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Reply | Sooooooooooooooooooooooooo
at 17:04 17 Jul 2019
Only thing about this coming season that I've got a slight feel for is that once again our league position will change wildly through the season. Just have this idea that we'll veer from 8th-20th at various stages. What frustrates me is that other clubs in this division with similarly paltry resources will be aiming for a top-six tilt at least...not all (perhaps not any) will actually get there, but the ambition will take them into the upper reaches. Our mentality as a club - from the manager, through the players, down to the fans - seems to be that because we haven't got pots of money anymore, we should automatically be dire. It's a defeatism other clubs don't have, and struggling will be a self-fulfilling prophecy until and unless we shake it. You can bet that the likes of Preston will be aiming higher than 16th. |
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Reply | Mozart/ Discuss
at 16:50 17 Jul 2019
I've been lucky enough to be blessed with the good fortune to enjoy & appreciate great music from every genre and type...love Mozart, Beethoven, Handel and all the classical greats. Saw Don Giovanni at Glyndebourne a few years ago, magical stuff.
That Salieri was a one, though... |
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Reply | Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium
at 10:18 7 Jun 2019
Great news, a conclusion to the naming rights business that I think the vast majority of fans can get behind.
Let's hope everything else goes as well this summer !  |
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Reply | Lumley
at 10:14 7 Jun 2019
I stand corrected, sir...thought he was slightly younger.
As we all know, though, GK is the one position where the peak of a player's powers comes much later age-wise - another option would not be unwelcome for me. |
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Reply | Lumley
at 01:06 2 Jun 2019
I like Joe & I hope he stays. Problem is, Dieng is still a bit young for Championship level games and Ingram's form and confidence were so atrocious last season that we couldn't alternate our keepers, though that's what 99% of teams who go on long losing runs at any level generally do. He looked incredibly shaky during the Leeds cup game in January, and of course that was the last we saw of him. We do need another keeper, someone a bit older than Joe with experience as well as those distribution skills. Then hopefully we can get value from both of them. |
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Thread | Farewell, Chewbacca...
at 00:16 3 May 2019
Just being reported that Peter Mayhew, the original Chewbacca, has died in Texas at the age of 74.
A reminder that we're all getting on a bit... |
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Reply | Transfer Window Changes....
at 19:32 2 May 2019
We'll have to adapt, like the rest.
I think what we'll really need in the window is shrewd bargains on 2 or 3 year contracts where there is a bit of mutual skin in the game.
A Pukki or two wouldn't go amiss...  |
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Reply | Gareth Ainsworth
at 15:57 2 May 2019
Yes...I wonder. Two of the top three news spots on the offish are Gareth-related - it may be coincidence, or it may be significant.
I think we'll find out soon. BTW, the bloke who's taken over from Mick Harford at Lootown today will be one to watch. Could do a Chris Wilder there. |
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Reply | Young Players
at 12:50 2 May 2019
An aside : last week, for nostalgia's sake, I looked up footage on YouTube of our last home game of 2000/01, an end-April miseryfest 0-3 against Stockport County, of all sides. And yes, we were as rank as I remembered from gazing on in my much-loved ST seat of 18 years ago.
Young player relevance : it featured the first-team debut - and sending-off - of Justin Cochrane, a young player we had high hopes for. I also had a personal connection, as at the time I worked with his Mum and knew his Dad too. Lovely people and Justin himself was a great lad.
As we all know, he didn't blossom into a top midfielder, but did have a decent career for himself in the lower leagues. Now 37, I was happy to see that the FA have recently appointed him as England U-15 Coach.
The lesson (a rather obvious one) remains that not all young players can get to the kind of level that a Club like ours requires. In fact, a fair few of the names we bandy about currently every day may not make it to the required standard over time. That's why most clubs supplement the youth with mature players signed from elsewhere, whether that be cheaply or expensively. Growing a team made up exclusively of kids is a good plan only if the aim is to fall through the divisions.
I love watching our young players : but at the moment too much is expected of them, and not only by supporters. My only issue with Lumley is that this coming season (and going forward) he should be alternated with a late twenty something/early thirtysomething keeper who's been around the block - there are loads of those around, probably some on this summer's released lists. We've spent a season with Ingram's form and possibly confidence so not-to-be-relied-on and the result has been that Lumley has played every week. Not the best thing for him or the Club.
Likewise, Eze : not lazy to my eyes, but - completely understandably - prone to youthful lapses. At least, though, as an outfield player there has been the opportunity to take him out of the firing line sometimes.
We need bodies through the door this summer - much will depend on who they are, and which manager is doing the choosing. Realistically, with resources the way they are, we could do with a couple of cash injections of the kind that the sale of Freeman and Luongo would bring in. Then it's down to making the right decisions. Let's see who the new man is first, though. |
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Reply | Over 50’s NI contributions
at 12:40 30 Apr 2019
Yes ! Quite significant that it's the first thing people think of, they've been warded off higher taxes for the online giants, higher corporation tax and rich individuals paying a bit more.
I'm not one of the Momentum crew, btw !  |
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Reply | Gareth Ainsworth
at 12:29 30 Apr 2019
What changes in 24 hours...Moore & Warburton the last two yesterday, now today Gareth is back in the frame.
At this rate, Holloway will be back as a surprise appointment  |
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Reply | Darren Moore, Darren Moore
at 12:22 29 Apr 2019
If there's anything at all in the press reports over the last few days (and there may or may not be) then it seems it's down to Moore or Warburton for the job.
