Goodness me, it's tough being a QPR fan isn't it? You approach the start of the season with boundless hope and enthusiasm, and then look what happens. Melanie Crew laments…

In that first game against Swansea our club was shockingly unprepared for Premier League football once again, despite its raft of expensive players. Of course, at the time, lots of us were incredibly excited about Ji-Sung Park and Junior Hoilett and all those other new signings.

Back in those heady summer days there were even wild predictions of a top half finish. When a Chelsea fan at work gleefully told me that Jose Bosingwa was fairly hopeless, I refused to believe him. “What, a man who played in the Champions League final isn’t any good?” I scoffed, “you’re having a laugh, mate.” But, as it turned out, Mr Bosingwa – along with various others – came to the club to bide his time on a big fat pay check.

I know we can look back on this with the benefit of hindsight, but QPR really would have been better off signing a few ambitious players from the Championship. Look at Swansea; they’ve been doing so well (damn them) because they've made a few astute signings here and there without spending an obscene amount of money. Michu cost £2.5m. £2.5m! Sometimes, when I watch QPR, it feels like I'm observing a random collection of individuals playing entirely for themselves, with no sense of understanding between players or any kind of consistency or balance within the squad. Of course things have improved under Redknapp, with impressive clean sheets against Tottenham and Man City, but there are still many things to keep QPR fans awake at night.

On transfer deadline day, QPR signed Chris Samba; an excellent – if lavish – acquisition. Getting a decent centre back was essential given the recent departure of the wonderful Ryan Nelsen. But, worryingly, not a single striker was signed. I was rather hoping to see Peter Crouch photographed in blue and white hoops by the end of the night, but frankly any decent striker under the age of 30 would have been sufficient. With Remy injured, Zamora only fit to play about 45 minutes, and the only other natural striker being Jay bloody Bothroyd, the club is now reliant on goals from either Taarabt or Mackie. Because really, who else is going to score? I’d love to say SWP, bless him, but I fear his legendary goal at the Bridge may have been a one-off, considering it was the first time he’d hit the back of the net in 969 days (not that I’m counting or anything). I’d also love to say DJ Campbell, but he's been shipped off on loan to Blackburn in what is quite possibly the worst decision made at the club since that lovely Icelandic man Heidar Hegulson was sold to Cardiff - an upsetting day which culminated in me sobbing “but he won so many balls in the air!” into my pillow.

If you’ve got a good striker, keep them, cherish them, never let them go – don’t send them into the depths of the Championship where they’ll no doubt score week after week while you can barely muster up a draw. It’s nonsensical. Thankfully, DJ is on an emergency loan so Redknapp can haul him back pretty damn sharpish if things get even worse.

Now, I apologise in advance to those QPR fans who remain relentlessly positive (are there any of you left, you lovely but misguided people?), but I fear there will be very little to celebrate for the remainder of the season. Obviously I would love to be proved wrong (and if I am wrong, I'll buy pints and pints of beer for everyone - I promise), but it feels more likely that the following things will happen: the defence will be fairly strong, Redknapp will favour a very defensive formation, QPR will keep some clean sheets, get some draws and accumulate a few points here and there, but we won’t be watching MOTD with any great pleasure anytime soon. Why? Because the team doesn’t possess enough of a goal threat and the competition is too fierce, with Reading and Southampton picking up points all the time (damn them too, by the way).

QPR have suffered by being just a little bit too ambitious. The Four Year Plan was a success – eventually - but it’s tough to survive in such an unforgiving league. All this talk of the club being A Long Term Project is meaningless when players either can’t be bothered or simply aren’t quite good enough to play at this level. You can blame Mark Hughes for signing all the wrong players, you can blame Tony Fernandes for letting that happen, you can blame individual players for not caring enough, you can rue the countless missed opportunities and individual errors. These are things you could debate in the pub for hours. Essentially, it’s down to 11 men on the day to play with a bit of confidence and to demonstrate the same passion that’s shown by the club’s fans week after week.

