QPR head back to St Mary’s on Saturday, scene of a 5-0 hammering in February but, with the Southampton binoculars confiscated and Rangers in far better form, might this visit be a little more tightly fought?

Southampton (7-3-2 WLWWDW 6th) v QPR (5-5-2 DDDWLW 8th)

Sky’s Super Saturday Brunch Spectacular >>> Saturday October 31, 2026 >>> Kick Off 15.00 >>> Weather – Mist clearing into a nice day >>> St Mary’s, Southampton, Hampshire

I must confess, my first reaction to the breaking news that Southampton had been caught trying to spy on Middlesbrough’s training sessions ahead of last season’s play offs was ‘so what?’. Never let it be said we’re afraid of being on the wrong side of history here.

Bit rum, as my grandad would have said. Bit dodgy, bit daft, bit cheeky, but worth the reaction it got? To begin with I didn’t really see it. Doesn’t this stuff happen all the time on the quiet? What really do you gain from watching training that couldn’t already have been gleaned from 46 games of Championship season, particularly in this data-mad era where we are swamped with every possible number and metric you could ever need from every touch of the ball at our level? Kim Hellberg was crying in his press conference at one point. Really?

There was plenty to quickly change my mind, and not least the fundamental rule of law. You can’t pick and choose which rules apply to you. I don’t particularly think the Lee High Road should be 20mph, particularly when I’m the only one driving down it at 3am after a big midweek defeat up north, but just because I disagree with it doesn’t mean I can drive down it at a speed of my choosing. The system, or in this case sport, collapses on itself when people decide to do this. What if Pierce Charles doesn’t personally agree with the back pass rule, can he just ignore that and start picking the ball up? What if Man City don’t agree with the FFP rules, can they just ignore those and spend a £1bn on whoever they like…? Oh, wait.

Ignorance of the law is no defence. Tonda Eckert’s persistent claim he didn’t know what he was doing broke the rules because it’s common in Europe didn’t ring true from the start – this a man who was working at Barnsley when Marcelo Bielsa was practicing long lens photography up the road in Leeds – and from the testimony given at the hearing by the junior staff involved in carrying it out it was also a complete lie. They knew. They knew full well. The full report into the incident detailed interns fearing for roles in a highly desirable industry that’s insanely difficult to break into feeling pressured into actions they knew were wrong and felt horribly guilty about. Take it from someone who's worked for some dicks, that's a dick move. Pressuring the expendable staff into no-win situations. Grim.

Even if you didn’t think this was a particularly big deal, Southampton’s response throughout was enough to turn you against them. From the CEO’s offhand promise to Steve Gibson to “pay whatever fine it is” which so put the Middlesbrough owner’s back up and had him reaching for Nick De Marco on the speed dial, through a PR campaign so relentlessly hideous it’ll be studied on media courses forever more. One statement after another beginning with a muffled “soz”, before paragraph after paragraph of Kevin the Teenager’s huff and puff and ‘yeh, but, yeh, but’. Fans turning up in camouflage outfits with binoculars, the ever-loveable cunt’s cunt Taylor Harwood Bellis goading the away end during the second leg of the semi-final… This a team in receipt of a full parachute payment, with myriad advantages already available to them over idiot scum like us and Middlesbrough already. They spied on Oxford. Oxford.

The only thing more remarkable than Eckert escaping a personal ban for the incident – six-week ban, suspended for 18 months, oooh, that’ll learn him – was the FA saying they’d gone a bit easy on him because of the contrition shown. Excuse me, is the contrition in the room with us now? Southampton responded to the verdict with a slow-motion video of the manager walking triumphantly across the pitch, set to “I just don’t think you understand”, on all their socials. The Saints have already successfully weaponised the whole thing into a great injustice, us against the world, siege mentality and have, predictably, made a flying start to the season. Is this the Donald Trump version of ‘contrition’?

Does this whole episode perhaps set our 5-0 annihilation in this fixture last year in a different light? There was, reported by The Athletic and others, one other Championship club sure they’d been watched in the same way that nevertheless declined to take part in proceedings. Could that have been QPR? Would have been a pretty short episode of Frost to be fair. “1 – Goalkeeper’s a bit shit, take lots of shots. Ends.” And then back to The Queen’s Head for light ales. The most danger that team posed Southampton was clunking anybody who happened to be hiding in the bushes on the head with one of its kick off routines.

