QPR chalked up their first home victory last night, making it three out of four so far this season, beating Cardiff 2-1. We looked the better team, with 20 shots to their nine, and an xG of 2.09 to their 0.60. But we made heavy weather of it, with Jimmy Dunne, Alfie Lloyd and Harvey Vale all missing highly presentable chances. The additions of Charles Pierce, Tariq Lamptey, Dennis Circin and Glen Kamara have turned us into a much better team going forward, but we need to be more clinical in front of goal if we’re going to finish in the top eight.

Julien Stéphan made five changes to the team that won at Blackburn, rotating the players in an attempt to avoid a repeat of last season’s injuries. Ronnie Edwards dropped back into defence in place of Jake Clarke-Salter, with Kamara getting his first start in midfield alongside Nicolas Madsen; Tariq Lamptey started at left back instead of Dennis Cirkin; Koki Saito and Harvey Vale replaced Ilias Chair and Paul Smyth in attacking midfield; and Alfie Lloyd was preferred to Richard Kone up top, with the Ivorian among the substitutes. Justin Obikwu made the bench for what I think was the first time ever, although he didn’t get a run out. That meant we lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation as follows: Pierce Charles in goal; Amadou Mbengue, Dunne, Edwards and Lamptey in defence; Kamara and Madsen in midfield; Saito, Vale and Rumarn Burrell as the attacking trio; and Lloyd leading the line.

Before the game, we were treated to the debut of the new club anthem, with the young composer brought out on to the pitch to witness it. Unfortunately for him, it was greeted with boos and a chant of “What the fucking hell was that?” As a fan in front me put it: “It was a difficult listen and a difficult watch.” Let’s hope we stick with ‘London Calling’, not least because the co-writer of that song, Mick Jones, is a QPR fan.

The first 15 minutes were pretty scrappy, with both sides struggling to settle. There were lots of misplaced passes and balls being kicked into touch. Our first chance came from a corner in the 8th minute, with Dunne having a free header in front of goal. He had time to place it, but put it just wide of the far post – disappointing from the captain.

Burrell had a shot blocked in the 16th minute, as did Vale shortly afterwards. A lovely flick from Lloyd put Burrell in behind in the 20th minute, but his cut back was poor and when the ball fell to him again his shot was blocked. Then, in the 21st minute, Lloyd made a great run into the box, rolled his man, and got off a decent shot that was just a few inches too high. Had he scored, it would have been a goal of the season contender.

That capped a good spell for us in which we could have scored at least twice, but we dropped off afterwards, allowing Cardiff to come back into it. Would our failure to take any of those chances come back to haunt us? Happily, we scored in the 36th minute. Saito won a corner after bursting forward, Madsen took it, and, after a scuffle in the box, Burrell managed to stab the ball over the line. Cue a chant of “Burrell again, Burrell again, Burrell again olé olé.” It was great to see the Jamaican back on the score sheet – it’s his first goal since January.

We cranked up the pressure again after that and should have got a second a few minutes later when Saito cut a lovely ball back for Vale. But with the goal gaping, he took a touch when he should have just struck it first time, and when his shot did come it was a pea roller that was just wide of the far post. It really wasn’t Vale’s night.

I felt reasonably confident when we went in 1-0 at half time, but even more so when Burrell got a second in the 54th minute. This time, Edwards was the creator, dribbling it out from the back, going round an attacking Cardiff player, then sending a lovely through ball down the left that put Burrell in behind. His confidence was back, having scored one already, and he took a couple of touches then fired it past the keeper into the top right-hand corner. A proper striker’s goal.

Alfie Lloyd got a shot on target a minute later that needed saving, then Saito had a chance, but sent it sailing over the bar. Burrell had an opportunity to make it three in the 57th minute, then another shortly afterwards with Lamptey finding him in the box with another fantastic cross from the left back, who’s a big upgrade on anyone else we’ve played in that position for some time. But Burrell put both chances wide.

Stéphan made a quadruple substitution in the 71st minute, bringing on Jonathan Varane for Madsen, Jake Clarke-Salter for Lamptey, Kealey Adamson for Mbengue and Dennis Cirkin for Kamara. With Clarke-Salter in the back line, Edwards moved up to take over midfield duties from Kamara, but it took the substitutes a while to arrange themselves into their new roles and the visitors took advantage to claw one back in the 75th minute. It was a worldy from the edge of the box by Perry Ng that Charles couldn’t have done anything about -- just like the other two goals he's conceded in the league thus far.

That made for a nervy final 20 minutes, although to give us credit, we didn’t go into a defensive crouch after the visitors’ scored, but continued pressing for a third and could have got one if Vale hadn’t squandered another opportunity in the 85th minute. Ilias Chair, who replaced Lloyd in the 81st minute, also had a chance in the 3rd minute of added time, but dragged it wide.

Happily, we managed to hold on to our one-goal lead and collect all three points. As with our previous game, we were the better side and deserved to win, but it feels like the team is still a work in progress and has room for improvement. The summer signings have all been great additions, particularly Charles, and we now have strength in depth in some areas of the pitch for the first time in years. Those signings are all the more impressive when you factor in that we’ve spent the second least in the Championship over the summer. But beating teams like Portsmouth, Blackburn and newly-promoted Cardiff – and drawing to another newly-promoted side – isn’t much of a test and it will be interesting to see how we fare against promotion favourites Middlesbrough on Saturday. As Charlie said afterwards, we should enjoy this good spell while it lasts because we’re bound to go on some losing streaks later in the season. We’re currently joint top on 10 points.

You can watch the highlights on Sky Sports here.

Blackburn enjoy the dubious distinction of being the last team we beat while having more than 50% of the ball – and that was 18 months ago. This victory was no exception, with the hosts enjoying 55% of possession. After going a goal down at the beginning of the second half, QPR fought back to score twice, with Paul Smyth and Jimmy Dunne finding the net. That’s only the eighth time we’ve chalked up two back-to-back away wins at the beginning of a season in the last 100 years.

Julien Stéphan made four changes to the team that drew a blank against Bolton last Saturday. Dennis Cirkin, restored to fitness after his summer move from Sunderland, was handed his full debut at left back in place of Kealey Adamson; Nicolas Madsen returned to the middle of the park instead of Harvey Vale; Paul Smyth came in for Kwame Poku out wide; and Rumarn Burrell replaced Koki Saito, with Stéphan ditching the front three behind Richard Kone for a flatter, 4-4-2 formation. That meant we lined up as follows: Pierce Charles in goal; Amadou Mbengue, Jimmy Dunne, Jake Clarke-Salter and Cirkin in defence; Smyth, Ronnie Edwards, Madsen and Ilias Chair in midfield; and Kone and Burrell leading the line.

It wasn’t a particularly convincing start. Mbengue lost his man at the back post to gift Blackburn a decent chance in the 21st minute, and was at fault again for another good opportunity for the hosts in the 30th. Our best chance of the first half was when Chair, teed up by Burrell, had sight of goal in the 32nd minute but scuffed his shot. Six minutes later, Smyth handled the ball just outside the box and gifted Blackburn a promising free kick. Somehow, between Mbengue’s generosity and Smyth’s stray arm, we were still level at the break. Their xG was 0.60 to our 0.15, although we did at least have two shots on target whereas they didn’t manage one.

Rovers made the breakthrough early in the second period, with Ryoya Morishita curling a lovely left-footed effort into the top corner after Andri Gudjohnsen had headed the ball into his path. But instead of dropping our heads, we dialled up the pressure, just as we did on going a goal down at Fratton Park, and it soon paid off. In the 51st minute, Burrell squared the ball for Smyth who side-footed it inside the far post from the centre of the box. One apiece, and game on.

Stéphan’s changes, when they came, tipped the game decisively in our favour. Tariq Lamptey replaced Cirkin at left back and Kamara came on for Madsen at half time. Shortly afterwards, Alfie Lloyd took over from Kone and Kwame Poku replaced Smyth. After those changes, we looked the sharper side, and in the 74th minute Jimmy Dunne popped up with the winner, finding the net from close range after Lamptey put in a lovely cross. A captain’s goal to give us the lead.

The final change was Kealey Adamson for Mbengue in the 80th minute – just as comfortable at right back as he was at left back last week. Our bench strength meant we were able to see the game out comfortably, a welcome change from the last few seasons. Overall, we had 19 shots in total, six of them on target, with our second half xG 1.14 to their 0.41.

Our second win from three puts us on seven points and fourth in the table, although Charlton, with nine points, are top, so these rankings should be taken with a pinch of salt. We’re due to go to the Valley on September 9th, after back to back home games against Cardiff on Wednesday and Middlesbrough on Saturday. I didn’t go to this one – I’m on holiday with my family – but will definitely be going to the rest of the games leading up to the international break.

