Hoop Dreams - QPR FC

QPR managed to have only the miniest of mini-revivals and returned to losing ways this weekend with a 2-0 defeat against Gordon Strachan's Middlesbrough, which meant the North East club completed a double over Rangers for the first time in their history.

After finally winning a game, against Doncaster Rovers, the weekend previously, it was always a tall order for QPR to maintain that form against a Boro side, who for all their fluctuations in form, remain promotion candidates. That said, opting for a 4-5-1 formation, with Jay Simpson on the right wing and youngster Antonio German leading the line alone, quickly established that Rangers' ambitions were not far-reaching. When you add the usual calamitous defending into the mix, which led to two successfully taken penalties for Boro, it is unsurprising that the Hoops returned to west London pointless.

1 - "We made silly mistakes and got punished for them". No truer words have been spoken than manager Mick Harford's following the game. A compilation of QPR's defending this season would be X-rated stuff and not for the squeamish and it continues to amaze me that a side which had one of the meanest defences last season has become so flaky at the back.

Kaspars Gorkss, in my opinion, has been one of the better signings of the Briatore era, a player who already had experience at the Championship level and who, after a shaky start to his QPR career, grew in confidence and stature last season. His form hasn't been helped by the team's in general this time round but when a normally reliable player starts to commit defensive howlers, it's hard to see how Rangers will ever get another clean-sheet. His foolish lunge at Leroy Lita which led to Boro's second penalty effectively killed the game before half-time.

Similarly, I've never been in the Peter Ramage-bashing brigade and have found it hard to understand why players are often played out of position at right-back whilst Ramage sits on the bench.  I suppose he gave one indication on Saturday though. Natural pace is not his strong card but it was still far too easy for Jeremie Aliadiere to round him and he compounded his error by going to ground and drawing the penalty.

2 - The manager is right in another sense as well. Mick Harford has repeatedly said the club needs a manager to come in. Without being harsh, it makes you question what he is then - is he not a manager himself? - though I think in fairness he is pointing to the need for stability at the club, for someone who could be at Loftus Road for a number of years and could start to rebuild the team.

Co-owner Amit Bhatia said similar things last week and at the time, I took that as potentially a vote of confidence for Harford but I don't know how right that was and all the reports suggest Boro was his last game, with Palace's Neil Warnock still the most likely replacement.

The results under Harford certainly haven't been good enough for him to take the job long-term, something which again he bravely acknowledges. But as I've said for the last few weeks, a decision needs to be made really quickly.

3 - QPR have been poor. But some teams are poorer. The one saving grace of this season could be that there are just enough teams in this league worse off than Rangers, in terms of playing staff and their respective talents, for them to avoid the drop.

Their own efforts barely merit Championship football next season but when sides such as Sheffield Wednesday are being comprehensively routed by five goals against fellow relegation candidates Reading, you know that something is wrong. Plymouth as well, for all their best efforts, seem unable to pull themselves closer to safety and along with Peterborough still look like more than a good bet to go down. That leaves one place and though QPR shouldn't rely on other results, they are at least getting some help from the teams around them right now.

4 - Faith in youth can only extend so far as well. The enthusiastic and ambitious play of Jay Simpson and full debutant Antonio German against Doncaster was one of the main reasons that Rangers broke their winless run last weekend but it is hard to expect players of their inexperience, particularly German, to recreate that form week in, week out.

Playing German as a lone striker could be taken as a massive vote of confidence from Mick Harford and the player will never shirk the hard work needed to perform that role, but against David Wheater, the youngster failed to strongly influence the game.

Sadly, QPR's youthful options took another knock this weekend as highly-rated 15-year-old striker Raheem Sterling finally left the club for Liverpool, for a reported fee of £500,000. I've not seen Sterling play but if he is as good as some say, it was clear that he would eventually leave and it could have been detrimental to his ambitions to force him to stay at the club. That Liverpool, Arsenal and Man United were all after him suggests he could be a sensational talent and it seems that Liverpool's Academy set-up won out.

When QPR do bring in a new manager though, he needs to look into QPR's own youth set-up though, to ensure that the club can continue to develop talents such as Sterling, if only for the financial benefits they can provide.

Middlesbrough - Coyne, Pogatetz (Taylor, 78), Lita (Arca, 83), Aliadiere (Franks, 65), Killen, Flood, O'Neil, Robson, McManus, Wheater, Naughton

Subs not used - Jones, Hoyte, Miller, Grounds

Goals - Robson 38 (pen), 44 (pen)

Bookings - Killen

QPR - Ikeme, Ramage, Stewart, Leigertwood, Buzsaky, Gorkss, Cook, Faurlin (Taarabt, 69), Hill (Borrowdale, 54), Simpson, German (Bent, 54)

Subs not used - Cerny, Vine, Balanta, Ephraim

Bookings - Gorkss

Referee - K Woolmer

Attendance - 17,568 (523 QPR)