Three things QPR talk about doing but Brentford actually do

Not too much can be read into one game, but Brentford’s first win at QPR for 52 years was significant.

The two clubs have travelled in opposite directions to reach a point where, in losing at home to the Bees, Rangers simply lost to the better team.

Brentford are a club on the up. And it’s a success story built largely on doing things Rangers either used to do, talk about doing, or both.

Unearthing gems

Leaving aside the fact it has largely been forced upon them by a second relegation from the Premier League, slow progress on the pursuit of a move from Loftus Road, and the realities of Financial Fair Play, Rangers have changed their transfer policy and moved towards something a bit more like the club’s previous approach, which was to unearth gems from the lower divisions and even non-League.

Moved towards it, yes. But any notion they’ve in some way returned to being the ‘old QPR’ is well wide of the mark.

The likes of Jordan Cousins, Conor Washington and others are good players who do fit the ‘young and hungry’ profile the club and fans have put much emphasis on, and they need and deserve time to fulfil their potential at Rangers.

But these kind of signings, while relatively modest by QPR’s recent standards, are in no way comparable to the kind Rangers used to make and that Brentford now make as a matter of course.

The likes of Cousins and Washington were hardly secrets – which is why many fans were keen to see them signed. There is always a conveyor belt of young lower-division players who begin to make a name for themselves, become the latest subject of tabloid transfer speculation and are discussed on various messageboards and the like. And they tend to have a seven-figure market value to match.

Everything is relative. A medium-sized Championship club with QPR’s financial baggage chasing this type of lower-division ‘name’ is arguably not that much less extravagant than the signings Rangers made in the Premier League and during their previous stay in the second tier.

In contrast, how many had heard of Ryan Woods, only 22, when Brentford signed him from Shrewsbury last year? His running of the midfield on Friday was far from a one-off and he looks destined for the top.

How many had heard of John Egan, signed from Gillingham? Lewis Macleod? How in-demand was Alan Judge, currently out injured, prior to joining Brentford? Scott Hogan even?

The answer is probably the same as when QPR signed Darren Peacock, Rufus Brevett and numerous others. Those were real finds in the old-QPR mould and it’s Brentford, not Rangers, who occupy that ground now, reaping the rewards of a successful scouting system.

Learning lessons

“Lessons learned”. Surely no two words are more synonymous with the Tony Fernandes era. Time and time again Uncle Tony, and his staunch believers, would repeat this totally empty and misleading mantra as he reassured QPR fans things had changed while the club in fact moved from one farce to another.

Compare that with Bees owner Matthew Benham. Having built on solid foundations, he seemed to take leave of his senses for a while, undoing some of the good work that had seen the club make fast progress. But within months of him admitting mistakes had been made and learned from, Brentford are back on track. Chalk and cheese.

Playing for the badge

Again, Rangers have made significant progress here. But there’s still some way to go. It’s one thing to make noise about having spirit, wanting to put in a performance for the fans and so on – if hot air won points, QPR would be in the Champions League – but it’s another to go out and show it.

Rangers, halfway back to being a normal club again, have had some joy in recent derbies, riding their luck to beat a very fragile Fulham this season, and last term easily beating a Brentford side going through a bad spell.

But more often than not they have been not just outplayed, but totally embarrassed, in these fixtures. And that’s largely because they’ve faced players who are acutely aware of the importance of the occasion and who absolutely do not want to let their club and fans down. They have a spirit QPR don’t. That’s the bottom line.

A crossroads moment

For all QPR’s remaining shortcomings, sticking to the overall strategy being followed by Les Ferdinand as director of football is their best, arguably only, route back to being a credible club again. There has been some positive change, but it will take time.

This is a crucial period in QPR’s history; one that might well define what kind of club it is for generations to come. And it could go either way.

With Brentford’s new-stadium plans evolving while Rangers’ continue to stall, and with the R’s having their old clothes stolen in terms of player recruitment and development, these are dangerous times for the club.

Rangers are currently west London’s lowest-placed side. Get it wrong from here, and it might stay that way for decades.