Hoop Dreams - QPR FC

After labouring to a Boxing Day victory over Bristol City, QPR and new manager Paul Hart crashed back to earth quickly yesterday after a 3-0 defeat at Ipswich Town. It's a result that leaves the Hoops in tenth, five points off the play-off spots and with some teams above them afforded the luxury of games in hand. What can be taken from this lacklustre defeat then?

1 - Paul Hart's honeymoon is definitely over. It could be debatable if the new boss ever had such a luxury in the first place. If a manager takes over in the summer, such as Jim Magilton, they are afforded time to train with their new players, get to know them and if possible make additions where appropriate. Hart (pictured above) was never going to be so lucky, but a string of positive results could have given him a bit of breathing space. Instead, Rangers look to have barely progressed from the car-crash football which marred Magilton's last few days at the club and the reaction from the home support on Saturday shows that patience is now exhausted. It seems unfair that the new guy, thrown into the middle of this mess, should bare the brunt of bruised expectations but if he didn't know he had a tough job on his hand before, after yesterday's performance he surely will.

2 - QPR's defensive problems are far from sorted. You have to go back over two months to a 4-0 win at home to Preston for QPR's last clean sheet and the ease with which Jon Walters and Jon Stead found the net yesterday suggests that this dismal run could be set to continue. Since that game, QPR have tried five different combinations at centre-back and all to little positive effect. As it's cold outside and there's not too much to do, I've done a bit of number-crunching to show the performance of the QPR centre-backs in the 13 games since they kept a clean-sheet. It's far from pretty reading.

Kaspars Gorkss and Damion Stewart - 540 minutes together - 11 goals conceded = a goal every 49 minutes.
Gorkss and Fitz Hall - 300 minutes together - 8 goals conceded = a goal every 37 minutes.
Gorkss and Matt Connolly - 150 minutes together - 2 goals conceded = a goal every 75 minutes.
Hall and Stewart - 90 minutes together - 3 goals conceded = a goal every 30 minutes.
Hall and Connolly - 90 minutes together - 2 goals conceded = a goal every 45 minutes.


What to conclude from that? Well, if football were that simple, the manager should just pick Kaspar Gorkss and Matt Connolly (pictured above) and bank on letting in a goal a game (but no more). It's hard to draw conclusions when some partnerships have played far longer than others, but Hall, Gorkss and Stewart have all played for significant periods during this 13-game run and none have been able to bring stability to the side. Where Gorkss was reliable last season, he now looks tired and lacking in confidence, with Jon Stead able to easily brush him aside for his opening goal yesterday. Hall on the other hand has really struggled since returning from injury. Whilst remaining a formidable presence going forward, at the back he has tended to over-play it and at times, put his defence in jeopardy.

The defence is more than the two centre-backs of course, but I can't help thinking that if the new manager could settle on a trusted pair in this position (one hopefully containing Matt Connolly) he could go some way towards shoring up a porous back-line. At the same stage last season, Rangers had conceded just a goal a game compared to 36 goals in 24 games this season. Any success by the end of this season will need to be built on a more solid foundation.

3 - It's far from easy to get out of the Championship. The unpredictability of the Championship is now bordering on a cliche and one that The Football League Show are happy to trot out most weekends but QPR's results this season do show that they can compete with most sides and at the same time, are liable to get beaten on any weekend. Ipswich Town were on the brink of the relegation area going into this game but, going on the radio commentary admittedly, easily brushed aside Rangers' efforts. More number-crunching shows that over the last ten years, you need roughly 77 (77.3 to be exact) points to get in the play-offs. Once there, it helps if you finished fourth, the most likely position to be promoted from (barring first and second of course smart-arses). To hit that total, QPR require roughly 44 points from their remaining 22 games - or just under 15 wins. Again, it's never that simple and with clubs stretching down to thirteenth in the table still eyeing a play-off spot, it could take a lower total to sneak in. But with each passing week and each failure to win, the Hoops are moving further away from the stated ambition of the current board to push for promotion this season. It's not impossible, but it's going to be far from easy.

4 - January is a big month. State the obvious again, right? Why should any month in the season be more important than another - clubs especially in the Championship always play roughly the same amount of games, free from the pressures of European football?

Well, for a start there is the small matter of the FA Cup. Though QPR's record in this competition recently is woeful, a decent cup-run could be vital in raising morale and winning round those in the Loftus Road crowd who seem to already have doubts about the new boss. In the last nine seasons, they've fallen at the first hurdle each time including such memorable highlights as First Round defeats to Grimsby Town and Vauxhall Motors of the Unibond League (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/2502973.stm). To even be in the hat for the fourth round would be a morale boost.

On top of that, the four league games over the next month could all be critical. After a pretty shambolic end to the decade and taking nothing for granted, they now have a chance to make amends straight away with two eminently winnable home games against Plymouth at the start of the month and Scunthorpe at the end. In between are two very tricky away fixtures at Blackpool and Nottingham Forest and if QPR are to be considered promotion candidates alongside these two sides, they will need positive results in both fixtures.

Finally, January could be a vital month because it raises the possibility of a touch of squad-strengthening. Considering recent form, this could be a pleasing solution for the new manager but I'm sure there will be time for more discussion of potential additions once the new year arrives...

Ipswich Town - Lee-Barrett, Delaney, McAuley, Leadbitter, Norris (Colback 54), Peters, Stead, Walters, John (Wickham 75), Rosenior, Edwards (Garvan 54).

Subs not used - Bruce, Counago, McLoughlin, Brown.

Goals -  Walters (4), Stead (63 & 78)

QPR - Cerny, Ramage, Stewart, Leigertwood, Routledge, Buzsaky (Agyemang 66), Gorkss, Watson, Williams, Simpson, Taarabt (Balanta 78).

Subs not used - Hall, Connolly, Faurlin, Taylor, Borrowdale.

Referee - Mr S Tanner

Attendance - 25, 340

Damion Stewart returns from suspension for Rangers and with Fitz Hall less than convincing on Saturday, Paul Hart could decide to give him a chance in the central defence whilst Matt Connolly is also in contention after returning from a hip injury. Barring that, the new manager will not want to tinker too greatly with the side though Adel Taarabt who sat out Saturday's win could have the freshness to make a difference.


After a disastrous start, Ipswich are now trying to slowly lift themselves up the league table and are now unbeaten in six. The nature of their 3-1 defeat at Crystal Palace will have riled them as well so QPR will fear a backlash. QPR also have a less than excellent record against Ipswich in recent years, with no wins in seven games. The last time the two clubs met, at Loftus Road, Jim Magilton was sat in the away dug-out and masterminded a 3-1 smash and grab victory. Rangers' fans would be more than happy to see the reverse today.


