Chance

Birmingham 0 Queens Park Rangers 2

Brighton 2 Queens Park Rangers 0

Queens Park Rangers 3 Yeovil Town 0

If you are a QPR fan, chances are you'll be scratching your head about the team injuries and ruing our luck...But, yesterday was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the mercury was rising, and QPR won 3-0 playing some nice football along the way. With Yeovil's first 'goal' disallowed, it felt like luck (and the referee) were on our side this time. 

However, chances are, that when you saw Zamora lined up on the bench at 2:01pm, you thought 'Christ on a bike, we're now scraping the barrel for options'. I believe I tweeted 'Don't panic everyone Zamora is on the bench hahahahaha'. 4 people favourited that tweet, and one person replied 'Time for some comedy gold'. 

And, chances are that some QPR fans were hoping that 'fat fingered' Kranjcar would not come off the bench (whilst they downed their 5th pint and rubbed their over sized bellies). But that other QPR fans were hoping they would see the Loftus Road dreamboat in action. Neither hoping (of course) for a Traore injury that would mean he would actually play - but all cheering like maniacs after a sublime set-up of Morrison's second goal. 

However, chances are you will be very worried about the additional three injuries picked up - Green, Traore and Jenas all out for Tuesday's match against Sheffield Wednesday. And you'll be wondering just what is going on and what is causing our players to snatch these little niggles. I must say I'm  tempted to get a physio qualification and apply for a job at QPR to help the dire situation. Chances are, if Niko is still there when I do qualify, I'll probably do it for free. 

You'll be thinking just how lucky we are to have found such a nifty mid-fielder like him who is arguably better than Adel Taarabt and for me a lot more interesting as a person. But, chances are, he's way too good for West Ham to sell and we will wave goodbye to him at the end of the season and watch him play for other clubs with a little bitterness (like we do when we see Routledge when he plays for Swansea). 

Chances are, Keane isn't going to cut it, and neither is Maiga (especially if Zamora's picked ahead of him). Both players will likely be lost in the world of a loanee lifestyle and forgotten by most. 

And chances are that earlier this week when you heard about Danny Ings getting injured you knew that it probably wouldn't make a lot of difference to our position in the table, and you tried not to be happy about it (it isn't very nice to wish ill on anyone) but you did pull a little wry smile to yourself as you read the news. 

To be honest, Burnley and Leicester have run away with it, and we will probably make it to the play offs and that the road will be bumpy. But, chances are, we will draw Forest away in the first leg and lose. Or we do make it to Wembley and, again, lose. 

So, chances are, there will be a few QPR fans hoping we try to consolidate in the Champ and finish 7th - therefore avoiding the heartache of this kind of a play off competition (winning competitions not being our forte obviously). Although there will be a few who will wonder what's the point in playing if you aren't going to want to win something. 

Speaking of winning, chances are you've noticed just how committed Barton is to playing football for QPR at the moment and how passionate he is when we score a goal and when we win. Look around at all the other players, and chances are they aren't quite as enthusiastic as he is. He's grown up since the day he set foot in our club the first time, and he's also playing well - he is leaner, faster and fitter than I've ever seen. Or maybe, he's simply found his level. I suspect he won't be far off the top when it comes to voting for the Player of the Year. Looking back at what he did two years ago, and just how angry we all were - perhaps it's about time some of us realised what giving people a chance can do for us as well. 

And that's exactly what happened with when Zamora came off the bench and scored that crucial second goal (and what a blinding header it was). Chances are that you cheered through laughter almost in the same way Zamora and Barton did when they celebrated. You laughed at yourself for being the fickle football fans that you are. But you realised that anyone who pulls on a QPR shirt deserves our support and that was really the most important lesson of all. 

Although we lost more to injury (I believe we now have a full first team in the treatment room) it was, indeed, a wonderful day yesterday. And if you are a QPR fan, it was not by chance that you enjoyed watching Villa beat Chelsea 1-0. You definitely enjoyed watching Mourinho's very unhappy post-match interview and enjoyed the hashtag 'tearsforjose'. 

