Hoop Dreams - QPR FC

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