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A year in the life of a QPR fan
Part one
They say there is never a dull moment being a QPR fan, well I have to say that couldn't be truer. Over the last year we have had a wave of emotions and have gone from being favourates to promotion to mid table mediocracy. Where it went wrong is of course however up for debate.
Go back one year to this day and the mood at QPR was very positive. Pre season had just begun and most fans including myself expected big things in the coming season. While many were dissapointed of the appointment of Dowie, most of us remained positive and expected a good year ahead. Signings also seemed positive,even if not permanent. Dani Perejo certinally had us going. 'Maddrids greatest talent' and along with ledesma, and alberti who Gianni Paladini said would score '99 goals' had us thinking we had an unbeatable midfeild. And to be fair, it looked very strong. Especially with Cook, Buzsacky, Rowlands and Leigertwood also in the frame. Strikewise, like me, many thaught we were slightly weak however it might do. Memories of agemangs 7 game goal streak and dexters 14 goal season along with Vine coming back lingered in the mind.
Defensive wise I was also confident. Ramage seemed a good signing(I wish I could say that now
) and I could see Gorkks and Hall bringing a good partnership together. Ironically I saw Stewart as our weekest defender-how wrong I was!!!.So, the season kicked of admist massive excitment. Could this be the year Rangers finally get back to the promised land. Barnsley was our first stop. I remember that day very well. Rainy grey day, Unfortunley I couldnt be there as I had a family party but Sky sports had me going mental when Fitz scored his second
2-1 not a great start but it was a win and had us on our way. After a big loss to sheffield and a win against Doncaster, Southampton came our way. A 4-1 win propelled us to fourth place. We couldnt miss out now,surely? Saying that, even though the scoreline was big we still made a very poor saints side look good.
Villa in the Cup came soon. I wasnt there but the moment when it was confirmed we had won had me praising Iain Dowie! He was the man to take us up I thaught. This really was the high point of the season. While at Loftus Road the atmosphere was not upto its usual high standards the general feel was positive and most believed we had a real shot of getting at worst into the Playoffs.
Then of course came the sacking of Dowie before the Reading match. Gareth Ainsworth took over and took us to a deserved draw. Looking back on Dowie, I still believe to this day he was the wrong appointment. However I also believe that had we kept him we would have had a much more successful campaign than we did in the end. Dont get me wrong-the football under him was dire, but it never improved throughout the rest of the season.
End of part one-rest hopefully to come tomorrow :byebye:
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