Mourinho's the type of manager who would say that you make your own luck in life and generally I quite agree. I also believe that good things come to those that earn it, not those that wait. But sometimes in life, you have to make sure you allow some flex for stuff you cannot account or plan for. And laugh at yourself. Chances are, you won't always be at the top of your game, so it pays to never say never. 

What it takes

Charlton Athletic 1 Queens Park Rangers 0

Queens Park Rangers 1 Leeds Utd 1

Tiger Cubs current running total: £15,206.66

As we enter the final stretch of the season, and QPR's run of poor results continues, my feelings are a paradoxical mixture of relief and fear. Relief because our shot at automatic promotion is likely gone and in theory it's now time to enjoy the football. Fear because if we do actually make the playoffs I am foreseeing a stressful period and heartbreak whether it's away to Forest in the first round, or a final at Wembley. I have a feeling that this is typical of most QPR fans, but I am not sure.

I am still bitter about our spate of injuries from some of our best players. And even those who might not be our best but provide some creativity: BAE, and Kranjcar for example are allegedly out due to aggravated injuries through training...It feels like all the luck is against us sometimes and at lunch post-match yesterday a friend and I had evil thoughts about breaking Burnley players' legs. How can I have stooped so low?

The manager and coaches must have moments where they feel just this. And while they cannot say it outwardly, perhaps Harry's recent short and rather depressing press conferences confirm it. A good manager, however, gets on with it. There is a job to be done, and 'you gotta do what you gotta do' with what you've been given. And if that means starting again with a set of players many of which fans barely recognise or know I guess - so be it.

Last week about forty people (including myself) took a 15 mile walk straight across London from West to East; from Loftus Road to the Valley to raise money for the QPR Tiger Cubs (QPR's team for children with Down Syndrome).  I was made aware of the QPR Community Trust project last year when I saw some of the tweets about the walk to Arsenal and I was surprised at how little was raised (looking at last year's fundraising page it reads at £2567.50) knowing that many QPR fans would love to donate if they had only known.

When I saw the announcement go up looking for walkers I felt it was right to try to help raise more money if I could, and there were many other newbies like me who joined in the challenge. I nagged friends and family, colleagues at work and baked biscuits (thanks Betty Crocker), as did many others. It felt as if our media team made a much bigger effort this year to seed out details of the walk and the fundraising for some weeks in the run up - getting players to talk about it on TV and ex players like Les Ferdinand donating. On the day itself I must say I was not prepared for just how tough the walk would be. I may have done a couple of triathlons and a few 10ks but walking almost solidly for 6 hours was one of my toughest challenges to date. The last two miles were painful to say the least, but with the kids having joined us at the Cutty Sark and football at the other end I had to focus my mind on making it to the end! 15 miles is a 'helluva' long way!

Would it also be fair to say that a season is a 'helluva' long time? Don't they always say life in the Champ is a marathon and not a sprint, and anything can happen in between the beginning and the end? Ever since we lost Charlie Austin I've been seeing balls miss the net where once he would have popped them in. And there is that little bit of sorrow in my heart. But as of the end of yesterday's match we are hearing that Simpson could be back within a week and Charlie in 4-6. Barton will also return from suspension of course -which will make a difference at Birmingham. But it's less about clutching at promotion straws now and more about having some of our first choice people back and enjoying watching them play. Right now it feels a little like those last two miles of Tiger Feet 5 where I'm not sure I can make it with the leading pack, but frankly I'll be glad to finish in one piece.

Promotion, playoffs, up or down, for me these last few weeks have been about discovering more of the positive things that QPR does in the community which I think we sometimes forget about. In our world raising money for charity is a full time business and you have to have a thick skin and still remain positive. You simply have to do what it takes to raise what you can.

A big thank you goes to Andy Watkins and Fiona Hodgson as well as Ian (the lead walker) for all their hard work, and to all the Tiger Feet walkers who made me feel welcome.

