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Comment | QPR seek home comforts after Norwich slip – Preview
at 22:04:45
Thanks for your preview.
I am not quite sure what has brought on these reflections about the pro- and anti-Nourry groups? Was it the Furlong decision? In that discussion it was pretty obvious where most of the experienced and trusted posters stood. I don't think you have anything to be defensive about.
I think it's dawning on everybody after the early season optimism that we are in exactly the same place we usually are (and behind where we were when we got rid of Warburton). One thing I am sceptical about is people saying in grave tones that Stéphan was brought in to deal with three-game weeks. What does that mean exactly? Does it mean that if we say in grave tones that he was brought in to win the Champions League then we will win the Champions League?
Anyway, West Brom seem to be in a very similar situation to us (not scoring many and a shaky defence) so this has the potential to be an even game, with the spoils going to whichever attack can rise to the occasion and deliver. |
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Comment | A tricky start to life in the hot seat for West Brom’s rookie boss – Oppo Profile
at 19:35:36
Thanks to Matt.
West Brom's up and down season sounds remarkably like ours. Perhaps that's why they are just above us in the table.
'Unfortunately, we have been unable to outscore opponents in most games either, with only 20 goals scored'. Again similar to QPR, with 22 goals scored. In fact there aren't many high-scoring teams in the division with the notable exception of Coventry. Millwall are sitting 3rd in the table with just 22 goals and a negative goal difference. |
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Comment | That Swindon Town match report again – Report
at 22:35:47
Thanks for your report.
We looked sluggish. You have described all our shortcomings, and the reasons behind them. We looked incapable of stepping up a gear, even when Burrell brought the game back to 1-1. At that point I noticed that Norwich were playing well (better than us anyway), and the tide turned against us.
Madsen's miss. With his technique you would have hoped for something better, and it might have turned the game in our favour (although Norwich had more missed chances than us).
We looked weak in midfield and defence and unconvincing in attack. I keep on saying it, but despite our problems elsewhere I feel the key to our reviving our season is reviving our attack. What's happened to Kone? |
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Comment | Not that Swindon Town match preview again - Preview
at 14:38:28
Thanks for your preview.
Ainsworth aged by the day. The great gift of Warnock was managing (perhaps even relishing) the madness. It remains to be seen how Stéphan rides the tiger.
As for Norwich, the 'oppo in crisis' omens (striker not scoring etc.) are so good they are bad, if you know what I mean. |
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Comment | Six adrift, no home win, fan revolt, Norwich bin fire well ablaze – Oppo Focus
at 13:47:32
Thanks to Phil and Connor.
Interesting that both fans think the rot started prior to Ben Knapper.
On the pitch it sounds like too many similar players have been brought in in one go, not allowing for a slower integration with experienced Championship players, and too many star players have been sold.
Off the pitch, it sounds like the club have seriously blundered and alienated the fans at exactly the wrong time.
Whether any of this helps us remains to be seen. |
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Comment | Giving with one hand, taking away with another – Preview
at 19:29:59
Thanks for your preview.
Furlong. One wonders if this is the move of a French monarch to get rid of anyone suspected of loyalty to the ancien régime, or a Trumpian move to get rid of anyone vaguely competent, or both.
I was relieved that we have started scoring again after a mini-drought that had been going on for a few weeks. If Kone could get a goal that would end the doubts about Kone that seem to have started. I know Blackburn have injuries, but their form has been good. |
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Comment | Blackburn’s magical mystery ride under Venky’s continues apace – Oppo Profile
at 22:45:15
Thanks to Ian.
The fact that Eustace left to join a team much lower down the table showed something was very wrong at Blackburn.
'Venky’s apologists'...I never imagined there could be such a thing.
Despite everything Blackburn are one of the form teams in the division, with four wins in the last six games. |
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Comment | Burning bright – Preview
at 22:08:38
Thanks for your preview.
My main concern at the moment is that the goals have dried up. That's why we are sinking down the table. Earlier in the season it looked like that wasn't going to be a problem with Burrell and Kone to rely on.
The Second Tier Podcast lads reckon Hull are the most entertaining team in the division as they both score and concede a lot of goals. An open game might suit us if it can get scoring again. |
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Comment | Clash of the titans – Preview
at 13:41:04
Thanks for your preview.
Yes, we are very forgettable at the moment (except for our lapses in defence). For a while it looked like we had at least solved our scoring problem, and now that has come back to haunt us. This means when the opposition scores it feels like the game is over (and it probably is).
This is third 'oppo in crisis' team we have encountered this week, and we haven't done well so far. In fact we seem to be developing a little crisis of our own. Are we back to never winning the ones we're supposed to win? |
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Comment | QPR continue to slide as Saints set off on new march – Report
at 12:32:05
Thanks for your report.
