Three games to go now, and then summer. Glorious, lovely, Championship-less summer. This weekend it's Reading, apparently, at Loftus Road. Wake up at the back.

Queens Park Rangers (12th) v Reading (15th)

Championship >>> Saturday April 23, 2016 >>> Kick Off 15.00 >>> Weather — Reasonable, maybe even the sun >>> Loftus Road, London, W12

What? More? Christ. Put a bullet in me, I'm done. Can't we just toss a coin for this or something? No need to leave The Crown at all then.

Tell your "most exciting league in Europe" story to the supporters of anybody south of seventh in this year's Championship. All now longing for the beach but forced to go through three more arduous rounds of this drudgery first. QPR v Reading, twelfth v fifteenth, a fixture so dull even Sky haven't touched it despite televising the previous 389 meetings between the two sides. Only 300 tickets left for it too — mad heads.

Tuesday's heavy defeat at Brighton was a shame in several ways. Not least because QPR had actually bettered the promotion chasing hosts for much of the first half before collapsing after conceding two fabulous goals immediately before and after half time — the first from a free kick that looked a generous sly hand job of a decision.

But also because it spoiled a nice day on the beach, and a reasonably promising end to the season. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's side has been winning at home and drawing away with reasonable regularity, and sat sixth in the Championship form table for the second half of the season, giving rise to the hope that there may be a push towards that position from this team next season. That 4-0 defeat, and a recent slackening in performances as the season has drifted away, has given the more pessimistic among the support base plenty to go on and next season won't be a lot better than this if they're to be believed.

There has been a couple of timely reminders since, however, of just how necessary this season of consolidation, or whatever less flattering word you want to use for it, has been.

The first came at Arsenal on Thursday oddly enough, where our dearly beloved "Beast" Sandro was deemed fit enough to start for West Brom. Now, if the jungle drums are to be listened to, that loan move becomes permanent automatically this summer as long as the Brazilian completes a set number of appearances for the Baggies. No guarantees there, given that Sandro makes the Andrex puppy look like Conor McGregor, you would think, but then you may have missed a little oddity in his appearance record of six starts and four substitute appearances so far.

You see those substitute appearances all have the same thing in common. It won't surprise you to learn that he's only completed 90 minutes for Albion twice, and was removed at half time at The Emirates on Thursday (having been hopelessly rolled for the first goal) for the second time in those six starts. But it may raise an eyebrow, or two, to learn that on four separate occasions Tony Pulis has felt the need to introduce Sandro only for the stoppage time at the end of the game: on after 89 minutes in a 1-1 draw at Everton, 87 minutes in a 3-2 win against Palace, 89 minutes in a 2-2 at Leicester and 88 minutes in a 1-0 home win against Man Utd.

We can all only speculate on why the manager may be treating him to these token outings, potentially moving him closer and closer to a big money permanent move in the summer. Meanwhile, apropos of nothing, for the second time this season, I'm going to leave this here.

Following hot on the heels of Sandro, hopefully, moving one 45 minute outing closer to a switch to The Hawthorns we had the news that Rangers have spent another £1m on agents fees in the last 12 months. Les Ferdinand and Lee Hoos have both been at pains to quickly point out that most of this has gone on historic agreements, signed before their time, with payments to players' representatives spread over the duration of the lucrative four year contracts during the ruinous reigns of the previous two managers and current board of directors.

These payments, the club says, are still due to the agents, even in cases where the players have left the club. Imagine that — we’re paying out money to a football agent now for the services of whatever toad we scraped off his client log years ago, and he doesn’t even play for us any more.

Agents, managers, unfit players with dodgy passports, all getting rich off QPR has been the norm. This is the world the club is, hopefully, extricating itself from. But having wallowed in this sordid pit and come out of it stinking of shit, with nothing to show for it other than a horrible bank balance and memories of a largely detestable collection of players, we should perhaps be thankful that this season has gone as well as it has. You can't just click your fingers and change everything overnight.

That threat of dropping straight through this division while that change has been happening was a very real one given the situation we were in by the end of last season, and yet a midtable finish has been accomplished. The budget has been brought into some sort of line, and a good deal of the poison Rangers have been feasting on has been removed from the club — albeit a lot of it only on loan. This has not been a poor season, nor an underachievement, regardless of how limply it may be ending.

