ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Newcastle 1 QPR 0:FOR Mark Hughes this was the day it became clear why Queens Park Rangers have dropped below that little jagged line in the Premier League table and are living in fear of their toes being tagged for the relegation morgue. Their run of poor results now stretches to two points from a possible 27 and, apart from sporadic flashes, there was no real evidence here of what is seen so often when a new manager is hired and a malfunctioning team is suddenly invigorated.
A change of management can lift a football club but this was a bland and prosaic performance that Hughes will remember with little affection. After an encouraging start they looked rudderless by the end, losing to a wonderfully taken goal from Leon Best eight minutes before the break.
Hughes has inherited a hard-working and willing group of players but there was rarely the sense that they had the wit or know-how to turn the game upside down and in the final stages, when a late rally might have been expected, probably the most disappointing part for Neil Warnock’s successor was the way the game petered out so meekly.
This was the moment when a team with confidence would have been pressing forward; instead it felt as though a white flag had been raised and that will go against all of Hughes’s core values.
Hughes has been left with plenty to ponder and it is easy to understand why he is so eager to go into the transfer market before the end of January. This is a side urgently in need of new ideas, particularly when it comes to the attacking positions.
A team that has managed 19 goals in 22 league fixtures must expect to be in peril and Jay Bothroyd looks noticeably short of confidence. Their most inviting chances both fell his way, early in the second half, and his shots were unconvincing in the extreme.
“There are areas that we need to improve,” Hughes aid afterwards. “That’s obvious.”
He was not willing to elaborate and, as is the norm for a manager still in these getting-to-know-you stages, he did not want to appear critical of his players.
Maybe this team will have more drive once Joey Barton returns from suspension. Even with their captain missing, however, it was strange to see them allow the game to fizzle out in such a tepid manner considering this was a Newcastle side missing not only Cheik Tiote and Demba Ba to the Africa Cup of Nations but also the creative influence of Yohan Cabaye inside the first half.
The Frenchman had been the subject of a late, scything tackle from Shaun Derry that, on the scale of card colours, was probably a deep shade of orange. Derry escaped with a booking for a challenge that meant Cabaye left the pitch on a stretcher and at that point one wondered how Newcastle might cope with the loss of so many key personnel.
Instead it was from here that Alan Pardew’s team took command and subjected their opponents to the first spell of concerted pressure, culminating in the game’s decisive moment.
Best is not always the most graceful attacker but his first touch was exquisite, turning inside the full-back Luke Young and creating his shooting opportunity all in one movement. A diagonal shot was expertly placed beyond the goalkeeper Paddy Kenny and Newcastle celebrated a moment that will help to soothe their concerns about being without Ba, their inspirational leading scorer.
By that point Shaun Wright-Phillips had flicked the crossbar with a long-range shot and there were fleeting signs Newcastle might be vulnerable. What happened after the goal, however, spoke of a QPR team developing all the signs of a losing habit.
Hughes will reflect on the chances for Bothroyd – one turned over the crossbar with his weaker right foot, and the other comfortably saved by Tim Krul – but one of Newcastle’s strengths this season has been their defensive unity and they dealt with their opponents quite comfortably during the last half-hour. This was their eighth clean sheet in the league, equalling their total from last season.
Hatem Ben Arfa was excellent after replacing Cabaye, running with the ball and demonstrating a spark and energy that was not always there elsewhere. Danny Guthrie worked tirelessly. Shola Ameobi was an awkward opponent alongside Best. Newcastle also had legitimate claims for a penalty after Akos Buzsaky jutted out his left arm to control the ball in the 63rd minute. The referee, Chris Foy, decided to give Buzsaky the benefit of the doubt and, from that point, Rangers should have shown more ambition to make the most of their good fortune.
At half-time the public announcer ushered in the teams by announcing the score was 3-0 to the visitors. It turned out he was looking at the yellow-card count. In truth, Hughes will reflect on his first day back in the old routine and realise that, in terms of a honeymoon period, his plane has not even left the runway.
Guardian service
Attendance: 49,865
