QPR fans give us the lowdown on tomorrow's opponents
Ahead of Saturday's clash at Loftus Road, Bluemoon caught up with members of the WeAreTheRangersBoys.com forum to get the lowdown on the opposition...
What are your expectations for this season?
Geng: I think we'll stay up as there are a few shocking sides in the league this year.
oldhoop: We will escape relegation - just.
Are you happy with the manager?
G: No. The guy is a complete joke. Lazy, outdated, been at a higher level, here for a last payday, doesn't truly care what happens to the club beyond the end of his contract; he's the managerial equivalent of all the has-been players we've signed and regretted in the past few years (Bosingwa, Park, Rio etc) and that attitude filtered down to the players.
It seems after we lost pathetically to West Ham a few weeks back the media finally cottoned on to the fact he is a total dinosaur who can't really compete with modern managers and doesn't seem to know or care how to fix things. He got the kicking he deserved (from our fans and some of the media).
Since then - and this only took two years and £6m in wages - he has started looking interested, and our performances have improved. These past few weeks we've actually looked like we have a tactical plan, for the first time since we joined the club (ignore the promotion, we were poor all year and got through thanks to having a relative budget equivalent to City + Chelsea combined in the PL).
I would still sack him tomorrow if I could. He wants to sign Defoe and Crouch in January, says it all. The man is a cancer on our club.
oh: Sort of. What's the alternative? The only one that we would all (or nearly all) be happy with is Pulis, which in itself tells a tale as I never thought I would want him near my team! There are rumours about Harry's mental wellbeing and he is surrounding himself with an army of coaches (we've just got another one from Spuds!) which suggests uncertainty and a lack of direction and assertiveness. Why do we need all these people giving different ideas? This can only lead to confusion as to what is expected of each individual and the team as a whole.
Who are your key players?
G: Since we've reverted to a fairly basic 442 recently it's been Zamora. He stole a living from us for two years then popped up to score the play off winner and made himself a cult hero. This season he seems halfway bothered about playing for us, and he's vital to our 'knock it to the big man and see what happens' game.
oh: Zamora and Charlie. When one, either, or, god forbid, both get injured we have nothing at all up front!
Were you happy with the business conducted during the transfer window?
G: Selling our only specialist right back was stupid, and maybe Rio was a bad idea. Not having a Remy replacement lined up was also daft, especially if we have to have never-fit Zamora as one of just three strikers. But generally pleased. We actually signed a bunch of players who would be decent long-term investments. First time that has happened in years.
oh: Yes. Fer, Caulker, Vargas and Sandro were all great bits of business. Ferdinand was a sentimental and very expensive extravagance.
Are there any rising stars in the squad that we might not have heard of?
G: Yun Suk-Young, Korean left-back. Harry inexplicably refused to play him for the past 18 months. Finally gave him a proper chance a few weeks ago and it turns out he's excellent.
oh: Yuk Sun Young full back who is already quietly catching the eye of the media.
Your Achilles heel?
G: The culture of the club. We're a place players go to get paid well, live in London and not work too hard at our joke of a training ground. That starts from the Chairman, runs through the manager, and filters through to the players.
oh: Not enough cover up front. We still need 2 more forwards and very soon we will be running on empty.
If you could have any City player in your team who would you choose?
G: David Silva. God I would love to watch a player like that every week. To win a random PL game tomorrow: Aguero or Toure, as Silva would be completely wasted on our static players and dinosaur manager ("run abaht a bit David").
oh: Silly question - Ageuro. The man is class.
What is your perception of City as a club?
G: It's weird how you've retained some residual likeability, despite being everything that's wrong with modern football. I suspect this is down to you being such a trainwreck for so long, people still hating United, and because everything single thing about Chelsea is just so objectively horrible. You're fun to watch and I'm not bored of you being good yet, partly because you keep messing up premier leagues you should be waltzing and partly because you're still crepe in Europe. Good luck to you.
oh: Actually like them, as your supporters are not arrogant t**ts like your neighbours and ours.
Likely starting XI for the game, and score prediction?
G: Green; YSY, Caulker, Dunne, Isla; Fer, Sandro, Henry, Vargas; Zamora, Austin. This is a great time for us to play you guys. 1-1.
oh: Green YSY Caulker Dunn Isla Sandro Vargas Fer Henry Zamora Austin, and I actually belive we will win 2-1.