Queens Park Rangers started the season in sparkling form winning 8 of their first 10 games in the Championship, however in the last month or so this challenge has faltered.

However like Manchester United, Queens Park Rangers can both boast that they are unbeaten in the league so far this season. However despite this impressive record neither club currently occupies top spot in their respective leagues.

Normally you would expect a team unbeaten three months into a season to be racing away with the title but this unbeaten record takes attention away from disproportionate number of draws both sides have recorded this season.

Manchester United

Played 13

Drawn 7 (54%)

Queens Park Rangers

Played 17

Drawn 8 (47%)

So far this season QPR have drawn around half of their games this season dropping 16 points or the equivalent of 5 defeats in the process.

These draws have slowly chipped away at the early lead QPR took at the top of the Championship, allowing Cardiff to overhaul the London side in the league, after a start that made it seem as though Premiership football would be a certainty next season QPR risk their season fading away.

A run of 7 draws in 10 games is far from promotion form and although late equalisers such as those against Bristol City and Portsmouth may create a feel good factor after the match it should still remembered that the club dropped two points in the game.

As Queens Park Rangers face bottom of the table Preston on Saturday it will be imperative that they take advantage of Preston’s poor form and get their promotion challenge back on track.

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Striker Marlon King has recently been released from prison and after his freedom he conducted an interview with Sky Sports where many thought he came across as quite genuine, although others saw him as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. King still protests his innocence over the offence that saw him given an 18 month jail sentence (reduced to 9), in which he was found guilty of sexually assaulting a female when out at a London night club and he is determined to show that he was mistaken in identity. If King is to prove this then he has a lot of work to do, as his previous 13 criminal convictions prior to this one paint a picture that probably already made up people’s minds that this is a bad apple. Now that King is a free man, his agent wasted no time in trying to find his client a new club, offering him to a number of Championship clubs and even Premier League ones. Neil Warnock is taking him under consideration and some have claimed that Coventry will be King’s next destination. But does the former Gillingham man really deserve another chance to work in this line of work?

King is a striker, but he won’t exactly set the world on fire and he’s unlikely to bag you 20 goals a season, but the job he does up front is important for whatever striker he supports and he can be a useful target man. His most recently club was Wigan, but found himself loaned out to Hull and Middlesbrough when they participated in England’s top league, showing that many managers in the game feel he is a useful player in the Premier League. It is highly unlikely that any Premier League team will take on a 30 year old who has just come out of prison, but it is understandable why many Championship teams may be considering him. He has ability and at the age of 30 he should at the height of his talent and the fact he is on a free transfer makes him even more appealing.

But then there’s that image. I’ve been on an away day to Oldham when they had Lee Hughes up front for them and the amount of abuse he still receives from away fans is intense. In 2004, Hughes was jailed after he caused a fatal car crash which saw one person dead; Hughes fled the scene and handed himself in 36 hours later. People shout things like “They should have thrown away the key” and fans were keen to let Mr. Hughes know that they thought he was a “sick human being” – I could write a number of other things they said, but I’m sure The Gaffer wouldn’t be too happy seeing them on his site! Basically, the majority of football fans you meet will use it against the player and you’ll find few who feel that players who are guilty of such unspeakable crimes should never be allowed to play the game again. King may want to clear his name, but he’ll always be labelled as one of those players.

I’m a Newcastle fan and you’re probably aware that my team has the notorious Joey Barton. Barton receives the same abuse Hughes does, although he hasn’t committed a crime such as murder, he has several incidents that have involved fighting, often fuelled by his alcoholism. I sometimes feel a little bit sorry for Barton (not just as a Newcastle fan), because his half brother was involved in a racially motivated murder of a young boy, something which has led many to label Joey himself as a racist, which couldn’t be further from the truth. The minute you’re a prison alumni, such as Barton or Hughes, then all of a sudden people’s perception of you changes and its a heavy social load on anybody. Barton will always be labelled as a horrible man, but that is because you rarely hear the good he does from the likes of Sky Sports News and the BBC. I don’t say his actions were nothing, it is never right to assault anyone for any reason, but Barton has taken massive steps to improve his life; he hasn’t had a drop of alcohol for two years and the number of charities and good causes he is involved in and contributes to is countless. He rarely speaks about them and they’ll rarely make the headlines because who is interested in that? If you’re reading this Mr. Barton, I’m more worried about what that horrible moustache is doing for your image lately!

