"We’ve got to hope that changes" - Claim made on Ilias Chair exploits at QPR | OneFootball

Our Hoops fan pundit believes that Chair will find his shooting boots in the second-half of the season

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Queens Park Rangers talisman Ilias Chair has been backed to rediscover his previous scoring form towards the end of this season, after going without a goal so far this term amid numerous injury issues.

Chair has been with the Hoops for over eight years now, after a move from Belgian side Lierse in January 2017 that saw him initially join the under-23 side at Loftus Road.

The attacking midfielder was able to force his way into the R's first-team over the next few seasons, particularly after an impressive loan spell at League Two outfit Stevenage in 2018/19.

He has been a key man under numerous managers in West London over the last few years, with nine goals and five assists in 39 league appearances in 2021/22, five goals and eight assists in 40 Championship games in 2022/23, and seven strikes and eight assists in 44 league appearances last season, despite the club being embroiled in a battle at the bottom of the second-tier.

Fan pundit backs Ilias Chair to score more in the second-half of the campaign

Chair went into the season nursing a back injury, and only made his first appearance of 2024/25 in October against Hull City. He was unable to positively impact Marti Cifuentes side as they struggled in the early stages of the season, and then suffered another injury, this time to his knee, that saw him ruled out for five more games in November.

The R's have managed to transform their season over the last two months, and Chair has been central to their good form since his most recent return from being sidelined, but is still yet to score this season despite registering five assists in his last 10 league outings.

He has been putting in good performances as of late, yet faces competition on the left-wing for starting places from the likes of Koki Saito and new loan recruit Yang Min-hyeok.

Our QPR fan pundit, Louis Moir, believes that the Moroccan international has been unable to reach previous heights this season due to his injury issues, but thinks that he will find his shooting boots sooner rather than later to help fire Cifuentes' side into play-off contention over the coming months.

“I think with Ilias Chair, obviously he’s not had the best of seasons so far due to injury," Louis told FLW.

“It was quite a big injury, which meant he missed a lot of games at the start of the season.

“He’s been finding his way back into the side with fitness, and obviously he hasn’t scored yet.

“We’ve got to hope that changes, because when he is on it, we’re a better team. I’m sure it will happen.

“I think, in my opinion from watching him, he doesn’t look, even now, still totally one hundred percent fit. He looks a bit off the pace, hence why he has been getting subbed off recently.

“He’s not really been involved in games as much as we need him to be.

“We all know how good he is, and he probably will contribute a lot towards the end of this season for us.

“He’s obviously one of the better players in the league on his day, but if he added more goals to his game then he would be by far one of the best.

“Hopefully it will come, but yeah, for sure he needs to start improving because we’ve got other players like Koki Saito and Yang now on loan from Tottenham who will want to take his place if he doesn’t start performing.

“Hopefully it comes soon, and we’ll be better for it as a team as well.”

Chair is very settled at QPR and will surely find his previous form soon

Chair has spent eight years at Loftus Road so far, so it is clear that he is in it for the long haul and wants to achieve things with the Hoops in his time at the club.

That notion has been reinforced by the fact he signed a new, long-term extension to his Rangers contract last month, and upon penning his deal, he spoke of his affection for the club and desire to have success with the club that took a chance on him when he was just 19-years-old.

"I am very grateful for the opportunity and very happy to be here. This is the only club that I know and I am delighted," he told QPR's official media channels.

"If I go back to the start, there were some crazy times. When I came I was 19 years old and didn’t know if I was ever going to make it.

"When they released me in Belgium I didn’t think I was going to be a professional footballer. QPR helped me and I want to repay everyone and thank them for their support.

"This is my home now. I know I am from Belgium and I miss Antwerp but I am a Londoner now, a West Londoner to be exact!

"QPR has been the staple in my life and that is something beautiful. I am just so happy to keep going.

"It has been an unbelievable journey with incredible people – and I can’t wait to have more unbelievable moments with this club.

"It is time now to put myself in that bracket of players that have done something incredible for the club. The appearances are a big thing but I know there is a bigger goal to achieve."

While he may be in the midst of some tricky form right now, Chair is clearly on his way to being a bonafide QPR legend, and that will only become more likely if he starts to score goals between now and the end of the season to help them achieve a surprise top-six finish.

There is, though, no better time than the present, and the prospect of two consecutive games against relegation-threatened Derby County and Portsmouth after a trip to Coventry City this weekend will feel like the perfect time for him to open his account for this season.