QPR 0 Cardiff 2

Oh dear. This was really flat and disappointing, especially for the first home game of the season. Cardiff were the better side all over the park and wouldn't have been flattered by one or two more. Rangers were as bad as anything we saw last season, if not worse, and for no apparent reason. The new players (Curtis, Nardiello and the on-loan Ephraim) did OK, but the likes of Bolder, Rowlands and Blackstock were really disappointing compared to the standards they set in the second half of last season.

Briefly, Cardiff soon took a grip of the game and went ahead after a spell of pressure when Steve MacLean rammed home from a poorly defended corner. Steven McPhail then missed a sitter and Rangers trooped off lucky to be only one down. For 10 minutes after the break the home side rallied, and Stefan Moore's shot came back off the post after good work from Nardiello and Rowlands. However, when Paul Parry nipped in front of Zesh Rehman to head home the game was comfortably over at 2-0 with fully 35 minutes left. The home fans were so dispirited at the end they barely bothered to boo the team off, and I've seen them really lay into players for a lot less, quite frankly.

Never mind, let's move on. Football is there to be enjoyed and I don't want it to depress me this season. Que sera sera. At least with Mick Harford now on the staff there's a bit more of a fear factor I would hope. I can't see Big Mick taking too much more of this without cracking some heads. Oh, Cardiff looked top half but not really much more than that, Trevor Sinclair had a good game and enjoyed a decent reception from the home fans. Although there was some acrimony when he left, for most people now it's a reminder of better times when a player like Sinclair comes back, and of course there's always that goal. Good luck to him for the rest of the season.