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Some thoughts on Blackstock's departure
By thegodfather

Over the last couple of years, we have seen thread after thread on the message boards discussing the positive and negative aspects of Dexter Blackstock’s game. He is someone who very much divided the Queens Park Rangers fanbase. Some will be pleased that he has signed for Nottingham Forest, others will be very disappointed.

I will be honest with you all. I was not Blackstock’s greatest fan. The very best strikers in this division create space with their off-the-ball running and at times I felt that Dexter’s movement was not what it ought to be at this level. In short, I didn’t think that Blackstock was someone who struck fear into the hearts of his opponents.

Nevertheless, unlike some of our other forwards last season, Dexter could score. And, let us face it, that is a striker’s primary purpose. In my view, Blackstock’s equalising goal against Coventry City at Loftus Road last season summed up his time at Queens Park Rangers. Pouncing on a massive “hoof” (which really should have been cleared by the Sky Blues defence), he bravely headed the ball past the onrushing goalkeeper and into the back of the net. Not the prettiest of finishes, but an equalising goal – and an important one at that. Blackstock scored many similar to that throughout his Rs career.

Arguably his best form came in the 2006/07 season. After forming an impressive partnership with the young Ray Jones, he went on to score 14 times. Even his critics would have to agree that these goals played a massive role in the club’s survival that year.

Many expected Dexter to continue his rich vein of form into the next season. However, tragedy struck. Ray Jones, the talented young forward who clearly had such a bright future ahead of him, died in a car accident. Many argued that Blackstock never regained his goalscoring touch in a hooped shirt after Jones’ untimely death. Dexter struggled to gain a place in the starting line-up for the rest of the campaign.

Things did improve last season for the former Southampton striker. Given an opportunity to impress by new manager, Iain Dowie, Blackstock went some way to regaining his finishing touch. When Paulo Sousa was appointed though, Dexter found himself confined to the substitutes’ bench for much of the Portuguese’s tenure. He spent the last few weeks of the season on loan at what would be his future team, Nottingham Forest.

Has Blackstock made the right decision to move on to the City Ground? Possibly. Maybe he needs a fresh start in his career. His last two seasons at Queens Park Rangers have not been particularly successful with managers coming and going every few months. Nottingham Forest have spent a lot of money this summer and perhaps Dexter thinks that they are a better bet for promotion than the Rs. We shall have to wait and see whether the striker has made the right decision to leave Loftus Road.

The departure of Blackstock means that the club needs to sign a replacement very quickly indeed. Dexter was the only striker who managed to net a decent scoring total last season. Can the team really rely on Helguson and Agyemang for the goals? The new striker may well come in the shape of Pellicori, the Italian trialist. However, I can’t help thinking that Rangers need to look for someone with a proven track record in this division.