The result on Saturday was vital for QPR but the performance suggested the side are still to regain the confidence of their purple patch earlier in the season. Roy Keane has also struggled to impress his own supporters at times this season, but for all their lack of flair, he has made Ipswich into a hard team to beat. As a result, I have to sit on the fence for another game and I can see the honours being shared in this one.

SCORE DRAW

Ipswich Team News


Ipswich Town - A Potted History



British Pathe Golden Moment

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=33380 - The previously mentioned Ipswich manager Jackie Milburn playing for England and up against Argentina and their 'dead-pan' faced goalkeeper Rugilo.

QPR scraped past fellow play-off rivals Bristol City in their Boxing Day clash to earn their first win in seven games but a significant proportion of the Loftus Road crowd still booed the team off the pitch at full-time. What did we learn about the team, their performance and the fans from this game then? 

1 - You need an in-form striker to win. If you have just lost a manager, not won a game in seven matches and confidence is low, you need to take whatever chances you can get. Luckily for QPR, in a match in which they mustered only two shots on goal, they found the net with both and could once again call on the unerring instincts of Simpson to open the scoring. At only 21 Simpson is still in need of as much experience and match-time as he can get, but a record of a goal every other game speaks volumes for how he has adapted to the Championship. QPR have been crying out for a '20 goal a season' striker - in Simpson, they might have found one and without having to fork out huge sums as well. 

2 - Goals from midfield are always welcome. Mikele Leigertwood has never been known for his goalscoring and it would be foolish to get carried away just because he has found the net four times this season. What he has shown though is an ability to find the target from outside the area which can make the difference in very tight games. As with Simpson, when playing a well-organised team like Bristol City, a moment of luck or magic can make the difference and Leigertwood's strike yesterday was closer to the latter, almost passing a shot into the corner of the net from well outside the area.

3 - Winning ugly can work. Whereas QPR took the only chances they had, Bristol City had more than a few opportunites to get back into the game. After a wonder-strike from Nicky Maynard, more on that below, QPR were left hanging on for the win. Paul Hart decided to shore up his defence by bringing on both Matt Connolly and Gary Borrowdale late on which recieved a less than welcome reaction from some of the crowd. They may be living in a bubble in which QPR should hammer teams at home every weekend playing scintillating football but in reality, Rangers have been struggling to stay in contention with the Championship's pace-setters in recent weeks. Paul Hart was right in saying that the win was everything and should he have chased more goals only to over-expose his defence, the reaction would have been far more unforgiving. When your team has been routed 5-1 at home to Middlesbrough, a win over a decent Bristol City side should be welcomed rather than criticised.

4 - Nicky Maynard scores unbelievable goals. Though my prediction for this game was off the mark, I did say that Maynard finding the net was more than likely. How he did it though could not have been predicted. Controlling the ball in mid-air, he then flicked it up to himself, before driving the ball into the top corner with a sideways volley. It was a moment of complete improvisation and though I've argued that Simpson is doing the business for QPR at the moment, the club's league position could be even rosier if they had a striker with that type of ability.

QPR now face Ipswich Town tomorrow who suffered a mauling at Crystal Palace. They will need little motivation to undo such a poor result whilst Paul Hart has an opportunity to see if his side can win pretty.You get the feeling though that he would take three points however he can get them and after the chaos of recent weeks, that alone should be enough for now. More on that game to follow....

QPR - Cerny, Ramage, Hall, Leigertwood, Routledge, Buzsaky (Connolly 83), Gorkss, Watson, Faurlin (Agyemang 63), Williams, Simpson (Borrowdale 83).

Subs not used - Taylor, Pellicori, Balanta, Taarabt.

Goals - Simpson (32), Leigertwood (40).

Bristol City - Gerken, Orr, McAllister, Fontaine, Carey, Maynard, Hartley, Skuse, Williams (Sno 70), Haynes (Sproule 83), Saborio (Clarkson 71).

Subs not used - Henderson, Elliott, Edwards, Nyatanga.

Goals - Maynard (57)

Bookings - Haynes, Maynard, Sno.

Referee - Mr D Phillips

Attendane - 13,534.

Bloody footballers eh? Derided for most of the year as egotistical prima donnas with absolutely nothing in common with the average supporter, footballers definitely serve their penitence over the Christmas period. Whilst everyone else is snug at home opening presents, footballers have to rouse themselves from luxury king-size beds, kick the model girlfriend out of the house and get in the Bentley to go for an hour's training on Christmas Day. It would bring a tear to the most cynical of eyes. Not only that, but they have to play some matches as well and for QPR, it starts with Bristol City today.

QPR Team News

Still to play since the bust-up at Watford, Akos Buzsaky returns to the QPR squad today following a pelvic injury. Much of the momentum to remove Jim Magilton was attributed to Buzsaky and from early on, there was clearly something of a clash, with the ex-manager publicly criticizing the player on more than one occaision. How he responds now that Magilton is gone could have a significant impact on QPR's current form.

He could also be joined in the team by Matt Connolly who has recovered from a knee injury and that will make up for the absence of Damion Stewart who sits this one out after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against Sheffield United.

Form

Both these sides have definite promotion credentials, but the potential folly of talking either team up has been seen recently when both suffered from woeful form. City have one win in seven, QPR one in nine. The latter club also have a remarkable ability to kick themselves in the teeth, both on and off the pitch. Where there is chaos behind the scenes, there is often a complementary lack of conviction from the players, with 20 points thrown away from winning positions this season.

Historically, City have a less than stellar record at Loftus Road though, with no wins there since 1977. They did shade it in this season's previous encounter between the two teams however, a rocket strike from Nicky Maynard separating the sides.

Prediction

In my defence, QPR are genuinely an incredibly hard team to predict this season, especially now that a new manager is once again at the helm. Which players will he favour? What type of football will he aim for? Will the defensive weaknesses of recent games be dealt with? The evidence of the Sheffield United game showed that QPR had regained some steeliness at the back but at the expense of much of their attacking threat and Paul Hart sides haven't been goal-rich in the past. With very little to go on, I will play it safe and I think the lack of wins will continue for both these sides for at least one more game.

SCORE DRAW.

QPR's chaotic season now enters the busy Christmas period in which Paul Hart will look to seize control of an increasingly erratic team as soon as possible. By the second weekend in January, we'll have a better idea of which players the new boss is likely to favour and what sort of football they could produce. In the meantime though, Rangers will have played three more Championship fixtures and will also know their FA Cup fate. The first game in their Christmas quartet is Bristol City at home on Boxing Day and below is a quickfire account of Saturday's visitors.

