Godfather’s thoughts on first few games
By The Godfather

There was a real sense of optimism amongst QPR fans as August 8th approached. A successful pre-season and the return of Vine, Buzsaky and Rowlands to first-team action left many supporters excited about the new campaign.

However, only a couple of weeks into the 2009/10 season and already that excitement has turned into concern. There’s no escaping the fact that it’s been a very disappointing start. The Rs have come up against three average teams and have only taken two points from a possible nine.

Some of the Rs’ approach play has been excellent, playing the ball around nicely and making use of the pace of Routledge and Taraabt. There have also been clear improvements in the full-back positions – Peter Ramage and Gary Borrowdale have looked solid so far. But it’s clear where the problems lie in the team.

That’s right, it’s the lack of a quality goalscorer. Super Hoops fans have had to suffer the agony of seeing chance after chance after chance squandered (with the exception of the Exeter City Carling Cup match). It was exactly the same last season.

Despite this, Rangers have only brought in one forward this summer – Allesandro Pellicori. The Italian has spent his entire career playing in the lower leagues of Italian football. Until he’s given an opportunity in the first team, who knows whether he’s good enough?

Is Pellicori really going to be the answer to the Rs’ problems? Without wanting to sound pessimistic, I’m not too sure. Like many other supporters, I was very surprised not to see the club invest in a striker who is proven in the Championship. Look at Michael Chopra at Cardiff City – he’s already fired the Bluebirds up to the top of the table. It just illustrates how much of a difference a quality goalscorer can make.

So, why has the club not splashed out on a decent striker? Perhaps Magilton thinks that the likes of Helguson and Agyemang can improve with some hard work on the training pitch. The trouble is that both are incredibly prone to injury.

For me, the more likely scenario is that Magilton may not be being supplied with enough money to spend on a striker. In order to achieve success in this division the club needs to invest in some quality players with Championship experience. Rangers are only a few players away from being a decent side and I feel the time is right for the people in charge to make a statement to the fans about their reasoning in this area.

One thing is for sure; sacking the manager at this stage of the season is not the answer. It would only serve to reinforce the club’s current reputation as "a Circus". Everyone knows that stability is needed to challenge at the top of the Championship table.

I’ve said it before on WATRB – the Board appointed Jim Magilton and it is their responsibility to try to make it work. That means supplying him with transfer funds and giving him some time to make his mark on the team. Let’s hope that we see the signing of a quality striker before the end of the transfer window.