QPR The Form Team in Championship (After Newcastle

[QPR Report]

FOOTBALL LEAGUE - FORM GUIDE

With over two months of the season now gone some clubs are just starting to find their form, while others have firmly established themselves after a great opening period, this week we take a closer look at just who are the teams in form, looking back on the last six matches.

Coca-Cola Championship

It's no surprise to see Newcastle United topping the form table, as well as the League table, having taken 11 points from their last six games but they're not the only ones.

Queens Park Rangers, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace have all put their difficult starts behind them and are now surging up the Championship table. All four clubs have won three, drawn two and lost just one of their last six matches, with the Magpies and QPR both scoring 10 goals along the way,

At the bottom Ipswich sit with just three points from their last six, coming from draws against Nottingham Forest, Doncaster Rovers and Sheffield United. The Blades' city rivals Sheffield Wednesday are also going through a difficult patch, having taken just five points from the 18 available, with one win, two draws and two defeats, along with Reading and Peterborough United. While Doncaster have also only taken five points but they have drawn five and lost just once.

Coca-Cola League 1

Colchester United are the division's team to beat after winning four and drawing two of their last six, taking an impressive 14 points. The U's remain unbeaten since the arrival of new Manager Aidy Boothroyd and sit third in the league table, just three points behind leaders Leeds United.

Bristol Rovers have taken 14 points from their last 18 available while Leeds and the MK Dons have both taken 12. Southampton may still sit bottom of the League 1 table but they have certainly found their form, taking 11 points with three wins, two draws and just one defeat.

Wycombe Wanderers will hope the arrival of new Manager Gary Waddock can turn around their fortunes as they sit bottom of the form table with just two points, while Carlisle United have picked up three courtesy of draws against Southampton, Leeds and Walsall.

Coca-Cola League 2

Rochdale are the in-form team in the whole of the Football League, taking an impressive 15 points from their last six games. Keith Hill's side have secured wins over Torquay United, Northampton Town, Hereford United, Darlington and Barnet to move up to third in the League 2 table and put them just two points behind Bournemouth at the top of the pile.

Shrewsbury sit second in the form table, with 13 points courtesy of four wins, one draw and one defeat, while Chesterfield have picked up one point less, helped by their first away win of the season last weekend at Bournemouth.

Darlington are propping up the form table with just one point from their last six after securing a 1-1 draw with Grimsby last month. New Manager Steve Staunton will be hoping to see his side move up both tables in the forthcoming weeks.

Crewe are another side with a new man at the helm, well newish with Dario Gradi back at in charge and with one win and five defeats from their last six he will be desperate to see improvement! Their first win since the beginning of September finally came last weekend, as they beat Bradford City 3-2.



Pos Name P W D L F A GD PTS
1 Newcastle 6 3 2 1 10 4 6 11
2 QPR 6 3 2 1 10 6 4 11
3 Nottm Forest 6 3 2 1 7 4 3 11
4 Crystal Palace 6 3 2 1 7 6 1 11
5 WBA 6 3 1 2 12 6 6 10
6 Preston 6 3 1 2 9 8 1 10
7 Barnsley 6 3 1 2 10 10 0 10
8 Middlesbrough 6 3 1 2 10 10 0 10
9 Cardiff City 6 3 0 3 12 7 5 9
10 Coventry City 6 2 3 1 12 11 1 9
11 Leicester City 6 2 3 1 9 8 1 9
12 Swansea City 6 2 3 1 4 3 1 9
13 Blackpool 6 3 0 3 7 9 -2 9
14 Sc**thorpe 6 2 2 2 11 8 3 8
15 Sheffield Utd 6 2 2 2 11 11 0 8
16 Watford 6 2 2 2 8 11 -3 8
17 Bristol City 6 1 4 1 4 3 1 7
18 Derby County 6 2 0 4 7 11 -4 6
19 Plymouth 6 2 0 4 6 10 -4 6
20 Doncaster 6 0 5 1 7 9 -2 5
21 Peterborough 6 1 2 3 7 10 -3 5
22 Reading 6 1 2 3 5 8 -3 5
23 Sheffield Wed 6 1 2 3 7 11 -4 5
24 Ipswich Town 6 0 3 3 9 16 -7 3

[QPR Report]

Just to bump because I think Magilton's accomplishment should be noted/applauded

[blockhead]

well thats us and forest now!

the dreaded MoM award perhaps?!!!!!

