Championship Season Preview

With the new season upon us and squads gradually taking shape ahead of the transfer deadline at the end of the month, C offers a view on the final Championship table...

Champions: Middlesbrough

I don't know, eh! All these other Championship clubs crying foul at QPR's spending ought to sit up and take notice of Middlesbrough's financial clout - over £5m splashed out on Stewart Downing, £2.5m on a striker from Espanyol, the vast majority of last year's playoff finalists still in the squad and even an EIGHT figure bid for Jordan Rhodes!! I genuinely thought Boro were going to win the playoff final this year and definitely think that Aitor Karanka will ensure they don't "do a Derby". Many of the bookies' favourites, and easy to see why.

Runners Up: Hull City

Another club flexing their financial muscles, this time using parachute payments following their relegation. Moses Odubajo is an excellent signing and I can't help but think that they got a better deal in going for him than Norwich managed for Robbie Brady. Andre Gray is also linked and it does look likely that Hull's business for the Summer isn't finished just yet. Defence is just a bit too suspect for me to have them down as champions - losing James Chester was a big blow. They'll be back up in the Premier League come May I am sure.

Playoffs: Derby County

I still don't see these guys as the finished article. Paul Clement is an appointment I am definitely jealous of, but it feels like the same calibre of players as last year and the year before that have finished up as bridesmaids (or capitulated in the case of last season). They are what Cardiff were for many years - stuck in a rut. Maybe the playoff lottery will deliver for them this year. At least they feel like a cert for the playoffs this time around. Predict that they will lose fewer than five home games at the iPro, but it's the Tuesday night away game problem again that will trip them up. Carlo Ancelotti won't be able to advise you on those, Paul.

Playoffs: Wolves

This is a solid outfit that is hard to beat. They will miss Bakary Sako but Dicko and Afobe will be banging the goals in and there were no further losses to the squad which took the Championship firmly in its stride after winning the League One title the year before. They look capable of taking the next step but are not good enough for automatic promotion.

Playoffs: Burnley

Burnley have lost some but recruited adequate replacements in Matt Lowton and Jelle Vossen. Crucially, they have kept Sean Dyche on to manage them and he found an excellent formula to Championship success which made a little go a very long way last time around. I predict the same again, albeit with some better teams to compete with this time. 

Playoffs: QPR

I can't help but think there is a great deal of unknown about QPR this year under Chris Ramsey, with some solid Championship signings made and it not being clear yet if there will be any high profile departures before the transfer window is out. Let's hope this time we've not decided on one formation to use for the season, bought players to play that formation and then abandon it after two matches of the season. That's what happened to the 3-5-2 wing back formation Hoddle and Redknapp recruited for last Summer!!!

Tjaronne Chery is highly rated in his home land as a free kick specialist and creative midfielder but how will he cope on a Tuesday night away to Blackburn?

Jamie Mackie and James Perch have brought much needed professionalism and determination to the QPR squad and I am certain our defence against Charlton is still not the fully assembled defensive lineup for the new season.

I do think QPR can make the playoffs - just because I think there are as many as 18 squads worse than ours in the division!

Relegation: Rotherham United

This isn't only because I hate Steve Evans, by the way! I toyed with the same three going down that came up but I am convinced that MK Dons will be hard enough to beat to stay in the league. Evans has signed a couple of Sheffield Wednesday cast offs and Emmanuel Ledesma, who in spite of a number of spells at Championship clubs and his obvious talent, hasn't managed to deliver the goods on a sustained basis in his career thus far.

I sure am glad they stayed up last year though - The New York Stadium is required!

Relegation: Bristol City

These guys stormed to the League One title last year however there were a number of players let go and the Championship really does require strength in numbers. As it stands going in to the opening day they have just eighteen senior players on their books, including highly rated Ryan Fredericks, signed in the week from Tottenham. That size of squad will not cope with the Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday-Tuesday demands of the Championship, as Blackpool found last year. I have real concern for Cotterill's paper-thin side.

Relegation: Preston North End

Simon Grayson has a solid League One outfit that appears to have accidentally pitched up in the Championship after buying a winning lottery ticket in the playoffs. Jermaine Beckford will score goals but the supply line to him doesn't look of the standard of the new division they are in. Will Keane has made a career out of having Manchester United on his CV so far, and failed to impress in spells at QPR and Sheffield Wednesday. I hope I am proved wrong as Preston and Bristol City do feel like Championship clubs, but I can see them both returning to League One after one season in the sun.

Predicted table:

1	Boro
2	Hull
3	Derby
4	Wolves
5	Burnley
6	QPR
7	Ipswich
8	Brentford
9	Blackburn
10	Foolham
11	Forest
12	Birmingham
13	Cardiff
14	Leeds
15	Sheff Wed
16	Bolton
17	Charlton
18	Brighton
19	Reading
20	Huddesfield
21	MK Dons
22	Rotherham
23	Bristol City
24	Preston

So there you have it! Straight to the Bookies now I presume!

A blank canvas

With the terminal illness of QPR's relegation now over, C is quick to assess the size of the task ahead for Tony Fernandes and Co. this Summer...

QPR = QUICK PREMIER RELEGATION. Well we should have known last Summer when we robbed Derby County of their Premier League place and the budget we had was spent in the wrong areas and on too few players. Kidding ourselves that Loic Remy would stay a Hoop didn't help either (though I reckon he privately wishes he did now - look forward to seeing him follow in Demba Ba's footsteps and heading for Turkey - Chelsea FC: ruining careers and world football with dirty Russian rubles since 2003). As it happens, I much prefer the Championship; give me cold away Tuesday nights at Rotherham over £60 tickets to Arsenal away and half and half scarves for Chelsea and "Q P Rangers" any day!!!

This is all a bit raw having had to put up with watching game after game of defeat, including today's mauling at City, which, by the way, was pathetic. But I've taken the "Child playing Football Manager for the first time" approach to my planning for life in the Championship.

For Sale (regrettedly)

Two names on everybody's lips in this category are Charlie Austin and Matty Phillips, and I think it's fair to say that their ambitions plus the need to rebuild a near entire team will lead to the inevitable sale of both of them given the prices they would fetch in today's market. 

Charlie Austin - Liverpool, £14m plus Rickie Lambert

The biggest loss this Summer will be the man without whose goals QPR would be even worse off than the last time they were a Premier League side. Seventeen goals in this team in a struggling season show just how good a marksman this guy is and there is no way that will have gone unnoticed by the rest of the league. He has proved at every level he has played at that he has that goalscoring knack, and the good news is that because he is English we should get a sizeable fee for him. My suggestion is that a team on the fringes of European football will be his destination and despite dealings with Tottenham having been frequent following invasion of their mafia at the top of the club in recent seasons, I can see Liverpool being a more favourable destination for him. 

Liverpool do, of course, have a potential small sweetener for the deal in Rickie Lambert, who is getting on a bit but a bit younger and more nimble than Bobby Zamora, and a decent penalty taker too. I think Rangers should bring him in to the deal to ensure that one of the starting eleven berths in the Championship is filled. Will he drop down a level though? Depends if Uncle Tony can sweet talk him over a game of FIFA.

Matty Phillips - West Brom, £4m

Matty Phillips will feel that up until Chris Ramsey's appointment he was being overlooked and unloved by the fans. He showed glimpses of what he could do but rarely could string together a coherent performance. Since the turn of the year he's been a revelation, the top assist provider in the Premier League. I think he will use the remaining two fixtures to put himself in the shop window and the club will not and should not stand in his way when an opportunity arises this Summer. 

Robert Green - Chelsea, £1m

He has saved many points for QPR and his kicking continues to be his main weakness, but I think Rob is at the stage in his career where he'd fancy a squad role at a top club, much like the Mark Schwarzer job at Chelsea, who have indicated they would be interested in a new number three (possibly even number two if Petr Cech continues to get restless behind Courtois). Meanwhile QPR will promote Alex McCarthy to being the main man between the sticks in his absence. I do rate 'Greeno' as a shot-stopper but I do think it's time for a younger man to take on the mantle.

In addition to these three, we know that Mauricio Isla and Eduardo Vargas will be heading back to their parent clubs and I see very little persuading them to return. I don't think it would be appropriate anyway. 

Niko Kranjcar will also bid farewell to QPR at the end of the season and now that Harry's gone I can't see him signing again. I suspect you'd get good odds on him following Harry Redknapp to the Cherries (once he joins Bournemouth as Director of Football, that is).

