Hoop Dreams - QPR FC

After the turmoil of last weekend when QPR managed to switch chairmen and win their first game in two months in the space of two days, Rangers aren't looking any more settled ahead of another vital Championship game tomorrow.
The future identity of the club's manager is still less than clear, though comments by shareholder Amit Bhatia in midweek suggest that stability could be favoured over further change, so Mick Harford could well remain in charge until the end of this season. If that is the board's decision, its intelligence will receive a stern test tomorrow. It's one thing to narrowly beat Doncaster at home, but the Hoops need to add points away from home if they are to comfortably avoid a relegation battle.

Middlesbrough Team News

One of Boro's recent additions, Scott McDonald, who was the fifth Celtic player to join the club this season when he arrived during the January transfer window, is unlikely to be fit for tomorrow's game after recently undergoing a hernia operation.

Fellow striker Chris Killen, another addition from Celtic, is more likely to figure though after recovering from the hamstring injury and virus which have kept him out for the last three games.

QPR Team News

QPR's main concerns lie in defence, although Matt Connolly, who faces a late fitness test, has actually played admirably in the centre of midfield in the last two games. If he isn't ready in time for this game, recent loan addition Nigel Quashie is likely to start.

Peter Ramage has also been suffering from an abdominal strain after coming off during the Doncaster win, but he is a safer bet to be ready in time for tomorrow's fixture.

Barring those two, the other absentees are of course Gavin Mahon and Martin Rowlands, with Mahon potentially back by April but Rowlands unlikely to be ready before the close season.

Form

Boro are hanging around on the fringes of the play-offs and though it could take a gargantuan effort, it is surely not beyond them to sneak into the top six before the end of the season. They will have to greatly improve their form though which has been mixed at best under Gordon Strachan.

They've lost half their games since he arrived and have moved from the edge of the automatic spots (they were in fourth and two points off second when Gareth Southgate departed) to ninth and five points off the play-off spots. To put that in context though, QPR were in sixth after Southgate's final game. Boro have also never done the double over QPR, but they'll be confident after their 5-1 win at Loftus Road earlier in the season.

QPR's form is still far from impressive, though to be fair to Mick Harford and the team, the improvements in terms of performances have been growing. Hopefully the steep learning curve the new boss has been on will now pay off.

The players have also increased their work effort and team play in the last couple of games as they collectively seemed to realise that their season was heading towards a terrible climax. Bear in mind though, they've lost their last three away games without scoring and just finding the net tomorrow would be a bonus.

Prediction

It was hard to not get overly pessimistic about QPR since the turn of the year when everything about the club smacked of a lack of planning and togetherness. Many people from the chairman to the manager down to the players were saying the right things, about commitment and work rate, with little evidence of it on the pitch and every game took on the tone of a must-win fixture as they neared the bottom three.

The pressure isn't off yet, though a draw tomorrow would be less than disastrous and it was hard to not feel a renewed sense of hope around the club last weekend when the news of Flavio Briatore's resignation chimed nicely with the performances of Jay Simpson and Antonio German the next day. German has just committed himself to the club until 2012 and if his development is handled correctly, he could definitely make an impression at this level if not higher.

In trying to match this all-new optimism, I am plumping for a draw for the Hoops tomorrow, which would be a decent result in the context of this season.

SCORE DRAW

QPR head to the Riverside stadium this weekend for a crucial Championship fixture, as a win could put further breathing space between themselves and the relegation area.

Rangers are currently just four points off the drop zone and they have some tricky fixtures ahead, with games against Sheffield United, WBA and Swansea City all before the end of March.

On top of that, Boro will be no walk-over themselves and they handed out an embarrassing 5-1 defeat to QPR at Loftus Road earlier in the season, one of Jim Magilton's last games as manager.

To add to the intrigue, it could well be Mick Harford's final game in the dug-out as the club could be onto their sixth manager of the season by next week (after Jim Magilton, Steve Gallen and Marc Bircham who co-managed one game, Paul Hart and then Harford).

There are growing rumours that Harford will soon step down, with Crystal Palace's manager Neil Warnock still seen as the most likely replacement. The Evening Standard reports today that Harford is resigned to quitting his post and that Warnock has met with QPR bosses on more than one occasion to iron out a deal.

Warnock refused to comment on a possible switch after his side's defeat at the weekend and even discussed his plans for Palace's weekend game against Doncaster Rovers so he appeared to have committed his short-term future to them.

They also have their FA Cup replay against Aston Villa tonight after drawing 2-2 at Selhurst Park a week-and-a-half ago. Should they win, it could be viewed as the perfect send-off for Warnock though alternatively, he might be reluctant to leave if his side is still in the competition.

The uncertainty over his future at Palace, after the club was plunged into administration, will be the most likely motivation for him to quit, with a sizeable contract at Loftus Road his potential prize. At 61, he can rightly expect a degree of stability in his career plans and playing a waiting game whilst Palace search for new investment may not suit.

Palace themselves could also welcome the deal. Though they will be reluctant to lose Warnock, who clearly yields a lot of influence around the club, the compensation they would receive will be greatly welcomed by the club's administrators. There are rumours of a £1m release clause in his contract and though Rangers will want to negotiate a better deal, the financial boost from a switch will be hard for Palace to ignore.

Harford certainly seems to have accepted that his days are numbered. He met yesterday with new chairman Ishan Saksena and though I don't believe he was instructed that his services aren't required, he didn't receive any further assurances either, apart from his current mandate to look after the team. He acknowledged himself last weekend that results under him needed to be better to make a real case for him to stay.

Lee Cook and senior players backed Harford but their endorsement is unlikely to sway either Saksena or chairman of the football club, Gianni Paladini.

Will it bring a barn-storming performance on Saturday then, if the players believe they are playing under Mick for the last time? Though results have been poor as mentioned, he has won the respect of his players and others beside, as he genuinely seems to have a lot of affection for QPR and a lot of concern about their future.

Of course, QPR need a positive result this weekend for bigger reasons than giving Harford a good send-off, not least their precarious league position.

In the natural world, the QPR manager would be a mayfly. Hatched into golden sunshine, head full of promise and wonder, within 30 minutes or a day if he is lucky, a trout or other carnivorous beast will come along and extinguish his all-too-brief flame. They might just have time to reproduce (this is the equivalent of Paul Hart handing the reins over to Mick Harford, the analogy does stretch) but more often than not, if you blink you will miss them.

Mick Harford then has done remarkably well to still be buzzing around Loftus Road (okay, I'll stop now) particularly considering the dismal run of form the club embarked upon in his first six games, losing five and drawing one. On the seventh time of asking, Mick finally led the club to a long-awaited three points and with Flavio Briatore now taking a back-seat, the axe might not be wielded so liberally in future at QPR.

That said, Harford himself has intimated that the club need a permanent manager and quickly and he is humble enough to admit that certain candidates are more suitable. On top of that, with a new guy, Ishan Saksena, in the board-room, the impetus to make a completely fresh start will be strong and in football, there is always a queue of former players or unemployed managers ready to step in at any time. Who, then, are the favourites to succeed Harford should the club decide to dispense with his services?

Neil Warnock - Warnock's succession to the post of QPR manager has been presented recently as the worst-kept secret in football. Following his Crystal Palace side's impressive 2-2 FA Cup draw with Aston Villa on February 14, Warnock said he was unsure if he could stay at the club, mainly because of the uncertainty following their fall into administration. Even more so than at QPR, should new owners be found at Palace, they could well bring in their own candidate and might also feel that Warnock's personality is too strong to allow them room to manoeuvre.

On the other hand, he has poured cold water on the idea of a switch in recent days. Following the weekend's defeat to Coventry City, Warnock refused to answer questions about the QPR job, but following a press conference today, all signs were that he will be at Palace for at least their next two games, the important FA Cup replay with Villa tomorrow and the even more vital Championship game with Doncaster this weekend.

