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? 

Rangers clip AVB's wingers

Match Review: QPR 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Queens Park Rangers continued their recent revival in front of the Sky Sports cameras for this twice rescheduled fixture (I hate the power they have sometimes, they completely mug fans off, it is they that I think should be subsidising away fans given the amount of crap they have to go through when a game gets rescheduled!)

Rangers kicked off this lunchtime fixture with one change to the starting eleven who had brought back three points from Stamford Bridge, Ji-Sung Park returning from injury replacing the now injured Granero to the delight of the Korean contingent in the stands. Spurs were at full strength (unless missing Kaboul counts?) and both Parker and Assou-Ekotto were available on the bench. 

Spurs looked the brighter in the opening stages and on 5 minutes Defoe was allowed to drift inside and unload a fierce shot from 18 yards which Cesar did magnificently to touch onto the post. Adebayor picked up the rebound and beat Clint Hill but also saw his effort turned away by the Rangers keeper. Shortly afterwards Aaron Lennon made a shameful Ashley Young-like dive which wasn't punished by referee Lee Probert. Probert is famous at Loftus Road for once sending off mascot Jude the cat because he was confusing him with the other eleven QPR players on the field at the time! On 11 minutes SWP showed some renewed confidence and went on a jinking run and had his goalbound shot deflected just wide by Dawson. Much of the rest of the first half saw Tottenham stroking the ball around well but continuing to meet stiff QPR resistance from the determined back four well protected by Derry and Mbia. Rangers were also defending well from the front with Mackie, SWP and Taarabt all working hard to close down opponents. Spurs were probably guilty of lacking ambition as neither of their full backs showed much in the way of attacking intent. Bale was busy but delivered no end product on the left but Lennon faded from the game. Both were well chaperoned as Fabio and Onuoha gave probably their best Hooped performances to date.

Halfway through the first half Sandro was replaced by Parker. This seemed to coincide with Ji-Sung Park transforming from a promising showing of harrying and probing to a frustrated figure who always seemed to arrive on the scene two seconds after the action had moved on. Basically for the next 67 minutes, he ran around a lot but had no impact on the game.

Dembele versus Mbia was a good contest with the Belgian well shackled by the Cameroonian for the most part and, particularly in the first half, the Rangers powerhouse was able to charge forward on some of his buccaneering runs.

After the break Spurs controlled the game for 15 minutes or so with QPR unable to get any decent possession in attacking areas, despite Taarabt's continued excellent hold-up play. He was isolated as the supporting players were fully stretched defending but to his credit he showed a level of maturity without the ball and without any support which we rarely saw from him in the Championship and last season. In spite of this, Tottenham did not really work Cesar with the closest attempt being a Kyle Walker free kick from range. Rangers came back into the game with Fabio and SWP having chances to score but when they did get forward there were no bodies in the box. Dempsey and Sigurdsson (that's probably Icelandic for Smith) came on as Spurs also began to look as if they would settle for a point. An outrageous piece of skill saw SWP mug Bale tight on the touchline as QPR pushed on. On 85 minutes Mbia collided with Lloris after the whistle had been blown. 3 minutes later when Big Steph had stopped rolling over, Probert arrived to declare all life extinct as Mbia lay motionless. In a moment of pure eschatology (look it up), Mbia was risen from the dead and rejoined the match as if nothing had happened. You've gotta love the big guy, and I forgot to mention that he continued his world record attempt to be booked for ridiculous infringements in the 69th minute when he added a nonchalant handball to his repertoire.

No further action of note and nil nil was probably a fair result. Spurs are third (fourth now) in the EPL for a reason and they have bags more quality than QPR, which showed here throughout. The R's were set up to defend and try and nick a goal from a set piece. If Tottenham had scored Rangers would have been scuppered, but they didn't, so 4 points from two derbies is an excellent return. So on we go to Upton Park (via a FA Cup replay that nobody wants) for jellied eels all round.

Man of the match: There were some stellar performances in the Rangers back line and a dogged display in midfield, so this, for once, is a very tough one to call. But I'll hand it to Julio Cesar, without whom QPR would have definitely let in a goal and heads would have dropped. That's back to back clean sheets in the league for the Brazilian.