For Sale at whatever price (I'll drive them to their next club)

Junior Hoilett - Hannover 96, £1m

This guy has been such a let down since signing from Blackburn, where he was all the rage, had "pace to burn" and "wanted by top European clubs". The amount of times I've screamed at him to beat his man or to clear the first man with a cross is unparalleled with any other winger since I've been attending QPR games. He is genuinely toilet. Only someone outside this country wouldn't know that, hence why I suggest we tout him to the Bundesliga where I understand he is rated because of two successful loan spells out there a few years back. I'll happily do the negotiations for the club so that we scrape a seven figure sum for him.

Steven Caulker - Watford, £3m

In my mind, all three of QPR's big money signings last Summer were huge disappointments. With Mutch already moved on (and rightly so) I think that Fer and Caulker will also head out of the revolving door at Loftus Road. An £8m signing that looked exactly like what we should have been going for last Summer has not delivered to expectation in the slightest. So many of the 70 odd goals QPR have conceded this season have been partly or fully preventable, and more often than not reports would state "Caulker should have". An error-strewn year coupled with his own career aspirations appear to spell the end of the big man's QPR career.

Seeing as Matthew Connolly was only on loan at Watford for the season and every time he has been part of a promotion-winning defence he has been sold immediately back to the Championship, I think that Caulker will continue to appeal to the market, as a young England potential centre back that will come good trading off of a good season at Swansea and a couple of appearances at Spurs. In reality his spells at Cardiff and QPR in particular have revealed his many shortcomings. As such Watford appears an ideal destination for the centre half.

Leroy Fer - Feyenoord, £2m

Marketed last Summer to QPR fans as the marquee signing, the "box to box midfielder" that would wear the number ten shirt reserved for special players at QPR down the years, the Dutchman has been a major let down. Whilst he undoubtedly has an excellent shot on him, he has had a lazy season and just not tried hard enough nor looked interested enough whilst donning the hoops.

Having had a dabble in English football and flattered to deceive, I think Leroy will look to go back to the division in which he made his name, possibly even the club he was playing for back there.

Armand Traore - Caen, £350k

I'm unsure how Traore has stayed at QPR so long, especially after Crystal Palace's offer was reportedly accepted last Summer. I will never forget when Warnock had to give Traore a lecture on throw-ins at the Emirates after his repeated foul throws throughout his QPR career up to that point. He clearly has no defensive ability whatsoever and is best off in a left midfield role, which is where I hoped QPR would start playing him after it was revealed he would be staying. He has a good crossing ability that was largely untapped at QPR (apart from at the Etihad that famous day in 2012). But he is injury prone, not pacey enough and inconsistent. And absolutely NOT a defender in a million years.

He may actually be out of contract and I don't know it, but put it this away, it's time to say Au Revoir to Armand. I see a ferry trip to Caen who will take him upon glancing at his CV and seeing Arsenal on it.

Sandro - Gremio, £1.5m

Sandro has shown QPR fans in fits and spurts just why he was so highly regarded at Spurs, and in equal measure why they were keen to move him on; for the amount of the Medical Team's time he took up! If he could stay fit he'd definitely be on the keep list.

Unbelievably it looks like we spent £6m plus on this guy and didn't check when his work permit was due to expire. A sign that there are a bunch of clowns behind the scenes at Loftus Road as well as on the pitch.

I predict he won't want to stay and will take the relegation as an opportunity to return to his home land.

Adel Taarabt - Inter Milan, £3m

A player that has often been hailed the messiah at QPR has eaten one too many take aways for my liking and clearly doesn't have the right mindset to be a professional footballer. We will always remember the amazing moments of brilliance in the Championship and the excellent goals against Arsenal and Tottenham in the survival season, but it's clear he doesn't really want to be here and we shouldn't keep giving ourselves false hope that he is the answer. 

Suggest he will leave English football for a more laid-back low tempo game in Italy, settling for a bit part role at somewhere like Inter Milan.

Nedum Onuoha - Leicester City, £2m

Perhaps of the list above this was the hardest to rule on. The Chief has shown potential over his career at QPR and can be solid when in form. But this season he's had far too many off days and his performance versus Liverpool last weekend typified this. It's time to wave goodbye to him, but I think he'll remain a Premier League player.

Out of contract and not renewing

Rio Ferdinand - Match of the Day, Television pundit

Maybe it's because Anton didn't do anything for us but I sense that many QPR fans were underwhelmed when Rio pitched up at the club last Summer for a final pay day. It felt a bit like Shaggy bringing out another song to pay the bills, and much like Kranjcar it felt like Harry signing one of his old mates again.

Whilst enjoying god like status at Manchester United the man has benefited from a solid midfield in front of him throughout his career there and for England, so to be given a new setup where the line in front of him comprised Joey Barton and Karl Henry was always going to test whether Rio really had much in the way of defensive abilities beyond aerial prowess. He was dropped early on in the season following a series of jittery performances which confirmed the fans' suspicions. 

Clint Hill - Tranmere Rovers, Assistant Manager

What a fantastic servant this man has been and I almost want to keep him around the club to try and rekindle the spirit of the 2010/11 promotion winning team. As it happens, I can see Clint returning to Scouseland and starting his badges at a club dear to his heart, Tranmere Rovers. Thanks for the memories, Clint.

Shaun Wright-Phillips - New York City, Free Transfer

I can recall one good performance from Shaun - his debut versus Newcastle under Warnock in 2011! He scored the winner at Chelsea in 2013 which of course deserves a mention but even in that game his contribution was limited. Other than that he appears to have been playing under hyponosis for four seasons where he loses all footballing ability and effort. In exchange, we've continued to give him 70,000 magic beans per week which has kept him happy at the club. Finally the four years of this parasite are up this Summer. Sod off, Shaun.

I predict he'll follow his brother Brad to America and given his cult status among Manchester Citeh fans I think he's guaranteed a job and nice long contract over at their American flavour outfit.

Joey Barton - Leeds United, Free Transfer

I think QPR needs an identity transplant, and as much as some of his performances and efforts have been admirable this season, this man is not what we want to be the symbol of Rangers going forward, and this chapter in QPR's history should be closed once and for all. I've heard rumours of Leeds having a bit of cash this Summer - sounds like a match made in heaven to me!

To keep

Well, this will be brief...

Alex McCarthy

Seems like the logical number one jersey holder for next season. He's a decent Championship goalkeeper and I'd say with Rob Green unlikely to be around next season that he is ready made to step in. We've not seen much of him yet at QPR but at Reading he showed he is a capable young man that should now get the chance to establish himself as QPR's Custodian for the next few seasons.

Yun Suk-Young

He's had a wretched four months having come back from injury completely out of form, but the performances earlier in this campaign have persuaded me we can still get the best out of the young Korean. He's clearly got potential and deserves a season of starting again.

Richard Dunne

Probably not as a first choice, but I just feel that it is important to have the Irishman around the club as he can offer a lot to the rest of the squad as a vastly experienced professional. His presence in the team was sorely missed when he was our injured and the team does need strong characters who have been there and done it before, but who are ultimate professionals. I cannot see a motive for him to move on himself at this stage in his career - especially as QPR took a chance on him when nobody else was prepared to do so after a injury-ravaged career at Villa. 

Karl Henry

After a poor first season in the Championship for QPR, the Midfield Enforcer has actually had a relatively good season this time around when put into perspective. He does lack the ability to have a starring role and definitely is not a Premier League player, however I think he's got the right mindset and some Championship know-how that leads me to conclude he is worth hanging on to next season in that division. Not an essential, but I can think of more reasons to keep him than not, plus there are few suitors that would pay the fee I would take for him (£400k plus).

Alejandro Faurlin

Having kept faith in this man following a series of serious injuries, QPR will I'm sure keep hold of the Argentinean who was so consistent in the 2010/11 promotion winning season. A good pre-season and a few prayers for the man and I'm convinced he can roll back the years and feature prominently in the Championship.

Summer wish list

Assuming a budget of £17m for Summer transfers can be raised by these sales, here are four of my suggestions for inbounds to join Rickie L:

Matthew Lowton, Aston Villa, £1m

A player capable of the odd wondergoal and senior enough now to be a first choice Championship right back rather than settle for a squad rotation role at Villa, who I'm sure will look to move on from their Paul Lambert ethos of buying in youth from the Football League and look to experience to stop their annual flirtation with relegation. 

Tom Ince, Hull City, £3m

Rumoured to be a Rangers target last Summer, this man hasn't quite lived up to his billing in the Premier League but has consistently proved he is well equipped to deliver in the Championship. He should be available at a reasonable price and I'm convinced he is an able replacement for Phillips.

