn't have been an issue – but they're not, and he hasn't, and that means it kind of is. I'd suggest it's doubtful that Cesar would have stepped out, even to a private party at a friend's house, in an AC Milan kit during his Inter Milan days. To do the equivalent at QPR further highlights the problem the club has found bringing in big name players from world class clubs – little old Rangers are so small time compared to what these players are used to they're almost irrelevant to them as anything other than a cash cow. Having played, and played well, in two matches with Chelsea this season Cesar would surely have noticed the rivalry, but it never occurred to him as a problem. Essentially he's right: on its own it's a tiny, insignificant issue, but placed in the context of the season it's indicative of the players' attitude towards the club and their performances, and arguably the club’s lack of ability to fully integrate the players into the club and its ethos. And if you ask most QPR supporters to list their reasons for the disaster that 2012/13 has turned into that attitude and commitment of the playing staff would probably figure on many lists along with a very poor transfer policy last summer and the management of Mark Hughes. No team is ever unluckily relegated, or demoted for a single reason; relegations, like promotions, are a perfect storm of factors that come together, often over a prolonged period of time. While Hughes and his playing staff certainly have to shoulder the majority of the blame the failure is also the product of a top-down approach by the owners of the club since Flavio Briatore arrived through the doors at Loftus Road in 2007. Since that money arrived QPR have signed 63 new players on permanent contracts and a whole load more on loan. Every time a problem has arisen another player has been brought in as an attempt to solve it, rather than addressing the source of the problem itself. It's been a classic papering over cracks exercise because QPR have basically been layering expensive players onto the top end while doing absolutely nothing about the infrastructure lower down. It's been the ultimate castle built on sand: Cesar brought in from Inter Milan, Esteban Granero from Real Madrid, Ji-Sung Park from Manchester United, Stephane Mbia from Marseille and so on have all arrived at a club that rents a very poor, outdated training ground at the end of the runway at Heathrow from a local college. A club that wants to go off on Asian tours every summer and hold press conferences to talk about becoming a global brand has a youth team that hasn't produced a player worthy of a regular place in the first team for a decade and spends its weekends playing the might of Barnet and Colchester on park pitches. Which is why, amidst the slow lingering death of the club's top flight status and the continued half-arsed approach of the playing staff, the new Warren Farm training complex stands like a beacon of genuine hope for a better future. The approval of the plans by a vote of nine to three at Ealing Council's planning meeting this week is a massive moment, a rare highlight in a dreadful season, and Rangers must now move heaven and earth to make sure that complex is a world class facility. The £25m budget suggests they're intending to make a proper job of it and they only need to pop round the M25 to see Spurs' new facility (which I believe they have already done) for an example of the best in class. A new training ground and better youth academy certainly won't cure problems overnight. Swansea, promoted at the same time as Rangers, arguably have an even worse training set up than Harlington – sharing the facilities of a local leisure centre with the vest wearing posers who are members of the gym and the yummy mummies taking their sprogs for a swim – and they've done just fine. But some proper infrastructure and a solid base on which to build the much-talked about ambition of the club is desperately needed at QPR. A spade going in the ground over in Ealing would not only re-affirm the board's long term commitment to the club despite the relegation, but it would also represent the first time any of QPR's big-time big-money investors have actually committed a single penny to the club's infrastructure and long term plan for the team. Throwing money at three dozen different players and eventually striking lucky with a managerial appointment and subsequent promotion is no kind of four year plan. Warren Farm is a plan, and it's a much needed uplifting moment to see it progressing. Sadly, in the meantime, it's visiting time at the hospice again and this weekend's Battle of the Damned at Reading promises to be every bit as ball aching as last week's nonsense encounter with Stoke. Rarely can a group of football fans have wanted a season to end quite as much as this and unfortunately it looks from their performance last week like the players – who weren't that good in the first place – feel the same way.. Links >>> Opposition Focus >>> History >>> Referee >>> Podcast >>> Travel Guide >>> Betting This SundayTeam News: QPR will be without two of their most creative talents with Adel Taarabt (shoulder) doubtful and Andros Townsend (hamstring) definitely out. Both were injured in the defeat by Stoke last weekend and Townsend has returned to Spurs for treatment as per the conditions of his loan deal – Harry Redknapp hopes to have him back and available for Arsenal next week. Bobby Zamora serves the final game of his three match suspension for the straight red card he received in the draw with Wigan. Reading have winger Jimmy Kebe on the long term absentee list and goalkeeper Adam Federici is also sidelined along with Hope Akpan. Hal Robson Kanu is back in training and may feature. Elsewhere: Probably the biggest game of the weekend is on Monday night with Aston Villa hosting Sunderland in a game that will go a long way towards deciding which of them – if any – will be relegated this season. Villa could be back in the bottom three by the time they kick off there with Wigan three points behind and