Another deterrent could be his age - at 61, it was widely felt that the Palace job would be his last. After all that is said, he still has to be the favourite amongst the names being banded about at the moment.

Iain Dowie - When you get through as many managers as QPR, you can never rule out the possibility of turning to an ex-manager for help. One report in the weekend's newspapers suggested that Iain Dowie, who lasted five months in the job back in 2008, could answer Rangers' calls once more. Whilst Neil Warnock still looks like the favourite, Dowie could be a relatively risk-free option if that doesn't materialise and also with better experience of Championship football than Mick Harford.

Maintaining QPR's image as a credible, progressive club if they have to re-hire managers they have previously sacked could be harder though, although with Briatore out of the picture, Dowie could enjoy a more pleasant working experience should he return. A back-up option.

Mick Harford - Perhaps the stability the club craves and which Harford himself says is so important to their future will best be served by sticking with the current incumbent, despite his poor match record since taking sole responsibility for the team. He himself said his chances of the job would be vastly improved had results been better but in terms of performances, QPR have been on a gradually upward curve in the last few games. On top of that, he seems to have won the respect and trust of a previously inharmonious dressing room. Could it be a case of better the devil you know?

Alan Curbishley - Curbishley has been long-linked with a summer move to Loftus Road and the suspicion around the new year was that Harford was merely holding the fort until Curbishley could step in. The main stumbling block was his compensation claim against West Ham, whom he left 17 months ago and against whom he successfully lodged a complaint of unfair dismissal. With that matter now settled and with the manager keen to get back into the game, he could be an easier and less costly alternative to Warnock, with no need to compensate a previous club as he is a free agent.

Lothar Matthaus - We are now into the realms of the long-shot. Matthaus' recent attendance at Loftus Road was enough to get tongues wagging that QPR were dipping back into the European market to find their new manager, following previous experiments with Paulo Sousa and Luigi De Canio. As reported in the Evening Standard, Matthaus is another candidate who is eager to get back into the game and his previous record, including spells in Israel, Brazil, Austria and Hungary indicates that he is pretty flexible when it comes to employment.

Of all the options listed above, this seems like the weakest option though as he has no experience of English football. In the time it would take him to adjust to life in London and his new team, QPR could have slipped into the relegation area. Highly unlikely.

If it is one of these options or none, I'd suggest that the key factor is that a decision is made quickly.

If they are happy with Harford, the new chairman should make a statement to that effect and let the supporters know that he will stay at least until the end of the season.

If they feel he is not the right man, they need to plump for a preferably experienced candidate soon, ideally someone with knowledge of the squad and the Championship. QPR have some very tough fixtures ahead and further uncertainty could push them nearer to the relegation spots once again.

Two entirely unexpected events happened at QPR this weekend.

Firstly, with little in the way of prompting barring some angry chants at the previous two home games, Flavio Briatore (pictured above) stepped down as chairman of the club. Briatore was increasingly seen as the root of all QPR's problems - the chopping and changing of managers, the embarrassing PR gaffes and the lack of real investment on the pitch. Whether that is true will now be tested as he takes a back-seat with a reduced shareholding and little in the way of any real power at the club.

The second unexpected event was that Rangers won a game, their first since Boxing Day and at just the right time, as before the visit of Doncaster they had slipped down to within one point of the drop zone. They now have a healthier four point cushion from the relegation places, though considering their upcoming fixtures (including Middlesbrough, WBA, Sheffield United and Swansea City within the next month), they can't turn their eye from the scrap at the bottom just yet.

How then did QPR manage to break their losing run and does it herald a new dawn of victories to come?

1 - First off, QPR's performance was far from fantastic. The first half in particular was pretty dire and the lead which Rangers took into the break came against the run of play, full debutant Antonio German, just 18 years old, reacting quickest to a saved shot to bundle the ball over the line. Prior to that, Doncaster were tentatively setting about QPR though with just one man up front, they lacked the bite to cause any real damage.

The Hoops' confidence only grew after the goal and in the second half, tell-tale nerves at being in the lead surfaced again. James Hayter's equaliser was like a knife through butter, with Rovers afforded far too much time and space to work the ball to him in the area for a simple tap-in.

Even when QPR worked one of their best moves of the game to retake the lead, Akos Buzsaky showing his superior ability by chipping a through ball to Jay Simpson to score, they still failed to kill the game off (Simpson being uncharacteristically wasteful of a clear run on goal to shoot well-wide late on) and sat off Rovers who pressed ahead deep into injury time. If Donny's passing hadn't been so sloppy, Mick Harford could have been lamenting another missed opportunity.

But the performance did demonstrate an upward progression under Harford, though the most cynical would suggest it couldn't fail to after how poorly QPR performed against Forest (0-5) and bottom-side Peterborough (0-1) for example. They took their chances when they presented themselves, they had enough shape and organisation to repel Doncaster for much of the game and up front, they put faith in the right players.

2 - Experience isn't always the answer. In bringing in Marcus Bent and Nigel Quashie on loan, Harford was quick to point out that they could be the wise heads to settle QPR's nerves and start grafting some wins.

While both could still influence the course of QPR's season, it was two players at the other end of the spectrum who finally got the club back to winning ways. Jay Simpson's potential isn't news now, but he kept up his admirable scoring record with his deft control and precision finish to win the game.

The real difference could have been his 18-year old strike partner Antonio German though. He's been pushing for a starting place since raising the team's tempo as a sub in recent games, but it was still surprising to see how assured he was and seemingly lacking in nerves. There are still a lot of rough edges to his game and both players were caught off-side more than they should have been, but their work-rate, enthusiasm and energy showed that sometimes, the younger alternative is better.

3 - The biggest question for Rangers now is whether to keep their faith in Mick Harford. It would be typical of the idiosyncratic way that QPR do business that they would choose to replace Harford just after he finally leads the team to a victory. After the changes at the top of the club though, the temptation to start with a fresh slate could be strong and the Neil Warnock rumour is gathering momentum. On top of that, Harford himself admits that the club needs someone long-term and that he will accept the club's decision on who that should be. I believe he is absolutely genuine when he says he wants what is best for QPR and he now seems to accept that a new manager could be the solution.

4 - Relegation Watch. Until QPR have amassed at least another 13 points, it would be foolish to ignore results around the bottom of the table and as mentioned, they have tough fixtures to come.

This weekend, everything was going right for QPR's fans though. First Briatore steps down, then they win and then a look at the Championship results puts them four points off trouble. Ipswich won at Sheffield Wednesday, which puts the latter club in real peril, Scunthorpe and Plymouth could only draw, Reading lost as expected at Blackpool but the real boon for QPR was Coventry's late win at Crystal Palace. That means that whatever your feelings on the rightness of Palace being deducted ten points, they are well and truly in danger of the drop themselves.

QPR - Ikeme, Ramage (Taarabt 77), Stewart, Gorkss, Connolly (Borrowdale 85), Hill, Buzsaky, Cook, Faurlin, Simpson, German (Vine 90+3) 

Subs not used - Cerny, Oastler, Quashie, Balanta

Goals - German (25), Simpson (76)

Doncaster Rovers - Sullivan, O'Connor, Chambers, Hird, Ward, Stock (Mutch 86), Wilson (Roberts 83), Oster, Coppinger (Shiels 83), Sharp, Hayter

Subs not used - Smith, Spicer, Dumbuya, Guy

Goals - Hayter (51)

Referee - D Whitestone

Attendance - 10,960

It's more important than the revelation of Archie's killer on Eastenders (does anyone care?) and far more significant than Tiger Woods saying he is sorry on American TV.

It's been announced tonight that Flavio Briatore has stepped down as chairman of QPR, two and a half years after buying into the club with Bernie Ecclestone and then bringing in further investment from steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal and his son-in-law Amit Bhatia.

