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Reply | SKY stat from last night
at 10:06 24 Oct 2024
I would say this has more to do with the type of shots we're having rather than a broad 'unlucky' brush. We missed a couple of great chances against Portsmouth but other than that have really struggled to create clear cut chances all season. THe vast majority of our shots (I'd imagine) are from outside of the box when the opposition has 6 defenders between the ball and goal.
We've found it almost impossible to stretch the opposition, we rarely counter, we haven't played many balls into space ahead of attackers. The vast majority of out attacks are slow, deliberate and in front of a structured and organised defensive shape.
That pretty much is QPR right now.
That also probably aids our poor defending, because we end up with 10 players in the opposition half so often, moving the ball so slowly, across the lines rather than through and between them which leaves a huge space behind us and we end up defending as individuals desperately throwing themselves into tackles as we're attacked at pace.
It also probably partly explains why Celar has looked so weak. He's basically never had the ball in the box in any sort of space.
I was pretty delighted with Varane's performance on Tuesday as he played 3 or 4 very simple yet clever balls between the lines. One a simple header that set Chair or Saito free down the left. One excellent pass to Smyth between the centre half and the right back. This for me is exactly what we've been missing. He was decent off the ball on Tuesday but showed flashes of brilliance on it. If he can keep that up I think he could become a very important player for us. It was also really, really nice to see him embracing Morgan at the end. My opinion on Varane is rapidly changing for the better. [Post edited 24 Oct 10:08]
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Reply | It's all a bit meh isn't it?
at 16:25 21 Oct 2024
In the last 10 years, since we were relegated, of all the teams that have appeared in the Championship at any point, only Rotherham fans have seen their team lose more games than QPR. We've lost 194 football league games in that spell. That's 44% of our games.
In those 10 years, entirely in the Championship, our goal difference is -96. We've finished in the top 10 once, the bottom 14 nine times. We've finished in the top half three times, bottom half seven times. We've had a positive goal difference twice (+1 in 2022 and +2 in 2021).
I know there have been teams that have had a lower floor than us over those ten years (Portsmouth a good example coincidentally) but we really have had nothing exciting happen. Nothing to celebrate. Nothing to remember. A cup run? Yeah... good one.
It's hardly surprising a malaise has set in. Of all the things QPR has done well off the pitch, in the community, with fans, with the training ground... as fans we've been offered essentially nothing on the pitch other than a couple of seasons where relegation hasn't been a threat. That's what has constituted success around here for a decade.
It's perfectly natural to be fatigued by it. We've essentially been abject for a quarter of my life. To be honest I kind of feel these owners get away a little lightly for fear of an even worse owner. How much longer can it carry on? And what hope do we have that we'll see a resurgence if we do go down? There hasn't been a winning culture here for so long. It's easy to see us turning more into a Charlton than an Ipswich, that's for sure.
Sorry - but it really isn't my fault! [Post edited 21 Oct 16:26]
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Reply | Tomorrow's referee
at 15:02 21 Oct 2024
Referee - James Bell (Sheffield) 3 This could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Much like the one we have with Keith Stroud. Bell. End. End. Of.
Oh goody. |
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Reply | Are you Madsen?
at 12:29 21 Oct 2024
Morgan felt like a breath of fresh air for the last 20 minutes purely because he was actually willing. He was willing to receive the ball and pass it forwards, beyond the Portsmouth defence.
He never quite got it right or anything but the very fact he trusted his touch and vision and got on with playing football by trying to create openings feels like a bit of a revelation for a QPR midfielder. He really showed a lot of players up for their lack of bottle for me in just a 20 minute cameo.
Field has worked and played himself proud for a few seasons now but I think we all know he'll never be a penetrative passer, nor be wildly comfortable facing his own goal while being closed down.
The fact that an 18 year old lad that's only been here a few months and was signed for the development squad is looking like our most (possibly only) progressive midfield player tells you everything you need to know about how this squad has been assembled.
