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Everything we’ve come to expect from this team and more - Report
Sunday, 16th Apr 2023 18:29 by Clive Whittingham

QPR followed up their supposedly season-saving comeback at West Brom with another abject showing and heavy home defeat against Coventry on Saturday afternoon.

On Easter Monday at West Bromwich Albion, a surprise comeback from 2-0 down just as it looked as though Rangers were about to run their poor supporters through another awayday mangle. Chris Martin’s first goal in six, Lyndon Dykes’ first in 18, a more aggressive and purposeful press, some legs in midfield, some shots on the goal — a significant improvement on much of what had gone before.

The result was raucously celebrated, in the stand and on the pitch, and heralded as some sort of turning point for the team. A platform for this beleaguered group to take some confidence and belief from something positive it had achieved; a reward for the manager for a switch in shape, system and, possibly more importantly still, style; a sea change for the whole club with a team selected without loan players in it for the first time since August. Gareth Ainsworth made a big, exaggerated deal of running onto the field, jumping around, pointing at the players and asking the fans to thank them for their efforts. The ‘we go again’ merchants among the squad back on the Gram for the first time in weeks.

You are, however, going overboard about what was essentially Finland’s warmest day. It was just one point. You might easily have mistaken it for some sort of cup semi-final triumph, given the reaction, but it was just a draw, against a team that played very poorly, and should have been a win but for some very presentable misses in the last ten minutes. QPR had spent nearly an hour in the bottom three during proceedings, and finished it only two points above the dreaded dotted line. Now two wins from 26 games, it was at absolute most a starting point. Unbeaten in one, what the R’s did next would separate league games against Southampton next season with ones against Shrewsbury. Go on then, if you've turned the corner, prove it. A little less natting, a little more doing.

What they did next was exactly what I expected them to do. It’s exactly what they’ve done for 14 months now. It’s exactly what they did when you thought wins against Preston or Watford this season, Blackpool, Luton and Derby last, heralded a change in fortunes, form, mindset and direction of travel. Exactly what they did with previous draws against Sheff Utd and Swansea. They got up on stage, walked up to the microphone, cleared their throats, and did a burp you could hear from the International Space Station. They did this because this is what they do, what they always do, and who they are as people and football players. At the moment a “freak set of results” would be QPR not blowing chunks two games in a row, and that was never likely to be the case here.

Coventry City won the game with embarrassing ease. It was a sixth defeat in seven games for Rangers at Loftus Road, a ground where they’ve now won one of 13 games, losing ten. It was a fourth 3-0 defeat for the home team in W12 this season, and a fifth occasion they’ve conceded three goals here. Their 67 goals conceded is the worst record in the Championship, and it’s Burnley away to come next Saturday. Far from continuing the myriad improvements from an apparently herculean triumph at The Hawthorns, a game in which calamities in the R’s defence still resulted in two goals conceded and several other near misses besides, they simply regressed back to the ugly mean we’ve seen for the last six months.

Tactically, this was in fact a re-run of the team’s other Easter fixture against Preston North End here, a game which finished two for nil declared to the visitors. Once again, a two-man central midfield in Hoops asked to go up against a physically stronger, far more talented, vastly more intelligent, and embarrassingly more effective midfield three on the other side — Ben Whiteman’s role as the outstanding player on the pitch will today be played by Gustavo Hamer. Not exactly a case for Hetty Wainthropp investigates this one is it? Fuck me. Last week one of the two was Stefan Johansen, turning in a performance you could present in evidence to the council for a blue badge so he can park closer to the doors at the big Tesco, and here it was Andre Dozzell, who was so completely and utterly anonymous that our photographer Ian Randall managing to capture this image of him doing any single fucking thing at all makes him a hot favourite for this year’s World Sports Photography Awards.