He will be replaced as chairman of QPR Holdings by Ishan Saksena, who was appointed as managing director of the club last December and sporting director Gianni Paladini will take the role of chairman of QPR FC.

Briatore and QPR have suffered a fairy torrid season and sections of the Loftus Road crowd have called on Briatore to quit the club since the turn of the year.

With all eyes looking towards the Premiership at the start of the season, the stated aim of Briatore and his fellow owners, things have gone from bad to worse on the pitch and the club currently sit just one point off the relegation zone.

That's not been helped by events off the pitch though.

At the end of last year, Briatore became embroiled in a Formula One race-fixing scandal which put in jeopardy his ownership of QPR. His name was only cleared by the decision of a French appeal court on January 5 and that ruling is still subject to a further appeal from the FIA, Formula One's governing body.

On top of that, public utterances about fans criticizing the board and the sale of a number of popular players, with little in the way of long-term replacements, left Briatore unpopular with sections of the Loftus Road crowd.

At the last two home games, a number of anti-Flavio chants were heard and following the 1-0 defeat to Scunthorpe on January 30, several hundred QPR supporters demonstrated outside the ground with calls for Briatore to quit.

"My three years as chairman of QPR have been an exciting and incredible experience," said Briatore tonight.

"I'm proud to have helped save this historical club and to have contributed in paving the way to its future success."

Both Briatore and Ecclestone will remain as shareholders in the club.

I will hopefully have a lot more on this news and more on Ishan Saksena over the next few days, not forgetting the fact that QPR still have a vital game against Doncaster Rovers tomorrow.

After a glorious day in London, cold but bright, QPR know they will have to play their game against Doncaster tomorrow, in sharp contrast to the wash-out on Tuesday night when their game against Watford was called off. They can't rely on the rain to save them this weekend.

That was the third game called off at Loftus Road this season and whether it's purely bad luck or there are deeper reasons, such as the relaying of the pitch as has been suggested on some message boards, Rangers were awarded a longer break than any other Championship side this week (except Watford of course).

Will they have wanted a longer rest though or will they have been itching to play and try and get some points on the board? The midweek results now leave them in a precarious position, just one point off the drop zone.

A week is a long time at QPR as well. We've had hints from the manager himself that he could be leaving, a supposed vote of confidence from senior players which saved his job and continuous rumours about sporting director Gianni Paladini's future at the club and a potential takeover from Lakshmi Mittal and son-in-law Amit Bhatia against Flavio Briatore. At this club, the players can't just kick back and not think about football when the long-term future of their manager and even club is under constant scrutiny.

A valid argument could be made for Watford as an easier game over Doncaster as well. Though there is little to separate those two sides in terms of league positions, Doncaster have impressed me on the few occasions when I've watched them as one of the more organised and attractive teams in this league. After a bad end to January (a heavy home defeat to Middlesbrough at home and a loss at Cardiff included), they've also turned their form around off the back of two excellent victories over Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday. The extent of their ambition tomorrow in going for three points will largely dictate how easy an afternoon QPR can expect.

QPR Team News

Mikele Leigertwood finally serves the third game of his three match ban following his red card against Peterborough whilst striker Marcus Bent is still far from certain to play following his injury against Ipswich. Hogan Ephraim has also now emerged as doubtful with a potential ankle injury.

Doncaster Team News

Rovers have few, if any concerns in the injury department which may explain their recent upturn in form. They could make a late call on defender Gareth Roberts who is back in training following a knee injury.

Form

I don't know what to write here anymore. See my Watford preview. Does having a game postponed count as improving your form?

As mentioned above, Donny's form, on the other hand, has improved over the last month. Prior to those wins over Forest and Wednesday, they earned a commendable 0-0 draw at Leicester City and when they are successful, it's often built off the back of a clean-sheet. They let in just one goal in the whole of December and had four wins on the trot, including victories over Palace and Derby.

Prediction

Before the Watford game, I turned to my flaky understanding of the laws of chance to predict that QPR would have to go unbeaten against Watford, that they couldn't possibly go another game without getting at least a point. I can't evoke such dubious reasoning for this game though and faced with hard facts, I again think they could genuinely struggle.

The lack of bite up front is the main source of my reasoning, plus new doubts over whether Adel Taarabt will even play and what type of mindset he will be in if he does. It's no revelation to say that QPR need players like Taarabt and Akos Buzsaky to pull their weight in terms of creating chances and goal attempts if tomorrow's likely front-line, the inexperienced pairing of Jay Simpson and Tamas Priskin, is going to benefit. Lee Cook's work rate has kept Rangers just in contention in the last few games but he cannot be relied on alone.

If the defence can settle their nerves and keep Rovers out early on, a point at least should be possible. The attitude and ambition that the away side bring to the game will be crucial as well, because Donny may well be happy with a draw. But if Rovers repeat the performances of the last month, this is another defeat for me.

AWAY WIN

QPR managed to call time on their run of defeats last night, but only because their fixture against Watford was postponed due to torrential rain.

But despite receiving a game's reprieve, manager Mick Harford still isn't confident of keeping his job after five defeats in the last six games.

"There's rumours flying in that I'm not going to be here after tonight, rumours that 'X' is coming in," said Harford, speaking to The Sun.

"It's typical with QPR but, if it is for the good of the club, I'm all for it."

On getting the job, I suggested that Harford would be desperate to make the most of this job, after a series of caretaker roles and less than successful permanent appointments in the past.

It now seems that he is resigned to another caretaker role though and has admitted himself that another manager could be more qualified to do the job than him.

If that is truly how he feels, it is best that the club appoint someone new as quickly as possible though I fear they could lose further ground in the table as the new guy inevitably takes a few games to adjust to the team.

In that sense, if the current rumours have any validity, Neil Warnock would surely be a more risk-free appointment than Lothar Matthaus, as he has bags of experience in the Championship, will surely be relatively well versed in the QPR squad and is far from lacking in the necessary confidence to make his own decisions.

Harford could have been forgiven being slightly more bullish. I mean it's not like QPR lost again last night, though rain in west London was responsible instead of an actual performance on the pitch.

There is still little in the way of explanation on the QPR website though, which doesn't compare favourably with the Watford site (which has a full interview with their manager Malky Mackay about why the game was off).

Some supporters were left confused as the club posted a message before 6pm yesterday saying that the game was on and that 'at this stage, there is no risk of the game being postponed' despite heavy rain throughout yesterday afternoon and forecasts for it to continue into last night.

As late as 6.35pm, the Watford Observer was reporting that a second pitch inspection was to be held, with no news released that the game was off till roughly 7.10pm, less than an hour until the kick-off.

You'd almost think QPR didn't want to play at the moment.

QPR have lost easier games and to worse teams than Watford this season and in the run of games without a win since Boxing Day, each new match has taken on an increased significance as managers and players alike insist the turnaround in their fortunes will start immediately.

So the Hornets provide the latest opportunity for QPR to salvage a truly horrendous season and though it's easy to class every game now as must-win, you can't help but feel the club need to be taking some points, preferably six, maybe four, from their next two games - both home matches - against Watford tonight and then Doncaster on Saturday. After that it's Middlesbrough and WBA and I mentioned recently that the Hoops don't have the easiest of run-ins so tonight is really a massive chance for them to keep their distance from the bottom three.

Look on it in a more negative light though and Rangers, should they lose, could be just one place above the relegation area by tomorrow night by my calculations. Should Sheffield Wednesday, Ipswich and Scunthorpe all win tonight, they will jump ahead of the R's leaving Crystal Palace and Reading who meet tomorrow. Should either win, they would also move ahead of Rangers, leaving just tomorrow's losers, Plymouth and Peterborough below them. Even a draw for Palace, a team deducted ten points this season, would take them ahead of the Hoops should QPR fail to win tonight. It's not the rosiest set of scenarios ever, is it?