I honestly don't think the club had any idea what it was signing in Madsen and possibly Varane as well... Although he has at least shown the odd flash of competence.
I'd be very tempted to risk starting Morgan tomorrow night. A) because I'm not sure what he could do to be less effective than Madsen and B) because he's arguably the only player all season that's shown he's willing to take responsibility and actually try to create something. We're managing to lose every game anyway... you might as well risk donating the middle of the pitch to the opposition AGAIN for the gain of the potential of the odd pragmatic, clever forward pass.
What a state. Unbelievable. |
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Reply | Gallen Speaks
at 23:37 18 Oct 2024
Super. I’m just giving you my opinion too. You love opinions after all. |
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Reply | Gallen Speaks
at 19:10 18 Oct 2024
Yes, I do read. But after almost every one of your posts I find myself wishing I couldn’t. Congrats. |
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Reply | Colback
at 15:16 18 Oct 2024
Blimey another few weeks of him not playing. He'll be seen as the Ginger Zidane by then. |
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Reply | GEORGE GRISTWOOD RIP
at 15:14 18 Oct 2024
Rest easy George and thank you for your help in making this club so wonderful. |
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Reply | Gallen Speaks
at 15:11 18 Oct 2024
Oh now Andy Sinton is being thrown onto your 'I hate everyone that has anything to do with QPR, no matter what they do' bandwagon?
At least that helps remove any last little doubt as to the validity of your opinions I guess. Cheers. [Post edited 18 Oct 15:11]
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Reply | Things about Rangers over the ages that make you smile!
at 10:07 14 Oct 2024
I watched a big match revisited over the weekend between Man City and Ipswich from 1982. Kevin Bond scored a fabulous equaliser for Man City. Anyway I found myself counting the number of red cards that would be issued today and got to about 7. Some of them went completely unpunished, the players just got on with it and they carried on playing football. It was glorious to watch.
As it happens Trevor Francis did get sent off for head butting someone just before half time but that's what red cards used to be reserved for.
Watching footballers get tackled without writhing about in faux agony felt completely alien. It's become such a strange sport. [Post edited 14 Oct 10:08]
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Reply | First NFL Game
at 10:00 14 Oct 2024
I went out to the US to watch my team in a home game for the first time a couple of years ago and it completely blew me away. The noise and atmosphere and tension was completely electric. I honestly thought i was going to feint after one third down sack I was screaming so hard and could literally feel adrenaline pounding through my veins.
By comparison the UK games are absolutely awful. I'm amazed they still sell so well. The atmosphere is so neutral and exhibition-like it completely sucks the joy out of the game. You just settle in awaiting a crucial third-down snap and some prick taps you on the shoulder trying to get past to get to the bar. Unbearable. They need to find a way to segregate actual fans of the specific teams into dedicated sections for me as the entire point of going to see your team is completely lost at those games at the moment. |
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Reply | Hoopsa Interviews Isaac Hayden
at 14:08 10 Oct 2024
His point was Hayden is too old and goes against what Nourry is trying to do - Acquire players with resale value.
Signing other clubs' youngsters on loan, giving them game time, helping them develop before sending them back is no closer to that model than signing a 29 year midfielder. [Post edited 10 Oct 14:14]
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Reply | Hoopsa Interviews Isaac Hayden
at 13:19 10 Oct 2024
But Ashby is on loan with no resale value to us anyway. So his and Hayden’s ages are irrelevant. |
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Reply | Hoopsa Interviews Isaac Hayden
at 11:30 10 Oct 2024
I was almost following... Then the Hogan tweet completely baffled me.
"It a work when you work a work and work yourself into a shoot, marks."
I can't even begin to comprehend that sentence! |
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Reply | Kolli
at 13:16 7 Oct 2024
There was a direct question about the DoF role at the FF. Nourry answered it by saying I'm here now so we don't need one - in his speak. |
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Reply | Kolli
at 13:11 7 Oct 2024
Not sure I quite see the fascination with this guy. He's done next to nothing right or wrong in a Rangers shirt yet gets a crazy amount of air time.
