QPR, Can they Progress?

Since Flavio Briatore and his millions arrived last summer, much was expected of QPR - and many leading pundits and fans alike expected them to at least reach the playoffs, if not automatic promotion. Alas, in what was the weakest championship division in many years, they staggered to a mid table finish, and it has to be asked has any improvement been made, and how can they progress in the future?

Well, firstly it's quite clear that the board are having far too much of an influence in team selections/transfers, something that isn't healthy for any club. The fact that they've had 6 managers in under 2 years is a testiment to how inconsitent they've been. Consider Wolves, they gave Mcarthy time and lo and behold he got them promoted, is that not a philosiphy QPR should take? There were rumours after Sousa left that they were going for Warnock, who, although a contreversial character, would have been perfect for a team like QPR. At the moment they have Gareth Ainsworth in temporary charge - His record as caretaker is decent, if not spectacular and he certainly has the desire for the job, but it's surely an experienced head they need right now, someone who knows the division?

In a way they've been sensible, by not splashing out on 100 million for players, and growing too quickly, and indeed they do have a lot of depth in their squad, but quantity not quality seems to be their motto at the moment. When Palace played at loftus road towards the back end of last season, they had two stand out players - Wayne Routledge, and the on loan Adel Tarrabt - the rest weren't anything special. In short, they were badly missing any fire power upfront. As good as "colombian god" Angelo Balanta is, he's no Kevin Doyle, Sylvain Ebanks Blake or even an Andy Johnson in days gone by. You can spend all the money you want improving the squad, but to get a striker that can fire in 25+ goals per season is virtually priceless.

It just does depend on how they play it - the board are showing some signs of sensible progression, but other signs of stupidity. The league, for me will be much tougher this year - of the teams coming up, Leicester and Peterbrough will have money to spend, and all of the relegated teams should be there or there abouts. Add teams like Swansea Preston, Sheffield United and Ipswich who will continue to improve and we should see a highly competitive league. 

They do have the potential to be the "5th london team", if you like - yes Fulham are in the premiership right now, but they have no where near the fanbase of Palace, QPR or Charlton. 

They will have to spend money this summer, of that there is no doubt - and a striker is an absolute top priority, however, most importantly they need to pick a manager who can offer them the stability and experience to help them progress.

RAG

Luton Town - A Sad Story

It's less than 4 years ago that Luton Town stepped out onto the Selhurst park pitch, backed by their 3,000 strong travelling support, in which Dowie had stupidly branded their "cup final". It was a game they won 2-1, and indeed for many parts of that season, they looked like getting into the playoffs.

Next season however, they will be lining up against the likes of Altrincham, Gateshead, and Grays Athletic a far cry from the days in the championship. But why have they fallen so far, and what can we learn from it?

Well, obviously the 30 point penalty this season meant that any survival would be frankly miraculous, as it would take an absolute genius to motivate players when such a severe penalty is handed out - and indeed they couldn't quite make up the points difference. Prior to that, financial difficulties, and other such problems meant a drop from almost the Championship to League 2 in successive seasons.

It does, for me anyway, make you appreciate how lucky we've got it with Palace - yes we're a bigger club than Luton, but still it shows how quickly you can drop, and with Warnock at the helm I don't see us doing a similar thing, for the time being at least.

But can Luton make it straight back up? Well, it'll be tough - going to places like Histon who play a very direct style on a tuesday night is a completely different kettle of fish to even league 2 football, so it will take time for them to get used to what is needed. Furthermore, they've been sinking for so long, it could be hard to get that winning mentality back - and in a league where only one team is garunteed promotion, a good start is crucial. However, most importantly, the standard in the Blue Square Premier next year is going to be very very high. Oxford United have made a number of signings, and have the fanbase and facilities to be in the football league - much like their rowing counterparts Cambridge. Chuck into the mix teams like Stevenage Borough, Wrexham and Mansfield, and you have a whole host of teams that could challenge Luton for that coveted first spot.

We may complain about Palace's poor run towards the end of last season, and although Luton are an extreme case, I think they are a shining example of why consistency is vital for any club - and why we are very very lucky to have such an experienced head in Warnock in charge of our club right now.

Steve Gibson: Too Loyal?

Well there's been a lot of comments from leading pundits, as well as supporters etc. praising Steve Gibson for giving Gareth Southgate a chance in the championship, but is this fantastic loyalty, and something other chairmen should strive to do, or is it stupidity and in a way cowardly, refusing to make changes even when something clearly needs to be changed.

