QPR are making all the right noises about a change of direction, greater focus on youth, an end to the days of an expensive, failed transfer policy. But post-Harry Redknapp they need points on the board quickly to help it happen.

Queens Park Rangers (19th) v Southampton (4th)

QPR are talking the talk, or Tweeting the Tweet, again.

Les Ferdinand, a football man, a QPR man, a man who was hear when the club knew what it was and how things needed to be done, has been appointed as director of football. He's that guy with the knowledge of the sport to sit between a manager who will always, given the choice, sign a player who will help him keep his job for the next five matches rather than work for the long term that the club has been crying out for since the money arrived.

The club say they’re now focused on developing young players, providing clear pathways to the first team. Caretaker manager Chris Ramsey has immediately involved Darnell Furlong and Brandon Comley in first team training this week. Quite a change from loaning in Aaron Hughes and picking Luke Young at centre half. He’s also spoken about playing games on the front foot, with players expressing themselves, exciting the fans and repaying them for their loyalty. Pretty different to playing 4-4-2 and knocking it long to Bobby Zamora while chuntering on about “bonus games” and football being about footballers rather than tactics and systems.

The club say they’re putting together a list, and conducting interviews, and will take their time to replace Harry Redknapp, rather than go through the coronation of a candidate from shortlist of one as they did with ‘Arry and Meticulous Mark Hughes. They’re talking about ethos, long term, restoring reputation, a failed transfer policy, a change of tack.

Trouble is, talking has never been a problem for QPR. We’ve heard it all before about a new stadium, a new training ground, a focus on the academy, learning from past mistakes. And yet here we are, still struggling on the pitch, still at Loftus Road, still at Harlington, still with a poor youth set up.

This “jam tomorrow” approach has heightened cynicism. My natural reaction whenever I hear Tony Fernandes speak, or see him Tweet, or read an interview with him is simply “go on then”. Do it. Put it into action. Make it happen.

A lot of the stuff we’ve heard this week from our club is long, long overdue. But it does rather feel like somebody has simply gone around the blogs, the message boards and the social media sites, compiled a list of the main gripes and concerns, and then repeated them back to us. People are worried about the lack of youth players progressing, the lack of scouting in the lower leagues, the negative tactics, the lack of long term planning, the transfer policy and the lack of football people at board level. Now we’re seeing youth players moved into first team training, Ryan Manning signed from the Irish league, Chris Ramsey talking about flair and front foot play, Les Ferdinand made director of football, Tony Fernandes saying no more cheque book and so on.

Maybe we should have asked for some more stuff. A bid for the Palace cheerleaders perhaps, or a free beer for every supporter on arrival at the ground. You can get rid of that £3 booking fee for self-print tickets as well if you like Rangers.

The overall rhetoric from the club now is hugely encouraging, but the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. For a start, for all this talk of interviews and shortlists, the manager is going to be Tim Sherwood, it’s been on the cards for ages — unless his ego is so out of control that he prices himself out of this. The Furlong and Comley thing… part message to players, part publicity stunt on the day the national press are all there for the pre-match interviews?

Time will tell on all of these things. If the last eight years at QPR have taught us anything it’s that promises are easy to make and tricky to keep.

The timing of Harry Redknapp’s departure, a day after the transfer window closed by pure coincidence of course — Jamie says his dad’s timing is always awful apparently, such a card — has put QPR in a horrible position. Rangers apparently want to start doing things properly, with a longer term view, but they need points and performances short term as well. They want to take their time appointing a new man, but they have three games they urgently need points from in the next fortnight.

You could say with some justification that Redknapp should have done the decent thing, shaken hands and walked away after the play-off final, given how little his heart seemed to be in it last season and for most of this when it turned out the going was tough again. But even giving him another two weeks after Burnley has cost Sherwood, or whoever ends up coming in, the transfer window and important points winning opportunities. There’s no way in the world Redknapp would have resigned had he been allowed to buy Defoe/Crouch/Adebayor this January as he wished and it makes me mad all over again the way he simply walked away the day after the window closed when it didn't happen. Even two weeks earlier could have made a difference.

Rangers have short term needs and long term goals and they’re going to be difficult to juggle for the next few months at least. What would relieve pressure is if some of the fabled new manager bounce could add some points to the tally over the next couple of weeks. Southampton are not unbeatable, Sunderland are no great shakes and Hull City against Newcastle United last weekend turned in one of the worst performances you’ll ever see at this level. If Ramsey could find a couple of wins the picture would look a lot brighter.

So much is going to depend on the reaction of the players to this week’s changes. Although the results and performances were poor against Burnley, Man Utd and Stoke, I’m not convinced there was any sign of the team not playing for the manager. The tactics were non-existent, the substitutions predictable and unhelpful, the number of players out of position growing with every passing minute, the defending abysmal, but I’ve seen QPR teams call it in before and I don’t think they were doing that. Hopefully they’ll be reinvigorated by the change, rather than angered by it, and improved by actually being played in their correct positions and encouraged to attack, rather than shoe-horned into a 4-4-2 and told to punt it long to Zamora

It’s time for QPR to actually walk the walk as well.

Links >>> Line in sight — interview >>> The green, green grass — opposition focus >>> David Bardsley’s 25 yard howitzer — history >>> East returns — referee

Kevin Gallen celebrates his headed goal in a 3-0 victory against Southampton at Loftus Road in the 1995/96 season. Sadly, despite that win and other successes against Everton and West Ham in Shepherd’s Bush, the R’s were relegated at the end of the season.