You can watch the highlights on Sky Sports here.

It has now been 10 years since QPR won their opening two league games and in spite of a performance that deserved better, that run stretches to an eleventh year after this frustrating goalless draw with newly-promoted Bolton Wanderers at Loftus Road.

Julien Stéphan made two changes to the team that won at Portsmouth last weekend. Boy Kempner, who picked up a knock at Fratton Park, was replaced by Kealey Adamson at left back, while Richard Kone was up front in place of Rumarn Burrell. (So, presumably, Kone isn’t about to leave for Burnley, or we wouldn’t have risked him.) That meant we lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation as follows: Pierce Charles in goal; Amadou Mbengue, Jimmy Dunne, Jake Clarke-Salter and Adamson as the back four; Ronnie Edwards and Harvey Vale sitting in midfield; Kwame Poku, Ilias Chair and Koki Saito, as the attacking trio; and Kone leading the line. The bench looked strong, with Dennis Cirkin, Tariq Lamptey and Nicolas Madsen among the substitutes, though no Glen Kamara, which was disappointing after his excellent debut last weekend.

We made the brighter start, with Vale forcing an early save from Jack Bonham inside the first five minutes. On and on we came, racking up eight shots in the first half, six on target. But we couldn’t make the pressure count. Our best chance came when Chair put Kone through on goal in the 26th minute, but his shot was too close to Bonham, who saved comfortably. Chair worked a well-rehearsed free-kick routine in the 33rd minute, but nothing came of the resulting delivery.

We couldn’t keep up this relentless pace indefinitely and we slowed down around the 35th minute, which allowed the visitors get their bearings. Not that they did much when we stood off them, managing only one, off-target shot in the first half. Bolton’s best player by a country mile was Bonham, who made nine saves over the course of the game.

Bolton brought a decent following – enough to fill the Upper School End – but had no end product and it was QPR pressing for a breakthrough after the restart. Saito went down in the box in the 54th minute after ghosting past two defenders, but the penalty shout was waved away. Two minutes later Vale headed a good chance straight at Bonham after Kone had nodded it into his path, and Poku dragged a wild effort well off target from a corner in the 58th. The closest we came to scoring was when Kone got on the end of a cutback from Mbengue and flicked it goalwards, producing an acrobatic save from Bonham, who tipped it over the bar.

Stéphan made a quadruple change just after the hour, sending on Burrell for Kone, Madsen for Poku, and handing debuts to two of our more exciting summer signings: Lamptey and Cirkin in place of Mbengue and Adamson. All did a good job, particularly Lamptey and Cirkin who both looked better going forward than the players they’d replaced. Mbengue has cemented his place at right back, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Cirkin becomes our regular starter at left back. We had another sight of goal in the 68th minute from a free-kick on the edge of the box, but Dunne couldn’t get his header on target. By this point we’d had more than 50% of the possession and, had we managed to win, it would have been our first victory with a majority share of the ball in more than a year. But the rule remained unbroken.

Paul Smyth replaced a flagging Saito in the 76th minute, and Chair had a penalty shout waved away in the 82nd after being brought down in the box. Smyth got in behind in stoppage time, but his first touch was too heavy and he lost the ensuing tussle with Bonham, who was there to deny us once again.

Nil-nil, then, but we were by far the better side and looked much more likely to score – our xG was 1.97 to the visitors’ 0.13. Overall, we had 17 shots with nine on target. On another day, it could have been 2-0 and if we carry on playing like this we’ll have a good season. But thanks to Bonham’s heroics, the Trotters went home with a point, which the visiting fans celebrated as if it was an FA Cup victory.

You can watch the highlights on Sky Sports here.

I didn’t go to this one because I’m in Norfolk on a family holiday – but I wish I had. Queens Park Rangers haven’t won on the opening day since 2020 – or at Fratton Park since 2000 – so this would have been a memorable trip. Especially after losing at home to Millwall on penalties in the Carabao Cup last Saturday. We went one-nil down after 15 minutes, but came back into it, with three goals in quick succession. By half time, we were top of the league.

On paper, this looked far from easy, with Portsmouth the favourites. In contrast to QPR’s collapse at the end of last season, Pompey only lost one of their last eight, finishing just three points behind us. Not exactly great omens for a trip to Fratton Park – always a difficult place to go.

Julien Stéphan made three changes to the team that lost to the Lions. With Nicolas Madsen unavailable – presumably injured in that game, though no one’s told us anything – Ronnie Edwards moved into midfield alongside Harvey Vale, with Jake Clarke-Salter drafted into the back four in his place. Paul Smyth and Richard Kone both dropped to the bench, with Kwame Poku and Koki Saito playing either side of Ilias Chair in the attacking trio, and Rumarn Burrell replacing Kone up front. That meant we lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation as follows: Pierce Charles in goal; Amadou Mbengue, Jimmy Dunne, Clarke-Salter and Boy Kempner in defence; Edwards and Vale in central midfield; Poku, Chair and Saito as the attacking midfielders; and Burrell leading the line.

Charles did well to punch away a dangerous cross inside the first five minutes, although he picked up a knock in doing so – nothing serious, thankfully, and he saw the game out. We tried out a new corner routine early on, with Saito taking and Chair peeling off near the edge of the box; Saito found him with a cross, but Chair took a touch instead of volleying it into the net, and by the time he took his shot there were three Pompey shirts in the way.

We stood off them in the first 15th minutes, conceding possession and giving their attacking players far too much space. Not surprisingly, the hosts took the lead in the 15th minute through Terry Devlin, one of their defenders, who was given all the time in the world to set himself on the edge of the box – Chair could have closed him down but, for whatever reason, decided not to. Devlin picked his spot and placed it beautifully in the top right-hand corner; nothing Charles could have done about it.

Kempner picked up an injury and had to be replaced by Kealey Adamson at left back in the 20th minute, and Pompey had another good chance not long after. We were missing Madsen’s creativity badly in this opening period, and Poku looked unsure what to do with the ball whenever Charles found him down the right. Edwards, clearly uncomfortable playing out of position, was booked in the 25th minute after needlessly giving the ball away and then taking out his frustration on the nearest Portsmouth player. Worth remembering we won only six league games away from home in the whole of last season, scoring 21 in total across those 23 trips – this was shaping up to be more of the same.

But then something clicked and for the remainder of the first half we looked like play-off contenders. The equaliser came in the 33rd minute as a result of our first sustained spell of pressure. Had Stéphan realised he’d got the tactics wrong and told the team to go up a gear in the hydration break? Whatever, it was as though someone had flipped a switch. Charles started the move with a good ball out to Poku on the right and this time the Ghanaian took advantage of the opportunity, progressing the ball upfield. After we moved it around smartly, Vale put a looping ball over the top that dropped at Chair’s feet just in front of goal, and the Morrocon got the faintest of touches to steer it home. One-one, and suddenly Pompey looked distinctly ordinary.

Six minutes later we were ahead. Burrell – not a natural target man, but he did well on this occasion – received the ball on the halfway line and flicked it to Chair, who slid it through to Saito running in behind. The Japanese winger beat three Pompey defenders in front of goal, and then stuck the ball in the back of the net, helped by a deflection. Two-one, and the travelling support was suddenly in dreamland.

There were seven minutes added at the end of the first half, and we used them to good effect. Mbengue’s cross from the right-hand corner found Chair unmarked in front of goal; his effort looked like a mis-hit as much as a deliberate chip, but it did the job, dropping in off the crossbar. Three-one at the break and after playing for just 45 minutes Chair had doubled his goal tally for the whole of the previous season. Half-time and we were top of the league!

Portsmouth made a change at the break, sending on Chelsea loanee Ryan Kavuna-McQueen – a Shepherd’s Bush boy who went to the same primary school as all four of my children. Charlie played alongside him in the Mayor’s Cup, and Sasha was his buddy reader. Even as a nipper was so obviously a stand-out talent that his coaches used to tell him to only shoot with his weaker foot, just to give the opposition a chance. It’s not an exaggeration to say the 17 year-old looked Pompey’s most dangerous player after he came on – definitely one to watch. We were all excited to see Ryan come on, even if it was for the wrong team.

The hosts had a free header in the 50th minute, but Connor Shaughnessy put it well wide. Charles then produced two decent saves in the 54th minute (one from Kavuna-McQueen), having thrown the ball straight to a Portsmouth player loitering on the edge of the box – a reminder that his distribution isn’t perfect, even if it did play a part in two of our three goals.

Stéphan made a double change in the 58th minute, bringing on Smyth for Saito, who’d picked up a knock, and replacing Poku with Glen Kamara, making his QPR debut. Two more changes followed in the 74th minute, with Alfie Lloyd replacing Burrell and Jonathan Varane coming on for Mbengue.