Please watch the video below to find out more, and donate here if you haven't already Tiger Cubs

Video by Nick Reinis

The base level

Derby 1 Queens Park Rangers 0

Queens Park Rangers 1 Reading 3

If you ask me who my idol is that would not be a tough question to answer. If I were still in my early teens I would probably have said Madonna. But as I get older and the rose-tinted spectacles disappear I'd say my Dad was probably someone I looked up to more than anyone else. If you ask any of his friends people will say he is one of the most intelligent men they have ever known. It is true that he is well-read, clever and a bit of a know-it-all. He is rather annoying to play general knowledge quizzes with because he is the first to put his hand up all the time, and he'll respond for the other team if he knows the answer.

And as he turns 60 this year he is still out there in the working world working harder than I've ever seen before. He missed today's match against Reading as he is somewhere on the other side of the world working on new business. He sent us a message late at night on a Saturday saying he was in his hotel room working away. It is sometimes hard to believe that he has achieved everything he has simply because he works hard. At school he got prizes for everything and played almost every single sport well: rugby, cricket, cross country. And now he's this amazing triathlete who even competed for a semi-pro veteran place last year. It's a wonderful thing, these individual achievements, for a daughter to look up to. The funny thing about my Dad is that he'll be the last to say he's the most intelligent, and the first to say he works the hardest.

This week I've thought a lot about individuals and what they contribute to teams. Today was an important day as the club welcomed Tony Mills who is a terminal cancer patient for a special day out to see the Rs. I believe the journey started a few weeks ago when someone tweeted Joey Barton about him and Joey suggested organising the day for him to come and get special VIP treatment at Loftus Road. I saw the videos, as did everyone else, on Youtube, and witnessed how Joey travelled down to Eastbourne on Thursday to surprise Tony. He sat with him and his family, had a cup of tea, and made polite conversation to a man who is very very unwell. I had tears in my eyes. Being there for people when they aren't well one of the hardest things in life, never mind for someone you barely know. For me, it shows great strength of character, and I am shocked by some of the comments people made about a 'PR' stunt affair, and why the club would send a 'low-life' like Barton and not someone else. I am not the easiest person to turn when it comes to judging people's characters, but I would also be a complete hypocrite if I didn't give someone a chance who obviously makes an effort be it on the pitch (which surely by now we have seen and must admit to), or off it. I have made many mistakes in my own life and have been a horrible person to know at times. If people didn't give me a chance I would be very far from the  happier place I am now.

However, one or some individuals making an effort, unfortunately, does not equal a winning team. And on the pitch today - we saw signs of a lack of confidence and a sloppy disorganised approach. The bust-up that happened mid-match between Dunne and Benny was not emblematic of a team in it together. And I just wonder whether signs of a side of a few players who think they are better than they are (as per last season) are starting to creep in? Once we have this, it is very much like a cancer, and whatever is holding back what should be a vision of togetherness, has got to be sorted out if we don't want a very embarrassing end to our season.

For, it seems to me that in order for a team to work, we do not need players with Premier League experience who look wonderful on paper. We have this and it is clearly not working. What we do need is a set of individuals who are prepared to work harder than they currently are, with one vision and one goal. Interestingly, Stuart Pearce came to our office with Talksport this week to talk about teams and creating success. Someone asked Pearce - 'what would you do, if Joey Barton was in your team'. This person was obviously not a QPR supporter because frankly most of us don't have a problem with him at the moment. Nevertheless Pearce responded by saying that he didn't necessarily like a lot of things about Joey. He also went on to say, he was never the best, most skilful or technical player. But that in his Man City days, Joey was one of the hardest working: in early at training, last out. Constantly practising drills etc etc. It is somewhat hard to believe when he (bar today's rather worrying performance), appears to be one of our most gifted midfielders.

I believe that it is easy for us to forget that to succeed in anything, including football, only a modicum of talent is actually required. And once you have that base level - anything is achievable if you work hard or want it hard enough. I suppose you could look at many an entrepreneur and find that many weren't necessarily 'academic' but had their eye on a prize and worked darn hard to get it. Without doubt, it is also unlikely that one would be able to achieve in life without the support of others who shared that same goal. Just look at the Olympics when athletes who win a gold medal are the first to praise those trainers, physios and their family for making it happen.

