QPR have an incredible opportunity ahead of them – three points off the play-offs with the bottom two to come at home and an FA Cup tie away at destitute West Ham in front of 9,000 away fans.

QPR (10-5-9 WWLWDL 9th) v Norwich (5-6-13 LDWDWL 23rd)

Mercantile Credit Trophy >>> Thursday January 1, 2026 >>> Kick Off 15.00 >>> Weather – Cold and bright >>> Loftus Road, London, W12

As both regular readers know, these match previews don’t write themselves at the best of times, and the best of times is not 17.57 on New Year’s Eve (you and yours, wish you the best, love and hugs, etc).

We frequently delve back into history to fill the quota of 48 each season and when one message boarder started listing the similarities between this and the Steve McClaren year it’s rather stuck in my mind – particularly with some of the things we saw at West Brom on Monday night.

McClaren was here for the 2018/19 campaign, taking over from Ian Holloway who, like Marti Cifuentes, was flawed but also very popular and widely seen to be doing the job he’d been asked to do in very difficult and trying circumstances. Big earners were being moved on, the average age of the squad was being forced down, promising youngsters like Paul Smyth, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Ebere Eze, Ryan Manning, Ilias Chair and so on were getting minutes. A change was made all the same.

The summer activity and pre-season did not survive the harsh light of the Championship come August. This year was our worst start to a league season since then. On both occasions we started with Preston, and played poorly. That year we lost the first four, this year we drew one and lost three. On both occasions we lost game four 7-1 away from home in the Midlands – then at West Brom, this time at Coventry. A 7-1 away defeat is unusual, it's a product of unique circumstance, and we've done it twice.

On both occasions this prompted a change in tack. McClaren demanded, and got, a load of experienced players on loan. Geoff Cameron, Tomer Hemed, Angel Rangel, Nahki Wells – his “team of men”. This time we went out immediately after Coventry and added Isaac Hayden, Koki Saito and Rhys Norrington Davies, with Richard Kone the week before. McClaren ditched many of the youngsters he was brought here as “super coach” to develop, bar the exceptional Eze. Ryan Manning found himself on loan at Rotherham, Bright Osayi-Samuel couldn’t get a game for love nor money – something that would come back to haunt us when Mark Warburton picked both because they were obviously good players, but were now at the end of their contracts and thought “fuck you lot I’ll go and get paid more elsewhere”. Julian Stéphan abandoned the possession-based, build-out-from-the-back “game model” he’d been brought here to coach and went much more direct with a 4-4-2. QPR haven’t won a game in which they’ve had more possession than the opponent since last February. Ironically, Stéphan’s QPR look more like an Ian Holloway side first time around.

Both McClaren and Stéphan enjoyed excellent autumns. QPR responded to that Coventry humiliation by winning three league games in a row and five of the next eight. After losing the first four, McClaren’s side then won four and drew one of five games. Both managers received heavy criticism for making wholesale changes and tossing away winnable League Cup ties at League One teams – Blackpool back then, Plymouth more recently.

McClaren’s side had a really hot run in the autumn where they won five of seven. Big spending, pre-season promotion favourites Aston Villa were beaten under the lights at Loftus Road on one of the great nights. Brentford were knocked over 3-2 in a dramatic grudge match where Rangers let loose and scored three times in ten minutes. Julian Stéphan’s team have also had a hot autumn run in which they won five of seven games. Big spending, pre-season promotion favourites Birmingham City were beaten under the lights at Loftus Road on one of the great nights. Leicester were knocked over 4-1 in a dramatic grudge match where Rangers let loose and scored four goals in the first half.

Both teams had huge, symbolic results the week before Christmas. McClaren became the unlikely QPR manager to win for the first time in 35 attempts at Nottingham Forest on December 22, Stéphan got the result his paymasters craved more than any other by humiliating Cifuentes on his return to W12.

If the comparisons continue then there’s good news and bad news.