The best chance of a fourth goal for the visitors came in the 83rd minute when Vale whipped a lovely ball across the face of goal, but Lloyd couldn’t quite stretch to make contact. Six minutes were added at the end, during which Charles produced another good save in the 91st minute.

A 3-1 win at Fratton Park, then, on an afternoon when we were second best for the first quarter of the game, going a goal down, but thoroughly dominant for the rest – not a bad way to end our opening-day hoodoo. With two goals and an assist, Chair was man of the match, but Clarke-Salter did a decent job at centre back, Adamson was solid at left back, Dunne delivered a captain’s performance, Saito scored for the first time since his opening game of last season, Poku was responsible for some good link-up play, Vale grew into the match, Kamara made a solid debut and Charles proved his bona fides as a shot stopper. A sign of things to come from this squad? Let’s hope so. At the end of the game, and with more than half the teams in the Championship in action, we were still top of the league.

The only negatives were the withdrawal of Kempner and Saito, both having picked up knocks – something to keep an eye on, along with Madsen’s injury. We really don’t want the QPR treatment room filling up this early in the season.

You can watch the highlights on Sky Sports here.

Another season begins and, in spite of everything, it’s impossible not to feel a smidgen of optimism. We’ve had ample opportunity to rebuild since Martí Cifuentes’s first season in charge and not only do we now have two decent strikers (Richard Kone and Rumarn Burrell), but Christian Noury and the Director of Recruitment did what was asked of them over the summer and strengthened the squad in key positions, bringing in two keepers (Pierce Charles and Callum Ward), a left back (Boy Kempner), a right back (Tariq Lamptey) and an experienced midfielder (Glen Kamara). In addition, we have some players coming back from loan, at least one of whom (Alfie Lloyd), looks to have improved – and some players coming up from the development squad – Philip Sanyaolu, Isak Alemayehu, Jaylan Pearlman and 16 year-old Leon Scarlett – who, if they get some game time and realise their potential, could be the equivalent of new signings. Finally, we have several players who underperformed last season who may come good – Ilias Chair, Koki Saito, Karamoko Dembélé and Kwame Poku – and a striker who still hasn’t made his debut (Justin Obikwu). A lot depends on whether we can avoid the glut of injuries which bedevilled Julien Stéphan’s first term.

In part due to those injuries, our performance last season was disappointing. We finished 15th for the second year running – the exact same position, but with two more points from 16 wins – having only won six of the last 25. The 3-0 defeat at Ipswich on the last day, which confirmed the Tractor Boys’ promotion, was our fourth loss in a row. Going in to this season, we have a better chance of getting into the play-offs because the number of qualifying teams has been increased from four to six, but last season we finished 11 points behind Derby in eighth place, so perhaps we shouldn’t get our hopes up. A top 10 finish should probably be the summit of our ambitions.

Stéphan said he’d put out the best team available for this cup game against Millwall and he was as good as his word. Charles was preferred to Ward between the sticks; Amadou Mbengue came in at right back, with Jimmy Dunne, Ronnie Edwards and Kempner completing the back four; Nicolas Madsen and Harvey Vale were in midfield; Chair occupied the number 10 spot, with Paul Smyth to his left and Burrell to his right; and Kone led the line. It was a much stronger team than we fielded against Plymouth in our Caraboa Cup opener last season, a game we contrived to lose 3-2, having gone two-nil up. Millwall, too, put out a strong team, although their ranks were more depleted by injuries than ours. Given QPR’s dismal record in tournaments, it seemed a hostage to fortune to have renamed the family stand the ‘Go-Out Loftus Stand’ over the summer. (“Why ‘Go Out’? Cos that’s what we do.”)

It was a scrappy start from both sides, although I thought we shaded the opening 10 minutes, pressing well and forcing a corner. Mbengue had an early sight of goal in the fourth minute as a result of that corner, latching onto a poor clearance, but his shot drifted wide – a reminder that his crossing and finishing still need work. Smyth won a foul on the edge of the box in the seventh minute, although Chair wasted the resulting free kick, and for a spell we looked the sharper, better-drilled team, moving the ball through the lines with real tempo. But as the half wore on Millwall began to find pockets of space in behind our advancing full backs, particularly down our right, working several half-chances from long throws and knockdowns without testing Charles. Their first shot didn’t arrive until the 31st minute, and it went well wide. Smyth kept misfiring in the final third and Burrell, playing on the right, looked short of match sharpness. It was goalless at the break, with neither side having managed a shot on target. We had an xG of 0.23 to their 0.01 and five shots to their one.

The pattern continued after the restart, with QPR the better side for long stretches without managing to convert any of our chances. We had a decent spell in the 49th minute after some good approach play, with a chance eventually falling to Mbengue that clipped the near post – though he looked to have strayed offside in the build-up. Smyth won another corner in the 52nd minute and Kempner met it with a header from close range that looked destined for the net, only to be hacked off the line. Two minutes later Chair sent Kone clean through with a lovely ball over the top, but the Millwall keeper got there a fraction before the Ivorian could apply the finish.

And then, against the run of play, we conceded. Charles, making his debut following his loan move from Manchester City, came for a cross from the left in the 54th minute, caught it, spilled it, and could only watch as Luke Cundle tapped it home from close range. One-nil to the Lions, and about as miserable a start as you could imagine for the young keeper. His distribution is miles better than Joe Walsh’s and he’s good with his feet. But judging from this mistake, he’s no better at coming for crosses than Paul Nardi.

Stéphan responded with a double change in the 62nd minute, sending on Kwame Poku for Burrell and Jonathan Varane for Madsen. Millwall had a corner and a free header in the 65th minute that sailed harmlessly over, and Chair went agonisingly close to an equaliser a minute later, finding himself one-on-one with Lukas Jensen, the Millwall keeper, but seeing his effort saved, with nobody quick enough to react to the loose ball. Both he and Burrell, when presented with clear sights of goal in this game, seemed to lack confidence – a theme, sadly, of QPR’s finishing all afternoon. Alfie Lloyd replaced Kone up front in the 70th minute and won a corner of his own three minutes later, getting a foot to Vale’s delivery, but without enough behind it to trouble Jensen. Two more changes followed in the 79th minute, Kealey Adamson on for Mbengue and Koki Saito on for Smyth, as Stéphan searched for an equaliser.

Millwall enjoyed a good spell in the 84th minute, running at our back line repeatedly without cutting us open, and it looked as though the Lions would see the game out. But Chair, who’d had a frustrating afternoon, put Lloyd in behind in the 86th minute; the youngster couldn’t quite get his feet set to shoot but did enough to win a corner. From that corner in the 87th minute, we finally got our goal – a header from Jimmy Dunne that was deflected in off Millwall defender Mark Sykes for an own goal.

At this point, with Stéphen having taken off all our penalty takers, QPR needed to get another, but it wasn’t to be. Varane, on since the hour mark, had a good cameo, making some decent tackles and mostly playing it forward, and there was a huge goalmouth scramble in the 90th minute with the ball almost bundled over the line for a winner. Four minutes of stoppage time weren’t enough for us to get a goal, so it went to penalties.

We lost the coin toss, meaning the shoot-out was taken in front of the travelling Millwall support at the school end – not ideal, particularly as the visiting fans had been goading Charles at every opportunity since his error. Jake Cooper stepped up first for the visitors and beat Charles; Chair, first up for us, saw his effort saved by Jensen. Sykes, restoring some personal pride after his own goal, scored Millwall’s second; Vale’s penalty was saved. Charles then produced a save of his own, but Saito’s spot kick was also repelled by Jensen. Charles denied Tairyk Arconte with a second save to keep us in it, but Poku’s penalty – our fourth – went the same way as the rest, and that was that: Millwall through on penalties, having needed only two successful kicks because we couldn’t convert a single one. It’s the first time in 16 shootouts in the club’s history that QPR have failed to score, another unwanted record.

Overall, it wasn’t a terrible performance and on a different day we might have emerged the victors. Across the 90 we had 11 shots to Millwall’s five, three on target to their two, an xG of 0.96 to their 1.16, and 56% of the possession. Our defensive back line was solid and, when given an opportunity to burst forward, Mbengue and Kempner created some chances. Madsen and Vale did a decent job of progressing the ball from inside our half, particularly Madsen, and Varane proved to be a pretty effective like-for-like replacement. Our front four, by contrast, were disappointing, particularly Burrell, who didn’t look comfortable playing on the right, and Kone, who was largely anonymous. We were more dangerous when they were replaced by Lloyd and Poku, although not dangerous enough. If this had been another pre-season warm-up game, I wouldn’t be too disappointed, but losing our opening fixture of the Carabou Cup for the second season in a row – and in such a humiliating way – was pretty gutting. Roll on our first league game, which is against Portsmouth at Fratton Park next Saturday.

