_____________________________________________________
Going Down? At the season half-way mark, QPR have one win and 10 Points from their first 19 Games. To stay up, QPR will need 8 or 9 wins and around 27 or more points from their next 19 games.
The irony of course is that we were all so jubilant when we stayed up last season. With benefit of hindsight, the hole we'd have been in would have been a lot shallower than the hole that we're going to be in now, if (or when) we go down, this season.
- QPR Save The Date? The Date for the 2013-14 Championship Season Kicks Off has been announced: August 3rd, 2013
- Next: QPR vs Liverpool - "Played for Both Teams" - Past Photos
- Five Year Flashback: Warning Against QPR Going Crazy in January Transfer Signings!
- Birthday for Richard Langley: Turns 33
- A Strange Decision: Nottingham Forest Axe manager Shaun O'Driscoll (after they beat Leeds 4-2) - Mark Hughes One of the Names Being Linked to as Replacement)
QPR vs WBA
- PHOTOS from QPR vs WBA
- Video "Highlight" of Yesterday's QPR vs WBA Game
GUARDIAN/DOMINIC FIFIELD
West Brom beat livid Queens Park Rangers thanks to Rob Green own-goal
Queens Park Rangers'
Clint Hill rises above West Brom's Marc-Antoine Fortuné during the
Barclays Premier League match at Loftus Road. Photograph: Phil Cole/PA
Harry Redknapp knew the size of the task he was accepting at
Queens Park Rangers but, a month into the job, he could be forgiven for
fearing the preservation of this club's top-flight status is beyond even
him. Having already seen his attempts to mould this mishmash of a squad
into a more cohesive unit jeopardised by untimely dissent within the
ranks, most overtly when José Bosingwa refused to sit on the bench in
the recent derby against Fulham, now it appears fate is conspiring
against him as well.
This game culminated in frantic if rather belated Rangers pressure, with West Bromwich Albion heaving admirably to preserve their narrow lead, but it ultimately ended lost to a goal that defied belief. The home side were trailing to Chris Brunt's thunderous first-half shot when, early in the second period, the midfielder's corner was nodded up rather than out by Armand Traoré. The ball looped towards goal where Rob Green had been edged behind his line by Marc-Antoine Fortuné, the forward clearly backing into the goalkeeper.
He was off the ground but hampered as he pawed at the loose ball, managing only to palm it into his own net rather than over the bar, but Chris Foy's whistle for an offence never materialised. The protests were instant and livid, and would be revived after the final whistle, but all fell on deaf ears. That much felt mystifying, particularly in the context, for example, of the reward denied Everton's Leon Osman at Upton Park at the weekend which had suggested goalkeepers are untouchable.Green departed wearing the haggard look of a man wondering why he tends to attract such indignity.
"How can a goalkeeper play the ball when the fella is backing into him?" asked Redknapp. "Someone said Rob should have pushed him over, but he would have given a penalty then. Fortuné had no intention of playing the ball. He just wanted to stop Green getting to the ball, and that's obstruction … It was a blatant foul."
Just to complete Redknapp's misery, Liam Ridgewell's handball from Djibril Cissé's header at the far post in stoppage time went unnoticed, with the home team bellowing for a penalty. "I asked the linesman how he didn't see that penalty – it was the most blatant handball you could wish to see – but he said it was murky down there in that corner and he couldn't make it out," said Redknapp. "Maybe he should go to Specsavers. I thought they were both awful decisions. Scandalous decisions."
That particular criticism was directed against the assistant referee Harry Lennard, though the QPR manager has previous with Foy from his time at Tottenham Hotspur and had been warned as to his future conduct a little over a year ago for suggesting the official "was quite enjoying not giving us anything" during a loss at Stoke. Appropriately enough, two of Redknapp's gripes that day centred upon handballs going unacknowledged by the officials.
The Football Association may now choose to write again to Redknapp, though QPR can ill afford to be gripped by a sense of injustice. The penalty appeal came amid frantic late pressure, Ben Foster saving wonderfully from Clint Hill's header, after Cissé had halved the arrears from Stéphane Mbia's precise pass. Yet the flurry of missed opportunities at the death rather coloured memories of the occasion. For long periods, Rangers had been rather aimless with West Bromwich in control from the moment Brunt belted them ahead from 30 yards, the midfielder exploiting space allowed him by a daydreaming Adel Taarabt. Indeed, Albion should have settled the contest long before those opportunities were shipped in injury time.
Once they had eased into the game, shrugging off the inconvenience of a late arrival from their Park Lane hotel with Shepherd's Bush gridlocked by the Boxing Day sales, and weathered QPR's early urgency, they might have run riot. There were opportunities for Romelu Lukaku and James Morrison, and an eye-catching display from Youssouf Mulumbu in central midfield, so it was easy to comprehend how this side can be level on points with the Champions League qualification places at present.
Certainly, that recent blip has been dispatched with this second successive win. They will travel to Old Trafford on Saturday with confidence. Redknapp welcomes Liverpool to this arena 24 hours later with little leeway for further failure. "A bad day, a bad result, we're bang in trouble and stuck back at the bottom," he added. "But it ain't over yet. That's for sure." Guardian
This game culminated in frantic if rather belated Rangers pressure, with West Bromwich Albion heaving admirably to preserve their narrow lead, but it ultimately ended lost to a goal that defied belief. The home side were trailing to Chris Brunt's thunderous first-half shot when, early in the second period, the midfielder's corner was nodded up rather than out by Armand Traoré. The ball looped towards goal where Rob Green had been edged behind his line by Marc-Antoine Fortuné, the forward clearly backing into the goalkeeper.