At the end of the day, if there was nothing to gain Southampton wouldn’t have done it. I remain highly dubious of the claim that this only happened three times, for three matches they very conveniently didn’t win. I’d be amazed if they felt compelled to go watch third bottom Oxford train in December, then popped the binoculars back in the box until April when Ipswich came to town.

I suspect I’m not the only one who feels that way. Managers tend to keep their cards close to their chest when asked to comment on stories like this at other clubs and other bosses, but Cambridge’s Neil Harris happily went on record earlier this season saying he expected and hoped Eckert would be banned for a long time. Be interesting to know how many of Eckert’s other LMA colleagues feel the same. I would say what Eckert did broke the unwritten rule, the mutual respect between managers etc. Except the rule was literally written down.

In the end it was actually the other semi-final which changed my view on the whole thing. I wouldn’t say I like Alex Neil (a challenging wank) but I’ve always admired him tactically as a manager, and his ability to get consistently good results out of unfashionable outfits like Sunderland, Preston, Norwich and Millwall (not Stoke, because never Stoke). Having got the draw he wanted up at Hull in leg one (a victory but for a typically contrary bit of Gavin Ward refereeing) Wawll were heavy favourites back at The Den against a team they’d finished three places and ten points north of in the final table. Hull’s excellent Bosnian manager Sergej Jakirović did them all ends up: starting first of all with a totally unexpected back three for the first time; then waiting patiently for Neil to remove Zac Sturge and go more attacking with Alfie Doughty before pounding immediately into the space that left behind to score two quickfire goals and win the tie. It was a tactical masterclass, against a good team and manager. Would Jakirović have been allowed to pull that off if Millwall had been watching his training?

October was supposed to be something of a judgement month for this new and improved version of QPR. Most expected us to be around the play-off picture by the extended international break, given a kind set of fixtures that offered two newly promoted sides and last year’s 21st, 20th, 19th, 18th and 14th-placed sides. That did, indeed, transpire, but this month brought trips to West Ham, Birmingham and Southampton, with league leaders Swansea and one of the other parachute clubs Burnley coming to Loftus Road. Ask us in a month, we said when asked if QPR are any good or not this season. Despite the blip at Birmingham, it’s been so far so good in this regard for Rangers with two thumping home wins and a point at West Ham that would have been all three but for the injuries and fitness issue to rear its ugly head again in the final 20 minutes.

One of the most impressive things about Rangers at the moment is the manager’s ability to spring surprises on the opposition. None of us even expected Boy Kemper to play in the West Ham game, but there he was starting and absolutely pocketing the division’s outstanding player Jarrod Bowen. Had the Dutchman stayed on for the full 90 we likely would have recorded a very significant win there – Bowen scored barely a minute after his removal – and it was a victory for Stéphan in any case. Fantastic tactics.

The same thing happened again a week ago. I said in this column last Friday I fancied Rangers for a result against league leaders Swansea, but I didn’t expect it to be that result. The idea to start Paul Smyth as the main striker through the middle, with Richard Kone off him, was a total masterstroke. It totally exposed a Swansea defence where the full backs push silly high, and quickly plundered five goals against a side that had only let in eight all campaign prior to kick off. Stéphan is increasingly coming across as a smart, shrewd, clever tactician.

With, presumably, the telescope now confiscated, and Saints on their best behaviour, does Monsieur Julien have another special surprise up his sleeve for his opponent tomorrow? And will it be enough to avoid another shellacking against a side unbeaten in 16 home game that has won the last six meetings between the two?

See you under the clock at Waterloo. Like Del and Raquel.

Links >>> October Issue – Patreon Podcast >>> Kone’s magic hat trick – Column >>> MI5 – Oppo Profile >>> Jones v Davis – History >>> Robinson in charge – Referee >>> Southampton Official Website >>> Southampton Echo – Local Press >>> Ugly Inside – Forum >>> Saints Marching – Blog >>> Saints Analysis – Blog >>> Football Martin – YouTube Channel >>> Saints Web – Message Board

All at LFW were deeply saddened to learn of the death this week of father of the house Ted Hendrix after a period of illness. Ted has posted on this website for as long as there has been a website to post on and, in amongst chasing Gareth Bale out of the Lower Loft, was the man who came up with the name for the site. A top bloke who had a unique ability to cut through the bullshit, and never missed an opportunity to get stuck into Reading, our site will never be the same again without him. You can leave tributes to Ted on the thread started by his son David currently pinned to the top of our message board.