Someone on the Open All Rs podcast pointed out that while QPR currently have the same number of points that Wigan had last season, the difference is that Wigan subsequently started playing Champions League standard football to stay in the league. They were incredible at the end of the season. And while I admit that QPR bizarrely discovered some amazing form against the top clubs at the end of 2011/12 (who would have predicted wins against Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal?) I’m not sure the same thing will happen again. It’s too big an ask. Yes, the board got rid of Mark “this-will-never-happen-again-while-I’m-in-charge” Hughes and yes, Harry Redknapp is an excellent manager, and yes, yes, yes, I know, QPR were unbeaten in the league in 2013 until Saturday’s ill-fated trip to South Wales – all of that is true, but a mere 17 points from 26 games is dreadful.

Sitting at the bottom of the table six points adrift; sometimes I wonder whether it would be better to slit my throat now and be done with it all. I’ve certainly heard others say they’ve had enough already; that relegation can’t come quick enough. Equally, I’m sure others will argue that we are the Pride of West London and it doesn’t matter which league we’re in because we are QPR and whatever the season, we’ll follow our team etc etc, but I don’t want to go to fucking Millwall ever again; I want to see Clint Hill overpower Fernando Torres; I want to see Adel Taarabt nutmeg John Terry – I want to see something good that we can all cheer, because aside from that glorious win at Stamford Bridge, there haven’t been many good news stories.

If QPR could have just one more season in the Premier League, one more chance (*cue the Coldplay music and slow motion video of Taarabt demonstrating the only bit of skill we've seen from anyone all season) - one more summer to prepare - then 2013/14 could finally be QPR's season to impress in the Premier League. That's if the players follow the example of Clint Hill and Shaun Derry, act like they're proud to wear the hoops, make sure they mark the opposing team all the time, not misplace passes quite so much, stay onside and score the odd goal. Is it likely that all those things will happen? Probably not. We can but dream.

Pictures – Action Images

Photo: Action Images

30yarder added 23:10 - Feb 13 Don't do it Melanie (slitting your throat that is) there's so much to look forward to; The FA cup final win in 2017, qualifying for the Champions league the following season and that 3-0 win against Barcelona in the camp nau...come on Melanie don't give up, you have to be alive to dream.
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ozexile added 23:45 - Feb 13 Good article Mel. There was a recent question on the forum about the championship being our level. Well,like you I don't want that. I want us in the prem. We belong in the prem. This season has been so tough though for so many reasons. Bad lazy signings,lazy players. I still don't think the players fitness levels are that good. Terrible formations. I don't care where you are in the league if you're sending out teams with no forwards then lets just wrap the club up now. That's not what QPR is about. Another sad thing for me this year is that for the first time in my 35 years of supporting the R's I don't feel the 11 players out there represent us. We were always generally in it together players and fans. Sadly I don't feel that with this team. And I'm in no ways a Liverpool fan but "you'll never walk alone" is the best football anthem for fans. I can accept missed passes, I can live with missed penalties. I cannot abide lack of commitment when you put the famous hooped shirt on. Just give us some passion and fight and us fans can forgive everything else. That's why I can't wait for the end of the season. Its not the defeats its the fact that I want to get to know my club again.

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RuislipHoop added 06:56 - Feb 14 We were ill prepared when we won the Championship of which we only just won and things haven't been right since. No basis to the team, every transfer window another six or seven players arrive and depart. When you look at Swansea Norwich etc,they have had the main core of there team for six, seven, eight years and players are brought in to complement the whole. Nothing will change until we create a team from players who actually want to play for us in what ever division that may be.

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QPRski added 07:19 - Feb 14 Melanie, Congratulation. I think you have very well described my mood and feelings, and probably that of many R's fans. I sincerely hope that you you will be wrong with the final outcome, but this is based more on hope rather than facts. I am quietly setting my emotions to "hibernation mode" to prepare and protect mysrelf from the final reckoning. It is less painful than your prosoed act.

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RonisRs added 08:49 - Feb 14 Melanie, you summed it up very well, it is exactly the way us fans feel, but as said above, you can only dream if you are alive. When we wake up from that dream and it turns out to be true, I will be there to enjoy the many "free" pints.
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Pey added 09:10 - Feb 14 Good read Melanie, you describe what many of us feel at the moment. The board have big plans for QPR but when this is not met on the pitch its something of a pity. For me the biggest disappointment is that we don't play any style of game where players understand each other and make it happen as a team.
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ShotKneesHoop added 09:17 - Feb 14 This starts from the top. This is a management issue, but we use the post as musical chairs. We need strong management based on developing the academy. Sir Alec did it in 1966. Fernandez needs to re-invent it. Otherwise, we'll be lining over the hill poncey players and their agents until the handcart arrives with Satan rubbing his hands.
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Toast_R added 09:30 - Feb 14 The way I see it, we’ve had our bit of sun but it’s over. Either we need to really clear the decks in the summer and get rid of as much of this current circus as we can starting with Redknapp. Or for Christ sake get someone in to coach the players into some form of attacking threat. Lets bring Gigi back. His teams were a joy to watch and he got the best out of some very average players.

