 | News
Comment | Out of possession evolution under Ainsworth — Analysis
at 11:36:35
Clive: I thought you might appreciate the following words in Shakespearean mode about you and the 500 other intrepid QPR fans who saw the Rs win at Burnley. It was written by Graham Sharp, a schoolmate (and a Harlesden boy) from St Clement Danes school - just a few hundred yards from Loftus Road:
"This story shall the good man teach his son;
And April 22 shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember’d;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that goes up north with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in Shepherds Bush now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That went with us to play Burnley away.†|
| News
Comment | Pulled over next to them and said "what you worried about?" — Preview
at 23:01:46
I bought into everything you said in the Cardiff preview about Beale staying with us and also agree with your analysis here about why he is staying. I do, however, wonder whether “loyaltyâ€, blah, blah, blah would have applied if there had been no suggestion of the Wolves job this week, but the Villa one had become available. Family home, a better squad, plus he knows them very well. Clive: do you think his response might have been different in this (hypothetical) situation? |
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Comment | Looks like we picked the right week to quit losing — Preview
at 00:11:04
Excellent preview as usual Clive, but I'm getting even more worried about you now that we've broken the losing run. In order to wake up on our kitchen floor clad in only your pants and your work shoes you must have put your shoes back on after taking off your trousers (unless - worse still - you've become a contortionist or you went to work that day wearing no strides)! Not only that, but you think the birds have taken so much pity on deaf people that they've learnt "signing".
Oh dear, for your sake, part of me hopes we don't win again on Saturday - though, like you, I think we'll lose, probably in an unlucky fashion while on top and chasing the game .... |
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Comment | And for our next trick — Report
at 10:41:30
Pity I missed the match - ironically I had to drive up to Leeds that afternoon (and back afterwards). Having missed this match - and remembering I missed the last time we went straight through to Round 4 as I was skiing in Europe at the time - would I be jinxing Rangers if I went to Portsmouth?
Clive, your question, " if it’s a QPR team that wins away from home, a QPR team that wins away from home at Nottingham Forest, a QPR team that keeps clean sheets, and a QPR team that can win in the FA Cup… is it really a QPR team at all?", is one I keep asking myself. But if this team does want to abolish all of our unwanted records, we've never won in the FA Cup at Wembley and haven't won there at all for nearly 51 years.
If they did anything like that, Clive, you really would have to end your imitation of Cassandra and start to find new eulogies!
Thanks for your reports, especially when I've missed the match itself. |
| News
Comment | QPR blow Forest hoodoo out of the water — Report
at 12:12:25
The one thing I haven't seen reported about Saturday was that there was a full moon. That might explain everything about the performance and result. Full moons can often change moods and this one certainly changed the moods of us Rangers fans after this match!
Having gone to Forest for my first visit last season - in an optimistic mood! - I then knew I'd have to go every year until we broke the jinx. Happily for both my sanity and my bank balance, it has only taken one more visit.
Great report Clive, have a good Christmas and fingers crossed that Rangers don't revert to their regular perversity on Boxing Day. |
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Comment | Ten things I hate about Pool — Preview
at 20:16:20
I find it hard to disagree with even one word of your "Ten Things ...". If "McClaren was meant to be brought in to work with and improve these young players, and so far he’s done little but demoralise and call them out", isn't he in breach of contract? Unless - of course - those who drew up the contract thought that McClaren's word was his bond, so these requirements didn't need to be specifically included! Breach of contract means you can be sacked without compensation.
If what was attempted at Blackpool (ie, the team and the approach) was within the QPR strategy, then it's the Board who should go, but - if McClaren failed to attempt to deliver the Board's strategy, then that is a further breach of contract. Surely?? |
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Comment | Osayi-Samuel shines Bright as QPR make cup progress — Report
at 21:41:26
You're the professional journalist, Clive, so stick with your ideas. Anyway "in the 4th minute" is a minute before "after 4 minutes". "In the 4th minute" and "Minute 4" are very clear and mean exactly the same thing.
Variety of phraseology is one of the elements that makes LFW very readable. |
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Comment | Seen this film before — Preview
at 22:55:13
Yeah. And when you're fingering Colonel Mustard, you really wouldn't have your eye on the ball, would you?
Clive, your private life worries me, but if it helps you take your mind off the complexities, confusions and conundrums of QPR, enabling you to continue to produce highly readable analyses of our team, I'll forgive you. |
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Comment | Table-toppers to mid-table-floppers — Knee Jerks
at 22:46:18
My late father had a phrase about any slight hiccup or setback "the worst ... ever". We generally ignored him or thought he meant "that's not so good", as did his neighbours and mates at work - but he didn't have social media!!
