In our latest vox pop three QPR fans speak about the decision to loan out Dexter Blackstock, loan in Adel Taarabt and the season as a whole.

Our latest Vox Pop takes in the views of Neil Dejyothin who coaches the QPR ladies team and also runs his own QPR blog, Paul Finney from the Independent R's and my predecessor here Ron Norris who now runs the excellent qprnet.com website. Thanks to all the lads for taking part. If you want to take part in a future vox pop e-mail us at loftforwords@yahoo.co.uk.

Where do you stand on the decision to allow Dexter Blackstock to join Nottingham Forest on loan?

Neil: The style of football we are playing doesn't suit Dexter, but I still think he would be a better option at this time than Samuel Di Carmine. I don't feel Dexter has played to his potential for the best part of two seasons now though, which is a concern because he's not really progressed as much as he should have. But you can't argue that he will score goals, even when he's not on top form his return rate of 12 this season is a testament to that. He's clearly got goals in him and it's about whether the coaching staff can improve the other areas of his game or not, and if they think not, perhaps it's better to let him move on if the money is right. If they do let him go though, they've got to replace him with someone who can score as many or more than him and that's surely going to cost money.

Paul: Well I find the whole thing odd if being honest, everyone was shouting out for a twenty goal a season forward, and I feel in Dexter with the right partner we had one. Now others will say his first touch was weak his balance was light and his work rate under par. Well at 22 he is still finding his way what he needs is to play along side a Furlong style player - there is no way on earth that Dexter can play the lone role that is never going to work. Still good luck to the fella - people forget his goals kept us up a few seasons back. I do think there is more to this story than meets the eye - perhaps he just did not fit into Flavio’s plans.

Ron: On the face of it, it seems a strange one, here we are struggling for goals and we effectively end our top scorers Rangers career by packing him off somewhere on loan, doubtless with a view to selling him this summer. However here is a guy who has only scored once this year and more worryingly hasn’t looked like scoring any more either. Dexter is nearly 23 years old now, how much better is he going to get? How much can coaching change his game? He is a good Championship level striker but if we are to move forward then perhaps we need a little more than that, especially if we’re going to play one up front. He’s clearly not the manager’s cup of tea, perhaps he just doesn’t fit into his long term vision for the side? I don’t think we can demand that a manager is given the freedom to shape his own team then complain when he ships out someone we like if he doesn’t feel he’s up to the job. It’s a shame as Blackstock has done well for the club but the nature of football is that players move on, we’ve lost better players and survived, I’m sure we will this time too. Of course this argument depends on us replacing Blackstock with a better player and that, as yet, remains to be seen.

How do you feel about loan players like Adel Taarabt and Sam Di Carmine enjoying first team football ahead of our own youngsters like Angelo Balanta?

Neil: I think the Adel Taarabt signing was important for us because he's the type of player who can lift the crowd and the team, which in this particular moment is what we all needed. Sure, he's a little too flamboyant, but he's brought something interesting to the table and as a coach you need to weigh up that effect it has on everybody else. I think he's been a big positive for us in that regard and will help with the confidence of our own players... and hey, if it goes wrong and the crowd gets on his back, then they're not getting on one of our own guys' back and that sometimes may act as a blessing in disguise. I don't think we should look to make him permanent though because with the players we have coming back for next season I think we're covered there and he's a stop gap for now. With Samuel Di Carmine I'm less sure. I think I'd rather see Angelo Balanta in there, but they're a different type of player and I think ultimately they see Di Carmine as the target man type and we don't have anybody else in that mold (now that Dex has gone) or with the right experience or guile to play that position in the way they want in this system.

Paul: Once again I find it strange that we went out and got some overseas kids in on loan, who themselves have very few league games under their belt at any standard. Even world class stars take time to adapt to English football so to chuck overseas youngsters into the Championship would always be hard on the lads. The hype the club made over Ledesma was a big mistake and in the end I fear lead to his downfall. He was the best of the loans for me and just needed someone to knock the diving out of his game and work on his skill which he has got no fear about that. Now the point about our own youth team players does worry me - the club going overseas for players would I am sure knocked their confidence a wee bit. Now for what it is worth I think that we could have used some of the youth lads better. If you look at the displays from Di Carmine it is hard not to put up a case for not giving Balanta a go who in my mind offers the team more options.

As for Adel Taarabt he came a little late in the season but he has give the team a lift and the lad is a class act now if we can sign players of that ilk for next season then that would be a move in the right direction. I feel for the young lads like Rose, Maguire and German who also deserved more of a look at in some points over the season. I also fear that the youth set up is not getting the investment it needs and I felt for Queen’s Park Rangers to send a message out to the world of football that we are serious about making our mark, I was hoping at the very least the club would get it’s academy status back.

