The QPR season preview 2023/24 is bleak, to say the least.
QPR’s grim return from the final 30 games of last season in the Championship would equate to a meagre 31 points over a full campaign, and things didn’t really improve under Gareth Ainsworth.
Sure, QPR have some talented players in Ilias Chair, Sam Field and Andre Dozzell, but with a squad ill-suited to Ainsworth's style, does his skillset extend far enough beyond motivation?
QPR season preview 2023/24, the fan's view: Clive Whittingham (@LoftForWords)
Last season was great, yeah. We were top of the league in late October and then the Premier League came for our manager. “I can’t be the first person to run away from the ship,” said Mick Beale. Then, after he’d been the first to run away from the ship (to Rangers in the end), we won two of 28 games. We could – probably should – have been relegated, but then we won away at the best team in the league, landed on our wheels, pulled over and said, “What were you worried about?”
The big talking point is pulling the Gareth Ainsworth nostalgia lever. The football has been bracing; do we really want to continue with that? It seems we do. Director of football Les Ferdinand resigned as they are poles apart on the type of signings Ainsworth wants.
The fans’ opinion of the gaffer is alarm. We scrambled two wins, both with 20 per cent possession. At Burnley a central midfielder attempted one pass in 67 minutes, completing zero. Ainsworth is loved as an ex-player and respected for his work at Wycombe, but there’s a lot of apprehension now.
Our key player will be Ilias Chair – if he’s here. Players may need to be sold to bridge an FFP gap caused by our overspend in 2021/22. In that climate, Lyndon Dykes inking a new contract was a pleasant surprise.
Fans think our owners are benevolent but poor at the job. We lose £2m per month, per the last accounts, and their decision-making is all over the place, but they pay for everything and just spent £20m on a new training ground that was desperately needed. We’re kept alive by their benevolence but killed by their incompetence.
The thing my club really gets right is their promotional video for season tickets – with the prices raised. After a record 12 home defeats, five goals at the Loft End all season and one win in our last 15 games at Loftus Road, the tagline was, ‘Routines never change’. Essentially: “Well, what else are you going to do on a Saturday?” Nailed it.
We’ll finish with Ajax Youth Bot 3.6 trying to explain 4-box-2 formations to Josh Scowen, after Ainsworth is sacked in October amid poor results and a hail of criticism about the style.
Season previews for the Premier League, League One and League Two are all available HERE
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