Finally, a quick line for some of our new readers: Spurs have been linked with Kazakh playmaker Dmitry Byakov, who could make all the difference as they push to secure Champions League qualification. Вы услышали это здесь в первую очередь.

C

You had to be there...

Match Review: Chelsea 0-1 QPR

Most Rangers fans made the journey to Stamford Bridge fearing the worst, but it’s a funny old game football. At a scandalous £55 per ticket (plus booking fee) and with a shocking run of form, the fact that the Shed was filled with 3,000 away fans spoke volumes for blind optimism and loyalty over level-headed analysis. But against all the odds (there were shorter odds for Chelsea to win 6-0 than QPR to win 1-0), they were rewarded.

Rangers opened with a 4-1-4-1 formation with Derry recalled to play just in front of the back four and, interestingly, Taarabt was pushed furthest up front. Armand Traore was out of the picture after his inept defensive performance against Liverpool on Sunday and the back four read Fabio, Hill, Nelsen, Onuoha. In midfield Esteban Granero was preferred to Samba Diakite who was another really off the ball against Liverpool whilst the woeful Shaun Wright Phillips was dropped at the expense of Junior Hoilett. Meanwhile Rafa made several changes for Chelsea, although with FA and Capital One Cup games coming up before their next EPL fixture it looked more like a case of over confident complacency rather than a genuine need for resting through rotation.

The teams emerge

Four minutes into his full league debut the Bosnian-come-German Marin (how many 'dual nationality' players have they claimed to be theirs now?!) should have been sent off for a two footed, off the floor and out of control scythe through M’Bia. Stunningly, referee Mason (who you will remember sent off Derry for not touching Ashley Young at Old Trafford last year) only produced a yellow. Equally stunningly M’Bia was not badly hurt. Retribution on Marin was later quietly dished out by both Derry and Hill.

QPR defended with determination and the few chances that came Chelsea’s way were as a result of mistakes. On 15 minutes Hoilett pulled up and was replaced by Wright-Phillips and a minute later Chelski did their emotionally disturbed ‘clap for Di Matteo’ thing.

Chelsea continued to huff and puff with a few long range efforts, particularly from a frustrated Branislav Ivanovic, but Hill and Nelsen snuffed out anything closer in. On 34 minutes there was an embarrassing dive in the box by Bertrand when he was several yards away from the nearest opponent. Boltonian whistleblower Mason was again deficient and no booking resulted.

Towards the end of the first half SWP had a run and shot and twice didn’t run and didn’t shoot when Taarabt threaded him decent passes to move on to. David Luiz (hereafter Sideshow Bob) had a pot shot that Cesar had to save with his legs after it deflected off Frank (‘one more to overtake Kerry Dixon’) Lampard.

Special abuse was saved for the warming up Ashley Cole and the half time appearance of ‘Suave Marv’ aka 60’s and 70’s centre back Marvin Hinton. I don’t think anyone had anything in particular against 72 year old Marv, it was more a case of his chaperon for the obligatory walk round the pitch being the personification of a smugly irritating annoying Johnny-come-lately, glory hunting tit.

The second half was more of the same, only better. Chelsea had a flurry of corners which Cesar dealt with positively, Ivanovic heading one excellent chance over. On 53 minutes Cesar saved well from the otherwise anonymous Torres. Moses should have got a touch to Marin's cross but this was to be the debutante's last involvement as he was then swapped for Hazard as Rafa began to realise more guile was needed. QPR for the first time began to string some coherent attacking moves together. Granero hit a curler to give Turnbull some catching practice. Shortly afterwards, Mackie was played through by Taarabt and he looked odds-on to score before Gary Cahill stretched out and conceded a corner. From said corner, Derry had a free header which should have troubled Turnbull more.

Home frustration grew as Lampard put the ball in from an offside position (still one more needed eh, Frank!) All the Rangers back four were now playing like men possessed with blocks and deflections keeping Chelsea out. To the delight of the Chelsea fans, their talisman Juan Mata was introduced by Rafa for Moses with sixteen minutes to play. But then, against all hopes and expectations, one of those ‘I was there’ moments happened. A partially cleared Rangers corner fell to Taarabt just outside the box. He made the sweetest lay-off into the path of SWP that since the match we have watched again and again. Time stood still as SWP hit a low 20 yard drive that arrowed into the corner of the goal. Delirium and confusion broke out in the away end, bodies everywhere. Stop the clocks at 21:20 02/01/13. Had he really done that? 969 days since his last EPL goal, you diminutive beauty, you. All is forgiven! You still owe the outstanding Fabio a beer for covering your defensive duties, though.

