| post-Bristol/pre-Preston 21:13 - Dec 18 with 1715 views | stainrods_elbow |
Skimming through Clive's Bristol report's pitiless forensic breakdown of how we are actually going backwards as a football team under MC, having begun the season worse than Ainsworth (this time with his players/tactics + a pre-season, and, lest we forget, beaten the previous season's club record for no home victories into the bargain), it becomes all the more glaring how some people still refuse to join the dots and instead give Marti a free pass (or even amplify him) for telling us we should be 'proud' of his team's utterly dismal stats, its benefiting from a plethora of disallowed goals/missed penalty decisions/psychotic goalkeepers in recent weeks, and inability or refusal (or both) to do what they're paid to do and, uh, play football. (I'm riffing on said report, though if anything with more rhetorical moderation.)
Apparently, what we should be proud of, according to MC and one or two posters, is that we work hard, haven't given up with less than half the season played, and mostly defend fairly well in the last 30 yards of the pitch from a block so low it's virtually underground! And all because we've got, when I last checked, four first teamers out (one now gingerly coming back, and one who's mustered barely a dozen games and four goals in all competitions for the club in nearly a year with us), and aren't very well-off. Marti is a football manager, so, however honest he likes to tell us he is, he'll make excuses (apparently, the fact that Brizzle had another day to prepare was worth mentioning in regard to the way the game played out) and spin things whenever he can, even if your eyes don't lie to you. I get that charade - albeit through gritted teeth! However, I posted a post-match pod with two ex-QPR players after the Bristol game, which made clear what a lot of bilge they thought it was, and how undeserved our point. No sh*t, Sherlock(s)!
Looking ahead to Preston, personally, I think I'd rather see us lose the game if it means we actually put in a credible 90-minute performance that offers us some feeling of promise and purpose. I'm a football fan who began with this club in 1976 and all that went with it. I don't want to go up two or three places in the table at all aesthetic costs. In fact, if that's the deal, I don't want to be a QPR fan at all.
I'm wondering about others. Would you continue to put up with halves like Oxford and wholes like Bristol if it means we stagger home to 16th? At one point does the beautiful game become so anaesthetising it's basically a sad and stupid way to spend time? If the coaching team aren't watching from the bench embarrassed and ashamed, they're not watching!
What do I fear we'll see? Another turgid display of Champ tripe with the sh*thousery starting about 30 minutes in, our coming in 30-40% possession and two or three on-target efforts if we're lucky. And, I'll put my house on it, another 0-0, or 1-1 at best (which the usual suspects will take).
Looking forward to it!  [Post edited 18 Dec 21:35]
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| post-Bristol/pre-Preston on 21:36 - Dec 18 with 1640 views | Hooping_Mad |
I've developed a stress response to the R's playing badly when watching from home, I've started nodding off. Bit more difficult at the games. Missed a good 30 minutes of the Oxford match.
I guess if our survival is dependent on utterly dull football then we just have to suck it up for now. Vote with your feet if you can't watch it.
We' are however playing badly and picking up points, but I do agree in that recent results are potentially masking big problems. |  |
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| post-Bristol/pre-Preston on 21:45 - Dec 18 with 1595 views | qprxtc |
Five massive paragraphs mate! I barely do five letters.
Boomshanka |  | | |
| post-Bristol/pre-Preston on 09:33 - Dec 19 with 1213 views | TheChef |
At this moment I really don't care how we win, as long as we do and it gets us further up the table and away from danger.
Meanwhile Stainrod over here is like the second coming of Russell Martin (but with Hattie Jacques instead of Lucy Pinder). |  |
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| post-Bristol/pre-Preston on 10:40 - Dec 19 with 1120 views | Paddyhoops |
We picked up 4 points from two very poor performances against Oxford land Bristol City .
Played Watford off the park and whacked Norwich.
Some perspective please as it was only a couple of weeks since those displays.
