Hoop Dreams - QPR FC

So often at Loftus Road, what is going on off the pitch takes precedence over the actual football on display. So for once, lets get Flavio Briatore out of the way straight off. No-one, including probably the man himself, knows what the future holds for the co-owner of the club following his enforced exile from Formula One. The Football League have written to the FIA to clarify their recent action against the Italian and to see if he can remain at QPR under their 'Fit and Proper Persons' test. A sticking point, depending on your outlook, could be that Briatore hasn't strictly been banned from F1. Instead the powers-that-be stated that they wouldn't sanction any events in which he was present. As he also was not present and had no right of appeal, his lawyers could have a field day should the Football League follow suit and banish him from football.

But for once on a Saturday, the display on the pitch was far more captivating than any dodgy going-ons behind the scenes. QPR were far from perfect and came narrowly close to letting Barnsley back into a game which should have been dead and buried. After the workmanlike win over Cardiff last weekend and the tireless display against Chelsea though, yesterday marked the point where some flair and goals finally entered the mix as well.

QPR flew out of the starting blocks against a new-look Barnsley defence which included two new loan signings, Ryan Shotton and Carl Dickinson, both from Stoke City. They were a goal up after only seven minutes, Mikele Leigertwood showing that Jim Magilton's decision to play him at right-back in the last few games could be inspired. He ran at a Barnsley defence which refused to try and challenge him, allowing him time and space to drill the ball into the bottom right corner.

In a breakneck opening 15 minutes, Rangers soon doubled their lead, Ben Watson, back in the team after being cup-tied against Chelsea in midweek, playing in Akos Buzsaky down the left wing. The Hungarian continued towards goal and lifted the ball towards the back post; the merest deflection helped to guide it into the net.

Normally at this stage QPR tend to sit back and allow the opposition to get back into the game, but Saturday's team wanted to get one more goal before they played that game. This was easily the pick of the bunch as well, Buzsaky scoring a goal which I venture few, if any, in the QPR squad would be capable of.

Jay Simpson trapped the ball well on the left touch-line and laid the ball off to Buzsaky who took a few touches in the direction of the Barnsley net before lifting a 30-yard curler high into the Barnsley net. It was a nice moment for a player who struggled in his first games back this season following a long lay-off with a knee injury.

Barnsley manager Mark Robins possibly picked up some tips from Alex Ferguson during his playing days because his side's conviction rocketed after the break. Iain Hume floated a free-kick into the QPR area shortly after the break and Stephen Foster was on hand to loop a header past Cerny. In the space of a couple of minutes, they'd conceded a second after Stewart lazily brought down Adam Hammill in the area. Andy Gray stepped up to see his penalty initially saved by Cerny but he made no mistakes with the rebound.

At this stage, it would have been far from surprising to see QPR capitulate especially as they had the albatross of 'no wins at home' around their neck. To their credit, they quickly regained their composure and ten minutes later, a half-volley inside the area from Ben Watson squirmed through the hands of David Preece to give the R's some breathing space. Their fifth goal, which settled any remaining nerves, was similarly scrappy, Gorkss heading on a Watson corner which Simpson could just nudge over the line. It was a due reward for the side which played by far the better attacking football throughout the game, but was also indicative of a very shaky Barnsley defence.

There was still time for Adel Taarabt to take to the pitch for his customary half-hour of wholly ineffective showboating and 'running into cul-de-sacs', which is now his trademark move. This time though, his antics were met with hostility from his own supporters, who booed him after he wasted one particularly promising attack. In turn, he angrily gestured towards the crowd to show his frustration; a touch of 'you don't appreciate what I'm trying to do here'.

On a few QPR message boards, opinion seems pretty divided on this 'incident' (though it really was nothing major). Some see the minority of fan's reactions as a disgrace and as potentially damaging to the confidence of the type of flair player QPR normally desperately crave. Whilst it is undoubtedly counter effective to boo your own players, I do have some sympathy for the complete frustration many feel towards Taarabt. He is talented, but is far from being miles ahead of anyone else at the club, yet he plays in a way which is now bordering on disrespectful to his teammates.

I don't know if his very, very brief time in the Premiership fostered a mentality that he should be able to win Championship games on his own, but he can't and never will and he needs to look to his teammates pretty quickly. I also sense that the club have not helped by raising his ego a bit too far at the moment, through talk of how lucky QPR are to land such a player, a player they could never have attracted previously. If anything, I think he's struggling even at this level and would be found out in the Premiership in a minute. Again though, I seem to be wasting more attention on him than any other player and I also fully expect him to score in the next five games consecutively to show me up as the charlatan I am.

So QPR finally won at home, Taarabt is rivalling Briatore as Public Enemy Number One, Akos Buzsaky could be hitting his stride and QPR scored five goals and their strikers still only managed one, though Simpson looks like he will worry a fair few Championship defences. Two tough away games follow at Newcastle tonight and at Swansea on the weekend. If the R's can continue their fine run of form, remain unbeaten and pick up at least one win, then the worries of the opening month will disperse and a promotion challenge will have to be taken seriously again.

HIGHS: Five goals at home, so rare for QPR; one absolutely stunning strike from Akos Buzsaky; enough resilience and character in the team to not capitulate at 3-2.

LOWs: Taarabt's 'cameo' performance from the bench (a bit like Kanye West at the MTV Awards); defensive frailties at the start of the second half; another low attendance.

QPR - Cerny, Stewart, Gorkss, Borrowdale, Leigertwood, Routledge (Faurlin 69), Buzsaky, Rowlands, Watson, Vine (Taarabt 69), Simpson (Pellicori 80)

Subs not used - Heaton (GK), Ramage, Mahon, Ephraim.

Goals - Leigertwood (7), Buzsaky (15, 39), Watson (67), Simpson (79).

Bookings - Borrowdale (87)

Barnsley - Preece, Foster, Butterfield (Kozluk 57), Dickinson, Shotton, Colace, De Silva, Hammill, Doyle, Hume (Bogdanovic 60), Gray (Campbell-Ryce 76)

Subs not used - Rusling (GK), Devaney, J. Gary, Thompson.

Goals - Foster (51), Gray (55).

Bookings - Shotton (36), De Silva (39), Kozluk (59)

Referee - Mr K Evans

Attendance - 12,025.