Published: 22 April, 2012
Premier League
QPR 1, Spurs 0
by DAN CARRIER

IT has been a devastating few weeks and this was the moment that Spurs really kissed goodbye their Champions League challenge.

At QPR, they huffed, puffed and tried to blow the Rangers defence down, but, essentially, everything that has gone wrong in the past few weeks was laid bare on the Loftus Road pitch.

From the off, the confidence just wasn’t there. They started in a shaky fashion with Kyle Walker and Brad Friedel getting in a muddle on five which prompted some words between them. It was a team that looked shorn of all confidence, and Rangers’ no-nonsense approach was the last thing a side licking their wounds wanted to face.

Despite such wobbles, a nice move by Luka Modric on 18 forced a corner: the little Croatian got the bit between his teeth and prompted a rally. He began dashing into the places the Rangers defenders were not comfy about. The resulting corner saw a Bale header go goalwards but was well tipped over by Paddy Kenny. Then a long ranger from van der Vaart saw Kenny pull off another solid save.

But just as Spurs got their mojo working, former Spur Adel Taarabt made the headlines. His well-placed free-kick on 23 put the home side a goal up. He had won the free-kick, too – drawing a tackle from Sandro that looked fair. A replay showed an accidental handball.

Spurs revved the engines again on 29, with VDV stinging Kenny's palms and then Defoe heading the rebound on to the roof of the net, but found QPR resolute when push came to shove.

The second half saw Spurs playing far too narrow to get the breaks they needed, and Rangers held on for a well-earned three points.

So what has gone wrong? How can the season where I was seriously dreaming of a potential title challenge have turned into such a nightmare?

In goal…

You can't really fault Friedel for the footballing equivalent of the credit crunch. He has remained consistently good throughout.

In defence…

Should Benoit Assou-Ekotto be given the odd day off, especially as we've reached spring? This was his 34th league game. He has an able deputy in Danny Rose, a player who is desperate to prove himself, and could have given those around him a lift simply by the fact he'd run his guts out.

Kyle Walker could also have done with not being played week in, week out post-Christmas – but with Vedran Corluka out of the picture, Harry has few options.

In the centre-back spot, we've looked unusually dodgy. The season has caught up with Ledley King, while we've been hugely unlucky to lose the impressive Younes Kaboul to injury, as we have with Michael Dawson. But the injury list – which now includes Ryan Nelson – makes it even more annoying that Harry didn't manage to keep Sebastien Bassong a little happier.

In midfield…

Luka Modric didn't want to know right at the beginning, got into the swing of things when the August transfer window closed, but has been looking a little unsettled since the England job rumours began circulating. Against Chelsea in the FA Cup, it seemed that he was exasperated by his teammates. He didn't do the £40million player thing when we needed him to: and because he is so incredible when he does put in a shift, his non-match-winning performances tend to stand out.

Scott Parker doesn't deserve criticism: he has gritted his teeth throughout the downturn, and even though he has looked tired at times, he has always done everything in his power to prompt those around him.

Gareth Bale has been pretty consistent all season – his rare off days have nothing to do with our slump. But a frequent gripe is the use of the floating Bale tactic: we want to see him steam down and the left and kill any poor player unlucky enough to be detailed to get in his way. As the fans sang as he wandered inside: “He plays on the left, he plays on the left, Gareth Bale, he plays on the left…”

Aaron Lennon has been wonderful at times – and it seemed no coincidence that we looked unbalanced while he snagged a hamstring.

Sandro has been seen rarely, but has also looked up for it and decent when given the chance. He deserves to be the main defensive midfielder in a team, and so I wonder if we'll hang on to him come the end of the term.
Jake Livermore has been the breakthrough act of 2011-2012. It remains to be seen if he will make the step up to demand a first-team spot, but the basics are there.

Up front…

Emannuel Adebayor has shown us his best. At times, he can be the fulcrum of our attacks, score vital goals, and hustle and bustle with purpose. But his atrocious first touch at times has made me hang my head in despair, while when one-on-one with a keeper, you somehow don't favour him.

Rafael van der Vaart has impressed with his attitude, and the slump isn't down to a lack of sweat. But for a forward, does he score enough? This term he has only hit nine league goals this term.

Jermain Defoe has not done enough it seems to warrant a place in the first XI, and we've seen him only sporadically since the collapse happened. But he doesn't seem content to be an Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, which is what we've so desperately needed in this spring – someone to come on and change the game, grab a vital late goal. Defoe hasn't done that for us.

Louis Saha. Apart from the performance against Newcastle – which was the best team effort of the season – it's very hard to say whether his purchase has had any bearing on why our form has disappeared.

Three reasons I want QPR to stay up:

1. My hugely unscientific research suggests that QPR is an affordable place to watch Premiership football. I base this on the fact I saw lots of parents taking their kids to the ground, the quality of fare served in their hotdog booths in the stands (let's just say, I'm pleased I wasn't hungry) and the fact the ground still has a nice non-corporate, 1970s feel to it – it's a bit of a tiddler in terms of scale. The press box, up in the gods, makes you feel like you are playing a game of Subbuteo.

2. QPR is a nice place to get to if you are a Spurs fan – especially compared to West Ham and Chelsea. No big scary looking blokes giving it aggro in the streets beforehand, just friendly football fans quietly going about their business. There is also a very good chip shop called, wait for it, Ocean Billy's, with a handy wall outside to sit on and eat the well-cooked inexpensive grub on offer. Also, White City tube station is lovely, a fact celebrated by the Festival of Britain plaque on its wall.

3. Adel Taarabt is such a wonderful player to watch, and I am often a little sad he couldn't hack it at Spurs. I'd like to see him continue to try his luck in the top tier. Good luck for the rest of the season, Superhoops.