Bristol City Team News

The most significant absentee for Bristol City could be on the bench, where manager Gary Johnson may miss out with a chest infection. Perhaps the temptation of staying home for some Christmas telly was just too enticing.

Two midfielders could also be snug in front of the box rather than travelling to Loftus Road. Marvin Elliott is far from certain after picking up a knee injury against Reading whilst Ivan Sproule will almost certainly not play after suffering a hamstring injury in the recent match against Doncaster.

Bristol City - A Potted History

Only the galactically stupid would dare to instigate a North-South debate of any kind, even less one that relates to football. A quick look at a list of English top-flight winners suggests that the North has the advantage in bucketfuls though. Of the top 13 clubs in terms of league wins, only two could be truly classed as coming from the South (Arsenal and Chelsea) with 9 clubs north of the Midlands.

All that is a very protracted way of saying that the south of England has been far from a footballing hotbed. Up to 1920, Bristol City were the only non-London club south of Birmingham in the Football League and they took advantage of that unique position to enjoy their most successful period. They achieved a historical high of second in Division One in 1906/7 and lost out to Man United in their solitary FA Cup Final appearance in 1909.

Far from repeating those successes though, after relegation in 1911, they didn't return to the top flight until 1976 under the stewardship of Alan Dicks - a thirteen-year manager of the club who was subjected to chants of 'Dicks Out' whilst managing Fulham in the early 90s. Once again, that promotion failed to usher in a golden age for the club which hit the rocks and almost went out of business in the early 80s (see below).

The closest City have come to the top flight since has been under current boss Gary Johnson who guided the club into the Championship during the 2006-7 season and then to within a whisker of the Premiership when they lost the 2008 play-off final to Hull City. Along with possibly 12 or 13 teams in this division, they will be hoping to go one better come May.



Relegation to the fourth division is pretty bad. If your club goes bust and eight of your best players have to accept redundancy to ensure its survival, then you know you're in quite a tough spot. As Churchill once said, "never was so much owed by so many to so few", though he may not have been referring to the Ashton Gate Eight as they became known. Following pressure from their board and despite some being on ten-year contracts, Julian Marshall, Chris Garland, Jimmy Mann, Peter Aitken, Geoff Merrick, David Rodgers, Gerry Sweeney and Trevor Tainton all tore up their contracts at the eleventh hour to save the club from extinction. They are pictured in happier times below:


The Grass Is Always Greener - Life as a Bristol City Supporter

Despite the upturn in their side's expectations in the last few years, City supporters are far from the most content bunch at the moment looking at the opinions proffered on one of their forums: Bristol City's Fans' Forum. Whilst admitting that the club has the best squad he has seen in 29 years, one member was particularly aggrieved at the 'boring, negative' football currently on view at Ashton Gate. Tactically, a lack of width and anyone to cross the ball was another common gripe. Whilst they class themselves as optimistic in general, it would seem that optimism is being tested right now.

Star Man

QPR know all about one of the most potent talents in the City squad. As they closed in on a fortunate draw at Ashton Gate in August, they were eventually undone by a roasting strike from Nicky Maynard, the club's record £2.25m signing from Crewe Alexandra in the summer of 2008. With his pace as a prime asset, the player quickly moved up from the youth set-up at Crewe and mustered a commendable 37 goals in 59 games.

In his first Bristol season, he struggled to find the net on a consistent basis but this time out, in a side which has been lacking in an attacking edge, his goals so far have kept the club on the fringes of the play-offs. Paul Hart looked to have shorn up some of the frailties in the QPR back-line last weekend, but there would be worse bets than backing Maynard to find the net on Boxing Day.

Team news on QPR and a commonly woeful prediction to come Saturday morning. In the meantime, Merry Christmas.

Hoop Dreams  - always the first to breaking news. Yes, it is finally time to deal with the sacking of Jim Magilton and his hasty replacement by Paul Hart with Mick Harford as his assistant. Clearly this was far from a good time to take a break from writing about QPR.

When I left things, Rangers were ready to face Watford off the back of a truly miserable 5-1 defeat at home to Middlesbrough - the only game Gordon Strachan has won since joining the club eight games ago. It was a startlingly bad performance and one which demonstrated complete chaos at the back and an absence of spirit throughout the team. Just three days later, the increasingly malignant atmosphere around the club exploded.

Taking on a decent if far from spectacular Watford team, manager Jim Magilton (pictured below) chose to drop some of the club's best performers over the course of this season, including Adel Taarabt and Jay Simpson, preferring a front partnership of Patrick Agyemang and Rowan Vine. The football produced on the night by QPR was limp and predictable - a series of aimless long balls and mistimed passes which somehow resulted in Rangers taking the lead. That Agyemang failed to celebrate his surprise strike and instead shrugged off his teammates in an angry display was surprising but it only hinted at the level of discontent in the QPR ranks.

The three goals in reply by Watford and whatever was said in the QPR dressing room after the game then acted as the spark. Within hours, pictures came out of Akos Buzsaky standing crestfallen on the side of the Watford pitch, unable or unallowed to enter his own team's dressing room. By the next day, the news was even harder to digest as Buzsaky accused his manager of head-butting him in a post-match altercation and in the fall-out, which I won't go over here, Magilton departed the club just a week and a half later.

The facts of what went on that night are unlikely to ever fully be established especially as the club has once again quickly drawn a line under Magilton's time at the club, as if he were never there. Magilton's sacking definitely fits a pattern both in the ease with which it happened and the general confusion for supporters who are rarely given a reasonable explanation by the current QPR owners.

That is not to say that it was the wrong decision as there were a number of signs that the team's morale was worsening by the week. But for all that, the QPR job has now become one of the most unappealing in football and in light of the short-term nature of Paul Hart's (pictured left) contract, the club will most likely have to go back out into the job market to find another manager in the summer. They could well recieve a frosty reception.

More on Hart's appointment and the Boxing Day clash with Bristol City to come...

A truncated match preview for this one I'm afraid - the demands lof the Championship fixture list are too much for me. Below is the team news and what will very likely be (on the evidence of recent games) a hopelessly inaccurate prediction from me.

QPR can be thankful of one fact tonight; their opponents can't play Heidar Helguson, the man Rangers loaned to Watford halfway through September. Since then, Helguson has shown that, for him, there is no home like Watford, with five goals in just six games. Considering the flakiness of the QPR backline at the moment and the 'old club' rule, Helguson would have been nailed on to score tonight but the terms of his loan demand that he sits this one out.