I do think at times celebrities and sports personalities are protected too much when it comes to the legal system, but if people are really keen to turn their life around and contribute something to society then why stop them? Craig Bellamy is another example, he is a player that everyone expects is a horrible person due to the fact he is always complaining on the pitch. I’m not a fan of Bellamy anymore (if you know about his bust up with Shearer, you will understand why Newcastle fans don’t respect him), but I had a mate who’s mother worked as a receptionist at a children’s hospital in Newcastle. She wouldn’t have a bad word said about Bellamy because there was one child in particular he would put things off to visit and he was one of the friendliest footballer’s you could ever meet, a lot of the time he wasn’t even going along with the club or to improve his image or anything – he just did it because he wanted to help.

I’m not a believer in capital punishment or the death penalty – you want an eye for an eye then you’re a hypocrite. I don’t think King deserves absolute forgiveness – he was found guilty of a crime and was rightfully punished for it – his actions were disgusting. The fact is most of this could be stopped with the right guidance, players like Barton and King are from areas of the lowest economic class – crime is everywhere in their environment. The majority of people who are in prison come from these sort of areas, as a lack of opportunities and no prospects can lead a number of people to crime and I don’t want to get into the whole “nature/nurture debate” but you basically learn from your environment. Sir Alex Ferguson once said he believed that if Paul Gascoigne had signed for Man Utd instead of Tottenham (he chose Spurs because their chairman bought Gazza’s parents a new house in Gateshead), he wouldn’t have had as many problems with things such as alcoholism and depression as he had. You give some of these lads all this money and put them in a competitive and alpha male environment and they’re going to go on their instincts and act out when things don’t go their way.

To say that Marlon King can’t go back to work is somewhat illegal, but in my opinion he should give proof that he is really making a positive effort to rehabilitate himself and become a positive part of society. We are supposed to live in a forgiving society, but this is the second time King has come out of prison (the first was for purchasing a stolen BMW, he was found not guilty of assaulting a police officer though) and that would lead many to think that he already had his second chance. The money footballers earn make this a difficult subject for many, people do not like the fact that an ex-convict can walk out of prison and then receive their yearly salary in one week and in King’s case, some of his previous offences are disgusting and it is understandable why so many believe he is a terrible person.

For me, I look at the likes of Tony Adams and Paul Merson who made big mistakes in their career but were keen to see that they could prevent this in the future by starting the sporting chance clinic which has helped the likes of Joey Barton get his life back on track. Merson is now a loveable pundit for Sky Sports and Tony Adam’s is managing some Azerbaijani team (success) and their past problems are almost overshadowed by the fact that they now play a big part in helping people learn from their mistakes. Mr. King could take a note out of their book, he is certainly not a household name or what I would consider a role model to young kids (if anyone wanted to put that as their argument then present me the child who dreams of becoming the next Marlon King) but a lot of these players changed their ways and decided they would help others. If you want to get back involved with the profession you love after ruining your chance then why not help prevent this from happening in the future.

I’m all for King returning if he wants to stop young players in similar situations to him make the same mistakes – if he is helping the problem as opposed to being part of it then his past issues and offences should not even come under consideration. But there is always that fear: fool me 14 times, shame on you – fool me 15 times, shame on me.

