uRRRs blogLife on the QPR rollercoaster, you just gotta ride it... |
Posted: September 18th 2009
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Boredom.
That was to be the theme of this blog. How the ‘never a dull moment’ QPR rollercoaster had meandered gently into the buffers and become suddenly, to all intents & purposes, motionless.
After 30 odd years of punching excitingly above our weight, followed by a decade and a bit of relegations, administration, guns in the boardroom, ‘international incident’ brawls and THE TAKEOVER...after years of mates who support other clubs espousing the ‘never a dull moment at QPR’ mantra without any prompting from me...well, we found ourselves in the middle of a moment duller than watching Mr Dull from Dullsville scooping the Dullard of the Year award.
Six games in. Four 1-1 draws, a 1-0 defeat and a 1-0 victory. Goal difference – big fat zero. Position in table – mid. Seventh game scheduled vs boring Crystal Palace postponed due to boredom.
The messageboards full of talk that trigger happy Flavio will already be filling in Magilton’s P45...that we have some tougher games coming up and he’ll be out of work before October’s out. But even that’s boring. We’re immune to the farcical managerial revolving door. If he goes, so what? If he stays, so what?
We’ve realised that the array of midfield talent we have is not going to deliver...that they’re all not the player we thought they’d be / not the player they were before injury / not being played in their best position. Last season we had one of the meanest defences and one of the most profligate attacks. This season is shaping up the same way. Amongst the likely dozens of 0-0s and 1-1s, we just have to hope there are more scraped 1-0s than unlucky 0-1s and our mid-table purgatory is assured, whatever the playing / management personnel.
Boring.
The media – bored. They don’t understand why our wealthy backers aren’t splashing the cash. They’ve moved on to Man City and Notts County. Adebayor and Sol Campbell make for better copy than the latest Arsenal youngster to be loaned out and an unheard of import from the Argentine second tier.
Last Saturday, my trip to W12 had to be called off at the last minute. I didn’t care. Went on the messageboards an hour after the end of the 1-1 (surprise) to read the ‘just got backs’. Anger, hmmm, a bit...but predominantly boredom. Then...
BANG!!!!!
We’re right back in the news...albeit by default / association. Il Duce, the man with the blue specs, our much-maligned leader, is slap bang in the middle of what The Times has called the worst case of cheating in sporting history.
The rollercoaster is back on track. We’re teetering on its precipice again. Will Flavio fall? Will he be pushed? Nightmare scenario...he goes, takes his mates with him, administration beckons. Dream scenario for many...he goes, takes Bernie with him (neither well liked), and filthy rich 20% shareholder Mr Mittal (in the shape of his media & fan-friendly eye candy son-in-law) takes the reins.
Alternative scenario...Flav stays, and dedicates more time to us. Which could mean nightmare scenario...even more unrest and rumours of his picking the team, getting his UEFA B license, playing himself centre mid...or dream scenario, he realises where it’s been going wrong (eg. dodgy ex-agent appointed Sporting Director and ballsing up the transfer policy giving us a bloated, imbalanced, demotivated squad), and gets busy to put things right and get his much-vaunted 4 Year Plan back on the rails.
It is against this backdrop that the fortnight leading up to the next international break sees five games...four away against high flyers Newcastle and Cardiff, a certain Chelsea FC in the League Cup (sorry, I’m a mature middle-aged man who can’t bring himself to do the ‘Chelscum’ / ‘Chelshit’ / ‘Chel***’ thing), and a struggling Swansea managed by one Paulo Sousa....and one at home against a Barnsley outfit who will probably come to town resplendent with the ‘resurgent’ tag if their Mark Robins-inspired win at Derby is anything to go by.
Phew...never a dull moment...