Hoop Dreams - QPR FC

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