QPR fans celebrate a goal at Cardiff, 2011. Photo credit: Jon Candy
At four-nil down the rain stopped pouring down on the away fans inside Stamford Bridge on Sunday. But it was small comfort for Queens Park Rangers’ traveling band of 2,900 supporters who knew they were witnessing their team’s hopes of Premier League survival being washed out to sea by Chelsea, that bitterest of west London rivals. I should know. I was there. While there were a few half-glass full optimists mumbling about the possibility of relegation rivals Bolton losing at home to Tottenham or, more fancifully, QPR beating Stoke and then getting something from the final day trip to title-chasing Manchester City, most knew the game was pretty much up. While it is mathematically possible for QPR to beat the dreaded drop, the manner of the defeat to Chelsea – gutless, spineless and embarrassing – penciled in the writing on the wall.
Since Sunday’s supine surrender, my attention has turned to just why my beloved QPR have fared so badly this season. That is because I can no longer quite bare to study our relegation rivals fixtures and attempt to forecast where they’ll drop points. Avidly watching other results hasn’t exactly been a blast of late – Wigan’s win at Arsenal and Bolton’s come-from-behind win over Aston Villa were almost as bad as watching Rangers lose. For the record, I’ve not entirely given up all hope. Yes, it is possible that Tottenham will beat Bolton on Wednesday to keep us out of the drop zone. But I’m assuming we’re down as, well, more than anything, an exercise in self-preservation. I figure that if I get my hopes up for Wednesday, they’ll only be dashed by a(nother) thumping Kevin Davies header. So, back to why we are where we are and why we (probably) should be:
Form versus rivals. At time of writing, QPR are level on points with Bolton who have a game in hand. It would be oh-so different had QPR not capitulated 4-0 at home to Wanderers on the opening day of the season and lost 2-1 at the Reebok (admittedly in desperately unfortunate circumstances). QPR’s form against their fellow cellar dwellers is one of the chief reasons they are where they are. It all well and good beating the likes of Arsenal, Spurs, Liverpool and Chelsea at home but losing to Blackburn, Wolves, Bolton (TWICE), and Wigan is a recipe for disaster. QPR’s performance and results in relegation six-pointers has been nothing short of pathetic. The first half performance at Ewood Park was arguably worse than against Chelsea on Sunday. And that’s saying something.
QPR somehow managed to lose at home to Wolves, who have only won away twice all season.
Travel sickness. QPR’s away form has been nothing short of diabolical. The table-topping 13 away losses (even Wolves have only lost nine) has included hugely humiliating defeats to west London rivals Fulham and Chelsea and cave-ins at relegation rivals Blackburn, Bolton, and Wigan. QPR’s three away wins are a distant memory – they all came before Christmas. Recent reverses at nothing-left-to-play-for-other-than-pride Sunderland and West Brom have been particularly hard for fans to stomach. Manager Mark Hughes must be commended for his astute tactical set-ups at home against Arsenal, Swansea, and Spurs but his cagey 4-5-1 has simply not worked away from Loftus Road where the superhoops have handed the initiate to the opposition on a plate.
Manchester City have won every home game this season bar one (which they drew against Sunderland). That doesn’t bode particularly well for QPR’s trip to the Etihad on the final day.
Mo’ money, mo’ problems. Unlike fellow promoted sides Swansea and Norwich, QPR have spent big to stay in the league. In both transfer windows, QPR were one of the clubs flashing the cash on transfer fees and offering high wage deals. In August, Neil Warnock brought in experienced Premiership players including Anton Ferdinand, Luke Young, Joey Barton and Shaun Wright-Phillips. In January, Mark Hughes added highly-rated (and paid) players Bobby Zamora, Djibril Cisse, Nedum Onuoha, and Samba Diakite. With the notable exceptions of Diakite and, only latterly, Barton, none have performed consistently to the level that was expected of them. The policy of spending big on proven older talent has simply not delivered results. Conversely, Swansea and Norwich’s decision to sign hungry young players from the lower leagues and put faith in many of the players who got them promoted has paid dividends – both teams are staying up despite finishing behind QPR in last season’s Championship.
The fact that either Jamie Mackie or Clinton Hill (both technically limited players who have shown tremendous commitment) is likely to win the Player of the Year award is a pretty damning indictment on the big-money signings.
Red mist. QPR’s ill discipline has badly hamstrung the team’s effort to retain their Premiership status. A whopping eight red cards have been dished out to QPR players and almost all have done real and lasting damage. In six of the eight games, QPR went on to lose. With two straight reds, Cisse has been the worst offender. Many QPR fans wonder – this one included – how many more points the R’s would have picked up had Cisse not been banned for seven (yes, seven) games since arriving in January. He was certainly desperately missed at the Hawthorns where a little extra firepower could have rescued a priceless point.
At least two of QPR’s red cards have been very harsh. For instance, Adel Taarabt was red-carded for kicking the ball away against Tottenham. Hardly a head-butt.
Talent. Without question, QPR do have some talented top-flight players. Few would argue that, talent-wise, Taye Taiwo, Adel Taarabt, Bobby Zamora and Djibril Cisse deserve to be playing top-flight football. But all season long, the problem has been that QPR have also fielded some players who really aren’t up to the pace and power of the Prem, players who wouldn’t particularly stand out in a decent League One outfit. I hate to name names but Shaun Derry, Akos Buzsaky and Paddy Kenny have been cruelly exposed on numerous occasions this season. It’s not their fault they’re not up to it, mind.