QPR Team News

To prevent a further slip down the table, QPR have close to a full squad to call on barring their two long-term absentees, former Watford player Gavin Mahon and Martin Rowlands. On top of that, there is Mikele Leigertwood, who serves the final game of a three-match ban and Marcus Bent, who is yet to recover from the hamstring injury sustained against Ipswich Town a week ago.

Tamas Priskin, who started his career in England with Watford, could start in place of Bent but manager Mick Harford could hand a first start to young striker Antonio German who has impressed with three substitute appearances recently.

A more surprising bench-warmer over the last two matches was Adel Taarabt, a player often likely to earn some howls from the crowd when he fails to pass to a team-mate but also capable of moments of individual brilliance that few others in the squad can match. He, Akos Buzsaky and Lee Cook are the three players I'd mark out as capable of turning QPR's season around, with Jay Simpson providing the goals.

Form

None worse than QPR's, not too much more to say about it. Five league games lost on the bounce against mainly bottom-half Championship sides.

Any silver linings? Well, amongst those defeats, there has only been two league games at Loftus Road since the turn of the year. Both were lost, to Scunthorpe and Ipswich, by the odd goal. Prior to that, QPR's home form wasn't bad, with just two defeats from August to December, against Leicester and Middlesbrough. You get the feeling their remaining home games are going to be critical in keeping them up - they have eight more between now and May 2nd, including tonight's game.

Prediction

Bringing in new players in January hasn't worked (or has perhaps hindered the team). Swapping the managers hasn't worked. Trying every combination known to man in defence hasn't worked. Maybe it's time for some old-fashioned superstitions. Well, QPR last won a game on Boxing Day, so their supporters should have spent today in their dressing gowns, half-drunk and unable to move from over-eating. Unless you start eating turkey sandwiches right now you just don't care enough about your team.

I'm going to go with mathematical randomness though (not that I have any understanding of it). They simply can't keep losing every game, can they? They're not THAT bad. There must be some law of nature that says you can't lose six Championship games in a row. If there is, I fully expect QPR to break it, but that said, I think the losing run will end tonight. Though not with a win of course.

SCORE DRAW

Can you pinpoint the moment when QPR's season began to unravel? A defeat at Doncaster in November followed by an unnecessary 2-2 home draw with Coventry City were ominous markers but far from disastrous. But in quick succession came a 5-1 Loftus Road defeat to Middlesbrough and then the ominous night at Vicarage Road when behind-the-scenes problems were thrust into the limelight.

If Patrick Agyemang, a man who managed two goals in the whole of the previous season, fails to celebrate a strike then something is wrong. When the team then goes on to meekly concede three goals and a player is left out in the cold following the game, rather than sharing the dressing room with his teammates, then something truly bizarre is going on. If there is a single game that marked the start of QPR's downward spiral, it was surely that game just over two months ago.

Considering the run of form since and some of the performances displayed, should QPR lose by a similar scoreline tonight, few would grumble if Mick Harford repeated one of his predecessor's alleged actions and head-butted a few of the players, even in sight of the supporters. Hopefully the need for manager-on-player violence will be averted but Watford are unlikely to prove an easy three points for the struggling R's. 

Watford Team News

Watford can't play Heidar Helguson under the terms of his loan, more on that below, but they are fortunate to have the services of Tom Cleverley (pictured below) to call on. The on-loan midfielder from Man United and the club's top scorer, is back in full training following a knee injury which kept him out of their last two games.


What To Expect

Watford are a tricky team to pin down. Following their relegation from the Premiership in 2007 they had to part ways with most of their best players to soften the financial blow of such a quick return to the Championship. Their financial troubles have worsened, if that's possible, since, with there even being talk of potential administration around Christmas, but somehow, mainly through smart loan transfers, they remain a difficult team to beat and though not comfortable of their safety in this league just yet, they are certainly in a more favourable position than their opponents tonight.

They're even harder to predict because their form is quite topsy-turvy. Throughout this season, they've never put together a long unbeaten sequence but similarly, they've rarely gone too long without three points either. Surprisingly, their worst run probably came after the visit of QPR mentioned above. They followed that up with defeats to strugglers Derby County and Peterborough and had a miserable January in which they were knocked out of the Cup by Chelsea but more damagingly, lost both of their league games against Doncaster and Blackpool.

Ominously for QPR, they look like they've turned another corner just in time for their trip to Loftus Road tonight. Since the start of this month, they've beaten Sheffield United and Bristol City, though they still look weak on the road, with a 1-0 defeat at Barnsley separating those two games.

In terms of players to look out for, Rangers are fortunate that one of their poorer decisions of the season can't literally come back to bite them. Heidar Helguson, twice loaned out to Watford this season, can't play tonight under the terms of his loan and with two goals in three games, he would have undoubtedly posed a threat to the R's shaky defence.

Watford certainly seem better equipped at playing the loan market than QPR. Where QPR seem to go for ageing professionals or out-of-favour players, Watford have smartly brought in a number of young players from bigger clubs with something to prove (the only loan signing which QPR have made which could fit into this category is Jay Simpson, the most successful up until now).

Midfielder Tom Cleverley, on loan from Man Utd, is Watford's top scorer with ten goals, and has a touch and control which demonstrates his education at Old Trafford. Another addition who has been well schooled in technique and attractive football is Henri Lansbury from Arsenal and at just 19, he is now an important part of the Watford line-up.

Star Man


As mentioned above, loaning out Heidar Helguson (pictured above in action against Sheffield United) to Watford hasn't looked like the smartest move since. QPR originally let Helguson go out on loan back in September and at the time, despite also losing Dexter Blackstock at the end of the previous season, it didn't appear to be the worst decision. Helguson had struggled at QPR both for form and fitness, with just five goals from 15 starts the previous season.

But the Watford old boy soon demonstrated that familiar surroundings can get the best of him. Two goals in his first game earned Watford a 3-3 draw with Leicester and he's followed that up with six more since. Therefore, when his initial loan deal expired in January and with Jay Simpson the only QPR striker finding the net on a regular basis, it was odd that Rangers allowed the player to renew his deal with the Hornets.

Simpson is a naturally gifted striker but rough around the edges and surely he could have benefited immensely from the benefit of Helguson's experience, to learn more about the physical nature and the little tricks needed to succeed in the Championship. Instead, you get the impression that Simpson himself now has to coach his current striker partner, the even wetter behind the ears Tamas Priskin. QPR's one stroke of luck at the moment is that they won't face Helguson tonight.   

Hoops TV - Watford

Bit of a cheat this one. But then again, few people are as synonymous with Watford as Elton John, former chairman and life president. Below, in full Hornet regalia, Elton serenades Vicarage Road with Bennie and the Jets back in 1974. He'll be returning for his only UK concert this year on 29th May.



Ten Year Record

2008-9 - 13th in Championship
2007-8 - 6th in Championship
2006-7 - 20th in Premiership (Relegated)
2005-6 - 3rd in Championship (Promoted)
2004-5 - 18th in Championship
2003-4 - 16th in First Division (now Championship)
2002-3 - 13th in First Division
2001-2 - 14th in First Division
2000-1 - 9th in First Division
1999-0 - 20th in Premiership (Relegated) 

Lend Us A Tenner?

Not a chance. Watford were very close to doing a Palace just two months ago and their financial future still looks far from rosy as they become one of the many Championship clubs to have suffered for their all-too-brief stay in the Premiership.

The club was thrust into crisis in December when chairman Jimmy Russo, who was reported to have close to a 30% stake in the club, along with his brother Vince, through their Valley Grown Salads company, decided to walk out of the club and was seeking a return on his £8 million investment.

