Steel City test awaits Beale's reformed Rangers - Preview Tuesday, 4th Oct 2022 11:28 by Clive Whittingham A three game week, a long trip north, and facing the best team in the division - tonight's game at Sheff Utd isn't immediately jumping off the page as a fun time for QPR. Sheff Utd (7-3-1 DWWWWD 1st) v QPR (5-3-3 WWLWDW 5th)Lancashire and District Senior League >>> Tuesday October 4, 2022 >>> Kick Off 19.45 >>> Weather — Damp >>> Bramall Lane, Sheffield Writing the LFW season preview is a difficult task at the best of times, and this summer was not the best of times. To go with all the usual vagaries of trying to predict the outcome of 24 teams while not really knowing what I’m talking about, the ridiculous Qatar World Cup meant it was an earlier start to the season, and consequently shorter summer, than we’ve ever had before. There would be five weeks, seven Championship games and at least one round of League Cup action for everybody before the transfer window closed. That’s my story, anyway, and I’m sticking to it. We had a strong fancy for Middlesbrough this year, not only because of Chris Wilder’s previous achievements elsewhere and the way Boro played at the back end of last season (best team to visit Loftus Road for my money), but also because big money had been received for Spence and Tavernier which they could use to strengthen the team in that remaining window time. Sadly, for them, the recruitment at the Riverside has been found wanting for some time, through successive managers. And it’s clear that something wasn’t right there for Wilder prior to his sacking this week, given the amount of eyelash fluttering he did in the direction of every other half decent job that came along. They’re now banking on new manager bounce leading a Forest-style recovery to the play-offs presumably, though Rob Edwards and Gary O’Neil isn’t exactly an inspiring list of favourites for the job. There have been many extenuating circumstances at Coventry, another team we seemingly erroneously tipped to do well. I can’t work Reading out at all, and I’m looking forward to speaking too them for the oppo preview ahead of Friday to try and make sense of how a team under severe financial and transfer restrictions, managed by Paul Ince, and prone to losing 4-0 every couple of weeks, is nevertheless carving the division up. Tonight’s opponents Sheffield United are one of those we’ve seemingly called right. They were our tip for the title last season, but required a managerial change and a loan of Morgan Gibbs White just to make the play-offs, with all their strikers bar Billy Sharp misfiring badly across the season — McBurnie, McGoldrick and Brewster just four between them all year. Unlike Boro, their summer recruitment to improve on that was immaculate. I’m still absolutely perplexed that they were able to pick up Malmo’s imperious Bosnian centre back Anel Ahmedhodzic for just £3m — the whole of Europe should have been after him at that price. Tommy Doyle, on loan from Man City, was the main reason Cardiff weren’t relegated last season. Reda Khadra, on loan from Brighton, scored against us for Blackburn in February. The other big factor, however, is just how close they came last year despite the non-scoring strikers, despite the lousy start, despite having to ditch Slavisa Jokanovic before Christmas. Look at how last season ended in the Championship, and there were some extraordinary events. The narrative is that Nottingham Forest completed a romantic return to the Premier League, which the entire country is delighted about, with “star boy” Brennan Johnson unplayable, and “the man they call Coops” some sort of footballing demi-God. Sheff Utd underachieved all year and only got as far as they did because they begged a loan of Gibbs-White, while Huddersfield were nowhere near good enough to be there in the first place. So the story went anyway, in so many fawning Athletic pieces. But, remember, though Forest did absolutely batter the Blades in the first leg of the semi-final, they didn’t build up a sufficient lead, and they only got through the tie at all because Brice Samba had a game for the ages in goal in the second leg, making two saves in normal time the likes of which I’ve scarcely seen, and then two more in the shoot out. But for him, Forest wouldn’t have even made it to penalties and United would have been in the final. Again, at Wembley, had the final been refereed with any modicum of competence, Huddersfield would be playing Premier League football, instead of losing their best players and manager to Mr Marinakis’ mad summer of rampant hubris and now staring relegation in the face. Even before their staggeringly insane summer, it perhaps shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Forest aren’t quite as brilliant as was made out, “the man they call Coops” about to be replaced by Rafa Benitez apparently — all part of the plan of course, anybody who says otherwise is delivering a lazy take. Nor that Sheff Utd have hit the ground running in the way they have. That makes it a tough trip for QPR tonight, though a fascinating opportunity to see