Hoop Dreams - QPR FC

This was probably the game Mick Harford would have liked to kick off his QPR career with. Unfortunately for him, he was dealt two extremely tricky away games instead.

In the first, away at Blackpool, Rangers managed a commendable draw despite not playing particularly well. In the second though, on Tuesday, they were thoroughly outclassed by the league's form team, Nottingham Forest, losing 5-0.

So Scunthorpe United at home could be the game the new boss was waiting for to get his first three points. At the same time though, The Iron are far from push-overs and their midweek win over Sheffield Wednesday puts them just four points behind Rangers.

On top of that and even by the standards of a fairly chaotic club, QPR are all over the place at the moment.

Three players have left the club in the space of a week - Patrick Agyemang, Wayne Routledge and Fitz Hall - without any additions made in those positions. Two loan signings have come in, fullback Matt Hill and central midfielder Nigel Quashie, but both are probably wondering what they have let themselves in for. The club's hunt for a new striker has stalled as well, with Dave Kitson and Daniel Cousin both reportedly rejecting the club in the last week.

There is even talk of supporter protests today, though it may not extend further then the wearing of clown masks as a gesture to the Board. All said though, QPR are far from a happy club at the moment. 

QPR Team News

Lee Cook continues his rehabilitation from the serious knee injury which has kept him out for the duration of this season. He played in a reserve game midweek and will at least make the bench for today's game.

Hill and Quashie are both more than likely to make their home debuts and the manager should stick with Jay Simpson and Adel Taarabt up front, though Rowan Vine is fully fit and pushing for a starting place. The search for a new striker continues behind the scenes.

In the defence, the loan of Fitz Hall to Newcastle eases the manager's decisions over the centre-backs with two to pick from Matt Connolly, Kaspars Gorkss and Damion Stewart. Peter Ramage could start at right-back for his 100th career league appearance and Mikele Leigertwood will make his 250th career league appearance and 100th for QPR. 

Scunthorpe Team News

Centre-back Rob Jones, a summer signing from Hibs, is likely to start after being taken off during the win over Sheff Wed in midweek as a precaution.

Midfielder Michael O'Connor is also back in contention after serving a two-match ban. Josh Wright has suffered from a virus during the last couple of weeks and has been on the bench, but he is now fit to start.

Scunthorpe have also made two loan additions to their squad, Man City winger Donal McDermott and Forest fullback Brendan Moloney and both could feature.

Form 

Scunthorpe's form is marginally better than QPR's over the last six games, with two wins and two draws. Over the season though, a leaky defence has hampered their ambitions to stay in the league - only bottom side Peterborough United have conceded more and kept fewer clean sheets.

Few need reminding that QPR's form is pretty woeful, with just one win in ten league games and two wins in fifteen going back in all competitions. They also go into this game off the back of one of their worst performances of the season, the 5-0 mauling at Forest.

They do have the advantage in the head-to-head battle with Scunthorpe though, winning six of their last seven games against them and The Iron have only beaten QPR once in the league, back in 1964. 

Prediction

The 5-0 defeat in midweek put a lot of the talk around QPR into sharp perspective. In short, this team are really struggling at the moment and Mick Harford will have to be a miracle worker to pick them up from that defeat and usher in a convincing performance in time for this game.

The loss of Fitz Hall and Patrick Agyemang shouldn't harm the squad and probably makes sense in terms of the club's wage bill but the sale of Wayne Routledge is much more surprising and with Akos Buzsaky out of sorts and Adel Taarabt so unpredictable, it's hard to pinpoint where the creativity will come from in this side.

Against a stronger side, QPR would really be in trouble but they should have enough quality to not lose this game. Despite that, I don't believe they have enough players in good form or enough leaders on the pitch to lift them to a much-needed win. I'm plumping for a draw again.  

SCORE DRAW

Mick Harford's batting average for QPR right now is hardly inspiring, though the two fixtures he was dealt to kick off with were tricky to say the least. A true test of his potential as a manager and of his credentials to lead QPR on a regular basis arrives tomorrow with the visit of Scunthorpe, a newly-promoted side and one Rangers would surely expect to beat at their own ground.

I previously had a look back at Harford's playing days in an attempt to uncover some clues as to his likely managerial style, so it would seem only fitting to consider his actual experience as a manager as well. There are few guarantees in football (the least being that he will actually remain in the job until the end of this season), but his previous spells in the dug-out should provide some indication of what QPR's players and supporters can expect.

Life As A Manager

1998 - Ends his playing days with Wimbledon and goes behind the scenes to work as a coach.

2001 - Joins his former Wimbledon boss Joe Kinnear at Luton Town to act as his assistant following their relegation to the bottom division.

2001/2 - The pair quickly turn the Hatters' fortunes around and they are promoted at the first attempt, finishing second behind Plymouth Argyle and marking the club's first promotion in 20 years.

2002/3 - Season of consolidation in Division Two (now League One) sees Luton finish ninth in the table.

Summer 2003 - Luton's chairman Mike Watson-Challis steps down in favour of a mystery consortium, headed by businessman John Gurney (pictured on the right below with Mike Newell).


Within two days, both Kinnear and Harford are sacked, leading to supporter demonstrations to have them reinstated. Harford is offered his job back but refuses to work under the new ownership. Gurney's reign quickly comes to an end and Harford returns as Director of Football and then first-team coach alongside new manager Mike Newell.

2003/4 - Newell and Harford guide Luton to a respectable finish of tenth after their farcical start to the season.

November 2004 - With Luton flying high in League One, Harford surprisingly decides to team up once again with Joe Kinnear (pictured below), then manager of Nottingham Forest, as his assistant. Forest are attempting to stave off relegation.


16 December 2004 - Kinnear is sacked with Forest 22nd in the Championship. Harford steps in as caretaker manager, lasting six games (two wins, one draw) before Gary Megson becomes the club's permanent manager.

April 2005 - Harford is appointed manager of Rotherham United, who have already been relegated from the Championship. Stays in the job until December but is sacked off the back of a 17 game run without a victory. In fact, in 30 games with the club, Harford manages just five wins.

Summer 2006 - Joins his former teammate Geraint Williams at Colchester United to become their assistant manager.

June 2007 - Becomes assistant manager at QPR behind John Gregory (pictured below).


1st October 2007 - Gregory is sacked following a 5-1 thrashing at West Brom which left the R's at the bottom of the Championship. Harford again acts as caretaker lasting five games before the appointment of Luigi De Canio leads to his exit.

January 2008 - Returns to Luton as manager. The club is rocked by financial difficulties, subject to a transfer embargo and has sold a number of its key players. The club finishes the season bottom of League One.