QPR fans have reason to get excited

Back in 2007, when Flavio Briatore and his consortium took control of Queens Park Rangers, there were hopes from fans and promises from the owners that QPR would quickly gain promotion and become an established Premier League side. The owners, who have an excess of wealth at their disposal, were mainly made up men who had made their name in Formula One; the richest sport on the planet. Rumours broke out that Zidane would be coming in to manage the club and Luis Figo would be snapped up by the ambitious club, although whether these moves were actually made remains a slight mystery. Although considering the controversy and indecision of the owners since their takeover, it is likely that they did make such audacious moves and the team who had so much promise in 2007, spent last season fighting a relegation battle with a weak squad. The depth and strength of the squad probably had something to do with the amount of different managers the club has had since the takeover, as when Neil Warnock took charge this season, he was the club’s seventh manager in the past three years.

But Warnock’s appointment (despite the fact the club was still in real danger of being relegated to League One) seemed to signal some stability, as now this ambitious side with a bit of cash behind them had an experienced manager at the helm who was used to being successful at this level. You probably know that Warnock did manage to keep the R’s afloat, and even had to come through a tense game against his former employers Crystal Palace, which leads the hoops into the 2010/11 season win a new hope. I believe that this could finally be the year we see QPR as one of the favourites to gain promotion, as on paper they have the right formula to go all the way to the Premier League.

Four top signings have been made by Warnock already and the experienced coach has admitted that he would like to make four more. As well as Leon Clarke and Jamie Mackie, Paddy Kenny has joined from Sheffield United after a difficult season which saw him serve a ban for a failed drugs test and Warnock was quick to take advantage of Crystal Palace’s former financial problems by snapping up the man who captained his former employers, Shaun Derry. What Warnock has tried to do is create a squad that knows how to play a this level and these signings will provide great depth to the squad that was missing last season. The advantage of Derry and Kenny is that they’re both fairly consistent and will give the club more stability that they’ve often lacked both on and off the field in previous seasons.

The fact that there are four more on the way only shows the intent from QPR to finally realise their ambition of becoming a Premier League side and in my opinion they are looking like a good shout for promotion contenders in a season that looks wide open for most clubs. They may have narrowly missed out on Darren Ambrose who would have provided them with that spark that they often relied upon Adel Taarabt to produce last season, but there are alternatives for the club that they will be exploring. The fact is, this is what QPR should have done in previous seasons, by putting an experienced and knowledgeable manager in charge who knows how to play the field. I wouldn’t go as far to say they will win the league, but in truth it is a possibility if these type of signings continue and they are one of my favourites for promotion. What they need to focus on seeing if they can inject a bit of pace in the side, possibly by brokering a few loan deals, and with the contacts and power the owners have I’m sure they could get the men Warnock would want in his side.

Warnock: A Former Palace Favourite

By 5pm on Saturday we may have a clearer view of the Championship relegation battle as Watford battle Plymouth and Crystal Palace welcome (i use the term loosely) Queens Park Rangers to Selhurst Park. It’s one of those interesting matches that football often throws up, a series of events that cumulate in a heated affair when two sides meet, as any person that follows this league will be aware that if this match had been played a few months prior, Neil Warnock would be giving his pre-match team talk in the home dressing room as opposed to the away one. Warnock left in what some football fans would consider understandable circumstances: Palace entering administration, struggling to fill their bench every week and the club facing the prospect of relegation after a mandatory point’s deduction. But you try telling that to a Palace fan, as they’ll probably feel that Warnock is nothing but a money grabbing so-and-so, who’s left Palace to join a club in almost an identical situation, bar financial difficulties. You wouldn’t blame Warnock for feeling the nerves before his return…

But who could blame a Palace fan? Warnock left for the pure reason of money, the power that controls all football today, and to them it feels like Warnock just left the club to sort out its own problems; wiping his hands clean. Warnocck is an unbearable character at the best of times for most English football fans – constantly ranting on about how “I’ve always had to struggle – I’ve never had it easy” and all that lark. It must give Palace fans a great deal of pleasure to see when he did attempt to take the easy way out through buying into the bizarre QPR regime, which has involved 12 managers taking the helm in the past four years (five of them controlling the club this season), that he ultimately struggled for results and is currently battling relegation much like their own club – some would say it’s still not easy for Warnock. The original investment into Rangers promised that they would be the new Chelsea of world football and could reach the top half of Premier League in no time, yet questionable ownership and a bunch of dodgy decisions has instead left many football fans questioning how legitimate these claims were.