Below the fold

Team News: QPR remain without Nicolas Madsen, Tariq Lamptey and Rumarn Burrell, likely for the three games this week until the other side of the international break. Jake Clarke-Salter is also taking one of his sabbaticals. Boy Kemper went off with an ankle knock late in the Swansea win, but Dennis Cirkin is back from his ban as a natural stand in there if the Dutchman doesn’t make it. Ilias Chair might be in line for his first minutes since Middlesbrough in mid-September. Alfie Lloyd might be back. Amadou Mbengue is now a long term absentee.

Southampton have top scorer Cyle Larin and midfielder Flynn Downes likely to return having missed last weekend’s big win at West Ham.

Elsewhere: The Championship lurches back into life tonight with Wrexham’s trip to Sheffield Red Stripe.

Disney FC were this week fined £75k, of which £25k is suspended, for fielding two ineligible players so far this season – Issa Kabore did not have a work permit when named as sub for a 2-1 defeat to Birmingham while Callum O’Hare’s move from the Blades had not been officially registered when he was an unused sub against Millwall in a game Phil Parkinson’s side won 3-0. Kabore’s ineligibility had flashed red on the iFAS app clubs use to submit their team sheets but the warning had been ignored by a club operating at that time without a club secretary or sporting director. Several other clubs (Bury, Rotherham, Wimbledon) have lost three points in similar circumstances previously but Wrexham have been treated leniently because they lost the first game and O’Hare didn’t get on the pitch in the second (there is precedent for this at Cambridge United). Hmmm.

Couple of news lines from the afternoon games tomorrow. No surprise that Nicky Hayen didn’t survive Burnley’s 4-1 loss at Lincoln last weekend. The Clarets have led eight of their dozen games so far this season but only seen one of them through to a win and sit third bottom with a full parachute payment. Having spent most of the summer to land on Hayen (at best fourth choice) this time they’ve gone quickly with Fabio Celestini, who sounds a bit Watford to me. Once led Basel from bottom to champions in the Swiss league inside 18 months. Feels like he’ll be there for five minutes or five years and not a lot in between. Starts with in form Portsmouth at home.

Derby are one of the two teams below them in the table. Still with just the one victory to their name, the Rams have responded in a different manner. John Eustace this week covered for a daft Dion Sanderson red card by bringing in Shane Duffy on a free transfer. And they say the Championship is unpredictable. Eustace continuing his one man mission to bring back Masters Football. The Rams head to Millwall this weekend, with only Preston (away at Stoke) below them.

The lunchtime games feature two of the more surprising hits, Lincoln hosting Birmingham, and two of the more unexpected misses, Norwich and Watford, going head-to-head.

Apart from our own trip to Southampton, the pick of the afternoon fixtures is arguably West Ham v West Brom. The Hammers are trying to chase down top two Middlesbrough and Swansea who made statements of their intent in very different ways last weekend – Boro making a five-goal statement piece at Bolton ahead of a home banker against Charlton, Swansea losing for the second game running and shipping five of their own at Loftus Road before they play at home against Blackburn. Wolves, at home to Cardiff, sit in amongst it in fourth.

The weekend list is rounded out by Bolton v Bristol City, but there’s a full set of midweek fixtures Tuesday/Wednesday this week.

Referee: Occasional Premier League referee Tim Robinson in charge of this one. Details.

Form

- QPR have won two, drawn one and lost one since the international break, scoring ten goals in the process. It leaves the R’s eighth in the league with five wins, five draws and only two defeats – only league leading Middlesbrough have lost fewer games. Rangers have lost one of their last seven coming into this one. Julien Stéphan’s team are one place and two points better off than this time last year.

- Last Saturday’s mauling of Swansea was the first time QPR have won a home game 5-0 since trouncing Blackpool on the opening day of the 2003-04 campaign under Ian Holloway.

- Southampton are sixth on 20 points but were docked four at the start of the campaign so would be second in the table ahead of Swansea if those were added back on. The Saints have won seven, drawn three and lost two. Only West Ham (32) and Middlesbrough (27) have scored more than their 24 goals so far.

- QPR won their opening two away games at Portsmouth and Blackburn and have only lost one of six on their travels so far. However, they’re simultaneously also winless in four games away from Loftus Road, drawing three and scoring just two goals in the process.

