| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... 16:35 - Jan 28 with 6585 views | fLaMeBoY |
1/ Trying not to be too downbeat but we really were utter garbage today, particularly attacking wise. Stood off Chelsea virtually all game and just watched Chelsea pass the ball around us.
2/ No passion, effort, desire and an overall horrendous lack of quality. We didn’t even look like a plucky League One team, let along a Premiership, as we created nothing — one shot on goal in the 96th minutes aside.
3/ Time and time again we had miss-placed passes, mis-controlling the ball, crap corners, no movement, basic throw-ins cocked up and so on.
4/ SWP played like every bit the right-footed winger asked to play ion the left. Continuously cut inside EVERY time he got the ball and every time lost the ball. SWP QPR career summed up with the last kick of the game when he was just outside the box with no player within 10 yards of him and he hit the half volley into the upper loft.
Mackie was hopeless as ever. Not his fault, he is simply not good enough and shouldn’t be in the team but there is no other option right now.
5/ Kenny is obviously carrying an injury with his goal kicks barely making it to the halfway line putting us continuously on the back foot. He actually signalled to the bench in the first half that he was struggling. I can see a replacement coming in before Wednesday.
6/ Smith up front with Helguson painfully didn’t work. I like Smith but just like last week he should only be used as sub for us to bring on against lower opposition. When he starts games against strong opposition the game simply passes him by.
7/ Macheda is simply turd. How he picks a wage up to be a footballer is beyond me. Sadly as it stands he (and Hulse!) will be starting on Wednesday at Villa. My word.
8/ Three days left in the window and we are pinning our hopes on a 34 year old player to score the goals to keep us up. Helguson is now picking up knocks and legs probably shot to pieces after the efforts of the first half of the season. If we fail to bring in at least one quality striker we really will be in massive trouble.
9/ On the positives we really did look at lot more organised. Defensively again a huge improvement with Chelsea having next to nothing on target — an amazing feat considering Hall and Hill where playing.
10/ Another positive is that is surely the last we will see of Hill and Hall. They did ok today but we all know they are just one good 90 minutes away from a shocker.
[Post edited 1 Jan 1970 1:00]
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| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 16:45 - Jan 28 with 4500 views | HollowayRanger |
sadly 9/10 i agree with even 10/10 really
feel bit bad about number 10 as i feel hill and hall are useful players to have but NOT first team regulars but better then connelly
chelsea pen apart where were they?
need a striker way too many lame ducks here
ageymang bothroyd hulse macheda mackie smithy none good enough up front
campbell is but looks like a matty rose clone
and helgerson held together by stickytape!
need to bring one in my target would be rodallega wants to leave contract up end of season so 4-5 million should be enough for a proven premiership striker who's use to playing in a weak team |  |
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| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 16:53 - Jan 28 with 4471 views | Antti_Heinola |
Agree with most of that Flamer, but I'm not too downhearted because we really only had half a team out there, whereas Chelsea were full strength. Considering that, as you say with point 9, we looked solid and difficult to break down - in fact they never would have broken us down if not for the pen.
Disagree about desire and passion, but perhaps the hype got to the players, although if Anton was nervous following the bullet incident he didn't show it - almost flawless throughout. What a splendid player.
But the lack of quality in their half was utterly painful and totally agree about Macheda.
One mild disagreement, or half a disagreement, is about Hill. Although Taiwo will undoubtedly replace him, I thought Hill had a very fine game today indeed. He's never let us down. Hall, on the other hand, can't head a ball straight to save his life, which is bizarre for a centre back. |  |
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| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 16:55 - Jan 28 with 4451 views | Nov77 |
hill should have conceded a penalty at mk dons, so maybe it was kharma, although not instant! |  |
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| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 16:55 - Jan 28 with 4447 views | DylanP |
We looked completely hopeless. BUT they barely troubled Kenny the whole game. The defense was organized and solid as rock.
Trouble was, the midfield was completely nonexistence. Maybe it was because Barton doubling up as a defender, but there just wasn't anyone there. It was a shocking midfield display. We couldn't hold onto the ball and gave it away constantly.
I would say that SWP was our most dangerous player today. AND he was terrible. He was on the ball all the time. So much went through him and he did well to move the ball forward. But he absolutely could not get the final ball in. Couldn't pass. Couldn't cross. Couldn't shoot.