You can throw on top of the fire current Eagles manager Paul Hart being one of those five men to manage QPR this season and only last a mere five games before his reign was over and he will no doubt be desperate for the win over his former employers. Warnock, unlike his predecessors, will be given until the end of the season due to his experience in the league as the board aren’t that short sighted to realise that he is a good manager and that he faces the problem of a poor squad created due to a lack of stability. It is a shame for the long suffering QPR fans that initially were given the promise of top flight football and a world class side and instead have to watch the inner turmoil of their club as the prawn sandwich eating board squabble over club matters like babies who can’t share their toys.

This game could arguably not come at a worse time for Rangers either, who have not won in their last seven games and now face a Palace side who have not only points to play for but a universal point to prove as well. In a mental edge perspective too, if Palace pick up the three points they will climb over QPR in the table and will feel more in control of their fate. However, with four games to go after this for Rangers, they can send a rival further away from themselves and show bouncebackabillity that could see them rejuvenated for their final run in. This basically the pundits definition of the proverbial “six pointer” and is one game you’d be cautious about putting on your accumulator this weekend.

Interestingly, Radek Cerny, who has been out of the first team since January is set to start for Rangers, a gamble that Warnock is forced to take due to Carl Ikeme’s loan spell ending. Place could be without Danny Butterfield, but Lee Hills returns from suspension, allowing Clint Hill to return to his more natural position of centre -back.

Overall this is the game of the weekend for the football league; it has a script like a Hollywood drama. Both teams will be desperate for a win and I’d be surprised, particularly being a London derby, if the game isn’t a sell out, as Palace fans will be desperate to get one over Warnock, whereas QPR supporters will travel in the hope of seeing their team turn things around and get one step closer to safety. Eyes will be on what sort of reception Palace fans give Warnock, as it is expected to be a chorus of booing and jeering, yet some have suggested that the fans may put the fiasco aside and remember Warnock for all the good he did for the team. Putting feelings aside, the most important thing is what happens when the final whistle has gone and what the result is. Both teams need it bad in what is expected to be a cagey and heated affair.

Several teams have managed to put together some pretty decent runs in the Championship this season. All of them, though, are susceptible to poor form and bad results. This is partly because this is a tight league with little difference between top and bottom – especially compared with the Premier League – but also because few teams have the resources to really cope with injuries or suspensions.

Newcastle apart, it’s Queens Park Rangers who have probably received the most praise and media coverage over the last couple of months. Goals have been flying in from all angles, Derby were humiliated on terrestrial television and the passing style insisted upon by Jim Magilton has led to the club being dubbed ‘The Arsenal of the Championship’ on more than one occasion.

QPR, though, have problems. First of all they failed to find much flow against Leicester live on Sky and their winning run came to an abrupt end. A few days later they were denied again by a hard working Palace side who held them to a 1-1 draw. Even Rangers’ recent victory at Sheffield Wednesday needed a late winner to patch over a lack of fluency.

The cliche is that the top teams win even when they are playing badly, so in that respect the win at Hillsborough was an encouraging sign. Yet despite the individual brilliance of Akos Buzsaky, Adel Taraabt amd Wayne Routledge, QPR fans harbour concerns about how far their team can go this season.

The reason for this is The Captain Curse. Five separate players have already led the team out this season. Four of those players are currently injured. If Mikele Leigertwood was to be crocked in training this week, the chances are a sixth name would be added to that list. It’s only November!