Watford's shares were suspended in the same month and administration was a very real threat. Former manager Graham Taylor took over as interim chairman and one of the club's other major stakeholders, Lord Michael Ashcroft, the deputy chairman of the Tory party, repaid Russo a close to £5 million loan, thereby securing the club's survival at least until the end of this season. But don't expect this club to be splashing the cash for a while yet.

Potential QPR managerial target Neil Warnock is not in the best mood right now, so unsurprisingly he doesn't appear to be keen to amass further headaches by joining Rangers.

QPR's own boss, Mick Harford, isn't the only one who could be having sleepless nights and Warnock, whose Crystal Palace side were docked ten points after going into administration at the end of last month, was still seething after his side's 2-2 FA Cup draw with Aston Villa on Sunday.

Warnock was linked with the QPR job last week but denied any contact with Rangers in an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live today and Villa's equaliser was a greater source of concern for him.

A wonderful free-kick from free-scoring Darren Ambrose looked to be sending Palace to a shock win over Villa and a place in the quarter-finals but the visitors were erroneously awarded a corner with three minutes to go when the ball deflected out off their own player, Nathan Delfouneso.

From the subsequent set-piece, Stiliyan Petrov stole in at the near post to head in an equaliser.

Warnock's reaction was characteristically furious despite Palace still earning a Villa Park replay which will keep the administrators happy, going so far as to suggest that the linesman, Mr Massey, should be suspended for the foreseeable future.

"It's disappointing, it's bitter, it's a disgrace," said Warnock.

"The ball comes off Delfouneso and the officials wait to see which way they should give it... and it's a Premier League team losing 2-1, so we'll give it to them.

"I spoke with Mr Massey and what he said was: 'When I watch it at home, if I was wrong, then I may be suspended.'

"Well I don't feel any sympathy if he is suspended.

"I hope it's for a long time."

Lothar Matthaus and Warnock are two managers linked with the QPR job in the last week alone as Mick Harford struggles for positive results, a trend which was exacerbated at the weekend with a fifth defeat in six games against Coventry City.

But despite admitting to being far from happy at Palace right now, Warnock insists he hasn't spoken to QPR.

"It's an insecure time at the moment.

"The administrator said to me last week that new owners could come in within a fortnight and they might not want you.

"So all I do now is plan for the next game.

"I'm planning to be here for the Reading game on Wednesday and the (FA Cup) replay.

"If I said I was happy I'd be lying.

"I'm not very happy at all at the moment, I still don't understand why we were forced to go into administration."

It seems that for now even a club in administration is a more attractive proposition than Queens Park Rangers.

The worst run of results in the Championship continued on Saturday when QPR left Coventry City's Ricoh Arena pointless. That made it one point in six games under Mick Harford, a truly disastrous run of form after the club was already struggling at the end of last year. Compared to the non-performance against Nottingham Forest, the embarrassment of losing to the bottom side Peterborough and the abysmal first half against Ipswich just four days before this game, QPR did slightly improve and were very unlucky not to take at least a point against a physical, committed Coventry side. So...

1 - They're losing even when they play well. The manager called it rightly when he said QPR were the better team after this game, but that will be scant consolation for the few supporters who made the trip to the Midlands or those worriedly listening at home.

Rangers were particularly unlucky in the goal they conceded as well. Coventry midfielder Gary Deegan tried a speculative 20 yard shot which took a strong deflection off Damion Stewart and swept low past Carl Ikeme with the keeper having no chance of getting to it. After that, they had the better of the possession for most of the game and carved enough goal-scoring chances to get a result, a combination of brave defending, lack of confidence up front and bad luck conspiring to bring another defeat.

2 - After the sale of Wayne Routledge, I wondered who was going to be the creative spark in the QPR team. That question is even more pressing when Adel Taarabt can't seem to get a full game at the moment and Akos Buzsaky continues to blow hot and cold.


The return of Lee Cook (pictured above) to the side has been the one bright spot in a very gloomy last few weeks then and as with the Ipswich game, he was probably the most committed and at times, dangerous QPR player on the pitch. Frequently QPR's deliveries from set pieces this season have been less than effective but Cook's whipped free-kicks add something new to the Rangers' attack and with 20 minutes to go, he found Stewart free in the area. The defender's header was well saved by the impressive Kieran Westwood though.

3 - QPR's one stroke of luck was that they didn't slip further down the table. Due to the remaining involvement of some Championship sides in the FA Cup and the complexities of the fixture list, QPR didn't lose any further ground in the table and will have been pleased to see fellow strugglers Scunthorpe take a sound 5-1 beating at Leicester City. Plymouth kept themselves just in contention to survive the drop though with a 3-1 win at Barnsley and Doncaster's win over Forest took them three points ahead of the Hoops. QPR can't and shouldn't rely on other teams to keep them in the league but other results will take on a greater significance with each passing week, at least until the team corrects its abysmal run of form.

4 - On to another 'must-win' game then. I'm sure the games against Peterborough, Ipswich and Coventry were all must-win games as well, but Mick Harford has classed tomorrow night's home match against Watford as an essential win.

The opportunities provided by the regularity of fixtures in the Championship could be seen in two lights. In one sense, any team doesn't have to wait too long to correct their mistakes and try to turn their results around. On the other hand, it's hard to have the time and patience to address problems on the training pitch and before you know it, a bad run of results turns into relegation form.

Harford also spoke of the need of the Loftus Road crowd to fully back their side and though you can understand a degree of dissatisfaction and impatience on their part, it is true that any heckling or booing of the team is likely to be counterproductive at this stage. With confidence so low, home games are surely the club's best bet to pick up the points they need to stay in this league and Watford and Doncaster at home in quick succession are both winnable games.

A look at Rangers' games in April indicates that they won't want to be too far in arrears at that point. Trips to Leicester, Palace and Barnsley and home games against Cardiff and then Newcastle on the final day of the season offer little in the way of easy points. The turnaround will have to start before then.

Coventry City - Westwood, Wright, Clingan, Eastwood, Morrison (Sears 67), Deegan, Cranie, Baker, McIndoe, Barnett, Wood

Subs not used - Konstantopoulos, Hussey, Walker, Grandison, Jeffers

Goal - Deegan (10)

Bookings - Wright, Cranie

QPR - Ikeme, Ramage, Stewart, Buzsaky (Taarabt 67), Gorkss, Connolly, Cook, Faurlin, Hill, Simpson, Priskin (German 55)

Subs not used - Cerny, Vine, Quashie, Balanta, Borrowdale

Bookings - Connolly, Faurlin, Gorkss

Referee - D Foster

Attendance - 15,247 (586 QPR)

The midweek defeat to Ipswich was the latest confirmation that all QPR's concerns now lie at the bottom of the table rather than anywhere near the top. With other results going against them, Rangers slumped to 17th, just two points outside the drop zone.

One of the sides to benefit from the Hoops' run of defeats is Coventry City who have more practice this season at scrapping in the bottom half of the table. Their win over Nottingham Forest lifted them to the relative safety of 14th, though still just five points from the bottom three.

Which side can seize the initiative in today's clash could have a massive bearing on their continued presence in this division then. A win for Coventry would confirm their upturn in form and give them even more breathing space whilst seriously damaging the perilously weak confidence of QPR. If the visitors snap out of their funk though and earn their first three point haul of the year, they could start out on the road to a more respectable league finish.

QPR Team News

To gain that victory, QPR will be without recent loan signing Marcus Bent. Bent made an awkward debut in the defeat against Peterborough United but in just his second game on Tuesday, he limped out after eight minutes. Though the initial signs are that the injury isn't too serious, he won't be back in time for this game.

Fellow loan signing Tamas Priskin, who came in from Ipswich Town less than two weeks ago, is available to play though. He had to sit out the Ipswich game in midweek under the terms of his loan but will likely partner QPR's top scorer Jay Simpson in attack.