You can watch the highlights on Sky Sports here.

I went to see Hull v Middlesbrough in the play-off final on Saturday and it was a bittersweet experience.

Sweet, because my sons and I were with our friends Jack, Harry and Roger Watson, big Hull fans who were staying with us in London so they could go to the game. They’d got us tickets, so the Young family were all Tigers for the day, complete with vintage shirts we’d bought for the occasion. The game itself was the usual Championship slop, much like QPR’s play-off final against Derby, but we were delighted on our friends’ behalf to see Hull get the winner in 90+5. It was particularly pleasing because we’d all bet heavily on Hull to lift the trophy, getting odds of 17-10.

But it was also bitter because you couldn’t help thinking how much more thrilling the whole experience would have been if we were watching QPR. It was a reminder that we’ve now spent 12 years in the second tier and show no signs of getting out. Indeed, our collapse at the end of the season means we weren’t even close to a top 10 finish. How did it all go so right for Hull and so wrong for us?

It’s tempting to attribute the Tigers’ promotion to an extraordinary run of luck. On the final day, they looked destined for 7th or 8th place, with only an unlikely combination of results getting them into the play-offs. Had Sheffield United not beaten Derby, had Wrexham not drawn to Boro and had Hull not beaten Norwich, they wouldn’t have finished in sixth place. Admittedly, they put Millwall to the sword pretty convincingly in the second leg of the play-off semi-final, but in the final they were due to play Southampton, the league’s in-form team who are undefeated in 19. The Saints would have surely hoisted the trophy. But thanks to an unexpectedly harsh punishment being meted out by the EFL for Spygate, Hull got to face off against the inferior Middlesbrough.

Even then, they got lucky, with Boro the better team on the day. They had the lion’s share of possession, kept a high press and, until the 80th minute, looked more likely to score. They just couldn’t finish, possibly because, deep down, the players felt they didn’t deserve to be there (although you don’t need cod psychology to explain poor finishing in the Championship). The game looked destined for extra time until a decent ball in from Hull’s Japanese winger, Yū Hirakawa, was spilt by the Boro keeper and fell kindly for Oli McBurnie. So on top of everything else, the Tigers got the rub of the green in the final.

But the stars aligning for Hull is only part of the story. They came into this season under a transfer embargo and only managed to avoid relegation in the previous one on the final day. Sergej Jakirović, their new manager, was untested in the Championship – an excuse some R’s fans are making for Julien Stéphan – and he had to confine his recruitment to players out of contract and available on a free until the embargo was lifted in January, at which point the club shelled out for a couple of players, but spent a fraction of what QPR did. No one – and I mean no one – had the Tigers finishing in the play-offs, let alone getting promoted. As Jakirović said at the parade in Hull city centre on Monday, he had one job this season and it was to keep the team in the championship. (“I failed,” he joked.) So how did he pull it off?

I haven’t been following Hull closely enough to answer that question properly, but it was clear they got lucky with McBurnie, who seemed determined to enjoy his time back in the Championship after a spell in La Liga – and enjoy it he did, scoring 18 goals in all competitions before he got the winner on Saturday. There was a real esprit de corps in the team, which was visible at Wembley, with attackers tracking back and defenders throwing themselves into the breach. Watching them defend doggedly for long stretches, followed by lightening-quick counter attacks, you could understand why they ended the season with a positive goal difference, even though Opta had them in 23rd place based on expected points and expected goals.

Their form this season was not that of a team destined for promotion, having won half of their 46 league games, drawn 11 and lost 15. But unlike us, Hull got better as the season went on, going on an unbeaten run of eight away from home in the closing weeks, six of them wins. Before that, they were more consistent than us – less streaky. Yes, we did the double over them, but we had sustained periods in which we won nothing, including four straight losses at the end of the season. If you go on those unbroken losing runs, you’re not getting into the play-offs.

As a statistical rule-of-thumb, managers are less important when it comes to a team’s season-long performance than the players, so we shouldn’t exaggerate Jakirović’s impact. A team’s wage bill relative to that of the other teams in the same league is the single best predictor of where it will end up, and according to that metric Hull sat eighth in the league, whereas QPR sat 21st. So perhaps Stéphan is a better manager than Jakirović! They aren’t that different, to be honest, with both preferring a standard, 4-4-2 formation – or, at least, that’s the formation Jakirović settled on towards the end of the season. Nevertheless, he Tigers proved more effective at stopping opponents’ scoring using that system than we did. Jakirović’s lack of tactical flexibility will be a weakness in the Premiership, but, to be fair, he’ll have a better squad next season, so may prove more versatile. Sticking with the same formation week-in, week-out makes sense if you’re saddled with a group of journeyman players – and Stéphan has the same excuse.

Both clubs suffered catastrophic injuries, but QPR’s were worse in terms of “absences by proportion of squad value”, to use the metric developed by Andrew Scherer in his statistical breakdown of 25-26 for Loft For Words: “Players like Chair, Burrell, Madsen and Dembélé all missed large swathes of the season and that represented a significant amount of talent unable to contribute.” You can add Poku to that list.

Did QPR make any progress this term, if nothing like as much as Hull’s? As most pundits have said, it’s been a case of half a dozen of one and six of the other. Yes, we ended up finishing 15th again, but with two more points – hooray! – and at least we spent more time looking up than down. We splashed out in the transfer windows by QPR standards, so we expected Stéphan to do better than Martí Cifuentes, and the fact that he didn’t – not really – was disappointing. But we ended the season with two strikers in double figures and both worth more than we paid for them, which is encouraging. That may be evidence of Stéphan’s ability to develop young players, something we saw in abundance with Nicholas Madsen. But there was no comparable improvement for other promising youngsters, such as Rayan Kolli, and others, such as Koki Saito, actually went backwards. I wouldn’t be surprised if we sell Kolli this summer, particularly if he gets some game time for Algeria in the World Cup.

On balance, I’m for giving Stéphan one more season before looking elsewhere, for much the same reasons that Clive Whittingham gives in his end of season review on Patreon. The Frenchman has been vin ordinaire, but given where we are in the league and the money we have to spend, it’s unlikely we’d get anyone better. (Scott Parker? No thanks.) Moreover, whoever we did get would probably be someone from the same stable as Stéphan and Martí, i.e., a manager in a European league, and that person would have to spend his first season familiarising himself with the Championship. Stéphan, by contrast, already has a season of Championship football under his belt. So I say stick, not twist.

And who knows, Stéphan may have a better squad to play with next term. One glaring stat pulled out by Scherer is the number of goals conceded relative to our xGA. According to that metric, which describes the statistical likelihood of opponents scoring against you based on the shooting positions they get into, we were roughly mid-table, yet we conceded the second highest number of goals in the league after Sheffield Wednesday. So we need a new keeper, but then anyone who watched us concede seven to Coventry, five to Southampton and four to Middlesbrough could have told you that.

We also need a left back, given that Rhys Norrington-Davis is due to return to Sheffield United, and a right back, assuming we leave Jimmy Dunne at centre back. Mbengue has his good points, but playing at right back isn’t among them. Isaac Hayden is gone and Varane may also go this summer – if we can find someone to buy him – which means we’ll also need to strengthen in defensive midfield. The other positions should be okay, provided our attacking players aren’t devastated by injuries, as they were this season. You’d hope that Stéphan and Ben Williams, our Director of Performance, have got more of a feel for each other by now, with a better understanding of how the other works.

To end on an optimistic note, Hull’s unexpected success proves it can be done with a journeyman squad, a so-so manager and a mid-table budget. You just need a bit more consistency, fewer injuries to your first-team players and a large dollop of good fortune. And there will be six play-off places next season, not four, which means we just have to finish in the top third to qualify. So roll on 26-27. “Dare to dream” were the words on the Hull flags given out at Wembley and I’m already looking forward to my next trip to Loftus Road.

So that’s that. QPR’s season ended with a 3-0 loss at Portman Road that confirmed Ipswich Town’s promotion to the Premier League and left the Hoops languishing in 15th place – the same position we ended up in last season. Indeed, 15th is were we’ve averaged finishing since being demoted from the Prem in 2014-15. The only improvement on last season was our points tally, which at 58 is two more. Hardly a ringing endorsement of Julien Stéphan, given what the club has spent on players since he was appointed. Who’s to say Martí Cifuentes wouldn’t have done better with Richard Kone and Rumarn Burrell leading the line instead of Michy Frey and Zan Celar? Fifteenth place is pretty disappointing, given where I’d hoped we’d be in August, and I imagine the Board isn’t too impressed either.