2008/9 - Luton's fortunes go from bad to worse when they are docked 30 points in the summer of 2008 because of financial irregularities, virtually confirming a second consecutive relegation. Harford stays on at the club but is forced to transfer list his entire squad to reduce the club's wage bill.

April 2009 - Still 12 points adrift of safety, Harford leads Luton to the Football League Trophy final at Wembley where they beat Scunthorpe United 3-2 (aet) in front of 40,000 of their own supporters.


Just one week later though, they succumb to the inevitable and are relegated to the Conference.

1 October 2009 - After a disappointing start to non-league life, Harford and Luton agree to part ways.

17 December 2009 - Paul Hart is appointed manager of QPR with Harford as his assistant.

15 January 2010 - Hart leaves QPR after just five games, leaving Harford to once again step into the driving seat....

Any conclusions?

1 - Time for a bit of wheeler-dealing. Despite his own personal wealth and the even greater fortunes of his financial partners at QPR, Flavio Briatore has made it clear that he will not spend exorbitant transfer fees to bring players to his club. As a result, for all the public acceptance of QPR as a money-bags institution, any manager of Rangers is likely to have to content himself with loan signings, free transfers or the odd £2 to £3 million acquisition if lucky.

Therefore, oddly, Harford's experience of lower league football, of getting by on very tight budgets (or under the constraints of an administrator as was the case at Luton) could be beneficial to QPR. The club could well do with a lower wage bill in general and Harford should have no qualms with haggling any new players onto reasonable contracts.

Likewise, ten years spent across the lower divisions must have brought with it a wealth of contacts and knowledge which QPR can utilise and if competing with Premiership clubs for transfers is out of the question, their new manager might be able to unearth a few lower league gems for them.

He had to do a great deal of rebuilding and scouting during his time managing Luton, when the whole playing staff was put on the transfer list, so will be more than willing to hunt around to strengthen the Rangers squad.

At the same time, it is far from clear whether the board will actually give him any input into player acquisition, with Gianni Paladini tending to monopolise this side of the club's business.

2 - Flavio Briatore has nothing on John Gurney. Any new manager of QPR will be rightly apprehensive of what treatment to expect from their immediate superiors. With the previous incumbent lasting just five games and with Flavio Briatore known for his hands-on approach to business (and by extension, football), those entering the Manager's Office at Loftus Road will be tempted to leave their earthly possessions boxed up, at least for a few weeks.

Harford should be less apprehensive than most though, because he has already dealt with and survived a businessman who makes Briatore look saintly. As mentioned above, John Gurney went on a whirlwind trail of destruction in his attempt to claw control of Luton Town which included sacking Kinnear and Harford within two days of taking over, failing to let the Luton supporters know anything about the consortium he was heading and most unbelievably, organising a X-Factor-style popular vote to decide on a new manager.

When Harford returned to the club two years ago, they faced points penalties, administration and a diminished playing squad. QPR's problems are numerous, but they pale in comparison with some of the tribulations Harford has weathered at Luton so he should not be fazed in the months (weeks? days?) ahead.

3 - Could get QPR's strikers firing. Tuesday night's game was far from emblematic of a manager capable of getting QPR scoring on all fronts, but Harford's experience as a player and manager suggests he should know a thing or two about strikers. As a player himself, he was the text-book sturdy, work-horse, front-line battler, on hand to nick a goal but also to work a defence to the teeth. He scored his goals in the margins, not blessed with the pace or an abundance of skill to simply outplay his opponents.

That experience should be passed onto QPR's misfiring strikers and could benefit the one player capable, up until now, of banging the goals in this season, Jay Simpson.

4 - Contacts and friendships are important to him. The managerial story outlined above has a number of recurring characters, demonstrating that Harford operates best when working with people he knows and trusts. His loyalty to Luton Town was even bested at one point by his loyalty to Joe Kinnear who he followed to Nottingham Forest and his relief and happiness at being able to bring in his own number two Tony Coton at QPR shows that he needs that type of close working relationship. If they can gel together, it could help Rangers to get out of their current predicament.

Taking the Forest game as a marker, he will clearly have his work cut out to fashion a winning side right now. But there is enough experience since he hung up his boots to suggest he could at least make a decent stab of salvaging QPR's season.

QPR defender Fitz Hall joined Championship leaders Newcastle United on loan today until the end of the season.

The 29-year-old (pictured above), linked with a number of clubs during this January transfer window, joins former team-mate Wayne Routledge who moved to Newcastle on Tuesday.

Hall, nicknamed 'One-Size', joined Rangers in January 2008 on a four-and-a-half year deal from Premiership side Wigan Athletic, in a deal reported to be worth £700,000.

He made 14 appearances for the Hoops this season, playing solidly in the opening weeks of the campaign but a groin injury at the start of September kept him out for two months.

On his return, he took some time to readjust to the pace of Championship football and struggled in games against Middlesbrough and Watford in which Rangers were soundly beaten.

He started his league career with Oldham Athletic, before transfers to Southampton and then Crystal Palace, with whom he also experienced Premiership football.

This transfer could be taken as further evidence that QPR are looking to lessen their wage bill and run the club's finances on a more even keel, with Hall widely reported to be one of the biggest earners at Loftus Road.

He is the third player to leave Rangers in the space of five days, after Patrick Agyemang's loan transfer to Bristol City on Monday and Routledge's permanent transfer to Newcastle.

Newcastle face play-off contenders Leicester City in a late kick-off tomorrow with Hall available to play whilst Rangers also play tomorrow, looking to kick-start their faltering season at home to Scunthorpe United.

More on that game and any other transfer news to follow...

The rebirth of QPR as a capable Championship side took a firm back-seat last night when the horrendous form of the last two months reached a new low point with a 5-0 capitulation at the City Ground to promotion-chasing Nottingham Forest.

It marked the second occasion when Rangers have conceded five since the start of December, but at least in the embarrassing 5-1 home defeat to Middlesbrough, they could claim to have offered some form of competition and some degree of attacking play of their own.

By all accounts and I wasn't at this game so I defer to anyone who saw it live, QPR failed to turn up last night, failing to register a shot on target in the first half and being three-nil down in half an hour.

"The players have been told in no uncertain terms that kind of performance is not acceptable," said manager Mick Harford, speaking to the club's website after the game.

"They're professionals.

"They know when they haven't performed, when they've underachieved and when they haven't lived up to their reputation."

That reputation, as a team and as a club, is taking a severe knocking game-by-game and talk on the QPR message boards is especially despondent with many supporters discussing boycotting the next home game.

Paul Hart was booed in only his second home game and though Harford has a degree more cache with Rangers' home fans, it will not take a lot now for them to register their disapproval, especially towards Flavio Briatore whose ill-judged repeated comments about fans who pay £20 being too mouthy have gone down like a lead balloon.

What can be learnt from such a rout then?