Rangers are currently chronically low on genuine leadership. That’s not to say there isn’t plenty of endeavour. Defender Peter Ramage has a tremendous attitude. Wayne Routledge’s work ethic is outstanding for such a creative footballer. Jay Simpson is a tireless worker up front. But it feels like a quiet dressing room. Teams going for promotion need defiance, they need players in the team that will drive them forward when the going is tough. Sometimes, just playing great football isn’t quite enough.

It all started when poor Martin Rowlands suffered a second cruciate injury in a year while playing in a friendly for the Republic of Ireland, ruling him out for the rest of the season. It was a cruel blow for the QPR captain and also for the team because his energy, his drive and his snappy tackling add an extra dimension to the squad. Gavin Mahon took over the armband and the matchday programme notes as Rowlands prepared for a season watching from the sidelines. Mahon will have been with the club for two years in January and during that time he never missed a game through injury – until about a fortnight ago. He’s now out for four months following knee surgery. While not always a first team regular, Mahon is nevertheless a real leader and was captain of Watford the last time they paid a brief visit to the Premier League.

With defender Fitz Hall seemingly unable to put together a run of games in a QPR shirt without suffering injury, Rangers are certainly lacking a genuine captain. The possible signing on a permanent deal of current loan player Ben Watson in January would help (not least because QPR’s central midfield is now looking a bit thin), but ideally Rangers probably need something extra.

If the club is still in the top six after Christmas, it seems likely that Jim Magilton will be asking Chairman Flavio Briatore for a little more investment (Russell Martin of Peterborough is one name that has already been rumoured in the press). A couple of wise additions in January may well be enough to push Rangers over the line and back into the top flight for the first time in 14 years… unless The Captain Curse continues to strike down QPR’s leaders.

How much time will Jim Magilton be given at QPR?

Of the 24 teams that kicked off the Championship just under a year ago, eleven now have new managers. In the majority of cases, the manager was removed due to perceived failings. Being a Championship manager is like being a duck at a shooting gallery. It’s a question of ‘when’, not ‘if’, no matter how dumb the man holding the gun might be.

It’s a truism, but it all comes down to expectations. Two teams can be promoted automatically, another four can reach the play-offs. Yet by my reckoning seven clubs will expect to finish first or second and nine others will believe they can make the play-offs.

With kick-off still a few weeks away, two-thirds of the managers in this league are now giving optimistic interviews about challenging for the top six. Disappointment for most of them is therefore inevitable. And disappointment leads to jobless managers.

Here’s my top five managers most at risk as teams start their pre-season preparations:

1. Jim Magilton, QPR: The Rangers owners can dress it up any way they like, but the turnover of managers (or head coaches) at the club since Flavio Briatore arrived has been startling even by the bizarre standards football sets itself. QPR have now turned to Jim Magilton, deemed not good enough for Ipswich only a few weeks before his appointment at Loftus Road.

A spat with the Chairman or a poor start to the season could easily see Magilton disappear from his post within a matter of months.  He has to be the favourite to go first.

2. Malky Mackay, Watford: Another new manager who could potentially be at risk early in the season. Watford seem destined to lose talisman Tommy Smith to Sheffield United, and even though the surprisingly high £1.8m fee will be welcome, his departure will be a real blow.

Watford are now a far cry from Boothroyd’s big, dangerous side of a a few years back and if they start badly the club may decide to cut their losses and, against recent practice, opt for a more experienced hand.

3. Gareth Southgate, Middlesbrough: If Southgate had been in charge of any other established Premier League club and turned in the results he did last season, he would be out of a job.  Famously, he belittled Sven Goran Eriksson after England’s 2-1 World Cup defeat to Brazil in 2002, claiming that the team needed Winston Churchill at half time, not Iain Duncan Smith.

