By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions. We in turn value your personal details in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Please log in or register. Registered visitors get fewer ads.
All the good; Warburton’s dignity, Barbet’s longevity, Johansen’s class, Austin’s legend - all memories, all gone, all history, all a point in time to reminisce about in moments when the thumping headache of reality subsides fleetingly.
I don’t give a fuxk about Brentford or Fulham but their superiority isn’t transitory, it’s well deserved and highlights how horribly our club has been run, Christ it seems since Jim Gregory.
This time it seems worse somehow as we had a glimpse of what we could be.
Brilliant report reflecting what so many of us feel. A club seemingly back on track only to self sabotage itself, derail and crash through the station. Lose a manager who’s lost most of his team to injury, lose players that have played nearly a 100 games in a row because you’re not doing contracts until Klopp confirms he’s staying at Liverpool. Talk about new managers who’s salaries are worth more than the Loftus Road real estate, lose a legendary player and think about how we can one day be as good as Luton!
It comes to something when it feels like the most exciting things to look forward to next season is what the kit will look like (hoops I guess), the celebration of Mahoney topping 5 foot, someone at the helm who’s been a top 5 manager at Matalan and a team full of U23 Chelsea and Spurs loanees who have nothing to prove apart from passing driving tests enabling them to drive their parent club’s Aston Martins.
When two months ago you think we were unlikely promotion contenders and now we are going to be a rudderless mess it really is quite depressing. Next season is critical to the club I feel with the best I feel we can hope for is to be solid mid table and worst relegation contenders. Meanwhile we are watching Luton in the play offs probably replace Watford. A team with an even shabbier ground, half our budget, an annoying but good manager, players on a pittance mostly from lower leagues and we can only dream of being that good!
My only hope is that we install Eustace with Ramsay and at least keep some sense of identity and continuity.
Spot on about Dozzell I’m yet to be convinced by him ,Amos another who went missing , I can’t believe Ball didn’t start it was really boys vs Men As for the doom and gloom about the amount of players leaving and the manager come to that the only thing I can be positive about is comparing us to Crystal Palace, last season they lost woy who everyone said was a steady hand, they then lost about 9 players or so out of contract and then went and appointed Vieira who everyone said wouldn’t make October They got it right with the recruitment and the manager and are having a very good season I just hope we are going down a similar route and that Les has a plan
And Bowles is onside, Swinburne has come rushing out of his goal , what can Bowles do here , onto the left foot no, on to the right foot
That’s there that’s two, and that’s Bowles
Brian Moore
5
Standing on the platform, watching you go — Report on 09:06 - May 1 with 6257 views
Great write up, felt a real sense of disillusionment whilst applauding the players off the pitch.
I do admire Warbs, kept his head up on the long walk around the ground, decent bloke trying his best to give us customers what we think we want. Needless to say, doomed to failure. Ghosts indeed.
Think we need to be pragmatic. Bigger, faster, stronger. We don’t have the financial clout to play our way out of this Division. Dozzell will never be the next Don Masson, in fact Don Masson wouldn’t be the new Don Masson, football in 2022 is not the same as 1975. We need to ditch this pretence we can pass our way to success, I don’t want to see our CF and centre midfield being monstered, our full backs getting pushed about by oppo wingers for gods sake.
We need a manager who sets out to win the physical battles that allow the likes of Willock and Chair to play. Until then the prospective obituary will be self fulfilling.
7
Standing on the platform, watching you go — Report on 09:47 - May 1 with 6074 views
Clive, honestly now, not, as an American might say, blowing smoke up your a*s, but your writing about football is just the best I have ever encountered. Maybe you're in tears as you write this stuff, I'm often on the verge of tears as I read it.
Not much else to say about this report except well f*ck.
‘morbid curiosity about where this is all going’
2
Standing on the platform, watching you go — Report on 11:24 - May 1 with 5713 views
For all the failings on the pitch in the last 3 months, the big worry for me is what is going on behind the scenes. In the same 3 months, we seem to have gone from a seemingly, well run club with a plan to a bat-5hit crazy club with no direction and no plan AGAIN!
[Post edited 1 May 2022 11:24]
Extra mature cheddar......a simple cheese for a simple man
3
Standing on the platform, watching you go — Report on 12:24 - May 1 with 5485 views
Great report thanks Clive. It maybe the hope again talking but I have felt that many of us supporters are reading too much into our drop off in form since January. Many have blamed Warburton if in a minority, now those above him who have seemingly got rid of Warburton, are starting to get the blame.
For me I reckon the cause in the drop off in form is explained more simply explained by the injuries to key players, especially Willock and Dieng but many others too, and the loss of form and fitness in other key players Johansen and Austin in particular. Then our squad was always thin in quality, the back-up players not good enough to maintain a promotion challenge, due to our budget. Not too much Warburton could do, he tried but sometimes failed like yesterday for example by playing Field at LCB yesterday to give us 3 at the back, but that left our midfield too weak.
It was notable for me yesterday that Berge who when fit is an important player in Norway's current midfield, dominated our midfield with ex Norway Captain and midfielder Johansen looking well past his best, much as I saw him struggle in Norway's midfield some 2 years ago before he joined us and get subbed at HT. It rather underlined for me that Warburton had got a lot out of our players when most were fit and in form, did a great job' but the players he had available these last 3 months weren't good enough for top 6 or even top half probably as it looks now.
Optimistically, If we can keep most of the best players, keep them fit and strengthen in depth under new Management possibly Eustace and Ramsey to provide continuity in Warburton's work, we can improve again next season.
[Post edited 1 May 2022 12:29]
3
Standing on the platform, watching you go — Report on 14:06 - May 1 with 5179 views
I think, the best write-up of all. Funny yet heart-felt, it certainly struck a chord with me. I've been so upset at goings-on lately, I toyed with the idea of not renewing my ST which I've had since the days of Gordon Jago. I'll renew though and the sentiments expressed in this report are the reason why.
0
Standing on the platform, watching you go — Report on 20:01 - May 1 with 4355 views
Great write-up and it's upsetting how the club has handled the situation.
In terms of the inquest into the post Reading 4-0 collapse, a whole bunch of factors seem to combine. One that to me may have been the tipping point was the January transfer window strategy. Bringing in and then immediately starting Hendrick and Sanderson did not make us better and seemed to jog the sense of togetherness. I could understand bringing them in as backup but not starting them. And surely the priorities were at wing back and up front?
0
Standing on the platform, watching you go — Report on 22:28 - May 1 with 4127 views
As everyone has said outstanding writing as ever, we are so luck to have Clive writing about QPR, such a talented bloke
On the game I thought a few things worried me looking ahead to next season. Players likely to still be here were the midfield and they were awful, dominated all game never in the game, they offered no protection to back 5, couldn't keep the ball and rarely supported the forwards. Chair & Austin/Dykes were so isolated all game was worrying.
Also Dykes concerns me, every striker goes through barren runs in front of goal but thought first half Austin was getting a bit dominated by their centre half in the air but he left a few challenges on him, refused to get bullied and found a way to get a goal, Dykes got a one handed shove second half and went flying, no strength or desire, see that far too often from him, he's very easy to defend against at times. Like all our strikers he gets very little service so don't blame him for a lack of goals but the difference in his all round game now to the first 3 months of the season is massive, he needs to get back to that.
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