Ron: Other than Balanta I don’t think we’ve much else in the ranks who are ready to be given a run yet. I like Ang, I think he’s got potential but is he ready to spearhead our attack on his own? Is he even that sort of player? I don’t think so. I’d like to see him prove himself but I don’t think it’s the right time for him to be leading the line as yet. Bring him in slowly next season, make him a regular sub, let him grow as a player and we might have a handful on our hands in a few years time. The Taarabt loan is slightly odd. We’re not challenging for the play offs, no matter how much Paulo Sousa tries to insist we are, so clearly it’s been done for two reasons. Firstly to win games and therefore help solidify the manager’s position for next season and secondly to win some games and possibly sell more season tickets as a result. That said, if he does well and we treat him right then perhaps we’ll be more suited to get some young Premiership talent on loan next season, something we’ve not done very well at in recent years.

Has this season met the expectations you had back in August and are you hoping/expecting more next term?

Neil: I always felt that the squad was a top eight team with an outside chance of being in the top six. I don't think I've seen anything that's really changed that feeling for me throughout the season but I still think we've progressed. We've just done so with a lack of style and conviction at times. I do think there's too much pressure on the players though from all directions from the board through to the fans, but the club need to address that because they're putting a level of expectancy on them that's unfair and unreasonable really. If you talk about four year projects that's fine, but then to continuously replace the manager and backroom staff and have so many players coming and going all the time, then there's a lack of stability and continuity which makes the job harder. We've played too much football this season with fear and that's a shame.

We should always hope for more next season but I am concerned that we will be welcoming back the likes of Rowan Vine, Akos Buzsaky and Martin Rowlands all from serious injuries. It might be too much to expect them to return all guns blazing and there may be an element of carrying at times. We also need Lee Cook to have a big pre-season under his belt too, so it's a risk with a lot of unknowns, but in theory I think we'll do better and the key is to starting the season well.

Paul: Back in August I looked at the transfer deals and looked at us being favourites for the league and tried to work were they got that from but t in some ways it was a nice change from being favourites for the drop. I never felt that we had the team to win this league, we had better players for sure but I always knew goals would be the issue. Also the lack of out and out full backs always worried me, as did the lack of forwards with a proven record at this level. In my mind you need two proven forwards who each need to target twenty goals each and two back up players who also have the ability to come in and put them under pressure for their place. Good forwards always need to fight for their place. I feel the league this season was poor and at the very least, with the budget we had, a play off spot was there for the taking. My own thoughts are that the sacking of Dowie was rushed and no matter how you look at it you can not give any manager that few games to prove themselves.

Next season I hope that we invest in a scouting network in place we invest in our youth set up. In my mind some of the transfer deals we done this season have been odd to say the least. I also hope we can get Loftus Road back to how it was a few years back, when the place was rocking for every game and we put the fear of God into the other side - not only were the fans the twelfth man we were the thirteenth as well. I always recall the fear on the faces of the Oldham players in that play off game when we really got to them. Now if you can get the players that could feed off that kind of crowd, I tell you that come May 2010 QPR will be top of the league. Off the pitch I hope and pray that the club’s board work more with the fans and take time to understand the fan base. QPR is a special club we have the best fans in London by a long way. Damage has been done with the board trying to re-brand QPR into something it is not - we are not a project or a boutique . We are a club with huge history and a fan culture that is second to none. We are QPR which is more special than anything.

Ron: Yes. I always felt the ridiculous tags of promotion favorites was going to weigh heavily around our necks and whilst we might be paying well over the odds to watch the team, frankly that isn’t the players’ fault and doesn’t suddenly make them Premiership quality. Of course things could have worked out differently if we hadn’t had such a poor run over the last couple of months but that’s the difference between an average side and a good side and right now we are an average side. We look like we’ll better last season’s finish and I honestly see that as an improvement. Has it been value for money? God no, but we have made a step forward on a the football front, regardless of recent stumbles.

Prediction time - three up and three down from the Championship, but who will they be?

Neil: I don't really do predictions, but I'd say Wolves, Birmingham and Reading to go up and Charlton, Southampton and Forest to go down.

Paul: Charlton are done for and I think that Southampton will go as well, the other spot I think that Plymouth, Barnsley and Norwich are all in trouble trying to avoid that last spot. As for going up you have to say that Wolves and Birmingham have done their bit to blow it and no one has taken up the offer so at this stage they have do enough to go up. In the play offs anyone but Cardiff please, an interesting final would be Reading and Burnley. Who ever goes up will be straight back down this time for sure.

Ron: I’d love to give some reasoned argument for this but it’s honestly too close to call with any authority. Before the season started I expected Reading and Birmingham to do well and Wolves to bottle it. At the bottom I thought Southampton would go down along with Doncaster and Blackpool. I’ll revise things slightly, I think Mick McCarthy has done a great job at Wolves and they now look nailed on to go up. I think Reading will nick second though and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Birmingham miss out in the play offs to Sheffield United who are coming on strong at the right time. Charlton are gone and I think you can only pick two from Barnsley, Norwich, Plymouth, Forest and Southampton. It really could go any way but if I was a Plymouth fan I’d be bricking it right now and I’ll stick with Southampton as my third choice to go down, although they could easily prove me wrong.

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