Warburton looks like less of a risk - some Forest fans I spoke to on Sat thought he'd been hard done by there, and we already know he's played a big part in building the solid foundations that Brentford currently have & will take to their new stadium.
As an aside, the 'forrin bloke' at Barnsley is doing pretty well and - if the board are really interested - Bowyer could still be available before long (though maybe the baggage of his younger behaviour weighs heavy). Given though that most clubs will already be planning for next season, I would hope the board will take the plunge soon. There is one hell of a lot of work to do... |
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Reply | So..what now?
at 14:49 23 Apr 2019
A lot of really good, thoughtful stuff going on with this post : even between people who are respectfully disagreeing with one another.
My take : for the very little it's worth.
This time last year, we were preparing to finish the season on 56 points, having had our purple patches, our low points (though even Forest at home last season somehow doesn't look so bad now) and having lashed out precisely none of the Club's very limited resources on expensive loans and end-of-career contracts to players who had good working lives elsewhere. To the surprise of some, that was not deemed good enough, with the manager and his coaching staff shown the door in May.
So what then : a manager brought in who (despite a previous positive coaching connection) raised little enthusiasm among the fanbase. With him came a change of attitude towards short-term expenditure, and following a disastrous start, a period of mildly increased hope and/or expectation.
Winter bites, darkness descends, and the players mysteriously put the season away with the Christmas decorations despite the distance to the bright days of May seeming interminable. Manager goes (again) as we crawl painfully towards the barest of safety, well short of last year's points tally, depressingly pulled backwards.
Elsewhere, money is doing some talking, but it will never be the only voice in this division, as those making properly good use of limited resources are having their say. And the beauty of the Championship is that - despite it getting harder to succeed every year - nous, intelligence, a shrewd transfer policy and a winning culture can ensure if not success, then the palpable absence of failure.
So, next manager. Next season. Another roll of the dice. No matter the indicators, I have never anticipated relegation (or promotion or play-off places) during any summer, and I won't be starting now.
I love this Club. This is my team, my hope. Whether by accident or design, I pray that the powers that be get it right this summer - it is just as possible for them to do so as it is for them to fail.
I will see. We all will. |
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Reply | When was the last time we were properly Coached?
at 10:55 8 Apr 2019
We looked well coached during Holloway's first spell for the time that Jackett was in post as assistant. Whatever you think of Holloway (and personally, I'm more positive than negative, especially with the benefit of hindsight) there's little doubt that Jackett was the brains of that operation. Olly may have lasted five and a half years - unthinkable these days - but it was never quite the same after Kenny went, IMO. |
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Reply | Jackett Required
at 17:30 2 Apr 2019
In years gone by, I've argued for the return of Kenny Jackett.
The difference is that then he was available. Very much doubt we could prise him away from Pompey now.
Not in the least surprised he's been successful there, apart from that one aberration he's had a pretty distinguished career. |
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Reply | Next manager?
at 17:17 2 Apr 2019
Good points. I would though say that it is somewhat reminiscent of Season 2001/02, the legendary Queens Park Strangers who shook hands and then gave Celtic a game over 90 minutes. Ah, the memories...
On a more serious note, it may be that if Leeds pay top dollar for Freeman, and we get proper market value for Luongo, then it's down to the quality of the bargain replacements. Norwich and Preston (to name but two in this division) have found real gems of value for little or nothing, so it can still be done if the right approach is taken. Preston transformed their season in January with what at the time looked like a clutch of low-key signings, so it can be done.
Will we do it ? Sure, the omens aren't good, but hope springs eternal. |
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Reply | Next manager?
at 17:01 2 Apr 2019
A dreadful reminder of past sins, to be sure.
Doesn't seem to have any issues managing a multi-racial squad at The Valley, I would imagine he's said all the right things about being wrong etc. and putting it behind him. People here and there may judge that differently.
Not a likeable player either, though undoubtedly talented. I suppose we will have to see how it all pans out. The one thing we can all agree on is that Sherwood would be a disaster. It wouldn't even be a slow car crash. |
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Reply | Next manager?
at 12:36 2 Apr 2019
Lee Bowyer ticks quite a few boxes - top five at Charlton with no money and a Club as much in turmoil with itself as the country is with Brexit. Inventive with resources and contacts, good with youth, and out of contract in a matter of weeks. Compared to what Rowett et al would probably ask for, he may be a relatively cheap option too.
And yet...
He's Charlton's Olly in many ways : a product of the Club before going on to bigger things, emotional return as manager, affinity with the fans through dark days. Would he be as good at a Club he has no links to ? Perhaps, perhaps not. That's a risk and should be a real consideration. |
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Reply | Who is the Oldest QPR Supporter Here?
at 23:10 23 Aug 2018
A veritable youngster at 55, started supporting from afar in the early Eighties, came to live in London in 1988 and first game at LR was v West Ham, October that year. I still watch the highlights of that game on You Tube and try and pick myself out in the Paddocks...haven't managed it yet.
During my decade as an ST holder in Ellerslie (1996-2006) I sat very close to an old guy named Willie, came with his son and grandson. He was nudging 90, had been a supporter pretty much all his life with some great stories to tell. Found out a couple of years ago that he'd passed away and his son had passed away very soon after. His grandson still goes, as far as I know, or at least he had been doing up to a couple of years ago, I rarely sit in Ellerslie now. [Post edited 23 Aug 2018 23:13]
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Reply | Wigan On Saturday
at 17:59 22 Aug 2018
I'm going on Saturday and boy how I hope you're nailed-on, dead-centre correct on this one.
Whether you are or not though, I will be roaring on supportively in the same refined way I have done for the last 30 years... |
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