The good news, for the 9,000 lucky souls with West Ham tickets, is that McClaren’s team did a very un-QPR thing of embarking on a January run in the FA Cup. They knocked out Leeds at Loftus Road in the third round, then overcame a seriously awkward away trip to Portsmouth with the aid of a replay to go into round five. It remains our best performance in that competition since 1996/97 and Trevor Sinclair’s bicycle kick.

The bad news is, to accomplish all of that, McClaren ran a very small, select group of players on take-off power way longer and harder than the manufacturer recommended. I guess you could forgive him that with a generational talent like Eze, but even he had a very poor second half to that season having been run into the ground. Hemed ducked out of the winter with a hernia. There was a 4-1 home loss to Preston in the January weekend we’re this year facing Wrexham, which set alarm bells ringing. We all remember the astonishing comeback from four goals down at home to Birmingham that nearly added to the annuls of Newcastle and Port Vale, but we were 4-0 down after half an hour in that game and not against a good side either.

There was nothing left in the tank. Luke Freeman won a home game against Leeds by himself – and that’s not the standard LFW hyperbole, he literally did, any of the few who turned up that night to see it will testify. The team had lost seven league games in a row before that one (February 26), and it won none of the next seven either (D3 L4). The team was just completely gassed, had nothing left, the questionable team selections that people reluctantly accepted when things were going well turned into outright fan revolt when one of Schteve’s substitutions got aborted halfway through because it sparked something approaching a riot. He was fired with the team cratering down the table in late March.

I think we’ve got a far better team, and deeper squad, now than we had then. But there are a couple of pinch points in this side that ring alarm bells. And it’s a big week this, coming up.

I have gone out of my way to praise the summer recruitment, for adding pace and power and physicality and athleticism to a team which had none of that last season. It showed good learnings, and we’ve made progress from last season to this. This is a process, steady and sure, in a league where teams are allowed to spend extortionate sums more than us. However, we did take a team that had issues at full back and central midfield last season and turn it into a team that has issues at full back and central midfield this. Rhys Norrington Davies palpably cannot do three-game weeks (why there’s an online clamour to make permanent the emergency loan recruit of somebody who’s already in that physical state at 26, beats me) and our cover on both sides of the defence is youngsters who are out of position, not up to the level, or both.

Stéphan and McClaren were both experienced, both had success on the continent, and both took pragmatic action after a disastrous start to their seasons to keep their jobs and get their teams up the league.

I’d never compare Madsen to Eze, obviously, except to say that we have one central midfielder who can play the ball forwards and we are running him into the ground, just as McClaren did with the player he knew would get him out of the shit. I know why the manager doesn’t rest Madsen, because there’s nobody else like him in the squad, he’s our most important player in that regard, but he looked done to me at West Brom. Injured, probably; knackered, certainly. If he can’t play tomorrow, then what do you do in that spot? Whenever we pair combinations of Field/Hayden/Morgan in there together we get performances like Oxford at home (I won’t specify because I don’t need to, pick either one).

McClaren ultimately lost his job because the skeletal remains of his squad contrived to lose at home to the bottom two in a week. Bolton, a former Premier League mainstay chronically and financially mismanaged into Championship oblivion, won 2-1 at Loftus Road. Rotherham, dead in the water long before they ever got to us, won away from home for the only time that season. QPR now face second bottom Norwich, and Sheff Wed who’ve beaten one team all season, in consecutive matches.

We had a fuck ugly pink away kit in 18/19 as well. Happy New Year everyone. ;-)

Links >>> McDermott’s Boxing Day belter – History >>> Canary catastrophe – Oppo Profile >>> Whitestone in charge – Referee >>> Norwich Official Website >>> The Pink ‘Un — Local Press and Forum >>> Eastern Daily Press — Local Press >>> My Football Writer - Norwich City >>> Along Come Norwich - Blog

Below the fold

Team News: After much debate and conjecture around the team selection at West Brom it might be another one of those Christmas/New Year games where the starting 11 is more interesting than the game itself. Amadou Mbengue and Rhys Norrington Davies were rested at The Hawthorns but will presumably return. Likewise, Rumarn Burrell further forwards. Nicolas Madsen seemed to be clearly injured in the second half of that West Brom game, and having played 1,975 minutes of the 2,160 available so far this season was probably running on fumes anyway, but with no natural replacement for him in the squad it’ll be fascinating to see what we do with his position. Picking combinations of Hayden/Field/Varane/Morgan together has produced some of our more ineffective home performances. Paul Smyth, oddly underused against Portsmouth and West Brom, has now signed a new contract with the club.