Bakary Sako, Wolves, Free

Out of contract this Summer, Sako has consistently appeared on the scoring charts wherever he has played and QPR were certainly making enquiries in January. J only knows too well the capabilities of the Wolves striker. I think he's a different kind of forward to that which QPR have had in recent years and would be a welcome addition. Whether he could be persuaded to come here over anywhere else is a different matter.

Demarai Gray, Birmingham, Free*

The very talented winger has been credited with many of the plaudits for turning Birmingham's season around under Gary Rowett and he has scored some excellent goals during that time.

It is my understanding that he is available this Summer but as he is a youth player compensation would be due to Blues. 

This would almost certainly go to tribunal - but for an exciting 18 year old winger? Well worth the hassle!

The Manager

Many QPR fans will tell you that they think we have played better football under Chris Ramsey. Well yes we've scored some more goals and not looked quite as toothless on the road, but when you look at all the other clubs that were in the relegation mire that changed their manager mid season, Ramsey has delivered the poorest results. No team has been worse than QPR in the Premier League in 2015, which speaks volumes. The Home performances in particular, a major feature in the pre Christmas revival of QPR, have completely dried up. The amount of chances created in the winnable games like West Ham have just not been comparable to that period, and the worrying lack of energy in the last ten minutes has paralysed us throughout the season and remained unrectified under Ramsey.

So who is the right man for the job? 

Paul Clement

Real Madrid's highly regarded coach was linked with the QPR job in January but I think there was no real truth in it. However the man is the son of a QPR legend and would certainly be the fans' choice. His brother Neil enjoyed his many visits to Loftus Road in his career with fans breaking out in to rousing applause. He is credited for being Ancelotti's tactical right hand man and I'm sure would fancy a job in the English game in a managerial hotseat somewhere. Given the success in English football that managers who in previous lives have been assistants at top Spanish clubs, can you blame me for wanting to see a bit of Iberian flair on the pitch at Loftus Road? 

A Tale of Two Derbies

This weekend C&J were in attendance at 2 derbies on Sunday. C was in attendance at Loftus Road for QPR v Chelsea, while J was at Old Trafford for the Manchester Derby between Manchester United and Manchester City...

J -

It's official. Manchester is Red again. Sunday was arguably Man Utd's best performance of the season. Here are J's thoughts on the game:

First point to make is that there is no Moyes-bashing here but it's funny to think that just a few months ago the papers were questioning whether LVG was not progressing the team and was just the same as David Moyes. A quick Google search showed me that on 17 January the Daily Mail asked this very question and concluded that progress had been minimal, particularly for the £150m outlay of the Glazers. What a difference 3 months makes...there is now a clear difference and hopefully the pointless comparisons will stop now. After 32 games last year, United were on 54 points and in 7th position. This year they are now 11 points better off after the same number of games and 4 places higher in the table. From a fan's perspective, there has not really been any comparison this year. The confidence has been restored and even when the team weren't performing particularly well, they still appeared like they could grind out results which they couldn't do last year. Now the performances have clicked the style of football is vastly different and the attacking verve that fans have come to expect of United is back. Importantly, the club have improved in front of the home crowd as well. Last year at home, United picked up a grand total of 30(!!) points at home over the course of the whole season. They had the 9th best home record in the Premier League. After 32 games this year they have 43 points and hold the best record in the league at home. The aura around Old Trafford and the belief in the team is returning, as is the enjoyment watching attacking and winning football.

Moving on to the game...it was striking how polar opposite this year's Old Trafford derby was to last year's. Last year United were meek and rolled over easily. They dominated possession in both games (they had 53% possession last year, compared to 59% this year) which just shows that having possession amounts to nothing if you aren't clinical and prolific with your possession. United's style has been criticised for being too direct this year but since the Tottenham game at Old Trafford it has been direct football with a purpose and has been fast paced with a real gameplan in mind, as opposed to sterile possession. United had 7 shots on target this game and scored with 4 goals. Simply put, they were clinical with their finishing and were dominant throughout the game. It looked like it could have been more more after Smalling got the 4th goal and Citeh just didn't turn up after they got their early goal.

The resurgence of Marouane Fellaini continues. I will hold my hands up and admit I thought he was way out of his depth at United after last season but he has well and truly won me and the majority of United fans over judging by his standing ovation on Sunday. He was absolutely dominant all game and ran Yaya Toure ragged. Fellaini won 9 aerial challenges on Sunday and this was again in stark contrast to his performance in this game last year where he won just 3 aerial challenges. He only had 49 touches in the game last year and was largely absent, exerting no influence at all. This year he had 61 touches including the 2nd goal for United, and he won the ball back in the move which led to Mata's goal. Defensively he had an influence as well and made 2 clearances and 2 interceptions, which again compares to last year where he had 1 interception and 0 clearances. Fellaini has shown character and ability this year in abundance and is due a lot of credit for his turnaround, as is LVG who has played him in his perfect role. It begs the question why Moyes didn't when he knew the player inside out?

Michael Carrick has been called under-rated so many times, it has to come to a point when this is no longer the case but his influence was clearly evident on Sunday. He exerted a calm presence over the midfield and marshalled Jones and Smalling in the centre of defence as well. It's no coincidence that the periods of bad performances came primarily when Carrick was absent. He has been excellent this year and his one year contract extension was an excellent decision by the United hierarchy.

C- 

It was a case of the age old hard luck story for QPR under Chris Ramsey. They fought admirably and tactically were set up perfectly for the match with the village idiots from SW6, but yet again a moment of madness cost the Superhoops so so dear. This was the most gut wrenching of all the recent frustrations, not just because it came at the hands of that lot, but because it genuinely showed we could compete with the best in the Premier League once again and make them very very uncomfortable.

Chris Ramsey was quick to leap to the defence of Rob Green after the match and insisted that the blame would not lie with him, but with the defence for their slow reactions to the situation. Whilst I agree that QPR did not use the thirty-odd seconds they had to scurry back and ensure they each had a Chelsea man very well at all, I can't absolve 'Greeno' of all blame. His kicking has always looked dodgy to me and I think he knows it is his weakness, hence his decision to throw out to his nearest defender so often. He panicked here for no apparent reason and that was inexcusable. Of course, painful as it is to say, the Chavs showed the kind of performance that was worth its weight in dirty Russian Roubles (by the way, how on earth can Jose Mourinho have the audacity to declare the fascist institution as being "Financial Fair Play compliant" and then accuse Manchester City of being the bad guys? I think if it's going to be applied, it should be applied retrospectively right back to the first time Red Rom said "I buy it!"). 

I still can't believe how ordinary we made Chelsea look, how we clearly rattled them and how they only managed one shot on target and 70% pass completion. "Still beat you though" - I can hear those smug b@stards now...

Oh, special mention for the "Captain, Leader, Fascist" John Terry, the treatment of whom by the home fans disgusted many Chelsea fans, I note. How anyone can defend the actions of that man and his family is beyond me - and don't even talk to me about the people that wrote "John Terry" and "class" in the same sentence, as some deluded Village Idiots did. They will argue 'til they're blue in the face that we are hypocrites for saying the same about Joey Barton - I don't see any QPR fan writing "Joey Barton" and "class*" in the same sentence - "class" implies role model status. Neither of the pantomime villains are anything like "class". The missile throwing was unacceptable but will the FA punish the Chelsea players for incitement? Of course not, the top teams are untouchable when it comes to that sort of thing...

*Joey Barton did, in fact, put in a Man of the Match performance - a tenacious, determined performance where he really hassled the Chelsea midfield, not allowing them any time on the ball, as well as providing a driving force as QPR sought an unlikely goal. Still not class, though. Just to clear that up.

Matty Phillips deserves a mention for his progress under Chris Ramsey. Listed for loan in the January Transfer Window and almost joining Derby County, Phillips has been a revelation since the change of management. His confidence has grown week by week and he looks more and more like the player I hoped we had signed when we spent £5m on him from Blackpool two Summers ago (wonder what the Oystons did with that money?). Second top assist maker in Europe behind Messi since the turn of the year?! You bet!

A two week break now (as we're a game ahead of the rest of the pack) this will be a horrible Saturday afternoon spent in front of Jeff Stelling and Co. praying teams around us slip up. It's crap when it's not in your hands! We must win our remaining home games and get a point somewhere on the road in our last three aways to at least have a chance. 

