 | News
Comment | Pure cinema, or poor am-dram? Preview
at 21:25:26
Thanks for your preview.
I found the 10 minutes of extra time at Stoke to be absolute torture, and that was watching on TV, so I can only imagine what it was like for the travelling fans.
I think expectations were higher this season than last, so that's why people are not showing much patience despite all our injuries.
Unfortunately Wrexham are on form (and have money to spend). We seem to be all over the place. Although the loss of Burrell has been a huge blow, our loss of form predates Burrell's injury - we looked very short of ideas and drive against Norwich at home on 3rd January. If we want to keep Dunne and Cook as centre-backs, I wonder if we can put in Edwards slightly further forward (playing where Faurlin used to play alongside Derry in a 4-2-3-1). Plus we could do with some inspiration up front, maybe from Kolli or Bennie or Obikwu. However this is all academic if end up as defensive as we were against Stoke. |
| News
Comment | Coventry's Obikwu brings familiar profile to QPR attack - Signing
at 18:00:33
Thanks to Clive and Zac.
There is definitely a Burrell-shaped hole in the team, so if Obikwu can go any way to filling it that would be good. However, given that Burrell has been such a success, that is asking a lot. A least we have other forward options in Kolli and Bennie, so the whole responsibility for playing alongside Kone is not going to fall to on Obikwu. |
| News
Comment | Does Wrexham's meteoric rise have another swift promotion in it? - Oppo Profile
at 17:19:30
Thanks to Matt and Rob.
Wrexham have picked up steam since we played them, and don't seem to be suffering from the injury crisis affecting some other teams such as ourselves. They are second in the form table over the last six games. Interesting that they appointed and have stuck with an old school manager who is enjoying the best win rate of his career. |
| News
Comment | Lather, rinse, repeat – Report
at 14:56:43
Thanks for your report.
Once again it can't be easy to report when there's not much to report. Watching on TV it was difficult to see just how bad the conditions were (although you could see the ball kept moving when Madsen was trying to take the corners). In the absence of any truly convincing chances from QPR, I think the highlight was Walsh's save from Long.
Yes, we need a total and complete shutdown of Oxford-QPR games until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on. |
| News
Comment | A different ball game - Preview
at 14:32:10
Thanks for your preview.
Agree it can be pretty fatal for a match if both sides want to play counter-attacking football. I really hope we are not going to do this against Oxford.
Once again, with all the injuries we have it looks like the team picks itself. Burrell's injury has caused a world of problems: we have lost a) his ability to run on to long balls b) his ability to score goals c) his ability to take pressure off Kone. The question is do we try to play the same way and hope Kolli (or Obikwu) can fill the Burrell role, or do we try and find an alternative method of attack? You know, involving some of that passing stuff. |
| News
Comment | Oxford putting trust in Bloomfield despite Luton failure – Oppo Profile
at 13:58:35
Thanks to Adam.
OK, at least I now understand why Oxford got rid of Rowett. On the surface he seemed well suited to a relegation battle, but it sounds like Oxford want to take a chance on younger players rather than get into a cycle of staying up by bringing in experienced players every season. Whether this works out remains to be seen. |
| News
Comment | And we never spoke of it again – Report
at 12:04:44
Thanks for your report.
Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear. Your pass accuracy and possession statistics are damning. What really bothered me about the game was that Stoke were making more effort to get the ball down and play football than we were. I noticed the same thing against Norwich at home. We are beginning to see what we look like without Burrell (and are going to look like for a while)...numerous inaccurate long balls forward which Burrell might have run on to and made look good instead end up at the feet of the opposition. I fear we are talking about a lack of footballing skill rather than 'gamesmanship'.
On the positive side the defence, marshalled by Dunne and Cook, held out. Madsen at least managed some incisive passes and has a real knack for intercepting opposition passes.
Kit clash - annoying and unnecessary (and affects the whole game). Why on earth not wear the hoops with dark blue shorts (the same kit as when Eze ran through the whole Stoke defence)?. |
| News
Comment | A cold, wet Saturday afternoon in Stoke – Preview
at 12:14:18
Thanks for your preview.
Goals make games memorable. That's why our years of non-scoring strikers and goal droughts produced so many forgettable games.
The move to Category 1 seems to be all upside, and something we can control, regardless of results on the field and the occasional dash for the Premier League (although in the long term we hope results will improve). Of course Category 1 status doesn't guarantee anything (just ask Reading), but it does give us access to the aristocracy of English football.
Back to Stoke - with all the injuries we have it looks like the team picks itself. We'll also get an insight into how well we can function without Burrell. |
| News
Comment | Stoke breaking scary new ground under Robins – Oppo Profile
at 20:32:58
Thanks to Ben and Sam.
It's interesting that Robins has built from the back and then added the attacking players. It feels like QPR have had to do the opposite - rely on attack as the defence has been so vulnerable.
Sorba Thomas has always given QPR problems. It sounds like he is now giving a lot of other teams problems too. |
| News
Comment | The rules of Road Runner – Report
at 20:05:02
Thanks for your report.
The ground was not quite as bad as I was expecting, but just not designed for football. It's a continental stadium rather than a British stadium. I think the problem is not so much what it is, but what it might have been in an era where a lot of grounds have been built from scratch.