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simmo added 09:49 - Feb 14 :-O What is this?? A woman, with a wild and dangerous opinion of her own! Only playing (obvs), agree with everything you say, especially expectations for the rest of the season. I thought at least with Redknapp in charge we will go down 'giving it a go' and see some good attacking football and losses may be exciting 3-2 defeats rather than 3-0 hammerings while we commit 0 men forward on the counter attack....

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DesertBoot added 09:59 - Feb 14 Sentiments echoed especially over DJ. Why let him go? He may need five chances to score one but at least give Adel and others someone to provide a chance with. On Saturday in the second half we had a keeper, a defender, a midfielder and a forward all less than 50% fit. That's ridiculous. I fear going down with a whimper will be our Premier League epitaph. Two seasons and made a right pigs ear of both.

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fakekerby added 10:24 - Feb 14 Think everyone is so desperate for some sort of hero figure that they think DJ is the answer when he clearly isn't. He's had a few chances and every time he looks at best a 5/10. Letting go of HH was the wrong thing at the time and another example of Hughes letting his arrogance and the names of players get ahead of genuine ability. Clueless bastard. In fact, the only thing that needs to be written under the heading 'why did it all go so wrong' is the name Mark Hughes.

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Roller added 11:06 - Feb 14 Thanks Mel. I guess we all feel pretty much the same, some just more violently so that others. While very few, if any, agreed with letting Helguson go, most have now forgotten how much of last season he missed through injury, the portents were not good for this season. I don't see that Campbell was ever going to be the answer, he should have been moved on last summer as well. It just shows the stupidity of signing two more injury prone strikers last summer regardless of the fact that no one could have predicted how poorly Cisse's season would go. Hughes: he should be put on trial and be made to explain his actions. We all saw the huge imbalance in the squad, why couldn't he?

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jordanqpr added 11:08 - Feb 14 Well written Melanie. I agree with RuislipHoop: we were under-prepared in the Championship and the signs of struggle were there even in victory. The previous owners should have given Warnock enough money to secure Wayne Routledge; bought a known striker and kept Kasper (why did Warnock let him go?). I believe we would have then survived. We should have then kept Warnock on; given him about another 5-7 million to bring a in a couple more players and kept Hegulson: I think we would have been the real QPR - come on all Rangers's fans want flair/attacking football but still maintaining the feel of a club where "everyone knows your name" - that Cheers kind of sentiment (if you know what I mean). Mark Hughes was like a corporate manager who remained behind the scenes; Harry (God bless him) is like Arthur Daley who will be gone if a bigger club come hunting (I love Harry but...). If we drop then why not bring back Warnock - come on Tony, swallow your pride; or Hoddle? We need the "Spirit of 75/76"- the fans never lost it but only ghosts haunt the pitch at the moment (Hill,Derry and Taarabt aside). Well Mel, see you at Millwall. Great article. PS SWP is like my seven year old doing Algebra: good effort but he hasn't got a clue!

