When Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was unveiled as news Queens Park Rangers manager on Monday, there was plenty of talk about change. A certain degree is inevitable when a new coach takes over, but the scale in which the Dutchman, after a successful start in management at Burton Albion, is planning on overhauling the west London club might appear surprising with a glance at the table.
They sit three points off the playoffs before his first game in charge against Burnley on Saturday. Yet here was Hasselbaink, alongside the director of football Les Ferdinand, talking about thrusting young players in at the deep end. One thing it was hard to disagree on was the need to unite a squad that has been fragmented and not always pulling in the same direction, but ultimately they have been doing OK. Nothing special, but in need of a shake up.
“If I have a chance to bring a young player through at 18 or whatever age he is - and he is good enough - I will chuck him in,” Hasselbaink said. “I will give him a chance, but he has to bring something to the team. Otherwise you can’t do it and, if you do that, the senior player will have to understand. If they throw the dummy out, you pick it up and put it back in their mouth.”
Then you factor in the club’s financial state and the money spent by Tony Fernandes and it becomes clearer that had as much to do with his comments as their place on the table. “They looked at their bank accounts and went: ‘Oh yeah, we’ve thrown quite a lot of money at this’,” Hasselbaink said, with a smile.
Chris Ramsey had been given initial targets at the beginning of the season, which were moderately difficult due to the club’s precarious financial position and with possible sanctions afoot, but when Charlie Austin stayed put having been expected to depart for the Premier League, those objectives were understood to have been altered. Needless to say he fell short and Hasselbaink has become Fernandes’ fifth permanent manager since taking over the club in 2011.
He could well lose Austin when the transfer window opens next month, and while the striker has gone under the radar slightly compared to the limelight he enjoyed last season, he has still scored eight times in 14 appearances. Watching QPR at the moment is far from exciting - despite winning their last two, they have scored only two goals in their last six league games - and if Hasselbaink’s time at Burton is to be a gauge, goals might not become plentiful immediately.
He left Albion top of League One, but that was down to a resilient defensive unit more than free-flowing attacking football. Only one side in the top half - Bradford (22) - have scored fewer than their 24 goals from 20 games, but just three teams in the entire Football League have conceded fewer - Derby (11), Middlesbrough (12) and Hull (13) to Burton’s 16.
Such is the congestion in the middle of the Championship, neither the playoffs nor lower mid-table would be a surprise finish for QPR from their current position, but they certainly have some way to go to bridge the gap to Brighton, who remain unbeaten after their remarkable comeback from two goals down to defeat Charlton 3-2 last Saturday.
Chris Hughton’s team meet Rangers on Tuesday but, remarkably considering their results, still have not won a game by more than one goal. The addition of James Wilson on loan from Manchester United will bolster their attack and while they do not possess an outstanding goalscorer in the mould of Austin, there has been an impressive spread of players chipping in. Nine in total have found the net, with only Tommer Hemed (6) and Bobby Zamora (5) reaching five or more.
Yet their mettle will really be tested by three games in the space of eight days. Before next week’s fixture with QPR, they meet third-placed Derby County with second-placed Middlesbrough to follow Saturday week. Derby have really settled into a pattern after an inauspicious start under Paul Clement, while Boro have been impressive aside from a 3-0 humbling at Hull, who remain fourth despite having lost two and drawn one since that victory. Burnley occupy fifth place, five points clear of Cardiff and though we have yet to reach Christmas, it would not be overly brave to declare the automatically promoted sides will come from the leading quintet.
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