Overrun and overawed, QPR conceded after ten minutes. This, in itself, represented progress. Having conceded after one minute at Blackpool, two against Birmingham, six at Wigan and nine at West Brom, Gareth Ainsworth’s side had at least now made it to double figures. At that rate of progress they’ll keep a clean sheet again 46 games from now — Mansfield Town away, perhaps.

There was, however, nothing progressive about the manner of the goal. It came from a QPR throw in, in safe neutral territory a dozen yards the wrong side of the halfway line over on the South Africa Road side of the ground. Most teams would consider this odd, but QPR very sportingly return the ball to the opposition within two touches of every single throw in they ever have, in every game, anywhere on the pitch, at any stage of the match, and so it is always a possibility that one day one of them might do something with that. This time even two touches was ambitious — Jimmy Dunne cut the middle man out and simply heaved the ball down the line onto the head of Jake Bidwell who didn’t have a QPR player near him. His header back into midfield dropped invitingly between three: Kenneth Paal, Sam Field and Ilias Chair. There are no Coventry players in the picture at this point. QPR are about to turn this into a goal conceded. The three of them move for the same ball at the same time, all stop, and eventually Paal smacks it into Field’s shins and falls over. Now immediately three v three the other way all there was left for the visitors to do was have Hamer slip in the perfect ball for Viktor Gyokeres and he made it one nil with the utmost calm and composure. QPR’s big plan for dealing with the division’s second top scorer seemed to be allowing him to bend an arced run into the yawning chasm between centre back and full back on either side and let him have a free run at us whenever he felt like, presumably in the hope he’d eventually get bored of it and leave us alone.

West Brom now long since forgotten, what followed was really quite abject and embarrassing. A huge overload in numbers on 19 minutes could, perhaps should, have delivered a goal for Bidwell on his return to the Bush, but his unmarked back post volley went wide of the top corner. On 24, Gyokeres’ latest unchecked run through the valley of rank defensive incompetence put him in a very similar position to the one he’d scored from earlier, this time a desperate block kept the Hoops in the game and the deflection out to Bidwell once more was cleared away by weight of numbers.

Jimmy Dunne, and in particular Rob Dickie, seemed to be labouring under the misapprehension that Andy Sinton was playing for QPR on Saturday afternoon. Time after time after time after time one or the other of them drew back a boot, put laces through the ball, and planted it firmly into the seats under the camera gantry in the Ellerslie Road Stand. Anybody who sits in blocks T and V this season and dares to nurse a hot drink during the “action” is a far braver man than I. Andy Sinton would, to be fair, be a whole lot more mobile and useful to this team than Albert Adomah plodding around out there.

There were two moments of note for Gareth Ainsworth’s team before half time. Michael Salisbury - too incompetent to be trusted with a game in the precious “best league in the world” after torching last week’s Spurs v Brighton game even with the use of a video replay to help but apparently perfectly adequate for this game so crucial to both team’s chances - spent the final quarter hour of the first half fussing about and awarding QPR a collection of questionable 50/50 decisions which brought increasing ire from a packed away end and eventually a yellow card for Kyle McFadzean for refusing to leave the field for treatment when asked. Ilias Chair whipped one free kick over the bar from 25 yards, and drew a reasonably comfortable save from visiting keeper Ben Wilson up in the top corner with another from marginally closer in.

One more Rob Dickie boot into the side stand and that was the first stanza over with. Never mind a half time pint, I could have done with some half time smack.

As adverts for the Championship go, the first quarter hour of the second half will require a long time in the edit.

One minute in, Albert’s had a fall bless him. Maybe we should get him one of those panic buttons to wear on a string round his neck. Five minutes in, Callum Doyle booked for kicking the ball away — the visitors still behaving as if this game would require some dark arts and shithousing to grind out, though this delusion wouldn’t last much longer. Eight minutes in, a QPR corner, headed away by the first man (because of-fucking-course), and now off that one simple clearance an enormous counter attack where everybody that’s ever played for Coventry since the war was trundling through on goal unchecked with only Leon Balogun between them and Seny Dieng. Balogun committed a deliberate foul to end the move, and took a yellow card. It’s the first sensible thing anybody in our colours has done for half a year. Soon Salisbury was waving play on through a very obvious shirt pull on a Cov player allowing Ilias Chair to break, and then when he gave the ball away he once more completely ignored a blatant hand ball by the away side allowing them to break back themselves and win a free kick. A shambolic passage of football refereed by a wind up monkey banging a pair of plastic cymbals together.