Ramires came on for Lampard (who, Chelsea fans, I believe still requires one more goal to overhaul Kerry Dixon). The game was now frantic. You could see the vein in Clint Hill’s neck bulging with effort. Admirable Nelsen screamed for more concentration and effort. Derry was everywhere putting out fires and Mbia and Sideshow Bob enjoyed a tussle that, although rarely legal, was sufficiently good natured that you could still see them sharing hair conditioner in the showers afterwards. Even Granero put a shift in - I noticed he went over to Joe Jordan for a word in his ear during the first half and from that moment he returned a more determined man who got stuck in, something he hasn't done since the very start of his QPR career.

On 86 minutes I called it as a pen from where I was sitting but thankfully it was a free kick that was given instead, dead centre in the D, 2 yards outside the box. D wanted Sideshow Bob to take it and blast, C wanted Mata to chip straight into Cesar's arms. Thankfully D got his wish as Wrecking Ball Luiz simply smashed it into the 9 man wall.

Supporting their local team: Bristol and Bath blues, Norwegian blues, etc. Many already gone home early in a huff

Two time wasting R's substitutions later and it was all over. Man hugs all round. Everything that QPR hadn't been 3 days earlier against Liverpool, they were today. Solid, committed, intelligent and playing like a team. The questions remain whether they can repeat this level of intensity and dream of survival but, for the moment, who cares? Chelsea 0 QPR 1. Two clean sheets against Chelsea. A first away win since November 2011. A first win away at Chelsea in my lifetime. Simply unbelievable.



Man of the Match: Playing in an unfamiliar striker's position, Taarabt's ability to keep the ball and hold the ball up was played upon by Harry Redknapp and it proved to be an incredibly inspired move. He showed his quality in his passing and the lay-off for the goal and gave QPR an outlet all game. His patience and perseverance with the inept Shaun Wright-Phillips also deserves some serious credit. Well done that man, we'll need more of this if we are to pick up more points this year away from home.

Houdini needs time, but does he have any?

Match Review: QPR 1-1 Aston Villa

And so another 'must win, will win' fixture passes. Gameweek 15 of the Premier League and QPR are still without that elusive first victory. This was another they probably ought to have gone on to win, but the chronic imbalance of the side built by Hughes still shows, badly!

Harry started his tenure positively with a clean sheet and away point at a ground where QPR have had little luck over the past few years. However, Sunderland were also extremely out of sorts and you sensed that that was the Rs' best chance yet of winning at the Stadium of Light for the first time. So, with a motivated team playing for their places under the new boss and with the promise of some fight and passion, R's fans headed to Loftus Road for the game against the Villans in far better spirit than they would have had Sparky still been in charge. This wasn't going to be an easy game though; Villa might not be setting the world alight right now but they will have taken plenty of heart from recent displays against Manchester United and Arsenal and they will have benefited from the morale boost that comes with a late winner (as they had had midweek against Reading). Add to this Paul 'look how far I've come' Lambert's good record as a manager against the Superhoops and the fact that the R's team still comprised the same faces and same ability, fans had every right to be very cautious with their optimism.

QPR were forced into one change and made one other to the side that earned the point up at Sunderland. Rob Green, who was frozen out and in many eyes treated badly by Hughes, especially given that Cesar hadn't covered himself in glory in recent games, was back. The 'England keeper' (his agent asked me to call him that) returned between the sticks at Loftus Road to loud cheers and applause and he clearly appreciated the support he was getting. Not quite so warm was the reception given to Shaun Wright-Phillips, himself making a first start in over a month. Whilst both players have failed to live up to their billing so far when pulling on the Hoops, it would be harsh to slate Greeno for one bad (albeit woefully bad) performance and you can understand the sympathy offered by R's fans. The same can't be said of little SWP, who has, aside from his debut performance at home to Newcastle last season, been nothing like the player we were promised. Still, Harry's the boss, he makes the decisions, so we'd best get behind the team...

