Are QPR already doomed to the drop?

QPR boss Harry Redknapp’s team suffered a very unfortunate 3-2 home defeat against Liverpool yesterday

QPR are bottom of the Premier League and suffered a very unfortunate 3-2 defeat against Liverpool at Loftus Road on Sunday.

In truth the nature of the defeat was cruel, as Richard Dunne scored an own goal and England international Steven Caulker also fired past his own keeper in the 95^th minute to win the game for the visitors.

Luck

Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good and the Hoops had terrible luck against Liverpool.

To concede one own goal is unfortunate, to concede two is just careless. The Rangers players certainly are not helping their own cause at the moment.

A poor campaign cannot be put down to bad luck entirely though, as there are 38 games in the Premier League season. Sometimes you have to make your own luck in life and QPR are struggling to do that at the moment.

Performance

Ironically the performance against Liverpool was probably their best of the season. They looked a far better team and showed far more fighting spirit than they have in previous games. If they continue to play like yesterday then maybe the Hoops will start to pick-up more points.

In the first half of yesterday’s game the home side could have established a comfortable lead, but they failed to take their chances and were made to pay in the crazy events of the dying minutes of the game.

Signings

For me QPR were always going to be one of the teams who would be fighting relegation this season. However, I believed that Hoops boss Harry Redknapp made some very good summer signings.

He strengthened his defence with the signing of former-England star Rio Ferdinand, who despite being past his best still has a bit to offer a Premier League team. I believed his signing, especially on free was a shrewd one from Redknapp.

The signing of Steven Caulker from Cardiff also impressed me. Caulker had been one of the few impressive performers in the Bluebirds relegation season. The partnership of Caulker and Ferdinand seemed to have everything.

Ferdinand has a slight injury problem and missed yesterday’s game, but when they have played together they have not looked the solid proposition that Redknapp would have expected them to be.

The midfield signings of Leroy Fer, Sandro and Niko Kranjcar again looked to be decent ones. Chilean forward Eduardo Vargas has not featured much for the Hoops, with only two Premier League starts to his name so far since moving to Rangers.

Yesterday’s 12 minute cameo against Liverpool proved that he could yet have lots to offer the QPR cause this season.

Squad

On paper the QPR squad looks decent and should be performing better. Unfortunately for QPR football is played on grass and not paper and some of their players have not performed to the top of their ability this season.

The Hoops squad is full of experienced and talent international footballers. It is not like they have a squad full of players without any talent. They have talented players, but at the moment they are just not picking up the points.

A good example of one of those talent players is Moroccan international midfielder Adel Taarabt, who was fiercely criticised by boss Redknapp. When asked about the availability of the former-Spurs star Redknapp said: “No, he’s not fit. He’s not fit to play football, unfortunately.

“He played in a reserve team game the other day, and I could have run about more than he did. So no, I can’t pick him.

“I pick people that want to try, and deserve to be at a good football club like QPR, and want to work, and come in every day and want to work, and train, and show a good attitude. And that’s what I got today from the players”.

Taarabt seems to be the perfect example of a footballer with the skills, but not the motivation, attitude or drive to make it to the top of the game. It is a shame really because at times Taarabt has shown tremendous ability for the Hoops.

At the moment it seems more likely that Redknapp would pick himself than the attacking midfielder.

Hope

One win from their first eight Premier League games does not bode well for the Hoops future in the English top-flight. The Hoops are second favourites for relegation this season at odds of 4/7, with fellow newly-promoted Burnley the only team regarded as more likely to go down this season.

However, all is not lost for QPR. Their performance against Liverpool will surely have given the players and fans a lift, even if the result was disappointing. Redknapp’s side have a very winnable home game against Aston Villa next weekend.

Villa have now lost four consecutive Premier League games and are struggling for goals, so they could be perfect opponents for Redknapp’s team to face.

If Redknapp’s side fail to beat Villa though, then the alarm bells will start ringing and questions will be asked about whether this QPR team are good to remain in the Premier League.

Are QPR already doomed to the drop?