Whatever happens, I really don't think we'd have got this far and shown this much fight and determination under Harry Houdini. Chef Ramsey has done an excellent job since taking over. Unfortunately he can't seem to bring confidence to the fragile defence, the damage to them seems irreparable and this may yet prove to be the trigger for relegation. But he's at least instilled confidence and a new way of playing that means we're having a right good go!

Weekend Review: Anything the League Cup can do...

Well the FA Cup has had to up it's game this year just to compete with the unexpected marvel that has been the Capital One Cup this year. It was hard to imagine anything being able to top Bradford City's phenomenal run to Wembley this year from the fourth tier of English football but the FA Cup did spring a few surprises on fourth round weekend ...


Norwich 0-1 Luton: we've always heard about the famous giant killings of the FA Cup like Sutton v Coventry, and Hereford against Newcastle and this Luton Town victory certainly ranks up at the top with these results. There are 85 places and four divisions between these 2 sides. Just to reiterate Luton are a non-league team, and they've just beaten a Premier League side who at the moment are the 13th best side in the country. This is an amazing result and I feel a little bit sorry for Luton as their story would be given so much more limelight had Bradford not got to the League Cup final in the same week. Here are some of the stats about this result: this was the first victory for a non-league side against a team in the top division since Sutton in 1989, it was the first time in 27 years a non-league side have beaten a top flight team away from home, and it was the first time a non-league side have beaten a team in the top tier since 1949. What an achievement. This match would probably fit the definition of a smash and grab victory, which you would expect in these circumstances. Luton only had 32% possession throughout the game and had just two shots on target, but they outgunned Norwich on that stat that matters: goals. They also put in 18 more tackles over the 90 minutes than their counterparts (11 to 29). Luton were hungrier, pure and simple. The goal emphasised that as Scott Rendell bust a gut to nip in front of Norwich's defence to turn the ball home. It is a great story for a team that have had little to celebrate in recent years (similar to Bradford really). In 2005 Luton were a Championship side, but three consecutive relegations from 2006-2009 has seen them in the Conference ever since. The side took an incredible 4000 fans to Carrow Road and it would take a cold hearted man not to feel pleased for this club, they deserve their moment in the sun and long may their journey continue!

Brentford 2-2 Chelsea: one of the bigger shocks this weekend occurred at Griffin Park. Amid amazing scenes little known striker Fernando Torres actually scored! Seriously though this was another genuinely shocking result in reality when a £50m striker has to rescue the European champions from losing to a side in the third division in England. The pitch at Brentwood was definitely a leveller and with the fervent crowd packed into this historic ground this game was clearly not one that some of Chelsea's highly paid stars relished. It was clear again that it simply meant more to Brentford than to Chelsea. This was billed as the Bees against the Honeypot, and Brentford played extremely well. It is easy to see why Uwe Rosler is a highly rated manager as he seemed to get his tactics spot on in this game. He pinpointed Chelsea's lack of pace in defence with the likes of Terry and Ivanovic and geared his side up to counter attack, particularly using the pace of Harry Forrester who was always a thorn in Chelsea's side. Rosler has been linked with Championship jobs such as the vacancy at Barnsley and its not hard to see why. His star will only continue to rise if he can show such tactical nouse again in the replay at Stamford Bridge.

Millwall 2-1 Aston Villa: what a terrible week to be an Aston Villa fan. Two defeats inside of a week to lower league opposition. Their side sit just one place above the relegation zone and have now exited both domestic cup competitions within a week. This loss will arguably sting less than the Bradford one but its still a big blow and can do nothing but damage to their already brittle confidence. Worryingly for Villa this was not a game they bossed and were unlucky to lose either. They had slightly more possession than Millwall over the 90 with 51% possession but they had just 4 shots during the entire game compared to the Lions' 12. They conceded yet again from a corner to a Danny Shittu header and eventually succumbed to an 89th minute winner from John Marquis. You have to wonder what is next for Villa and its hard to see them bouncing back quickly from this week. They have a young side and really could have done with a confidence boosting win against the Londoners. Instead Paul Lambert is now left with the unenviable task of trying to pick his players up off the floor and instilling in them the grit to succeed in their relegation dogfight this season. Villa fans are beginning to call for Lambert's sacking but the question is: is there anyone that could do a better job with that group of players? We're not sure but it seems unlikely. It looks like being a pivotal week in Villa's season though either way we will find out what their character is like.

Other results: as we're sure you can appreciate it was hard to put in a mention for every shock result this week. Plaudits have to go to Oldham for their brilliant 3-2 victory over Liverpool as forward Matt Smith starred in a bullying performance that put Coates in the centre of Liverpool's defence to shame. Leeds for their 2-1 victory over Spurs and also to MK Dons for their sensational 4-2 victory away at QPR (which will be mentioned below in a bit more detail). Macclesfield Town's dream run was finally ended by Wigan in a hard-fought 0-1 victory at the Moss Rose, while Brighton  ran Arsenal extremely close in an excellent cup tie that ended in a 2-3 victory to the Gunners.

We know we've harped on about it a lot but it really does seem like this year, underdogs have been spurred on by what we'd like to call the 'Bradford Effect'. Bradford have shown other lower league clubs it is possible to beat Premier League teams combined with the performance of promoted teams like Swansea and Norwich as they've stepped straight up to the Premier League has shown teams that the gap is closing. We say long may it continue!

Round up of our teams

J was at Old Trafford to see Man Utd canter to an easy 4-1 victory over a timid Fulham side in the FA Cup Fourth Round. United never looked back after a third minute Ryan Giggs penalty. There was enough time to show Sam Allardyce that contrary to his beliefs, he's not always right, and United don't always get penalties at Old Trafford for anything as Damien Duff clearly handled the ball again in the box not long after the first penalty was (rightly) awarded against Aaron Hughes for another clear handball. United controlled the game from start to finish and Fulham rarely threatened as Phil Jones in particular impressed in a dominating game at centre back as he won every header he seemed to compete in. Wayne Rooney's goal just after the break killed off the game and showcased him at his powerful best, while Chicharito's double further emphasised the depth of United's striking options. All in all this was a powerful performance from the Red Devils, and one of their better performances this season, arguably.

As mentioned above C's QPR suffered a humiliating 2-4 humbling at the hands of League One side MK Dons. Dons had just 6 shots to Rangers' 20 and had less possession of the football and still managed to show up their troubled opponents. This game showed Rangers' dearth of viable options in the side as high paid stars like Anton Ferdinand were shown up time and again. This game looks like being Ferdinand's last for Rangers before an apparent loan move to Bursaspor in Turkey and I'm sure C and many other R's fans will not be sad to see him go. Judging by 'Arry's scathing criticism of his players after the game, he might not be the only player to see the exit at Loftus Road this week. 'Arry has a lot to do before Deadline Day, you feel.

Crewe lost disappointingly to Bournemouth at  the Goldsands Stadium. A Brett Pitman hat-trick saw off the Alex in a 3-1 loss. The result wasn't a huge surprise considering Bournemouth have only lost 1 game in the 18 they've played since Eddie Howe took the reigns over again, and that loss was against Wigan in the FA Cup Third Round replay. Crewe however, haven't won in 3 and could do with reversing their slump sooner rather than later.

Once you've caught your breath enjoy the round of League games this week and we'll be back soon!

C&J

Weekend Review: Does football in 2012 have to end?

After an amazing year in football, we're back with another weekend review of the last games in this calendar year, as the Premier League continues to take shape...

Aston Villa 0-3 Wigan - Wigan put a further dent into Aston Villa's season to make their aggregate score over their last 3 games 0-15. Villa's win at Anfield seems like an age ago now and they have really been pulled into the relegation battle which they seemed to be relatively clear of a short time ago. The worrying thing for Aston Villa is that Wigan are hardly the most prolific team (they have scored 22 goals in their 20 league games so far this season) but managed to score 3 goals against their leaky defence. Emmerson Boyce's new nickname should surely be 'Moses' after the way the Aston Villa defence parted to allow him to score a memorable goal. We've said this before but if Wigan stay up this year a large part of that will be down to Arouna Kone, who looks so good in that team. Not to be unfair to Christian Benteke who has shown signs of real promise this season, but a comparison between the 2 strikers illustrates just how effective Kone is. Benteke had 48 touches in the game and Kone had 49 so they had similar opportunities to put a stamp on the game. With these 49 touches Kone had a pass accuracy of 94% whilst Benteke was accurate with 55% of his passes. They both had 3 shots, and Kone managed to score with one and also assisted a goal for his team. Wigan and Villa are equal on points so obviously there is a long way to go, but this game highlights how much of a contrast there is between these two teams at the moment. Villa seem to be sliding downwards, and you find it hard to see how the January transfer window will help them with Randy Lerner's purse strings growing ever tighter, while Wigan will believe that they can produce enough displays to leave at least 3 teams trailing in their wake come May.