boasting a better goal difference. The Latics face Spurs on Saturday who have concerns of their own at the other end of the table. Andre Villa Boas' men are two points behind third placed Arsenal with a game in hand and one point away from Chelsea in fourth as the race for the final two Champions League places heats up. Arsenal host champions Man Utd on Sunday while Chelsea are at home to their League Cup conquerors Swansea. All of which makes Sky's decision to show a dead rubber between Man City and West Ham on Saturday lunch time followed by Reading and QPR on Sunday rather odd. Everton v Fulham and Southampton v West Brom also carry little interest for anybody outside those four clubs but Stoke certainly need another win to make sure of their safety and their run in suggests this weekend's home game with Norwich is their best chance for that. Newcastle are still in trouble themselves and they host Liverpool in the ESPN game on Saturday evening. Referee: Leicestershire's Kevin Friend is the man in the middle for Sunday's clash at the Madejski Stadium. He last took Rangers for their 3-2 defeat at Aston Villa and once upon a time his presence guaranteed a long, hard afternoon for the away team but he has progressed considerably in recent years. His appointments this season – including the League Cup final and last weekend's Liverpool v Chelsea game – suggest the authorities think a lot of him and he's starting to push his way into the top end of the elite list along with the likes of Howard Webb and Andre Marriner. For his full QPR case file please click here. FormReading: The Royals have developed a knack of finishing seasons strongly in recent times, with spectacular late runs of form carrying them to the play off final in 2010/11 and then automatic promotion in 2011/12. That looked set to be the case again at the higher level when they strung a run of six wins and a draw together in seven matches through January (including two FA Cup successes). Striker Adam Le Fondre scored eight goals in eight appearances in that time as well – many after coming on as a late substitute. But the form for both le Fondre and the team has drained away since then. They've lost nine and drawn one of the last ten. A run of five straight defeats including a damaging home loss against Villa saw Brian McDermott sacked but his replacement Nigel Adkins has only managed three defeats and a draw so far and is averaging two goals against per game so far. Reading have lost six times at home this season, one less than eleventh placed Fulham, but have conceded 31 times on their own patch which is second only to Wigan's 32 and doesn't include the seven they shipped here against Arsenal in the League Cup. It's away from home where they've really suffered – one win, two draws and 14 defeats so far on their travels. QPR: Either team will be relegated with a defeat and both will go down anyway if either Wigan win or Aston Villa draw this weekend. The defeat to Stoke last weekend meant Harry Redknapp has won just four of 21 games in charge which gives him a lower win percentage than his predecessor Mark Hughes – a stick for his detractors to beat him with. Rangers haven't scored in their last two games, and have fired blanks in nine of Redknapp's 21 games in charge so far which goes some way to explaining why the R's are going down despite conceding less (56) than the other four teams in the bottom five. Away from home they've won two and drawn four of 17. Prior to the recent run of three straight defeats on the road the R's had won three and drawn one of five on their travels in all competitions. The R's have had a man sent off on three of their last five visits to this ground – Hogan Ephraim in 2010/11, Damion Stewart the season before, and Jamie Cureton in 2004/05. Prediction: Winner of the Prediction League last season Nathan McAllister says… “Over the season I’ve tried to preface many of my predictions with what I hoped would be the odd eye-raising or illuminating statistic. But the only statistic that seems to be of any real relevance here is that this match is between the two teams marooned at the bottom of the Premier League table with seven points fewer (having played one game more) than any of their nearest relegation rivals – and this with just four games left to play. It’s the footballing equivalent of watching two blindfolded, condemned men who, knowing that any hope of receiving a last minute pardon has all but vanished, clumsily scrapping away with each other simply to avoid being the first to receive a bullet to the head. In any sporting contest, it’s hard to imagine a ‘prize’ less inspiring than finishing second to last, but that is essentially what is at stake in this fixture. “So which of these sides will have the bigger will to win? Or perhaps more appropriately, which of these sides will be the least apathetic? Based on Rangers’ last two abject performances the answer would appear to be any team lucky enough to count QPR as their next opponents. We know all too well about the recent meek surrenders against Everton and Stoke, and it seemed pretty clear from the players’ reaction that they had all but given up and resigned themselves to their fate the moment Shaun Maloney’s ninety fifth minute free kick hit the top right hand corner of Julio Cesar’s net. For their part, Reading come into this fixture on the back of a loss at Carrow Road where they almost managed to snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat. This came immediately after a clean sheet in their previous home game against Liverpool thanks to the goalkeeping heroics of Alex McCarthy. OK, I admit it, I’m now trying to put a positive spin on mediocrity, but that, and the fact that Reading have a new, very positive and very highly-rated manager who is yet to claim his first win (and is therefore due one) would suggest to me that Reading are the more likely of the two sides to stumble their way to a victory here.” Prediction: Reading 1 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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