Disappointing to lose by a bad refereeing decision again. But here is the only silverlining (it aint much but it'll do). It was only the cup and our focus really needs to be staying up. So good riddance! |  |
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| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 16:58 - Jan 28 with 4430 views | BasingstokeR |
From watching Torres today, I'd say Mackie is worth almost £50million though!!! |  | | |
| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 17:07 - Jan 28 with 4379 views | Pey |
agree with most of your observations especially with 5) Kenny not looking fit, think we will se another goalie coming in before 1 of february. |  | | |
| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 17:14 - Jan 28 with 4345 views | eghamranger |
Hughes is a switched on bloke.
Maybe its a good thing that HH is out on wed, will kick his arse to buy someone who has a permit to play. Ok for defenders now and he will know he has to move quick. Think he should play Hulse on wed, why not. Nothing to lose. |  | | |
| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 17:17 - Jan 28 with 4318 views | karlski |
Worrying about Kenny because if he needs replacing that's just more resources going somewhere other than the obvious gaping problem in our side which is centre mid and up front.
Desperately need athleticism and cover in centre mid, buzz and barton are decent but can't and won't play every game between now and the end of the season, all we have as cover is Derry. That's where I'm more worried than up front to be honest. With a midfield of Taarabt/Traore-Barton-Buzz/New midfielder-SWP I think we'll look a lot more creative and threatening, and you'd hope surely one of Macheda/Bothroyd/Campbell will go on some sort of run if they are getting chances, right now the problem isn't so much finishing chances as the absolute lack of creativity. We do have some good players coming back into the side and we do look more organised so definitely not doom and gloom but I really hope we get some midfield cover (Diakite looks like he fits the bill in theory, maybe plus a cheeky loan from somewhere). Going to be interesting to see how/if Taarabt will fit into this system. | | | |
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| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 17:26 - Jan 28 with 4266 views | Neil_SI |
What we did really well today was maintain our focus and concentration that went in hand with the defensive discipline and shape, but when you do that, it's always at the cost of your attacking play.
I said the same for our performance against Wigan, where the focus was all about our defensive shape, and on that occasion, we managed to find pockets of space to take plenty of pop shots from distance. Against better sides, like Chelsea here, that opportunity quickly diminishes and decreases, and this time there was very little chance to shoot from range.
My biggest disappointment was I expected to see some small signs of progress in terms of how we might attack sides, based upon this defensive foundation that Mark Hughes is building. But we didn't really see anything at all, it was the same problem we had against Wigan where we barely got into wide positions, barely crossed the ball, didn't turn the defence around or find through balls to slip strikers in.
Whenever you work on a defence in the way we've done so far, you're going to shore things up at the back and make them less erratic, but at the same time, you're going to reduce the potential you have in attack too, unless you have some really quality players who can produce out of the ordinary (like Adel Taarabt can when he's on his game) to unlock a defence.
It's a transitional phase at the moment, but we need to start moving quickly and we don't appear to have a lot of ideas or quality in forward areas at the moment to make a difference. The clock ticks, but I don't really expect to see big changes ahead of the transfer window closing so I'm not sure how we're going to fare.
My biggest worry is that we're going to turn into a side that's going to compete in a lot of games that end either goalless or 1-0 either way. That's fine, but it also asks a lot from players. When it's all about one goal it affects their mentality more. When it's about scoring that one goal, it becomes a mental test of keeping the other team out, and when you concede, there's a chance that you are resigned to defeat because you believe you can't win, even if you can still get back in it and nick a draw.
Away from that, I thought Chelsea were pretty ordinary overall in terms of their attacking play. They were so one paced and a long way behind the performances of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United against us. |  | | |
| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 17:34 - Jan 28 with 4233 views | parker64 |
| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 17:26 - Jan 28 by Neil_SI |
What we did really well today was maintain our focus and concentration that went in hand with the defensive discipline and shape, but when you do that, it's always at the cost of your attacking play.
I said the same for our performance against Wigan, where the focus was all about our defensive shape, and on that occasion, we managed to find pockets of space to take plenty of pop shots from distance. Against better sides, like Chelsea here, that opportunity quickly diminishes and decreases, and this time there was very little chance to shoot from range.
My biggest disappointment was I expected to see some small signs of progress in terms of how we might attack sides, based upon this defensive foundation that Mark Hughes is building. But we didn't really see anything at all, it was the same problem we had against Wigan where we barely got into wide positions, barely crossed the ball, didn't turn the defence around or find through balls to slip strikers in.
Whenever you work on a defence in the way we've done so far, you're going to shore things up at the back and make them less erratic, but at the same time, you're going to reduce the potential you have in attack too, unless you have some really quality players who can produce out of the ordinary (like Adel Taarabt can when he's on his game) to unlock a defence.
