Harry Redknapp quits QPR: He's been on the brink for of an exit for months... but picked the worst time to leave

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Harry Redknapp could have left Queens Park Rangers at any moment in the last two years, and yet he has picked the worst one.

Rangers are in a desperate position, second from bottom, with 15 games left. The transfer window shut yesterday, depriving them of the chance of improving their squad.

The fact that it should come at a moment of maximum inconvenience to QPR should be no surprise, even if Redknapp’s departure had felt lingeringly near for years. It did not take long after he replaced Mark Hughes for it to be clear that – even after spending £20million on Loic Remy and Christopher Samba – his team were going down.

There was so little fight in those final months that it would have made sense, even then, to replace Redknapp with someone who wanted to direct and inspire the team again.

Redknapp did not make it obvious that he did. Instead, they waded their way through the Championship, and through sheer weight of players they managed to clamber past Wigan Athletic and Derby County in the play-offs. Had QPR lost to Derby – as they very nearly did – Redknapp would have left. Even after victory, he could have been replaced by someone with the enthusiasm to take on the Premier League.

Instead, Rangers have limped through this season just as they did the last two, devoid of any plan, any purpose, any direction, any of the things that Redknapp was paid to provide.