QPR were held to a 1-1 draw by League One outfit Plymouth Argyle in a pre-season friendly at Loftus Road on Friday evening. Colin Speller was there for LFW.
The decision of a LFW advance party to attend the Plymouth game was a fairly late one taken with one eye on the weather and one on the work diary. With both in our favour we were persuaded by the fact that it was a chance to get the feel of the Bush before next Saturday’s opener, to cast an eye over the new players in the squad and for father and son to share a meal beforehand and a catch-up. Our pre-match drinking group all have connections to the area but these days we travel from places like Cambridge, Oxford, Sheffield, Staines (and now Kettering as well) and I for one certainly don’t get to see much of the place outside the season, so it felt good to be back.
This time last year I wrote a review of the Oxford game, only to be roundly castigated by a persistent critic whose basic thesis was that as I had never played the game professionally I had no business criticising those who did. The defence mounted by several LFW readers was much appreciated, but it is with some trepidation that I place finger to keyboard again.
In terms of QPR’s pre-season campaign I could simply cut and paste last year’s comments. Back in the day, well only a few years ago actually, we used to start with non-league or League 2 opposition and work our way up to a finale against someone from the Prem. At the very least at some point in the campaign the players have been able to put themselves against the likes of Chelsea, Birmingham, Celtic and Steaua Bucharest. This year’s campaign can be described as ‘bitty’ at best and it is a sad indictment of it that with a week to go the game against Plymouth offered the first and only opportunity to get any sort of meaningful benchmark of progress.
For once we arrived for the warm-up and this prompted my wit of a son to ask why John McEnroe was on the pitch with the players. At least Shaun Derry was recognisable amongst the new faces. The other new boys had a tendency to look very similar to each other and, from a distance, to Buz and Helguson as well, an issue that will no doubt affect the rest of this report.
Anyone hoping for a clue as to the starting eleven for next week could have been not so much alarmed as very, very frightened. We started with Kenny in goal and a back four of Hill, Orr, Hall and Connolly. Buz and Faurlin were in central midfield, with Mackie on the left and, wait for it, Legs on the right. The front two were Agyemang with Hogan playing off him in an apparently roving role. In the absence of the match correspondent’s trade secret (the BBC minute by minute text updates of the game) and anything useful in the notes I took, I shall resort to reporting the game through a view of the contribution of the QPR participants.
I’ve seen enough of Paddy Kenny in goal in televised games for him to be a familiar figure in appearance and style. He had two dodgy moments, one where he and Gorkss (a second half sub) got muddled up over a ball that was heading into the area and a Plymouth forward got in amongst them but stabbed the ball wide. On another occasion he allowed a fairly routine shot to bounce off his arms, but fortunately round the post. Otherwise he looked fine. My biggest concern was his characteristic wander out of his area so that he can deliver a massive hoof-ball into the opposition half. Such clearances have not delivered anything meaningful for us for ages and I can’t see them doing much with the current personnel on the pitch.
Orr and Hill both looked very competent. At times Orr looked like a man who had just arrived and was playing his first game with a succession of different wide men in front of him, but that’s because he was. Hill got forward on a number of occasions and was involved in some of the pinball opportunities that arose in the opposition box. Orr delivered the pass for Mackie’s goal. It’s reassuring that we have decent fullbacks for the first time in years, but I’m sure they will take time to settle. Incidentally, Borrowdale came on late in the second half and did little wrong, albeit by that time the R’s were doing all the pressing. There’s a general feeling that his QPR days are numbered but in a squad game we need someone who can cover these positions and whilst he not the best he is by no means the worst fullback we’ve ever had, so I do struggle to see why he gets a bad press. I’m still seething about the number of times the Hill we had on loan last season managed to dislocate a previously sound defence; I’m sure Borrowdale would not have done worse and could have done a lot better.