Going into this one, I was under no illusions and didn’t join the 1,700 or so Hoops fans making the trip. Ipswich needed a win to be certain of promotion – although a draw might have done it depending on Millwall’s result against Oxford. The Tractor Boys went into the game second in the table with 81 points, having recovered from a faltering start. For us, there was nothing to play for except pride in the shirt, which, in QPR’s case, often seems in short supply.

To be fair to Stéphan, the squad has been plagued by injuries all season, and the team he put out against Ipswich was a good illustration of that. We have three strikers at the club, but all were injured ahead of this game, forcing the gaffer to start Daniel Bennie. As one exasperated fan posted on X, one of those strikers – Justin Obikwu – was signed in January as a replacement for Burrell, who was injured, and who has since come back and got injured again, all before Obikwu has made an appearance. Meanwhile, Kone, whom Stéphan was forced to play more often than he would have liked, finally succumbed to injury in the last game.

The only good news was that Ilias Chair was back in the starting line-up for the first time since returning from injury, although the little Moroccan still isn’t back to his best. Beyond that, Stéphan made two changes to the side that had faced Derby. Joe Walsh was back in goal instead of Paul Nardi; and Nicolas Madsen returned in central midfield in place of Paul Smyth. That meant we lined up in a 4-4-2 formation as follows: Walsh between the sticks; Amadou Mbengue, Ronnie Edwards, Jake Clarke-Salter and Rhys Norrington-Davies in defence; Madsen, Jonathan Varane, Kieran Morgan and Chair in midfield; and Daniel Bennie and Harvey Vale up front.

Stéphan had warned us beforehand that the opening would be “a wild 15-20 minutes” and so it proved to be. The hosts came flying out of the traps and we spent most of the opening exchanges chasing shadows. Walsh did well in the second minute to get his right foot to a Lief Davis effort – Davis had been played clean through by Jack Taylor and might have scored had Walsh not got something on it. But it was a brief reprieve.

George Hirst put them ahead a minute later. A smart passing move involving four Ipswich players ended with Davis putting a ball across the mouth of goal. Mbengue had been too easily beaten in midfield before the move developed, and Edwards and Clarke-Salter both failed to intercept Davis’s cross. Hirst stabbed it home from almost point blank range.

The hosts chalked up a second six minutes later. Hirst turned provider this time, playing the final pass to Jaden Philogene-Bidace, who dummied Mbengue before slipping the ball into the net. Two goals in nine minutes, Mbengue at fault for both, and the promotion party at Portman Road was already underway.

Incredibly, we didn’t get out of our own half until the 12th minute, but Madsen’s effort from range failed to test James Walton, the hosts’ keeper. Chair then danced around a series of challenges only to be fouled right on the edge of the box. It looked a decent opportunity, but he skied the free kick.

Walsh kept us from going further behind in the 53rd minute, pulling off a fine save from Philogene-Bidace’s volley, and Walton had to stretch again nine minutes later to deny a shot from Koki Saito, who had come on for Chair. But by then we were going through the motions and it was just a question of counting down the minutes until the pitch invasion.

Paul Smyth, who came on at half time for Madsen – along with Tylon Smith for Clarke-Salter – was our best player in the second half, making a couple of weaving runs from the halfway line. His shot in the 58th minute forced Walton into a save; another shot on target in the 83rd minute was palmed away by the keeper, only to fall kindly to Bennie, who put it over the bar. The Australian’s lack of composure in front of goal is the biggest weakness in his game.

The Ipswich bench underlined the gulf in quality. Kieran McKenna, who’s taken them from League One to the Premiership, was able to bring on Kasey McAteer, top scorer Jack Clarke, Anis Mehmeti and Iván Azon – four players who would be welcomed into any other Championship side – and it was this quartet who sealed the result. In the 85th minute, Mehmeti and Azon caused chaos on the edge of our box, the ball broke to Jack Taylor whose shot cannoned off Walsh into the feet of McAteer who swept home. Portman Road erupted.

We saw two QPR debuts in the closing stages: Isak Alemayehu Mulugeta, an attacking midfielder, came on for Morgan in the 80th minute and looked competent enough in the brief time he had. Then, in the 85th, Leon Scarlett – with the Copybet logo blacked out on his shirt because he’s under 18 – replaced Bennie. Both will presumably be back next season.

Ipswich had 14 shots to our 13, seven on target compared to our four, and an xG of 2.53 to QPR’s 0.84. According to stats wizard Jack Supple, we’ve conceded 3+ goals in 11 different games in all competitions this season – our highest such total since 2012-13.

This loss means we ended the campaign with four consecutive defeats, the first time we’ve lost the last four games of the season in the club’s history. We lost 20 games in total in 2025-26, 10 of them at home, and won just 16. Overall, we’ve scored 61 goals and conceded 73, the second-worst defensive record in the league.

Stéphan, speaking afterwards, was characteristically guarded, although didn’t sound like he’s on his bike in spite of the rumour that he’s being eyed up by a French Ligue 1 side.

“It was a season with a lot of ups and downs,” he said. “I don’t know which is the level of this group.”

Was that a subtle dig at Ben Williams, our Director of Performance, who hasn’t done a great job of keeping our first-team players fit? Stéphan went on to say we were a club with “good foundations” capable of pushing on next season, but the development prospects he’s tried to bring on – Kieran Morgan, Daniel Bennie, Esquerdinha, Tylon Smith – have shown scant signs of progress. I’m sure he’d do better with a fitter squad and some strengthening in key positions (a goalkeeper, a right back, a left back, an attacking midfielder), but he hasn’t proved to be the cup specialist or talent magnet we’d hoped. The board will have to decide whether to cut their losses or back the Frenchman for another go, bearing in mind a play-off place is more achievable next season, with those clubs finishing in 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th place going through.

On X, the West London football journalist Ian McCulloch summed up the positive spin the club will try to put on things: “15th again. Be prepared to be told: we gave many young players their debuts; injuries were not as bad as you lot think; not being in a relegation fight is a success; it’s unfair to compare us with what Millwall, Hull and Derby have done – and can you pay more next season? You R’s.”

I’ll be back next season with my sons, in spite of the hike in ticket prices. You can watch the highlights on Sky Sports here.

So that’s how our season ends. Not with a bang, but a gut-punch. We led twice, had 23 shots to their 12 and scored twice. Yet, somehow, we contrived to lose 2-3. Maybe it was because we had nothing to play for, whereas Derby needed to win to keep their play-off hopes alive. They duly obliged, courtesy of a late goal when we were down to 10 men after Burrell had gone off injured and we’d used all our substitutes. The stewards formed their familiar cordon at the final whistle, ready for a pitch invasion that was never coming.

Julien Stéphan made six changes to the team he put out against Swansea City. Paul Nardi came in for Joe Walsh in goal; Amadou Mbengue replaced Kealey Adamson at right back; Jake Clarke-Salter took over from Steve Cook at centre back; Jonathan Varane returned in midfield in place of Isaac Hayden; Paul Smyth came in for Kwame Poku on the right wing; and Daniel Bennie started up front instead of Rumarn Burrell. That meant we lined up in a 4-4-2 formation as follows: Nardi between the sticks; Mbengue, Ronnie Edwards, Clarke-Salter and Rhys Norrington-Davies in defence; Harvey Vale, Kieran Morgan, Varane and Smyth in midfield; and Bennie and Richard Kone up front.

Derby, four points off the play-offs going into this, had everything to play for. Unlike us, judging from the line-up – although in fairness, the team Stéphan put out played with considerably more verve than the teams he’d started against Millwall and Swansea.

Inevitably, the chants of “Oh, Bobby Zamora” began almost immediately and we started on the front foot, testing the visitors’ back line from the get-go. Kone had a shot from close range in the 5th minute, getting on the end of a pass from Bennie that rolled invitingly across the goalmouth. Jacob Widell Zetterström, the Rams Keeper, managed to push it away, only for Vale to hit the post with the follow-up.

Mbengue had a long-range effort blocked on nine minutes, then Smyth rolled the ball tamely into Zetterström’s arms when he really should have done better after being teed up by Kone. Still, the intent was there and the goal – when it came – was well deserved.

Vale took the honours in the 13th minute. Kone played in Bennie, the Australian passed it to Vale, and the former Chelsea academy player buried it in the bottom right with his left foot. Beautifully worked goal.

We went on the attack again almost immediately. Morgan, who was having a much better game than he did against Swansea, had a decent effort from the edge of the box go just over shortly afterwards, and Varane – again, better than he has been in the last few games – had a shot that Zetterström tipped on to the bar. We were playing much more progressive, attacking football than we’d managed in the previous two. You could see the players actually enjoying themselves, which makes a change.

