They say a week is along time in football and the last seven days seem like an eternity at QPR. Just seven days ago we were one win away from going top of the league and supporters couldn't speak highly enough of this new team.

Seven days and three defeats later the mood has changed and questions are being asked of the players and manager for the first time this season. As someone who didn't go to the Yeovil and Wrexham game I was still pretty confident of a win over Northampton even though the Cobblers had been in good form recently. Seeing the team that Holloway had picked gave me a few doubts though but I was still expecting us to win.

Holloway made a few changes from Tuesday nights horror show and to be honest I didn't agree with all them. I could understand Leroy Griffiths coming back to replace Wardley but with no Forbes and Askar I was amazed to see Connolly also dropped and aback three of Palmer, Rose and Paul Bruce selected. It was very worrying and with Christer Warren on the left it didn't fill many people with confidence. Oliver Burgess also started the game in midfield after impressing in the reserves and was alongside Alex Bonnot in the five man midfield.

We couldn't have got off to a worse start as Northampton attacked us and we looked very shaky straight away. From an early corner Darryl Burgess rose to head against the bar and it was just cleared off the line as the ball bounced down, as we cleared to the edge of the area James Hunt hit a superb 25 yard volley which curled in the air and flew past Chris Day but hit the post. It would have been a great goal and the warning signs were there for Rangers that this would not be easy.

We didn't play to our strengths at all and instead opted for long balls to Leroy and Thomson and it didn't take Northampton long to go take the lead. Gabbiadini put Paul McGregor though as Paul Bruce was ball watching as usual and McGregor passed to the unmarked James Hunt who tapped into the empty net.

Our defending didn't improve and Bruce was often found out of position and not watching the on running forwards and if Gabbiadini hadn't chosen to shoot he would have found several unmarked players waiting to get number two. Luckily for us Gabbiadini hit the side netting and later had a shot saved by Day.

We were never in the game and the only time we looked half decent was when Mark Perry, Oliver Burgess and Alex Bonnot produced some nice passes on the right but the end product was always a high cross straight at the keeper. It took Holloway 38 minutes to make the change that should have been made before the game started. That wasted one substitution, as I don't think anyone in the stadium thought that Warren and Bruce would last the 90 minutes. On came Karl Connolly and we went back to a 4-4-2 with Perry at right back and Burgess moving to the right wing.

His change didn't have much of an impact and halftime couldn't come quick enough to be honest. Talking at half time we all felt that Doudou would come on but it just seemed all too familiar. In almost every game in recent weeks we have been poor in the first half and had to rely on a half time talk from Holloway to change things when we should be on our game from the start.

This week though we didn't see any half time changes and we started the second half as poorly as the first. Matthew Rose was turned easily but Chris Day managed to tip the shot over and Northampton had enough chances to kill the game off but thanks to some poor finishing we stayed in the game.

Finally the change was made as Doudou and Richard Pacquette came on for the ineffective Leroy Griffiths and Mark Perry but again this didn't have much of an effect. We continued to hoof the ball forward and the lack of movement by the forwards gave the midfield no options and we had no idea how to break them down.

One run by Doudou woke the game up a bit as his through ball just evaded Thomson and a bit of pressure followed but still nothing to worry Northampton. Burgess was having a decent game on the right and was at least trying to pass the ball but it was all for nothing as his team mates often just gave it away or hoofed into the crowd. We finally had a decent effort on target after 77 minutes when Andy Thomson hit a shot from outside the area but it was straight at the keeper.

Doudou was then brought down outside the box with just a few minutes left and Paul Bruce free kick was on target but didn't have the power to beat the keeper and was pushed over the bar.

The final whistle was greeted by boos from the QPR fans as Northampton celebrated as if they'd won the league. I'm sorry to say that we can talk about passion and commitment all we like but this was just down to the players not having the ability to beat teams like Northampton. We had no idea how to open them up other than a long ball, which just doesn't work.

Without Forbes we have no width on the right and only Burgess seemed able to get a decent cross in but we had no bodies in the box to get on the end of it. Also the movement of the front two was awful, at least when Pacquette came on for all his faults he looked like he wanted to make space for himself and get the ball. A very poor performance by the players along with some strange decisions by the manager saw us slip to a deserved first home defeat of the season.

Man of the Match: Steve Palmer

Players Ratings

1. Chris Day: No chance with the goal and kept us in at times with some good saves. 6/10

4. Steve Palmer; One of the few players to come out with any credit. He defended reasonably well and got forward every chance he got trying to encourage his teammates and get us a goal back. 7/10

12. Matthew Rose: A very disappointing performance, in two different positions he was equally as poor in both. In the back three he never looked comfortable and in a back four he looked all over the place until Northampton went to one up front and sat back. 5/10

3. Paul Bruce: He has no positional sense, can't even do the simplest things right and is a complete liability. Should have been taken off instead of Warren and need to be dropped altogether. 3/10

2. Mark Perry: At least he tried to pass the ball but wasn't helped by his teammates then giving it away. Not a great performance by him though and he can play so much better than this. 6/10

11. Marcus Bignot: He's not playing as well as he can, he always tries to keep the game going with kick free kicks but he wasn't getting as stuck in as he usually does and his distribution was poor. 5/10

26.Alex Bonnot: Another who tires to pass sit but is not helped by lack of movement and teammates who want to just hoof it. He can play better than this though and will have to play better if he wants the extended contract that I hope he gets. 6/10

15. Christer Warren: He has done OK recently at left back but as a winger or wing back he is poor. Wasn't really given a chance though and I would have moved him t left back and taken Bruce off instead. 6/10

24. Oliver Burgess: Similar to Paul Murray in many ways in that he works hard tires to pass the ball and has lots of energy. He put in some excellent crosses and showed that he has some potential. His recent spell in the reserves seems to have done him a lot of good. 6/10

14.Leroy Griffiths: Not really involved enough, never wins anything in the air and caused very few problems for Northampton. 5/10

27. Andy Thomson: The only striker to get a shot on target but a poor performance by Thomson who's movement off the ball was non existent at times yesterday. 5/10

Subs:

10.Karl Connolly: Came on for Warren after 38 minutes and didn't do much. Was unlucky with one shot, which went wide. 6/10

29.Doudou: When we gave him the ball he looked dangerous but we just didn't do it enough. 6/10

22.Richard Pacquette: I was quite impressed with him at times, he seems to be another youngster who has improved with more reserve games under his belt. I think Holloway may start with him instead of Griffiths on Tuesday. 6/10