They weren't that strong in the Championship tbh. They relied massively on Taarabt, was always going to be the case when he struggled with much less time and space in the Prem that it would show up the rest of the squad - which is Championship standard.
He didn't even give Taarabt enough of a chance to find his feet. Taarabt still looks a threat when he's out there, but stripping him of the captaincy right at the start of the season and giving it to Barton just wasn't a smart move considering Taarabt's personality. Also, wasn't Barton having a go at him shortly after joining the club or something?
They should have stuck with him more I agree.
Just saying the difference between QPR and Norwich/Swansea was the latter both came up with a strong collective - QPR relied on the talents of 1 individual. I don't agree with their transfer policy but if they hadn't got those players in towards the end they'd probably be rock bottom right now.