1 - This was no team of battlers. With the signings of Nigel Quashie (pictured below) and Matt Hill, two players known for their hard-tackling, competitive natures and with more than a week to train with his players and drill some fighting spirit into them, I wasn't the only person expecting a tough, workmanlike performance from Rangers. Probably not enough to win against an in-form Forest, but enough at least to offer them a challenge and potentially a few scares along the way and I predicted that a draw was far from impossible.

But Harford clearly has his work cut out to reinstil some pride and edge into this set of players.

Forest are clearly a very good side now, playing for each other and with some players in the best form of their careers.

But are they five goals better than QPR? Should they be able to breeze to a three goal lead in half an hour? After some dire away performances at Watford and Ipswich in the last two months, this reached new lows and again, the manager will have his work cut out to prevent it from further damaging morale.

2 - "We need to sign a striker". Not my words, but Harford's after the game. Apparently it was clear from watching that performance that QPR need to buy someone up front. Therein lies the problem with having no continuity in managers or backroom staff. It, only fairly, takes whoever comes in a few weeks to work out what most observers of QPR could have told them straight off. How many points has the club dropped as a result of managers finding their feet, as they have every right to do?

Jim Magilton rightly took a few weeks to settle into his role and find a team and formation he liked and so the club dropped a number of points, especially at home, in the opening weeks. Then on his departure, Paul Hart played a holding game and had no time to think about what reinforcements were needed, hence more dropped points. Finally, Mick Harford steps in and again, rightly, needs a bit of time to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the team.

Individually, this would not be a problem. No-one can expect a manager to come straight to a club with a predetermined idea of exactly what needs to be done and it could be detrimental if they did. They need some time to observe, talk to people, assess the mood and style of their players. That is fine.

But if you repeat the same exercise three or four times a season, you accrue a high number of transitional games when the team is not fully competitive and the manager is not aware of all the facts.

Had there been a degree of continuity, it would also mean the club could be further along in their search for a new striker than a few rumours linking them to Rob Hulse and might not have been rejected by Daniel Cousin, Caleb Folan and Dave Kitson (pictured below), as appears to have happened today.


3 - They might need a new defence as well. QPR's defensive woes have garnered the most attention since they last kept a clean sheet, far off in the distant past of last October. Any number of combinations has been tried along the back four to try and block the sluice of goals conceded game-by-game.

Again, the degree of rotation has been far from helpful. Peter Ramage was left on the bench again last night so that another game went by without a tailor-made right-back in that position. When you throw a debutant into the mix, it is unsurprising that they failed to keep out a team bristling with attacking options.

I previously had a look at the relative performances of the club's centre-backs, concluding that Kaspars Gorkss and Matt Connolly would be the safest choice. Both started last night, five goals conceded. I'm out of ideas. Hopefully Mick Harford and Tony Coton aren't.

4 - The promotion race just got interesting. After Newcastle and WBA pulled away from the pack from day one, the automatic spots to go up could have been decided by mid-March. Forest, with this win, reaffirmed that they will push both teams to claim the right to play in the Premiership, whatever Billy Davies says about them not being ready and could even contend for the title.

One more goal last night and they would have gone top on goal difference, so Newcastle had two reasons to thank QPR yesterday after they also sent them the gift of Wayne Routledge.

Further down and as usual, a host of teams will challenge for the play-offs. Cardiff have stormed back into contention, whereas Leicester City have dropped out of the top six. Crystal Palace will be particularly aggrieved to lose ten points as is the likely punishment for dropping into administration yesterday as even they were mounting a surprise challenge.

Talk of QPR being amongst that group is hard to find now though.

Nottingham Forest - Camp, Perch, Morgan (Chambers 72), Wilson, Gunter, Anderson (Tyson 69), Cohen, McKenna, Majewski, Earnshaw, Blackstock (Adebola 80)

Subs not used - Smith, McGugan, Moussi, McGoldrick

Goals - Earnshaw (18,21), Blackstock (pen 32), Cohen (49), Perch (78)

Bookings - McKenna

QPR - Ikeme, Stewart (Ramage 46), Gorkss, Connolly, Hill, Leigertwood, Buzsaky, Quashie, Faurlin (Ephraim 46), Taarabt, Simpson (Vine 69)

Subs not used - Cerny, Hall, Cook, German

Bookings - Buzsaky, Quashie, Taarabt

Referee - E Ilderton

Attendance - 23,293 (Away - 693)

After a relentless start to the New Year, in which managers and players have come and gone, QPR would have been looking forward to a nice easy fixture to allow Mick Harford time to settle his ever-changing squad and build his own credentials to be their permanent manager.

Instead, they travel to one of the form teams in England, Nottingham Forest.Whereas QPR's hopes of reaching the play-offs can barely be taken as credible right now, Forest flourished at the tail end of last year and could feasibly push one of Newcastle or West Brom out of the automatic promotion spots. On top of that, QPR have never won at the City Ground.

Not the game they would have desperately craved, then.

Forest Team News

Forest have relatively few concerns going into this game with the only notable absentee being Nickey Shorey. The left-back, on loan from Aston Villa, is serving a one-match ban, so James Perch, who deputised for Shorey in Forest's recent Cup games, is likely to start.

Expect both former Hoops players, keeper Lee Camp and striker Dexter Blackstock, in the starting eleven as well.

QPR Team News

QPR's team sheet will look slightly different from that submitted for their last game against Blackpool, largely due to two additions and two departures in the space of four days.

Friday's loan signing from West Ham, Nigel Quashie, who has played for both tonight's teams previously, is likely to be moved straight into the centre of QPR's midfield and similarly, Matt Hill, another loan addition, this time from Wolves, will also start at left-back.

There will be no Wayne Routledge or Patrick Agyemang though, after both left the club in the past two days. Agyemang's move is a loan until the end of the season, but the player has already indicated that he would not be averse to making the deal permanent if things work out with Bristol City.

Routledge on the other hand, who was strongly rumoured to be bound for Gordon Strachan's Middlesbrough in this transfer window, instead upped sticks for the Championship leaders Newcastle today.

Jay Simpson will surely be brought back into the team tonight in Agyemang's place, possibly with close attacking support from Adel Taarabt. Promisingly for the Hoops, Lee Cook could make a return to the QPR bench as well after his long lay-off with a knee injury.

Form

Truly polar opposites.

Forest's form is startling, particularly for the Championship in which games are so frequent and resources are often scarce. They haven't lost in the league since September 19 and have won five consecutive home games.

Their success is built on a tight defence - in the month of December they conceded just one goal in six games - which is well marshalled by former Hoop Lee Camp (pictured below).  Along the way they have beaten both Newcastle and West Brom as well and are genuine contenders to go straight up to the Premiership, a development which their manager, Billy Davies, hints he is more than apprehensive about.