Of course, if next season goes badly - if the team performs poorly on the pitch, if gates drop, if we go accelerating towards the end of the parachute payments with no Premier League return in sight - then this season will feel like a depressing new normal rather than any sort of medicine. But let's at least wait and see if that happens, rather than reaching judgements based on performances and results in these deadest of dead rubbers as 2015/16 crawls to a conclusion.

Links >>> Magilton's four-star week — History >>> Never Go Back? Interview >>> Rob Green look away now — Referee >>> Three minute heroes — Podcast

We've teamed up with The Art of Football to give away a t-shirt or print from their QPR range, featuring legendary Rangers striker Stan Bowles. Simply click here and have a guess at the time of the first goal on Saturday.

Saturday

Team News: Expect, as is Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's way, for Seb Polter and Tjaronn Chery to be recalled having sat out the midweek game at Brighton. Whether that means Conor Washington is going back to the bench again remains to be seen. Jamie Mackie's ongoing hamstring nightmare continues — he's had surgery on that troublesome injury now so is out until well into the pre-season.

Now, as you may have noticed, we don't take the away team news awfully seriously on LFW, but this week I bring you genuine news of suspensions for Paul McShane and Danny Williams for fighting each other during Reading's recent game at Middlesbrough and have since been charged and found guilty of violent conduct by the league.

Meanwhile Chris Gunter Punter has taken some bad acid and Hal Robson-Kanu-Fanu has been told he's taking his mother in law out this weekend. Or something.

Elsewhere: Right, games with things at stake. This shouldn't take long. Boro v Ipswich, the North East side can potentially go five points clear at the top of the table with two to play, or drop out of the automatic spots altogether with Burnley and Brighton only two points behind. Burnley get a chance to lay down a marker, and go back to the top of the table, or give massive encouragement to the other two with a defeat, at local rivals Preston tonight. Brighton, meanwhile, are at Already Relegated Charlton tomorrow.

In theory, the Red Dragons (at home to Already Relegated Bolton) can still catch the Sheffield Owls (away at the Derby Sheep) at the bottom end of the play-off zone. Not bloody likely though given their recent form and results.

And that's it, everything else is pretty much decided. Franchise, at home to Brentford, need snookers to catch either the Wurzels, who are away to the Mad Chicken Farmers, or Tarquin and Rupert, who take tea among the Nottingham Trees on Saturday.

Huddersfield v Brum, Tigers Tigers Rah Rah Rah v The Champions of Europe and Wolves v Neil Warnock's Christmas Miracle meet literally for the want of something better to do with their time.

And I can't forget this evening, or your face as you were leaving, but I guess that's just the way the story goes.

Referee: Veteran Football League official Keith Hill is back in Shepherd's Bush this weekend for the first time since he dismissed QPR goalkeeper Rob Green against Nottingham Forest back in September. Not that the referee had much to do with the decision of course, just one of a string of calamities Green treated us to in the first half of the season that one. Still, hopefully no repeat this weekend. Hill's extensive QPR case history is available here.

Form

QPR: Just one win in six now for Rangers after three in the previous four, and both goal columns are moving in the wrong direction. The R's have conceded ten in the last half dozen games, while scoring only six of their own and none in the last two. The R's have won four of the last five at home though, with the Middlesbrough defeat the one exception.

Reading: The Royals are in a real slump, with four defeats on the spin coming into this match and 12 losses in their last 15 away matches. Their only recent victories away from the Madejski Stadium have been at the bottom two Charlton and Bolton. Brian McDermott's side have only won two of the last 11 in all competitions.

Prediction: The race for this season's Prediction League title is hotting up. Last year's champion isawqpratwhitecity gives us his steer…

"Reading? Yes, I love a good book. After this match I might even like Reading, too. The timing is auspicious: their last ten league games were 2-2-6, including losing their last four. Jimmy needs Conor Washington to score and break that tension, then hopefully we'll see some sparks. Maybe this game?"

Jim's Prediction; QPR 3-1 Reading. Scorer: Seb Polter

LFW's Prediction: QPR 2-0 Reading. Scorer: Tjaronn Chery

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TacticalR added 13:16 - Apr 23 Thanks for your preview. Yes, we are at the fag end of a long season, but as you point out, it could have been much, much worse.
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