Consider other clubs who were in similar situations to Middelsbrough throughout the season - Blackburn, Sunderland, Portsmouth to name just three, and they all changed their manager when things got tough - lo and behold they all stayed up. Yes, of course it isn't a given that Boro would have stayed up had a new manager come in, but if it was Palace in that position, I would have wanted a change - it did seem the players weren't playing for him, and the fans weren't, and aren't, behind him very much at all.

Ok, so he didn't have that much to spend, but two crucial mistakes were made. Firstly, why oh why didn't he replaced Schwarzer with an experienced keeper? Jones and Turnbull are ok, but not good enough for the premiership, so it was always going to be huge risk not replacing such a fantastic keeper, and with an already very inexperienced squad, it's something that a more wise manager probably wouldn't have done. Secondly, the signing of Alfonso Alves has proved to be a complete disaster. For me, signing foreign players is a big risk, especially when it completely blows your transfer budget. People can say that Wenger spends similar amounts on foreign players and nearly gets it right, but he's the best manager in the world, something that Southgate, unfortunatley, isn't right now.

However, with such a young squad, perhaps it was his first two seasons where Southgate overachieved, rather than an underachieving season this time around. Is it true to say that after such a long extended run in the premiership, a lot of their fans had forgotten that they are effectively a championship club with championship size fanbase?

They are probably best placed (along with West Brom), to mount a promotion challange this season out of the relegated teams, and although they will lose a couple of players (Tuncay and Downing being the most important) they will still keep hold of a lot, and will have the squad that should have the ability to go up if they make a couple of sensible signings

In a way I applaud Gibson for sticking with his man in the current "sack culture", but is he being too loyal? Several other chairman would've sacked Southgate, and possibly got someone in to keep Middlesbrough up. Despite sticking with their man, they have payed the ultimate price - and although they do have a good structure in place with their academy etc, they don't have the fanbase or facilities, or even finances of other teams and it will be by no means a walk in the park for them to go back up next season for them. They have everything in place to do so, but there are so many promotion contenders next year, that it'll take a very settled team and fantastic tactics from a couple of sides to win automatic promotion.

 Southgate was a legend as a player for Palace, but can he cut it as a manger? I'm not convinced, but the first 3-4 months of next season are absolutely crucial for him, and for Middelsbrough football club.

Will They Ever Learn?

Well, my first real post and where more appropriate to start than newcastle united. According to the BBC - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/newcastle_united/8068068.stm, it looks like Shearer will be joining the club permanently.

Look, I know you can't judge a manager after 8 games, especially when he took over in such difficult circumstances, but 5 points from 8 matches isn't a fantastic record whatever way you look at it, and there's no way any other manager would be taking the job with those stats. What newcastle need now is an experienced head, someone who knows the championship and someone that can stabalize the club. Dare I say it, a perfect appointment for them would be Neil Warnock. 

I hope it does work for them, although being a follower of Stevenage Borough i'm not a great fan (to say the least) of Shearer et al, they are a very very big club - and I hope they don't become the next Leeds, something which could well happen unless Ashley stops going for the ridiculous sentimental appointments, and gets someone in that is proven in the division.

Furthermore, what happens if they do get of to a bad start next year? Ashley will be petrified of sacking Shearer, incase the reaction is like when he sacked Keegan, but if he was to keep him on and they didn't go straight back up, it could be catastrophic for their future. I know all the newcastle fans want him, and to be honest most fans want a "messiah" but 99% of the time it doesn't work.

Consider Palace, after Dowie left at least 90% of our fanbase wanted Peter Taylor, a legend as a player and someone who many of us thought could take us to the promised land. However, he was quite frankly awful as a manger, negative subsitution, poor tactics, and terrible signings mean that we're still to some extent dealing with the negative side effects of his time in charge now. 

Going for ex-players, in my book, is a big mistake the vast majority of the time. I know they will go for Shearer, and I know the vast majority of the Newcastle fans will be delighted with the appointment, but it would so much wiser to go for a Warnock, a Curbishley, even a Martinez for example.

I wish them luck next season, but they've been hindered in recent seasons by making poor desicions, and appointing Shearer permanently could be their biggest one yet.

Hello Everyone

Hi everyone,

my name's Rowland or Rag whatever really. I'm a massive fan of Crystal Palace, but also follow Stevenage Borough, and am in general just a huge fan of football in general. On here I'll give my thought's to do with certain events and controversies in the sport, and reaction to games etc.

I'm pretty new to this blogging business, but we'll see how it goes!

Rag