All QPR eyes will undoubtedly be on Lee Camp and Dexter Blackstock, who both have points to prove to the club which deemed them surplus to requirements. Camp is always a bundle of energy and is in fantastic form himself whilst Blackstock has quickly settled at his new club and looks set to hit his usual 15 or even 20-goal tally this season.

Another player that QPR's defence will be keeping an eye on is Radoslaw Majewski, who can be relied on to conjure a moment of magic should the game be a tight affair

Added to that, QPR have an abysmal record at the City Ground, losing 13 and drawing 10 of the last 23 encounters. Their own form is desperate to poor, with two points from a possible 15 away since beating Sheffield Wednesday on the road.

Prediction

So when all is said and done, against all compelling evidence, blah, blah, I pick QPR to get a result. Not a resounding win though, not a win of any kind, which would truly put the cat amongst the pigeons and would be a credit to the team considering the events of the last month. I think that is beyond the realms of likely, but a draw shouldn't be considered impossible and I am sure Forest will be taking the threat posed by QPR seriosuly.

How quickly the two new additions adapt could be key, especially as both have little playing time under their belts for their respective home clubs.

Likewise, any salvation job Mick Harford has been able to do on team spirit will also be vital. If he is unable to bond an increasingly disparate set of players and if they enter this in a lackadaisical fashion, they could easily be torn asunder. But if they look at it as another opportunity to settle some of the laughs thrown at QPR since Paul Hart's departure and as a continuation of the fine, if less than brilliant work against Blackpool, then a share of the spoils is possible.

SCORE DRAW

QPR winger Wayne Routledge today signed for Championship leaders Newcastle United for an undisclosed fee after being linked with the Geordies' rivals Middlesbrough in recent weeks.

Routledge becomes the second player to leave the club in two days after Patrick Agyemang's loan move to Bristol City yesterday and has signed a three-and-a-half year deal with the Magpies.

He joined QPR in the January 2009 transfer window and went on to make 19 appearances by the end of the 08/09 season.

His form at the start of this season was blistering, with four goals in the Carling Cup and strikes against Peterborough United and Preston.

Paired as a strike partner with Jay Simpson on occasions under Jim Magilton, Routledge's pace remained a useful attacking outlet for the club and he was their leading provider of goals, with eight assists so far, though his form had suffered along with QPR's in general in the last two months.

Routledge started his career at Crystal Palace for whom he made 110 appearances before less than successful transfers to Spurs and Aston Villa. He has also played on loan at Portsmouth, Fulham and Cardiff City and has been capped for England at U21 level.

His transfer could be taken as an indication of a more frugal outlook on the part of Flavio Briatore and his fellow Board members. Though they have rarely laid out a great deal in terms of transfer fees, barring the signing of Alejandro Faurlin, they have frequently contributed to higher wages than have recently been seen at Loftus Road.

Routledge would surely have been amongst the top earners at the club, so his sale could be taken as a desire of the club to balance their books. Football-wise, the logic of the sale will be questioned though especially if manager Mick Harford is unable to make further reinforcements to his squad.

In what is becoming a busy January for QPR, striker Patrick Agyemang today joined fellow Championship side Bristol City until the end of this season.

The 29-year-old Ghanaian international recently enjoyed a run in the QPR team during Paul Hart's short-lived time at the club, taking his league appearances to 17 this season.

But he has struggled for goals, with just three so far and 14 in total during his two and a half seasons at Loftus Road.

With Heidar Helguson also returning on loan to Watford this month, it means Mick Harford could be short of experienced attacking options.

Another loan signing, Arsenal's Jay Simpson, has been the revelation up front for Rangers in this campaign, with nine goals in 19 league starts, but the 21-year-old has received little in the way of competition from his fellow strikers.

Rowan Vine has rarely been available this season after a hernia problem and a stomach operation and has just one goal to his name whilst Italian signing Alessandro Pellicori has so far been a flop and was expected to leave the club this month.

Harford may turn to the younger members of his squad for the answer to QPR's goalscoring prayers.

As well as the youthful talents of Simpson, 18-year-old Antonio German made three appearances from the bench recently and Harford can also count on 19-year-old Colombian striker Angelo Balanta who has recovered from a groin injury.

He may still make further incursions into the loan market though and Rangers were linked with want-away Hull striker Daniel Cousin earlier this month.

Midfielders Adel Taarabt and Wayne Routledge have also been used in more advanced positions over the course of this season, but QPR will still hope they are not short of someone to stick it in the net come May.

QPR have made their second loan signing in the space of four days with the addition today of defender Matt Hill from Wolves.

Hill has signed a contract until the end of the season and joins Friday's signing, midfielder Nigel Quashie, as manager Mick Harford wastes no time in attempting to reinforce his squad.

The left-back, who can also be played in the centre, made just two Premier League appearances for Wolves this season but made a greater contribution last season with the club, his first, when he helped them gain promotion.

"Every footballer wants to be playing games and unfortunately I wasn't getting that at Wolves," he told QPR's official website.

"QPR have given me the opportunity to do that here, so I am delighted to join.

"We had a great team there [Wolves] last term and did well to get promoted.

"QPR are a team that want to push on and go places, so hopefully I can be a part of that."

He made his debut as a 17-year old for his hometown club, Bristol City, in 1998 and went on to make over 200 appearances before joining Preston North End for £1m in 2005.

Hill is the second left-back to be brought on loan to QPR this season after Jim Magilton signed former Hoop Tommy Williams in early November.

Williams went on to make just five appearances for Rangers before returning to club Peterborough United.

This latest addition could be taken as further evidence that left-back Gary Borrowdale is out of favour. After regularly playing under Jim Magilton, Borrowdale has struggled for regular games recently with Harford preferring to play centre-back Matt Connolly in that position in the last league outing against Blackpool.

It could also mean that we will see a more tough-tackling, aggressive QPR side in the next few weeks.

As with Quashie, Harford was quick to commend his new signing on the physical side to his game.

"Matt is very aggressive and although he's not the biggest, he's very good in the air," said Harford, speaking to the club.

"He's a good talker and an organiser, which is what we need."

At the same time, the player himself hinted that he will be looking to add to QPR's attacking play as well.

"Defending is my main strength, but I'll also be looking to get forward when I can and provide some crosses," he said.

Both Hill and Quashie could feature as early as tomorrow night, when QPR have a massive test against the league (if not the country's) form team, Nottingham Forest. More on that game to come...

A look back at a manager's playing career will not always provide a telling insight into their talents in the dug-out.

If a distinguished playing history was a marker of a great manager to be, then Arsene Wenger should be managing at Conference level and Jose Mourinho would be unemployable. Wenger only played professionally for one club, RC Strasbourg, for whom he made just 11 appearances whereas Mourinho had given up on a playing career by the age of 22 to study sports science.