I think my favourite bit was when QPR’s “high press” actually managed to pin and corner someone deep in their own territory by the corner flag. Let me tell you, it’s a dumb animal gets caught in that trap. The home crowd started to ironically cheer as Cov’s escape attempts got more frantic and apparently doomed to failure. Three passes later and Hamer, who spun one of those round the corner and then peeled away to join the attack himself, was having a shot at the other end blocked. Laughable if we weren’t so painfully invested in the outcome.

Rangers did, in their defence, go very close to an equaliser. Paal’s deep free kick to the back post was headed down by a combination of Dunne and Dykes. The ball bounced its way all the way back through the crowd and sat up perfectly for Sam Field to stride onto on the edge of the box. He caught the volley well, taking care to keep head and knee over the ball so as not to sky the thing, and it was well beaten back by Wilson who was on his way to a league-leading nineteenth clean sheet of the season. This fine meal represents the last of the petty cash. QPR would finish scoreless at home for the ninth time this season, the third game in succession, are now without a goal at the Loft End in seven games and have only scored four times at that end of the ground all campaign — two of them penalties.

Coventry went close to a second on 62 minutes when Dieng went for a walkabout for himself and Hamer’s attempted lob into the empty net missed by a distance; on 64 when industrious Matty Godden dragged a shot across the face of goal; on 65 when Hamer’s shot was deflected wide; on 67 when a three Cov players left all alone and unmarked ion the six yard box were belatedly flagged offside as the ball hit the net (did feel like the sort of goal we would concede to be honest with you); on 73 when Wilson shrugged off a warning about his constant and wholly unnecessary time wasting to kick off a set move down the middle of the park which carved QPR apart with staggering ease and Gyokeres cut the ball back looking for a team mate when he really should have been more selfish and taken the shot on.

Let’s do some of this week’s numbers now shall we? Jimmy Dunne, 33 passes attempted, 49% of them given away; Albert Adomah, 17 passes attempted, 53% of those off target; Leon Balogun, 22 passes attempted, 48% of them given away; Andre Dozzell (who you can at least usually rely on to not give the ball away) tried 35 passes on Saturday and found Coventry players with just shy of 40% of those; Stefan Johansen spent ten minutes on the field, tried four passes, and gave away two of them. If you add together the amount of times Chris Martin (20) and Lyndon Dykes (37) touched the ball, you get to the amount of influence Gyokeres (56) had on proceedings. Hamer had the ball 20 occasions more than Field or Dozzell. Two shots on target again, Coventry had five which is more than QPR have had in any of their last 20 games - 1, 2, 2, 2, 4, 4, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, 2, 2, 3, 1, 2, 2. Clown car.

Ainsworth belatedly responded with a succession of straight swaps from the bench: Ethan Laird for Dunne, Chris Willock for Buster Merryfield, Old Man Johansen for Andre the Friendly Ghost; mystery man Taylor Richards for Ilias Chair (not popular with the natives that one, but Chair had been pony); and Jamal Lowe for Chris Martin. Tyler Roberts, back on the team sheet for the first time since January, came out at half time in full kit and did the sort of extensive warm up that usually means you’re coming on at half time, then disappeared entirely and wasn’t seen at all as his team “chased” the game in the second half. Honestly, if he got injured in the half time warm up, I am going to choose violence. The three v two in midfield remained. Mark Robins took one look at Laird’s pace over Dunne’s and immediately subbed Bidwell for Wilson-Ebrand. Laird, at one point, tried to rev the crowd up. If I speak, I am in trouble. Nothing changed whatsoever.

