Few signings have made such an immediate impact at QPR as Luke Freeman, previously a bit part player in a struggling Bristol City side. Ram Chandra examines how and why.
Reports vary on how much Luke Freeman cost QPR - £300,000 was reported, Ian Holloway told the recent fans forum it was £500,000. Either way, despite only six months of his Bristol City contract remaining, it’s one of the shrewdest signings we’ve made in a number of years — for roughly 5% of the sticker price on Sandro in 2014.
In just a few short weeks, Freeman has endeared himself to Rangers fans with his unique combination of flair and work rate. More impressively, Freeman has managed to do the impossible: create consensus amongst the supporters. I have yet to hear anyone utter a single negative about him.
His swift ascent to fan favourite began when he came on for Jamie Mackie in the fifty fourth minute of the home defeat to Huddersfield.
In one sequence in the fifty eighth minute, Freeman buzzed through Huddersfield’s impressive midfield, electrifying the crowd with clever passes, turns, stepovers and left and right foot dribbles before getting hacked at the edge of the penalty box. Within the first five minutes of his home debut, Freeman had managed to do in one sequence something Tjarron Chery seemed incapable of doing all season - making his first touch in dangerous spots on the pitch, finding little pockets of space and moving without the ball.
On the hour Freeman rocketed a bouncing ball into the top corner of the net. Before you could say "man crush”, I was on the QPR shop website buying a Freeman kit, breaking my promise to never buy the shirt of a player who was younger than me (a substantially easier undertaking when Harry Redknapp was still manager).
But what is it that makes Freeman so uniquely likeable?
For starters, Freeman is the rare flair player who couldn’t look less the part. When I think flair, I think players with slick names like Eden or Cristiano; rogues with flowing hair like Zlatan or Stan Bowles; foreigners with panache like David Silva.
I tend not to think of Luke Freeman, a short, slow, ostensibly unathletic dude from Dartford who looks like he processes expense reports in a Canary Wharf back office. This makes Luke Freeman relatable, and for that, I’ve reserved him a spot on the self-explanatory "Looks like a Bank Teller XI”, captained by Philipp Lahm and vice-captained by Mark Noble. I’ve slotted Freeman behind the striker, alongside Kevin De Bruyne, by the way.
But besides his relatability, Freeman is just a damn good player.
Freeman is one of the best dribblers that Rangers have seen in some time, and has repeatedly exhibited the ability to maintain possession while dribbling into and out of very tight spaces. In one sequence against Leeds, Freeman found himself along the touchline, with Leeds defenders flanked to his front and left. I watched this live and hoped, at best, that the ball might go out for a throw-in. Freeman, clearly inspired by Liam Neeson’s character in Taken, had other ideas. Freeman somehow dribbled past both defenders, eliciting oohs and ahhs from the travelling Rangers’ contingent, while he cleverly held up the ball and drew other Rangers into attack. A picture says a thousand words, so please disregard this paragraph and look at the sequence of pictures below.
Freeman is genuinely an exciting player, and this was one of the many times his electrifying skill has lifted the crowd. The atmosphere at Loftus Road has been markedly improved in recent matches, due in no small part to players like Freeman. And for £300,000-£500,000 the Freeman signing barely cost more than the fliers and posters the QPR commercial department printed as part of its "Make Some Noise” campaign.
Tjarron Chery had flair, too, but something felt fundamentally different about Chery. Chery’s trickery reminded me of the Humber Bridge in Hull. Sure, its an impressive piece of infrastructure, a marvel of engineering and design. But ultimately, does the bridge take you somewhere you actually want to go?
How many times did we see Chery dribble around fancifully in front of a defender only to end the sequence with a toothless backpass? Rangers fans appreciated Chery’s skill, but it rarely resulted in end product. Freeman, by contrast, has been able to get the crowd on its feet while simultaneously building up dangerous attacks.