Bobby Moore on the other hand captained England to the World Cup but the peak of his managerial ambition was spells with Oxford City and Southend United.

Can anything really be gauged from a manager's playing days then?

QPR's new boss Mick Harford could be placed firmly between these two camps. A respectable and lengthy playing career, without a large share of honours or international recognition, has led to a stop-start managerial career, unable to stay at a club long enough or to benefit from enough financial support to really make a difference.

Below is a more in-depth look at Harford the player (no double meaning intended) which might give QPR's squad a few hints of what to expect over the coming weeks.

Early Days

Harford was born in Sunderland in 1959 and progressed through the local Lambton Street Boys Club to join his first professional side, Lincoln City in July 1977. Initially employed as a midfielder, he was soon pushed further forward, using his imposing physical presence (he stands at 6 ft 4in) to become a feared lower-league striker, finishing the 1979/80 season as Lincoln's top scorer, with 16 goals from 35 games.

His fine form stretched into the next season, placing him on the radar of scouts from the top two divisions and he soon made the move back to the North-East with Newcastle United.

The jump of two divisions (from fourth to second, placing Harford in the then equivalent of the Championship) didn't work out though and in eight months with Newcastle he made just 19 appearances.

A £160,000 deal took him back down a division to join Bristol City in August 1981 but a rolling stone gathers no moss - by the following March Harford was off again with top-flight side Birmingham City picking him up for £100,000.

Battling With The Brum

Birmingham were scrapping around at the bottom end of the First Division on Harford's arrival but goals in his first two seasons helped to stave off relegation, before they succumbed to the drop at the end of the 1983/4 season (watch the first two minutes of the video below to see Harford in action for the Blues).



An indication of Harford's no-nonsense character could be a rumour dating to his Birmingham days. After a particularly niggly game with Portsmouth, Harford and some other Birmingham players supposedly arranged a fight with their opposing numbers in a nearby pub to settle the on-field disputes.

Halfway through the following campaign, it was time for Harford to move on again to start the most memorable association of his playing career. After 92 games and 25 goals for the west Midlanders, the club were able to make a substantial profit on the player when David Pleat decided to bring him to Luton Town for £250,000.

Mad As A Hatter

Harford soon found his spiritual home at Kenilworth Road (even if he later complained that their plastic pitch damaged his knees) and would remain at the club until 1990 (and later return for a second playing spell and turn as manager).


Pleat acknowledged at the time that Harford's transfer fee was a considerable risk for a club such as Luton but it was soon repaid with 15 league goals in just 22 games that season. He also helped the club on a run to the FA Cup semi-final where they faced Everton.

One of Everton's centre-backs on that day, Derek Mountfield, remembered playing against Harford with less than glowing fondness after the centre-forward gave him a black eye (pictured below).

"He bust my nose and splattered my eye that day and he's probably the nastiest centre forward I played against.

"He was an honest, hard, committed player but he wasn't afraid to use his elbows.

"I can't remember the actual incident but I remember my eye was rather big and shut by the Sunday morning."


Harford couldn't prevent Luton losing 2-1 though.

He would taste further FA Cup disappointment when the Hatters again missed out at the semi-final stage to eventual winners Wimbledon in 1988 but in that same season, he finally shared in Luton cup glory when they defeated Arsenal 3-2 in the League Cup Final.

It was also during this first spell at Luton that Harford made his England debut, coming on as a sub against Israel in 1988 though he would earn only one further cap.

A brief spell at Derby County arrived in the early 90s but even then Harford was able to help Luton, scoring an own goal when the two sides met on the final day of the 1990-1 season, thereby helping Luton to avoid relegation.

With the club hoping to avoid another relegation battle the following season, Luton turned to Harford and he rejoined the Hatters for £325,000 in September 1991 despite reported interest from Alex Ferguson (this blog on The Daily Telegraph argues that a similar player, such as Emile Heskey, would help Man United win the league this season).

Harford was teaming up once again with David Pleat in the hope of recreating the magic of the 1980s, but despite promising early signs (including Harford scoring an overhead kick on his 'second debut' for the club) and 12 league goals in 29 games for Harford, the club failed to pull off their annual escape act. Watch below to see Harford's memorable 'second debut'.



Life Without Luton and The Crazy Gang

Harford's career could be summarised as a strange mix of loyalty and itchy feet. Clearly when settled in the right club there were few more committed servants to the cause as his two spells at Luton testify. But at other times, he would quickly up sticks when a new manager saw him as the missing piece of the jigsaw.

So it largely proved after his playing days with Luton were over. After their relegation, he moved to Chelsea in August 1992 for £300,000 but wouldn't last the season, choosing to join his hometown club, Sunderland, the following March. In four months though, he made just eleven appearances and performed a similar disappearing act at his next club, Coventry, with one appearance in 13 months.

Only at his final club, Wimbledon, did Harford again find the team spirit and friendship which he had at Luton. Wimbledon were a club with an even greater reputation for fierce, no-nonsense football but Harford was unlikely to be phased by the physical side to their game and another old wives' tale suggests that he was the only player to avoid the infamous Crazy Gang initiations. He went on to make 60 appearances for the club before taking up a coaching role with them.


Any Conclusions?

Harford's playing days certainly bare the hallmarks of a tough character. His placing near the top of any football hard man list probably does him a disservice as you don't spend most of your career in the top flight just by kicking people (well, maybe Vinnie Jones), but Harford undoubtedly used his physique and strength to his advantage.

So, if man creates team in his own image, some Championship clubs should now be shaking in their boots. Again, the idea of Harford's teams as bruisers is an over-simplified one though. Luton were often commended for their style of football under David Pleat and Harford has already spoken about his desire to return to the QPR traditions of attacking football.

He's also spent most of his time at clubs with modest budgets and though the public image of QPR is one of cash-happy millionaires, the reality for the rest of this season is likely to be far more humble so Harford should feel at home.

He also never played at clubs with star players but instead, particularly at Luton and Wimbledon, ones where any success was built on an "all for one" spirit and hard-working ethic. That may be the biggest anomaly for Harford at QPR as over the last few months, Rangers have ventured as far from the 'Crazy Gang' model of team building as you can go. Settling a few egos and bringing some harmony to the dressing room could be his number one task.

Finally, as mentioned previously, if he finds the right club, Harford is clearly a very loyal man. There must be some well of affection for QPR within him as he returns for a second spell with the club, so if his new bosses can tap into that, they could have found the man to bring an end to the constant managerial switches.

QPR's latest signing, Nigel Quashie, could be drafted straight into the centre of the R's midfield to add an extra bit of steel as QPR attempt to revitalise their play-off ambitions.