Peter Ramage returns after serving his one match ban but Mikele Leigertwood has two more games to miss following his sending-off at Peterborough and Gary Borrowdale has been suffering with a calf injury but should be fit enough to make the bench.

That leaves Rangers' two long-term absentees, Gavin Mahon and Martin Rowlands. Rowlands is out for the rest of the season but Mahon is still on course for an April return.

Coventry Team News

The Sky Blues could throw new signing Freddie Sears straight into the action following his loan move from West Ham on Thursday. The transfer of Leon Best to Newcastle cut Coventry's striking options to just Clinton Morrison and Freddy Eastwood, who have 16 league goals between them.

The two doubts in their squad are midfielder Aron Gunnarsson (leg) and defender James McPake (back) who will both be given late fitness tests. 

Form

QPR's form before Mick Harford arrived was poor enough, but despite the best efforts of the new manager, results have really taken a turn for the worse, with just one point from 15. It's relegation form pure and simple and the club desperately need to turn it around soon. Their last league win came under Paul Hart on Boxing Day, a scrappy 2-1 victory over Bristol City. Prior to that, you have to go back to November 7th and a trip to Hillsborough for another QPR win.

Coventry on the other hand have solidly, if less than spectacularly, put together a four game unbeaten run, including some less than easy matches against Nottingham Forest and Swansea City. When the two sides last met at Loftus Road in November, a Richard Wood goal earned Coventry a 2-2 draw. In fact, they're unbeaten in five against QPR since Rangers' 1-0 win at the Ricoh Arena in April 2007.

Prediction

The previous encounter between these two sides could be taken as a good marker for this afternoon's game. Coventry were less than pretty on the day, tackling hard and quickly getting possession up to their strikers who were a handful, particularly Clinton Morrison who is rarely concerned about ingratiating himself with the opposition's supporters.

I also saw Coventry play against Doncaster over Christmas and again, they were second-best in terms of style and possession play, but lacked nothing in commitment, another late goal this time earning them all three points.

They will have few illusions about their aim for this season as well, simply staying in the league.

The key factor will be if QPR now face up to a similar goal. For too long the club have laboured under misguided pretensions of making into the Premiership but recent weeks have pulled down that facade. They still have players of a high enough quality to make relegation seem perverse, but if they aren't awake to the danger ahead of them, they could yet again come unstuck against a more hardened side.

The second half against Ipswich showed a new urgency and passion to QPR's play which they will need in bucketfuls but again, the fact it couldn't be maintained for more than 45 minutes ruined their chances. Lack of concentration at the back and lack of confidence in the attacking positions are currently strangling the life out of this side.

Look out for Rangers' performance levels in the first 20 minutes of this game; if they can come through them unharmed and without conceding they stand a chance. That said, I think home games are still their best chance of picking up the points they need and the squad's morale is still too brittle to pick up wins on the road just yet.

A draw is more than likely, but I think Coventry could just nick a win.

HOME WIN

One is a thirty-plus veteran striker with experience at over 10 football clubs. The other is a 20-year old rookie with just one professional goal to his name. One is injured after just arriving on loan; the other only signed for his new club yesterday and is eager to make his home debut.

QPR supporters will be cursing their bad luck at the moment, which has now extended from the football pitch to the transfer market.

They signed experienced forward Marcus Bent less than two weeks ago in a loan deal, hoping to have found the calm head who would bring goals back to a misfiring side.

But they may now be wishing they went for a younger alternative, such as West Ham's Freddie Sears (pictured above) who signed for Coventry City, Rangers' opponents this weekend, just yesterday.

Bent will miss tomorrow's vital clash at the Ricoh Arena after limping off the pitch ten minutes into Tuesday night's defeat to Ipswich Town, only his second game for the Hoops.

Sears, on the other hand, completed a loan move from West Ham United yesterday after already spending part of this season at Crystal Palace and will now compete with established Coventry strikers Clinton Morrison and Freddy Eastwood for a starting place.

Both teams are perilously close to the relegation area but again the omens seem to more greatly favour the home side. Rangers, just two points off the relegation zone, were leap-frogged by Coventry in midweek after the Sky Blues' surprise win over Nottingham Forest.

Bent (pictured below playing for Birmingham City) looked to have tweaked his hamstring during Rangers' dismal midweek defeat and the QPR medical team now await the results of a scan though the initial prognosis was not too serious.


It also means Rangers could start with a youthful front-line of their own.

Fellow loanee 23-year old Tamas Priskin can play again after missing Tuesday's game under the terms of his loan deal whilst 21-year old top scorer Jay Simpson is back in form after scoring Rangers' only goal in that game.

Sears will be keen to make the most of a loan move which lasts until the end of the season.

He signed for West Ham aged just 11, made his Premiership debut in 2008 aged 18 and has now been capped for England U-21s.

"He is a hungry striker who is really keen to impress and I like that in a player," said Coventry boss Chris Coleman.

"He is only a young boy so I am not going to put pressure on him but he is very exciting and I think our supporters will take to him immediately."

He could get his first opportunity to impress as soon as tomorrow afternoon and I'll have a full match preview before then.

When thinking of benefits to Flavio Briatore's ownership of QPR, one often cited is his bulging contacts books, full of movers and shakers across Europe in all fields, even sport should the need arise. Along with Gianni Paladini, Briatore was supposedly set to open up Loftus Road to a new level of star signings and exciting managerial appointments previously only imagined in west London at Roman Abramovich's Chelsea.

Cherry-picking of the cream of European talent hasn't quite materialised for QPR though as unsurprisingly even a man such as Briatore, with all his confidence and salesmanship, will find a struggling and under-supported side in the English second tier hard to pitch. Luigi De Canio had varied experience managing in Italy before taking on the Rangers job but I suspect the top clubs weren't knocking down his door whilst another Briatore appointment, Paulo Sousa, was clearly well-respected throughout Europe, though more for his playing achievements than his fledgling coaching career.

Wild rumours linking Zinedine Zidane and Pele to the club were probably no more than that so it's hard to know how seriously to take the latest whispers circling QPR that former Germany captain Lothar Matthaus could soon be stepping into the hot-seat. Matthaus (pictured above during his Inter Milan days) attended Rangers' 2-1 defeat to Ipswich on Tuesday night and if he is still on speaking terms with Briatore after watching that monstrosity, quite a few papers believe he will be forging a much closer relationship with the Italian as manager of the club.

In many ways, Matthaus fits the Briatore-type of appointment. His playing career was even more distinguished than Sousa's. He played in five World Cups, winning it as captain in 1990, won countless Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich, Serie A with Inter, World Player of the Year in 1991...

His experience as a coach has been far less trophy-laden though, including stints managing Hungary, Brazilian side Atletico Paranaense and most recently Israeli side Maccabi Netanya. If there is a job going somewhere in the world, you get the feeling Matthaus would consider it so the idea of him pitching up in west London might not be entirely ridiculous.

Then again, Matthaus isn't the first coach to be the guest of Briatore at Loftus Road. Giovanni Trapattoni and even Fabio Capello have taken in the club's hospitality so we might as well say that Fabio will be joining the club if he fails to win the World Cup with England this summer. Now he probably could get Rangers promoted.

Volz Just Happy To Be Playing

A fellow countryman of Matthaus', Moritz Volz, had much firmer connections to the club as reported here last week but for now, he won't be signing on the dotted line as a fully paid-up member of the QPR playing squad.

With news about his potential transfer hard to come by, the one update is on Volz's own online diary in which he now reports his happiness at coming through last week's reserve outing after long-standing injury problems. But he goes on to play down his link to Rangers.

"Since I've been training with QPR there have been lots of reports in the media about me signing for them," he says.

"I've even had messages of congratulations.

"But as it stands I'm there just to train as I still have a little way to go to be at full fitness and therefore to be of full use to a team."