I wonder if he recalled those words when his team lost 3-0 to rock bottom West Brom, 4-1 to Bolton or 5-0 at home to Chelsea. The management game, he must now realise, is more than spouting a bit of loud rhetoric at half time.

Steve Gibson always backs his managers but if Boro fall towards mid-table (or worse, as Sunderland did a couple of years back), Gibson may have no other option than to advise Southgate to go back to the pizza commercials.

4. Roberto di Matteo, West Brom: This was truly an appointment out of the left-field. It was as if the West Brom board were so flush from receiving £2m from Celtic for a manager that had just relegated their club, that, like a gambler who believes he’s on a roll, they decided to bet high on a pair of deuces. I mean, the Albion job is a big job these days.

Di Matteo did well at MK Dons, but in truth he was managing a team already built by Paul Ince and one that had a significant financial advantage over most clubs in League One.

It’s a brave decision, but West Brom fans are used to yo-yoing. They’ve had their spin down and now they will be expecting the corresponding spin up. Di Matteo is under significant pressure.

5. Chris Coleman, Coventry: As with the Premier League, there will always be one surprise who’ll go early. I’ll plump for Coleman. He has had time to consolidate at Cov and the board will be expecting something much greater than last season’s finish of 17th.

Only four teams won less home games than Coventry last season and Cookie must somehow find a way to turn that cavernous stadium into an intimidating place to visit.

Now it’s over to you. Who do you think will be first to go? Maybe Shearer won’t be able to take the heat? Or perhaps Gary Johnson will be poached by the Premier League. Let us know below.

St Mary's Stadium will host League One football next season

Sheffield Wednesday, QPR, Manchester City, Wimbledon (aka MK Dons), Leeds, Oldham, Nottingham Forest, Swindon, Leicester, Barnsley, Bradford. Soon to be joined by another two and probably three in Charlton, Southampton and Norwich. All these clubs have tasted the sweet nectar of life in the Premier League only to later sup at the workaday bitterness of League One. In Bradford’s case, even League Two.

If Norwich go down, as seems likely, that’s 14 teams who have played against the best and slipped to the third tier of English football in the last 17 years. In a game full of startling statistics, that seems pretty mind-boggling. It might hearten fans of Saints and Addicks that a decent portion of those teams have at least made it back to the Championship. Indeed, this time last year Leicester were belly-up and now they are like a horny young salmon, leaping back upstream to play with the bigger boys and girls once more.

In a sense, this shows the outstanding strength in depth of the English leagues. Unlikely teams including Bradford, Swindon, Hull, Stoke, Wigan and Reading all made huge strides in the last decade and a half to reach the top of the mountain. Yet it does not take much to find yourself back at base camp in double-quick time.

It can be put down to poor money management. It can be blamed on carelessness and poor decision-making. But the shocking thing this year is that two clubs who have often been held up as excellent examples of how a medium-sized club should be managed are either already down or simply waiting for the trap door to open.

When Sheffield Wednesday, Man City, QPR, Leicester and Leeds fell into League One, the structure at the clubs was poor and all of them had dealt inadequately with the money the EPL gave them. But Charlton and Norwich do not seem to fall into this category. Charlton have cleverly developed a fanbase from all over Kent and steadily improved a stadium that was derelict 20 years ago. Norwich had more than their fair share of problems in the boardroom in the 90s, but they have a city dedicated to the team, a real sense of community and Delia Smith providing heart and soul as well.

For those two clubs, the short term might be unpalatable, but the feeling is that the long term might be rosy. They are sensible clubs. If they cut costs, appoint the right managers and keep expectations sensible, they could return a stronger unit, like Leicester appear to be doing.

Southampton, though, could be a different story. Not so long ago they had a new stadium, Gordon Strachan had taken them to the Cup Final and they were the latest in a long line of clubs hoping to break into the top six of the EPL. Now the money is gone. The stadium is not being filled. The stars of their youth system have almost all been sold in an effort to balance the books. Rumours of a takeover notwithstanding, it seems likely that Andrew Surman and Adam Lallana will now have to be sold as well.