Greeno is back

I'm sure that every opposition manager tells his side to get in the faces of QPR during the opening exchanges and come out of the traps all guns blazing. QPR just don't find any time to settle and even after a bright start here they showed signs of being vulnerable at the back. The game was only eight minutes old and the R's were one down again, and unfortunately for Greeno we were reminded why he lost his place in the lineup. The blame can't all be put at the gloves of Green though - the R's defence were the usual shambles we've come to expect. Villa were pinging the ball around on the edge of the QPR area which through a combination of a few passes and, admittedly, some ricochets that only go against you when you're at the bottom of the league, the ball landed at an unmarked Brett Holman around 25 yards from goal. Mbia stood off his man and Holman let fly with a shot which the 'England keeper' should probably have done better with. This reminded me of the first goal Swansea scored against him in his opening day nightmare, where he was only able to palm the ball into the net rather than tip it round the post. So here we were again, 1-0 down early on due to poor defending and the clean sheet from Wednesday night was all forgotten.

This shushed what had been a buoyant home crowd who quickly realised that Harry Redknapp can't in fact perform miracles overnight. But ten minutes later we dared to believe he could again: that well-known excellent crosser Samba Diakite swiped the ball with his right boot to deliver a perfect centre onto Jamie Mackie's nut. Mackie, under intense pressure, in turn produced an excellent twisting header which went straight in the top corner. This will have had Harry purring, for he dropped the disinterested Djibril Cisse in favour of playing a determined Jamie Mackie as a lone striker and he was rewarded for his decision with a goal from the fan's favourite.

The Brummies were almost in front again moments after the equaliser: they broke at speed down the right hand side and a cross was headed in by the livewire Christian Benteke, only to be accompanied by a correct offside decision from the linesman. It's fair to say that Benteke has been Villa's biggest threat this season given the continued absence of top marksman Darren Bent for reasons only known by Paul Lambert. His hold up play and technique for a big striker of just 22 is second to none and he is clearly to Aston Villa what Ricky Lambert is to Southampton - a focal point.

For the remainder of the half Villa continued to test the centre back pairing of Ryan Nelsen and Clint Hill, who incidentally have a combined age of 69 and both have the pace of someone that age. Who would have thought that this would be the best partnership we have at the back in a Premier League side in 2012? "That's why we're going down". Well it isn't the only reason... Another is that we don't create many chances and when we finally do we often have nobody in the right place or with the ability to finish them. Shaun Wright-Phillips actually managed to get himself in a striker's position in this game as he was clearly told to run through the middle and latch on to through balls. But unfortunately for the wee man, he couldn't finish a happy meal! In the space of perhaps five first half minutes, he had two golden chances which at this level you just have to be taking! The first came from a ball lofted forward by Esteban Granero, who created a similar chance finished by Adel Taarabt at The Hawthorns a few weeks back. But where Taarabt succeeded with excellent technique, skill and a finish to match, SWP failed miserably, instead firing straight at an on-rushing Brad Guzan when one on one. The second chance was created by Stephane Mbia, himself showing some nice touches playing in a central midfield position. Mbia's through ball released SWP who elected to hit the ball first time when he probably could have afforded to take a touch and control the ball first. The effort, in his defence, was a good one and he was unlucky as it hit the post and bounced away to safety. You could say I'm being harsh with all my criticism of the diminutive winger, but when you pay several million pounds for a Premier League footballer and then pay him several tens of thousands of pounds per week in wages, you are entitled to expect better. In fairness to him, this was the liveliest I've seen him in ages, but still nowhere near the standard required to get into any other Premier League lineup. Just what people like he and Bosingwa have done to deserve places in this lineup, or in fact the QPR squad, I will never know. Maybe they're amazing in training? I don't think so somehow.

