Relegation Thread

No he doesn't believe. His interview yesterday indicates that he knows they aren't good enough, he's been telling those about him that they aren't good enough and chucking some squad players in yesterday is proof that there are no magic rabbits to pull out of the hat to make them good enough. It's a near a dig at the board/owners as you're likely to see.

QPR FA Cup defeat proves point for manager Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp said QPR's embarrassing 4-2 FA Cup defeat by League One side MK Dons at Loftus Road justifies his need to bring in new recruits.
The R's boss made nine changes to the side that drew 1-1 in the Premier League with West Ham last weekend.
But he was concerned that the team, which included seven internationals, did not take their chance to shine.
"Surely they're entitled to beat a team from two divisions down? It tells me I need to improve the squad," he said.
"That is why I have gone all over Europe these last three weeks trying to improve the squad because we are short."

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The west Londoners, who are bottom of the Premier League and five points adrift of safety, went 4-0 down before scoring two late goals against Karl Robinson's side, who are eighth in League One.
It was in contrast to a decent run of form since the start of 2013 where they have chalked up a five-game unbeaten run.
With Manchester City next up for QPR on Tuesday, Redknapp chose to make nine changes but believed the only reason that backfired is because his players failed to perform.
He said: "If you look at the team today, what is it? An England goalkeeper [Rob Green], a right-back from Manchester United [Fabio], a left-back in Armand Traore.
"You've got Anton Ferdinand and Tal Ben Haim, then Esteban Granero from Real Madrid. You've got Ale Faurlin, Park Ji-sung from Manchester United, Jamie Mackie, Jay Bothroyd and DJ Campbell."
Redknapp, who has already brought in striker Loic Remy and defender Ben Haim during the transfer window, suggested some players could be moving out with a deal for Chunnam Dragons' South Korean international Yun Suk-young close to being completed
"I gave them a chance today because they knock on my door and say they should be playing and other people tell me they are all good players," the former Tottenham boss said.
"Well, they got their chance today and they blew it. It answers questions - not for me because I already knew the answer, but for other people. Today they saw the answers."

Here's a thought. despite West Ham's win yesterday, they just can't pick up points on their travels, so their home form is going to be crucial and they're likely to need to pick up about 8 points out of their five home games. With a price of 16/1 for them to go down, it's definitely worth investigating further.

The good news for them is that they have home games against Wigan and Reading (say, 4 points from those) but games against United and Spurs and a resurgent Newcastle are going to be difficult to get anything from (say 2 points, max).

That would make 36 points, and they are likely to have goal difference on their side as well but it means that they're likely to need a few points from the away games at Stoke, Chelsea, Liverpool, Everton and......probably the crucial ones, Southampton and next week against Villa.

Carroll's return is a massive plus for them but 16/1 is a tempting price for a team who had picked up just five points in the nine games before yesterday.

I disagree totally with Reading. I said the other week that they'd shown enough to suggest that they have the ability to pick up points and they've since beaten Sunderland and come from 2-0 to take a point from the European Champions.

In my view, it's not some sort of mini run they're on, this is their true form and I'd expect them to take at least 3 points from their next two games against Stoke and Wigan. I've laid them for a bit but I'd have gone in heavier if I didn't already have liabilities if Villa, and to a lesser extent, QPR go down.

The think is, all of the sides at the bottom have shown that they can put up a fight and take points off teams. It's not like the bottom two are cut loose and sinking without trace as has happened in some seasons. Because of that, it's very possible for a team to be dragged into the scrap and West Ham have the form to be that team