| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 18:04 - Feb 17 with 3641 views | Antti_Heinola |
I'm not sure I can remember a week like it. Three losses in a week has been standard for us for years. But not three like this. It seems particularly cruel to narrowly lose three games in which we didn't deserve to lose any of them.
1. ROCKY: I thought this was shaping up to be a bit like a Rocky movie. Sure, we'd suffered one beating, then another. But we never say die, we're still standing, clinging to the ropes with our eyes bleeding, but our heart still pumping with determination. When Smith went down in the first half and was patched up with a Steve Foster headband (one for the teenagers), I was almost convinced: What better Cup hero is there than Mathieu Smith, scoring a winner, blinking back the blood, wonky bandage no impediment to a trademark thunder bastard header? Against all odds, this was going to be it. A great underdog story before we lose 17-0 at the Etihad in a couple of weeks time. Is it more typical or less typical of QPR that this didn't happen? I don't even know anymore. Feels like my heart was ripped out on Saturday, stamped on on Tuesday and flushed down the bog last night.
But Rocky never gave up. He got mad, and he beat up Clubber and Ivan and Tommy and had that exhibition match, and became a trainer to Apollo's son. There's a lesson there for all of us. Isn't there? No, you stop writing sh!t.
2. COUSINS: Is it finally, *finally* happening? He'll never be Luke Freeman. He'll never even be Mass Luongo. But for two and a half games now he has been brilliant. The all-action vessel of energy we've been waiting for. Maybe he realised this was it - his last chance, because as things stood, unless finances meant we had no other real option, Cousins wasn't going to be here next season. But finally, he's grabbed his chance. Last night he was great - he broke up Watford so many times in the first half. Sometimes it was just giving them a throw, but that doesn't matter: he disrupted them, forced them to play hurried balls or balls they didn't want to play.
And he demanded the ball too. He wasn't hiding; didn't look scared to receive it or to take chances. He pressed high up the pitch, confident that his outstanding fitness would mean he could get back if he wanted to - plus he had Luongo, also having a good game, backing him up at every turn. I thought we were terrific in midfield, and Cousins did everything that could be asked, even going to right midfield and eventually right back. I hope he can keep this going. He's always given the impression of a great person, willing to work, humble. If he dies find some consistent form, it would be a real boost to everyone except, maybe, ratting rats.
3. WELLS: The same romantic in me that had the complicated, barely comprehensible thoughts about a Rocky story, held the hope all week that our big hero was going to be Nahki Wells - redemption after the penalty miss a week ago. But on the day he, as the match reports used to say before I gave up reading them, 'cut a forlorn figure' (a phrase only ever uttered in the context of a football match). Not much seemed to come off for him. His first touch was often uncharacteristically dodgy, he seemed to take the wrong choice a bit too often, and he missed two of our three most presentable chances. The first, after an eyebrow-raising chipped pass from the impressive Luke Freeman, he didn't quite connect well enough with and Gomes managed to flick it wide. The second, arguably better, was a great effort - a curling high shot that beat Gomes and for a brief second I thought was going to fly into the goal, but instead dropped wide.
Still, you can't be too hard on him. He never hides, he always works hard, he'll always shoot if he can. But, like quite a few of our players, he looks a little drained, a little tired, and npt sticking away these chances won't help him with that. I'd say rest him, but realistically we have no one else; Hemed looks unfit and Smith will always struggle over 90 minutes.
4. GAZZA: Have a look back at that moment in the Euro 96 semi final. Keep your eye on Gazza. He's chases a ball back to win it. Then sets off on a run into the box. Sheringham floats a ball to Shearer, he volleys it across and then, somehow, as if he foresaw the entire move, there he is, in the box, ready to get on the end of Shearer's fierce cross. It's perfect. It's a golden goal. He stretches everything, every muscle, every bone, every sinew. But his studs are a centimetre too short and somehow he doesn't connect. You know the rest.