just how far this promising little team Mick Beale has put together has come. Rangers were insipid in this fixture in April, they wouldn’t have scored if they were still there trying now, and in the quickfire return fixture at Loftus Road United trampled all over a tired and busted Rangers team in the second half. Bigger boys came. Ahmedhodzic is mercifully injured tonight, but cheat sheet Sande Berge will be on the rampage once more. It’s going to be a tough assignment, but it is only the Championship at the end of the day so hopefully we approach it without fear, certainly giving it more of a go than we did a few months back. We have players that can hurt any team in this league, and tonight’s a good chance to show that. It’s a task made more difficult by a hectic fixture schedule. Last season’s game was one of three trips to the north in a week — a bleak time in all our lives. This one comes as the middle of three games in six days, with Reading moved forward to Friday by our Sky overlords and their weird obsession with that fixture (herrr herrrr, they both got the same kit innit). QPR were poor at these last season — by my very rough count up inspired by a comment Beale made on last week’s QPR Podcast, I reckon we won five out of 15 ‘third games’ in the three game weeks in 2021/22. They’re difficult for a squad our size, put together on a budget like ours, with next to no strength in depth at all, for all the reasons we discussed post Swansea defeat and particularly when you’re playing a side with the players and resources Sheff Utd have got. But, I must say, it’s been nice to hear Beale talking up our chances a bit, and relishing the opportunity to go and show ourselves a bit, rather than the griping and moaning about the rigours and logistics of this league that, however fully justified they were, did start to grate a bit by the end of Mark Warburton’s time here. Another way we can see how far we’ve really progressed. Links >>> Recruitment dividends — Interview >>> Warnock’s Blackwell revenge — History >>> Linington in charge — Referee >>> Sheffield United official website >>> Bramall Lane ground guide >>> The Shoreham View — Contributor’s YouTube channel >>> S2 4SU — Message Board >>> Sheffield Star — Local Press
Below the foldTeam News: The backs-to-the-wall effort at Bristol City on Saturday appeared to come at some cost, with the impressive Jake Clarke-Salter lasting only an hour of his first start since the opening day of the season, and Kenneth Paal going off late after another all action performance on the left side of the defence. Good news, though, with Mick Beale declaring both fit to play in his pre-match press briefing. Better news still, Rob Dickie is fit and travelling again after three games out with an ankle injury. It leaves Taylor Richards as the only absentee, with Luke Amos making his first appearance since Boro H off the bench at the weekend, and something of a selection headache in the centre of the defence thanks to the improvements in defensive performance since Leon Balogun started playing there. It is, however, one of those weeks where Rangers play three times in six days, with the Reading game brought forward to Friday night. Sheff Utd’s promising start to the new season, and six clean sheets, has come despite recent problems with injuries at the back. Anel Ahmedhodzic, a ridiculously good value summer signing at £3m from Malmo, already has three goals from centre half but picked up a thigh injury prior to the Nations League break, which he missed, and he will continue to sit out our visit before potentially returning at the weekend. Rhys Norrington Davies moved from right wing back to fill in for him in the 1-1 with Birmimgham on Saturday while Brighton loanee Reda Khadra, an attacking midfielder who scored in QPR’s 1-0 loss at Blackburn last season, played out of position at right wing back to fill in for him. First choice Jayden Bogle, out since February with a knee explosion, made his first appearance of the campaign off the bench against Birmingham at the weekend. Elsewhere: The uncomfortable relationship between Chris Wilder and Middlesbrough (the very same one LFW said would be the difference that would push the Teesiders over the top as title contenders) is over following a weekend loss at Coventry. He is the eighth manager to lose his job in the Lancashire and District Senior League after just 11 games, and leaves Michael Beale as the division’s twelfth longest serving boss. We start seeing if that’s going to make any difference to a Boro side that should be one of the best in the league but currently resides in the relegation zone when they host Birmingham on Wednesday. This list will surely to goodness soon include Steve Bruce, who was 2-1 up against Swanselona at home at the weekend and lost 3-2 (with a penalty miss at 2-2 into the bargain), and is presumably only still employed because the Baggies’ cash-strapped owner doesn’t want to pay the compensation out. They’re drawing 0-0 with Preston Knob End tomorrow night — three goals scored and four conceded in 11 games for Ryan Lowe’s thrillseekers so