Wanderers on the brink

Colin Todd has publicly conceded that Sunderland are out on their own in the race for promotion and the way they performed at Loftus Road on Saturday suggests his players have an even more worrying sense of resignation about them too!

The fans fear the worst and rivals are beginning to revise their assessments of the potential threat from the most talented, most expensively assembled squad in the division.

With 16 games gone, Wanderers are on the brink, delicately poised mid-table and not knowing which way the scales will tip.

On the strength of their first 11 games, only a fool would have backed against them making an instant return to the Premiership; now, after one win in seven and four defeats in their last five games, the bookies are having second thoughts.

Premiership and promotion were the last words that sprang to mind as 'struggling' QPR became only the second side this season to prevent Todd's attack-minded team from scoring. And, being brutally honest, their defenders didn't have all that much to contend with thanks to the hard working, highly combative efforts of their midfield five.

It looks ominous when Wanderers have failed to score in two of the three games since selling Nathan Blake to Blackburn but the Wales striker would have been of little use in a game in which his former team-mates were caught cold by an early goal, took half an hour to pose anything like an attacking threat and effectively gave up the ghost after being hit on the break 15 minutes into the second half.

Hustled out of it by a team that, before beating Barnsley in midweek, were bottom of the table having lost five on the trot leads to one conclusion . . . and Todd hit the nail on the head when he said: "Their side probably wanted it a bit more than us at times!"

It was a carefully-measured, calmly delivered verdict on a performance that, quite frankly, could have had the manager shouting the odds from the West London rooftops. But this was a time he felt the need to encourage rather than lambast, to coax rather than cajole.

In any case, the players didn't need anyone telling them this was their worst performance of the season, by a long way; far more dispiriting than the defeat at Bristol City, after which the manager delivered a rebuke to his team and an apology to their supporters.

At least they created chances at Ashton Gate, where they had the excuse of losing two of their international midfield players through injury in the first 21 minutes. But the fact that Rangers' keeper Ludek Miklosko was extended just once all afternoon - cutting out an Arnar Gunnlaugsson pull-back at the second attempt just before half-time - tells its own story.

Being hit by a Kevin Gallen scorcher after only four minutes didn't do much to help the game plan that featured Hasney Aljofree in place of Claus Jensen to give the midfield a more solid look. But they asked for it.

Some questioned whether Jussi Jaaskelainen should have done better as the sweetly-struck right footer speared into the top corner but the keeper - who tasted defeat for the first time in 12 months and 16 appearances since becoming a Wanderer - was probably so surprised to see his team-mates back off and invite the Rangers man to try his luck.

Jaaskelainen, getting his second game in four days after being recalled in the absence of Keith Branagan, did well to get a hand to Mike Sheron's shot that gave Rangers their second on the hour after Greg Strong and Andy Todd were caught by the former Manchester City striker's skill and speed. But he could only take the pace off the ball, which bobbled in just inside his left hand post.

He also survived two penalty appeals, both for bringing down the lively Richard Langley and both denying Sheron a reward for skilful touches in moves that deserved better. On a different day referee John Kirkby might have given different verdicts but Wanderers needed more than a lenient referee to get them out of this particular spot of trouble.

They needed more fight and determination, more of the level of commitment Per Frandsen showed as he trod that disciplinary line that takes playing for pride perilously close to official reprimand. He was far from his best but at least showed that it was hurting to lose and was prepared to bust a gut to do something about it.

The Dane, who did his best under difficult circumstances to get Wanderers back into it after the early goal, had a running battle with George Kulcsar and at one stage received a final warning to 'cool it' from Mr Kirkby.

But he put his aggression to good effect five minutes into the second half when he set up Gunnlaugsson in the most incisive Bolton move of the game - only to see the Ice-man's shot fly off target.

That was the story of the day for 12-goal top scorer and his frustration showed when he realised the chance he had missed.

It was to prove decisive. As the Wanderers fans responded deafeningly to their team's best spell - Scott Sellars having replaced Robbie Elliott to provide an extra attacking dimension - they were suddenly silenced by Sheron, who made the most of Kulcsar's defence-splitting pass.

"A couple of weeks ago, when things were going badly for us, that shot would probably have hit the post and gone out," Sheron said, delighted by the sudden change for the better down Shepherd's Bush way.

On this evidence, Rangers are no more a relegation side than Wanderers are a promotion-winning outfit.

The Reebok men at least have the potential to go up rather than down - but they've got to have more about them.

Todd acknowledged the problem, when he admitted: "I can't change the characters of the players. They are very good when they are in possession but I can try to get them to play with more resolve and resilience when they haven't got the ball.

"It makes it more difficult when you have a team plan and you concede an early goal but the one thing you make sure of when you are attacking - and we were having our best spell of the game at the time - is not to get caught as we did with the second goal. We've got to make sure we don't get opened up so easily.

"We are a good footballing side but where we need to improve is when we lose possession. We have to get around the ball quicker."

Considering the best Wanderers had to offer on a day that saw them slip back to 12th in the table, a massive 13 points now behind still-unbeaten Sunderland, were two 10 minute spells either side of half time, the manager had to admit: "That's not good enough over 90 minutes."

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