It seems fitting QPR should approach the end of 2022 and sign-off for the World Cup break with a visit to Coventry City, having had a successful away trip to the East Midlands back in January.
At the start of the year the Hoops went into the encounter within touching distance of the automatic promotion places – only two points behind AFC Bournemouth with a game in hand.
A late 85th minute winner from Albert Adomah gave Mark Warburton’s men a 2-1 victory and a fourth league win in a row against a Coventry side settling comfortably into mid-table.
Fast forward and the pre-match form guide was totally different – QPR having lost three of the previous four league games while Coventry were slowly climbing the table after a poor start.
Both sides had similar backbones to their starting line-ups over the two games, however QPR having the notable inclusion of Seny Dieng and Ilias Chair this time out having both been on African Cup of Nations duty at the start of the year.
The other major change is of course the manager: Warburton in positive spirits after January’s victory before things took a turn for the worse as Play-Off hopes evaporated, eventually leading to him leaving the club at the end of last season.
So how does new manager Mick Beale’s QPR compare with Warburton’s?
Firstly, playing away from home does bring a somewhat cautious approach, and in both matches, this was evident.
Coventry are known for their fast-paced, passing football so containment and battening down the hatches may be a fair approach but the difference this time around was QPR seemed determined to kill the pace of the game.
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It came across as a ploy to frustrate the opposition and a desire to secure a point that would stop the rot of recent defeats.
Ultimately, it was a tactic that didn’t work as a Viktor Gyokeres’ double did the damage with a goal in either half.
Although Chair was a notable creative outlet, the forward was left frustrated and often seen running into dead-ends in the final third whilst Manchester United loanee Ethan Laird upped his game in the second-half to try and start some attacks down the right flank.
Despite the defeat and recent poor form, Beale seems more adept at tailoring a line-up to suit the opposition in contrast to his predecessor and, while winless in their last five, QPR still sit a healthy seventh in the table.
The mid-season World Cup break has arguably come at the right time for the side, providing the Hoops with the opportunity to press the reset button and regroup.
Prior to the poor run of form, Beale rejected the advances of Wolves for their vacant managerial position and it clearly impacted the side’s momentum.
With Glasgow Rangers now linked with their former Assistant Manager to replace Giovanni van Bronckhorst, the Scottish giants may be too hard an opportunity to turn down and if so, an even bigger, unexpected and frustrated reset would be needed at Loftus Road.
If Beale does depart, perhaps another analysis will be needed the next time QPR face Coventry in April 2023…