Another loanee signing for Watford who has made an impact this season, Henri Lansbury, could miss out with a hip injury. Defender Jay DeMerit should be available though.


Jim Magilton will probably ring the changes following Saturday's debacle though he could be lacking for options in certain positions. Loan signing Steven Reid will miss out with a hamstring injury so the manager can't make too many changes in central midfield. Likewise at the back, Matt Connolly is unavailable with a pelvic injury. Damion Stewart could be brought into the centre of the back four though and Peter Ramage deserves a game at right-back.


QPR could do with an easy ride after the embarrasing mauling they recieved from Middlesbrough, but they're unlikely to get it tonight. Watford have won their last three home games at a canter - 4-1 against Sheffield Wednesday, 2-0 against Preston and 3-0 against Scunthorpe.

They have a decent record against Rangers in recent years as well, winning five of the last six games at Vicarage Road.


The unfettered optimism I've shown in recent predictions has to be tempered now. QPR have gone from playing well and dropping points to just outright playing badly. The absence of Helguson will affect Watford and give the visitors renewed confidence. But in the context of recent games, a point from this away game will be more than respectable for the travelling R's and it's what I fully expect to happen.

SCORE DRAW

Before discussing this game, below are the highlights from the BBC's Football League show. QPR were top of the billing on Saturday night so you don't have to scroll too far to see a game most R's fans would rather forget (it's only available until Sunday 13th December):

Going into this game, QPR had shown a very soft underbelly at the back which led to just one win in their last five games. After a home drubbing, which taken with the defeat at Doncaster and draw to Coventry serves as a massive wake-up call to the side's promotion ambitions, that underbelly now looks chronically weak and in need of some immediate repair before a bad run turns to a nightmare one.

This was a rare missed game for me at Loftus Road, which considering the circumstances was perhaps not a bad thing, though as Jim Magilton put it after the game, sometimes you can learn as much about a team in defeat as in victory. What, going on the Football League highlights then, did we learn about QPR on Saturday?

Firstly, the defence, which saved the club from an embarrasing league finish last season, seems to be suffering a collective crisis of confidence. Two players, looking at the Boro goals, had particularly torrid games on Saturday - captain Mikele Leigertwood and infrequent starter Fitz Hall. Both looked off the pace and were guilty of backing off players to a dangerous degree.

For the former and going on his own public utterances, right-back is not his preferred position and though that doesn't mean he cannot perform there, it could be time to use a right-back by trade, even if that player is the much-maligned Peter Ramage.

The latter player had a two-month layoff already this season, but on his return, he has been less than commanding at the back and struggled throughout the game to deal with the aggressive forward play of Leroy Lita. It raises another question of why last season's Player of the Year, Damion Stewart, is currently warming the bench.

The game also showed that this midfield is currently lacking in bite, with Gary O'Neil appearing to run the majority of proceedings. The holes left by Gavin Mahon and Martin Rowlands look bigger by the week, with none of the current midfield crop able to play the defensive role in front of the back four which could provide some much needed stability.

Finally, the side still look woefully short of options up front. The double substitution which brought Rowan Vine and Patrick Agyemang onto the pitch had immediate effect with Vine setting up his strike partner to put QPR back in the game. From then on though, the team looked top-heavy and Boro picked them off with three further goals in the last half-hour. More to the point, can either of these players find the net on a regular basis? If not, Rangers will remain damagingly tied to the performances of Jay Simpson, who is allowed to have the odd off-day considering his age.

Sitting in the stands, it is of course easy to suggest the club has to go straight into the transfer market at the first sign of a bad result. This was more than a bad result though and placed in the context of a poor run, with now just one win in six, suggests some of the team's problems are more than superficial. The club's owners have backed the manager in the loan market but not with any significant permanent buys, barring Alejandro Faurlin (pictured below), who unsurprisingly has been one of the season's top performers. Where could this team go with two or three more players of that quality?


Jim Magilton and John Gorman have a big task now to lift their players before tonight's game with Watford - more on that later. When the dust then settles, they might start identifying a few important reinforcements to try and buy come January.

HIGHS: Good opening spell, took the game to Boro.

LOWS: Inability to close down Boro attacks, more woeful marking on set pieces and a real lack of bite in the midfield.

QPR - Cerny, Hall, Gorkss, Borrowdale, Leigertwood, Routledge (Pellicori 80), Buzsaky (Vine 52), Watson, Faurlin, Taarabt, Simpson (Agyemang 52)

Subs not used - Taylor, Ramage, Stewart, Williams

Scorers - Agyemang (54)

Bookings - Hall

Middlesbrough - Jones, Pogatetz, St. Ledger, Williams, Wheater, Yeates, O'Neil (Digard 79), Arca, Osbourne, Lita, Kitson

Subs not used - Coyne, Hoyte, Riggott, Emnes, McMahon, L. Williams.

Scorers - Kitson (31), Lita (pen 50, 60), O'Neil (75), Yeates (87)

Bookings - Lita, Osbourne

Referee - P Gibbs

Attendance - 13,949

For the Hoops, Matt Connolly, who was already out for a long spell this season with glandula fever, now has a hip problem and so could miss out this afternoon. It will be disappointing for the player who will have been ready to make amends for one of his poorer games against Coventry last Saturday.

Steven Reid joins him in the treatment room with a hamstring injury which could damage his potential impact on his one-month loan. Rowan Vine is closer to first-team football after using the international break to undergo a hernia operation and Lee Cook is edging nearer to contention - expect him back at Christmas or the New Year if all things go to plan.


QPR's current position in the table is more a reflection of their breakneck form in October but they now have just one win in the last five games. At the same time, performances in recent matches have still been above par, barring a slack defeat at Doncaster so the points tally at the moment isn't matching what happening on the pitch.

Boro though will be equally keen to take home the three points. They're without a win in five so Gordan Strachan is still to taste victory since taking over four games ago. If you're fond of omens though, he waited until his fifth game in charge to win at Coventry and Southampton. Expect that fact to be repeated ad nauseum on the Football League Show tonight should Boro win.


The last two games which I thought Rangers would win comfortably have shown how hard it is to maintain form in the Championship, though Rangers have done themselves few favours in that time. But the football they are producing has been of a high enough standard to suggest the recent lack of wins has been a mere blip rather than a sign of any terminal decline. So it's hard to go for anything else than a home win again, though the keeper and back four will have to be switched on from the first minute.

HOME WIN

QPR welcome Middlesbrough to Loftus Road tomorrow with both clubs keen to get a much needed win after recent dips in form. If you're keen to bone up on Rangers' opponents but pressed for time, the quick guide below will fill you in on all the vital information.