As QPR were in the ascendancy a nasty looking collision took the wind out of their sails. Stephane Mbia had to be stretchered off after clashing with a Villa player when challenging for the ball. This had the effect of galvanising the away side, who had two decent chances of their own before the extended first half was brought to an end. Agbonlahor had a good effort saved by Green whilst Brett Holman found himself in a similar shooting position to the one he had for the goal, but this time ended up ballooning it high into the away end. At half time, I was left pondering the continued selection of players who seem to be in the QPR lineup because of their names and reputations from playing at former clubs (though I'm too courteous to mention any names, Shaun, Jose). If Esteban Granero continues to put in the amount of effort he has of late then he'll soon be in this category too. I've had enough of watching him turning in circles on the halfway line to keep the ball, his sideways passing and his static-ness off the ball.

Granero in fact paid the price for his poor first half showing here, as the ruthless Redknapp hooked him in favour of Ji-Sung Park, who was returning from injury to the delight of the Koreans in the home crowd who come each week religiously to see him not appear on the teamsheet. The R's dominated the second half and to their credit looked tighter at the back; I don't actually recall Rob Green having to make a save. But once again, for all their neat build up play, there was no end product, and hardly any chances created. QPR developed an annoying habit under Hughes of playing sideways football on the edge of the box, and this continued here as they struggled to find anyone other than Mackie to run around in the Villa penalty area. Mackie was clearly identified at half time as the only real threat by Lambert and Villa cut off the supply to him and marked him out of this second half. I can't help but think that any other managers watching on will now know to do the same. Ji-Sung Park had one good chance but took far too much time over it. Wright-Phillips summed his QPR career up by inexplicably falling over when under no pressure and when about to set himself for a shot at goal. Clint Hill came closest with a header onto the crossbar but this was a difficult chance and the guy has never scored a Premier League goal (well he has scored one, but it "didn't cross the line").

And that was about it for QPR chances. The R's brought on Junior Hoilett in an attempt to find a winner but he did absolutely nothing after coming on and I'd much rather have seen Djibril Cisse give Villa someone other than Mackie to mark. This Villa side looked beatable and offered very little - this is precisely the sort of team we should be getting three points against. Villa offered virtually nothing up front in the second half. QPR's strategy to deal with Benteke clearly worked and Gabriel Agbonlahor - once the rising star of England and the face of Nike - looked lethargic and as though he was carrying a lot of timber. Karim El Ahmadi was brought on late on by Villa and he had a pop at goal from outside the area which wasn't far away but didn't have Green worried.

So all in all this was an OK start from Redknapp who at least seems to have stopped the rot, but will come up against much sterner tests than this in his managerial reign. QPR dominated the second half in particular but never really looked like they'd score the winning goal, a story of much of the early season. If only Hughes had invested in strikers that could stay fit and not sell those who scored goals for us last season! Harry has  much to fix here, and I fear that even for him this is too much...

Standard handshakes

Man of the match: He may have faded in the second half, but Jamie Mackie is the only player that stood out for me here. His passion, perseverance  determination, modest reputation and modest wage packet are the reasons he is adored by QPR fans, but it is the first three of those qualities that get him so many goals and assists in a league so many feel he isn't good enough for. Redknapp commented after the game that we wouldn't be in this mess 'if we had eleven Jamie Mackie's'. I concur, Harry.  

R's shoot themselves in the foot again as Gunners capitalise in London derby

Match Review: Arsenal 1-0 QPR

Just another routine week at QPR. Once again they looked like a half decent team that can compete at Premier League level for much of the game, only to go on and lose through being their own worst enemies.

The form book suggested that for the first time this season, Arsenal were having one of their wobbly spells where people start to question Arsene Wenger and his signings. Unexpected defeats at Norwich away and at home to Schalke will have given the R's side cause for optimism and there was genuine belief among the travelling support that they could take something back across London at 5pm on Saturday evening if they played as they had done in some of their better moments this season. And they really should have done, because Arsenal were here for the taking. And surprise, surprise, they only have themselves to blame for not doing that...

The game began with fairly even possession - not something many teams achieve against Arsenal on their own patch! But QPR's passing game has been one of the few things to take heart from this season; the midfield can push it around quite nicely at times. Most of the R's play was deliberately down the right hand side, which Hughes had clearly identified as a chink in the Arsenal armour, given Andre Santos' inability to defend and tendency to maraud into and hover in the opposition half. However, this tactic was blighted by Jose Bosingwa's dreadful delivery into the box, Bobby Zamora being in the wrong places at the wrong time and unable to win a header when he was and the general shite that Shaun Wright-Phillips produces. Quite how the latter manages to continue to be in Mark Hughes' first team plans when it is so blindingly obvious that he can't take men on, cross or shoot, is just unfathomable. 

