In the last of our pre-season Awayday Reviews Matthew Fairfax looks back on a Tuesday night trip to Wycombe where the R's won 2-1.
1 – The Match
A highly entertaining opening, with two goals for Rangers in the opening eight minutes, but thereafter it died on its arse. It became very much a pre-season kickabout, with both teams going through the motions and leaving most of the crowd (such as it was) bored rigid. Wycombe’s goal threatened to induce some late drama, but we held on comfortably enough.
4/10
2 – QPR Performance
Like the game itself, started brightly before settling into a rut. We played some nice football, but the way the official website raved about the quality of our performance made me choke on my toast. Yes we dominated possession, but all we did was pass the ball sideways and backwards, and never looked like adding to our early two-goal haul. Perhaps I’m still harking back to the Holloway era when we used to mix it up a bit and actually looked like we were bothered. I realise it was only a friendly, but we looked far too much like Swansea under Roberto Martinez for my liking. Again I may be in a minority, but their style of football always bored me to tears as well.
5/10
3 – QPR Support
A good following as ever from just down the M40, with the obligatory chaos at the turnstiles as two stewards frantically tore off ticket stubs behind the turnstile operator, who then presented one to each supporter as we trickled past. A fair few missed both our goals, which given the quality of the match as a whole was unfortunate to say the least.
7/10
4 – Atmosphere
The Wycombe fans were silenced by our early goals, but the terrace at the far end did get going when they scored their consolation. It was very much a pre-season atmosphere, with the big main stand closed and most supporters discussing their forthcoming league campaigns rather than worrying too much about what was going on in front of them.
5/10
5 – The Ground
Adams Park is a pleasant enough ground, although the location is a bone of contention among travelling supporters. There’s only one way in and one way out, so those who park at the ground itself should add at least an hour to their journey time when there’s a big crowd – thankfully that wasn’t a concern on the night. The view from the away end was decent and unobstructed, and the food bar was doing a decent trade. That said, the burger came with unmelted cheese and a cold bun – haute cuisine it was not.
6/10
6 – The Journey
It’s monsoon season in South Wales, so that made for an interesting midweek journey through the roadworks, but compared to our last league visit to Adams Park conditions were positively tropical. The infamous ‘wind game’ will never be forgotten by those who were there, and Martin Rowlands’ equalising goal that literally dropped out of the sky was second only in surrealness to the drive along the M4, which was straight into the eye of the hurricane – I swear a herd of bemused cows blew past me at one point. Thankfully this time around the outskirts of High Wycombe were dry and peaceful, and the expected traffic jams on the way out failed to materialise.
6/10
7 – Pre Match
After parking my car on the summit of a large mountain, I descended through the clouds and stopped off for a well-earned pint at the Hour Glass. It was scruffier than I remember, although that’s probably because it was half empty and for the first time I was able to breathe in there. A decent pre-match boozer, but nothing to write home about.
6/10
8 – Police and Stewards
Largely anonymous, although as always the turnstile chaos could have been organised a little better. However an extra point is awarded for entertainment value. When I was in the queue for the food bar, a plump pigeon was sitting on the advertising board minding its own business, when all of a sudden a steward descended, picked it up in her hands and walked off with it! As surreal incidents go that was up there with the best of them, and it changed my mind about ordering the meat pie…
7/10
Total 46/80