Queens Park Rangers’ English Premier League season thus far can only be described as a huge failure.
The club failed to pick up a win in the first 16 weeks of the EPL season, the worst start to an EPL season ever, and have only managed to win two games thus far, with 11 draws and 14 losses, leaving them rooted to the bottom of the table.
Bradford City, who plies their trade in League 2, managed to beat more Premier League sides en route to the Capital One Cup final than QPR have so far this season.
Fans have heaped blame on Mark Hughes, who was sacked in mid-November, for his poor team selections and overall managerial skills. There was also some who blamed Tony Fernandes, Air-Asia magnate and owner of QPR, for not giving him the sack sooner.
Following Hughes’ departure, Harry Redknapp was brought in; a quality manager who has been around the EPL for over two decades.
He has helped a number of sides improve, particularly Portsmouth in 2005, when he came in mid-season and helped the struggling side survive the drop. They then placed ninth in the following season.
Redknapp is also a ‘wheeler-dealer’ when it comes to the transfer window, and in January has bought well, bringing in French striker Loic Remy and defensive beast Chris Samba for a club record 12.5 million pounds.
There has been improvement under Redknapp, in particular in January, which saw a win away to Chelsea as well as home draws with Manchester City and Tottenham and an away draw at West Ham.
The problem, though, remains goals. QPR have only scored 19 goals in 27 games, far and away the worst in the EPL.
An under performing Djibril Cisse lacked support up front with Andy Johnson and Bobby Zamora both having long-term injury layoffs. After signing Remy, he was also subsequently injured and missed a number of weeks, contributing a solitary goal on debut.
With Remy and Zamora returning from injury, they need to stay fit if QPR are any chance to survive the drop.
Rangers inconsistency has also cost them dearly. They show class at times against the top sides, particularly in January when they had a tough schedule, but then get bossed around the park by teams they should be, at worst, competing with.
Losing at home to fellow strugglers Reading and Southampton earlier in the season has also really put them on the back foot.
All is not lost, however. Rangers currently sit eight points from safety, but their next five games are all definitely winnable and could give them the momentum to somehow survive this terrible season.
Starting with Southampton away, they then have Sunderland (H), Villa (A), Fulham (A) and Wigan (H). These games are mostly against relegation rivals and can not only gain Rangers vital points but also deny points to their fellow strugglers.
By the end of these games we will know whether QPR are still a chance, or whether they should be bracing for life in the Championship.
After these five games, the run home is still relatively kind with home games against Stoke, Newcastle (both of which should be seen as winnable) and Arsenal (which could be winnable depending on which Arsenal side turns up).
Rangers also play Reading away in the fourth last game of the year, which could prove vital for both teams’ chances of surviving the drop.
A final day trip to Liverpool could prove huge, but as QPR showed on the final day last campaign at Manchester City, anything is possible… for 90 minutes at least.
As a Rangers fan, I am really looking forward to the next month.
If Remy and Zamora can stay fit and play together up front, Hoilett can slot back in and make a positive contribution on the fringes and Samba and Hill continue to improve the defence, anything can happen.
A lot also rests on the shoulders of Adel Taarabt. It is no secret Taarbs has the skill and flair to join one of the bigger sides in Europe, but his consistency and decision-making has to improve in the latter part of this season.
He is a key component in the QPR machine, but often at times tries to do too much himself, taking a long shot instead of playing someone through or trying to beat one too many defenders. If he can find the right mix of flair and percentage play, he could be the man to guide QPR to safety.
Whatever happens, I’ll still be supporting QPR until the end.
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