I watched last night's 2-1 victory for Roy Keane's Ipswich from the unsheltered cold of Loftus Road's West Paddock rather than the press box and paid £20 for my troubles, so by owner Flavio Briatore's rationale, I really should shut up rather than express an opinion about this game ("Some fans because they pay £20, they want to criticize").

Believe me, that would suit me fine as it's getting increasingly more difficult to find new things to say about QPR when they repeat the same mistakes on a game-by-game basis and offer little hope to their supporters that things are going to get better. Then again, Briatore reportedly only lasted until half-time for this one, so as I watched the whole 90 minutes, I feel at least better qualified than him to comment on the game. So...

1. Can Mick Harford be blamed for the team's current woes? It's clear that QPR were a struggling side even before Mick Harford stepped into the breach following Paul Hart's sudden departure. Going back even to Jim Magilton, issues over team morale and confidence were surfacing whilst the background noise of board interference and mismanagement was never far away.

But the run under Harford is really woeful. Five games played, one point, eleven goals conceded, just three in return. Will the board already be thinking about cutting their losses and appointing someone else before this run gets any worse?

Well, firstly, I think they would struggle to find someone with the relevant experience to step in straight away especially with uncertainties over Briatore's commitment to the club and no opportunities to change the playing staff.

Secondly, I think it would be a bad decision in itself anyway. Harford's long-term suitability for the job is debatable, but the chopping and changing of managers has been one of the most damaging aspects of QPR's recent history. Coupled with that, despite at first seeming relatively pleased with his side's efforts after taking the job, it is clear now that Harford is as angry as anyone about what he is seeing and is prepared to do all he can to rectify it.

After the game yesterday, he acknowledged that the club is now in a relegation fight. He is facing the hard truths around Loftus Road head on and for now, he is the best option to try and deal with them.

2. The first half was as bad as it gets. Which again the manager acknowledged after the game.

"As a professional club, that first-half performance was unacceptable," said Harford.

"It was totally inept and was lacking everything.

"It lacked effort and it lacked commitment, and that's what disappointed me more than anything."

Within eight minutes, Rangers were a goal down when the defence's unwillingness to confront players allowed David Norris the time to line up a shot which took a wild deflection off Kaspars Gorkss and into the net.

In fact, you sensed with every attack that Ipswich could score. Daryl Murphy was twice denied from close range before doubling Ipswich's lead with a rifled shot past Carl Ikeme on 38 minutes. Harford also got it right in saying the team deserved to be booed at half-time, though it will pain him bitterly to have to admit that.

3. Buzsaky and Taarabt could and should turn it around. Watching low down by the corner flag and with the game low on quality, my attention was often drawn to the subs warming up just in front of us (particularly as the Ipswich subs were getting some pretty comical abuse from one QPR supporter including "You're so rubbish I can't even remember your name.")

Akos Buzsaky and Adel Taarabt were in conference for much of the first half and cynically I first took this as them being disinterested in the game and more content to joke with each other. In truth, I think they were giving the game greater attention than I thought because when both came on at half-time, they looked to genuinely have their own game-plan and both attempted to rise above much of the mediocrity on display and salvage at least a point.

Work-rate and physical effort has at times been lacking from Buzsaky's game this season but you couldn't say that yesterday. When Gorkss went off the pitch to recieve treatment, he even dropped back to right-back and was frequently marshalling the defence to push up and play the offside trap.

Taarabt, on the other hand, finally began to ally his unmatched technique with a sense of urgency and awareness of others and was unlucky himself not to score the equaliser. Both players need to maintain such efforts to prevent a real relegation dog-fight.

4. Elsewhere... results really didn't go QPR's way. Coventry beating Nottingham Forest was surprising enough, a Freddy Eastwood goal allowing the Sky Blues to leap-frog the Hoops. But Derby's 3-0 win over Newcastle came from nowhere, ending Newcastle's run of 15 matches unbeaten, allowing Derby to also move ahead of QPR and showing that some teams are finding their form just as QPR lose all semblance of theirs.

Doncaster earned a point at Leicester to move ahead on goal difference, so by the end of the evening, QPR had dropped from 14th to 17th, just two points clear of the relegation area after Reading beat Plymouth 2-1. That win could have consigned Plymouth to the bottom three along with Peterborough, though with a game in hand on much of the rest of the pack, they won't give up the ghost. But the third relegation spot could feasibly fall to any of 13 clubs. Including QPR.

QPR - Ikeme, Stewart, Gorkss, Connolly, Hill, Quashie (Taarabt 46), Cook, Faurlin, Ephraim (Buzsaky 46), Bent (Vine 10), Simpson

Subs not used - Cerny, Borrowdale, Balanta, German

Goals - Simpson (66)

Bookings - Connolly

Ipswich - Lee-Barrett, Delaney, McAuley, Leadbitter, Garvan (Rosenior 65), Norris, Peters, Colback, Counago (Healy 65), Walters, Murphy (Stead 85)

Subs not used - Murphy, Balkestein, Edwards, Quinn

Goals - Norris (8), Murphy (38)

Bookings - Norris, Walters

Referee - F Graham

Attendance - 10,940

QPR's seemingly irrepressible slide down the Championship table could be arrested or further deepened tonight, as the Rs welcome a side who are far from having a positive season of their own. Ipswich Town sit just one place above the relegation area and the buzz surrounding the appointment of Roy Keane has quickly dissipated as the club has put its own promotion ambitions on hold for this season. As we know though, QPR have the weakest form in the whole league and so The Tractor Boys may be quietly confident of picking up what would be only their second away win of the season.

QPR Team News

Rangers are forced into a number of changes ahead of tonight's game but considering the woeful result against Peterborough on Saturday, that is far from a bad thing.

Both Peter Ramage and Mikele Leigertwood are suspended and as a result, Matt Connolly will most likely deputise for Ramage at right-back and Damion Stewart should come in to partner Kaspars Gorkss in central defence.

Leigertwood played on the right side of a four-man midfield on Saturday and there are ready-made/more suitable candidates available such as Hogan Ephraim, Akos Buzsaky or Angelo Balanta.

Up front, top scorer Jay Simpson will surely be recalled after being demoted to the bench for the Peterborough defeat, as Tamas Priskin, a loan signing from tonight's opponents, is unable to play under the terms of his loan.

Ipswich Team News

Roy Keane has no current headaches in terms of injuries to his squad and will have been pleased to see striker Jon Walters come through his first game back after a hamstring injury against Middlesbrough.

Keane has a number of options up front, including Jon Stead, who scored a brace against Rangers when the two sides met just after Christmas, loan pair David Healy and Daryl Murphy, both brought in from Sunderland and Pablo Counago, who scored in the corresponding fixture last season.

Form

None worse than QPR's, truly dire and if it were to extend another two months, it would be enough to see them playing League One football next season. One point from 15, one win in 12 games, four-and-a-half hours without a goal. Try and put a positive spin on those statistics.

Ipswich are the league's draw specialists with 15 already this season and despite being seven places lower down the table than QPR, they've lost two fewer games. Just one away win all season highlights where some of their problems have come from though and particularly early on in the season, they showed a complete inability to actually hold on to a winning lead.

Head-to-head, the visitors also have the advantage, being unbeaten in eight against Rangers and winning the last three. In this fixture last season, Jim Magilton masterminded a smart counter-attacking victory over QPR which nipped in the bud any straining hopes of a play-off spot. Going on to then manage the Hoops, his time at the club now remarkably looks like a tranquil oasis of good football and decent results, despite the rumours of head-butts behind the scenes.

QPR last managed a win against Ipswich in August 2005, with a 2-1 win at Loftus Road.

Prediction

It's not looking good is it? All the above doesn't bode well for QPR's hopes this evening in front of what I'm sure will be a very low and potentially pissed off crowd. It seems silly to say it, when the club have leaked goals all season and have remarkably gone 17 games without a clean sheet, but the biggest problem could be who will step up to act as the creative provider in this team.