Boro aren't overwhelmed by injury problems at the moment with Gary O'Neil likely to come back into the side after suffering with a groin injury. The one doubt is Marcus Bent, a recent loan addition who it was hoped would bring goals back to a misfiring side.


Boro flirted with the notion of turning professional for much of the late 19th century to the extent that a breakway team was formed - with the spectacular title of Middlesbrough Ironopolis. In fact, the breakaway side made it to the Football League before the real Boro, but the world wasn't ready for such an elaborate moniker and they went bust in 1893. The more factually named Middlesbrough Football Club stepped up to the league in 1899. In 1905, they sign centre-forward Alf Common and to borrow the style of British Pathe, "there was nothing common about the transfer fee", as he was the first £1,000 player. They achieve their best-ever top flight finish in 1914, when they reach third.

A rather big-headed striker named Brian Clough sets about a phenomenal scoring record in the 1950s when he reaches 197 goals in just 213 games and a similarly big-mouthed manager, Jack Charlton, leads the club back into the first division in 1974. Note no trophies or final appearances up until this point.

The early 90s see the club drop in and out of the top flight on a regular basis but the surge in money in the game in the mid-90s extends to the North East and Boro go on a splurge, building a new stadium and signing, amongst others, Juninho and Fabrizio Ravanelli. The club come fleetingly close to glory in 1996-7 when they reach two cup finals but are also relegated - more on that below. And it takes the intervention of the much maligned Schteve McClaren for the club to win their first trophy in 2004 when they land the Carling Cup in 2004.


Clear evidence here on 22 seconds that goalkeepers didn't get the protection they do nowadays: http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=82745.


I'm a sucker for synchronicity and to my mind, Boro were close to both their greatest achievements and their lowest ebb in the same season. Can many other clubs have experienced as rollercoaster a season as Boro did in 1996-7? For a start, Boro had two of the most entertaining players in the Premier League that season. From the midfield, they could call on the unpredictable talents of Juninho whilst up front, they had a former Champions League winner on their books in the shape of Fabrizio Ravanelli, who provided 17 goals over the course of the season.

Their talents were allied to a steely spine of experienced players that included Nigel Pearson, Neil Cox and Clayton Blackmore. Somehow, despite dire league form and the deduction of three points, they still collectively reached both cup finals. Their route to the FA Cup Final was far from the hardest and they were particularly lucky to scrape past Chesterfield, needing two games to beat them in the semi-final whereas in the League Cup, they had a couple of noteable scalps including Liverpool.

Of course, neither run to Wembley ended in glory. The task of beating Chelsea in the FA Cup final was always a tall order but defeat to Leicester City over two games in the League Cup would have been particularly hard to swallow. But after years of dormant slumber, to explode to life in such a way in just one season must surely take some beating.


And yet, in exactly the same season, the club were relegated from the top flight, in no small part thanks to a three point deduction when the club called off a league game against Blackburn because too many of their players were ill. In short, the modern history of Boro could have been quite different had that season turned out slightly differently. Had they won both or one of their cup final visits and managed to avoid the drop, there would have been no tears from Juninho on the final day, no immediate departure from him and Ravanelli and potentially the club would have been taken far more seriously in England and abroad.

It's a very Premiership-centric way to look at their history and admittedly, the club have since been in and out of the Premiership and have added their first trophy but it did feel like they were on the verge of greatness over those memorable twelve months.


Clearly, Boro fans feel slightly aggrieved on a regular basis with quite a few saying it's hard to be a Boro fan because results 'always go against us'. Arnoldsballboy on the Footy Mad forum said the level of support from Boro fans at home games can be fairly mixed but away from home, they normally try to make as much noise as possible. The decibel levels at Loftus Road could do with being raised a few notches so it will be interesting to see if they live up to this prediction tomorrow.


Defenders don't always catch the eye, particularly of neutral viewers, but one of Boro's most important players so far this season has been Sean St Ledger, a Republic of Ireland international and a current loan signing from Preston North End. The centre-back has clearly done enough to impress because he is now linked with a permanent move to the club in January. He cemented a reputation as a reliable performer at Deepdale and became a firm fan favourite, so he could be a significant capture for Boro should they finally get him for good. 

I've been more than a bit slack this week and so am only now getting round to discussing the Coventry game from last Saturday.

There doesn't seem to be too much point in going through a minute-by-minute analysis of the game this far after it. QPR were clearly the better side for long stretches of the game and played some of the best football they've played at Loftus Road this season. Some of the linking moves in Coventry's half were excellent and I haven't seen the possession stats, but it looked like Rangers absolutely bossed this one.

And still somehow only got a point. Slack defending was blamed for the defeat at Doncaster and if anything, the collective effort at the back was even worse here and resulted in two points dropped and a thoroughly pissed-off manager after the game. In what was far from his most ebullient press conference, Jim Magilton couldn't fault his attacking players but was clearly more than a bit angry with the soft two goals QPR conceded. He said that for all their creativity, any team in the Championship still needs to 'defend for their lives' and his clearly hadn't. It wouldn't surprise me if defending set pieces hadn't featured in some way on the training pitch this week.

Results across the Championship weren't too damaging for the Hoops though who remain in fifth. This weekend brings Middlesbrough to west London. After a blistering start to life in this league, they've gone off the boil in recent weeks with Gordon Strachan (pictured left) yet to achieve a win since becoming their manager. In other words, both teams will desparately be craving three points on Saturday. More on the game and QPR's team news tomorrow. 

Rangers welcome Fitz Hall back to the fold so Jim Magilton has a full quota of centre-backs to call on. Kaspars Gorkss didn't have his best game in a blue and white shirt last weekend so the manager may choose to give Hall or Damion Stewart a try. He also chose loanee signing Tommy Williams over Gary Borrowdale at left-back last weekend though Borrowdale has been fairly consistent for the side all season so it's unclear who the manager currently prefers.

His options up front are less varied with Rowan Vine still out with a hernia problem and Angelo Balanta yet to fully recover from a groin injury. I'd expect Patrick Agyemang and Alessandro Pellicori to deputise for a front two of Jay Simpson and Wayne Routledge, by some distance the most successful striking partnership the Hoops have tried this season.

In midfield, Gavin Mahon and Martin Rowlands are of course long-term absentees so the manager will have to try and strike the balance between Ben Watson, Alejandro Faurlin and Steven Reid with Mikele Leigertwood also available to provide defensive cover. Lee Cook is stepping up his recovery from his knee injury but I wouldn't expect to see him in the first team for at least two or three weeks yet.


No new team news for Coventry since yesterday.