I am not saying that individuals never make a difference. But if one or two people are not firing on all cylinders (and I am not saying I know who they are), something has to be done for the benefit of the team. Reading on paper are a good team, but they don't have the so-called 'pedigree' that we do. But so what? They had a goal, a vision and they had togetherness. With ten men they still dominated the game. They, unlike us, have been managed very well in recent times.

Sadly, if one or two cogs in the wheel break down it can be a huge struggle to get back on track. And without Charlie, Danny and Matty I personally feel a little bereft...and I wonder whether the players feel this too? So I want to know, just how is this being managed? How will the team be coached to believe they are capable of winning again?

I do not have the answer to this, except to say that some guts are involved and perhaps some tough decisions need to be made. While Tony Mills' time is limited, the players and staff need to spend time they have working even harder if they want to play better. Maybe they can take inspiration from fighters like Tony Mills.

A little less bickering would be nice, and a few more corny huddles will make me feel confident in QPR. Win, lose or draw I'd like to see a team playing once again.

Two things

Queens Park Rangers 2 Bolton 1

Queens Park Rangers 3 Burnley 3

A quick one for everyone. Two important things are happening in the coming weeks - alongside the Derby match @gemcricketmad and I are going to be hosting an alternative commentary show LIVE on http://mixlr.com/elmodedude/. Please don't expect professional or serious commentary. Only fans with a sense of humour and an appetite for totally biased commentary need join!

In addition, before the Charlton game several of us are going to make a 14 mile walk from Loftus Road to the Valley to raise money for the very special Tiger Cubs. If you don't already know what they do please take a look here: http://www.dsactive.org/teams/qpr-tiger-cubs/

And please do be generous and sponsor us on this website: Virgin Money Tiger Feet 5

I wish you all a lovely weekend, and thanks for all the support.

Emily

Little Earthquakes

Queens Park Rangers 2 Huddersfield 1

I am a huge Tori Amos fan. And so is the rest of my family. Although I must say my obsession with her calmed down somewhat after my teenage years and early twenties. We fell in love with her music when she released her first album Little Earthquakes. With a brother who was soon to come out, young parents in their late thirties, and myself an angsty-ish teenager interested in making music she was one of the artists that bonded us. A strange choice you might say- her songs were angst-ridden, sad and sometimes painful. But her music was all the better for all the crap that was going on in her life. Many years later in the early noughties she came to London for a concert at the Hammersmith Apollo. I jumped at the chance of buying tickets for all four of us as a Christmas present. We were sorely disappointed. She had no band. It was just Tori and the piano. And it was just Tori singing songs we didn't know, and Tori acting very normal and boring. She had just found her ‘partner-for life’ and had a little girl with him. I remember walking out of the venue thinking how disappointing it had all been, and my Dad said to me ‘She is so boring now that she is happy. It was much better when she was f***ed up’. I think there was some truth in that. She didn't release too many (in my opinion) interesting albums after that- at least for me nothing quite as powerful as the early releases.

Recently, there’s been a lot of talk about the flat atmosphere at Loftus Road. It’s a fact that this season it hasn't been that loud fortress we know it can be. Some people are blaming it on the style of play, others are blaming it on fans who expect too much from the team. I certainly do not have the answer but I can understand the psychology of it. I think back to the last two seasons, and in particular the first season back in the Prem (11/12). I’ll be honest, there was nothing more exciting than beating those big teams at home: Arsenal, Spurs, Liverpool…Chelsea. We cracked them all and the excitement was so intense we made a huge amount of noise…and we had the bruises on our legs to prove it. Although last season was much more traumatic we didn't complain about the atmosphere quite so much because the excitement generated from the volatility of our situation overcame all other feelings. And it was a terrible masochistic pleasure.

However, I will never call last season anything other than traumatic. As you know, I do not ache for the Premier League (other than the opportunity of wall to wall coverage and the fact that Niko might stay with us if we go up). This season, we've been winning which itself is wonderful, but has also made that post-match beer all the more pleasurable. In addition, I am able to focus my blogging efforts on a range of topics other than why we have such horrible players that don’t care about us at all. While I would absolutely love it to be as loud at Loftus Road as it can be, or as it is when we sometimes travel away, I’ll take the atmosphere now over any of our two seasons in the Prem – and yes, even over beating Chelsea.

