A fragmented, at times farcical, pre-season has the Loftus Road natives restless and worried, but Neil Dejyothin sees plenty of cause for optimism in the friendlies played so far.

Chris Ramsey's assertion that he was satisfied following the goalless draw at Newport on Sunday drew some consternation on the LFW message board, and it's true that it's been another poorly organised pre-season which will not help us hit the ground running in the Championship this season.

I've watched a couple of matches on a stream and have been to see us play against Dundee United and Newport County and I'm reasonably satisfied by what I've seen so far too.

Here's why…

It's the small details that matter, not the overall performances or results. Yes there will be some problems that need addressing — but that's normal.

You have to first look at the football you see before you consider the performance and results. Then you have to get an idea about the personnel and how they will come together to form a core nucleus of players that make up the starting squad. I'm only interested in the small details, so I'll focus on those, because these are the things that give you the clues on what's going on behind the scenes.

Let's take Tjarron Chery as an example. He took a free-kick in the first-half against Newport — a poor one, that struck the wall and left us suddenly being hit on the counter attack. The free-kick was to the right of the penalty box and the resulting play developed quickly down our left side, with Darnell Furlong and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas nowhere to be seen having been so far forward for the free-kick. Chery sprinted quietly back into position and filled in for them. He took responsibility for team shape and waited until the danger was averted and cover arrived before heading back into position.

How often could you say that last season when it came to the likes of Junior Hoilett or Leroy Fer, for example? Even some of our central midfield players wouldn't have done that for the team.

That's just one of many small examples I've seen from things we've worked on.

Against Newport, the deepest lying central midfielder often dropped back on top of his centre-back when the opposition had the ball, creating a sandwich between them and the opposing striker and freeing up the other central defender to sweep in behind if necessary or pick up someone else who might be lurking. That is something I haven't seen Rangers do for years.

I've seen much better build up play from the back and more intelligent passing into corridors of space — something they've clearly worked on. Against Dundee United, I saw Nedum Onouha make far better passes than I've ever seen him play. He wasn't on the ball, nervously waving his hands around jazz hands-style like he can do. He simply knew what runs were going to be made and where to slot his pass.

Across the last two matches, I've seen balls sprayed into wide areas, intelligent switches and passages of play designed to encourage the full-backs to attack and overlap and provide additional support to attacks.

We've got into great positions out wide and have clearly worked on trying to put balls into the box with players supporting quickly from behind or the other flank to get into the penalty area. Sure, the quality of delivery isn't quite there yet, but the potential most certainly is.

But more importantly, whenever the play has broken down, we've worked hard to get back into shape and pick up in the event of being hit on the counter. The legs and pace of the team have allowed us to be a lot more dynamic in our response to defence and attack.

Yes we have weaknesses. The set up has provided a much clearer separation at this point between roles and who is supposed to do what in defence and attack. Therefore, there are occasions where we're asking particular units to deal with particular scenarios. Some of that we've done well with and some of that we haven't, and the defence has been exposed at times. However, we've also not played our strongest side in these games, so you have to balance both the good and bad elements in your mind with what it looks like and will be like when the best team is available.

I like that we've looked fast and incisive on the counter attack ourselves, with several occasions where we moved up the pitch quickly after winning the ball.

We've also worked on some passages of play that allow the reverse through ball to be played to runners from deep, as we saw with Matt Phillips' goal against Dundee, as well as numerous nearly-there opportunities across both games. The pace and legs of the side allow us to play this way now — it's not something we could have done with just Bobby Zamora or Charlie Austin leading the line.

We've worked on picking up the ball from deep and playing it around comfortably at the back, but also to open our lines of attack and not just kick the ball up field willy nilly. That will be a huge bonus if they can maintain it going forward, especially if they don't dally around at the back too long.

The triangle in midfield was nicely set up and positioned across both games. It wasn't two sitting deep with one in front, it was more of a rotated triangle, with one deep to protect the defence, one further forward to the right and one even further forward to apply pressure on opposing players on the ball. The balance of this triangle makes for good pressing in zones, but also really good options to pass and move the ball quickly.

So there are lots of positives.