Nowadays someone like him would use that phrase on Facebook or Twitter (or wherever) and some other person would say "yeah, you're right ..." and add a comment that builds the point. Then suddenly six or seven people think their dogmatic and negative comments are meaningful and widely supported.
Sadly that seems to be modern life. Most people still keep their opinions to themselves or just share them with their mates in the pub, at work or in the church/mosque/synagogue and their opinions get moderated in discussion. But a few (saddos?) now think their negative comments are relevant and it encourages them to exaggerate.
A good analysis and a valid set of comments, Antti. I agree with most - but not all - of them. My advice is to ignore the boo-boys and don't read message boards. Otherwise you only encourage them - despite not wishing to do so. |
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Comment | Not a single positive to be taken - knee jerks
at 13:18:07
Antii, if you "walked along the river" before the match, it sounds like you must be just the Messiah we need! Agree with your analysis and the only positives I saw was that the team did slowly start to get back into it after each of the first three goals (as you said, with Faurlin the fulcrum after the first) but then had the stuffing knocked out of them again as Fulham then scored yet another goal - through poor play by one (or more) of our players.
It strikes me that most of the teams we've played this season must be cheating, as they seem to think they should pass to a team mate each time, whereas we play to different rules and think we should regularly pass it back to the opposition or punt it up in the air and create a 50-50 opportunity (though more like 75-25 to them, in reality!). |
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Comment | Barton costs QPR in crucial match yet again - Report
at 20:37:02
Should we blame Ramsey for Barton's sending off? His teams are playing our men in their correct positions on the field ..... and it seems Joey Barton's "best" position is with a red card in his face!
I'd like to hear Paul Furlong's views on how Joey was "protecting" his son - especially thinking about the provocation that Paul himself largely ignored when he was playing. |
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Comment | Redknapp hangs on despite United defeat - report
at 18:15:38
Thanks for the usual excellent report, Clive, with one exception! I can't remember you ever pulling your punches before, but to say that Kranjcar's "defending for the second goal does not reflect well on him" is like saying our away form is "not all that good". At the match in real time it looked as if he was making no effort, but studying his involvement more closely on TV he does less than nothing; he wandered back toward the goal as Wilson ran forward and then just stood watching as Wilson shot, Green saved and Wilson then ran onto the rebound - if anything he seemed to impede Ned (who'd tried to stop Wilson from shooting) or at least made Ned think there was a QPR someone there to attempt to stop Wilson getting the rebound. I think Kranjcar has played some wonderful football for us, but he no longer seems to care and I believe he did so little on Saturday it ought to be seen as breach of contract. I would now be unhappy if he ever played for us again!
As you say, we should have been able to get something of that match as United were so poor (or as a United season-ticket holder friend of mine said straight afterwards "we were a bit lucky there"). You're right, we have the players to do far better - so play them where they should play, then leave them to do it themselves. I've just read Harry's latest book and that's - in essence - what he's said about previous teams and players across his decades in football: put the right player in the right place across the whole team and they will deliver. Why can't he read his own book? (Oh sorry, I forgot he says hes not very educated and not very good with maths and reading!).
I hope I'll wake up soon and find Harry has just been a bad dream .... mind you, I'd then find we still had Mark Hughes!! I think I'll stay asleep, but try to stop dreaming. |
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Comment | QPR and Palace grind out bore draw - report
at 23:09:22
As PinnerPaul said (sorry Paul, I've now left Pinner after 21 years there - but I still share your perspective) "we do need to mix it up a bit". That applies top so much of what we are doing. Always do the same thing and teams will have been coached to cope or will learn to do so during the match. Even if Joey's corners and free kicks were consistently brilliant (!!) unless we are scoring from them regularly, somebody else needs to try something different - giving Joey the chance to confuse the opposition defence by getting into them, rather than kicking behind the dead ball.
Equally we need to try some different players - or, at least, one every now and again. Adel is the obvious one .... and if Harry can't motivate Adel to play occasionally (eg in the "shop window" of a live televised match) he should be fining him all of his wages, coz he ain't earning them! How I wish we could see a couple of flashes of Tarabt's skill every so often (it's cold, so let him wear his gloves .... and a hat if necessary) - even if it couldn't change the Palace result away from 0-0 it would still make it worthwhile going to the match. |
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Comment | Forget everything you know - bumper Easter preview
at 09:52:39
Well done Clive, even your typos produce brilliant analogies: forecasting potential relationships at the match with Millwall on Monday, "when everybody will be friendly and signing" - that is, using their hands to converse with each other! |
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Comment | Schoolboys versus men - full match report
at 00:05:03
The most frustrating thing about this season - both under MH and since Harry arrived - is that pretty much the same team can play so differently from one week to the next. Some real spirit - eg, the first hour at Man City, until Dzeko's goal overtook Zamorra's equalizer; the Away match at Tottenham (except for the 10-minute tea break, when Spurs scored their 2 goals); winning at Chelsea: losing at Fulham (until about 70 mins, when "the other" Team appeared!!); and the first half at Villa (and even all their efforts in the second half, culminating in Clint's inches-wide miss at the final whistle - but at other times total disinterest, slack marking (if any at all), no sharpness and bite, despite our position.