Of course, it couldn’t last. Derby equalised in the 25th minute from a corner, with Oscar Fraulo stabbing the ball home from the edge of the area after Max Johnston’s delivery caused confusion. Whether it hit Clarke-Salter as it was goal-bound is unclear, but Nardi gave Fraulo too much room at the near post. It was their first shot on target of the match. They only had three on target today, compared to 12 from us, but they scored every time. Couldn’t Nardi have saved just one?

The rest of the first half belonged to us. Smyth had another effort saved, Varane went close with a right-footer that Zetterström pushed on to the crossbar – the Swedish keeper had a good afternoon – and Vale curled a left-footed shot just wide in added time. At the break, we had 14 shots to Derby’s two, seven on target to their one, and an xG of 1.27 to their 0.06. It should have been more than level.

Mbengue went off at half time – he’d picked up a knock – with Adamson coming on at right back. It disrupted our momentum slightly, though we were still the brighter side in the early exchanges of the second period. Vale had a shot blocked, Bennie had another effort stopped.

To add to the good vibes on a beautiful spring afternoon, the news filtered through that West Ham had gone one-up against Everton, while Tottenham were being held to a draw by Wolves. If those results didn’t change, that meant four points would separate relegation-bound Tottenham from the Irons in 17th place, prompting a chant of: “Tottenham Away/Tottenham Away/Tottenham Away, ole, ole.”

Then Kone scored a lovely goal in the 55th minute. Vale played him in with a deft through ball and the Ivorian flicked it into the bottom right corner – a cheeky, well-taken finish that takes Kone to 11 goals for the season in all competitions, one ahead of Burrell. We were 2–1 up and looking like a team that might actually finish in the top half of the table for the first time in four years.

That feeling lasted about seven minutes before Stéphan made a double substitution in the 62nd minute: Burrell on for Bennie, Nicolas Madsen on for Morgan. Then, in the 68th minute, Kone came off – apparently with a minor knock – and Ilias Chair replaced him. Three changes in six minutes. No reason to think those substitutions would take the momentum out of our attack, but for some reason they did and we never looked like scoring again after that. Derby, meanwhile, gradually grew in confidence, helped by more astute substitutions from John Eustace, the QPR manager that never was.

Derby pulled level on 76 minutes, with Sondre Langås heading home from a corner with Nardi remaining stubbornly on his line. Two goals from two set pieces – why is Nardy so reluctant to come for the ball? He’s better than Walsh in every department apart from claiming crosses and it means we’re vulnerable to conceding every time our opponents have a corner. His performance today underlined just how badly we need to sign a new keeper in the summer.

Smyth went off injured four minutes earlier, replaced by Koki Saito, and Burrell picked up a yellow card for a foul in the 70th minute, then pulled up injured in the 85th. We’d used all our subs by then, so we played the last 10 minutes with 10 men and no striker. Quite extraordinary that four of our first-team players picked up injuries in the penultimate game of the season when we had nothing to play for. Is that inevitable when we start playing intense, progressive football, as we did for the first hour here? Hard not to blame Ben Williams, our Director of Performance, who looks set to keep his job in spite of a very chequered performance himself over the season, as well as the previous one in a “consultative” role.

Jaydon Banel settled it in the 88th minute, cutting in from the left and finding the bottom right hand corner. The Derby fans celebrated like they’d won a cup. For them, a play-off place is still on. For us, another late collapse, another three points squandered. That suggests another priority over the summer will be recruiting some older, more experienced players who have the footballing nous to see out games like this.

Nardi got a rating of 4.4 on FotMob – lower than any other player on the pitch – having made no saves against the three shots that beat him. Zetterström, who made 10 saves, was given 7.9.

In the match as a whole, we had the better of the statistics: 14 shots in the first half, seven on target; nine in the second half, five on target. Our xG was 2.27 to their 0.87. For the first 60 minutes, we were much better than we were in the last two games, playing the fast, attacking football that has characterised our best performances this season. Twice we led, but still, in spite of everything, we were beaten – symptomatic of the lack of character that has been this team’s undoing again and again. Is there a deep-seated, psychological reason why QPR can’t sustain any kind of momentum, whether in individual games, or over the course of the season? It often feels that way, although it may just be youth and inexperience. Bursts of brilliance, an exciting run of games, followed by slop that would shame League One.

The players did their customary lap of honour after the final whistle, some of them holding hands with their kids. But it was hard to feel much warmth towards them after we’d thrown away a 2–1 lead.

This defeat leaves us in 14th place and if Sheffield and Watford win their final games and we lose to Ipswich, which has got to be nailed on, we could end up finishing 16th, one below where we ended last season. Does this mean Stéphan is for the chop? I’ll give my verdict on the Frenchman in my final post, but it’s certainly been a disappointing season, given our summer signings.

You can watch the highlights on Sky Sports here.

There was quite an impressive turnout from the Swansea support last night at Loftus Road, given the tube strike. They managed to fill about two-thirds of the upper School End. Their reward was a deserved victory, leaving us 12th in the table, having been leapfrogged by the visitors. After the 2–0 battering at Millwall on Saturday, we did at least show some fight, although not until we’d conceded the second goal in the 80th minute.

Julien Stéphan made five changes to the team he put out at The Den. Development squad player Kealey Adamson came in for Amadou Mbengue at right back, with Steve Cook in at centre back instead of Jake Clarke-Salter; Isaac Hayden replaced Jonathan Varane in midfield; Rayan Kolli started ahead of Paul Smyth; and Rumarn Burrell replaced Richard Kone up front – Burrell’s first start since returning from injury. Nicolas Madsen, Ilias Chair and Smyth were all on the bench. That meant we lined up in a 4-4-2 formation as follows: Joe Walsh in goal; Adamson, Ronnie Edwards, Cook and Rhys Norrington-Davies in defence; Harvey Vale, Hayden, Kieran Morgan and Kwame Poku in midfield; and Kolli and Burrell up front.

Worth noting, per my son Ludo, that this was Cook’s last game in a QPR shirt – apparently if he plays more than 38 games this season we have to pay him more. He’s been a loyal servant of the club, helping to keep us up in the last two seasons, and got a good send-off when he was substituted in the 60th minute.

The visitors scored within the first three minutes. Adamson gave it away in their half, followed by a defensive error from Cook and Norrington-Davies, who took each other out on the edge of the box as they both went for the ball, leaving Ronald with acres of space in front of goal. The Brazilian winger duly rolled it into the net. He would go on to be a thorn in our side all evening and was named player of the match on FotMob with a rating of 8.6.

This was the second game in a row in which we’d conceded within the first three minutes – not a great way to start a football match. The team was back to playing like it did in February when we got turned over 5–0 by Southampton and 0–4 by Middlesbrough: defensive errors, lots of long balls flying into touch, attacking players seemingly unwilling to chance their arms on a shot.

Burrell is not yet back to his pre-injury best, seeming to lack confidence in front of goal. In the 12th minute, he found himself in the box, with a clear goal-scoring opportunity. But instead of having a go, he passed the ball to Kolli, whose shot was wide of the far post. A defensive header from Cook in the 13th almost became a calamitous own goal, mercifully going out for a corner instead.

A good pass from Adamson in the 25th minute found Hayden in the box. He had a shot that needed saving – our first and only one on target in the entire first half. Poku, meanwhile, went off injured in the 29th minute, replaced by Smyth. He looked distraught, poor man. Let’s hope it’s not serious.

Kolli teed it up for Morgan on the edge of the box in the 33rd minute, but the youngster struck it over the bar. Morgan, who had a shocker last night, badly needs a loan spell next season. Walsh pulled off a double save in the 38th minute to keep us in the game, though he was lucky to save the second after spilling the first at the feet of a Swansea attacker.

At half time, our xG was a paltry 0.10 to their 0.96. We had three shots in total and just one on target, while they had five and – remarkably – put all five on target.

The visitors were first out of the stops in the second half, putting us under pressure immediately. They were a lot sharper, moving the ball faster, and you got the impression their manager Vitor Matos had spotted our league-leading record for conceding in the first ten minutes of the second period and told his players to capitalise. Walsh made diving saves in the 48th and 52nd minutes. It felt like a second goal was coming.

Smyth drew a foul on the edge of the box shortly afterwards. Vale took the resulting free kick and, predictably, put it over the bar – although, to be fair, it wasn’t a million miles away. In the 57th minute, Kolli received the ball in a forward position with a bit of space, but instead of taking a couple of touches and having a shot, he tried to play in Burrell. The pass was under-hit and it was easily intercepted. Typical of how nearly all of our attacks broke down in the final third.

Stéphan made a quadruple substitution in the 60th minute: Ilias Chair came on for Kolli, Tylon Smith for Cook, Nicolas Madsen for Hayden and Richard Kone for Burrell. How Morgan survived that cull, I’ll never know.