Maybe it’s the fact I’m getting a little older (yes, yes I know I’m not that old), but having lived through plenty of personal traumas at such a young age, there is nothing I like more than peace and tranquillity nowadays. Maybe it’s boring but I’m happier for it. And a little like Tori Amos maybe I have found myself and care less what people think.

But wait a minute, am I saying that QPR aren’t playing creatively enough to get me excited? I think not. And I challenge anyone who tells me we don’t show glimpses of a wonderful style of football with players like Philips, Kranjcar, Simpson...I truly believe these players are also learning about the Championship and this is a journey for them all.  So far it might look boring but they are delivering and doing their job. Recent results where we have been winning by larger margins also suggest that we’re getting a bit better and having more fun.

So what of Tori Amos? Well her hubby is actually from the UK, and she lives here with her teenage daughter. And last year she wrote and produced a musical called The Light Princess which showed at the National Theatre. It received mixed reviews although most were good apart from one from the Daily Fail’s (which in my opinion is a good thing). The whole family watched it together. It was a totally unique experience, and whilst labelled a ‘musical’ it didn't have any of the hallmarks of a musical: catchy tunes, funny gags, corny story-line. The story itself was based on an old fairy tale about a girl who took the death of her mother so lightly that she floated in the air all the time. She falls in love with a boy who was so down about the death of his that he was always so dark and sad. It was modified for a feminist and modern audience and sprinkled with Tori magic of sweeping orchestration and piercing vocals. And it was rich in staging: sparkly lights, a flying princess, floaty seas and skies. Tori was inspired by not just her childhood but also by her own teenage daughter.

And we loved it. In all her happiness and stability, Tori was still able to create something magnificent which still divided opinion amongst critics. Perhaps she will never again create something like Little Earthquakes. But stability didn't stop her from creating something special. And nor should it stop us fans from feeling like we can’t sing, or even from feeling guilty for not! I’ll admit Dad walked away from the musical purse lipped and slightly ‘weirded out’ by the whole thing. I think he didn’t like it quite as much as the rest of us.

As for me, I'm all for people doing things differently and positively, especially female role models. Loftus Road will no doubt bring us many Little Earthquakes in the future. But we might be surprised one day when it gives us something completely, and uniquely different. 

Tori Amos singing Caught a Light Sneeze live...one of my favourite angsty performances

Hugs

Ipswich Town 1 Queens Park Rangers 3

A lack of funds in the traditionally poor month of January prevented me from visiting Portman Road yesterday. But I must say my poor away record (1 win, 1 draw and 3 losses) didn't bode well so staying away was possibly the good luck charm that the Rangers needed.

I was, however, heartened by the online coverage and the fact that so many friends were there singing their hearts out for the boys. And I was going to save this post for next week, but after watching our game on Goals Express and the The Football League Show about twenty times I felt inspired to write a short piece.

In last week's post I did wonder whether confidence was a key reason for the run of poor results. It is hard to believe that a team with such quality on paper would have such an issue. Perhaps sometimes we place our players on such a pedestal that our only possible reaction is a complete meltdown and booing our team. And it is, I suppose only right that we should place them there. These are people who we, and our kids, ultimately look up to, consider our heroes and who, earn an amount of money that we can only dream of.  But I think it is so easy for us to make quick judgements about situations and people we don't know.

When I think about it, I try to remember that you cannot assume nor expect a player to think and behave exactly like another. And while I'd really like to think that everyone who plays for QPR loves being at our club or is a Rangers supporter (been a while hasn't it?), we have the reality of where and who we are: a small club with a limited but loyal fan base, with owners who have big ambitions. However, I do believe there is a level of commitment and respect which has to be a minimum requirement for anyone who plays for us. It just isn't fair on us fans who invest in supporting the club to give us players who aren't prepared to put a shift in.

