A game of two halves does not adequately sum up this strange encounter. A match in which each half was almost the polar opposite of the other resulted in a fine and much needed victory for Holloway's charges. Rangers registered three points for the first time since beating Bury on August 18th.

Rangers began the game with a formation that can best be described as experimental. A back three of Palmer, Forbes and Bruce with the latter deployed as a left-sided centre back. A midfield four of Bignot, Bonnot, Rose and Connolly along with a three pronged attack consisting of Griffiths, Thomson and Taylor. It looked odd and after 45 minutes, you had to wonder whether Holloway had made a rick. No part of the team was working as intended. I could see this game forcing its way into the top five crappiest matches played at Loftus Road (I can't see the programme running that one!).

Paul Bruce is at best an average full back. As a centre back, he is below average at best. He seems to get deeper and deeper within the team as his career progresses. I remember a few years ago seeing him play a few games up front for the reserves, at this rate we can expect to see him in goal in a couple of weeks. At least if he was between the stick it may limit the damage he could do. He is so slow it is embarrassing. To be outpaced by the linesman is a serious concern. He has no idea of defensive positioning, a ten year old would be able to tell you that you should try to stay goal side of the attacker. What makes the decision to play him in the back three stranger was the appearance of Matthew Rose in midfield.

We all know that Rose has become something of a Charlie Big Bollocks stating that he is better than most of the players at the club. Whilst this may not be true he is certainly a better centre back than Bruce and I would have rather seen him there with Bruce wide in midfield. It was fortunate that Port Vale were shocking otherwise, things could have got ugly.

It may be unfair to single particular individuals out for stick when the whole team played so badly but who said life was fair. Let's discuss Robert Taylor. Mr Taylor, if you can't be bothered then piss off back to Wolves. Until he was withdrawn, he caused problems, unfortunately the only people he troubled were Griffiths and Thomson. He is slow, crap on the floor, crap in the air and unfit. The one time he won a header nobody had run onto it as they were staring in shock and amazement that he had managed to haul his considerable bulk off the ground. It was no surprise that he was taken off early in the second half. The reaction of the crowd said it all. If there is a get out clause in the loan deal then we should use it before we waste any more cash.

As poor as the first half was we did have a goal disallowed for offside. Karl Connolly pounced to slot home from inside the six-yard box but to no avail. Half time came and for once I was looking forward to Round the Pole and I wasn't disappointed!

Port Vale took the lead after 55 minutes. The back three, who had still not quite got the hang of what was required of them, were pulled out of position. The otherwise outstanding Terrell Forbes ended up too central and Stephen Brooker was allowed the freedom of Loftus Road to slot home. The 154 Port Vale fans were delirious. How proud the team must be to see such a large vociferous support! Luckily for us this was the kick up the arse that was required and Rangers set about getting an equalising goal.

With Doudou now on for the rotund Taylor, and gelling well with Griffiths and Thomson, Rangers launched wave after wave of attacks. One sweet interchange between Thomson and Griffiths nearly brought a goal, if Thomo were an inch taller it would have resulted in a glorious goal. The equaliser when it came was from an unlikely source.

A corner was fired into the box and cleared. When the ball was returned it fell nicely to big Stevie Palmer who fired high into the net. When you saw the coolness of his finish, it was hard to believe that he has only scored a handful of goals before. That was after 64 minutes, only eight minutes later Thomson scored the goal of the game.

Terrell Forbes picked up the ball deep in his own half and ran like Desert Orchid on speed before releasing a perfectly waited pass into the path of the onrushing Thomson who finished first time from just inside the area to give Vale keeper Goodlad no chance. Little did we know that Goodlad was to play such an important role only two minutes later.

As another hopeful ball fell between the keeper and the ever-enthusiastic Leroy Griffiths, we could see there would only be one winner of the race. Goodlad knew as well. As Leroy toed the ball past him, he proceeded to put him in a headlock. Referee Danson had no choice but to send the keeper off and award a penalty. You had to feel sorry for Griffiths as he was left with a tap in. Brian Horton replaced Phil Hardy with substitute keeper Dean Delaney. His first touch was to retrieve the ball from the net after Thomson's expertly taken spot kick.

No sooner had Port Vale kicked off again and it could have been four. The ball fell loose on the edge of the box and Thomson and Doudou converged on it. Thomson sensing that a hat-trick was on the cards threw Doudou out of the way and unleashed a fierce shot that Delaney did well to parry. We had to wait until the final minute for the hat-trick to be completed.

A neat flick from Griffiths left Thomson with a simple right-footed finish that gave Delaney no chance. Leroy seemed more pleased than Thomson with the goal and he wheeled away with his shirt over his head Ravanelli style. Andy Thomson celebrated as he always does, showing that a goal is no big deal, as he will get another one next week.

In the end, it turned out to be a very satisfactory performance considering the dire nature of the first 45 minutes. We are fortunate that there are a lot more Port Vale's in this division than Reading's and Bristol City's. Vale were tanked and rightly so. They were poor and we took advantage. We must continue to do this week in week out if we want to get out of this division. Every few weeks will not do and I expect that is exactly what Holloway has said to his troops. If we can pick up four points out of six on our northern adventures next week I will be happy a truer test will come with the visit of Cardiff City in a couple of weeks and it is a test we must pass.