As others have said, there is something so frustrating, unconvincing and ponderous about our play, especially when you get the feeling that none of our attacks is going to lead to a goal. It means when the opposition scores first the game is pretty much over (an early opposition goal is a complete hammer blow).
Watching Southampton's first goal I don't think it was quite as bad as it looked first time, the ball came at Mbengue unexpectedly, even if he did make a mess of controlling it.
Burrell chance in the first half was a good one. A more experienced striker would have hit it first time. His goal in the second half was excellent: something out of nothing and at least it gives us a positive to cling to. |
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Comment | The mother and father of all hangovers – Oppo Profile
at 14:54:36
Thanks to Oli.
Sounds like a nightmare, and completely unexpected given last season's results (until right at the end of the season). It was a mistake to get rid of Wilder, and now he's been left with a weakened team. Having said that surely Wilder can keep them up if anyone can? |
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Comment | Turn and face the strange – Preview
at 13:31:33
Thanks for your preview.
If Southampton have watched our game against Ipswich they will have told their players to flop down around our box at every opportunity to get free kicks.
Despite their indifferent form they do have players who have given us trouble over the years, such as Adam Armstrong and Ryan Manning.
Let's hope their xG-based renaissance/no manager bounce doesn't begin tonight. |
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Comment | Town’s four-star Halloween fright night leaves Rangers reeling – Report
at 13:58:44
Thanks for your report, which I am sure was not easy to write (or the game to watch).
I missed the game, but here are my thoughts from watching the extended highlights.
Those free kicks really made us look like mugs. So, so naive.
Esquerdinha. For the first goal, although Egeli went past him like he wasn't there, Esquerdinha did at least try and keep pace with him (so it wasn't one of those situations where Esquerdinha was nowhere to be seen).
Hayden. Although he gave the free kick away for the second Ipswich goal, he did make the cross-field pass to Chair that led to our goal.
Nardi. I think the first free kick is on him as he steps the wrong way when the free kick is taken and can't get back in time. I am not sure about the second one as the wall was too small to do its job. Presumably we assumed that the free quick would be floated into the area for a header, so the wall didn't matter that much. All very embarrassing, particularly as Nardi's strength is as a shot stopper.
Let's hope Stéphan has some new ideas, because at the moment we are looking very, very vulnerable. |
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Comment | Back to the future - Preview
at 13:49:57
Thanks for your preview.
So this possession stat means that we lose to the teams we should beat, and we beat the teams we should lose to? Anyway, it's good that the sides relegated from the Premier League are not having everything their own way.
One thing that I do notice is that a lot of teams are playing long balls over the top. That's how Millwall beat Leicester and opened the scoring against us.
A lot will depend on which Ipswich turns up, and whether we can find a way of supplying our strikers. |
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Comment | Are McKenna’s Ipswich stuttering, or hitting their straps? Oppo Focus
at 13:15:55
Thanks to Phil.
I agree that it's too early to say how Ipswich's season will pan out. In recent years the accepted wisdom has been that the teams relegated from the Premier League will automatically go back up, but we are seeing that it's not as simple as that (the most extreme case being Luton last season). |
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Comment | Ramshackled R’s end three-game week on a bum note at Derby – Report
at 12:25:30
Thanks for your report.
We were short of ideas and couldn't seem to raise our energy to get back into the game, even though we had plenty of time after Derby scored early on. As you point out, it was Derby that had the better chances thereafter. There aren't many positives to cling to, although at least Chair gave us a bit more control of the game. |
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Comment | The Eustace enigma – Preview
at 12:54:33
Thanks for your preview.
I wonder what might have been if we had appointed Eustace? Presumably nothing like the ups and downs we actually did have. As you point out he got two perennially crisis-stricken teams (Birmingham and Blackburn) into the top six, so it made sense to assume that he would do well at Derby this season.
The strange thing mentioned in the oppo profile is that Eustace wanted to play all four of his strikers at the same time against Oxford (too many toys?). The question is: was Derby's midweek result against Norwich a blip, or the sign of Eustace stabilising things?
At least with Kone and Burrell we have some firepower of our own. |
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Comment | Derby's big summer overhaul gives way to stuttering start - Oppo Profile
at 12:01:19
Thanks to Ollie.
Interesting. It makes you wonder who the real Eustace is. He had to fight for survival last season, and now wants to play all his strikers at once. Perhaps the real Eustace will only be revealed over time (if he gets another season at Derby).
Eustace's attachment to Sanderson seems strange...we all lost faith in Sanderson pretty quickly when he was here, and then he got relegated with Birmingham. |
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