Yes we could have looked a little sharper in front of goal in these games, yes we do need some additional players, particularly in defensive areas, but with what they're trying to do — these are things there that will hopefully fall into place.

There are always going to be concerns and unknowns, particularly with a new team. I wasn't impressed, for example, with how Emmanuel-Thomas berated the kids all the time when they didn't do something he wanted from them, or to the level he wanted. It lacked a bit of sensitive encouragement, but that might have just been one game, it doesn't make it terrible and the kids do need to learn.

The second half the match petered out, but we had a lot of youngsters on the pitch and some of their play was youthful.

Across the two matches so far, I'd say Massimo Luongo is crucial to the way we want to maintain possession and attack — we tried him in two different roles across both games — which again is sensible to see how that works and when he went off. Alejandro Faurlin didn't quite have the same style or range of passing so wasn't as effective.

Another thing I really liked was how often we've put three or four players right on the opposition backline whenever we've had the ball at the back, either with Robert Green or when playing it out from the back.

That's slightly risky perhaps, but when the ball comes in, if you win the first or second ball, suddenly the opposition is under a lot of pressure. Obviously that can cause some problems if the delivery is not up to scratch and the defence doesn't react well to the turnover in possession but I really love that. It's a positive sign, but that's one of the reasons why technical players who can pass, like Luongo, are crucial to the system.

In addition, for the central midfielders, at least two of them have been given the licence to roam in the last two matches. We've seen them popping up on the left or right flanks, or getting beyond the striker or joining alongside them, which is an encouraging sign. Again, the legs of those players make those transitions and movement possible, as I couldn't see players like Barton, Sandro, etc, being able to do that last season.

The Twitter @neildejyothin

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connell10 added 21:54 - Jul 28 Good item mate, the green shoots are there to see if you open your eyes.
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pedrosqpr added 22:07 - Jul 28 Good observations , just one thing to add and that is I think Chris Ramsey is putting a squad together that has legs and can play the system together regardless of who is playing , August we have 7 matches enough time to get us firing on all cylinders .
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TacticalR added 22:21 - Jul 28 Your example of Tjarron Chery covering is interesting. In the past we signed too many individualistic players who could not read the flow of the game. That's why I really liked Derry as he knew where to be. Your example of Nedum Onouha passing from the back is unexpected. Last season none of our central players looked inclined to pass out from the back, instead relying on wacking the ball forward, and you just can't do that against most teams in the Premiership because the ball soon comes back to pressure the defence.

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bacardiinbrissie added 00:13 - Jul 29 Thanks for the write up. I like the sound of all that, and we seem to be progressing as a team and a club. Thats all i want :)
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Neil_SI added 00:32 - Jul 29 pedrosqpr – Yeah I agree. We might be slightly behind where we want to be in terms of match practice, however the Championship offers up lots of matches, so there will be no problem for the squad to get up to speed and they look like they've trained well regardless. TacticalR – Chery was just one example of the players working hard for each other and with discipline. Of course, you never know if it's just a one off and circumstantial, but I'd like to think that wasn't the case because it looked more purposeful and informed. We also had wide players on the opposite flank tucking in and thickening the midfield, depending on where the play was, so that's another encouraging sign. As for Onouha, again, it's hard to say but the type of passes he played made me say "Yes" very loudly because he connected the dots in a way that he usually doesn't. If he can learn to pass the ball a bit better and more comfortably – it'll take his game to the next level, and it doesn't have to be fancy passes, it just has to be the right pass. I've been pretty pleased with how we've played out from the back, it's not been tippy tappy and they haven't dallied around or dithered about there either. They've got it under control, moved it well and started attacks properly or given it to players better than they who can do so. And that's with a makeshift defence really as we've played lots of kids over these games, and while they've been a bit youthful at times with their approach, they've certainly given their all, so fair play to them. It doesn't make them ready for a full season of competitive Championship football, but it won't come as a shock to them if they're called upon and needed. There's been a lot of talk about our fitness levels and so on, that we're undercooked and underprepared, but in these two matches, several players put in meaty tackles, ones that made me even stop and think "hang on a minute, careful, it's a friendly." But that shows some bite and seriousness about the group – that hopefully bodes well for us going forward. I certainly think the style of play, if we can maintain it and keep it fluid, will be much more what the fan base enjoys seeing from a QPR team. There's just a little bit of Kenny Jackett about the set up, what with getting the ball into wide areas behind the opposition full backs and trying to get numbers in the box with the ball flashed across the face of the goal.

