QPR Blast Their Way To The Play-off Spots
Posted On 26/10/2009 at at 21:46 by Alistair KleebauerI clearly chose a poor time to stop writing about QPR to try and sort out the look of this blog. After spending the start of the season struggling to liven up Rangers' succession of dull 1-1 draws at home, I go and miss their transformation into England's form team. The 5-2 win over Barnsley, which I reported on, hinted at what was to come. Since then, they've scored a further 15 goals in just 4 games and now sit inside the play-off spots with a game in hand which could potentially place them in the top two. For any team, this would be pretty remarkable but for a team which scored the lowest number of goals in the Championship last season, it's an astonishing turnaround.
There doesn't seem to be too much point in going over games from a month ago in too much detail, especially when the fixtures come so thick and fast in the Championship (QPR have two eminently winnable home games in quick succession now - against Leicester City on Friday (30th) and against Crystal Palace next Tuesday (3rd). Suffice to say, since I was so rudely interrupted, the following has happened.
Newcastle 1 QPR 1 - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/8269649.stm
Swansea 2 QPR 0 - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/8273860.stm
This was the one blip on an almost perfect run for QPR and as if destined by fate, it came against their former manager Paulo Sousa (pictured right in his QPR days) who was so unceremoniously dumped from the club six months ago (and who is still involved in legal action against the club over his dismissal http://www.walesonline.co.uk/footballnation/football-news/2009/10/02/paulo-sousa-fights-on-in-legal-battle-with-qpr-91466-24832650/). By all accounts, QPR bossed this game for large chunks of the match before the midfield pair I praised so highly above left them with an impossible task. First, Rowlands was sent from the pitch for a second bookable offence for a late lunge on Nathan Dyer. Swansea soon profited from their numerical advantage, Mark Gower opening the scoring before Watson decided to join his teammate in an early bath, recieving his second yellow for a handball. Lee Trundle finished off any QPR interest in the game with a goal five minutes from the end.
QPR 4 Preston North End 0 - My report in the sports section of 20 October 2009 H & F News - http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Directory/News/Current_issue_of_hf_news_as_pdfs.asp.
This game was the biggest indication yet that Jim Magilton's version of QPR could play genuinely entertaining attacking football and get goals to match, something which as repeatedly mentioned on here has been so lacking from Loftus Road in the last season and a half. Adel Taarabt's first goal (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB1YcgScfuo - this is sadly the best version on the internet at the moment, go to 0,15) was simply extraordinary and is unlikely to be bettered at QPR's ground this season (though Akos Buzsaky attempted an incredible half-volley not long after which had it nestled in the net would have been its superior). In undoubtedly his best game yet for Rangers, Taarabt then went on to win a fair penalty in the second half which Buzsaky converted. From there, it was plain sailing against a surprisingly toothless Preston side, Jay Simpson and Wayne Routledge (the new strike partnership of choice) rounding off the win.
QPR 4 Reading 1 - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/8304286.stm
Just three days after mercilessly tearing apart Preston, QPR welcomed a down-on-their-luck Reading side and with it the opportunity for another high-scoring game, though many QPR fans could have been forgiven for resorting to tell-tale pessimisim prior to this match. In the end, a further four goals delighted the small home crowd (QPR's run of form has coincided with a real drop-off in attendances with only 13 and 12 thousand people seeing the Preston and Reading games respectively), all done with only ten men after a laughable sending-off for Watson (just returning from suspension, he walked for two yellows again, the second this time being for the heinous crime of taking a free-kick too early). Buzsaky continued his battle with Taarabt for best goal of the season with a sublime free-kick (pictured below), Jay Simpson capped off a wonderful counter-attack with a well-taken finish and Rowan Vine and Patrick Agyemang even got in on the act with their all-important first goals of the season.
In short, I've followed QPR for only a season and a half as a reporter and I'm struggling to explain how well they are now playing as a team and how good some of their football is. Die-hard Rangers fans, who have seen them sink a division lower than this, who have struggled through season after season of mediocre football and near-administration, must be completely flummoxed by current events on the pitch. The transistion from something of a laughing stock to the form team in the league has been rapid and though Magilton looked to have added solidity and greater continuity early on, few could have anticipated the recent run of results.
A report on last weekend's win over Derby County (four goals again) and a look ahead to the next two home games to follow.
This was the one blip on an almost perfect run for QPR and as if destined by fate, it came against their former manager Paulo Sousa (pictured right in his QPR days) who was so unceremoniously dumped from the club six months ago (and who is still involved in legal action against the club over his dismissal http://www.walesonline.co.uk/footballnation/football-news/2009/10/02/paulo-sousa-fights-on-in-legal-battle-with-qpr-91466-24832650/). By all accounts, QPR bossed this game for large chunks of the match before the midfield pair I praised so highly above left them with an impossible task. First, Rowlands was sent from the pitch for a second bookable offence for a late lunge on Nathan Dyer. Swansea soon profited from their numerical advantage, Mark Gower opening the scoring before Watson decided to join his teammate in an early bath, recieving his second yellow for a handball. Lee Trundle finished off any QPR interest in the game with a goal five minutes from the end.QPR 4 Preston North End 0 - My report in the sports section of 20 October 2009 H & F News - http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Directory/News/Current_issue_of_hf_news_as_pdfs.asp.
This game was the biggest indication yet that Jim Magilton's version of QPR could play genuinely entertaining attacking football and get goals to match, something which as repeatedly mentioned on here has been so lacking from Loftus Road in the last season and a half. Adel Taarabt's first goal (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB1YcgScfuo - this is sadly the best version on the internet at the moment, go to 0,15) was simply extraordinary and is unlikely to be bettered at QPR's ground this season (though Akos Buzsaky attempted an incredible half-volley not long after which had it nestled in the net would have been its superior). In undoubtedly his best game yet for Rangers, Taarabt then went on to win a fair penalty in the second half which Buzsaky converted. From there, it was plain sailing against a surprisingly toothless Preston side, Jay Simpson and Wayne Routledge (the new strike partnership of choice) rounding off the win.
QPR 4 Reading 1 - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/8304286.stm
Just three days after mercilessly tearing apart Preston, QPR welcomed a down-on-their-luck Reading side and with it the opportunity for another high-scoring game, though many QPR fans could have been forgiven for resorting to tell-tale pessimisim prior to this match. In the end, a further four goals delighted the small home crowd (QPR's run of form has coincided with a real drop-off in attendances with only 13 and 12 thousand people seeing the Preston and Reading games respectively), all done with only ten men after a laughable sending-off for Watson (just returning from suspension, he walked for two yellows again, the second this time being for the heinous crime of taking a free-kick too early). Buzsaky continued his battle with Taarabt for best goal of the season with a sublime free-kick (pictured below), Jay Simpson capped off a wonderful counter-attack with a well-taken finish and Rowan Vine and Patrick Agyemang even got in on the act with their all-important first goals of the season.
In short, I've followed QPR for only a season and a half as a reporter and I'm struggling to explain how well they are now playing as a team and how good some of their football is. Die-hard Rangers fans, who have seen them sink a division lower than this, who have struggled through season after season of mediocre football and near-administration, must be completely flummoxed by current events on the pitch. The transistion from something of a laughing stock to the form team in the league has been rapid and though Magilton looked to have added solidity and greater continuity early on, few could have anticipated the recent run of results.
A report on last weekend's win over Derby County (four goals again) and a look ahead to the next two home games to follow.
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