far. Two of the teams still looking for a new gaffer are in action on Wednesday night as well. Sacking their boss on the morning of the match didn’t have the desired effect for Hullspor as they were beaten at home by Lutown on Friday night (What have we learned here? Don’t pour coffee over the computer. Any liquids.) while Rotherham are chasing Exeter’s Matt Taylor having been turned down by Cambridge manager Mark Bonner. Wigan profited from the latter’s situation with a win in South Yorkshire at the weekend, and will hope for more of the same in East Yorkshire tomorrow night. The Millers, meanwhile, host Wawll. Watford got off to a flier under Slaven Bilic — all those overpaid, underperforming starlets suddenly cutting loose after losing Rob Edwards his job — winning 4-0 at Stoke ahead of their home game with Swanselona. Alex Neil’s Potters, meanwhile, lick their wounds with a tough trip to Burnley. Coventry’s victory that got Wilder the push was their first maximum of a disrupted season so far. They’ll try and build on that at Bristol City. There was no new manager bounce for Huddersfield at the weekend, and the manner of the goals they conceded at Reading suggest Mark Fotheringham is going to have all on keeping that lot up. Lutown away doesn’t immediately feel like the sort of fixture you’d want at this point. Reading will have a far tougher task on their hands at home to Norwich. Sunderland v Blackpool and Cardiff v Blackburn round out the midweek fixtures. Referee: James Linington from the Isle of Wight, a very frequent official in our games, is in the middle of this one. Details. FormSheff Utd: It’s been a terrific start to the season for Paul Heckingbottom’s Sheff Utd team, with zero sign of a play-off hangover from last term. Saturday’s disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Birmingham halted a run of four consecutive wins, three of them away, in which they hadn’t conceded a goal. The Blades have kept six clean sheets in 11 league games so far, and only 0-0 draw specialists Preston have conceded fewer than their six goals so far. Birmingham are also the first team to take anything from Bramall Lane to this point, with Millwall, Blackburn, Sunderland and Reading all beaten here already and only one goal being scored against the Blades in the process. Sheff Utd have scored 12 goals in those five home games. They have lost none of their last ten games in the league, have only been beaten once, and haven’t lost since the 1-0 at Watford on the division’s opening night. They are joint top scorers in the Championship with 20 goals, level with Bristol City, with Iliman Ndiaye and Oli McBurnie joint top scorers with five each. McBurnie has five in his last six appearances after none in his prior 24 and one in his previous 47 going back two seasons.
QPR: Leon Balogun’s error for Bristol City’s goal at the weekend hasn’t done much to mask the impact he has made to the team’s defence. It was the first goal conceded in the three games he’s started so far. Rangers have kept two clean sheets in their last three games after none in the first ten this season and two in 28 going back to January. Having conceded nine goals in the first six games, Mick Beale’s team have only conceded three in the last five. That has helped enormously towards results improving from one win in the first six games in all comps to four wins in the last six. Stefan Johansen has scored two goals in the last two away games, having gone 40 matches without a goal at all dating all the way back to Reading away last September. The victory at Bristol City on Saturday was QPR’s third in a row at Ashton Gate, and third from their last four away games following successes at Watford and Millwall. They had won only two of their previous 14 on the road going back to last season, a run that included a 1-0 loss in this fixture at Bramall Lane last year. Rangers have a poor recent record against this opponent and on this ground. They’ve lost their last three visits to Bramall Lane, and haven’t won since the Neil Warnock promotion winning side recorded a 3-0 success at the start of 2010/11. The Blades have won the last five fixtures between the teams, with QPR’s last success coming against Chris Wilder’s Sheff Utd at Loftus Road in October 2017 thanks to an Idrissa Sylla goal. Prediction: We’re once again indebted to The Art of Football for agreeing to sponsor our Prediction League and provide prizes. You can get involved by lodging your prediction here or sample the merch from our sponsor’s QPR collection here. Let’s see what last year’s champion Cheesy thinks this week… “I'm trying to not get too excited. This game is going to tell us a lot about this team.” Cheesy’s Prediction: Sheff Utd 1-1 QPR. Scorer — Ilias Chair LFW’s Prediction: Sheff Utd 1-0 QPR. No scorer. If you enjoy LoftforWords, please consider supporting the site through a subscription to our Patreon or tip us via our PayPal account loftforwords@yahoo.co.uk. Pictures — Action Images The Twitter @loftforwords Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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