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fakekerby added 11:08 - Feb 14 Roller - HH missed a fair bit of the season through injury, correct, HOWEVER, he was available for most of the final part of the season when MH just froze him out.
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Roller added 11:54 - Feb 14 Fakekerby, I'm not saying it was the right decision, just pointing out that Helguson was as likely to break down as, say, Zamora. I would have far rather he stayed, he took to the Premier League like a duck to water, one of the few who looked better than he did in the Championship.
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Watfordhoop added 12:02 - Feb 14 I am sorry to say but this club lost its soul when Briatore and Ecclestone came into the club. It became a vanity project for Briatore and an object in making money for Ecclestone. They sold out to Fernandes who thinks that the way to communicate with the fans is via twitter. I really don't think that he has a clue, Tweet away and throw money at the problem. The club is a laughing stock. I, for one, am really glad that we did not manage to sign Odemwingie. Does anyone apart from Harry think that he was coming here other than for the money. HR has, in my humble opinion, only one thing on his agenda: Harry. The way in which the chairman got suckered into replacing Hughes with Harry just shows total naivety. He didn't want to go to Blackburn because it was too far from Sandbanks, does anyone, apart from our chairman, really think that he was going to Ukraine. We have to win games in order to avoid relegation, where in the team are the goals going to come from. We have a half fit hold up player in Zamora, Bothroyd and Remy, who admits that things have to be going his way. Clearly we are going down and the scattergun approach to buying players has not given us a team, so where is plan B, to rebuild to get promoted again. Does anyone really think that HR will get us up again? I cannot see that over the past 7 or 8 years there has been any sensible planning by the board, with the single exception of the appointment of Neil Warnock. Look around at other clubs who signed players in the last window, they, with the notable exception of Nottingham Forest, had a plan. Leicester City signed Wood from West Brom at the start of the window and by the end of the month he had shown his true value. OK that is the Championship, but in my view we should be buying in players from the lower leagues and giving them a chance. I can only hope that the expensively learned lessons that the board will have to face, if they are not already facing them, will persuade them that they need a plan, like Swansea's or West Brom's and the next time they will make a sensible appointment. Please come back Luigi Di Canio, maybe even his namesake!

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jordanqpr added 12:27 - Feb 14 Does anyone ever think we are going to score? We are a match for anyone in midfield and are strong at center back but left and right back and up front we seem to lack all know how. It's like we are cursed. Do we ever actually cross a ball anymore and on the rare occasion when we do is anyone anticipating that round thing needs to go in the net... If only the world knew what it was to be a QPR fan!

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WestbourneR added 13:25 - Feb 14 Melanie I don't know you and I've never seen you write anything before but this is really really excellent. Funny and well put, I enjoyed it. Unlike the last two seasons - which have been miserable and frustrating in equal measure.
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izlingtonhoop added 16:05 - Feb 14 jordanqpr- You're right, without Bobby on the pitch, no one looks like they have the nous to put away bread and butter goals. Tarbs might get a special; SWP's was a screamer. But we aint busy in the area, powder-puff would make it sound a stronger threat than the evidence suggests. And Bobby's goal on Saturday wasn't provided for him, it was only after Tarbs had been greedy again, and and parried, whilst he should have squared for Zamora to put it away. As soon as a team goes ahead we're done for, cos the chances of us scoring two... well...

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jordanqpr added 16:32 - Feb 14 Izlingtonhoop, With you all the way... Such a pity. Oh for Stan the Man, Rodney or Lez!
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Doughnut added 17:23 - Feb 14 The great mystery is that after nearly 2 seasons in the Premiership and enough money to buy a small sized country, we haven't managed to acquire a striker that can do the business (without falling to pieces as soon as the inks dry on the contract) We are, of course, going to be relegated, but with all our resources....how can this have happened??? Bleedin Mystery??
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Landofoz89 added 18:13 - Feb 14 Good article. Just wish the team performed with as much passion and vigour!
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JB007007 added 18:57 - Feb 14 Some good debates on all fronts. With the exception of Warnock in the summer of 2010, our recruitment has been a shambles. As someone mentioned, just a scatter gun approach. I'm afraid to say, but the structure of our club in not Premier League and our current level is the Championship whatever we think. The signings and money outlayed since we've been in the Premier League is not sustainable. I feel sorry for Fernandes because he bought a club that lacked the infrastructure for this division and has got carried away with poor spending. Firstly, Warnock panick buying in 9 or 10 days just because he had money, then allowing Hughes to line plenty of pockets and now when its just about too late we get a couple of players that would have been right 12-18 months ago. I said before, I cannot stand the bloody sight of Briatore and Ecclestone, but they played a blinder. Buying a club on its knees, minimal spending in turning us into a "Premier League" club and then selling it for a tidy profit! There's no flies on those two although you would think they attract them. Lets face it, we're doomed this year and we need to start putting a well structured plan together for the long term. Good article by the way Melanie. I would add, Wigan were different from us last season in this position as they were closer to winning games and were unlucky to lose at the likes of Chelsea.

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