Norrington-Davies made a good bursting run down the left in the 70th minute and put in a decent ball, but the keeper intercepted it before any of our attacking players could get to it. Walsh was called into action again in the 75th minute. Then, finally, in the 78th minute, a shot on target! Chair got on the end of a ball from Kone and pulled the trigger. But it was a pea roller that didn’t test the keeper.

Then came the moment that settled the game. A penalty to the visitors in the 80th minute: Smith was adjudged to have fouled on the right-hand edge of the box – the second time he’s given away a penalty in just his second appearance for the club at this level. Looking at it on Sky Sports on our phones in the stadium, the foul was definitely outside the box, which may be of some comfort to the South African youngster, but not to the furious home fans. Žan Vipotnik – the Championship’s highest goalscorer – took it and, of course, scored. Maybe VAR in the Championship, which was ruled out for next season by the EFL yesterday, isn’t such a bad idea after all! (Actually, it is and I’m relieved the EFL has nixed it.)

That poor decision seemed to kick QPR into life and, at last, we started playing some football. A shot from Vale in the 83rd minute that needed saving went out for a corner on the right. The resulting passage of play ended with a shot from Madsen that produced another corner on the left. We were getting closer, with Vale, Madsen and Chair combining to good effect. A great chance fell for Smyth in the 86th minute: Chair put a ball into the box, Smyth got on the end of it, but put it over the bar. He had another opportunity in the 88th minute after some good build-up play with Chair and Madsen pinging it around on the left of the box – but he fluffed it again.

We left it very late to claw one back. In the 90th minute, Edwards put in a lovely pass for Smyth, whose resulting shot bounced off the inside of the crossbar, with Norrington-Davies there to tap it in. That’s the left back’s first goal in a QPR shirt – until tonight, the loanee hadn’t so much as an assist. There were four minutes of added time, but not enough for an equaliser – not least because the referee wasted a minute pulling a ball back for a QPR free kick and then didn’t add it on. Overall, it was a really poor performance from Leigh Doughty, even by the woeful standards of refereeing at this level.

In the second half, we had nine shots and four on target, with an xG of 1.45 – better than the first, but that’s a low bar. Across the 90 minutes, possession was almost perfectly split at 49% to 51%, but the Swans had 17 shots to our 12, with 11 on target to our five. Our overall xG was 1.55 to their 2.61. Too many of our players simply weren’t up to this level tonight. It was a dead rubber at the arse end of the season, but Swansea seemed to want it more than us.

We’re unlikely to hold on to our place in the top half of the table, given that our two remaining games are against Derby and Ipswich. Does that mean it’s curtains for Stéphan? The thought of rolling the dice again, after starting the season with so much hope, is depressing. Yesterday wasn’t a great day to put the 26-27 season tickets on sale, although the video the club released to promote the tickets, narrated by Hoops fan Louis Theroux, is a corker.

It could be worse, I suppose. After their 2–2 draw at Hull last night, Leicester have been relegated to League One. Quite the fall from grace for a team that won the Premier League 10 years ago.

You can watch the highlights on Sky Sports here.

The last time QPR played Millwall, back in October, we lost 1-2. This afternoon, against a Millwall side chasing an automatic promotion slot, we were comprehensively beaten 2-0.

Going in to this, the Lions had won just one of their last five, slipping two points behind promotion rivals Ipswich in the race for second spot, whereas we were unbeaten in five, winning three and drawing two. Those three wins had me daring to dream about the play-offs. But after this desultory performance, a top-half finish looks optimistic.

Julien Stéphan made just one change to the side that started against Bristol City. Rayan Kolli dropped to the bench, with Kwame Poku coming in. But the good news was Ilias Chair, Nicolas Madsen and Rumarn Burrell were all on the bench.

The formation shifted from 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1, with Kieran Morgan and Jonathan Varane dropping into defensive midfield and Harvey Vale, Paul Smyth and Poku as the attacking trio. That meant we lined up as follows: Joe Walsh in goal; Amadou Mbengue, Ronnie Edwards, Jake Clarke-Salter and Rhys Norrington-Davies in defence; Varane and Morgan in midfield; Smyth, Vale and Poku in front of them; and Richard Kone leading the line.

We didn’t get to the stadium in time to see the opening goal, having got the train to Shadwell which still left us half an hour from the stadium. But by all accounts, it was 1-0 before we’d even had a kick. Derek Mazou-Sacko was quickest to react to a loose ball on the edge of the area and placed his left-footed shot beyond Walsh inside three minutes, with Mbengue at fault for ducking as the ball flew past him.

We had a couple of corners in quick succession around the 20-minute mark — Clarke-Salter headed one of them wide — but they amounted to nothing, and Millwall doubled their lead in the 17th minute. Varane went diving in to a challenge and the attacker, Camiel Neghli, cut back, sat the Frenchman on his arse and curled the ball into the corner. Walsh might have done better, but it was primarily a defensive error, and sadly typical of Varane in his current form. Two-nil after less than 20 minutes, making our chants of "Premier League/You're having a laugh" ring hollow.

Edwards picked up a yellow card two minutes later — the second booking for the visitors in the first half, with the hapless Mbengue being carded in the 31st minute.

In the 24th, Clarke-Salter and Walsh were both beaten and the ball sailed just over the bar — a narrow escape. At the other end, Smyth got the ball on the edge of the area in the 39th minute and, instead of having a shot, tried a pass, only for the ball to roll over the touch line. Then, in first-half stoppage time, the ball fell kindly for Smyth again and the misfiring Ulsterman hit it high into the Cold Blow Lane stand.

It was a poor first-half display and, to his credit, Stéphan responded decisively at half time, making four changes: Isaac Hayden, Rumarn Burrell, Madsen and Steve Cook all came on, with Mbengue, Varane, Smyth and Morgan making way. Given Mbengue’s booking and general liability, and Varane’s defensive errors, it wasn't that surprising to see them hooked, although I was sorry to see Smyth come off, not least because I had a fiver on him to score any time.

We were better in the second half, although never looked like clawing one back, with the Hoops only managing one shot on target in the entire match. That came from Madsen in the 89th minute and needed saving, although it didn't do much to test Anthony Patterson, who batted it away.

Hayden put a decent cross into the box in the 55th minute but Burrell just missed getting his head on it. In the 58th minute, Norrington-Davies had what might have been a shot or might have been a pass — either way, it sailed over the bar. Chair came on for Poku in the 60th minute, and it was good to see the little Moroccan back in a QPR shirt. He had a shot from 25 yards in the 67th minute, which ended up brushing the wrong side of the near post — the closest we came to scoring all afternoon.

Vale had a bad day at the office, over-hitting his crosses and repeatedly putting the ball into touch. Burrell got on the end of a Madsen pass in the box in the 84th minute but couldn’t get his feet right and the chance fizzled out.

In added time, as our fans began steaming out, hoping to avoid being kettled, the Lions faithful began chanting “Fuck off/You might as well fuck off" — a fitting send-off, given how easily their lads had put us to the sword

The full-time statistics tell the story. We had five shots in total, just one on target; Millwall had eleven, four on target. We had 57% of the possession — never a good sign — and an xG of just 0.13 to Millwall’s 1.08. We created no big chances.

That means Millwall have done the double over us this season, the first time since the 1988-89 season, according to the BBC. At the final whistle, they were in the automatics, although Ipswich play on Sunday and could reclaim that spot. As for us, we ended the afternoon in 12th, just managing to cling on to our top half place. We're 13 points off sixth placed Hull, so with three games left, the play-offs are out of reach.

You can watch the highlights on Sky Sports here.

It was an early start for the Youngs today, getting up at 6.15am for this year’s Tiger Walk, the annual fundraising event for the Tiger Cubs, QPR’s Down syndrome team. (You can donate here.) We had to get to QPR’s training ground in Hounslow by 7.30am, thanks to the early kick-off. We made it to Loftus Road at noon, but after a visit to the pitch for a group photo we only had a few minutes to spare before the match got underway. Luckily, we managed to squeeze in a group selfie with Mark Bircham (see above), who accompanied us on the walk, along with club Chairman Lee Hoose.

Julien Stéphan made just one change to the side that drew 1–1 at Preston on Easter Monday. Jimmy Dunne was out with a knee issue that, according to Hoose, has been troubling him for two seasons – and with four games left, it sounds like he may have played his last match of the campaign. Ronnie Edwards took over the captain’s armband, with Jake Clarke-Salter coming in at centre back in the Irishman’s place. The big news was the return of Rumarn Burrell, who was on the bench – we haven’t seen him since he did his hamstring in January. That meant we lined up in a 4-4-2 formation as follows: Joe Walsh between the sticks; Amadou Mbengue, Edwards, Clarke-Salter and Rhys Norrington-Davies in defence; Harvey Vale, Kieran Morgan, Jonathan Varane and Paul Smyth in midfield; and Rayan Kolli and Richard Kone up front.