Arsenal 7-3 Newcastle - Theo Walcott should be a striker blah blah blah. That angle on this game has been done to death, yes Theo scored a hat trick, he was clinical and looked great, but there's enough about that everywhere else. Instead it's interesting how Newcastle are aiming to knock Aston Villa off their leaky defence perch, by letting in 11 goals in their last 2 games. Last year Newcastle's defence starred and they conceded 51 goals in their run to 5th place, after 20 games they've already conceded 37 goals and you definitely have to think the Newcastle board are regretting giving Alan Pardew an 8 year contract now! The signing of Mathieu Debuchy from Lille though does seem like an astute signing, and I would be very surprised if they didn't bring in a centre back as well. Newcastle are now just 3 points off the relegation zone, and while it's hard to see the likes of QPR, Reading or Southampton overtaking them by the end of the season it is a worrying time for the Toon Army. Demba Ba is apparently in talks with Chelsea and seems set to leave the club, Newcastle have scored 26 goals in the league - Ba has exactly half of these goals. If they do sell him Papiss Cisse has a very big burden on his shoulders.

Roundup of our teams

C's QPR slumped to a dismal 0-3 home defeat to Liverpool, with all goals scored in the first 27 minutes. A crushing defeat given the fact that their 3 closest rivals before the start of the gameweek all picked up at least a point, with Wigan and Reading winning their games. C's match review will be up in the near future to review his thoughts on the game.

League leaders Man Utd cruised to a relatively straight-forward 2-0 victory against West Brom at Old Trafford to finish the year with a 7 point lead at the top. Shinji Kagawa returned to action and played 66 minutes and looked right back to his early season excellent form. United dominated possession but did allow West Brom to put in a far too high 14 shots on goal. This was only their 4th clean sheet of the season but they had 17 shots on goal and finish the year with 50 goals in 20 games. If they are to keep their lead at the top of the league it will have to be down to the attack and with Robin Van Persie in this form it looks exciting. United have 11 goals more than any other team in the league and the exciting games they've produced this year look set to continue!

Crewe won 2-1 at Oldham to bounce back after defeat from Tranmere on Boxing Day. Mark Ellis bounced back from his mistake which granted Oldham an 82nd minute equaliser to score the winner just 2 minutes later. Mathias Pogba's 11th of the season had earlier put the Alex ahead. 2012 was a fantastic year for Crewe with their 20 game unbeaten run, Wembley play off victory, and they now sit in 13th place in League One just 3 points off the play off places. The big job for Steve Davis will surely be to keep hold of Luke Murphy who is being strongly linked with a move to Stoke in the January transfer window.

Union Berlin's last game before the winter break was on December 17th in a 4-3 away loss to Braunschweig and they don't play again until 1 February. At the end of the year Union sit in an excellent 7th place in Bundesliga II in what has been a great start to the season. Here's hoping the break revitalises the team and propels them to an even better second half of the season!

What we learned this week

• Maybe the purse strings really are extremely tight at Arsenal if they can't even afford to give their manager a coat that works.
• Cameron Jerome can score an absolute 'worldy' when he wants to.
• Frank Lampard won't be short of offers should he leave Chelsea.
• Samir Nasri is becoming a bit of a liability.
• Mick McCarthy is still loved in Wolverhampton, Stale Solbakken is not.
• When do 2 yellows not equal a red? When your name is Mick Russell.
• Championship clubs are hedging bets on new managers weaving their magic in January - Nottingham Forest, Blackburn and Barnsley all clearly felt that was their best plan of action.
• It'll be interesting to see if Edgar Davids really can save Barnet on his own.

On that note, happy new year everyone and enjoy 2013! Let's hope it brings as much excitement as 2012 if not more!

C&J

Weekend Preview: 'Arry's at 'ome at Loftus Road

Since we last wrote one of these, there's been a lot of water go under the bridge in various towns and cities in the UK but plenty in the footballing world too, arguably the most to have flowed through Loftus Road.

'Arry is back in football, the rumours were true. You can't help but think Gary Lineker might have known something was going on when he asked Redknapp on Match of the Day a couple of weeks ago whether he fancied the QPR job. Sparky finally lost his job just prior to the away fixture at Old Trafford (he should really have gone immediately after the dismal display against Southampton, but we can only assume the delay was in agreeing a provisional deal for the 65-year old former West Ham, Portsmouth, Southampton and Spurs manager). Yet again Hughes' words came back to haunt him it seems - he claimed his future would not rest on the result against Southampton, just like he claimed QPR would never be in a position so close to the Premier League trap door again during his tenure at the club. He was so so wrong on both counts.

My personal take on the appointment of Harry is that he is the only man that was available that was right for the job. Much has been made of his ability to galvanise struggling teams and galvanising is precisely what Rangers need right now. Hughes might not have 'lost the dressing room' but he hardly strikes me as a motivator and a motivating, no-nonsense approach is what some of those lazy over paid lard-arses need right now. He showed straight away against Sunderland that he is quite happy to drop some of the Hughes favourites like Ferdinand and Granero and play players in different positions (e.g. Mbia in central midfield). Whilst some will say that Hughes wasn't given enough time to find his best eleven, my counter-argument is that he didn't experiment enough: he had his favourites and seemed so intent on playing only one up front and his many midfielders in positions they were not familiar with. A clean sheet is a good start, but there is undoubtedly a lot of work to do. Several of my colleagues and friends have told me that they *think* Harry is a good appointment but will reserve judgment for now because QPR's defence and attack are so woeful currently. Others have said that Harry will want to spend big in January, Fernandes will back him but we are on the road to bankruptcy. I'm not sure about that: I think people take Fernandes for a mug - he's not got to where he is as a businessman now only to go and blow it all on a football team. And then there are those that  are telling me 'for every Portsmouth and Spurs relegation escape there's the job he did at Southampton'. We'll have to see, but I'm cautiously optimistic. I have to admit that with the next three fixtures against Aston Villa (H), Wigan (A) and Fulham (H) and then Newcastle away (who haven't been at their best of late), December is crucial. Harry will have to get the most out of the team he has inherited, which have thus far massively under-performed. So you'll have to come back and ask me whether it's a good appointment on New Year's Eve.

West Brom v Stoke

Some people say that bogey teams don't exist in football any more. Just ask West Brom fans about bogey sides and they will all tell you that theirs is their Staffordshire rival the Potters. Stoke have won all of their Premier League away encounters at The Hawthorns and have not lost there in nine years. West Brom won at the Britannia last season to record their first win against Stoke in any competition for 11 games. And the omens aren't looking good for the Baggies for this one - they were outplayed by a classy Swansea side the other day whilst Stoke finished their match against Newcastle strongly and scored two excellent goals (well by their standards anyway!). Having said that, West Brom have looked a different proposition at home this year to what they were last year and I think they have enough in their side to bounce back with three points here.

Prediction: West Brom 2-1 Stoke

West Ham v Chelsea

The rozzers will be on high alert in East London this weekend for the traditionally hoolie-heavy fixture of West Ham v Chelsea. Rafa goes into this one looking for a first win as Chelsea boss and can expect an uncomfortable 90 minutes of taunts from the home fans as well as boos from his own but although I can see them going 1 down, I think he will answer some critics (in the media at least) by bringing Torres off the bench and him grabbing a goal. Chelsea have an excellent record against the Hammers and expect this to continue with a point here and a strong finish.

Prediction: West Ham 1-1 Chelsea

Man City v Everton

Another intriguing game in the top flight this weekend is at the Emptihad, where Man City welcome Everton, who have lacked their early season consistency of late. I still fancy them to give Citeh a good game here and can see them registering in the scoring, but ultimately I'm predicting a late winner for the Mancunians. Aguerrrrrrrrrrrrrrro!(?)

Prediction: Man City 2-1 Everton

MK Dons v Wimbledon

This weekend is FA Cup 2nd round weekend, which has thrown up the very interesting tie of MK Dons v Wimbledon. I just fear it has been a bit of a media circus for the away side, who I can't help but think will be overawed by the occasion and suffer a heavy defeat to the experienced seasoned pros of Franchise FC. Judging by their morals, I don't expect many of their die hard fans will be there to see it though, probably just as well!