He was off the ground but hampered as he pawed at the loose ball, managing only to palm it into his own net rather than over the bar, but Chris Foy's whistle for an offence never materialised. The protests were instant and livid, and would be revived after the final whistle, but all fell on deaf ears. That much felt mystifying, particularly in the context, for example, of the reward denied Everton's Leon Osman at Upton Park at the weekend which had suggested goalkeepers are untouchable.Green departed wearing the haggard look of a man wondering why he tends to attract such indignity.
"How can a goalkeeper play the ball when the fella is backing into him?" asked Redknapp. "Someone said Rob should have pushed him over, but he would have given a penalty then. Fortuné had no intention of playing the ball. He just wanted to stop Green getting to the ball, and that's obstruction … It was a blatant foul."
Just to complete Redknapp's misery, Liam Ridgewell's handball from Djibril Cissé's header at the far post in stoppage time went unnoticed, with the home team bellowing for a penalty. "I asked the linesman how he didn't see that penalty – it was the most blatant handball you could wish to see – but he said it was murky down there in that corner and he couldn't make it out," said Redknapp. "Maybe he should go to Specsavers. I thought they were both awful decisions. Scandalous decisions."
That particular criticism was directed against the assistant referee Harry Lennard, though the QPR manager has previous with Foy from his time at Tottenham Hotspur and had been warned as to his future conduct a little over a year ago for suggesting the official "was quite enjoying not giving us anything" during a loss at Stoke. Appropriately enough, two of Redknapp's gripes that day centred upon handballs going unacknowledged by the officials.
The Football Association may now choose to write again to Redknapp, though QPR can ill afford to be gripped by a sense of injustice. The penalty appeal came amid frantic late pressure, Ben Foster saving wonderfully from Clint Hill's header, after Cissé had halved the arrears from Stéphane Mbia's precise pass. Yet the flurry of missed opportunities at the death rather coloured memories of the occasion. For long periods, Rangers had been rather aimless with West Bromwich in control from the moment Brunt belted them ahead from 30 yards, the midfielder exploiting space allowed him by a daydreaming Adel Taarabt. Indeed, Albion should have settled the contest long before those opportunities were shipped in injury time.
Once they had eased into the game, shrugging off the inconvenience of a late arrival from their Park Lane hotel with Shepherd's Bush gridlocked by the Boxing Day sales, and weathered QPR's early urgency, they might have run riot. There were opportunities for Romelu Lukaku and James Morrison, and an eye-catching display from Youssouf Mulumbu in central midfield, so it was easy to comprehend how this side can be level on points with the Champions League qualification places at present.
Certainly, that recent blip has been dispatched with this second successive win. They will travel to Old Trafford on Saturday with confidence. Redknapp welcomes Liverpool to this arena 24 hours later with little leeway for further failure. "A bad day, a bad result, we're bang in trouble and stuck back at the bottom," he added. "But it ain't over yet. That's for sure." Guardian
QPR OFFICIAL SITE
REDKNAPP: DECISIONS COST US
R's boss rues controversial Baggies defeat ...
HARRY REDKNAPP was unable to hide his disappointment after two
contentious decisions marred QPR's 2-1 defeat to West Bromwich Albion.
Chris
Brunt’s stunning 30-yard strike gave the visitors the half-time lead
before R's 'keeper Rob Green, under pressure on the goal-line,
inadvertently doubled the Baggies lead in controversial fashion.
Djibril
Cisse’s strike setup a grandstand finish before referee Chris Foy waved
away appeals for a dramatic late penalty after Albion defender Liam
Ridgewell appeared to handle in the area.
“We’ve had two terrible decisions that have cost us dearly,” the R's boss told www.qpr.co.uk.
Speaking
about Albion’s decisive second goal, Redknapp said: “It was a foul.
He’s [Fortune] got no intention of playing the ball.
“He [Green] couldn’t get a fist to it, it’s a blatant foul.”
As for Rangers’ late cries for a spot-kick, the R’s boss said: “It’s a blatant penalty; scandalous decisions.”
Defeat
was harsh on Rangers, who were camped inside West Brom’s half at the
death and almost levelled as Clint Hill’s downward header was
miraculously saved by Ben Foster.
Despite a
second successive game without a point, Redknapp took courage from his
side’s spirited second half performance, saying: “I couldn’t have
faulted them [in the second half].
“The [West Brom] goalkeeper has pulled off unbelievable saves and there’s been blocks on the line.
“We could have easily dropped our heads but we kept going. We didn’t deserve to lose that game.
“We pummelled them at the end. We just couldn’t get the equaliser.”
Defeat
drops Rangers back to the foot of the table but Redknapp wants his side
to keep fighting with Liverpool the next visitors to Loftus Road on
Sunday.
“They gave everything again today, I couldn’t have asked for more effort,” Redknapp said.
“We’ve just got to keep going, there’s nothing else you can do.” QPR
UPDATED TABLE
| Club | Pld | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Man Utd | 19 | 46 |
| Man City | 19 | 39 |
| Chelsea | 18 | 35 |
| Tottenham | 19 | 33 |
| Everton | 19 | 33 |
| West Brom | 19 | 33 |
| Arsenal | 18 | 30 |
| Stoke | 19 | 28 |
| Swansea | 19 | 25 |
| Liverpool | 19 | 25 |
| Norwich | 19 | 25 |
| West Ham | 18 | 23 |
| Sunderland | 19 | 22 |
| Fulham | 19 | 21 |
| Newcastle | 19 | 20 |
| Aston Villa | 19 | 18 |
| Southampton | 18 | 16 |
| Wigan | 19 | 15 |
| Reading | 19 | 10 |
| QPR | 19 | 10 |
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