It was to be the season QPR were sensible in the Premier League, lead by a revived Harry Redknapp and the humble but deadly Charlie Austin. Sadly for Rangers fans, Redknapp was anything but revived and Austin was not capable of holding together the ramshackle of a club on his own. QPR leave the Premier League without having as much made a dent on it.
Rangers limped throughout the Premier League season as if they never believed they were rightly there in the first place. A Bobby Zamora goal in the 90th minute sent QPR up, despite the masses all wanting a Derby Promotion. In such an instance one would expect defiance. A season fighting against the tide of opinion that QPR are a club ran poorly, and with little foresight.
What was served up meanwhile, was a club with poor planning, an unfit manager (and subsequent replacement), players with little courage of will to fight for the club, and an ownership who continue to talk, not act often, but when they do, make a mess of it. The only semi-endearing aspect of Rangers season is of course Charlie Austin.
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The former non-league man, who was recently called up by Roy Hodgson for the upcoming England friendlies, has perhaps the only figure of defiance throughout the season for Rangers. Austin found the back of the net 18 times in the Premier League this season, with five assists too. Austin was making a direct contribution to a goal for Rangers every 133 minutes – a fine effort for any striker in world football.
If the high point of the season was Austin’s call up, it won’t have lasted that long because the low point was undoubtedly relegation – losing 6-0 away to Manchester City in a match where it felt like it could have been ten. Other than that the biggest player disappointment may have nee Zarate. Harry Redknapp wanted someone to ease the burden of goals on Austin and thought taking Zarate on loan from West Ham would help. But they were shocked by his lack of fitness on arrival and he made just four appearances.
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In contrast Leroy Fer was a fine signing at £8.5m and came to the fore in the latter half of the season, deployed in the number 10 position behind Charlie Austin. Sadly for Rangers though, even if he did want to stay he will surely have to leave the club, as he is presumably on high wages.
Next season QPR need a massive clear out. Players like Vargas, Isla, Fer, Ferdinand, Dunne just to name a few all have either nothing to give physically or mentally. While his qualities remain conspicuous, Chris Ramsey’s full-time appointment may help bring some normalcy to the club who continue to struggle with their identity and place in the football league. Promotion next season will be on the agenda for fans at least but it is a tough ask and many players will be leaving this summer, but it’s what the supporters will expect. If QPR are not at least in the play-offs it will be deemed a failure next season.
Season verdict: E