Prediction: MK Dons 4-0 Wimbledon

Other cup ties this weekend include such all non-league classics as Luton (yes, non-league Luton!) v Dorchester, Harrogate Town v Hastings United and Barrow v Macclesfield whilst poor Bournemouth fans are lumbered with a second trek to Carlisle in one season (once is bad enough for them). Sheffield United v Port Vale should be a decent game with both sides doing well in their respective leagues.

There's a full programme in the Championship this weekend which commenced with Birmingham's 3-2 win over Middlesbrough at St Andrews last night on St Andrews Day. The two stand out games have to be the lunch time kick off between Huddersfield v Leeds and SE25 clash between Crystal Palace and Brighton.

The fire at the John Smith's Stadium has already been stoked by comments from the Leeds hierarchy criticising Simon Grayson's reign at the club, not that any local derby involving Leeds and Neil Warnock needs a fire stoking beforehand. This one's got to be a decent bet for a red card this weekend!

Meanwhile, those lucky enough to be at Selhurst Park this afternoon should see a very different footballing spectacle between two in-form sides. It's an odd rivalry that the two sides share (as Ian Holloway has also highlighted this week) but I liken it a little to that between QPR and Luton; just about close enough geographically and some classic and controversial battles down the years have left scarred relationships between the two sets of fans.

There is a further derby day this weekend and it involves Derby too, who head to the King Power Stadium for the forgotten East Midlands derby against Leicester. The Foxes showed they have ability among their ranks with their win over out of sorts Sheffield Wednesday which J and I both attended last weekend, but they were beaten by a second minute Luciano Becchio penalty at Elland Road midweek. They are very strong at home though (won seven, drawn one, lost one) and should return to winning ways this weekend  against a consistently inconsistent Derby side that have won two, lost two and drawn one of their last five games.

Preview of our teams

Manchester United are in Royal Berkshire this weekend as they take on Reading who looked to have turned the corner with their win over Everton but threw away the initiative at Wigan and let in a late goal at Villa Park on Tuesday night. I can't see United having any problem in replicating the Tottenham performance at the Madejski and believe that Reading will be vulnerable to the pace down the wings and technical ability of United's forwards. Sean Morrison and Kaspars Gorkss have done OK against the larger, less skillful attackers in the league this year but been found out by anyone with a bit of technique and pace.

As briefly mentioned above, QPR, the only winless and most hopeless side in the top four divisions, seek to finally record a first league win of the campaign at home to Aston Villa this weekend, who haven't had the best of seasons so far but have produced more encouraging signs of late and ground out a couple of results as they continue treading water. I think as long as QPR deal with Agbonlahor through use of anyone other than Bosingwa, and put players who know about marking from set pieces on and around Christian Benteke, then we really ought to be looking to this fixture to kick our season into gear. Easier said than done with the Hoops though...

Crewe are in 2nd round FA Cup action this weekend as they play host to Burton Albion of League Two. The Alex will be hoping to continue their good form of late which has had much to do with the form of loanee Lauri Dalla Valle. A money spinning tie could then arise from the third round draw on Sunday.

1.FC Union Berlin recorded a fine 2-1 win away at MSV Duisburg and will be hoping that a good run of form on the road eventually translates into some more consistent home form starting with the match at home to Bochum tomorrow. This is followed with next Friday's headline clash at home to unbeaten Kaiserslautern, so three points to carry into that would do most nicely!

So plenty of football to feast on this weekend. Enjoy! C&J

Still in the job!

Match Review: QPR 1-3 Southampton

Astonishingly, I'm sat here writing this match review and Mark Hughes is still Queens Park Rangers manager and still getting public backing from the 'ambitious' Hoops board!

I absolutely hate watching Match of the Day at the moment. Particularly the end credits. I've switched it off by that point. You see, when Gary says "before we go there's time to take a quick look at the league table", I'd rather not, so I grab the remote. This week I stopped listening when Lineker introduced the "bottom of the table clash" - I couldn't bare to watch that again. For what happened at Loftus Road on Saturday afternoon was embarrassing at the top level of English football. At this rate, Derby County's record low points total is under serious threat!

The afternoon began badly with news that yet again we were going with one up front, and Zamora's name wasn't even among the subs list - it now transpires he'll be out for three months, no big loss to be honest... Hughes really shot himself in the foot letting Helguson go and taking on just Andy Johnson as intended cover for the lazy duo of Zamora and Cisse - a crazy decision and one that has left us very very thin on the ground indeed up front.

And on the pitch itself the afternoon just got worse and worse. The game which was a must-win and will-win certainly didn't look like the walk in the park it was built up to be. Southampton looked far better, far more coherent and far more determined in the opening exchanges which is absolutely criminal for such a crucial clash for which we had a sell out home crowd. QPR were seeing hardly any of the ball and chasing the game right from the first minute. In the 8th minute, Saints began to show what their attack is capable of - an inviting ball was whipped in by QPR reject Jason Puncheon and missed everyone, including all of the static R's back line and Julio Cesar who reacted late. It hit the post and bounced away with Adam Lallana unmarked and inches away from diverting it goalbound. Another week without any defending coached at training then? Ferdinand and Bosingwa just looked at each other.

Southampton even had time to hit the woodwork again before eventually getting the goal their positive approach and QPR's dire defending merited. Poor marking allowed the Saints to do as they pleased in the QPR penalty area and, after a corner was only partially cleared, the ball was chipped back in, played to the side and then a cross put in with Cesar out of position for Rickie Lambert, unmarked and the most prominent aerial threat in the Reds' lineup, to head home from less than one yard out. Unmarked and one yard from goal? Utterly ridiculous. But such are QPR currently. At this point the support of the fans was well and truly waning - probably because we've seen this comedy defending every week since drawing with Chelsea this campaign and still nothing has been done about it. Southampton had scored 40% of their goals all season from headers this season - surely someone in Hughes' coaching staff will have picked that up and researched Rickie Lambert's game?!

The rest of the half was shocking from the home side. The passing was disjointed and positional play atrocious. Cesar insisted on booting the ball route one but Cisse couldn't be bothered to try to challenge for it or run after it. Ferdinand won hardly any headers and allowed Rickie Lambert to be the focal point of Southampton's play, which is what their gameplan relies upon. Granero looked lost out on the wing and clearly didn't want to be there, meaning it was thrust upon Bosingwa to be the creative source down the right hand side - a man without a single creative bone in his body and crossing ability worse than most goalkeepers. Bosingwa resorted to wayward hoofs, one even sliced so badly that it went out for a throw in, but didn't look in the slightest bit bothered by how awful his play is - he's earning a silly amount of money and has already won plenty of trophies, so why bother eh? Sod off back to Chelsea, will you?

Hughes at least recognised the last woeful tactical decision on that list his at half time and took off Alejandro Faurlin, who has been brought back into the lineup of late because he is a fans favourite and was beginning to show signs of discontent at being left out of a struggling side (as I've said before, central midfield is our strongest area).

But the change was too late as the inevitable 2nd was netted before half time. Rangers and not long ago Southampton reject Puncheon was being allowed the freedom of the ground he used to play so poorly on and after a neat bit of skill to shrug off a half-hearted QPR challenge from Clyne, he picked up the ball, ran a couple of yards to a point where he had a clear sight of goal and nobody tracking him, and slammed the ball home from 25 yards beyond the late dive of Cesar. At half time, the crowd booed the side off, called for Hughes' head and elected to sympathise with Ryan Nelsen, the one shining light in our defence this season, who must be wondering what he's done wrong in life to deserve to play in this team.

Faurlin's replacement at half time was Jamie Mackie, a member of the old guard and still much loved by QPR fans for his positive mental attitude and the fact that he runs at defenders with or without the ball. His presence on the field lifted the crowd and lifted the players who turned up the heat for five minutes and earned a goal back for their efforts - a fine ball in from Taarabt, who had been far too quiet up to this point, caught out the Saints defence and forced Paolo Gazzaniga into no mans land. There, he met Junior Hoilett, who outjumped his tame effort at commanding his area and headed into the empty net. Where did this tempo come from? The goal told us what we all knew - Southampton's attack might be Premier League standard, but they rely very heavily on it to carry them through games because their defence is shambolic. Game on and the impetus with the home side, or so we thought...

No.