Around this time of year a lot of pundits make long faces and say it’s a shame for this team or that team to go down. They are saying it about Newcastle now, but is it a shame when clubs the size of Southampton are relegated to League One? Would we prefer to see the smaller clubs, like Doncaster or Blackpool, get relegated, to keep the status quo?

I don’t think so. I think it’s a healthy situation that big clubs occasionally taste life in the bottom half of the Football League. It’s good for football that so-called small teams like Peterborough can play at Championship level.

With dreams of winning the Premier League unrealistic for fans of all clubs except perhaps five – six at a push – the dream has perhaps been downshifted to glory in the Championship and a chance to merely get in the ring with the big boys.

The difference this season compared to others is that three clubs who have all played at the top level within the last four years are (probably) heading down. Not only should that be a lesson to clubs currently happy in the Premier League, it should be a warning. There are at least half-a-dozen Premier League clubs who could be facing the same crisis as Southampton in three or four years time.

Supporting QPR requires a person to be able to switch emotions between exasperation, anger, incredulity, despair and, on rare occasions, joy on an almost daily basis.

1st September 2007. I stood outside Loftus Road looking in silence at the memorial laid by fans for our young striker Ray Jones who had been tragically killed in a car crash. As I turned to enter the stadium a vehicle pulled up and from it emerged then Chairman Gianni Paladini along with the man about to buy the club, Flavio Briatore.

For years Rangers had been struggling with finances, seemingly always only days away from a second spell in administration (unlike most clubs, QPR emerged from an administration period worse off than when they went in). Now, just as the club had reached the lowest possible point with the death of a young striker, there was just a semblance of hope. As Briatore crossed the road the silence was broken by an ovation. No cheers, just clapping hands, a sign of thanks and appreciation.

For a while, things were actually pretty good as the club turned to an Italian none of us had heard of, Luigi De Canio. Along with a slew of signings including Fitz Hall, Matthew Connolly, Patrick Agyemang and most importantly the sublime Akos Buzsaky and the mercurial Rowan Vine, De Canio dragged us up the table pretty quickly. There was an annoying penchant for conceding late goals and the away form was shaky, but at Loftus Road fans were treated to the best football in years. Two 3-0 thrashings against promotion-chasing sides Stoke and Bristol City in particular were an absolute joy. We were rich. We were scoring goals. We loved the manager. All was right with the world.

But since April of 2008 very little has been right with the world. Buzsaky and Vine both became injured and between them have played less than five times in the last 12 months. The cultish De Canio left the club under uncertain circumstances, no one quite sure whether he was homesick, whether the players were frustrated by his lack of English or whether he was always only a stop-gap to stave off relegation.

In addition, despite boasting a Board worth billions of pounds, season ticket prices shot up – in some cases by as much as 50% when taking into account discounts for the previous season. There were grumbles, but fans conceded that if we wanted success and more good players then perhaps we should have to pay for it.

There were all kinds of rumours about who the next manager might be (the most outlandish being Zinedine Zidane) but in the end the man chosen was a decidedly unglamorous Iain Dowie.

In a blaze of publicity, QPR managed to sign Real Madrid starlet Daniel Parejo on a one year loan deal, a player Arsenal were rumoured to have offered £10m for only a few months earlier. There were concerns about the lack of a top class striker at the club, but otherwise hopes were high.

A decent start soon went sour. Emmanuel Ledesma, a loan signing from Italy, scored one of the most perfect hat-tricks I have ever seen against Carlisle in the League Cup, but soon lost form and never recovered. Parejo showed flashes of brilliance, but struggled to adapt to the English game. Both have since left the club early. Dowie’s initial expansive football quickly gave way to a more defensive game, causing rows with Briatore. By October he was gone.

