A home draw is not meant to be the most satisfying outcome, but last weekend's goalless encounter with Chelsea was largely well received by QPR supporters. Ours lads, after all, were entertaining a side who, as their fans were keen to remind us (on the rare occasions their songs could be heard above the Rangers roar), are champions of Europe.
So although all three points could have been snatched had either of Messrs. Park and Zamora taken the scoring chances with which they were presented, getting even just the one point may have felt like some sort of victory to any Superhoops fans who had started the day fearing an embarrassing defeat. But while it's probably going too far to apply the word pyrrhic to any such sense of victory, the encouraging performance and result were not without cost. Most notably, of course, Andy Johnson is out for most of the rest of the season. This is horribly bad luck for the former Fulham man, but injuries this serious are not without precedent for the diminutive forward, whose 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons were both blighted by long periods out of action.
But, in Bobby Zamora and Djibril Cissé, QPR do have decent options up front, although the latter will surely be keen to rediscover the goal scoring form that was so vital in last season's relegation scrap. Also, other players, though not perhaps thought of as out-and-out strikers, can be pressed into duty further up the park if needed. Messrs. Mackie and Hoilett each scored seven league goals in league fixtures last season. So perhaps either can be moved from the wing to a more central position if needed.
In the short term at least, the more pressing area of concern is the Rangers defence. It was to this area that most damage was sustained during last week's encounter with the Pensioners, with loanee fullback Fábio da Silva and centre-half Anton Ferdinand both sustaining knocks that have ruled them out of tomorrow's trip to White Hart Lane.
These are not the only defensive headaches faced by Mark Hughes. Armand Traoré is not yet ready to step into the left-sided position temporarily vacated by Fabio, and new signing Stéphane Mbia is also not quite fit enough to play against Spurs.
So QPR fans may be right to worry about the ability of a reshuffled back line to deal with the threat posed by Tottenham tomorrow. One particularly pressing concern seems to be the left-back position. Whoever steps into that role will most likely be facing pacey opponents in the form of Aaron Lennon and a certain fullback whose abilities are well known to Superhoops supporters. The speed and guile of Walker and Lennon, then, are such that some people are asking whether dear old Clint Hill is the best man to deal with them. Another option, of course, would be shift José Bosingwa from right to left. Could he cope? Well, while a common perception may be that the experienced Portuguese defender is entirely and unhelpfully right-footed, it is worth remembering his magnificent performance against Barcelona just over three years ago. Petr Cech, one of Bosingwa's Chelsea team mates that day, remarked that "the biggest compliment should go to José because I think it was the second time in his life that he played at left back and it was against [Lionel] Messi. But you couldn't see Messi on the pitch today."
Perhaps it's way too optimistic to suppose that, on Sunday evening, Bosingwa will be enjoying similar praise for having nullified the threat posed by key Spurs players. But Cech's gushing praise of the Portuguese fullback should serve as a reminder that, slow start to the season notwithstanding, QPR have added a lot of quality to their squad. What that means in terms of our chances at Tottenham remains to be seen. But it is to be hoped that once this tricky tie is out of the way, the Rangers can really get their season going properly. By and large, after all, the weekends ahead are populated with what should be more benign fixtures. As we look ahead to October and November, trips to the Emirates Stadium and Old Trafford stand out as exceptions to what otherwise looks like a run of games from which QPR must surely start collecting some serious points.
But perhaps points can be had this weekend. Perhaps at least a draw can be secured tomorrow. Our opponents' only win so far this season was at the expense of newly-promoted Reading and they have yet to win at home, with their new manager (our old pal AVB) yet to make his mark and secure the affection of Spurs fans. So let's see if the R's can work around that daunting injury list and get something from the short trip to Tottenham.
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