It’s troubling times at Queens Park Rangers, the richest club in the world.
Rangers suffered their fourth defeat on the bounce at home against Ipswich on Tuesday night, and have won only 1 in the last 15 dating back to early November. Relegation form if ever there was any. Mick Harford is the fifth manager this season and, given the run they are on under his stewardship, I would imagine the odds for a sixth before the season is out are fairly short.
With Lakshmi Mittal, Flavio Briatore and Bernie Eccleston at the helm, QPR fans thought they would be joining the big boys – spending cash and getting some good footballers in to take them to the next level. However, the harsh reality is that no star players have arrived at Loftus Road. QPR are trading almost exclusively in the loan market, with six loan signings on their books at the moment.
Club captain Martin Rowlands is out for the season, and the downturn in results coincides with the injury he sustained while on Republic of Ireland duty in October. There’s little or no comfort for hoops fans at present, and the booing that Briatore got as he left his seat just before half time on Tuesday told its own story. And the fact that he didn’t reappear for the second half leaves hoops supporters wondering just how committed he is to this project.
The club, rather than battling for promotion or a play off place, has been dragged into the relegation battle, and is now only two points above the drop zone. Their defending at times this season has been comical, and it’s hard to see where the next positive result will come from. My feeling is, though, that they should stick with Harford. A sixth manager, especially at this crucial time, will not be beneficial. He should be given until the end of the season to get, what on paper should be a good side, to gel. And anyway who, given the circumstances and the rate that they have been through managers this season, would want the job anyway ?
Rumours abound on the terraces that the board want a large say in playing matters. It may be that Briatore sees himself as a more hands-on, Italian style chairman, and if that’s the case, he needs to find someone who can cope with this kind of managerial arrangement, as at the moment, despite their virtually unlimited wealth, QPR continue to be the poor man’s Chelsea where it actually matters – on the pitch.
Robert Critchley works in the City in OTC Derivatives. He is an avid Manchester United fan, and commentates at QPR for the Soccer Sight Project.
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