Paulo Sousa’s time in charge has been mixed. Some excellent results – a scintillating 3-2 home win against Preston and a 3-0 destruction away at Blackpool – have been enjoyable, but with Buzsaky and Vine still injured, Agyemang joining them and new signing Heidar Helguson seemingly unsure of fitness from one week to the next, the problem of scoring goals has persisted, resulting in some very dull 0-0 draws.

About a month ago, the club trumpeted the return of the Early Bird Discount Scheme whereby existing season ticket holders and members could buy a season ticket for next season at the same price as last season as long as they bought it by mid-April. How the word ‘Discount’ was allowed to be in that offer has been discussed at length, because there was no discount. In fact, because of the VAT reduction, it was actually an increase on last year’s prices. Having sat through a fair amount of turgid football (although at least for once we have been top half for a whole season) fans were furious.

Revolution has been brewing for some time and the whole sorry mess regarding the sacking of Paulo Sousa for apparently revealing ‘secrets’ about the club to a fan has brought things to a head. Sousa may not have set the club alight, but he has had just six months. He is not responsible for buying players and Sporting Director Gianni Paladini has failed badly in this regard to acquire strikers of an ability to make us into a team worthy of promotion. He continues to appear to wield a disproportionate amount of power at the club despite being a former agent who has never coached, never managed and has been responsible for bringing a number of sub-standard players to the club on big contracts.

Indeed, it seems possible that Paladini’s signing of Gary Borrowdale in January precipitated the current crisis. Borrowdale was signed on loan in November with a permanent signing also agreed. Sousa was not impressed and Borrowdale never started a game and has been shipped out to Brighton on loan. In retrospect it appears possible that this may have caused something of a power struggle between the coach and the sporting director.

Sousa was an outstanding footballer and a man of honour. A few years ago QPR could never have dreamed of attracting a man of his standing to the club, and now it has booted him out on an embarrassing technicality. He deserves better.

The PR machine at QPR has quickly gone into overdrive, relegating the story of the sacking of the manager to the fifth item on its news page only hours after the initial announcement (where Sousa, bizarrely, was referred to as Paulo De Sousa) and proudly crowing about a 5% reduction in season ticket prices, as if that makes everything okay.

Of course, it makes nothing okay. QPR fans are in a terrible situation. We were desperate for a takeover, for someone with money to have faith in the club. Now we have it and the club is a circus, a shambles, an embarrassment. It is starting to make Newcastle look like a well-run ship.

And who is going to manage this club now? No one seems capable of lasting more than around six months in the job and even a minor run of poor results could mean the sack, as could a disagreement with Briatore or Paladini. Some people have mentioned Darren Ferguson or Gary Johnson but neither have any reason to risk their good names. At the QPR circus, the coach cannot be the Ringmaster, which usually makes him the clown.

I go to football for entertainment. On Monday when Rangers will undoubtedly lose to Sheffield Wednesday, I am dreading the ugly atmosphere that will flood the stands.

The Carling Cup returns on Tuesday and four Championship sides are still in the mix for the Cup.Here are the fixtures for Round Four of the Carling Cup.

Derby County v Leeds United – Pride Park Stadium 2:45 pm est

Swansea City v Watford – Liberty Stadium 2:45 pm est

Manchester United v QPR – Old Trafford 3:00 pm est

November 12:

Chelsea v Burnley – Stamford Bridge 2:45 pm est

Round Five will be played the week of December 1st. When the draw is announced I’ll post who and where the remaining Championship Clubs will be playing.

Ian Dowie was sacked by QPR only 15 games into his tenure. The Rangers are sitting in 9th place in the CCC. His contract was terminated with immediate effect. The official QPR site posted that Dowie had been sacked but no reason was given. It is thought that in-fighting within the board and Dowie was rumored to clash with board members on transfer policies as well. Gary Ainsworth has been appointed caretaker manager and will take charge of his first game at Reading.