And this is why I write this post this week with a face that is beaming with a smile. Because yesterday's match was indicative of the huge difference between the QPR we watch now, and the one we watched a year ago. We don't know if half of these players are going to be with us next season. Many players are out of contract and many of our best at the moment are borrowed. They probably are not hugely loyal to QPR but for the most part most of them do care about how they play. Call me naive but I loved watching the goals again and again on TV because you can see just how happy they were when they scored the goals. No arrogant 'sliding movements' (although I do like a good sliding movement) and no robotic dancing, but group hugs all-round. Okay, so Traore raced towards the away supporters with his hand to his ear, but who wouldn't when our fans were in fine form with some great songs about Charlie and Niko?

So whilst I am a little sad that I did not get to go yesterday I am happy for the win and for the more positive vibes. And Charlie is never to far away as I settle in to a Sunday of highlights and reviews of what was a great day at the office for the Rs.

Greedy Guts

Queens Park Rangers 2 Doncaster Rovers 1

Everton 4 Queens Park Rangers 0 (FA Cup 3rd Round)

I'm spending the last day before going back to work in bed with severe stomach pains after eating way more than I should have for dinner last night. I'm actually on a diet, but give myself a 24 hours per week reprieve when, for some reason, I think it's ok to pig out even though I'm actually not really hungry. I think I've learned my lesson. It is, however, extremely annoying given that this past holiday season has actually not been hugely excessive so to end on a low is disappointing. Well, with eyes bigger than my stomach what did I expect?

Last Wednesday's win against Doncaster was a huge relief. I'll admit for the most part I was miserable, scared, worried, angry. For a team that had one of the best defences in the league I couldn't understand why we were being caught on the break so much. It was awful awful weather too- rain pouring, wind swirling. Cold. It was one of those games where you wondered just what the hell you were doing supporting QPR. However, as soon as we had scored that first goal the change it had made in our tempo and attitude was huge. I'm not saying we played to a high standard, but we were better. Which just goes to show just how much this is all about confidence and belief. It's hard for me to believe that such an experienced set of players could lose confidence but I was having a discussion with a friend about it and he was saying he felt that that was the single biggest difference between the good teams and the not-so-good teams: The clinical belief that one would create a victory out of nothing or out of a negative situation. Of course, Manchester Utd is a case in point where we will often see them concede early on. But more often than not, they clinically turn the game around and finish it off with a victory. That, I'm afraid is not a typical QPR way. But nor, for that matter, is it the way of several other clubs in the country.

What I am saying is, let's not have eyes bigger than our stomachs. You guessed it - I'm referring to the post-match 'meltdown' which I also referred to in my last blog Collective Psychosis.Yes, it is annoying that we aren't really that good, and that we've got some expensive players that don't consistently perform as we'd like. But we're a good championship club with most players actually delivering on par.  With all the negative vibes - calls for Redknapp's departure and shouts of Austin being rubbish (oh, by the way he scored again this week), I'm surprised we haven't seen any QPR shirts floating on the shores off Beachy Head recently.

It seems as if, since we have come in to money as a club our expectations are much bigger than they should be. Fernandes certainly does not help at times - naturally his ultimate goal is to deliver us back in to the Premier League and he does love social media, so we all get totally brainwashed in to thinking a bad result is the end of the world and the end of this quest. But I don't remember us feeling quite so suicidal when we lost games last time we went up. Surely Fernandes has a plan B or C, as any good business man would? And frankly, on yesterday's performance against Everton this is hopefully the reality check he needs to remember just how far there is to go before we're even ready.

Please, do not mistake me for being negative at all. In fact, this year has been fantastic. We've been winning games more, away games are so much cheaper, plus I haven't had to sit next to someone who isn't a QPR supporter yet. But remember what happened when we got greedy last time, brought in loads of wonderful players like Bosingwa and Zamora? Brought in Mark Hughes and his dodgy agents? No thanks. I'd rather have the stability we have now than a bloated team of players and staff who simply don't care.

And speaking of players, as you know Charlie Austin is someone I've admired from the moment he started playing for us. He is hard working, positive and skillful. My face was beaming not only when he scored the winning goal against Doncaster but when, soon after, he tracked all the way back to defend the ball as well. For me, this is so much more valuable than anything we could ever say about our poor tactical strategy, individual errors or formation. We haven't had such an individual for a long time and I'd swap 10 Taarabts for 1 Austin.

Or is that just being greedy now?

Happy New Year everyone!