Toni Leistner's chance had so many similarities. The ball played across the defence, Furlong volleying fiercely across the goal, suddenly, Toni's there, no one else is. He's onside, and even though it happens in less than a second, you have time to hold your breath, imagine the net bulging, gather in a great gulp of hope, ready yourself to explode for a goal we surely deserved. And unlike Gazza, he's got there! He's got there! But it's wide. And you knew it had gone. A real Gazza moment.
5. 3-5-2: We saw the pros and cons of the 3-5-2 on Friday. On the one hand, having three centre backs meant that we were able to deal with the threat of Andre Gray and the weighty Troy Deeney, who parroted some absolute nonsense about this being QPR's cup final (mate, it'd have been packed whoever the oppo was at this stage of the competition - don't flatter yourself). It also allowed us to have two strikers on the pitch and we did cause them some issues with that. However, it also meant that we never quite got the width we needed higher up the pitch on a regular basis. At times in the first half, justifiably concerned with staying in the game as long as we could, Pav was pretty much a right back and it's a big ask to get him and Bidwell to cover the entire flanks by themselves for the whole game.
Watford were also ready for us and their method of dealing with the towering Smith I thought was excellent. They pushed up very high for crosses, constantly catching him offside, and also keeping him away from their six yard box, where he has proved in recent weeks to be so dangerous. One free kick in the second half they pushed incredibly high up, leaving a huge gap between themselves and the keeper, but it worked. They trusted Gomes to deal with anything high, and even if Smith was to connect with a header from 15 yards, most keepers will fancy saving that. But then, Watford have a great defensive record this season, it's not surprising they had a plan.
6. ONE SHOT: And yet. One shot. One shot off the semi-useless Cleverley shanking a hopeful ball into the box that happens to land at the feet of bloody Capoue, the one player in their side that probably had the class to finish like that. What a blow. We did so well to limit them to just that for the entire game - it was one of Lumley's quietest games all season. But it was enough. In the end, we didn't quite have the cutting edge - due to form, due to tiredness, due to whatever - to take those chances we did have to force extra time. It would have been deserved, too. But this week, 'deserve' has had very little to do with things.
Still, at least we only lost 1-0 to a team in our own league. it could have Bees worse.
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| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 21:22 - Feb 17 with 3336 views | ngbqpr |
Steve Foster, you say?
I could only think Basil Fawlty. |  |
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| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 21:33 - Feb 17 with 3305 views | FDC |
4. GAZZA
Ha I'm glad you said that, I said exactly the same and received raised eyebrows and knowing smiles. |  | | |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 22:34 - Feb 17 with 3241 views | CamberleyR |
The fat gobshite's 'cup final' bollox
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| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 22:36 - Feb 17 with 3236 views | CamberleyR |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 21:22 - Feb 17 by ngbqpr |
Steve Foster, you say?
I could only think Basil Fawlty. |
Don't mention the VAR | |
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| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 23:01 - Feb 17 with 3166 views | MancR |
Tom Cleverly- didn't even know he was on the pitch. He even got in England squads when he was at Utd. So ordinary, Freeman made him look League One, but he's the one in the premier league and fa cup quarters😰 |  | | |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 08:30 - Feb 18 with 2927 views | TheChef |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 08:09 - Feb 18 by Dorse |
'Without being disrespectful...'