[cpr]

Form guides never work out how you think Block, we've got worse.

Pos Name P W D L F A GD PTS
1 Nottm Forest 6 4 1 1 7 3 4 13
2 Barnsley 6 4 1 1 11 9 2 13
3 Blackpool 6 4 0 2 8 7 1 12
4 QPR 6 3 2 1 13 6 7 11
5 Crystal Palace 6 3 2 1 7 6 1 11
6 Cardiff City 6 3 1 2 13 7 6 10
7 WBA 6 3 1 2 12 6 6 10
8 Swansea City 6 2 4 0 5 2 3 10
9 Newcastle 6 2 2 2 9 5 4 8
10 Sc**thorpe 6 2 2 2 10 9 1 8
11 Coventry City 6 2 2 2 11 12 -1 8
12 Watford 6 2 2 2 8 11 -3 8
13 Bristol City 6 1 4 1 4 3 1 7
14 Leicester City 6 1 4 1 7 7 0 7
15 Sheffield Wed 6 2 1 3 8 10 -2 7
16 Derby County 6 2 1 3 7 10 -3 7
17 Middlesbrough 6 2 1 3 7 10 -3 7
18 Preston 6 2 1 3 7 12 -5 7
19 Plymouth 6 2 0 4 5 9 -4 6
20 Sheffield Utd 6 1 2 3 11 14 -3 5
21 Peterborough 6 1 2 3 7 10 -3 5
22 Doncaster 6 0 4 2 7 10 -3 4
23 Ipswich Town 6 0 4 2 9 14 -5 4
24 Reading 6 1 1 4 6 11 -5 4


Edit: I see Mark Robbins is proving me wrong so I guess Waddock will.

[haqpr1963]

Bloody statistics......

[ingham]

Fluctuations in form are always intriguing. I love the way they overturn all the reasons given for the improvement/decline, especially the sense that the manager or the players have it all worked out 'now'.

And it is especially interesting when a team gets impressive high-scoring victories. Although they don't always signal great things. Brentford beat us 6-1 on the opening day of the 1965-66 season. We finished third, they were relegated.

Our 5-2 and 4-0 raised a few eyebrows, even among our own number. But in 1967 - with quite a good side ;D - we managed a total of 18 goals on three successive Saturdays (with a midweek draw in between - hopeless).

And the year before, recovering from the Brentford debacle, an ageing Les Allen, trying desperately to play his way into the side, could only manage 12 goals in 6 games (himself!) as part of the team's almost deranged sequence of 28 goals in just 8 matches. Twenty-eight in eight? It took us most of last season to score 28 (literally).

And before you're tempted to say 'Rodney Marsh', these particular frenzies happened before he arrived - the team being in dire need of a striker.

Of course, it wasn't just the 28 in 8 either. We had another run of 6-0, 4-1, 4-1 in three successive matches around Easter of the same season, with Marsh joining in that time.

And a couple of years on, 4-1 and 6-0 over the Christmas/New Year in 1967-68. Some might remember the gaudy programme covers of that particular season's yuletide games. And the famous photograph of Ron Springett moonwatching while we belaboured the unfortunate Rotherham defence, so far up the field nobody else was in the picture.

The following season, same again. Except the goals were going past Springett.

I hope this particular flourish doesn't vanish the way so many have. These days, we usually start to fade before we've begun to flourish, and fours and fives aren't usually part of of any sequence.

Maybe it's Gorman, as one or two have suggested. If so, perhaps we won't be sacking him shortly, like most of his predecessors. And even Magilton might hang on for a while.

Who's next? Reading? Piece of cake. Struggling side, no hopers, awful colours, nicked from us 40 years before we thought of it.

7-3.

[blockhead]

so the form is always over six games! if it were seven I think we would be top/near top.

[ingham]

Seven would be almost ideal. We (nearly) took the championship in 1976 with 4 wins-2 draws-1 defeat every 7 games.

Except for one defeat instead of a draw ;D.

[QPR Report]

As I recall, Houston won Manager of the Month...a few weeks later, axed!