Jovon Makama has come down with the bug that’s going around since the December 29 loss to Watford and is doubtful. Emiliano Marcondes and Jakov Medić were rested from that game with the Hornets but are good to go. Jack Stacey is back available after two late sub appearances in the Christmas games.

Elsewhere: For all of Philippe Clement’s improvements at Norwich City, the Canaries remain second bottom and four points adrift which is pretty much where they were when he started. Both them, and Oxford who are also changing manager presently, need to start reeling in some of the teams above them.

Portsmouth certainly did their bit in that regard on Monday night. A 97th minute Charlton equaliser had the away end in raptures and belting out “we never lose at Fratton Park” with such gusto they didn’t clock former QPR loanee Yang Min-Hyeok steering in an improbable Kieran Morgan-like winner for Pompey. Ever unstated and everything in perspective Nathan Jones aaid he felt “physically sick to his stomach” at the outcome and Charlton are now fifth bottom on a run of one win in nine games of which seven have been lost. The 27 points the Addicks have is still five away from Oxford in the last relegation spot though, so that bottom two are going to have to start motoring if they’re to reel either Charlton or Blackburn, also on 27, into the picture.

Blackburn get to go first on New Year’s Day with a 12.30 start against Wrexham – because who here among us can say they don’t want to get up on New Year’s Day and make their way to a 12.30 game between Blackburn and Wrexham, truly? Charlton and Oxford both have tough assignments – the former at home to leaders Coventry, the latter away at chasers Ipswich who got a big 2-0 win in over the Sky Blues during the week. Portsmouth are at Bristol City while Swansea, who have put together a couple of wins I didn’t think they had in them to climb onto 29 points, host a West Brom side that has lost eight away games on the spin.

Sheff Wed, long since dead, go to Preston Knob End while Sheff Utd, steadily climbing clear of the whirlpool at the bottom, host Leicester in the early evening TV game.

At the other end Middlesbrough have typically responded to the praise we heaped on them for their victory over us earlier in December by never winning a game again. It’s two defeats and a draw since, including a home loss to a Hull side they were 4-0 up by half time against in the corresponding fixture, and if they don’t respond away at Derby then both Ipswich (Oxford H) and Hull (Stoke H) can go above them with a win. Stoke, by the way, now in a complete meltdown as usual – two wins in ten, down to tenth, can go as low as 14th with defeat here.

Millwall, still hanging around the fifth place we predicted they’d finish in the season preview, go to Southampton. Watford, quietly climbing to sixth now they’ve sorted out their inability to win away, host Birmingham.

Referee: Dean Whitestone, a Championship mainstay who first refereed QPR against Colchester in 2007, is back at Loftus Road for this one. Details.

Form

- The bad news is QPR’s away from is cratering. They’ve won one of seven, losing four, and haven’t scored more than one goal on the road since the win at Bristol City in October.

- The good news is QPR’s home form is now the best in the division. Following Coventry’s home loss to Ipswich on Monday, Rangers’ run of four straight home victories is the longest active winning run in the league.

- Only the top six have won more than QPR’s six home games. Only Coventry, Ipswich, Wrexham and Birmingham have scored more home goals. Rangers are averaging three goals scored in home games since November 22.

- Norwich won two of their first 17 games this season, both away. After losing eight and drawing one of their first nine home games then they beat QPR 3-1 at the end of November.

- Philippe Clement has made a decent impression on Norwich since then. They’ve now won three and lost one of four games at Carrow Road. They haven’t been able to close the gap much to the safety mark though – five points adrift versus six when he took over.

- That’s because their away form remains poor. Norwich haven’t won on the road in ten attempts. They’ve drawn the last two, at Preston and Sheff Utd (both 1-1), but lost four of the previous five conceding 11 goals.