Right up there with 'I'm not a racist but...' |
Like when my boss says, "With all due respect..." |  |
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| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 09:18 - Feb 18 with 2860 views | robith |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 22:34 - Feb 17 by CamberleyR |
The fat gobshite's 'cup final' bollox
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Without being disrespectful Deeney looked chronically overweight and was kept completely anonymous by a defence 16th in the league below him until the end of the game when he started acting the sh!thouse
I'd probably have been a tad more coy than him |  | | |
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| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 12:05 - Feb 18 with 2740 views | daveB |
I'm at the point where I'm starting to think Nakhi Wells isn't very good, he hasn't look like scoring in the league for quite a while and for all the hype his goal return all season hasn't been that great. Hope he proves me wrong over the next few weeks but not impressed with him at all at the moment. |  | | |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 12:26 - Feb 18 with 2706 views | CroydonCaptJack |
Possibly Deeney had the hump (pun intended) after being referred to as the Elephant Man by R Block. |  | | |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 12:29 - Feb 18 with 2704 views | runningman75 |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 12:05 - Feb 18 by daveB |
I'm at the point where I'm starting to think Nakhi Wells isn't very good, he hasn't look like scoring in the league for quite a while and for all the hype his goal return all season hasn't been that great. Hope he proves me wrong over the next few weeks but not impressed with him at all at the moment. |
I thought Wells was injured. Limped before he was substituted. He is a goalscorer and would rest him but there is no one to really replace him. | | | |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 12:47 - Feb 18 with 2693 views | daveB |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 12:29 - Feb 18 by runningman75 |
I thought Wells was injured. Limped before he was substituted. He is a goalscorer and would rest him but there is no one to really replace him. |
Hemed is back fit now although I don't think he's that good either.
I get why he starts every game and he is the best striker we have but just been disappointed with him overall, for all the hype and talk on podcast last week that he's our best player I've just not been that impressed with him, 6 league goals is not a great return so far | | | |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 12:52 - Feb 18 with 2683 views | Antti_Heinola |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 12:05 - Feb 18 by daveB |
I'm at the point where I'm starting to think Nakhi Wells isn't very good, he hasn't look like scoring in the league for quite a while and for all the hype his goal return all season hasn't been that great. Hope he proves me wrong over the next few weeks but not impressed with him at all at the moment. |
bit harsh. hit the post with a great header v Bristol, and gets into positions to score in every game. Admit he needs to finish more regularly - but to say he hasn't looked like scoring is inaccurate. He's looked like scoring in every game. He just keeps missing!
Agree about the pod though. Was a great listen but staggered there's even argument Freeman isn't, currently, by a street, both our best and most important player. [Post edited 18 Feb 2019 12:52]
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| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 12:55 - Feb 18 with 2674 views | daveB |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 12:52 - Feb 18 by Antti_Heinola |
bit harsh. hit the post with a great header v Bristol, and gets into positions to score in every game. Admit he needs to finish more regularly - but to say he hasn't looked like scoring is inaccurate. He's looked like scoring in every game. He just keeps missing!
Agree about the pod though. Was a great listen but staggered there's even argument Freeman isn't, currently, by a street, both our best and most important player. [Post edited 18 Feb 2019 12:52]
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Maybe it's harsh I just don't feel confident when he's in on goal that he'll hit the target, might just be on a bad run and return to form soon. | | | |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 13:24 - Feb 18 with 2631 views | TheChef |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 12:55 - Feb 18 by daveB |
Maybe it's harsh I just don't feel confident when he's in on goal that he'll hit the target, might just be on a bad run and return to form soon. |
I think I need to see it again, but the ball Freeman played Wells which Gomes saved looked a bit awkward - played through the air which I think made his shot a bit more difficult. I thought there was space to play the through-ball on the deck? | |
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| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 13:27 - Feb 18 with 2622 views | daveB |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 13:24 - Feb 18 by TheChef |
I think I need to see it again, but the ball Freeman played Wells which Gomes saved looked a bit awkward - played through the air which I think made his shot a bit more difficult. I thought there was space to play the through-ball on the deck? |
I thought he should have taken a touch as he had time and space to set himself, wasn't an easy chance though | | | |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 13:48 - Feb 18 with 2580 views | Northernr |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 09:18 - Feb 18 by robith |
Without being disrespectful Deeney looked chronically overweight and was kept completely anonymous by a defence 16th in the league below him until the end of the game when he started acting the sh!thouse
I'd probably have been a tad more coy than him |
Deeney had his shirt up/off at one point on Friday night and if that's overweight then sign me up! |  | | |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 14:04 - Feb 18 with 2551 views | danky |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 12:47 - Feb 18 by daveB |
Hemed is back fit now although I don't think he's that good either.