Turning to the centre of the defence, I’m afraid there must be something about pre-season friendly games in July that disagrees with Matt Connolly because he had a mare for the first part of the game – out-headed, out of position and off the pace, all this culminating in conceding a ‘stone-wall’ penalty after 11 minutes when a Plymouth player slipped past him and was bearing down on goal. It could well have been a red card offence in a serious game. Summerfield dispatched the consequent penalty with aplomb. Connolly improved after about twenty minutes, apparently as a result of Hall picking up Fallon instead of him, but he was substituted at half time. I’m afraid in the opening exchanges he had the word ‘rusty’ running through him like Blackpool through a stick of rock and his performance did nothing to undermine the arguments in Clive’s analysis of the consequences of the Stewart transfer. We know he’s better than he showed in that early spell, though, so here’s hoping we see the real Matthew Connolly when the season starts.
What can I say about Hall that hasn’t already been said? A typical performance, really. Much steadier than Connolloy in the first twenty minutes, won his headers, strode forward when he could, appeared in the penalty box at corners, picked up one loose ball on the edge of the area and crossed it to good effect, ended up in a heap in the centre circle at the start of a break that could and should have led to Plymouth’s second goal (excellent cross from the right, Fallon headed back across goal with Kenny beaten , but it went wide) was treated by the physio but limped straight off with the clock showing 71 minutes. Pope, Catholic, bears, woods – what more can I say? More ammo for Clive’s ‘loss of Stewart’ analysis.
In terms of defensive subs, Gorkss looked competent, apart from his mix-up with Kenny, and Peter Ramage just slotted in to central defence with the ease that he showed at the end of last season.
It’s difficult to talk about the midfield without mentioning the style of play. When we got the ball down we looked quite good at times, but too often it was in the air or otherwise out of control. Legs’s performance was summed up in a cameo where fleet footwork saw him extract himself from the attentions of two or three players only to fail to do anything competent with the promising situation he had thus created. He is frustratingly inconsistent between and within games, although to be fair to him playing right-sided midfield is not in any sense his forte. Even worse was when he and Mackie swapped sides and he found himself on the left. Faurlin put in a good shift and was unlucky with a couple of shots, one of which whistled past the post with the goalie beaten and the other appeared to be blocked by one of his own team mates. Buz did not have a particularly effective half before being substituted at half time. It seemed to us that he played too close to Faurlin and they were very square to each other – a bit like the Gerrard and Lampard problem so familiar to England supporters if not the management. Derry came on at half time and looked competent. He warmed up his ‘rant at the ref’ routine a couple of times as well as looking at one point as if he was about to try breaking someone’s leg. His nightmare moment was when he was caught in possession as ‘last man’ (albeit a long way from the goal) but was saved by the final whistle.
Mackie was impressive throughout. He played both left and right side up front then took over Hogan’s position playing off the striker, albeit more like a second striker at times, alongside Helguson and then German. He took the late equaliser well. To be honest as he advanced on goal I thought the defender and goalie between them had it covered but he somehow got his shot away and it slid neatly into the far side of the goal. The best moments in football are when one of your players produces something genuinely and pleasantly surprising; we’ve had too few of those moments in recent years. He had real energy about him and a lot of pace.
Hogan spent the first half playing off the striker then the second half wide right. He was lively and put himself about and had a glorious chance to score but his strike of a bouncing ball cleared the bar when that seemed the least likely outcome. He was substituted after 76 minutes. From my viewpoint there was little to suggest that we will see much different from him this year despite him being apparently ‘on fire’ in the earlier friendly games. But, I will reserve judgement for the season proper.
I’ve no idea whether this was a last chance saloon job for big Pat or desperation on Warnock’s part but whilst he looked livelier than he did through his worst points of last season, he still seemed off the pace at times, certainly in terms of reading the game, and within five minutes he demonstrated one of those irritating attempts at a header where he levers his considerable frame off the ground only to lose all the advantage by ducking his head. There was a wonderful moment when he gained possession just inside the Plymouth half and looked set to run into considerable space only to be hacked down before he got going. He reminded me of one of those cartoon characters whose feet spin on the spot before setting off, but son Nik was even harsher saying that he’d seen the Queen breaking bottles of champagne over things that set off faster than Pat did at that point. “I name this ship Patrick Agyemang” he was heard to say in a plumb-in-the-throat voice to nobody in particular. Pat missed one excellent chance to score when it seemed easier to do that than put the ball wide, which he did. That tear in the fabric of reality that led to his fantastic goal-scoring spree when he first arrived seems to have been sewn up permanently. I still see his principal role as being that of sub – whether he has ‘impact’ remains a hope more than an expectation.
