Brian Glanville's QPR Latest...Peter Beagrie on QPR

-
Brian Glanville/World Soccer

"...THE distasteful suggestion that Queens Park Rangers be re-named Queens Park City seems all of a piece with the somewhat grandiose new regime in which the motor racing magnate Flavio Briatore is the main man, though Ecclestone and especially Mittal are much, much richer.

For last week's last match at home to Derby County, QPR tried to up the ante on tickets for away fans, putting the price up ten quid to £40. Derby wouldn't have it and they got their way, QPR inexplicably protesting that, as they'd been investing so heavily of late, prices had to be put up. With Mittal and Ecclestone, not to mention Briatore, in the background? And in what have they been investing?

One moment they talk to us about building gradually in quest of a return to the top division. And this seems borne out by the fact that in the transfer summer window, they hardly splashed their money about, the two prime acquisitions being on loan respectively from Genoa and Real Madrid. Then they try to put up prices. What's happening down at Shepherds Bush? ... World Soccer


Skysport/Peter Beagrie on QPR- A ticket to nowhere
Beagrie talks Football League - and answers YOUR questions

A disappointing 1-1 draw with Blackpool followed a 2-0 defeat to Derby that ended their unbeaten home run, but I think QPR's problems started the week before.

After that fantastic result against Aston Villa in the Carling Cup, and the reward of a trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United in the next round, I suspect Rangers might not have been as focused as Iain Dowie would have liked against Paul Jewell's side, who are starting to make their presence felt in the division.

And there was also, of course, that big hullabaloo about QPR's ticket prices, which dominated the headlines more than the game itself.

To try and charge fans £40 or £50 to watch Championship football was ridiculous. I understand that clubs now do packages and price banding but it's really disappointing at a time when we're trying to encourage more people to come through the turnstiles - and the credit crunch is biting.

The man on the street, who already ploughs a lot of his hard-earned cash into football, has a smaller disposable income at the moment so the move was especially badly timed. With the levels of investment in place at Loftus Road, it was bad PR, and even more baffling considering QPR aren't topping the attendance tables by a long stretch.

It is one of the selling points of the Championship that clubs are more accountable to the fans. The divide between players and the people who pay to watch them isn't as great as in the Premier League, which has become a bit lost in translation with its vast amounts of money.

Loyalty
You can't abuse the fans' loyalty, it's as simple as that. Asking them to pay one price and then moving the bar is not acceptable.

Instead of hiking up process, clubs should be looking at initiatives and incentives to reduce ticket prices. Championships are usually won and lost on your home form, so to get more bums on seats and create an intimidating atmosphere has to be the way forward.

So from my point of view, whoever suggested a price increase made a massive faux pas.

On the pitch, I think Iain Dowie is still trying to find the right balance. They started poorly against Blackpool and allowed them to get a foothold in the game, before Gary Taylor-Fletcher scored a fantastic goal; the type of long-range effort he's scored whatever level of football he's played.

Iain's had an influx of players from different countries and different footballing backgrounds, some of whom were a bit lightweight, and it took his half-time talk to get a reaction and a draw in the end, thanks to Dexter Blackstock. I saw quite a bit of Blackstock when he was a youngster and went on loan to Southampton. He's a talented individual who is very mobile, does a lot of running outside the box and in the channels but is also instinctive in the box.

People said he couldn't miss when he equalised on Tuesday night but when the ball comes off the keeper at speed, you've got to react and that's what he did. With six goals so far in all competitions, it's already been a very good season for him.

As we all know, the Championship is very unforgiving if you aren't an athlete, you haven't got a physical presence and you haven't got a big heart; Dexter, however, has all those attributes.

Changes
Iain won't change his principles and resort to lumping it forward but he certainly knows it takes all sorts to be successful in this division and we might see him making a few changes after this little series of poor results.

Any pressure that he feels though, will come not from billionaire owners but from within; a pressure to be the best he can possibly be at his job. He knows that if he needs to bring someone in on an emergency loan, or on a permanent deal in January, he'll be able to.

QPR fans might be getting a bit frustrated that, despite co-owner Flavio Briatore being a flamboyant guy, the club has been pretty quiet in the transfer market. It will be interesting to see what happens in January but if you do splash the cash, there's always the worry of being held to ransom by big-money, long-term contracts, or guys who might walk away from the club.

The real guys under pressure in the Championship are the likes of Simon Davey at Barnsley and Brian Laws at Sheffield Wednesday, who, despite all this talk of a takeover, is still operating with no money and the smallest squad in the division. Pressure comes with the territory, of course.

I expect QPR to follow the example set by their last opponents, Blackpool - who produced a shock when they beat Birmingham - at St Andrews.

Simon Grayson's men have set a bit of a benchmark when it comes to playing away from home; they're strong, resolute and have this ability of quietening the home crowd because they get out of the blocks so quickly, which can frustrate the fans, and in turn, the players.

I suspect Iain will pick a stronger side physically, to try and negate the sustained periods of pressure that Birmingham will inevitably have. That will be his game plan: keep it tight, try to frustrate the Blues and then, when tiredness sets in, look to bring in a few flair players, impact players, to come on and try and nick a goal.

It will be a tough task, because Birmingham have the ability to stay in the game and won't get turned over by anyone in this division. Quincy Owusie-Abeyie can take them to a different level and the likes of Gary McSheffrey, James McFadden and Sebastian Larsson haven't really fully fired yet. When they do, Birmingham will be a terrifying proposition.

Skysport