It's a transitional phase at the moment, but we need to start moving quickly and we don't appear to have a lot of ideas or quality in forward areas at the moment to make a difference. The clock ticks, but I don't really expect to see big changes ahead of the transfer window closing so I'm not sure how we're going to fare.
My biggest worry is that we're going to turn into a side that's going to compete in a lot of games that end either goalless or 1-0 either way. That's fine, but it also asks a lot from players. When it's all about one goal it affects their mentality more. When it's about scoring that one goal, it becomes a mental test of keeping the other team out, and when you concede, there's a chance that you are resigned to defeat because you believe you can't win, even if you can still get back in it and nick a draw.
Away from that, I thought Chelsea were pretty ordinary overall in terms of their attacking play. They were so one paced and a long way behind the performances of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United against us. |
I think it's also going to be difficult playing this way every week because alot of the players don't see much of the ball. They're marking men or space all the time. That's hard work. | | | |
| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 17:50 - Jan 28 with 4197 views | Mattnme |
I think some of the comments about our performance have been a bit harsh. People should remember we fielded very much a side of championship players with SWP the only one with real prem experience playing in a creative area of the pitch. Unfortunately for him though, still playing out of position. Hopefully amended with the introduction an reintroduction of Tawoo and Traore.
From our last meeting we were without Faurlin, Traore, Adel and depending on how crocked he was Helguson. Also Ohnouha and Tawoo didn't play. By the time we play wolves at least 4 of those will have more involvement in the 1st team plus I would imagine at least a couple of new signings.
The old adage in football is teams are built from the back. Hughes has addressed this and today chelsea's multi million pound squad didn't trouble us too much. Yes I know in an attacking sense we offered very little but as I say remember the old adage. I've seen enough from Hughes reign so far and with additions to come, to say we are moving in the right direction |  | | |
| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 18:51 - Jan 28 with 4059 views | blavod |
I'm pretty sure in Warnock's last dozen or so games we had conceded an average 2 goals per game, so something had to be done at the back or we were doomed.
Therefore beginning at the back was must for Hughes - now he has to replace Mackie and find a way to get SWP playing so we start creating chances.
Not sure what to do about the forwards as none of them can stay fit and Macheda is a waste of space! |  | | |
| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 19:18 - Jan 28 with 3972 views | ingeminate |
my observations
Tommy Smith had a decent first half, composed and willing to go past players - didn't look at all out of place
Defensively significant improvement, v well organised
Barton did OK as did Buz but they never run past our forwards so we struggle to catch teams out
We really missed Traore and the burst of pace he gives us down the left
SWP needs to be taken in a room and told that unless he takes on his man goes down to the by line and looks to cross the ball he will be subbed, scratch that doesn't need to be in a room, wherever -he has the ability but his head is done for at the moment
Macheda has yet to demonstrate what he is good at, I'm losing hope a bit with him
Hulse was decent, won a fair bit of ball and looked much sharper than before
The fellow in the upper loft who went on the gantry turned up in The Green two hours later and was eventually thrown up for being battered, but he did well to get served at all
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| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 19:21 - Jan 28 with 3957 views | BasingstokeR |
This...
"SWP needs to be taken in a room and told that unless he takes on his man goes down to the by line and looks to cross the ball he will be subbed, scratch that doesn't need to be in a room, wherever -he has the ability but his head is done for at the moment " | | | |
| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 19:23 - Jan 28 with 3944 views | wittle |
| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 19:21 - Jan 28 by BasingstokeR |
This...
"SWP needs to be taken in a room and told that unless he takes on his man goes down to the by line and looks to cross the ball he will be subbed, scratch that doesn't need to be in a room, wherever -he has the ability but his head is done for at the moment " |
he needs to be told to play on the right | | | |
| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 19:36 - Jan 28 with 3891 views | richranger |
Was totally fed up and dejected about our performance right after the game - but calmed down a bit now.. :>)
Defensively - we were a lot better organised than usual, and apart from the VERY dodgy pen the Scum didn't really look like scoring.
We had a lot of players out - especially forwards - and HH going off at half time didn't help. A pleasant surprise was Rob Hulse, who looked fitter and more up for it than at any time during his QPR career. Mecheda, though, is a waste of space. Can we send him back to Manchester?
Surely with all the forwards out we should have played 4-5-1 today??
Was surprised Buzz played as hadn't trained all week - hope he's OK for Wednesday.
Why did Barton take all the set pieces?? Buzz did far better with them against Wigan.