The visitors dominated the opening quarter. Between the 13th and 16th minutes, they won four corners in quick succession – an avalanche of set pieces that had the home end shifting uneasily in its seats. The last two involved Scott Twine taking them short, receiving it back, and then advancing for a shot on goal. On the first attempt, Walsh could only palm the ball away when he should have gathered, forcing Varane to boot it back out for another corner. Exactly the kind of unnecessary pressure we didn’t need.

The closest they came to scoring in the first half was on the half hour, when a sharp pass put Twine in behind. He struck the ball cleanly, our keeper got a hand to it, but could only parry – and the ball came agonisingly close to trickling in before Walsh managed to smother it. Then, seven minutes later, he spilled what should have been a routine catch, again scrambling to cover before a red-and-white shirt arrived. He was fortunate on both occasions. The visitors came within a whisker again in the 46th minute, with the ball pinging around the box before Walsh threw himself on it. A poor first half performance from the keeper, although he improved sufficiently in the second period to earn a FotMob rating of 8.5 and be acclaimed Man of the Match. If only he could be a bit more consistent.

It was a boring first half – exactly what you’d expect from an end-of-season dead rubber between two sides who, as the BBC put it, have already seen their play-off hopes evaporate. We had five shots in the first half, two on target; they had nine, with four on target. Kolli and Smyth were largely anonymous and Kone less of a handful than usual. We were the better side in the reverse fixture at Ashton Gate in October – winning 2-1 – but there was little here to suggest a repeat was in the offing.

Things improved after half time. Walsh made a decent save in the 52nd minute, and a minute later Smyth won a free kick in the final third, floating a ball into the box that had the Bristol back line flapping. Then, in the 54th minute, Mbengue was barged off the ball – a foul that should have been awarded to us, but, inexplicably, the referee gave the other way. Cue a chant of “You don’t know what you’re doing”. When Mbengue then glared at the player who’d put him down and slapped the ball in frustration, he was yellow-carded. Not an edifying spectacle, but the bad blood seemed to spur both teams into life.

Our best move of the afternoon came in the 59th minute, ending with a Smyth effort that sailed just over the bar. Then Vale made a bursting run on the right, rolled the ball into the path of Kolli, who beat his man and was in on goal – only to be hauled back by a Bristol defender. Free kick. Corner. Nothing came of it.

Stéphan made two changes in the 68th minute, bringing on Burrell for Kolli and Daniel Bennie for Kone, then replacing Morgan with Kwame Poku in the 75th. Burrell’s arrival was warmly received – “Burrell again, olé olé” – but he had little opportunity to make an impression in the final quarter of an hour.

In the second half, we had six shots, none on target; the Robins had four, two on target. Yet our xG in the second period was 0.58 to their 0.16 – the ball didn’t fall for us, but we at least grew into the game as the afternoon wore on. Across the ninety, we had 45% possession and an overall xG of 0.91 to their 0.87. Eleven shots to their thirteen. Even Steven – and entirely forgettable.

It was, in truth, exactly what you’d expect from two sides at the end of a season with nothing to play for. It burst into life occasionally, but more often than not looked like a friendly between two groups of players who’ve already booked their summer holidays.

The result extends our unbeaten run to five and takes us to 58 points with four games remaining. We finished the afternoon in 11th place, although that probably won’t last given the other results still to trickle in. The play-offs are eight points away with four games left – a pipe dream at this point. What we’re playing for is a top ten finish, which will probably be enough to cement Stéphan in place. Can we then push on to secure a place in the play-offs next season? With Ilias Chair, Nicolas Madsen and Karamoko Dembélé all set to return, some smart business over the summer – new keeper please – and Burrell and Kone on form, we surely have a decent chance, particularly as a top eight finish will be enough in 2026-27.

You can watch the highlights on Sky Sports here.

I didn’t bother making the trip to Deepdale for this one, which was probably just as well. Queens Park Rangers came into the game in 10th place after three wins on the bounce, whereas Preston were 15th, having picked up just one win in their last nine. Would we be able to keep our play-off hopes alive? The answer is yes, but only just, having secured a point after Thierry Smalls scored a comical own goal in the 82nd minute to put us level. We were by far the better side after that, a view clearly shared by Paul Heckingbottom, Preston’s manager, who looked apprehensive when the third official held up his board showing seven minutes. We came close to scoring several times, with a golden opportunity falling to substitute Daniel Bennie in 90+5, but couldn’t make the pressure count. A slightly frustrating afternoon, although we’re now unbeaten in four.

Julien Stéphan made no changes to the side that beat Watford on Friday. That meant we lined up in a 4-4-2 formation as follows: Joe Walsh between the sticks; Amadou Mbengue, Jimmy Dunne, Ronnie Edwards and Rhys Norrington-Davies in defence; Harvey Vale, Jonathan Varane, Kieran Morgan and Paul Smyth in midfield; and Rayan Kolli and Richard Kone up front. There was a new face on the bench – sixteen year-old Leon Scarlett – but no sign of any players returning from injury.

The lack of rotation looked like a mistake in the first half, with the leggy QPR players making several unforced errors and allowing the hosts too much time on the ball. In the 11th minute, Kone put Vale through on the right, enabling the Irish international to whip in a dangerous cross. But Kolli arrived a fraction too late to tap it in. Varane got off a decent effort in the 34th minute that drifted just wide of the far post – one of his better contributions of the afternoon. Mbengue, making amends for a fairly anonymous first period, had a shot on target in the 47th minute that Daniel Iversen got down smartly to his left to deal with.

That was pretty much the full extent of our attacking threat in the first half, with the Hoops only managing one shot on target and an xG of 0.15. Quite a contrast to the five shots on target and xG of 1.66 we managed in the first period against Watford, although, to be fair, the Lillywhites were better organised.

The hosts scored less than a minute after the restart, delivering a blow to our hopes of getting anything out of this game. Brad Potts picked up a pass from Alfie Devine on the counter and rolled a fairly tame effort into the bottom left corner. Walsh, who looked as if he might have slipped, was wrong-footed and the ball trickled past him into the net. Probably should have done better.

The response was promising, if ultimately frustrating. Smyth hit the post in the 50th minute – Iversen beaten all ends up – before two goals were ruled out in quick succession. Kolli appeared to score in the 57th minute, but was a couple of yards offside. Thirty seconds later, Smyth bundled one in after Kone flicked it on – only for the Ivorian to be flagged offside. Kolli dragged a shot wide in the 60th minute. The game was turning into one of those afternoons.

Stéphan made a change in the 67th minute, bringing Kwame Poku on for Smyth. Five minutes later, Kolli made way for Daniel Bennie and Isaac Hayden replaced Varane. The substitutions gave us a bit more energy and intent, although not enough for a breakthrough. Bennie won a free kick in the final third in the 76th minute, but Vale’s delivery sailed out for a goal kick. Kone had his first shot of the afternoon in the 78th minute – straight at Iversen.

And then: salvation. In the 82nd minute, Norrington-Davies drove down the left and cut a low ball across the six-yard box. Thierry Small, Preston’s substitute left back, attempted to clear and made an absolute pig’s ear of it, the ball looping into his own net. One of the more embarrassing own goals in recent memory. When Sky cut to the visiting fans behind the goal they were laughing and shaking their heads.

The game burst into life in the final 15 minutes, with QPR pushing hard for a winner. In the 87th minute, Poku got a shot away that went just wide of the far post. In the 94th minute, Vale put in a fantastic ball that Bennie caught sweetly with his head – only for Iversen to tip it over the crossbar. Then, in the 95th, Kone cut the ball back to Bennie in the box and the Australian struck it straight at the keeper. He would have scored if he’d put it either side. That was our moment to take all three points.

We were undoubtedly the better side in the second half, growing into the game as the hosts began to fade. We had thirteen shots in the second period to their two, with four on target compared to their one. Across the ninety-seven minutes, we had eighteen shots in total to their eight and our xG was 0.94 to Preston’s 0.63. In truth, the scoreline flattered them.

A point, then, rather than three. Annoyingly, we end the afternoon in 12th, dropping two places down. We’re now seven points off the top six with five games to go. Beat Bristol City in the early kick-off next Saturday and we’ll keep our play-off hopes alive. Lose and a top-six finish begins to look out of reach. I’ll be doing the eight-mile Tiger Walk before the game to raise money for QPR’s Down syndrome team, although thanks to Sky scheduling the match for 12.30pm it will mean a very early start. (If you’d like to make a donation, you can do so here.)

If it’s any consolation, we are now mathematically safe from relegation, with 16 points separating us from Leicester City in 22nd place and only 15 left to play for.

You can watch the highlights on Sky Sports here.

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