We had a cameo from Helguson in the second half – on for Pat and then replaced by German. He certainly looked livelier than Pat and wins more headers (cue Clive at this point...). He also had an excellent chance to score when the ball was cut back from the right but credit to the defender for going with him and getting in a last-ditch block.
Josh Parker came on and went on one driving run through the midfield. After that he saw little of the ball for a while but when he did he looked a little lightweight on a couple of occasions. He did, though, show some real pace and he crossed the ball well for the Helguson chance.
The other participant was ‘A Trialist’. Goodness knows who he was but he didn’t see much of the ball and as a result had little chance to impress.
I suppose my biggest disappointment was the overall style of play. Apart from the purple patch last year, we have been pretty consistent in moving the ball too slowly, lacking vision and taking the wrong options. These characteristics were much in evidence last night along with an alarming tendency to hoof the ball forward at the first opportunity. I’ll reserve judgement into the season is underway but I do really hope that we see some decent football this year, whoever we finally get in the team.
What about Plymouth? They looked sharp and up for it throughout the game. In the initial stages their pace on the break and the physical strength of Fallon gave us problems. Some of their best moves fizzled out because of a poor final ball or wrong option choice, but they should have gone two nil up with the Fallon chance. They certainly sat back in the second half and tried to hit us on the break. Being in League 1 with Southampton, Charlton and Sheff Wed certainly won’t make it easy for them to bounce back at the first attempt, but I’ve enjoyed our encounters over the years and I wish them luck.
The only other comments about last night were the fact that it seemed very busy in the SAR stand so a claimed crowd of less than 3,000 was a surprise – maybe that’s the tax man’s figure. I understand there was a problem with the availability of tickets on the night; there was certainly a late rush of incomers and this was not helped by the application of a ‘sit where you like’ policy that resulted in confusion when people were arriving long after the kick off. Sitting in the SAR stand craning my neck to see round a pillar makes me really appreciate our halfway line seats in block T of the Ellerslie Road stand. We can also hear the tannoy announcements where we sit normally but we certainly could not hear Billy Rice last night at all. I didn’t study the ground in detail but the pitch looked excellent and there are new LCD screens in the corridor of the SAR stand so presumably they will run with Soccer Saturday/Special during half time and at the end of the game.
Overall, as a test of where we stand at the end of the pre-season campaign I’m afraid this game gave a lot of ammunition to the doubters. It’s always wrong to read too much into a pre-season game whether you are drawing 1-1 with Plymouth or beating Chelsea 3-1, but it would have been nice to see a credible first choice eleven deliver a smooth first half before the inevitable changes to the team and the rhythm.
So, roll on next Saturday. It won’t have the hype of the opener against Barnsley two years ago but let’s hope this time we don’t suffer the subsequent disappointment either. I am actually quietly optimistic about this season, but I don’t expect things to happen quickly. I believe Warnock inherited a dog’s breakfast of a squad and it will take him time to get it the way he wants. Returning to my opening theme, I’m not sure how helpful this pre-season campaign has been but he will sure as hell know what progress he has made in a few weeks’ time.
QPR: Kenny 6, Orr 7, Hill 7 (Borrowdale, 87 6), Connolly 5, (Gorkss, 46 6), Hall 6, (Ramage, 72 6), Leigertwood 5 (Parker 46, 6), Ephraim 6 (Trialist, 76 4), Mackie 8, Agyemang 4 (Helguson, 46 6 then German, 84 6), Buzsaky (Derry, 46 6), Faurlin 7
Sub not used: Cerny
Plymouth Argyle: Larrieu (Doyle 46), Johnson (Clark 46), Arnason (N’Gala 46), Fallon, Bhasera (Noone 63), Summerfield, Peterlin, Tinar (Manuel 78), Molyneux, Zuber (Duguid 46), McLean (Bolasie 63)
Subs not used: R Patterson, Wright-Phillips, J Patterson, Seip
QPR Star Man – Jamie Mackie 8 Showed real energy and pace; took the goal against his old club very well.
Referee: P Russell 7 Did not have much to do, really and was largely anonymous throughout, which was good. Called a couple of key decisions wrong, which would have caused howls of derision in a serious game, but got the penalty call right.