Incredibly, QPR couldn't cause any further trouble to what is supposedly the league's leakiest defence and worst side on paper, and it was the away side who looked the more likely after the goal. Rickie Lambert was continuing to play knock-downs and run the show from the top for the Saints because the QPR defence allowed him to. He caused havoc every time a ball was played into his path and forced a series of corners and sustained period of pressure, which eventually told when Morgan Schneiderlin was allowed to run from the right hand side in towards goal in a straight time and produce a killer ball into the area where Cesar was standing. For some reason he just loves the near post position, but unfortunately so do defenders and this time the near post guard role was duplicated by the keeper and defender. A comedy of errors then followed, where the lack of communication between the two lead to Scooby Doo putting through his own net to sum up his abject display. Ferdinand just hasn't looked like the player he did in his early QPR days and looks lazier by the week. I'll be glad when Stephane Mbia returns at Old Trafford next week, but his short fuse doesn't exactly fill me with confidence either!

This was a totally unacceptable, gutless, spineless display to round of a series of failings from the team, who are just as much to blame as their manager, don't get me wrong. But Hughes just had to go after this one, yet he hasn't! The lack of testing the opposition's keeper was what angered me most in this latest installment. The full time whistle was met by a chorus of boos and all players bar Mackie and Nelsen were snubbed by the fans at the end. QPR are now six points from safety and only twelve games have passed. Disgusting, especially given the outlay this Summer on players we didn't even need on the face of it, certainly not in our starting lineup!

But I guess all this negativity needs some perspective doesn't it? It was only ten years ago this weekend just gone that the R's suffered the ultimate humiliation, the lowest point in their history - Vauxhall Motors. I still get flashbacks to that today and with defending like we have done in recent times I wouldn't mind betting they would do us again now! Oh, and seeing as we're talking anniversaries, this weekend just gone also marked a year since our last win away from home in the league. Now that's perspective, as we have a true means of comparison in terms of resources. But not a comparable playing squad: we didn't have many big names or foreign 'next big things' in our lineup that day, we had a team of seasoned football league camapaigners who are renowned triers, many of whom had earned their right in the promotion winning season or through hard graft in long careers to play in the Premier League. And, Joey Barton and SWP aside, most were on modest wages. I can only imagine what we could have done with a Helguson or Smith in our side on Saturday, even an in-form DJ Campbell who has rediscovered his love for football again having been left in the wilderness by the club he supports and wants to play for! Neil, we were wrong, please come back and save us from Sparky and his overpaid bunch of layabouts!!

Man of the match: Ryan Nelsen - he plays on his own, you know. Feel massively sorry for him, as he's clearly a top pro and deserves to play in a team with top pro's, but has to make do with this bunch of big time Charlie's.

Weekend Preview: The consistently inconsistent world of AVB

This week was a mixed bag for English clubs in Europe yet again. The weekend, however, could see some sorting out of managerial issues and ambitions for the season...

We're up and running for the weekend already as Friday night, which together with Monday night are the nights every football fan prays that a fixture won't get switched to - apart from Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday fans it seems (28,229 packed into the Riverside for last night's game - I expect ticket prices were reduced, Boro's form of late and the fact that there can't be much else going on in Middlesbrough on a Friday night had much to do with it). Still, the red army will have gone home happy with what they saw after the home side shot down the Owls, beating them 3-1. Once again, Emmanuel Ledesma, who promised so much in his early days as a QPR player that T-Shirts were on sale after a hat-trick against Carlisle in the League Cup, was the star of the show for Boro, involved in most things good about their play. Ledesma is undoubtedly a very talented player but I am still surprised that he is plying his trade in this country when it is obvious to me that his style better suits something like La Liga or a South American league. Still, good luck to the guy, I always like to see talented players fulfilling their potential.

Plenty more lies ahead of us this weekend, of course:

Southampton v Swansea - The annual sack race in the Premier League looks set to culminate soon with what seems to be a sprint finish between Nigel Adkins and Mark Hughes. This weekend could determine who wins that race with QPR travelling to almost struggling Stoke, while bottom-placed Southampton take on Swansea at St Mary's. These two teams have only met twice in the last 29 years and Southampton haven't won either of these meetings (which took place in the Championship in 2008/09), with one draw and one Swans win. Swansea haven't won in their last 2 games but considering their last outing was a draw against Chelsea it must have felt like a win to them. Between them in the league so far this year there have been an average of 3.55 goals in games involving this teams so it's a very decent bet there will be more goals here! Saints have conceded a staggering 28 goals in 10 matches which is a joint Premier League record along with Barnsley in the 1997/98 season. Swansea have actually failed to score in 5 of their last 7 away league games, but it is extremely hard to imagine that run will continue. Saints haven't won in 5 and Swansea have only won 1 game in their last 8. However, since their victory against Wigan, Swansea have narrowly lost to the Man City at the Emptihad and drawn to the team who sat at the top of the table going into the weekend of that game so they seem to have turned a corner. It is incredibly hard to see anything but a Swansea win here, and it could spell disaster for Nigel Adkins. It would be harsh - especially considering the team have had 2 successive promotions to get here, and also it seems like there is a lack of talent to replace him. The only name that leaps at you is Harry Redknapp, yet he is the exact man who relegated Saints last time they were in the Premier League and you can't imagine he'd be very welcome at St Mary's! This could be an interesting one...

Prediction: Southampton 1-3 Swansea

Man City v Tottenham - For the first 2 games of the season we were told that Andre Villas Boas was a flop who had got his players backs up and wouldn't succeed at White Hart Lane. Then for a spell of about 4 or 5 games he was the next coming of the Messiah and could do no wrong. Now he's back to being a disaster after losing 2 out of his last 3 league games! Which is right?! Maybe we'll find out this weekend - a win at the Emptihad for AVB and Tottenham would arguably banish a lot of his critics surely! Tottenham have won their last 3 away games and after last weekend's grumblings at White Hart Lane you have to feel it may be beneficial for them to be away from home after all. This isn't an easy place to come though with City having won 27 of their last 29 league games at home. Tottenham's problems have arguably centred around their leaky defence - which has conceded 14 in 10 games - over a goal a game. City will have been stung (yet again) by a pretty dismal performance in Europe and they seem to have a knack of grinding out results at the moment - as shown by the fact they're the only unbeaten team in the league without really impressing at all, so they could easily compound Tottenham's problems. A lot could depend on Gareth Bale and whether he is given freedom to play in his preferred position on the left or is moved around by AVB, which seems to have happened too often this season. Tottenham haven't won away at both Manchester clubs in the top flight since 1959-60 and it's hard to see that run coming to an end as well.

Prediction: Man City 2-2 Tottenham

Chelsea v Liverpool - A clash that would have been billed as a 'Top four Grand Slam Super Sunday' special on Sky a couple of years ago, this fixture has produced some decent controversy over the last few years, mainly in the Champions League though rather than domestically. Fast forward to 2012 and it's kind of difficult to get excited about this game in the fixture calendar. Chelsea managed a lucky midweek win over Shakhtar after their opponents were guilty of over-committing on an attack at the end of the game, then some QPR-esque marking from said corner. Liverpool put out a bunch of reserves (even Carragher played) in Russia with Sunday's fixture in mind so I don't think they'll particularly suffer from any effects of their midweek exertions, but even a slightly tired Chelsea side are good enough to sweep the Scousers aside at the moment. Yes, they turn up for the big games, but I can't look beyond Torres piling misery on his former side here.

Prediction: Chelsea 3-0 Liverpool

In the Championship there are some tasty local derbies around, Barnsley v Huddersfield looks like a League One tie on paper but having said that the two have looked far from League One teams, the latter particularly flying high currently. Blackpool v Bolton looks like it could be a classic, I'd go with a score draw! The standout fixture has to be Leicester City v Nottingham Forest though. The away side have been wildly inconsistent this season so far, producing some outstanding football at times but then having taken two steps forward they take one back with performances like that which saw them lose 4-1 at home to Millwall. They don't have a great record at the Walkers Stadium (their last win there was in 2005) but they have only lost once on the road so far this season and Leicester's form has dipped slightly of late with unexpected defeats to Crystal Palace and Watford. Still, I fancy Leicester to beat them here, probably not as comprehensively as they did in the FA Cup earlier in the year, but still fairly comfortably. Nugent on the scoresheet.

Prediction: Leicester 2-0 Nottingham Forest

Our sides are all in action this weekend and, for the first time in god knows how long, all playing today (albeit with staggered kick-off times). 

1.FC Union Berlin are underway against VfR Aalen hoping to continue where they left off with that fine away win in Dresden. That confidence should translate into an excellent atmosphere at the Alten Foersterei this afternoon and hopefully they will extend a decent record which they have against today's opponents, who they last played at Division Three level!

