Harry Redknapp puffed out his cheeks, muttered something that relayed his disbelief to Joe Jordan at his side, then lent back against the dugout with a shake of his head in disgust. This mismatch was less than half an hour old and Queens Park Rangers were already embarrassed having just conceded a third goal, a thumping header dispatched by Daniel Agger. The centre-half was unmarked though that was not surprising, the hosts' attempts at resistance having long since disintegrated. This team is sinking without trace.
Recovery from this defensive shambles feels unlikely, even with January and another transfer frenzy only a few days away. That solitary league success, against Fulham earlier this month, lingers as a cruel false dawn in the context of a third successive defeat, form which, in truth, better sums up Rangers' campaign to date.
There was little sign of progress here, with no indication that the prerequisite upon taking up the reins at a struggling side – tightening up at the back – had been addressed. Luis Suárez tore the home side to shreds, with Liverpool's midfield combination revelling in wide open spaces at the Uruguayan's back.
The eight point gap from safety is a gulf, with this performance arguably every bit as abject as the surrender to Southampton under Mark Hughes in his last game in charge back in November. Redknapp has not had a chance to wheel and deal as yet but he will be third successive QPR manager to survey a transfer window with a sense of desperation.
Clint Hill and Ryan Nelsen are seasoned professionals and utterly committed, but slippery forwards such as Suárez can humiliate them. Both full-backs selected here, Armand Traoré and Nedum Onuoha, looked like broken men defensively. There is little protection in front of any of them, and Júlio César – recalled for Rob Green, who was left wallowing in his thoughts on the bench – cannot perform heroics alone. There is imbalance all around, and a trip to third-placed Chelsea to come on Wednesday. They scored eight the last time they trotted out at Stamford Bridge.
And to think this game had initially appeared to be another opportunity for Rangers to spark their recovery, as they had done against this opposition so memorably last term. Liverpool had arrived with the norovirus apparently festering in their squad, the manager Brendan Rodgers and No2 goalkeeper Brad Jones having been dispatched back to Merseyside earlier in the day at risk of infecting the entire party. As it transpired, it was the locals who played as if off colour while Suárez, a forward scouted heavily by Redknapp's Tottenham Hotspur while at Ajax, rejoiced in the freedom of Loftus Road.
His clever drift away from Hill 10 minutes in to collect Stewart Downing's pass, before tearing at and beyond the back-pedalling centre-half, set the tone. The finish was precise and the hosts already felt broken. Within six minutes he had wriggled to the by-line and cut the ball back towards Raheem Sterling in the centre. Onuoha's lunge denied the former QPR youngster but merely set up Suárez to thrash in a second from close range. It took César's wonderful save to deny him a hat-trick, though by then Liverpool were prising Rangers apart at will.
Agger's header as QPR dawdled at another short-corner routine had completed the first-half rewards, though Nelsen had twice cleared further attempts from his goal-line, with the visitors content in their superiority thereafter. QPR's response amounted to Djibril Cissé, once a European Cup winner with Liverpool, being withdrawn at the interval with Shaun Derry, one of the under-used survivors from Neil Warnock's promotion side, belatedly asked to anchor midfield. The departing Frenchman had hardly mustered a touch.
At some stage in the next few weeks, Redknapp must persuade a goalscorer to join the ranks – as Liverpool have done with Daniel Sturridge – with his team's only suggestion of bite here a flurry of optimistic shots from distance from Adel Taarabt. A dispirited home support were left to cheer the ball drifting into José Reina's goal after it was returned to the pitch by a ball-boy, though the disillusion had returned by the end. The chorus of boos that erupted at the final whistle was predictable if understandable. At present, all optimism has drained away from these parts.
Man of the match Luis Suárez (Liverpool)
No comments:
Post a Comment