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Comment | Danny Maddix — Patreon
at 08:49:16
It's something of a cliche now but, yeah, add me to the list of people saying Danny Maddix was one of their favourites. Not many defenders like him around anymore, unfortunately.
And that's a lovely read, thanks. |
| News
Comment | Eat, sleep, rave, repeat — report
at 10:01:20
The difference between now and early season, apart from Dunne looking tired, is that we're no longer lining up with two defensive midfielders in front of the back four. When you take to the field with Barton and Carroll, and then Niko, Morrison and Benayoun, you have weakness writ large across the middle of the pitch. It would be bad enough if Barton was on form but he's currently scratching around and certainly looked a little tubby when he gave a fan his shirt last week.
I know Carroll blocked a shot at the end but for the second week in a row there was an incident where he actually walked away from the man with the ball because he didn't want to get involved. Morrison did it twice, again for the second week running. It's just not acceptable. |
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Comment | Austin’s late special drags QPR over the line — report
at 09:49:39
I think McGugan was taken off because Barton injured him right at the start of the second half - came right through him from behind with what looked like an elbow to the back of the head. Probably the best thing Rangers' midfield did all game tbh because McGugan was excellent.
If you want three at the back, with roving full backs, then you need a solid midfield. As it is we have Barton, just back in the team, doing all the work whilst LTC and Morrison stand and watch. Not only can they not defend but they both actually walked away from some tackles on saturday. It gave McGugan all sorts of room in midfield, particularly on the Watford left, and meant Onuoha kept being dragged diagonally forward to help the outnumbered Simpson. Which in turn left a gaping hole behind him and meant Dunne was viciously exposed.
By all means play that formation if you want to, but you can't have LTC and Morrison in there - it's one or the other (and I'd suggest we all know which one is more likely to win you a game). When we play WIgan in a couple of weeks they'll have a field day with that sort of set up. |
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Comment | Viking invasion of W12 (with minor pillaging)
at 08:50:01
I remember one of our Scandinavian brothers being interviewed on Radio Five in the build up to the Play Off final at Cardiff and putting the snotty-nosed presenter in his place when he scoffed at anyone supporting QPR in such places. |
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Comment | QPR fans forum — full report
at 10:30:37
There is an entrance on the corner of the Ellerslie Rd Stand, near Bloemfontein Rd, that is used for the School End upper tier. Bit of work involved but you could change that to allow access for away fans to the Ellerslie X Block.
But, like I said before, there's no reason we can't simply allocate the upper tier only. With a ground our size we only have to offer 10%, that's clear in the PL rule book, and there is leeway for segregation. I can't imagine the PL would stop us doing it because it's 50 or so seats short. Man Utd give less than the required 3,000 and that's in a stadium holding 76,000 people. |
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Comment | QPR fans forum — full report
at 10:12:01
Northern
We could offer just under 10% because there is leeway in that for issues of segregation and safety. That's why Manure and lots of other clubs offer less than 3,000 even though they have room or it. As it stands we give away teams 17% of our capacity.
Of course, moving the away fans into the Ellerslie would mean we could give them exactly 1,836 seats and not a single one more. |
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Comment | QPR fans forum — full report
at 09:33:06
Interesting that Beard used the same old nonsense about being forced to offer visiting teams the entire School End. I had a long-running e-mail exchange with the Box Office Manager at the start of the season about this where she insisted that to be true. When I showed her the PL rules and regs regarding ticket allocations she immediately shut down the exchange and refused to listen to me.
The PL states that visiting clubs must be offered 10% of the capacity, up to a maximum of 3,000 seats. If they don't want them all then they can take a reduced number. Within these figures there is room for manoeuvre for issues surrounding segregation, safety, etc. Manure and Arsenal both offer less than 3,000 for example. Loftus Rd seats 18,360 people, meaning 10% is 1,836. The Upper School End holds just short of 1,800 seats. We could be within our rights to offer the upper tier only.
So either Beard doesn't know what he's talking about, or he's copying the box Office Manager and being deliberately mis-truthful. |
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Comment | The good, the bad and Odemwingie
at 09:17:52
This is the combination of a manager who has only ever been interested in short term signings and a chairman who has learned nothing from his failed Fantasy Football approach over the last 18 months. Looks promising for trying to rebuild in the Championship next year! |
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Comment | QPR hail Cesar after escaping West Ham with a draw — full match report
at 09:23:34
The problem we have in midfield is an interesting dillema. M'bia does so much good work shutting opponents down and winning the ball, but he's a tad headless and needs Derry alongside him for control and organisation. But we clearly need someone like Faurlin in there to put his foot on the ball and retain posession. That would require a change of formation to accommodate the three of them. Decisions, decisions.
As for the left back, Traore has shown that he cannot be relied upon to be fit for two consecutive matches. It's better to have the consistency of a known back four than keep chopping and changing whenever he happens to decide he's fit to play. So Fabio gets it for me. |
| News
Comment | Resolutions and revolution as QPR embark on 2013 — full match preview
at 09:25:09
Excellent article again, but a couple of points from me.
1) They're not going to implement any of those points because they don't fit in with their vision of the club. Football is super sexy these days, where all the beautiful people go to be seen and where Asian businessmen flaunt their wealth and influence, and advertise their businesses too of course. We're just consumers, important for revenue but replaceable if need be.