- Southampton have lost one of their last 11 games and are unbeaten in six league matches at St Mary’s with five wins and a 0-0 draw here against Bolton. They did get beaten 4-1 on their own patch by West Ham in the League Cup but 16 points from six games is the division’s best home record. They are unbeaten in 16 games here going back to last season.

- This is a battle of two defences, and two goalkeepers. Both teams have conceded 12, the joint best defensive record in the division. QPR’s Pierce Charles has saved 72.7% of the shots he has faced which is a record bettered only by Jacob Zetterstrom (73.5%) at Derby, Max O’Leary at West Brom (74.5%) and Southampton’s Daniel Peretz who leads the league on 77.8%.

- QPR have only conceded one goal from a set piece this season, the league’s joint best record with Charlton and Sheff Utd. They have scored nine of their own, again the Championship’s best record along with West Ham.

- Southampton have been in winning positions for 43.2% of their Championship matches so far this season – the highest percentage of any side in the competition.

- This time last year Southampton were 20th with 12 points from 12 games and about to sack Will Still. They won their next game, on November 5, at QPR 2-1 as part of a sequence of six wins in seven games to kick start a campaign that would eventually see them finish fourth with 80 points. They lost none of their final 19 league games after defeat to Hull on January 17.

- It’s now 76 games and 25 victories since QPR last beat a team while holding more of the ball than their opponent. Another tick in Gareth Ainsworth’s “possession can do one” mantra came in last weekend’s 5-0 win against Swansea, achieved with 40.3% of the ball.

- Having failed to score in his first seven appearances of the season, it took Richard Kone just 14 minutes last week to join Paul Smyth and now Jimmy Dunne as QPR’s joint top scorer on three. It was the club’s first hat trick since Nahki Wells v Cardiff in January 2020, first first half hat trick since Alan Wilks v Oxford in October 1967, and earliest hat trick in a game since George Petchey vs Aldershot in January 1954.

- Southampton score with 13.2% of the shots they take. Only Blackburn (13.7%) and West Ham (15.5%) average better. Cyle Larin is the league’s third top scorer with seven goals behind Blackburn’s Andri Gudjohnsen (eight) and Boro’s Ten Mill Will (11). Only Bristol City’s Rio Cardines (six) has more assists than Finn Azaz’s five.

- QPR infamously lost this fixture 5-0 last season as part of a sequence of four straight defeats. It completed a league double for Southampton and the Saints have now won the last six league meetings between the sides.

Prediction

In our Prediction League for 2026/27 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 won both prizes last year and has kindly agreed to keep up tradition and offer his irrational dislikes of each of our opponents this year…

“Having moved from just west of London to within a reasonable striking distance of Southampton as a kid, this one was always going to create a rivalry for me. This increased beyond healthy in 1996 when an ex-work colleague spitefully waited for me to arrive home from a 90-minute drive and, despite beating West Ham, phoned and jeered about our relegation. This, from a team that year on year somehow scraped through by the skin of their teeth.
They say every dog has its day, and by Christ did I have mine when they finally succumbed in 2004.

“Following their relegation we did ok against them too, particularly at St Mary’s. When Danny Shittu rose from a corner to head us into an unlikely lead, I was quite firmly told that any more outbursts in the seat (donated to me by a local law firm) would result in my removal from the ground. I remember explaining that we were shite and wouldn’t score again. Fast forward exactly one year and when the beautiful Ray Jones calmly slotted us into a 2-1 lead from a narrow angle, I had the pleasure of asking that very same steward at half time to relocate me in the away end for my own safety as more goals would follow.

“From there, there’s been highs, lows, gaps between, but I can’t let go of this ridiculous hostility I hold, so was delighted at the hilarity of last season’s play-off exclusion. Apologies, now on to the important part!

“I was, literally, blown away by our complete performance last week and think I should start predicting 1-0 defeats for all our games. That determination and intensity was back in bucket loads last Saturday. I was really pleased for Kone and hope that may be a springboard for a purple patch. This game against Southampton will be a proper test. However much it pains me to say, they are one of the best teams in the Championship and I expect them to be pushing for the top two. Whilst we’ll be much closer (please) than our last visit there I think we’ll lose this 2-0.”

JB’s Prediction: Southampton 2-0 QPR. No scorer.

LFW’s Prediction: Southampton 1-1 QPR. Scorer – Jimmy Dunne

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