Harry Redknapp and ‘less than the sum of its parts’ QPR have that sinking feeling

Be it sinking costs or a deserved sinking to the bottom of the table, at Queens Park Rangers, 'ambition has not been underpinned by collective commitment, an appropriate ethos or a particular style of play'.

Harry Redknapp has managed QPR to one win, one draw and five losses in seven matches to see his side begin bottom of the table in the 2014/15 Premier League season. Carl Court / AFP

Queens Park Rangers’ early-season fixture list has doubled as a nostalgia trip. They have been wretched reunions.

Manager Harry Redknapp has been to three of his former clubs, Tottenham Hotspur, Southampton and West Ham United, and centre-back Rio Ferdinand returned to Manchester United for the first time after 12 years at Old Trafford.

Not that old employers were given any reasons to feel sentimental. They rather reinforced the impression that Redknapp and Ferdinand’s best days are behind them. QPR lost all four games by an aggregate score of 12-1.

QPR have been beaten in six of their eight games this season and their performances in those defeats have varied from the poor to the appalling.

These are not hard-luck stories. For all the pressure on Alan Pardew, even Newcastle have not been abject as often as QPR.

All of which raises the question: is history repeating itself? QPR’s relegation in 2013 was one of the most extreme examples of insipid underachievement witnessed in the Premier League. It was also embarrassingly expensive.

They had a higher wage bill than Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund, posted a loss of £65 million (Dh381.6m) and secured a mere 25 points.

Now there are echoes of past ignominies. The late loss of Loic Remy just before the transfer window closed may be a mitigating factor, but this is a team that is less than the sum of its parts.

Money has been spent again in the summer – more than £30m – but there is no connection between expenditure and excellence at Loftus Road.

After Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Upton Park, Redknapp said his side are lacking fitness. Others would suggest they are missing the required work rate and attitude. There are times when the team looks uninterested. There are times when the manager does.

It is a source of some bemusement that QPR are willing to extend the contract of a man who, for all his past achievements, has won only five of his 32 top-flight games in charge.

Previous Redknapp sides have often been entertaining, some have been granted a maverick talent freedom, some have been physically powerful and some defensively sound. This is none of them.

Meanwhile, Redknapp has become a parody of himself. The witticisms and the one-liners remain, but so do the comments that do not stand up to scrutiny, the attempts to deflect to blame, the insistences – invariably inaccurate – that he is “down to the bare bones” and needs new signings.

But he has had four transfer windows and ample funds to reshape this QPR squad; if faults are found, responsibility lies with him.

Over the years, his transfer policy has consisted of a blend of familiar faces and eclectic additions. Now only Niko Kranjcar, who scored a terrific equaliser against Stoke and struck the woodwork with a similarly fine free kick at Southampton, represents a success story for the old pals’ act.

Supporters are wondering what Ferdinand has to do before he is dropped. He has been no more impressive in a back three or a back four. The change in shape leaves Mauricio Isla, the on-loan Juventus wing-back who starred for Chile in the World Cup, out of the team.

Plans are already being ripped up but Ferdinand somehow remains central to the strategy.

He is a symbolic figure. Not in the right way, but not entirely because of his own failings. QPR’s demotion campaign two years ago was notable for the influx of ageing players without any great attachment to the club, but willing to sign on for a final payday.

Perhaps lessons have not been learnt. Ambition has not been underpinned by collective commitment, an appropriate ethos or a particular style of play.

Even Tony Fernandes, the enthusiastic but seemingly forever naive owner, admitted Sunday’s display was not good enough. Few have been over the past three-and-a-half years.

Apart from the first 10 games of last season, QPR have rarely played well since Neil Warnock took them up in 2011. They are a club in search of an identity, just as they ought to try to shed their unwanted reputation as big-spending let-downs.

At the moment, one newcomer from the Championship is looking likely to survive. That well-drilled, highly-motivated team that has proved capable of getting results against the elite is Leicester City.

Another is producing a valiant effort, though finances dictate relegation is almost certain. That is Burnley. But while Burnley have little money, at least they have spirit. The same cannot be said for QPR.

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