Saturday

Ryan Bertrand’s petulant sending off at the end of last weekend’s defeat at home to Swansea City means he is suspended which could mean a start at left back for youth-team graduate Matt Targett. Morgan Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama are both back from injury but new signing Filip Djuricic hasn’t received his work permit yet so cannot be selected.

Elsewhere: In a fixture list selected entirely at random by a computer programme a coincidence has occurred, not at all at the behest of the television companies, whereby the Merseyside and North London derbies have fallen together on the same weekend. Again. So we have Tottenham and Arsenal tearing chunks out of each other on Saturday lunchtime, and then Everton against The Men of Liverpool Together as One Collective Unit in the evening.

Then it’s one of those Super Duper Uber Megatron Sundays where we have three Premier League games back to back starting before day break. Careful with these kids, I’m told that going too big too early can result on you collapsing in a pool of your own alcohol-induced vomit in the middle of Shepherd’s Bush Green before half time in the third game. Probably going to need a sniff of something to get through Burnley v West Brom first up though, and Newcastle v Meticulous Mark and the Taffia doesn’t exactly set the soul aflame either. Big Fat Sam’s Big Fat Brand of Entertaining Football tackles Louis Van Gaal in the final afternoon game.

That leaves four games apart from our own at 15.00 on Saturday. Big Racist John and the Boys are being horribly persecuted by the authorities again, forbidden from stamping all over opponents and having to defend stoicly and battle against the odds to get a point from a home match against Big Spending Manchester City and their flagrant abuse of the Financial Fair Play rules which Chelsea have abided by to the absolute letter. It’s all so unfair, but a trip to the worst Aston Villa team since last season’s Aston Villa team represents an opportunity for a 5-0 victory.

Evil City meanwhile are at home to Tigers Tigers Rah Rah Rah, who will struggle to play any worse than they did against Newcastle last weekend but look in the mood to give it a bloody good go. Watch out for Leicester v Crystal Palace and Swansea v Sunderland if you’re particularly bored of life.

Referee: Fresh from being called “rubbish” by Bolton manager Neil Lennon after the midweek cup match between the Trotters and Liverpool, Roger East is the man in the middle for this Saturday’s game with Southampton. His last appointment with QPR was the 3-2 win on this ground against Leicester before Christmas. His full QPR case file is available here.

Form

Southampton: The Saints sit fourth, with six away wins to their name in the league — only Man City with seven have managed more. They’ve done it conceding just nine goals — City have the next best away defensive record with 12, QPR have conceded three times as many on their travels. They don;’t score many away from St Mary’s though — just 13 which is the lowest in the top eight and the same as Crystal Palace in thirteenth. They have won at Swansea, West Ham, Hull, Palace, Man Utd and Newcastle. A run of five straight defeats through December was halted by six wins and two draws over Christmas and New Year but they have lost their last two against Palace in the FA Cup and Swansea in the league, both at home. They have won their last four away games, three of them in the league. Conceding 17 goals in 23 games, Southampton have the best defence in the league.

Betting: Professional odds compiler Owen Goulding tries to pick his way through the uncertainty around this fixture and spot some value in the markets…

“Well as Christmas arrived a bit later than expected for most Rangers fans this week, the 'new dawn' at Loftus Road begins with a visit from high flying Southampton.

“From an odds compiler's point of view, this game is incredibly hard to price. The opinion in the office has majorly different line-ups being suggested for QPR so I will nail my flag to the mast early on this one and advise any bet on the game is placed with a pinch of salt. It definitely feels like a game to avoid from a betting point of view, as in truth both the team selection and the motivation of the players involved is extremely hard to ascertain.

“A quick look at the opponents shows the excellent Ryan Bertrand and Toby Alderweireld both missing which definitely weakens the Saints and the narrow pitch is unlikely to suit the expansive attacking wing back style of football the saints like to play. The Saints have scored in eight of their eleven away games, equating to a 73% strike rate, and QPR have netted in nine of their twelve home league games- a 75% success rate in the Bush. Therefore the price of around Evens on Betfair (50%) for both teams to score here seems to underestimate the chances of both teams notching and is therefore worth an interest.”

Recommended Bet: Both Teams to Score - Evens @ Betfair.

Prediction: Reigning Prediction League champion WestonSuperR tells us…

“Managerial changes are renowned for producing a 'bounce', so will we experience one on Saturday? Well not if our last couple of changes are anything to go by. I'm sure the feel good factor will be back at Loftus Road so it will be interesting to see how the players react and I'm intrigued to see our line-up. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see either or both of Adel and Zarate starting.

“Southampton visit us in decent form and playing some thoroughly good football. I believe a top four finish for them is unlikely but not impossible and that would be a remarkable achievement. No matter what changes are made and even if we do get a good reaction from the players I worry that Southampton will have just a little too much for us.”

John’s Prediction: QPR 1-2 Southampton. Scorer — Charlie Austin

LFW’s Prediction: QPR 1-1 Southampton. Scorer — Charlie Austin

The Twitter @loftforwords

Pictures — Action Images

Photo: Action Images

TGRRRSSS added 10:36 - Feb 7 Top stuff once again North
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TacticalR added 13:28 - Feb 7 'Hope is a good breakfast, but it is a bad supper.' (Francis Bacon) I think that sums up the Fernandes regime.
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