Individual players are equally inconsistent. Zamora didn't look interested in walking around in some matches, but at other times has played brilliantly when he really ought to have been watching the match from a wheelchair. Clint Hill has been the epitome of inspiration, both as captain and before that - despite his limitations - but a few times has allowed his limitations overtake and bury his spirit. Bosingwa (yup, you spell it just the way you say it .... unless you're being rude and start with an adjective) is a classic example: started slowly and then went downhill; couldn't really be a*sed for MH and was dropped, but - after he came back into the team in 2013 - has, at times, been really excellent [never thought I'd see myself write that!!! and I exclude his crossing, which is usually atrocious.] but he now seems back to his "old form", yet he was very good at Southampton, Villa and Fulham. And - at times - to be good in the 1st half and bad in the second half .... and vice-versa. I could go on, but I believe this judgement says a great deal about why we will now be relegated.
[NB. I was an optimist according to my QPR friends, but I saw exactly how we would gain the extra 7 points we needed to come back from the dead in 2013 .... and we played well enough in the matches I thought were key to do exactly that: a point at West Ham and at home to City; should have beaten Norwich; beat Southampton and Sunderland; should have beaten Villa and Wigan; could have beaten Fulham and deserved a point. If some, never mind most (or all!) of those had happened, we'd be smiling down on several clubs even before the bottom three. So, it was ours to retrieve (despite MH and 2012) and we didn't!!]
For both the team ad individual players to be so inconsistent must surely be down to the manager (not just MH, but our "Messiah" as well) as well as the players' own professionalism. Sometimes some of them have seemed to try too hard, which needs a good captain and a good manager to get them to calm down a little - except it ends up getting worse as they end up trying even harder. Too often, however, they haven't tried enough ... or they've been too conservative, to ensure THE INDIVIDUAL himself wasn't responsible for a mistake that then lost the game. Passivity and over-defensiveness doesn't win games in any league, other than if you are really lucky (and QPR are not lucky this season .... because you make your own luck by trying something different). Sadly in a few matches, even Adel Tarabt has stopped trying to do the impossible, because it only works sometimes! As you said Lewis (or Clive or whoever you are!) after an hour at Goodison, "Rangers finally had something they had been missing for the majority – a link between the midfield and Remy" - while Adel doesn't always succeed, this season I believe he has always tried .... indeed, he was even trying at times when we didn't have a (genuine) striker for him to link with!! Unlike RonisRs, I only wish we could keep him next season - he could run the Championship ragged and - while we are looking at the flying pigs - Remy would be his willing partner in crime, as we waltzed back to the Prem. Sadly I can't see either of them at Loftus Road (except, perhaps, in a Cup match).
MH was a disaster, but look back at some of his matches this season and think where we might have picked up a few more points if the ball had gone a few inches in a different direction on a few occasions ... then what Harry nearly achieved. Our squad of players is good enough to be in a comfortable mid-table position (or better); it's just the "team" that has failed.
I've said "hello" to Tony Fernandez and Philip Beard (and I own a few worthless shares), but that's the limit of my contact with the Board, but - if what I've just said makes sense - the position we are in is not their fault. It's down to the players themselves - not enough consistency, team spirit or taking responsibility, for themselves or the collective. Sadly, the team this season has been too full of Thatcherites: too much individualism, to hell with the team; as long as "I'm Alright Jack", it's OK. There is such a thing as "Society" - it's spelled Q ... P ... R ... and it's a Club, a team, the players, the fans and (even) the armchair supporters - one single, integrated, multi-faceted organism. This season we've been disjointed and unconnected far too often.
We might be down, but we are not out. We'll cheer on the team for it's remaining matches - at Loftus Road, Reading and Liverpool. Let's hope the team respond and play with their hearts and their skills, whether we win, lose or draw. But, the important thing now is to prepare for next season ... for a victorious campaign (after all, we did that not so long ago ... I'm looking forward to winning at Watford, yet again!) and for the players to all show how good they will be next season. Even the players who haven't quite showed their skills this season, next season ought to be easier for them to show how good they really are. Shouldn't it?? |
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