For the home side, there was the welcome sight of Jack Wilshere on the Haemorrhoids Stadium pitch for the first time in 17 months and his every touch (some quite impressive actually) was greeted by a cheer in the otherwise library-like arena. Lukas Podolski also impressed early on with some skilful touches and powerful runs, and the Gooners did test the R's keeper on a couple of occasions. Cesar made a few nervy saves, parrying on a couple of occasions but fortunately into safe areas. All in all, it was an even and fairly uneventful first half which, given how chaotic first halves have been for QPR defensively this season, was good news. Disappointingly, though, for all their decent defending and possession, QPR hadn't carved out any clear-cut opportunities, which reaffirmed the story of their season in front of goal so far.

Despite SWP's best efforts to replicate the goal QPR conceded here last year (where he played a stray pass to Van Persie and you can guess the rest), the R's held out thanks to the heroics of a now well occupied Julio Cesar. Arsenal just didn't look like scoring and were clearly annoyed by the fact that they weren't in control (as QPR were seeing plenty of the ball, just not doing a lot with it). This frustration clearly got the better of Olivier Giroud who took out Armand Traore's bad leg with a cynical foul (I reckon he knew that he could wipe the glass man out with a tackle like that).

But then, just when the Arsenal frustration was at its peak and the game looked as though it would fizzle out for a creditable away point for the Hoops, defensive suicide was committed. I've warned in previous match reviews that Stephane Mbia looks like he has it in him to be as mental as Samba Diakite and this week my worst fears were realised when incredibly and inexplicably, after winning a free kick, he elected to kick out at Thomas Vermaelen. Unbelievable! It seems in recent weeks we've crept back into our old ways which blighted the early part of the Mark Hughes era with a series of sendings off and now we go into a crucial run of what you might call 'winnable' fixtures (well, Reading at home, Stoke away and Southampton at home is not quite as daunting as some of our early games) with injuries and suspensions we could really have done without. 

The sending off galvanised Arsenal and suddenly Rangers were under siege. Cesar was producing Houdini-esque miracles between the sticks to keep them at bay but eventually parried one shot too many to an onrushing (and offside) Mikel Arteta, who, after heading an initial effort against the bar, was on hand to tap home the rebound beyond the helpless R's custodian who hadn't had time to recover from the initial wonder-save he made. This was a poor decision by the officials but I'm sure had this one not been given, they would still have found a way through the fragile R's defence. Hughes bizarrely went on to claim that the goal changed the game, but to me it was clear that he only has one idiot to blame for the latest in a catalogue of individual errors.

Amazingly, there was still time for QPR to enjoy their best three chances of the game, two in one-on-one situations with Vito Mannone, who had had a very quiet afternoon up to now. It seems to me that the Superhoops have developed a bit of a habit of turning up the heat and actually taking risks after going a goal behind - they did so against West Ham and West Brom and attempted to do it again here. The first of the trilogy was spurned by Esteban Granero, who dragged his shot wide when all around him expected him to put the ball away after being allowed to escape the attentions of the Arsenal back line. The second was from substitute Jamie Mackie, who must have had the famous goal he scored at Derby County in 2010 on his mind as he weaved his way through the Arsenal defence, only to hit the ball straight at the onrushing Mannone. The third golden chance was an excellent free kick from Granero which had the keeper scrambling but ended up hitting the side netting. On reflection, if any of those had gone in then it would have been a deserved point, but only in the sense that Arsenal were no better than QPR on the day. 

Still, it's never dull supporting QPR and you just don't know what's going to happen next - but you can at least say with some certainty that they will press the self destruct button at some point in any given game. If you're reading Sparky, I've two things to recommend: 1) Anger management classes for the whole squad and 2) Beat Reading or you're getting the tin tack...

Man of the Match: There was one stand out performance in the QPR side here: Julio Cesar. But for his heroics at various points in the game, especially after the R's went down to ten men, the score could have been a lot higher. You still have to wonder what the hell he was thinking when he put pen to paper at Loftus Road.