Take the form of this season and this game should be a walkover for QPR. Coventry are currently bottom of the league's form table with just two points from the last 18 and no win since they beat Watford on 29 September; form which has taken them to within three points of the relegation area. QPR, on the other hand, despite only one win in their last four games, have been in startling attacking form for most of the season and before their home defeat to Leicester, scored 13 goals in three home games.

Take the historical form though and it's much more in the Sky Blues favour. QPR showed last weekend that the prospect of a bogey team in Doncaster Rovers could have more of an effect than current form would have suggested and there is no bigger bogey (pardon the expression) for QPR than Coventry. They've beaten them just once in the last seven games at Loftus Road and have lost three of the last four. Coventry can also call on Clinton Morrison who has an unerring ability to find the net against QPR.


After predicting a comfortable win last weekend which turned into QPR's worst performance of the season, I am suitably chastened and this game has many of the omens which surrounded the Doncaster game which you ignore at your peril. That said, I still think Rangers have better options across the pitch than the visitors. Those loanee signings who didn't cover themselves in  glory last weekend may find the atmosphere in front of their own supporters more inviting. I think QPR should have enough to win this by a couple of goals.

HOME WIN

If you want a cathedral, they've got one to spare. The Sky Blue Army roll up in west London tomorrow. Below are the bare essentials on QPR's visitors.

Coventry City Team News

Coventry have a few problems at the back going into tomorrow's game. Centre-back Ben Turner is out with an ankle injury and left-back Marcus Hall misses out with a calf problem. Recent signing Sammy Clingan, a summer arrival from relegated Norwich, is also out with a broken toe. On a positive note for the away side, they can call on Isaac Osbourne who has recovered from a knee injury and Jordan Clarke returns following a ban.


How do you summarise Coventry City's history? That FA Cup win, countless last-day survival bids and Jimmy Hill would all be close to the fore of most people's minds.

City certainly started out as they meant to go in their first season of league football. In Division Two in 1919/20, they conspired to lose their opening game 5-0 at Tottenham, not win a game until Christmas and still stayed up on the last day of the season.

It took the arrival of the Golden Chin to elevate the club out of the lower divisions though. Much derided now as basically a bit of a prat, Hill was actually a bit of an innovator at Coventry. He changed the team's kit and nickname to 'The Sky Blues', came up with their anthem 'We All Sing Together' and most importantly, set about revolutionising the team on the pitch. He guided the club from Division Three to the top flight only to go and choose a career in television over management.

They managed just fine without him though and famously remained in the top division for the next 34 years, with numerous great escapes along the way. In the mid-80s, they beat the drop on the last day in three consecutive seasons before achieving their greatest accolade in 1987, a 3-2 FA Cup Final win over Spurs (more on that below).

After battling to remain in the Premiership ever since its inception, the club succumbed to the inevitable in 2001 though and dropped to their current home in the Championship. As with a number of clubs who were previously used to Premiership football, they haven't looked particularly close to returning there for some time.


A trawl through the available footage of Coventry back in the day unearthed the 1920s version of hard-core pornography. In a video in which British Pathe cast aspersions on the whole city of Coventry by branding them all 'Peeping Toms', a faintly depressed looking Lady Godiva stand-in called Muriel Mellerup parades through the city naked on the back of the horse. http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=17163 - click here for some hot black and white action.


FA Cup finals have rarely been captivating occaisions in recent years, but if Coventry do nothing else, they
will still have played their part in one of the most memorable Cup finals ever (it got the nod from John Motson and he's been to a few).



I didn't have to go too far to get the views of an away fan this week. Despite a love for the red half of North London which grows by the year, my brother has been a Coventry supporter ever since he first struck his eyes on the angelic face of Steve Ogrizovic. His words below sum up the experience of your average Sky Bluer:

Being a Coventry fan has cost me two things…money and pain. For what felt like eternity we proudly hung onto our Premier League status but ever since then have struggled badly. On the whole Cov fans are an extremely cynical bunch. With only one major honour in our history we are used to mediocrity, and expect little else. Since our relegation to the Championship these meagre expectations have fallen even further, with the prospect of administration and League One football rearing their ugly heads but still we survive.

Dropping down another division is viewed as the potential death of the club, but the manner in which bitter rivals Leicester (who have usurped Villa as our most hated team because we never play Villa anymore) have bounced back makes us wonder. Chris Coleman still has the backing of the fans, but with players struggling for form and Keiren Westwood, our star goalkeeper, allegedly leaving in January, Coleman has a tough job getting anything from a season that seems to be slipping through our fingers


As mentioned above, if you're going to spend a lot of your time scrapping about at the bottom end of the Championship, you better have a decent goalie to lessen the burden. Now in his second season at the Ricoh Arena, Westwood has been close to ever-present since his arrival and is one of the few bright sparks in a team lacking in funds and genuine talents. At only 23 years of age, he's already been called up to the Republic of Ireland squad and is now supposedly fancied by a number of Premiership clubs. If he's on top form tomorrow, the Hoops will have to work extra hard for goals.

Jim Magilton is turning into the Harry Redknapp of the Championship with the amount of wheeler-dealering (?) he has done in the last three weeks. Most of the movement in and out of Loftus Road has been in the form of loans and short-term ones at that, so Rangers fans aren't seeing the green shots of an Abrahamovich-style splurge, but the deals could be of value to the club all the same.

The latest move is from Loftus Road to Elland as winger Hogan Ephraim, who has been missing for most of this season with an ankle injury, heads north to current League One toppers Leeds United. It's a one month deal and he can't play in the FA Cup for Leeds this weekend. Magilton commented on how much this can help Ephraim in allowing him enough competitive football to recover fully following his lay-off. Whilst it does demonstrate that the player wasn't in the manager's immediate first-team plans, to play in a successful team with a relatively high standard of players could be a massive boost for Ephraim and as the manager also said, he could provide much stronger competition for a starting place on his return.

Better that than playing in the very infrequent reserve matches. QPR had to organise a reserve friendly with Crystal Palace on Tuesday to make up for the lack of competitive fixtures until December. The side lost 5-3 with reserve manager Keith Ryan bemoaning the absence of professional linesmen. A number of potential first-teamers played. Defenders Peter Ramage, Damion Stewart and Fitz Hall all got a 65 minute run-out, Gary Borrowdale and Ephraim lasted 75 minutes and Matteo Alberti, Alessandro Pellicori and Patrick Agyemang played the whole game, with the 'Pelican' scoring twice (substitute Sam Bewick provided Ranger's other goal).

One player who may soon need a few reserve games is Lee Cook. Another tricky winger, Cook hasn't featured all season for QPR due to a serious knee injury and he has been slowly on the road to recovery. He is now stepping up his rehabilitation out of the gym and running with the first team and said this week that he is well on target for his scheduled return date of Christmas.