Quashie joined the R's for the second time today after being released by West Ham and the 31-year old Scotland international, who signed a contract until the end of this season, will be available for Tuesday's trip to Nottingham Forest.

QPR's form has considerably dipped since they lost both captain Martin Rowlands and Gavin Mahon from their midfield to long-term injuries and with Ben Watson also returning to Wigan following his loan spell, Quashie could be immediately used to plug a gap in the R's middle line.

"I guarantee I will play with passion," he told the club's official website.

"It's about putting your foot in and working as hard as you possibly can."

He started his career as a trainee with QPR for whom he made 58 appearances, before joining Tuesday's opponents in a £2.5 million deal in 1998 and went on to make over 300 Football League appearances for a number of clubs including Southampton and Portsmouth.

Mick Harford was confident that his experience and combative playing style would be a major asset to the R's.

"He will give us added experience in the middle of the park and is a great addition," he told the QPR website.

"No disrespect to anyone else but I feel we have missed Martin Rowlands and Gavin Mahon's experience.

"Nigel will give us some of that."

Following a two-year spell with Forest, Quashie went on to play for Portsmouth, Southampton and West Bromwich Albion.

He joined West Ham halfway through the 2006-7 season for an initial £1.5m, which was increased to £1.75m when the Hammers avoided relegation at the end of that season.

A foot injury kept him out for the whole of the following season and in 2008-9, he was loaned out to both Birmingham City and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

This season he made seven appearances and scored twice while on loan at MK Dons.

Those expecting Mick Harford to shuffle out of Loftus Road fairly soon may have to think again, as the caretaker now has an assistant.

The club today announced that Tony Coton (pictured above), a former Manchester United goalkeeping coach, is to be assistant manager at Harford's request and so though it is unwise to rule out anything at QPR, it suggests Harford will remain as manager, at least for the immediate future.

Speaking to the club's official website, Harford was clearly more than pleased to have Coton in his corner as the two are close friends and played together at Birmingham City in the early 1980s.

Coton went on play in goal for Watford (pictured below - could Radek Cerny pull off a tache like that?), Manchester City and Sunderland before hanging up his boots for an eleven-year coaching career at Old Trafford.


It's that coaching experience at United which Harford argued could be vital in making a difference at QPR and he was also more than happy to have been able to pick his own man for the role.

"The main reason Tony is here is for his experience, his knowledge and his know-how.

"I have been in situations before where I haven't been able to bring in someone that I would like to assist me.

"But here, the Board have let me bring in someone that I wanted, and that's great," he said.

Coton said he had to give some thought to Harford's offer as his family are settled in Bolton and whilst indicating that he and Harford share a footballing philosophy, played down any idea that he will operate as a 'yes man' at the club.

"I am definitely not that - just ask Sir Alex Ferguson," he said.

Wayne Routledge, one of the brighter points in a topsy-turvy season for QPR, could be on his way to fellow Championship side Middlesbrough, who reportedly made an offer for the winger today.

Boro already had a £500,000 offer for the player rejected outright by Rangers, who see his valuation as closer to £2 million. Should the transfer go through, it would be a striking indication of the new penny-pinching reality at Loftus Road.

Rather than bucketfuls of cash being thrust into the hands of caretaker manager Mick Harford, he has reportedly been told by Flavio Briatore not to make any cash transfers this month.

The only reason to sell Routledge is surely for financial reasons as it makes little sense as a football decision.

After a slow first season with the club, Routledge has been one of the most potent attacking threats for QPR this time round. Though his own form has perhaps dimmed in recent weeks, a possible consequence of the team's woes in general, he was in blistering form in the early months of the season, with a Carling Cup hat-trick against Exeter City and league goals against Peterborough and Preston.

He was even employed in a front two with Jay Simpson for a time under Jim Magilton and his pace has been a formidable asset for the club. With eight assists as well, his record in laying on goals is currently only bettered by Graham Dorrans at WBA.

So should this bid be accepted, it is unlikely that Harford will be in complete agreement as to the benefits, the only one of which is surely a potential £1.5 million profit.

The orders handed down by Briatore mean Harford will have to content himself with looking on the loan market for potential candidates to strengthen a challenge for the play-off spots.


Hull striker Daniel Cousin (pictured above) could still fit the bill. With Jay Simpson the only QPR striker firing on all cylinders this season, it seems Paul Hart identified a striker as a necessary acquisition and Rangers were quickly linked with Cousin and Caleb Folan, both at Hull.

The impetus behind the Folan transfer looks to be lost and it will be interesting to see if Harford shares his predecessor's assessment and looks to add a new goal threat.

Cousin is certainly talking a transfer up though, saying today that he wants to leave and that his relationship with Hull boss Phil Brown is not good.

Brown is unlikely to stand in his way especially after signing Amr Zaki but Cousin is still to agree terms with QPR.

That will have to wait until his return from the Africa Cup of Nations where he is captaining Gabon, but that could happen sooner rather than later.

Gabon are right now on the verge of exiting the tournament as they trial to Zambia by a solitary goal, a result which would knock them out of the group stage and see the Zambians qualify alongside Cameroon (who are drawing 2-2 with Tunisia).

Both games can be followed on the Guardian's minute-by-minute reports: http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2010/jan/21/cameroon-tunisia-africa-cup-nations.

If it stays like this, Gianni Paladini will have to be dispatched to Heathrow Airport with a contract pretty quickly.

Hopefully Mick Harford won't look quite so miserable as he does in the photo above over the next few weeks. That photo was taken during his time in charge of Luton Town (more on that below) who laboured under far greater problems than those currently facing QPR. In fact, his main worry at Rangers, as some of the players have pointed out, is how to mount a play-off bid.

Harford is no stranger to QPR supporters as this is the second time he has stepped into the breach following a managerial departure at Loftus Road. He was previously appointed as caretaker manager following the sacking (not sure I'm allowed to use that word) of John Gregory in October 2007 and steadied the boat for five games (there's that number again) until the appointment of Luigi De Canio.

Will he last more than five games this time around? It was initially reported that he would remain in charge until the end of the season and on the day of Hart's departure, Sky Sports reported that Harford was hinting he could stay even longer than that.

"There's been no timescale said," he said.

"They've said "Mick, you take charge of first-team affairs and see where it takes you."

If anything, it would seem the club are almost considering his appointment on a game-by-game basis.

Speaking on the BBC's Late Kick-Off show, available below, on Monday night, Harford said he would "just carry on" doing his job (go to 2,14 for a report on the Blackpool game and brief interviews with Harford and ex-QPR and now Blackpool manager Ian Holloway).

That game certainly won't hurt his chances of remaining in the job and though the club will still consider other potential candidates (with Alan Curbishley linked as a possible summer replacement), he could stake a genuine claim to the job himself.