Actually, that’s not true. Coventry realised their clock running was a metaphorical waste of time as well as a literal one. There were more goals, and a comfortable win, here for the taking. The ones they scored to confirm that would shame the defence of a Highland League team.

Chris Willock’s “impact” from the bench consisted of him disappearing all the way up his own arsehole and attempting to escape from there by passing the ball straight to Luke McNally, which was jolly nice of him. Without a second thought — Coventry are one of those well-drilled sort of sides where the manager plans and coaches for things like this, bastards — McNally sent a glorious crossfield pass 60 yards down the pitch and off went fucking Gyokeres into that chasm down the left channel again. So flush with options once he arrived in the penalty box the visitors actually nearly made a complete mess of the chance — Gyokeres, Walker and Hamer should all really have scored before Hamer finally did stab home off Dieng’s desperate dive. Luckily for Mark Robins’ men you get all the time and chances you need with this defence — fully 15 seconds after McNally's pass, four shots, two blocks and a save later, and still City had more attackers in the QPR box than Rangers did defenders. The token efforts at tracking back were despicable. In amongst it all, a season ending hamstring injury for Leon Balogun off a nonsense lunge — tea at the training ground again this week mate? What a signing that's been.

You take a second shit of the day, it's never a good one. Taylor Richards decided now was the time for circus tricks. Into the Coventry half he trundled, stepping over the ball left and right. Idiot. Sheaf watched him come, watched his feet, wondered what on God’s green earth he thought he was doing, took the ball from him calmly, and played a far more effective straight, accurate pass back the other way into the space behind him. Hamer: space, channel, cross. Gyokeres: space, channel, goal. A full 17% of the Swede’s goals this season have come against QPR, I’m surprised he hasn’t wanked himself to death at the thought of playing against this defence.

In a rare player interview after a defeat, Chris Martin, among other observations about it being a quiet side compared to ones he’s played in before, said: “We need to have honest conversations with each other and with ourselves. How dedicated are we off the pitch?” Hmmmm.

Four games left. Four games too many. Four games too many for the league table, where Rangers are now separated from the drop zone by a single point with 12 still to play for. And four games too many for the poor sods who spend their time paying to watch this incompetent slop. Absolutely fucking abysmal.

Links >>> Photo Gallery >>> Ratings and Reports >>> Message Board Match Thread

QPR: Dieng 4; Dunne 3 (Laird 73, 4), Dickie 3, Balogun 3, Paal 3; Adomah 3 (Willock 72, 3), Dozzell 2 (Johansen 82, -), Field 5, Chair 4 (Richards 65, 4); Martin 3 (Lowe 72, 3), Dykes 4

Subs not used: Roberts, Archer

Yellow Cards: Balogun 54 (foul)

Coventry: Wilson 7; McNally 7, McFadzean 7, Doyle 6; Norton-Cuffy 6 (Dabo 76, 6), Hamer 8, Sheaf 7, Eccles 7 (Maguire 90, -), Bidwell 6 (Wilson-Esbrand 77, 7); Gyokeres 8, Godden 6 (Walker 77, 6)

Subs not used: Panzo, Howley, Tyler

Goals: Gyokeres 10 (assisted Hamer), 88 assisted Hamer), Hamer 86 (unassisted)

Yellow Cards: McFadzean 34 (dissent/refusing to leave field), Eccles 45+3 (foul), Doyle 52 (kicking ball away)

QPR Star Man — David Pizanti

Referee — Michael Salisbury (Lancashire) 5 I think it’s a mistake, and disrespectful, to punish Premier League referees for their failures in that league by parachuting them into ours, especially into games with a lot riding on them. He was much as he was when he refereed at this level — too involved, fussing about, losing control of the game. Nothing major wrong, but some pretty obvious mistakes, poor game management and general arseholery throughout. Stoppage time for both halves plucked from thin air and bearing no relation to what had happened over the 45.

