QPR secured promotion with a dramatic winner in the last kick of the Play-off final against Derby to end a season of under-performance on a bright note and achieve what was asked of manager Harry Redknapp. Now that QPR are in the Premier League the fans and manager will be hoping that the club and its players rise to the new challenge and put the largely mediocre performances of the Championship behind them, something which West Ham proved can be done with aplomb as they came up after finishing third in 2011-12 and went on to finish tenth in the Premier League.
All QPR fans will be hoping their team can do better than their last miserable showing in the top flight when they finished rock bottom despite having a team which was expected to do much better. The big problem last time around was the fact that the squad was put simply too big for a club of their size and although they did just manage to survive the previous season issues continued to stem from them having no 'backbone' or spirit in the team. In 2010-11 QPR were impressive as they won the Championship to gain promotion but the team that achieved that was mostly discarded in favour of new players and as a result they rarely showed any passion or togetherness in the two years that followed.
The way in which QPR won their Championship play-off final against Derby demonstrated that Harry Redknapp has brought a renewed team spirit to Loftus Road and the key now is for the same squad to continue into the new season just possibly with the odd new face coming through the door to add Premier League experience. A player who has already been signed and will provide experience at this level is of course Rio Ferdinand.
I think it is highly likely that Ferdinand would not have returned to Premier League Football again had it not been for this opportunity but in QPR he has chosen a club who he can genuinely help to stay up and whilst his lack of pace was starting to show at Man United it should be less of a problem at the level his new club will be competing at.
Rio Ferdinand adds to a strong core of English players at Loftus Road and arguably the most important of those will be Charlie Austin who was vital to the club's promotion last season and is likely to be again this time around. Questions will of course be asked of whether Austin can step up to the tougher challenge, at the moment he will likely only have Bobby Zamora for company up front and as a result enforcements will need to be made in that area, though Harry Redknapp's track record of transfer deadline day dealings mean it wouldn't be a surprise to see things being left late.
I think the prospects for QPR's coming season are brighter than when they were last in the Premier League and Loftus Road will be a difficult environment for teams to play in for sure but as things stand at the moment there doesn't look like there will be enough of a goal threat.
QPR will struggle to score consistently but I think they will fare relatively well defensively and a partnership of Rio Ferdinand and Richard Dunne may be a successful one. I don't think QPR will ever be too far from trouble but the experience of Harry Redknapp and a better team spirit this time around means they should just have enough to stay up. 2014-15 Prediction: 16th.