We’ve done with a threadbare squad as well. | | | |
| post-Bristol/pre-Preston on 10:54 - Dec 19 with 1060 views | Andybrat |
It’s funny with the possession stats as I see it meaning we are less pissballing around in front of Nardi giving me a potential heart attack. Stainrod ( he was my all time favourite player) I understand where you are coming from but not losing when playing badly is the sign of maybe a better team than we think we may have? Ever the optimist, reckon Saturday is one of those potential watersheds where excuses are harder to find. If you believe the Offy JCS should be on the bench ( though Morrison has been great), Illias may start, Kolli’s bug is on the central line and we have a recognised left back playing. Actually any chance you could persuade Simon (Stainrod) to come out of retirement and play up front? ……. It’s funny but I for one look forward to your posts even if some of them are completely bonkers….. 2-0 btw and a full house Oh hopefully Frey as well [Post edited 19 Dec 11:28]
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| post-Bristol/pre-Preston on 11:08 - Dec 19 with 996 views | daveB |
We've gone from bottom of the league heading into Stoke at home with 10 points, 5 adrift of getting out of the bottom 3 to being 18th, 5 points clear of the bottom 3 in just 6 games
Performance wise it's not been great but we've found a way to get results and it's given us something to build on for the second half of the season when the likes of JCS, Chair, Dembele and Frey will all be available.
The same issues we had 6 games ago with our poor recruitment are still there and I don't think anyone would be shocked if we went the other way and didn't win for 6 games now but we've given ourselves a chance now which is all you can ask for |  | | |
| post-Bristol/pre-Preston on 11:22 - Dec 19 with 956 views | cpgerber |
You could also argue we were unlucky early season to drop points due to worldies scored against us and/or up against keepers playing out of their skins, which now has subdued, luckily.
Where Marti does deserve credit, is for recognising that plan A is not working and changing it around to at least get results and buy us some breathing space.
Perhaps now with less stress of being at the bottom of the pile, key players slowly returning from injury and new signings starting to bed in, he will slowly start changing towards his preferred style of play.
I think the changes at the start of the season were just too many too soon, take a step back, re-evaluate and see from there.
I think when/if we sign someone in January, that might be an indication of the direction we are heading into.
I also think/hope higher up there was a hard lesson learned about assembling a money-ball squad and expect everything to just fire straight away.
Its a process. [Post edited 19 Dec 11:22]
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| post-Bristol/pre-Preston on 16:15 - Dec 19 with 639 views | stainrods_elbow |
| post-Bristol/pre-Preston on 09:33 - Dec 19 by TheChef |
At this moment I really don't care how we win, as long as we do and it gets us further up the table and away from danger.
Meanwhile Stainrod over here is like the second coming of Russell Martin (but with Hattie Jacques instead of Lucy Pinder). |
Not sure about the Hatti Jacques reference, but I like Martin, who tries to play the game in the right way, so will take that as a compliment from the mad Muppet Chef. He (Martin, not Chef) deserves a gong just for his Milton Keynes Dons team scoring a goal - set gobs to gobsmacked! - after a a FIFTY-SIX passing move, a then record in 2021 (with possession stats only bettered by Barcelona and Man City at the time) and also having the most touches in the opposition's box that year. After stamping his class on Swansea, he then went and broke another divisional record at Southampton for keep-ball, and took them up on the back of a 25 match unbeaten run. If we could one day find that elusive striker we seem determined not to, he'd be brilliant for QPR if Marti turns out to be a very naughty boy after all.
How many passes did we manage vs Bristol in one go again? Three? And how many touches in their box to their 35? O yes, 8 - I just checked!
Those joyless dullards who think football is all about winning, like Alan f*cking Shearer, and/or the most passive-aggressive rope-a-dope slaughter of the beautiful game is OK if you 'grind out' and 'fight' for a result, like Ainsworth, remind me of the kind of morons who used to charge up and down during bouts of British Bulldog in the Scout Hut my mother packed me off when I was too young and programmed and stupid to do anything about it. I like a bit of blood and guts as much as the next guy, but football is ballet with a ball. Forget possession - they're the ones who should do one!
So this week, Marti and your merry men, try to f*cking entertain me now and then (and maybe win another home game while you're there), eh? Football's what we make it!
PS I'm not always as much of a cantankerous w*nker as I might sound, and there's a nicely nuanced spectrum of views on this thread, which I'm grateful for. [Post edited 19 Dec 16:31]
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