Attendance 16,713 (3,100 Cov approx.) Madheads.

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flynnbo added 18:54 - Apr 16
"One minute in, Albert’s had a fall bless him. Maybe we should get him one of those panic buttons to wear on a string round his neck". So, so apt.
1

distortR added 18:56 - Apr 16
Cheers Clive. Same old same old.
0

Wegerles_Stairs added 19:31 - Apr 16
"Once again, a two-man central midfield in Hoops asked to go up against a physically stronger, far more talented, vastly more intelligent, and embarrassingly more effective midfield three on the other side – Ben Whiteman’s role as the outstanding player on the pitch will today be played by Gustavo Hamer. Not exactly a case for Hetty Wainthropp investigates this one is it? F*ck me. Last week one of the two was Stefan Johansen, turning in a performance you could present in evidence to the council for a blue badge so he can park closer to the doors at Tesco, and here it was Andre Dozzell, who was so completely and utterly anonymous that our photographer Ian Randall managing to capture this image of him doing any single f*cking thing at all makes him a hot favourite for this year’s World Sports Photography Awards." So funny. 🤣
3

qprninja added 19:39 - Apr 16
I got suckered in by the West Brom false dawn and travelled up from Devon for this. I continue to find the halftime shenanigans of our subs a tad mystifying, as you mention Clive, Roberts had what looked like three members of the coaching staff paying him very close attention and working him through a vigorous warm up. The other subs remained unattended and loafed about aimlessly passing balls around and trying to nutmeg each other. The Coventry subs were worked through a focussed and intense looking drill by their coaches. Roberts never came on and our subs who did looked sluggish and sloppy when they came on.
8

Northernr added 19:55 - Apr 16
The half time “warm up” and behaviour of the players involved in it is disgusting for a professional club. And then we wonder why they all get muscle injuries.
8

KerryE added 20:11 - Apr 16
Accurate report as usual. Very depressing read though.
0

Marshy added 20:29 - Apr 16
Watching QPR should be diagnosed as form of self harm. Why do we continue to put ourselves through this torture, when we know our mental health is being damaged. I suppose it’s because supporting QPR it’s an addiction where you know everything about it is wrong, but you just can’t stop the habit, which unfortunately is a lifetime one.

Once we saw the line up yesterday and the way it was set up, everything from them on was predictable especially the 3-0 scoreline. Gyokeres the championship’s best striker, where a simple instruction would be to mark him out the game, and not let him gain a foothold, would be an obvious tactic. But no, that’s not the QPR way. Let’s give him acres of space so he can run riot all over the pitch. However, not surprisingly a lot of pelters after Coventry have been going the way of our illustrious Wild Thing legend, but let’s face it, he has been handed a poisoned chalice with these so called players. So let’s not direct any anger towards him. He has to be given a chance even though we will most likely will be playing in Division 1 next season. The blame for this season goes to the half arsed players who are the most unfit, and most untalented bunch I’ve not had the pleasure of seeing in over 50 years of supporting the club.
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Philothesuperhoop added 21:01 - Apr 16
So so depressing. We are going down.
We know we don’t have a quality striker…and the two full backs have turned out to be a false dawn, and a crazy injury list to CHs…but your comment about the midfield is so spot on Clive.
Unfortunately Johansen is done, which is heartbreaking as he is a good player who is no longer physically able. Field is great (possibly our player of the season), but Dozzle is utterly utterly useless. He’s never played well and never looked anything other than a boy playing a man’s game.
And how we can play two in there against three is just mismanagement.
I am usually the most optimistic supporter but I simply can’t be now.
The only way we can stay up is if one point in the last game of the season is enough.
All football matters at QPR are the responsibility of Les, so he can no longer hide. The squad is paper thin…if he stays we won’t come back up.
1