He also has the advantage of having previously worked at QPR and so has some form of relationship with Flavio Briatore. He goes so far as to describe it as a friendship in his Sky Sports interview and though it would be foolish to think that Briatore will allow that to cloud any ruthless decisions he may have to make, Harford will at least start off on a much surer foot than Hart.

He won't make the mistake of publicly warning the supporters to expect conservative, defence-minded football either as Hart did. In fact, he has already spoken of his desire to see QPR return to entertaining, attacking play which chimes with the desires of most Rangers supporters.

The length of his stay with the club could also largely be dictated by his own desire for the job. His own managerial experience is limited, often being used as a trouble-shooter. He has fulfilled the caretaker role at Nottingham Forest as well as QPR previously and his longest spell in the dug-out was at Luton Town, the club with whom he is most famously linked after enjoying two playing spells there (pictured below).


His managerial reign at Luton lasted from January 2008 to last October but coincided with a terrible period in the club's history, as administration and points deductions led to two successive relegations, with the club now playing in the Conference National.

In short, Harford has never had a real crack at a club, either hampered by time or by restricted budgets. This opportunity with QPR is one of the best he will have to bolster his own CV and if his employers can hold off from a snap decision, he could get the chance to impress them before too long. I'll have more on his playing and managerial history over the next few days.

On Friday, in the midst of the breaking news that Paul Hart was leaving QPR, I mistakenly jumped to the assumption that he had been dismissed from the club. Indefensible really, though managers do come and go from QPR at such a rate that you can't help but feel the club's owners are the agents of each departure. Officially then, Hart resigned from his position and for once, Flavio Briatore can say with some confidence that this wasn't a sacking.

Then again, though he clearly wasn't asked to leave, there must have been one hell of a breakdown between manager and owner for a man of Hart's experience to decide to walk out after five games.

Though his managerial record doesn't sparkle and top clubs won't knock down his door, Hart still has enough clout within the game not to jump at the first job offer he receives. So when QPR came calling, you have to believe that he put some serious thought into his next move. What is going on behind the scenes at Loftus Road then for him to be unable to bear even a month in the hot seat?

Hart's explanation, proffered through the League Manager's Association, is vague to say the least, hinting only that "he was very unhappy with certain situations".

Three alternative theories have done the rounds since Friday and each offer possibly a small chunk of the truth.

Firstly, it was widely quoted that he had a falling-out with Adel Taarabt who was unhappy to start so few games since his arrival. When brought on in the 3-2 FA Cup defeat to Sheffield United (Hart's final game), Taarabt (pictured below) didn't exactly cover himself in glory with his application and commitment to the cause.


But that comes with the territory right? Taarabt's hero is Zinedine Zidane - he has far from matched Zizou on the ball, but he could certainly challenge his mentor in the moody aloofness stakes. To blame Hart's leaving solely on Taarabt seems a bit too easy and again, I'd like to believe that any manager with his experience would have enough confidence to deal with a narked young loanee.

Theory two is that Briatore and company were distinctly unimpressed with Hart's brand of anti-football. How QPR play is unsurprisingly an issue for Briatore - you don't build a life around fast cars, smart clothes and beautiful women and then take your buddies to watch the footballing equivalent of the Pit of Despair. A attacking 4-4-2 formation is believed to be his preference and its a brave manager who deviates from that, so Hart's 6-3-1 formation against Bristol City wouldn't have unlocked the door to Briatore's heart.

Finally and I think closest to the truth, Hart's desire to more radically shake up the QPR team met with little enthusiasm from his paymasters. In some reports, Hart was keen to get rid of as many as six players from the squad and replace them. A lot of the impetus behind loan moves for Daniel Cousin and Caleb Folan certainly seems to have dissipated since his departure. Appointed as a man to steady the ship, he may not have realised the limits of his managerial remit.

The image of Briatore as the all-seeing, all-demanding chairman could be a little off the mark though. In the last few months, he has dealt with his possible expulsion from Formula One not to mention the demands of his various business interests from fashion to restaurants. So, clearly there is a great degree of delegation to Gianni Paladini (pictured below), QPR's sporting director.


The most accurate interpretation for Hart's exit could then be that Briatore didn't have the strongest hand in his appointment in the first place. That when he finally got round to talking with the new manager, he found that their ideas were far from compatible.

Whatever the real reason and despite the protestations in Briatore's interview with The Mirror, there is clearly something wrong with the system QPR use to appoint their managers. Paulo Sousa, the club's fourth permanent manager under Briatore, has guided unfancied Swansea to fourth in the table this season. Where could QPR be if he had remained in the job?

It is too casual to pretend that the chopping and changing of managers isn't hurting the club. Hopefully they will put some deeper thought into the next appointment.

It can't really be considered a result to revitalise QPR's flagging season and the performance was far from convincing as well. But in twice coming from behind to earn a share of the points at Bloomfield Road, a ground where better teams have lost this season, Mick Harford's players did at least show a modicum of spirit and resilience in trying times. With a wonder goal from Matt Connolly (pictured above) to boot. What will the new boss take from this hard-earned draw?

1 - There are signs of life, doctor. Maybe it was a form of winter hibernation, a preservation of energy for the spring when QPR will burst into life. But in the last few weeks, the vast majority of QPR's team have played as if in the deepest of deep slumbers. The less said about their three games against Sheffield United the better, with a limp 3-0 defeat at Ipswich and an uninspiring win over Bristol City sprinkled in amongst those fixtures. Compared to the confident attacking play of October when Rangers scored four goals in three consecutive games, the winter freeze looked to have impaired QPR's footballing faculties.

When they went a goal down within the first ten minutes on Saturday then, it would have been reasonable to expect the worse, especially as Charlie Adam's goal came against a back-line containing four centre-backs and was the result of some shockingly static defending.


A fluky penalty award greatly helped Rangers' fortunes, Adel Taarabt (pictured above) converting from the spot on 64 minutes, only to see his side go behind once more with thirteen minutes remaining, Gary Taylor-Fletcher finishing with a neat flick. Yet somehow, at the end of a week in which their club has been the source of much amusement throughout football, there was still enough within this team to earn a very unlikely draw.

2 - Matt Connolly can make a big, big difference. I'd commented previously that with QPR having such clear problems defensively for much of this season, it was perhaps time to give Matt Connolly a chance where others had failed. I couldn't have predicted how vital his contribution would be on Saturday though and it had little to do with his play at the back (which was hampered by playing in a very experimental back four, with Connolly at left-back and Fitz Hall on the right).

Connolly's intervention came up front in the form of a phenomenal goal, his first in two years with the Hoops. With Rangers struggling to find chances, a nothing ball was chested down by substitute Antonio German to Connolly. Connolly in turn chested the ball, shifted it with his right knee and then calmly lofted a volley from 25 yards over Blackpool's keeper. For any player it would be a special goal, for a centre-back it was frighteningly good. The highlights are still on the BBC's website for UK users, click here and go to 1,23 for his moment of magic.