I get why he starts every game and he is the best striker we have but just been disappointed with him overall, for all the hype and talk on podcast last week that he's our best player I've just not been that impressed with him, 6 league goals is not a great return so far |
Wells is a decent striker and will score a reasonable amount of goals at this level but I can't believe that there is any comparison being made between him and Freeman. Friday night showed just how important and bloody brilliant Freeman actually is. There is a lot made on here about Mc Claren bringing in Premier league loanees. Wells and Hemed are not really Premier league players, if they were, we wouldn't have them on loan . |  | | |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 14:27 - Feb 18 with 2506 views | ridethewave |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 12:55 - Feb 18 by daveB |
Maybe it's harsh I just don't feel confident when he's in on goal that he'll hit the target, might just be on a bad run and return to form soon. |
I think we're seeing why Wells hasn't made it in the Premier League.
You'd be forgiven for thinking why, when you watch him for us. Dictating play from the front, holding the ball up, bringing in the wide players, running his backside off, a great touch, fantastic vision/awareness, he genuinely is a very good footballer.
But for all that, when it matters most, for a center forward, he just isn't good enough in front of goal. [Post edited 18 Feb 2019 14:28]
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| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 14:35 - Feb 18 with 2477 views | traininvain |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 14:04 - Feb 18 by danky |
Wells is a decent striker and will score a reasonable amount of goals at this level but I can't believe that there is any comparison being made between him and Freeman. Friday night showed just how important and bloody brilliant Freeman actually is. There is a lot made on here about Mc Claren bringing in Premier league loanees. Wells and Hemed are not really Premier league players, if they were, we wouldn't have them on loan . |
Nail on head. And we wouldn't have got them without a loan fee.
That said, I like Wells and feel he's been unlucky the last few games. |  | | |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 14:41 - Feb 18 with 2466 views | CamberleyR |
Wells at this level in three seasons for Huddersfield was only ever just over a 1 in 3 striker (18, 14 and 10 goals) so given that, he's not too far below what he would have been expected to score in reality so far (9-10). Strange really that Burnley bought him after his worst season there in terms of goals. | |
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| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 14:45 - Feb 18 with 2461 views | CamberleyR |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 14:35 - Feb 18 by traininvain |
Nail on head. And we wouldn't have got them without a loan fee.
That said, I like Wells and feel he's been unlucky the last few games. |
I didn't think any loan fees were paid? This I thought was the reason they were so late in the window signing for us as other targets we were interested in that were within our wages budget needed a fee paying. I'm sure I remember Hoos saying this at the fans forum he did with Les and SM in the autumn. [Post edited 18 Feb 2019 14:46]
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| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 15:43 - Feb 18 with 2413 views | Antti_Heinola |
| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 14:04 - Feb 18 by danky |
Wells is a decent striker and will score a reasonable amount of goals at this level but I can't believe that there is any comparison being made between him and Freeman. Friday night showed just how important and bloody brilliant Freeman actually is. There is a lot made on here about Mc Claren bringing in Premier league loanees. Wells and Hemed are not really Premier league players, if they were, we wouldn't have them on loan . |
spot on.
Neither have played more than a handful of games at Prem Level. It's like saying Trevor Challis was a premier league player. Cameron wasn't wanted by a team in our league and Rangel didn't even have a club. The idea it was some huge coup is a bit much i think. | |
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| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 16:01 - Feb 18 with 2388 views | kensalriser |
Wells really busted a gut to get into position for Freeman as an alternative to Matt Smith, who drew the defenders. It wasn't an easy chance. |  |
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| Antti's Six Knee Jerks: QPR 0 Watford 1 on 16:40 - Feb 19 with 2112 views | PinnerPaul |
Bit late now now but Watford also had a 'goal' chalked off for offside that wasn't. | | | |
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