There has been further excitement in a number of papers at the prospect of youngster Raheem Sterling departing QPR. The favourites for his signature are constantly shifting, from Liverpool (he went to a game there) to Manchester City (they will buy anyone) to now Arsenal (he maybe met with Liam Brady). There could be some truth in it of course and Arsenal certainly have a better track record of developing young players, though they can't find first-team places for most of their current crop of kids. QPR would get £750,000 initially plus further incentives should he be successful with the Gunners according to the Sun: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/2744570/Sterling-effort-from-Gunners.html, so make of that what you will.

Marcus Hall won't play for Coventry in Saturday's game, he's out with a calf injury. More on Coventry and QPR's preparations to bounce back from defeat last weekend tomorrow. It could be a bumper weekend of football. After taking in what could be a surprisingly full Loftus Road on Saturday, Sunday, for those who look up a division, promises the Scouse derby and Arsenal-Chelsea, with El Classico later in the evening. Plus somewhere amongst that, there's the draw for the FA Cup third round on ITV. When Trevor Brooking or a stand-in is juggling balls in his hand, look out for number 31.

Flavio Briatore began the proceedings today which could see his ban from Formula One overturned and his future in English football settled. Well, his lawyers did anyway. Briatore himself wasn't present at a hearing of the Paris High Court today at which it was argued that the ruling, which expelled Briatore from F1 for his involvement in a race-fixing scandal, was 'illegal' and that the outcome had been decided prior to the hearing.

Briatore's legal challenge centred on three arguments. Firstly, it was felt the severity of Briatore's punishment was the result not of any misdeamenour but because of his strained relationship with the then FIA president Max Mosley. Secondly, Briatore's lawyers insisted that World Motor Sport Council did not have the authority to impose an indefinite penalty on Briatore. Thirdly, they argued that the whole procedure was flawed because it relied on the testimony of an anonymous witness.

Briatore's lawyer Phillipe Ouakrat said, "Briatore wants to recover his freedom and be able to do what he wants.

"When he decided to leave Renault, he took moral responsibility for the mistake, but he doesn't want to be penalised for something he is not responsible for."

Representatives for the FIA also spoke before the Court, arguing that the FIA had to ensure the security of its events and that Briatore had "put other people's security at risk."

The all-important decision for Briatore, with potential ramifications for his continued ownership of QPR, will not be made until Jan 5. The Football League previously said they would not make any decision on Briatore under the 'Fit and Proper Persons Test' until after the result of his appeal so QPR fans will have to wait until the New Year for any idea on whether Flavio is sticking around.

At the same time, manager Jim Magilton indicated that the continuing Briatore saga is firmly separate from the football team in his mind and will not impact on the team's form, even if he should be banned from the club. Magilton told the Evening Standard, "I have been assured it is business as usual whatever happens." He also said he is happy to continue in his job at QPR and contrary to rumours about the overbearing influence of the Board, he is left to get on with it.

One task he has, according to numerous sources, is to keep QPR youth star Raheem Sterling (pictured above) at the club. Sterling is a 14-year old striker who has appeared for Ranger's U18 team and England U16s. Despite his young age, a number of papers have been eager to talk up the boy's talent and his attractiveness to a number of Premiership clubs, including supposedly both Manchester clubs, Arsenal and Liverpool.

The Mirror went so far as to suggest Mark Hughes was prepared to offer QPR two fringe players (unnamed) and £1 million to secure the youngster: http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Manchester-City-to-swap-pair-of-stars-for-QPR-whizzkid-Raheem-Sterling-article216879.html. They then reported yesterday that the youngster has asked to leave Rangers: http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Manchester-City-set-to-swoop-for-QPR-wonderkid-Sterling-article230917.html.

Should it be the player's will, there are probably few who would deny a genuine talent his right to develop with one of the best teams in the country, though it could be questioned how much room there will be for him in future Manchester City squads. What is noticeably missing from most of the breathless reports about this 14-year old boy is what would be in his best interests. Hopefully the people around him have some idea about that.

Jim Magilton, unsurprisingly, wasn't an entirely happy man on Saturday evening after watching his side lose their fourth game of the season and fall behind pace-setters WBA and Newcastle (who have the opportunity to put further distance on the chasing pack when they play Preston North End tonight).

The manager said, "We fell asleep for the first goal, I was very disappointed with both goals - they were really, really poor.

"We were probably the architects of our downfall today, we didn't defend properly."

Whilst acknowledging that he wouldn't be too hard on the team as they have performed well for him for large chunks of this season, Magilton is refreshingly honest in the wake of a poor result or performance (take the win over Accrington Stanley in the Carling Cup after which he still publicly roasted his team). After this set-back, he was similarly forthright, admitting that the performance was lethargic and that the team played "like they'd had two weeks off." Most damningly, he said, " we looked like we had lads who had been reading nice things about themselves."

Amidst the cacophony of praise following their good run of results, it was clear that the expectations were getting ramped up as QPR, for the first time since Flavio Briatore's arrival, started to look like genuine promotion candidates. It must have been a new feeling for most of the side and the big challenge was how they would respond, how they would play on days when the world and his wife expected them to win. A few of those challenges, particularly on Saturday, have now not been met. The manager accepted as much by implying that some of his team assumed they were too good to lose.

Of course, he remained upbeat about the team's chances though, saying this week ahead would be a big one for the club and he anticipated that they would rise to the challenge of playing Coventry City on Saturday. Again, it's another "must-win, cannot fail" match and the fact that we're talking about the team needing to bounce back after such a good start to the season seems faintly ridiculous. That is the pressure that comes at the top-end of the table though and the manager and players will surely be pleased to accept it.

The less said about my prediction for this game the better. It looks like QPR's poor form at Doncaster counted for more than their recent rise up the table and they suffered a reality check yesterday to demonstrate just how hard it is to get out of the Championship.

Jim Magilton commendably added to his squad during the international break and two of his additions came straight into the team, Tommy Williams starting at left-back and Steven Reid drafted into the midfield. Matt Connolly also got the nod at centre-back and Adel Taarabt was rested with Alejandro Faurlin joining Reid and Ben Watson in the middle. Whether that was too many changes for the team to cope with is hard to say. The manager is clearly aiming for a degree of competition in the squad which though it didn't come through yesterday, could pay dividends later in the season.

Both teams, for any weaknesses, will always attempt to play attacking and passing football and so it proved in this game, though they both struggled to forge genuine goal-scoring opportunities at the same time. It took some less than focussed defending from Rangers to provide Doncaster with three points.