C is unbelievably missing the mouthwatering prospect of Stoke v QPR at the Britannia this weekend (part timer!). QPR have a fairly decent record away at the Potters' ground but with Stoke not having lost in their last eleven home games and Peter Crouch up against an incompetent back line that aren't practising marking from set pieces, we don't hold out much hope for the travelling R's faithful today. Having said that, there is the continued saving grace that Rory Delap is out injured and the home side are, together with Sunderland, the League's draw specialists. I know QPR need more than one point from games at the moment, but a point at a hard place to go would certainly be looked upon favourably.

Crewe Alexandra are home to league table neighbours Colchester this weekend and will be hoping that the goals against Wycombe in the FA Cup and in the outstanding away win at Doncaster midweek has breathed life back into the seasons of their strikers. Mathias Pogba has been in amongst the goals again whilst loan signing Lauri Dalla Valle introduced himself to the Alex fans with the opener in the victory at the Keepmoat. Colchester haven't yet recovered from their TOWIE derby defeat to Chelmsford City in the FA Cup but on their day are more than capable of competing at this level. 

Tea-time sees Manchester United travel to the West Midlands to take on Paul Lambert's Aston Villa. United should have beaten Arsenal by more last week but a convincing ending to the match at Braga should mean their tails are up for this one. Villa won at Sunderland last weekend by virtue of the fact they were able to finish a chance on the day whilst Sunderland haven't looked like scoring in a month of Sundays. I'm not really convinced by Lambert's Villa revolution yet and I can see United winning comfortably here.

Enjoy the weekend's football and we'll be back with C's review of QPR v Reading and a weekend review later this weekend.

C&J

Weekend Review: Wilshere sees red, Latics delight at The Lane

Another weekend and plenty to discuss in the weekend review. This was a weekend that saw supposedly struggling teams pick up points and 2 of the big 3 dropped points.

This weekend saw 2 sides struggling yet again who have somehow managed to avoid the glaring stare of the media. Both Sunderland and Stoke sit in 15th and 16th place having lost to teams who seem destined to be embroiled in a relegation battle this year. Both their woes seem to centre on the fact they can't score. Sunderland are the league's lowest scorers with just 6 goals in 9 games, and incredibly their top (and only) goal scorer in the League in October was Demba Ba (yes - Newcastle's Demba Ba!). Steven Fletcher remains their only goal scorer from their team, and their woes were compounded in Saturday's 1-0 loss to Aston Villa. During the game Sunderland actually had 12 shots on goal and yet they somehow managed to get 0 on target! Last year's bright sparks for the Black Cats like Sessegnon and Larsson just haven't fired this season at all, and Adam Johnson seems to be showing why Mancini never took to him at Man City as he is too predictable constantly cutting in onto his left foot from the right side. Meanwhile, Stoke succumbed to Norwich in another 1-0 loss. Stoke's troubles have also come in front of goal as they've only scored 8 in 10 games in the league. Only 3 of their players have scored so far this season (Crouch 4, Walters 1, Kightly 2) and it seems like Tony Pulis' signings in the summer to make Stoke more of a footballing side have actually had an adverse effect on their attacking threat. Charlie Adam is yet to get an assist this season (which he has surely been bought for primarily with his free kick and corner kick taking prowess).Stoke had 9 shots in the game with 4 on target yet failed to find the back of the net and they haven't won in 4 now. Both sides need to start picking up points soon or we imagine that their managers could find themselves under pressure sooner rather than later.

The headline fixture of the weekend didn't disappoint as Manchester United overcame Arsenal by two goals to one. United were visibly (and understandably) disappointed to concede a goal late on to Santi Cazorla, which in spite of being merely a consolation and the last kick of the game, will have had SAF tearing his hair out. He, like all managers, will have identified Santi as the Arsenal danger man to be marked at all times, and quite frankly he was given far too much space to produce the crisp finish that he did. However, overall United can be very pleased with their afternoon's work. They could (and probably should) have had 5 or 6 with RVP, in particular, missing a few gilt-edged chances. However, the difference between these 2 sides this season was particularly evident in a comparison between United's Van Persie and his replacement at Arsenal, Olivier Giroud. Van Persie had 41 touches in the game whilst Giroud had 37 so they had similar opportunities on the ball throughout the game, yet RVP completed 87% of his passes while Giroud completed just 72%. RVP won 50% of his aerial duels in the game while Giroud (supposedly a more physical presence) won just 22% of his aerial battles. Giroud had 3 shots with only 1 on target whereas RVP had 4 shots and 4 on target, with his first touch in the game itself being a goal. Arsenal's first shot on target didn't come until injury time through Giroud just before Cazorla's goal! In essence United had 13 shots to Arsenal's 7 with 6 shots on target to Arsenal's 2. This game was a strange case of 2-1 not telling the story and actually flattering Arsenal.

Swansea grabbed an 88th minute leveller (and a beauty it was) through Pablo Hernandez to snatch a point off of Chelsea, who lead through Victor Moses' first goal for the club. It was a deserved point for the Jacks who had looked like they had run out of steam at the time but had played extremely well for large parts of the game.

The biggest surprise of the week was at White Hart Lane, where a lacklustre Tottenham Hotspur were out-foxed and out-fought by Wigan Athletic. Perhaps we should have known - they've been here and done it before, they've been to the Emirates and done it before. Martinez got his set up and approach spot on here and Wigan were very assured in their play. Incredibly, Ben Watson was confirmed as being the first Englishman to score for the side from the North West in 2012!

Roundup of our sides

Man Utd beat Arsenal 2-1 as detailed above.

In the Hoops Hoopla (trademark pending) QPR took a battling point against Reading in a 1-1 draw at Loftus Road. C's match report from the game will be appearing next week but it was an entertaining affair of 2 halves, which saw Rangers come back into the game after going down in the first half to yet another goal against his old team from Kaspars Gorkss. Djibril Cisse equalised for Rangers to leave both sides with a fairly deserved point. Check the blog in the next week or so for C's thoughts on the game and the result.

Crewe came from a goal down to beat Wycombe 4-1 in the FA Cup First Round. An early Matthew Spring (remember him?!) goal put Wycombe in front, but 2 goals either side of half time saw Crewe comfortably into the 2nd Round. Mathias Pogba, Mark Ellis, Chuks Aneke and Luke Murphy all got in on the goalscoring act for the Alex and it's a morale boosting win after last weekend's loss to Yeovil. They will face either Burton or Altrincham in the next round at home, after those sides played out a 3-3 draw - a very good result for non-league Altrincham against the League Two side! Either way it won't be a long trip in the next round for either side's supporters!

Meanwhile in Germany in the derby at Dresden Union Berlin ran out 2-0 victors against Dynamo Dresden in an excellent result for the team. The result sees Union sit in 10th place in the league now and they are 6 points from the relegation zone now. A Fabian Schonheim double either side of half time was enough to see off Dynamo for Union - a remarkable achievement for the defender! This result stops Union's run of 2 losses in a row and is very welcome as it is their first away win of the season. Let's hope it's the first of many!

What we learned this week

- For all the positives to come out of Goodison Park this season, Everton have developed a nasty habit of conceding early goals and giving themselves mountains to climb in games. The 7th minute goal they conceded at home to Fulham was the 7th goal they have conceded in the opening 25 minutes of games in their last five league matches.
- Wayne Rooney has a pretty dismal penalty record having missed 7 of the 20 penalties he has taken in his career - surely he shouldn't be the number one choice?!
- What is with players wearing short sleeve shirts and gloves?! Nani was a culprit and we spotted 3 alone for Man City - with Nasri, Dzeko and Balotelli all guilty of this ridiculous fashion faux pas.

- Strikers still on QPR's books are finding the net again in the Championship - DJ Campbell scored the winning goal at St Andrews for Ipswich, who began life under Mick McCarthy with a win, whilst Rob Hulse scored a first since a header away at Scunthorpe in April 2011

- Fernando Forestieri was the difference between Watford and high-flying Leicester City at Vicarage Road. The Argentinian has adapted well to the English game and is showing he is just too good for the Championship after running the game here. Maybe there are some benefits from being Udinese Reserves?!

- Big Jon Parkin only scores for Fleetwood in the presence of an ESDB Football blogger - read J's match report from Fleetwood v Bromley later this week.

- Efe Sodje saw red again for Bury this weekend, his 14th sending off of an illustrious career

C&J