3 - Mick Harford is his own man. Or Flavio Briatore has started picking the team again. Someone has to explain QPR's line-up on Saturday though. With two perfectly decent if unspectacular full-backs sat on the bench, the new manager chose instead to inject a new level of anxiety into an already petrified defence by playing all four of his centre-backs in a row.

Connolly makes a go of any defensive position he is handed and has enough technique to rarely be embarrassed so he can pass muster at left-back, but Fitz Hall isn't a right-back and doesn't have the pace or agility to play there. QPR have tried nearly every possible combination of defences this season without starting Wayne Routledge at centre-back but this experiment definitely didn't work.

When you consider that top scorer Jay Simpson remained on the bench for the duration of the game as well, this line-up was a definite head-scratcher.

4 - Silence is golden. Flavio Briatore chose to answer his critics in an interview with the Mirror yesterday but would have been better advised to keep quiet (for the full interview, click here.)


He ran once again through the litany of managers who have left under his watch in an attempt to explain how little he had to do with their departures in a tone much closer to a defence lawyer than a football chairman. Do QPR fans really care that technically Paulo Sousa had his contract terminated for 'breach of confidentiality'? How exactly is that different from being sacked?

"Can't say he was fired, Briatore said. It was Sousa's own fault."

Similarly, don't think about classing John Gregory's departure as a sacking.

"Inherited him from a previous regime, Briatore said. Can't say he was fired."

This reeling off of explanations was also apparently initiated by Briatore himself, eager to dissolve himself of any responsibility for QPR having ten managers in two and a half years. In short, it smacks of "nothing to see here guv" as if the way QPR deal with their managers was the most normal, reasonable thing in the world.

Instead of trying to explain why QPR can't keep someone in their dug-out for more than 35 games, Briatore seems more concerned about protecting his image with the club's supporters. Little said here will give them much comfort though. As revealed in the interview, he doesn't intend to sell the club anytime soon, but it didn't suggest he will be changing his management style either.

Blackpool - Rachubka, Crainey, Eardley, Evatt, Baptiste, Southern, Vaughan (Euell 90), Adam, Bannan (Burgess 60), Ormerod, Taylor-Fletcher (Nardiello 89)

Subs not used - Gilks, Edwards, Butler, Martin

Goals - Adam (9), Taylor-Fletcher (77)

Bookings - Adam

QPR - Ikeme, Stewart, Hall (Ramage 79), Gorkss, Connolly, Leigertwood, Routledge, Buzsaky (Ephraim 46), Faurlin (German 81), Taarabt, Agyemang

Subs not used - Cerny, Borrowdale, Balanta, Simpson

Goals - Taarabt (55), Connolly (84)

Bookings - Routledge

Referee - Mr T Kettle

Attendance - 7,600

It's been hard enough for QPR's players to concentrate on football in the last few weeks, but in the wake of events yesterday, they will have been hard-placed to keep today's fixture with Blackpool to the forefront of their minds.

It's becoming clearer now that Paul Hart wasn't forced from the club, but chose himself to walk, though it is also unclear how desperate the QPR board were to keep him. More on that later, but for now the focus is on a game which, for all the chaos surrounding the club at the moment, could go some way to salvaging their season. Blackpool sit on the edge of the play-offs, but are only two points ahead of QPR (admittedly with a game in hand). If the club retains any hope of challenging for promotion, a win at Bloomfield Road would be a significant boost.

QPR Team News


One bit of good news for QPR could be the return of Lee Cook (pictured above) who has been on the sidelines for the last six months with a knee injury and could potentially make the bench for today's game. If he has fully recovered from this serious injury and can maintain his fitness for the rest of the season, he could be a positive light in gloomy times at the club.

Paul Hart and many supporters, going by the message boards, were impressed by Antonio German's cameo in the Sheffield United game on Tuesday night. The 18-year old striker, who signed his first professional contract with the club last June, gave his side a much-needed shot in the arm after going 3-0 down to United and came close to grabbing the third goal which would have levelled the game. Hart hinted that he could play a much bigger role today and though of course he will now have no influence on team selection, it will be interesting to see if Mick Harford shares his glowing assessment of the player.

The Hoops have brought in a number of loan goalkeepers over the course of this season as they struggle to find long-term cover for Radek Cerny. The Czech keeper hasn't matched the formidable form of last season though and now Harford could finally give one of the loan understudies a chance in a Championship game. Carl Ikeme, who recently arrived on a one-month loan deal, could get the nod between the sticks today. If he can steady a chronically flaky defence, it could serve as an important wake-up call for Cerny who is still clearly a fine goalkeeper. 

Blackpool Team News

The Seasiders have injury concerns of their own though they can welcome back the defensive partnership of Ian Evatt and Rob Edwards after both were suspended for last weekend's 1-1 draw with Cardiff City.

Stephen Crainey is less than certain to play at left-back after suffering from a thigh strain; a late decision will be made on his fitness. Midfielder Hameur Bouazza is on duty with Algeria at the Africa Cup of Nations whilst strikers Stephen McPhee and Billy Clarke are both unavailable through injury.

Manager Ian Holloway can still call on the talents of Charlie Adam though, an astute £500,000 capture from Glasgow Rangers last August who already has eight goals to his name from midfield.

Form

Blackpool are turning home ground Bloomfield Road into a fortress, with just one defeat there all season, a surprise 2-1 reverse against Barnsley at the start of December. Only Newcastle can boast better home form.

Rangers on the other hand have been in free-fall and will be praying that Mick Harford (pictured above) can be the steadying pair of hands which Paul Hart clearly wasn't. They've managed just five points from the last 18, have dropped 20 points from winning positions and have failed to keep a clean sheet in 13 games.

Prediction

In which I again fail to pay heed to any of the obvious signs and still predict QPR to get a result. That's because I know and have seen the quality within the QPR squad, players who at another club and with some degree of consistency, could be amongst the Championship's best.

Blackpool are almost the anti-QPR, operating on a small budget, making modest, long-term buys in the right positions and playing with a togetherness and team spirit which makes them hard to beat. QPR on the other hand resemble a rabble of well-paid but disinterested footballers right now, so by all rights, Blackpool should win comfortably.

Something should start nagging on Rangers' players soon though, a rarely seen emotion on the pitch this season, call it pride. Surely the players are embarrassed to see their club branded a laughing stock; surely defenders who had the meanest back-line in the league last season are concerned at the goals they are shipping on a regular basis; surely loan signings want to prove themselves, not only to Rangers but also to the clubs who deemed them surplus to requirements. If such thoughts rise to the surface, a draw at least is far from impossible.

SCORE DRAW