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PunteR added 00:33 - Jul 29 One thing that does concern me from all the pre season match reports is Luongo. He sounds a great player and the standout so far. But are we placing to much reliance on him? Still young and just making the step up from league 1. I think we'l need an old head like Henry in the midfield as well.
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Neil_SI added 00:53 - Jul 29 PunteR – It's certainly an observation worth keeping an eye on. He's been impressive, because he can really get up and down the pitch, is technical and tactical, but also tracks and covers really well too. He certainly put in plenty of challenges in these matches that shows he's not afraid of the dirty work or hard yards needed either. He was fantastic against Dundee, but played a more reserved role against Newport, and was a bit deeper than the first match. But he played that role well, and when he went off, it was noticeable that his quality of passing was missing and therefore we weren't able to fire off as many attacks with the same precision. It was certainly a league above Alejandro Faurlin's, who has always been a capable passer of the ball, albeit in a different style. Having said that, we've plenty of midfield players. Chery looks like an interesting player, with speed, aggression and the tenacity to get about the pitch, and I really enjoyed parts of Ben Gladwin's performance against Dundee as well. He faded and tired, but if he can maintain parts of his good play for sustained periods, he'll surprise a few too. He had decent feet for a tall lad, and was cute and clever on the ball on the counter attack on more than one occasion. It's a team game in the end, if they have the work ethic and desire, they''ll give themselves half a chance. They'll still need time, but there potential is there. I think we're a pair of full backs short for the campaign, but that aside, the rest is just about adding depth to the squad where we can. I would be surprised if we hang on to Charlie Austin and Matt Phillips in particular, but even if only two leave from those and say Leroy Fer and Steven Caulker, then we've actually done very well. Phillips played with the confidence that he is a Premier League player in these matches, and sort of carried a bit of aura about him amongst the other players, which was interesting. But it was Jamie Mackie that also caught the eye, because of his work rate and runs into the channels. He chased everything against Dundee, turning balls down the line into something out of nothing – which again is an important component for our set up this season. If we're able to use our legs effectively it will unsettle the opposition, especially if we have the speed and collective ability to press high up the pitch. I think to some degree, if we're fully fit, that may become a weapon in our arsenal. I'm hopeful of that, because it ties in with some of the bits and pieces I've seen. If you pin so many players forward when you play out from the back, and are able to press aggressively if you don't win that first ball, then you're in with a chance every time.

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Neil_SI added 00:57 - Jul 29 Oh and one other thing I liked about the details. We've played mixed teams across both matches, and against Newport, there were lots of changes, but when we defended corners, every player seemed to instantly know his responsibility and where he was supposed to be on the pitch. I saw strikers like Polter racing back to pick up in the box, and players like Chery taking up his attacking position, as clearly instructed. These small details make a difference, because that kind of organisation can result in points won or lost. That they'd done their home work on these things pleases me.

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SonofNorfolt added 02:34 - Jul 29 You worry me Neil. You obviously watched far too much of the game(s)
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QPRski added 07:47 - Jul 29 I have not watched any pre-season matches, so to date have only had a "helicopter view" of our warm up matches. Your analysis and insights are very detailed and higlights many positives of which I have unaware. It also seems to prove that Chris Ramsey is a true coach who knows his business. I wish him every success and look forward to seeing the "issue 1 version" of the team against Charlton in only 10 days. I just hope that he is given time to deliver the finished exciting "product" which we all crave for.

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YorkRanger added 08:11 - Jul 29 Thx for the summary Neil, useful reading for those of us who haven't seen any of the pre season games
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SimonJames added 13:45 - Jul 29 Great analysis ... and there was me hoping I could hold onto my extreme pessimism for a few weeks more.
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