- Norwich have lost just one of their last 11 league games against QPR (W5 D5), a 3-0 away loss in this fixture last December where Rayan Kolli scored twice.

- - Carrow Road, scene of the 1976 meltdown, is also something of a graveyard for QPR. Rangers are winless in their last 11 visits there (D4 L7) since a 1-0 victory in September 2008 when Martin Rowlands scored a thrice-taken free kick. Prior to that the R’s had lost five in a row and were winless in eight here going back to the Devon White-inspired 4-3 victory here in 1994.

- Things aren’t a great deal different at Loftus Road. QPR have won just one of the last six and three of the last 12 meetings here.

- At this point last season Norwich had 30 points and were 12th, they now have 21 and are 23rd. QPR had 26 points and were 17th, they’ve now got 35 and are ninth.

- Norwich have only won one of their last eight away games played on New Year's Day (D4 L3), though it did come last year when beating Luton Town 1-0 at Kenilworth Road.

- Norwich have also lost six of their last nine league matches in London (W1 D2), with their only win in this sequence coming via a 3-2 victory at Millwall in March 2023.

- Josh Sargent scored six goals in his first five games for Norwich this season. He has one in 17 club appearances since.

- Rumarn Burrell scored in the corresponding fixture as part of a run of eight goals in 11 outings which makes him QPR top score on nine. The last time a Rangers’ striker got into double figures was Andre Gray in 2021/22, and Burrell has now been stuck on the cusp of matching that for five scoreless appearances.

- Since the start of last season, Jimmy Dunne has scored more Championship goals than any other defender (eight).

- QPR will play seven times in January for the first time since 2013 (@JTSupple).

Prediction

In our Prediction League for 2025/26 we’ll once again be handing out prizes for being top at Christmas and overall winner from The Art of Football - sample the merch from our sponsor’s newly extended QPR collection here. JB007007 made a strong start and held off the competition to win our first prizegiving for being top at Christmas. QPR_Hibs won last season’s Prediction League at a canter and is lending his thoughts to this year’s previews…

“The New Year’s Honours list is out and I appear to have been overlooked AGAIN. Aside from several members of the Lionesses squad, the main footballing awards seem to have gone to Jim Craig, a former ‘Lisbon Lion’ and three chief executives in Fergus McCann (Celtic), Ann Budge (Hearts) and Daniel Levy (Tottenham.) In other words the money men or women. McCann and Budge did, at least, save their respective clubs from the threat of bankruptcy, but it was a disgrace that the previous owners were allowed to take Celtic and Hearts to the brink in the first place. I’m looking forward to seeing the saviours of Morecambe and Sheffield Wednesday similarly honoured in the near future.

“QPR put in what I (if I am being generous) can only call a lacklustre performance against West Brom, with everyone bar Jimmy Dunne and (perhaps) Liam Morrison having a shocker. I mentioned the need for squad rotation in the last preview, but I was surprised that Julien made no substitutions until the 70th minute. Also, why we have reverted to trying to play it out from the back, something at which this squad are not, and never have been, any good? Three shots from us in the entire game, none on target and definitely an evening to forget. Let’s hope that everyone who was rested is back with a vengeance on Thursday, when we take on second bottom Norwich City at Loftus Road. But we’ve all seen that film before….

“At time of writing, I’ve not seen any injury news from the club, so I don’t know if any of Madsen, Chair or JCS are available for selection. I think we have to revert to Kone and Burrell up top, with Smyth and Dembele in supporting roles. Varane needs a rest/benching, and we may go with Hayden and Madsen (or Field if Madsen not available) in the middle. Mbengue, Dunne, Morrison and mystery left back are the defence – in front of ‘anybody’s guess’ in goal. (Walsh, anyone?)

It’s not a ‘must win’ game but it would certainly lift the depression that’s been hovering over the message board in the last couple of days. Come on Rangers, let’s be ‘aving ya.

QPR_Hibs Prediction: QPR 2-0 Norwich. Scorer – Jimmy Dunne

LFW’s Prediction: QPR 1-1 Norwich. Scorer – Rumarn Burrell

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