With Damion Stewart having broken his jaw during the week Gregory was forced into a change, unfortunately there was no change to the formation so the defensive 3-5-2 was deployed at Loftus Road for the first time in many a long year. Simon Royce was in goal behind Rehman, Mancienne and Milanese. Bignot and Rowlands occupied the right and left wingback roles respectively with Gallen, Bircham and Smith in the middle. Ray Jones was back in the side to partner Dexter Blackstock up front. 

To say the game started quietly would have been something of an understatement. Both sets of players would have been better served sitting in the warm of the dressing room such was the lack of any sort of action. Any decent attacks either side managed to get started were snuffed out by some strong defending for either side. Mancienne had started the game in fine style again as had He-Man impersonator Milanese to his left. For Wolves Breen and Craddock were getting the better of anything Jones and Blackstock could muster. 

Rangers finally mustered the first attempt in anger from either side with twenty one minutes played. A ball into the box wasn’t cleared properly and when it was returned Jimmy Smith found himself with the freedom of the six yard box. He had an age to decide where to place his header but contrived to head straight at man mountain Matt Murray and the Wolves keeper averted the danger. Smith should have scored, it was a real sitter. 

Marc Bircham lashed a blistering strike wide of Murray’s goal minutes later after Rowlands had rolled the ball back into his path. Rowlands himself then lobbed the ball over an empty goal after Murray had made a mess of an attempted catch. Again this was a chance that should have been met with a far better finish than it actually was. 

Next up Jones tested Murray as Rangers spell of dominance continued. Jimmy Smith sent a freekick into the box and Jones and Breen went up together for the ball. It was hard to see who got the final touch but the save Murray produced was superb as he flew high to tip it over the bar. In recent weeks you would have backed Rangers to have taken at least one of these chances but at the moment we just can’t seem to get the ball over the whitewash. 

As half time approached, Jones fired wide after a good run from the middle of the park. The want away striker seemed to lose his footing as he struck the ball, something that seemed to happen to an awful lot of players all afternoon. At halftime Rangers could have been rightly satisfied with their display, they had missed a fair few chances but Wolves hadn’t been allowed a shot at goal worthy of the name. 

After the break Jones was denied again by Murray before Wolves managed to score with their first shot in anger of the entire game. Wolves attacked down the Rangers right and when a ball into the box was fed to Kightly by Bothroyd the man on loan from Grays Athletic made no mistake with a precise left footed volley into the bottom corner.  

You could see the heads dropping all over the pitch as the players realised that they would now have to battle back into a game having conceded first for the sixteenth time this season. Blackstock almost responded immediately but he could only direct his twelve yard header into the midriff of Murray. 

Wolves were full of confidence now and shots were starting to rain in from all over the place. Kightly once again tested Royce with a shot that took a wild deflection off of the hitherto outstanding Mancienne. Royce had already gone to his left and managed to change his momentum before palming away the long range effort.  

Mancienne was then played into a world of trouble whilst surrounded by three Wolves players. Kightly once again stole the ball and headed goalwards with the simple task of slotting past the exposed Royce. For reasons best known to himself he decided to try and square the ball and Rehman managed to clear the danger. 

There was nothing going the other way for Rangers now and Gregory tried to change things by taking off Bircham and sending Furlong on in his place. The formation was changed to a 4-4-2/4-3-3 affair with Jones on the left, Rowly on the right and Furs up the middle with Blackstock.  

Rangers were managing to win freekicks around the box without actually threatening to get into it. It seemed the best option of grabbing the equaliser but without Cook the delivery from wide areas was awful at times. For all his good work at the back, some of Milanese’s balls into the box were dire and it was like catching practice for the giant Murray. 

Darren Potter, on loan from Liverpool, forced Royce into another excellent save with a stinging twenty five yarder that was palmed away at full stretch. Wolves brought Leon Clarke on for Craig Davies and he tested Royce with a shot from an incredibly tight angle when he really should have crossed it. Potter then lashed another long range strike over the bar as Wolves continued to press and Rangers continued to flounder. 

McIndoe and Bothroyd both shot into the lower tier of the stand before referee Chris Foy brought a merciful end to a painful second half’s viewing for anyone associated with the R’s. After halftime Rangers were dire, there was no creativity, something we are going to have to get used to come January when someone bids an acceptable amount for Cook and he leaves. 

To me there seems to be a simple choice in the Cook transfer. If we sell him we will go down, no doubt about it, if we don’t, then we at least give ourselves a fighting chance of staying up, although that is hardly a foregone conclusion. The squad is rubbish, there is no depth outside the starting XI, mind you, there is hardly a hell of a lot in the starting XI!  

Mancienne and Milanese were excellent defensively; Rehman was his usual mix of a good moment followed by a mistimed tackle or a misjudged header. Royce behind them was magnificent and at times he had to be as Wolves poured forward and the midfield did little to try and get back to help. Bircham worked tirelessly before fatigue got the better of him, Smith also worked hard but he doesn’t create anything, Gallen was poor again, as he was when he “ran the show” at Stoke last week. 

Jones and Blackstock were fighting a losing battle up front and long balls got smashed at them and no crosses came in for them to feed on. People will probably moan about their contribution but strikers can’t really do anything without any semblance of decent service. 

Rangers have to beat Barnsley next week as there is no chance of them picking up wins at Birmingham or Norwich. Trouble is, if Cook doesn’t play then I don’t see us creating any decent chances let alone winning a game. I think Gregory is trying to limp through to the transfer window without too much damage being caused and I don’t think its working. Confidence is being blown to bits and apart from loans there isn’t going to be buckets of cash about to strengthen this League Two standard squad. Prepare for the worst is my advice. 

Man of the Match – Michael Mancienne. The Chelsea youngster was superb again, Smith’s loan has now been run on to the end of the season and it is vital that the same happens with Mancienne.

simon@qprnet.com