On the topic of dangerous attacking play, Freeman has also managed to make the final third his home, particularly at Loftus Road. The following touch map shows what Freeman did against Barnsley a few weeks ago.
Whereas Chery struggled to get his touches in between the lines and other dangerous attacking spots, Freeman has had no such problems. Space disappears quickly in Loftus Road’s tight quarters, and Freeman seems to be the ideal player to find little pockets of space and keep the ball.
The appropriately named "Free Man” operated in more of a free role in attack against Leeds, and at times it proved difficult for him to recover and provide defensive cover for Bidwell on the left side. Washington and Luongo helped where they could, but Leeds’ right back Luke Ayling had some joy getting touches in Rangers’ defensive half. Garry Monk seemed to notice this, and brought on a winger to attack Bidwell as his first tactical substitution. Bidwell ultimately had a great (and underappreciated) game and managed to contain the attack from Leeds, but Freeman’s attacking freedom may make it difficult to provide defensive cover for our fullbacks.
But generally Freeman has also been impressive on the defensive side of the game. He’s not the tallest, fastest or strongest, but works his socks off and is willing to get stuck into challenges. Against Barnsley, Freeman had four clearances, two interceptions and two tackles. Against Leeds, he had a clearance, a blocked shot, four interceptions and three tackles. Against Rotherham, Freeman picked the pockets of Rotherham’s dodgy center back before coolly slotting the ball into the net for Rangers’ second goal. Not bad for a bank teller.
Those are the many positives, and I’m really trying not to get too far ahead of myself with Freeman (although the April 29th fixture against Nottingham Forest may be a good date to induct him into the Forever R’s Club). With that, here are some potential weaknesses.
To understand Freeman’s biggest weakness, I refer you to the "Kanye Principle”, a theory I’ve just made up. The general idea is that brilliant creative types often have demons or unfavorable eccentricities that come as part of being a creative genius. For every brilliant album Kanye puts out, you get at least one psychotic breakdown and three uncomfortable late night talk-show interviews. If you tame the eccentricity, though, you also tame the creativity.
Freeman is a creative player, one who is willing to take risks with the ball to make things happen. No doubt, Freeman is prone to the occasional mistake. At times, Freeman has held on to the ball for too long, preferring to flash a bit of skill and probe tight spaces than play a conservative pass and retain possession. Freeman also has made errant passes trying to create in the final third.
Freeman’s aggressive, swashbuckling style will result in Rangers losing the ball. And given Freeman’s defensive duties in the middle of the park (and therefore the minimal defensive shield behind him until the center backs), one of these mistakes will inevitably cost us.
Rangers fans need to accept that this will happen. Please do not boo Freeman when he dribbles too long, plays an errant pass or otherwise loses possession. This risk-taking is what makes Freeman a talent, and we don’t want to stifle his genius. Leave the coaching to Ollie.
Freeman’s attacking freedom may also create some positional holes in Rangers defense, particularly away from home. Against Leeds, Rangers played what could be described as either a 3-4-3 or a 3-5-2. However you seek to characterize the formation that day, Freeman and Luongo were deployed defensively as left central and right central midfielders, respectively, while Wzolek stayed on the right flank. Wzolek’s position on the right flank provided invaluable defensive cover for young (and improving) Darnell Furlong, and helped pin back Leeds’ left back.
I don’t anticipate this ultimately being an issue at Loftus Road, where the ground’s tight quarters make it easier to recover defensively. In Saturday’s training ground exercise against Rotherham, Freeman and Yeni played with freedom and swapped flanks throughout the match–yet at no point, did this seem to affect Rangers’ ability to contain Rotherham’s attacks down the channels.
However, in a bigger ground against a better team, this could be exploited, particularly if Rangers continue to play two strikers and Wszolek on the right flank. Something for Ollie to ponder.
Really, though, I’m just splitting hairs.
We’ve got ourselves a player, folks.
Pictures — Action Images