There was so much promise when Queens Park Rangers earned promotion to the Premiership last summer, and a spending spree included Joey Barton, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Bobby Zamora and Djibril Cisse has only heightened such expectation. But, after a decent start, they find themselves in serious trouble at the foot of the table, sitting 18th and still a point from safety.
With 7 of the top 8 sides to play in their last 10 games, it’s getting harder and harder to see a way out for them. So what’s the main reason for their demise?
This season, QPR have used an astonishing 40 players in League and Cup. While some teams do field reserve sides in the League Cup and maybe the FA Cup, there is no justification for such a high numer of players making appearances. Looking at the newly promoted sides who came up with QPR, both Norwich and Swansea have very settled squads where the same players make up the side each week give or take a few changes based upon form and fitness, and you can see that continuity plays a huge role in success.
Looking at their very first win in the top flight, a great 1-0 victory at Goodison Park over Everton on the second week of the season, they lined up as follows : Kenny, Orr, Hall, Gabbidon, Connolly, Derry, Taarabt, Faurlin, Buzsaky, Agyemang and Smith. The recent defeat to Bolton, their 16th reverse, saw only Kenny and Derry retained.
The back four entirely different, and it’s no wonder that they have been leaking poor goals. Spending so much money and in bulk in January was risky as so many clubs have seen January signings come in and struggle, yet the gambled. Was this the right strategy? The signing of Machada on loan from Manchester United smacks of desperation, as now he’s not even making the match-day squad.
Is it too late for QPR to salvage something and stay up? Certainly not, but they’ve definitely left themselves a challenge, and by the looks of things this all comes down to poor management of the team and squad.
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