It's a position no soccer player really wants to be in, fighting for survival and realistically your way of life at a club but alas for lower tier clubs in the Barclay's Premier League it's a dog fight every year just to survive.
Having spent millions of pounds in the summer and having the backing of Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes, few would have predicted the struggles that Queen's Park Rangers would have had this season. After all with the supposed shrewd signings of keeper Julio Cesar, midfielder Esteban Granero and blossoming youngster Junior Hoilett the team was expected to at least challenge for a top 10 position.
A disastrous first half of the season saw Mark Hughes sacked and former Tottenham manager Harry Rednapp brought in to try and salvage the campaign. Though Rednapp's impact was a positive one at the club right from the start, his relationship with Portuguese right back Jose Bosingwa was tumultuous at best.
A starter for the majority of Mark Hughes reign at the club, Bosingwa found himself on the bench early for Rednapp and wasn't happy about it, so much so that he refused to sit on the bench for a league game against Fulham in December.
The last few months has seen the relationship between the two be repaired but the club's fortunes once again have hit a downward spiral, needing points in nearly every game to realistically avoid the drop to England's second division.
Having had a contract dispute with Sporting Lisbon earlier in the season, Daniel Carrico was sold to Reading in the middle of the season in hopes he could provide depth to a club that was always going to find survival in the Premier League a difficult task.
Unfortunately, Carrico has found himself very out of form and has only featured for the club once so far in his BPL career. With less than 10 games remaining and with Reading's fortunes dipping significantly so much so that Brian McDermott who led the club to promotion was replaced by also recently fired Southampton manager Nigel Adkins to try to salvage the season, it looks like Carrico will have to wait until next season to have any real impact at the club.
Suffering from the drop
Barring a remarkable run of form or a huge collapse by teams sitting in front of the them in the table both clubs will likely drop out of the BPL this season leaving the futures of Bosingwa and Carrico in doubt.
Having had his clashes with Rednapp and Portuguese National Team head coach Paul Bento (He's refused to call up Bosingwa to the NT) it seems that Bosingwa's career is very much on the decline. That being said he's still a serviceable right back with good speed and offensive capabilities. His work on the defensive side of the ball lacks discipline but should QPR put him up for sale he should find a home in top league soccer again next season.
As for Carrico, having just joined the club in the last few months and being relatively cheap financially he is likely to be molded into the first team squad in the second division should other players move on. Low on confidence, Carrico may prove a good piece to the Reading puzzle when they once again seek promotion should they indeed drop out of the BPL.
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