Oxfordhoop added 23:25 - Apr 16
You probably couldn’t see it from your side Clive, but the numerous arguments between various players and the manager throughout the game was extremely depressing to see and doesn’t bode well. I honestly can’t see this team/manager getting another goal never mind another point. 😞☹️
0

silverbirch added 23:37 - Apr 16
Thanks, Clive. Harder than ever to write, no doubt. Reading the reports is far more fun than watching the games, though.
2

PastCaringNW2 added 23:58 - Apr 16
Not for the first time this season I have looked forward to reading your match report more than I have going to actual game. I feel really bad having dragged my daughter into this. At 26 she should really be doing something with her Saturdays that feels less like an act of self-harm.

The only thing I would take issue in your yet again glorious piece of writing is the idea that Chair's performance was "pony".

Every time the ball found its way to him (usually a happy accident than the result of strategy or even intent) he was surrounded by three sometimes four players. Is he given options for a pass? No. Not once. So he is left with either playing for a throw (and you very eloquently pointed out how those go) or attempting to dribble through the pack. These are his only choices and even Adel is thinking twice about the dribble in most of these situations.

You would think with three or four Coventry players drawn the ball it would open up all kinds of options elsewhere in the attacking 3rd but it doesn't because no one apart from Chair wants the ball. In the same way Dykes can't nod the ball down to himself even someone as talented as Chair can't work a triangle with himself, get to the bye-line and find himself on the edge of the 18 yard box for a shot at goal. He needs an Eze or a Manning or a Wallace or a Pugh or the Willock of not so long ago who can find space to receive the ball while three defending players are occupied with one guy and have a pre-conceived idea of what to do next.

Speaking of missing players lets scroll back to just before Covid when Pugh was literally central to all that was good in that promising run of form but he doesn't have an uncle who used to work in the box office and no one can make a penis joke chant out of his surname so he is apparently completely dispensable, so dispensable it would seem that he has never effectively been replaced.

And why do our players get drawn to the ball and then conspire to get in each other's way while leaving acres for opposing players to run into? I'll tell you why - fear and abject coaching. They know they can't afford to make any mistakes so they all panic and panic together. They can't bring to mind the very basics of defending when it matters. Gun shy doesn't come close to describing it. They play like men who get shouted at an awful lot and now only hear the tone and none of the actual content.

And while we are in this pit of despond lets ponder how many crosses were aimed over the heads of Dykes and Martin and in the general direction of the smallest man on the pitch? So many it almost seemed deliberate.

As for Chair's substitution that had all the hallmarks of John Gregory. Insecurity expressed through a silly, self-defeating power play. Maybe it was the fasting thing. The player certainly didn't seem to think so and he should know.

All Coventry had to do to win the game was stifle Chair out on the wing and be alert for second balls off of Dykes. That. Is. It. So not any kind of breed of pony for me.

Lets also not forget that we effectively started with 9 players set-up in a bound to fail formation - it's Dykes or Martin not both and Albert should probably be playing at Dulwich or Lewes at this point. As you say the midfield was overwhelmed (Amos might have helped but probably not enough) and playing Dunne at RB is massively stupid even before you get to the issue of 4 vs 5 at the back. Laird probably has a questionable attitude but for godsake start him and see how it goes. He is a fit, talented right back and considered good enough to potentially make the grade for an actual Champions League club. But no lets play a centre back there whose confidence levels are already rock bottom.

That's my friend is pony right there.

Speaking of 4 vs 5 and in case anyone is wondering, Barbet's Bordeaux are second in the table, conceding less than a goal a game and are a good bet for promotion despite losing to third place Metz. We're doing just fine without him, right? Warbs would have kept him. He might have kept Moses Odubajo too and right now I would give you all the money I may or may not be spending on a season ticket next season to have them both back for the final four games.