2) If TF does read this he (and the rest of the club employees) will undoubtedly dismiss it as the rantings f a football fan who sees his club bottom of the league. They'll tell themselves that if we could just win a game or two then none of this would matter and all be forgotten. Then they'll go and sign some overpaid, clapped out centre forward and hope for a couple of victories. |
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Comment | How not to run your football club — full match preview
at 10:13:21
Jonno
The rise of Air Asia is an interesting one, and there are some unique circumstances to it. They were owned by the Malaysian state-owned airline (MAS), had just three planes, and only flew local cheap flights to internal destinations. Fernandes took the company off them for nothing, thanks to the then-President being a friend.
Immediately following this the Malaysian government negotiated an agreement with neighbouring countries to allow access to other airlines, which opened up routes for Air Asia. At the same time prices for planes fell through the floor following the 9/11 attacks in New York. Air Asia was able to sign long term plane rental deals at incredibly cheap rates.
Thanks to Malaysian's Victoian approach to industrial relations, Air Asia refuses to recognise any kind of trade union involvement and is able to basically do what it likes with staff.
None of the hurdles you mention have had any impact on Air Asia or Tony Fernandes. SImply because they don't exist for him and his company.
As for QPR, well the coming weeks will tell us if the club is in good hands or not. Repeating the mistakes of the past 18 months will give us a definitive answer on that one. |
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Comment | How to run your football club — opposition profile
at 09:54:51
You also have to ask 'why are the two club set up so differently?' And the answer is a simple one; QPR have had a succession of owners who see the club as their ticket to the international stage. Briatore saw the glamour of football, in particular the PL, and wanted some of it for his own egotistical gain. He thought he could simply swoop in, throw some cash at it, and then he'd be supping at the top table with the big boys. Remember, his original four year plan wasn't for the PL at all but the Champions League. Ego, ego, ego.
And now we have Fernandes, who sees the club as a vehicle for promoting his various businesses in Asia. And promoting himself at the same time. He learned an awful lot at the feet of Richard Branson.
When you those owners, with those ambitions, you'll never have the sort of ideology that is serving West Brom so well right now. I never thought I'd be jealous of the baggies, but there you go. |
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Comment | Fulham visit as QPR’s decision day draws near — full match preview
at 09:46:09
My big fear at this point is not that we'll get relegated, I'm not a glory hunter, I support QPR. It's that we'll be stuck with this squad of players, and owners who think that they'll get us promoted first time of asking. That they'll look at the situation and think Newcastle when they should be thinking Derby, or Leeds, or Forest. It's exactly what happened to us in 1996 and it could so easily happen all over again.
I'm with you on this Clive, if we haven't substantially improved our league position by January then we need to cut our losses. Failure to do so could see the club condemned to another 15 years in the lower leagues or, even worse, extinction. |
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Comment | Nelsen and Green carry QPR to Wigan point — full match report
at 09:31:07
It's understandable that Redknapp has looked at the squad and decided to put two big, strong, athletic players in the middle of the pitch. The problem is that we now have no-one in the middle who can put his foot on the ball, calm things down and look for a simple pass. Retention of the ball is so important, yet we can't give it away quick enough. This is exacerbated by the complete lack of any kind of movement off the ball whatsoever. it's telling to note the number of times a player collects the ball and is forced to turn in circles whilst looking for a passing option. That's why Faurlin would get in the team every week for me. |
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Comment | Win eludes improved QPR as Redknapp begins impossible job — full match report
at 09:33:45
Leaving aside the attitude of certain players, the big problem as I see it is the lack of options up front. In many ways a much improved performance here, but it also highlighted the one problem that cannot be addressed until January; goals. We're just not going to be able to score enough between now and the window opening to make any real difference to our results and therefore our position.
And that's why, thinking about it dispassionately instead of as a fan, I'd say our chance of survival has slipped from 50/50 to 40/60. |
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Comment | QPR rediscover their soul a week too late for Hughes — full match report
at 09:33:44
Clive, is there any chance you could send Tony Fernandes a copy of this, highlighting in great big font the two paragraphs concerning the sort of player we need in our team? My big fear is that it's not just Hughes who wanted to sign all and sundry, but that TF and co will continue with their "fantasy football" approach to running the club.
They need to learn that that signing famous names from big clubs does not instantaneously make QPR a big club. |
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Comment | Beware the pitfalls of a Redknapp coronation
at 10:35:44
Lots and lots of people have commented that they'd like to see Redknapp groom a successor. Can anyone provide an example of a time when he has actually done that? I can't think of one.
For me, he's the ultimate short-termist. He's here for a nice pay day, regardless of results he can't lose. Should fit in perfectly at such a ridiculous club like ours. |
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Comment | Beware the pitfalls of a Redknapp coronation
at 20:53:38
Agree with every word Clive. I fear the club has learned nothing over the last year, or decade in fact.
Leaving aside the fact that I detest Redknapp as an individual, there are plenty of people in this world I don't like, I think it's going to be another huge error appointing him. One we'll be regretting in 18 months time. |
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Comment | Gorkss haunts lifeless QPR again as winless run goes on — full match report
at 09:37:08
I was going to add to all of this but I've already had my say on the main forum, and Clive's covered it all for me anyway. Understanding has given way to anger, which in turn has become disillusionment. I'm losing interest in this team and this league. Football's supposed to be fun ffs! |
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