The team for Wednesday will be interesting. I would expect the two new guys to make their debuts - I guess Onuoha in the middle and Taiwo on the left. Traore could be back from Africa so I guess could play left midfield with SWP on right. Who plays up front is anybody's guess! HH seems to be out, and with DJ, and Jay both injured, that leaves Hulse and AN other (not Mecheda, please!)
Then again - could have a couple more new signings in - I hope so! | | | |
| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 19:42 - Jan 28 with 3871 views | stansleftfoot |
| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 19:18 - Jan 28 by ingeminate |
my observations
Tommy Smith had a decent first half, composed and willing to go past players - didn't look at all out of place
Defensively significant improvement, v well organised
Barton did OK as did Buz but they never run past our forwards so we struggle to catch teams out
We really missed Traore and the burst of pace he gives us down the left
SWP needs to be taken in a room and told that unless he takes on his man goes down to the by line and looks to cross the ball he will be subbed, scratch that doesn't need to be in a room, wherever -he has the ability but his head is done for at the moment
Macheda has yet to demonstrate what he is good at, I'm losing hope a bit with him
Hulse was decent, won a fair bit of ball and looked much sharper than before
The fellow in the upper loft who went on the gantry turned up in The Green two hours later and was eventually thrown up for being battered, but he did well to get served at all
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Tommy Smith can't rely on his pace so he uses his loaf, he has a look all around him before he receives the pass, his head is always up, he's playing chess and its a pleasure to watch. Look at his goal against Wigan he looks left, right, behind, before receiving and as he receives the ball....heads up.
SWP is and always has been in that group of Routledge, Lennon and Shaun W P. I believe he is the least improved over the last ten years.
How many times do you have to fail to turn inside an player and lose the ball before you need another strategy. Not 22 games, Shaun, Knock it and go past without the ball and receive again....
No wonder the defence goes long 'cos they get fed up of getting the ball back in their face so quickly. Get him on that right wing when Traore comes back and we'll see two good wingers and lots of chances....
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| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 19:45 - Jan 28 with 3860 views | N12Hoop |
Lots of doom and gloom but a few short weeks ago we were being torn apart by all and sundry. Firstly, even with Hall and Hill we were very solid and crosses weren't raining in on Kenny as they have been. Hughes has not had long but he is making an impact. What he can't do however is turn ave players into quality that quickly. A 12.00 kick off coupled with all the hype meant it was never going to be a classic but I thought Ferdinand was outstanding and that we can take some pride in the fact that Chelsea only really had a couple of chances. Ultimately they had 11 players who cost a combined fortune and the gulf in quality was clear: their control and first touch was a different class. And Luiz was unrecognisable from the clown we saw last year. Although we offered little going forward you have to start from the back and we are a better team then we were a few weeks back. Add Traore, Taiwoo, onuaha, maybe adel and 1 or 2 other signings and I'm still feeling optimistic that we can avoid the drop and push on from there. |  |
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| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 19:45 - Jan 28 with 3860 views | wittle |
dont feel to bad about our performance today,we lost to a shocking decision and i couldnt see them scoring any other way.You only have to look at our team sheet to see we are punching well above our weight,we looked solid today and once we add a bit more quality in the forward areas we should be ok. | | | |
| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 22:54 - Jan 28 with 3649 views | VancouverHoop |
Don't know who they were but the commentators on the TV feed here (Eurosport's?) gave us a real drubbing throughout the second half. Lack of passion, inability to keep the ball, reckoned we need about nine new players, thought the support was magnificent and deserved better from the players.
I could see their point, we did look poor, but we were poor with a purpose. When that purpose translates into results then confidence will grow and we'll start to look better. I thought bringing on Hulse was a good move, Hughes needs to see everyone he's got in a game situation. I wouldn't be surprised if Ephraim gets a look in on Wednesday. A couple of things: I agree with comments on SWP, has to play on the right, has to take people on. Second, what is Barton's role exactly? Right now I see a journeyman midfielder who's trying to do more than he's capable of. He can't control play, he gives the ball away too often and his free kicks and corners are hopeless. As long as Buzsaky's on the pitch why isn't he taking them? It's his strength as we saw last week. | | | |
| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 23:14 - Jan 28 with 3618 views | Ranger78 |
| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 19:23 - Jan 28 by wittle |
he needs to be told to play on the right |
Agreed.
SWP is taking some serious stick and he obviously hasn't set the place on fire but I'll reserve my judgement until he plays in his natural position.
It seems mental that someone who has 30+ England caps playing on the right wing, never gets picked there for his club |  | | |
| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 23:34 - Jan 28 with 3588 views | MelakaRanger |
| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 23:14 - Jan 28 by Ranger78 |
Agreed.