It could be Adel Taarabt, but he is pretty unreliable and won't respond well if the crowd gets on his back as he sets off on a trademark cul-de-sac dribble. Buzsaky has probably been the most disappointing player in the QPR squad this season. Maybe he is finally due a good game? Alejandro Faurlin does what he does well but at the moment, that doesn't appear to be a great deal. Perhaps Lee Cook or another player returning from injury will step up to the plate?

In short though, I can't see a glut of goal-chances for Rangers tonight. Considering Ipswich's record, this game has a draw written all over it. But I think it could get even worse than that for the brave few who venture out tonight.

AWAY WIN.

Harold Winton, honorary Life President of QPR, sadly passed away last night after fighting cancer for the last five years.

The club will hold a minute's silence prior to tonight's game against Ipswich Town to pay their respects to a man who served as a club director and financially contributed towards the club's signings of Dan Shittu and Marc Bircham.

Along with sons Matthew and Alex he also paid for the signing of striker Doudou in 2001 and after stepping down as a club director was named as a honorary President by QPR.

Speaking to the QPR website, Gianni Paladini said:

"He was a true QPR fan who not only assisted the club through thick and thin, but also helped in securing the services of Doudou, Dan Shittu and Marc Bircham.

"He was a true gentleman and he will be missed by everyone at the club."

Condolences to his family and I'm sure the QPR crowd will be eager to pay their respects tonight to a man who did a great deal for their club.

Stuck in a dismal run of form, QPR laid down one of their poorest results of the season on Saturday, losing 1-0 at bottom and seemingly stranded side Peterborough United. The new manager effect clearly holds greater weight in Peterborough than in west London, with the Posh's new boss Jim Gannon (pictured above) managing what Mick Harford has failed to achieve in four games for QPR - win a match. Below is some food for thought as Rangers consider new ways to try and save an increasingly nightmarish season.

1 - Too much change can be a bad thing. Were the current management of QPR not to be proactive in trying to arrest the club's slide down the table, then a lot of observers would rightly charge them with being over-complacent. So in entering the loan market to bring in defensive and midfield cover and most notably last week, two new attacking options, Mick Harford has clearly identified some of the team's weaknesses and tried to tackle them head on.

But getting the balance of a team right, especially when morale and confidence are very low, can be difficult and going on the results and performances in his four games in charge, it certainly looks like the new boss has tried to change too many aspects of the team too quickly.

Bringing Matt Hill into the side was common sense and though it hasn't arrested the team's alarming rate of conceding goals, it does provide an experienced and vocal player who will muck in in what could be a difficult remaining few months. Likewise for Nigel Quashie in central midfield.

That QPR also had to look for new strikers is undeniable with only Jay Simpson providing anything like satisfactory performances this season. To throw both Marcus Bent and Tamas Priskin into this game though, when both have struggled for games and goals this season, seems rash now and almost like an unnecessary snub to Simpson, one of Rangers best players this season.

Sometimes these experiments work. This weekend, it didn't.

2 - Things can only get ...worse? It's bad enough to be trailing to the league's bottom side and failing to craft any decent chances of your own, but to contrive to get two of your players sent off in almost identical situations is truly laughable.

Misplaced passes in the centre of the field forced firstly Mikele Leigertwood and secondly Peter Ramage to make desperate, even foolish lunges to try and reclaim the ball, but the alternative in both cases was to allow the Posh to go on a dangerous counter-attack. Leigertwood's tackle was particularly reckless but it arose from lazy play and poor decision-making, which is blighting Rangers' season.

Ramage will now miss tomorrow's visit of Ipswich, who could draw to just a point behind Rangers with a win. More damagingly, Leigertwood will miss that game and two further fixtures at Coventry and at home to Watford, games which now take on the aura of relegation battles instead of opportunities to press for the play-offs.

3 - Looking up or looking down? QPR now find themselves closer to the relegation area then the play-off spots and though it seems ridiculous to think about it when the club has been portrayed as ambitious, Premiership-chasers for so long, few QPR fans will be confident enough to not cast some anxious glances towards the bottom of the table.

You don't have to go back too far (2003/4) for the Hoops' last appearance in the third tier of English football and as recently as 2005/6 they finished 21st in the Championship, just one place above the relegation area.

In that season, they managed to get to the magic 50-point marker which though no guarantee of Championship football, is the first landmark on the way to safety. That would basically require 6 wins from QPR's remaining 18 games (7 to be more certain) which is clearly within this team's capabilities. But with two wins in the last three months, a relegation scrap is not in the realms of the impossible either.

4 - To add insult to injury... As QPR were hitting the lows at Peterborough, a couple of their former employees were finding life away from Loftus Road not unpalatable.

Wayne Routledge seems to have quickly settled into life at Newcastle and provided a key role in their 5-1 demolition of Cardiff with two assists whilst Dexter Blackstock notched a brace for Nottingham Forest, taking him to 10 league goals this season and keeping his side in the hunt for automatic promotion. You can harp on for too long about players who have now left, but surely both still had something to contribute for QPR.

Not exactly a match to make the mouth water. Over the last six games, no two teams in the Championship have worse form than Peterborough United and QPR. As both clubs bed in new managers, with Peterborough appointing new boss Jim Gannon just this week, the overriding aim for both sets of players and supporters as well will be three points by any means necessary.

QPR Team News

One new headache for the QPR manager is who to pick from his haul of loan players. Only five loan players can be named in the match-day squad, so Mick Harford will have to choose from Carl Ikeme, Nigel Quashie, Adel Taarabt, Tamas Priskin, Marcus Bent and Jay Simpson.

Ikeme seems to have supplanted Radek Cerny in the QPR goal and with central midfield options looking light, Quashie is almost certain to start as well.

Harford worked hard to get both Priskin and Bent in this week after bemoaning the club's striking problems after the Scunthorpe defeat, so those two are also a good bet to feature.

That leaves one from Taarabt and Simpson to sit it out. If it was me I'd go with the former, despite his undoubted ability but I suspect it might be the latter. Either way, with a game against Ipswich on Tuesday, it won't hurt to rest at least one of these players.

To complicate matters, The Mirror is today reporting that the club is lining up another loan for Aston Villa midfielder Isaiah Osbourne. The 22-year old holding midfielder is not high up in Martin O'Neill's estimations and had loan spells last year at Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough. With the club still to officially announce a contract for free agent Moritz Volz as well, it could soon be an all-new Rangers team taking to the field.

The addition of Lee Cook to the match-day squad and possibly the starting XI will in effect feel like a new signing as well. Cook made his first appearance of the season last weekend, coming on as a sub in the Scunthorpe game and certainly raised the bar for the team in terms of effort if not creativity. With some more match-time under his belt, he could start to have a greater influence on the team.

Form

As bad as it comes. As mentioned above, neither of these sides can buy a win at the moment.

It's not been a great start to life with Rangers for Mick Harford, with one point in three games. Peterborough can outdo that though, with just one point in four since a Boxing Day win over Bristol City. Defensively both teams are all at sea as well. Rangers have gone 16 games without a clean sheet, the longest such run by any team in the Championship this season whereas the Posh have the leakiest defence in the league, with 51 goals conceded already.

Prediction

The stats above suggest goals but I think this will be a more cagey affair. Peterborough look doomed and in a sense could play with more freedom as a result, but with Gannon appointed just days ago they will be happy to pick up only their fourth win of the season.

Rangers on the other hand are chronically short on confidence and where earlier in the season they would have set about Peterborough at will, the prospect of another embarrassing defeat may loom larger in their minds. With the home side buoyed by the buzz of a new boss, I think Rangers could really struggle in this game. Sometimes it is has to get really bad before it gets better.

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