Rangers often suffer from a lack of concentration at set-pieces (the early goal for Derby County on an otherwise profitable day being a recent example) and so it proved here. From a corner, Doncaster quickly moved the ball to Billy Sharp in the six-yard box and as a mass of Rangers players belatedly tried to catch up to him, he turned the ball into the net.

It boosted Rovers for the final quarter of the game and they soon doubled their lead. Kaspars Gorkss is usually entirely reliable for QPR but his attempt to pass to new teammate Williams near the edge of his own area was woefully casual and it played in Dean Shiels who curled a smart effort past Radek Cerny.

QPR's away record doesn't look quite so rosy now though it still bears healthy comparison with last season's dismal form on the road. This was their third defeat away from Loftus Road and though that's not enough to set alarm bells ringing, it is a statistic the team will be keen not to add to lest it should derail their promotion push. After a two-week break, results can often become a lottery as certain players react badly to the break from their working schedule. There were certainly a few QPR players out there who weren't at the peak of their physical but more importantly mental powers yesterday. Jim Magilton will be very eager to use this result as a rallying call against complacency as the run of fixtures steps up towards Christmas.

HIGHS: Smart, passing football at least in the first half; an opportunity to draft in two new players who far from disgraced themselves.

LOWS: More lapses in concentration at the back; only one shot on target in the whole game; three points dropped at a side fighting against relegation.

Doncaster - Sullivan, O'Connor, Roberts, Chambers, Hird, Oster (Spicer 87), Fortune (Shackell 72), Shiels (Wilson 85), Coppinger, Gillett, Sharp.

Subs not used - Smith, Guy, Hayter, Heffernan.


Scorers - Sharp (53), Shiels (63).


QPR - Cerny, Gorkss, Connolly, Williams, Reid, Leigertwoodyellow card, Routledge, Buzsaky (Agyemang 63), Watson, Faurlin (Taarabt 46), Simpson (Pellicori 63).

Subs not used - McWeeney, Ramage, Stewart, Ephraim.


Bookings - Leigertwood.


Attendance - 10,821.

See yesterday's post on Doncaster for all their team news.


Compared to Doncaster, QPR definitely have a more competitive squad to handle any injury worries, particularly with the three recent loan signings discussed yesterday. Those worries remain though. Martin Rowlands and Gavin Mahon are long-term absentees in the middle of the park hence the arrival of Steven Reid and Lee Cook is still some way off first-team football. Fitz Hall has a back injury and Rowan Vine isn't fully recovered from a groin injury.

On the postive side, Gary Borrowdale returns and will battle new loan addition Tommy Williams for his left-back slot. QPR will soon have extra options up front as well with Angelo Balanta returning to light training and Alessandro Pellicori close to full fitness as well.


Polar opposites really. 'Donny' have won one in eleven and claimed only a point from their last three games whereas Rangers have just one defeat in six and 29 goals already. At the same time, they don't have a great record travelling to Doncaster and have won there only once, back in 1951. Rovers can point to five wins and a draw in their last 10 games against QPR.


No more sitting on the fence from me. No more hedging the bets. QPR will win today's game and win it comfortably. Rovers are missing a number of key players whilst QPR are a changed team away from home this season. The recent loan additions could either start tomorrow and push the team on or act as a barrier against complacency for Rangers' regular starters. Either way, I think all three additions were smart moves from Jim Magiltonn whilst QPR's key attacking players - Wayne Routledge, Adel Taarabt and Jay Simpson - should all have enough quality to claim three points.

AWAY WIN

Jim Magilton has shown a commendable unwillingness to rest on his laurels over the last couple of weeks with a number of loan additions to the squad and a player going in the opposite direction as well.

On the credit side, Magilton has quickly moved in the loan market to add Peterborough left-back Tommy Williams, Blackburn midfielder Steven Reid and young Chelsea goalkeeper Rhys Taylor.

The last of these was clearly out of necessity after Tom Heaton's loan deal expired and he returned to Manchester United (and now on loan again to Rochdale). Heaton is still the club's long-term target as an understudy to Radek Cerny but as an ambitious player himself, he has indicated that he will leave Old Trafford in the summer in search of first-team football, so Loftus Road might not be his ideal destination. In the meantime, Taylor (pictured left) will provide the necessary cover should Cerny get injured. He's only 19 and yet to play for Chelsea's first team but he is a Wales U21 international and a regular at reserve level. Magilton was certainly talking up the deal, saying Taylor has come 'highly recommended' and 'that he will push Radek all the way'. The current deal runs until January 4.

Looking at the other two additions, neither were quite as essential, though the club had no cover at left-back and diminished options in the middle of the park after the long-term injuries to Gavin Mahon and Martin Rowlands.

Tommy Williams (pictured right) is a former QPR player who had fallen slightly out of favour at Peterborough United and had also been struggling with an ankle injury. He's definitely got a wealth of experience including three spells at London Road, two spells at QPR and appearances for Barnsley, Gillingham, Swansea City and Wycombe. Gary Borrowdale missed QPR's last match, the 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday but is fit for the Doncaster game so it's far from certain who Magilton will pick in the left-back slot.

Finally, Steven Reid (pictured left) arrived from Blackburn Rovers on a month-long loan deal. The length of the deal suggests Rangers are definitely testing the player out or that they see him purely as a stop-gap, though both Mahon or Rowlands will be far from fit in four weeks time. Magilton got most excited about this signing though. He said, "He's a class act. He can pass; he can tackle; he can shoot, he's box-to-box - he's a very, very good player." It certainly makes his midfield options look a bit more attractive with Reid, Alejandro Faurlin and Ben Watson all in contention to start against Doncaster.

Moving out on loan is Gareth Ainsworth (pictured right) who has been finding it difficult to get a look-in this season. After helping the club through two dismal periods last season by stepping into the shoes of both Iain Dowie and Paulo Sousa following their unceremonious dismissals, Ainsworth indicated that he would put his desire to move into coaching on the back burner for now and concentrate on playing. Unfortunately, with QPR's attacking players firing on all cylinders, he's not really had a chance and now moves on a month's loan to try and help Wycombe get off the bottom of League One.

Questions will remain about what QPR will do when all these players depart, with Ben Watson, Jay Simpson and Adel Taarabt also only at the club on a temporary basis, though the latter two are there until the end of the season (and the club will hope to keep Watson for as long as well). By the time they depart, the club could be in the Premiership though when the degree of investment from the club's wealthy backers could sky-rocket. In the meantime, the club has back-up in all positions and competition for places, which few teams in the Championship can boast of.