QPR's Championship Prospects - Another Assessment

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Telegraph Capitol Growth in The Championship

The Telegraph is expanding coverage of the Championship, one of the world's most-viewed leagues. Huw Turbervill has a watching brief on the four clubs in the capital - Charlton, Crystal Palace, QPR and Watford - plus Reading....

...QPR - Prediction: 4th.

Luigi De Canio's departure as manager at the end of last season came as a shock. He had hauled them away from relegation danger after a grisly start to the season and they showed near-play-off form in the final two-thirds of the season.

He was likeable and urbane, even if he was still reliant on an interpreter, and his side were playing sophisticated football - stand up Akos Buzsaky and Rowan Vine. There was a strange story at the end of last season that Zinedine Zidane was about to replace him, but I felt 'Gigi' would be given at least this season to try to haul the Hoops into the Premier League.

His exit is still shrouded in a degree of mystery, but there is no reason to suggest it was anything other than amicable. News of his replacement came as an even bigger shock, though. Owners Flavio Briatore, Bernie Ecclestone and Lakshmi Mittal, the Formula One impresarios, seemed to be running the club on Italophile lines ... so who would be next? Gianluca Vialli, perhaps? Or Gianfranco Zola? No, the very English Iain Dowie was unveiled.

There was some logic in the appointment. He took Crystal Palace up in 2004, and he is a good talker - communication would no longer be a problem. Then news leaked this week of an alleged row between Dowie and Briatore - the last thing the club needs. If they can patch things up, Dowie knows he must make a success of the job after disappointing spells at Charlton and Coventry, and that means promotion - if not this season, then certainly next. Peter Ramage and Kaspars Gorkss look good recruits at the back, as does goalkeeper Radek Cerny.

Loan signings Daniel Parejo, from Real Madrid, and former favourite Lee Cook are also potential crowd-pleasers, and they have some highly promising youngsters, including Angelo Balanta and trickster Hogan Ephraim. They may still be a striker light, as Patrick Agyemang's form faded last season and Vine is more a provider than a goal-getter. I expected them to make an assured start, beginning with the visit of Barnsley on Saturday, but the Dowie uncertainty throws everything up in the air again. Like Formula One, it's never a dull rude at [QPR]..."

For views also re Charlton, Watford, Crystal Palace Telegraph