Nourry's response at the FF was clearly cryptic. Along the lines of 'he knows what he needs to do to get in the first team' and whatever that is he clearly hasn't been willing to do it. Anyway I can't see his presence making any difference to our current plight whatsoever. |
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Reply | Calendar
at 12:21 7 Oct 2024
The worrying thing for me is we seem to have gone back to that horrible, grueling, slow build up with the ball, playing in front of 11 players that we've allowed to get into their desired shape. We so often slow the game down when the GK has it rather than quickly getting the ball ahead of opposition's committed attackers.
Saito and Dembele almost always have the balled played to their feet, often with their backs to goal. We need to get the ball ahead of these players to get them sprinting at defences.
This feels like it's been a problem with little let up for years. Literally. It was a plague that seemed to settle in during Warburton's last six months and we've really struggled to change it outside of a few brighter spots of form across several different managers. Given the starting XI bears almost no resemblance to when it started I can't figure out why it's still happening. It can't be by design surely?
We have pace in the team now and an abundance of ball players... In fact that's about all we have. So why do we always seem to be so slow, deliberate and risk averse when it comes to moving the ball forward? The only thing I can put it down to is confidence. Ironically teams this season have found it devastatingly easy to attack us in ways we're incapable of attacking them. There's always space, they're always running at us, we're always back pedalling. I'm so sick of it, it's awful and so frustrating to watch. |
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Reply | Signings & The DOF
at 09:59 7 Oct 2024
It's actually what we've clambered for on the whole for some time... The opposite to 'what the manager wants, the manager gets' that leaves you with Leon Balogun playing for Gareth Ainsworth 6 months later.
Without wanting to witch hunt though, as I'm sure the data-driven approach to recruitment has a lot of nuance... The one constant in that approach to recruitment has been Andy Belk and his model appears to have identified the likes of Ariel Borysiuk, Yeni Ngbakoto, Pawel Wszolek, David Wheeler, Idrissa Sylla, Seb Polter, George Thomas, Toni Leistner, Andre Dozzell, Charlie Kelman, Taylor Richards, Ziyad Larkeche, Reggie Cannon and now Varane, Madsen and Celar.
At what point do you chalk this up to the right idea but poor execution? We're getting even further into bed with this model, even going so far as to completely build our strategy around it? If so, our ability to identify good investments that offer a good product and a financial return is completely paramount.
In fairness it's also presumably brought us Dickie, Dembele, Chery, BOS, Willock, Field, Paal and Nardi but that strike rate, along with quite how wide some of the misses on that list were is very worrying.
If we'd have handed over the keys to Belk 4/5 years ago and not signed the gap-filling - presumably manager-led - signings such as Barbet, Begovic, Andersen, Colback, Cook, Johansen, Austin etc. not to mention the Eze and Chair lightning strikes we surely would have been relegated by now. |
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Reply | I know we're only just into October, but . . .
at 08:50 4 Oct 2024
The thing that always amazes me about your posts and reactions is your eager willingness to slag off absolutely anything and everything about QPR given even the slightest decimal of a chance, excusing the behaviour simply by labelling the tedious repetitive tripe as opinions.
Then, when someone offers an opinion on your provocations (as Nump has rightly labeled them), you immediately lash out quite aggressively, trying to belittle anyone that offers a counter opinion to yours.
So which is it? Are opinions allowed and encouraged here as posting them is better than the MB being bland and boring? Or should we suppress them? Whatever choice you make also applies to people being able to offer their opinion on your opinions, which often seems to offend you. You're basically a walking, talking, QPR loathing contradiction. Hardly surprising people tend to cast a little shade in your direction is it?
That's just my opinion by the way. |
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Reply | When are JCS and Colback back?
at 14:43 3 Oct 2024
Oh good, this again.
As he was still registered at Newcastle when the transfer deadline passed, Hayden is ineligible to play for a club in England until January, whether he's released by Newcastle or not. Forget about him until the New Year at least. |
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