Despite a
weekend win at Southampton, QPR have taken up residence Struggle street and
there doesn’t seem to be an exit for miles.
Though they’ve entered perhaps the easiest portion
of their schedule all season, the Rs remain tied firmly to the bottom of
the English Premier League table. Escape is – at best – improbable. Common wisdom suggests that a club needs 40
points to dodge relegation; achieving that total with no room for error would require
the hoop’d men to win five and draw five of their final ten matches.
Since Tony Fernandes bought the club in August 2011 there
has been a steady procession of highly-paid stars enter Loftus Road. Precious few have performed consistently to
the levels expected. Rumours persist of
a player culture ill-suited
to toughing out Premiership survival.
While few outside Rangers’ sheds really know the truth
behind the club’s recent trip to the Middle East, it seems reasonable to
suggest that there’s probably some fire backing up the smoke. Though denying reports of excessive sweaty partying,
manager Harry Redknapp has often spoke of the startling lack of results
Fernandes’ money seems to have purchased.
According to the textbooks, it would seem that Rangers’ players
are fearless. This may seem an odd
choice of words, but it is deliberate: the result of having the fear centres
excised isn’t aggression or thinking one is king of the world – a lack of fear
doesn’t make us think we’re invulnerable.
Fear is an entirely different emotional concept – if it’s removed, the
person in question exhibits an insensate, docile flatness; the simply accept destiny
as created for them by others.
According to the neuroscience textbooks, the lack of fear
doesn’t create bombast but “… [a] calming affect, reduced aggression, personality
changes, lack of inhibition and decreased drive”. Sound familiar?
Barring incident, the Hoops’ players are financially set for
life. Should Rangers be relegated, many
of these players will be allowed either to leave “earn”
their cash in the second division. What do they have to fear? A
punctured ego? Surely if that were the case, results might have been
obtained sooner. The last modicum of passion requisite to
extricating themselves might have left with Ryan Nelsen.
Money can allay many fears.
However in the case of QPR, it seems to have buried them almost
entirely.
No comments:
Post a Comment