SWP is taking some serious stick and he obviously hasn't set the place on fire but I'll reserve my judgement until he plays in his natural position.
It seems mental that someone who has 30+ England caps playing on the right wing, never gets picked there for his club |
I agree with every point.
We took 97 minutes to threaten their goal. Our attack was non existant, We constantly gave the ball back to Chelsea. It was just wave upon wave of Chelsea coming at us. YET it took a dive to win them a penalty and their goal. Other than that, for all their 70%+ posession they threatened very little. So maybe Chelsea were actually the worst team on the pitch!
If only we had a couple (or even one) of Premiership quality goalscorers!
This is another game where if we had only scored just 1 goal we would have got something out of it.
Its not our defense that will get us relegated - its the total lack of any attacking quality. This must be fixed in the next 3 days or else we are doomed. |  | | |
| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 00:22 - Jan 29 with 3543 views | karlski |
'Second, what is Barton's role exactly? Right now I see a journeyman midfielder who's trying to do more than he's capable of. He can't control play, he gives the ball away too often and his free kicks and corners are hopeless. As long as Buzsaky's on the pitch why isn't he taking them? It's his strength as we saw last week'
Agree with that completely VancouverHoop. My expectations on signing him were an all-action midfielder, but that's not what he is at all, as any Newcastle fan will tell you (I just didn't listen as I was excited at the coup of his signature!).
He thinks he is a lot better than he is. He has almost no creativity apart from being able to whip a decent ball in on occasion, and he doesn't get the chance to do that much in open play from centre mid while his set pieces are not consistent enough. If this Diakite chap we are rumoured to be in for is any good I'd actually put him in as the defensive type alongside Buzsaky and drop Barton to be honest. Doesn't appear to be a great leader on the pitch either. I appreciate that he has a good attitude to training and applaud his professionalism in that sense, but that can only get you so far. Not saying he's terrible and he can be excellent on the day which is a step up from what we've had in the past, but he doesn't have the passing game to be a creative force or Faurlin type metronome, doesn't have the energy or desire to be box-to-box, and isn't physical or athletic enough to be a defensive destroyer. He's just an average mish-mash of all of those things. | | | |
| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 00:37 - Jan 29 with 3524 views | ade_qpr |
| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 17:26 - Jan 28 by Neil_SI |
What we did really well today was maintain our focus and concentration that went in hand with the defensive discipline and shape, but when you do that, it's always at the cost of your attacking play.
I said the same for our performance against Wigan, where the focus was all about our defensive shape, and on that occasion, we managed to find pockets of space to take plenty of pop shots from distance. Against better sides, like Chelsea here, that opportunity quickly diminishes and decreases, and this time there was very little chance to shoot from range.
My biggest disappointment was I expected to see some small signs of progress in terms of how we might attack sides, based upon this defensive foundation that Mark Hughes is building. But we didn't really see anything at all, it was the same problem we had against Wigan where we barely got into wide positions, barely crossed the ball, didn't turn the defence around or find through balls to slip strikers in.
Whenever you work on a defence in the way we've done so far, you're going to shore things up at the back and make them less erratic, but at the same time, you're going to reduce the potential you have in attack too, unless you have some really quality players who can produce out of the ordinary (like Adel Taarabt can when he's on his game) to unlock a defence.
It's a transitional phase at the moment, but we need to start moving quickly and we don't appear to have a lot of ideas or quality in forward areas at the moment to make a difference. The clock ticks, but I don't really expect to see big changes ahead of the transfer window closing so I'm not sure how we're going to fare.
My biggest worry is that we're going to turn into a side that's going to compete in a lot of games that end either goalless or 1-0 either way. That's fine, but it also asks a lot from players. When it's all about one goal it affects their mentality more. When it's about scoring that one goal, it becomes a mental test of keeping the other team out, and when you concede, there's a chance that you are resigned to defeat because you believe you can't win, even if you can still get back in it and nick a draw.
Away from that, I thought Chelsea were pretty ordinary overall in terms of their attacking play. They were so one paced and a long way behind the performances of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United against us. |
agree with that Neil, but will it change if Traore on LM and SWP on RM both have the pace and ability to track back to help def and go forward out wide and cross, so improve us both ways. |  |
| If a turtle doesn't have a shell, is he homeless or naked? |
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| Just got back, a few thoughts/observations.... on 06:18 - Jan 29 with 3453 views | timcocking |
Unfortunately, i have to agree.
I don't understand how we can play so well (Man City, Wolves away etc.) 1 week and look like England in South Africa the next week! |  | | |
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