I wasn't expecting too much from the game as our top scorer Burrell got injured last week, and our best ball playing central defender Jake Clarke-Salter was also injured. Ilias Chair has been injured nearly all season. Given the circumstances, and that West Ham were treating the game seriously, I thought we acquitted ourselves quite well, with players like Kolli and Smyth rising to the occasion. |
| News
Comment | Unstoppable force versus immovable object – Preview
at 14:10:06
Thanks for your preview.
That's a good point that, for all the compromises associated with moving to the stadium, the last thing it was ever suited for was not being in the Premier League.
It is a real shame that Burrell is injured (and this could have serious repercussions for the rest of our season) - I can picture him scampering around the wide open plain of the London Stadium. We'll have to hope that Kolli can fill the scampering position.
The FA Cup is a strange beast. At times it feels like nobody takes it seriously, least of all QPR, who have completely forgotten how to play in it. |
| News
Comment | Ronnie returns, but is it the handsome deal QPR hope? – Signing
at 00:03:43
Thanks for looking at the pros and cons of the deal.
Get your catastrophising in early - that's my advice. We all know the positives. I agree the main negative is what has happened at Southampton this season. I had a look on the Saints' forums and a lot of the fans were not too bothered about him leaving. Some mentioned that he was overwhelmed by Kieffer Moore in the Wrexham game, others that he wasn't a head everything away centre-back. Having said that, Southampton have their own problems.
Our ever-changing defence has been a problem all season, so from that point of view signing Edwards makes a lot of sense, as it looks like JCS is a write-off and Cook is coming to the end of his career. We are also lacking dynamism in the centre, so if Edwards can bring the field out of defence and start attacks, that will be a bonus.
Jennifer Lawrence has called out the genocide in Gaza, so a fine dinner companion in my opinion. |
| News
Comment | Kolli rescues Rangers, but injuries mount – Report
at 15:45:02
Thanks for your report.
We really needed to win this one after losing momentum in recent weeks. A loss against this Sheffield Wednesday side would have really knocked our confidence. Fortunately Kolli produced a couple of excellent solo efforts.
Losing Burrell is pretty serious, given how dependent we have been on him so far this season. Hopefully Kolli can step in to fill the gap. |
| News
Comment | Staring down the barrel – Oppo Profile
at 14:11:38
Thanks to Rob and Tom.
The stadium was a bribe to West Ham to hide the white elephant the government had created.
On the pitch, West Ham are not completely cut adrift, but losing at Wolves must have been quite a psychological blow.
Whether we can take advantage of the situation, or make our usual swift exit, remains to be seen. |
| News
Comment | Insert paragraph about Barry Bannan – Preview
at 11:26:55
Thanks for your preview.
Ever since that Leicester game we have faded. Actually, it's not the first time this season the goals have dried up, despite the potential potency of our attacking players. It's precisely because our defence is so poor and that we have this attacking option that I think our only best bet is to try and outscore the opposition, although I understand why people say you have to sort out the defence before anything else.
Today we will find out if we all have Barry Bannan derangement syndrome or whether he really is out to get us. |
| News
Comment | Nightmare start to the New Year as Norwich beat QPR again - Report
at 14:14:30
Thanks for your report.
All very miserable, and likely to bring on questions about the meaning of life. We looked desperately short of ideas and lacking any guiding intelligence. Another thing that wasn't good was that it looked like Norwich were making more of an effort than we were to get the ball down. Maybe it's the result of two up front and reduced numbers in midfield, or maybe the lack of options, but we seemed very dependent on long balls (presumably hoping that Burrell will get there first).
You get the feeling that we don't like cold days, rainy days, muddy pitches or playing against:
1) Northern teams
2) London teams (fortunately most of these have disappeared off to the Premier League)
3) Norwich City
Thank heavens for Bristol City. |
| News
Comment | All just a little bit of history repeating? Preview
at 14:06:17
Thanks for your preview.
Some interesting parallels with McClaren's time. The lesson seems to be that when it comes to QPR there are no bankers (if anything we don't win the ones we're supposed to).
Given that some of our players are looking fragile, the last thing we need is extra games over Christmas/New Year.
Down with fugly pink kits. |
| News
Comment | Chaotic team selection, chaotic outcome as R's slip at West Brom - Report
at 13:46:20
Thanks for your report.
Unfortunately another forgettable game where we did not get going. The first goal was ridiculous - Hamer was weak and gambled on the referee giving him a free kick for a slight nudge from the opposition. Dunne scoring is great, but also a sign that we aren't creating anything in open play.
Yes, some strange selections, such as Sam Field up front. I have the same feeling that Esquerdinha is being chucked into the wrong games. He played really well in the Premier League Cup final, but he needs to find his feet in the Championship. |
| News
Comment | QPR look to conquer away jitters at restless West Brom - Preview
at 14:36:24
Thanks for your preview.
It's only 3 weeks since we last played West Brom. At the time both teams were on 25 points. Since then a bit of daylight has opened up (West Brom are now on 28 points and we are now on 35 points). If you wanted to be ultra-optimistic, you could say that we are only a win away from 3rd place (Ipswich on 38 points). However, this division has a habit of putting you in your place whenever you start looking up the table. |
| News
Comment | Merry Christmas my R’s – Preview
at 12:37:24
Thanks for your preview.
'We haven’t won away on Boxing Day since 1967'. Christ almighty! Just shows we should never have got rid of Alec Stock.
Anyway, enough with the damning statistics. Can this QPR side overcome history? Unfortunately, we never seem to do well in the games we're supposed to win. |
| | TacticalR
|
Site Scores| Prediction League: | 0 | | TOTAL: | 0 |
|
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.