I said last week that English ex pros see their coaching badges as akin to a driving licence rather than the opportunity to continue learning. And what do we do? We give the keys to someone who used to look good in the shirt, a coach who has kept the same job for en eternity without being snapped up by anyone else (think about what that means in the context of this industry) and applauded that decision while he drives the club (well loved, family vehicle in need of a re-spray but in passable nick, many previous owners) over and over into the nearest wall while claiming that he is getting the hang of it and the cavalry are coming. He gets paid to do this and will eventually be paid not to do it. That's where we are.

Actually where we really are right now is in the final scene of Zulu except in the QPR version everyone is dead apart from bed ridden depressive Paul Daneman and the massed ranks of the enemy gathered on the hills above are not going to turn around and go home.
7

snanker added 01:42 - Apr 17
Thank you PCNW2 well penned. I chuckled along in appreciation. Cruel but fair ! Last time we lost to Coventry 12/11/22 I commented " a decent plan B needs sorting during the break so we won't end up sweating on the 52 point benchmark in 2023 !" I was way off but love the abject irony of it now in hindsight. The inklings (do they still make ink ?) had already set in way back when !! Just a horror show that keeps on keeping on. The last game I saw at LR before leaving Oz bound was a defeat by Oldham Athletic............where are they now ??
1

062259 added 04:51 - Apr 17
Martin is articulate and insightful in his interview. Could be some of the usual b/s, but a lot of it rings true and hopefully he can do his part as captain to galvanize some of the underperforming wallflowers (my words, not his) that he references. The fact that he finds himself as captain of this team, in this situation, well, that’s a different conversation.
1

thehat added 10:12 - Apr 17

Thanks Clive - You somehow yet again made me smile with the fantastic Gallows Humour in the report.

It doesn't matter who the manager is, what formation we play these players are just not good enough for Championship Football. Throw in the poor attitudes and lack of fitness and injuries it's no wonder we will be in league one next season.

Coventry were stronger, fitter, played with more desire and had a great plan which they stuck to. It says it all when you look at Jake Bidwell and would prefer him over your current left back.

Mark Robins has done a fantastic job. He joined Coventry in 2017 when they were in League 2 and over the six years has built a very good squad now knocking on the door for Premiership Football. I actually am pleased for the Coventry fans who have had to endure some really tough times.

My view is we stick with Ainsworth in League 1 as he knows the league inside out, let him get rid of all the wasters and build a squad we can be be proud of over the 3 years of his contract.

Changing managers again will just bring more heartache.
0

garrycoady added 16:23 - Apr 17
Fair Play
QPR Star Man – David Pizanti
0

stowmarketrange added 20:35 - Apr 17
I actually looked at the clock on the scoreboard when we concede and I’m sure it said 9.57,so although it was the 10th minute,it was still single figures again.
A very good report of another crap afternoon in W12.
0

TacticalR added 22:43 - Apr 17
Thanks for your report.

It's all horribly amateurish. We aren't doing the basics. In fact, as you point out, we are doing a lot of stupid things. For the first goal, why was Paal was in the centre circle? Beale's intake is completely unreliable and many of our experienced players from last season have gone to pieces. Johansen has become a passenger. Even Chair had a bad game (although I agree he needs someone to play off).

Despite conceding two goals at the end, the real problem was that we didn't really look like scoring for most of the game even when we were 'only' 0-1 down. The only positives were the meagre chances we created: Chair's free kick (at least it was on target), and Field's shot in the second half (at least it was on target).

What a dog of a season this is turning out to be.
0

extratimeR added 12:36 - Apr 18
Embarrassingly I was unaware as well, (untill it was pointed out to me to me in the second half) that Dozzell was actually playing.

I have played and watched a lot of football and I haven't seen down here before such a disorganised shambles at Loftus Road .

Thank goodness for your totally accurate match report Clive, ( and your sense of humour).

I'm curious Clive, how could you possibly have recognised who Tyler Roberts is?

Marvelous as always.
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