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Comment | Smells like ambition – Preview
at 22:00:14
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That Lucas Anderson goal against Preston last season was something special.
I have got so used to the mismatch between what the owners say and what they've been able to accomplish, that I tend to take whatever they say with a pinch of salt. Having said that, it's good to have people like Dunne around who have been with us through thick and thin.
Will we ever get over the curse of possession? Given Preston's terrible start to the season now would seem to be a good time to play them, even with Heckingbottom gone. However, all we can say for certain is that nothing is ever certain with QPR. |
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Comment | At least they won the sack race – Oppo Profile
at 21:33:43
Thanks to Josh.
Preston were the quintessential Championship team, just sitting there in the middle of the table. However, it looks like you can't do that forever. It will be interesting to see if a new manager can get them going. |
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Comment | Good point, bad point - Report
at 13:47:25
Thanks for your report.
Yes we can draw more satisfaction from this game than from the game at Charlton as we created more chances and actually scored (against a better team). Burrell's goal was a strange one: skill from Burrell but also luck in the way it rebounded off the keeper and then off Mepham into the goal.
One thing I have noticed is that these opposition worldies from outside the box are all coming from the same area (our left, the opposition right). Cirkin seems just not in the right position, perhaps expecting the winger in front of him to do the defending. Or perhaps we just need to get out of defence quicker.
Of course it would be good if we could chip in with a worldy or two of our own. Talking of which, I know Vale is very up and down at the moment. I think the problem is that he tries things other players won't try, and sometimes it comes off and sometimes it doesn't, because he hasn't worked out what he can and can't do. Hopefully he can work out what his limitations are now while working on improving what he can do in the long term. |
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Comment | Bring your boots – Preview
at 11:07:14
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The injury problem ought to be systematically studied across the English leagues as it seems to be a general problem. The lack of a winter break is one potential culprit: this is one reason why people think England hasn't done well at World Cups. The physicality of the leagues and non-stop running are probably another factor. Then there is the particular problems that QPR have. One potential culprit last season seemed to be the pitch. Another is buying injured players. And how is it that a player like Chair who was never injured is now so injury-prone? Kevin Gallen made some interesting remarks on the QPR Podcast about how his career was extended by doing pre-season prehabs designed for his hamstring injuries.
It's true West Brom are a bit of a bogey side for us, but then a more open game might suit us more than trying to break down a defensively-minded team like Charlton. |
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Comment | Morrison's Baggies boinging as surprise early league leaders – Oppo Profile
at 10:37:49
Thanks to Matt.
It sounds like West Brom are doing what we have been trying to do to keep costs down - mainly by bringing down the age of the squad. So far this season at least there are some goals in the team: I wonder if Heggebø can increase his goal tally from last season. |
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Comment | The Valley casts familiar shadow over QPR’s bright start – Report
at 10:11:39
Thanks for your report.
For all our talent purring smoothly and retaining the ball in midfield, we lacked the creative players (Chair, Saito, Poku) who could do something unexpected in the opposition box and turn our possession into something effective.
Agree Adamson deserves special mention for handling the in form Campbell. |
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Comment | Too good for you – Preview
at 15:44:07
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I remember seeing video of Adel playing for Tottenham reserves and thinking I had never seen such a contradictory player: able to glide past half the opposition team yet seemingly with no thought of when to pass the ball to a teammate. Warnock did well to bring out his strengths and contain his weaknesses. That ability Taarabt had to shift his weight and turn other player's legs to water was something special. As you point out, we can be thankful for his weaknesses: they brought him to QPR. It's a shame his career never really blossomed after that.
I didn't realise our record as Charlton was quite so bad. As both us and Charlton lost on Saturday it will be interesting to see who recovers best. Tyreece Campbell seems to have come suddenly come good this season...hopefully we can keep him quiet. |
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Comment | Charlton’s surprise start derailed at Stoke – Oppo Profile
at 09:45:32
Thanks to Louis.
It can't be easy to recruit when you are not an established Championship club. Scoring was a problem last season and that was never likely to have been solved by Dykes. I wondered if Kelman might get going at some point, but that hasn't happened either. At least Tyreece Campbell has stepped up this season and helped Charlton get off to a flying start. |
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Comment | Ten Mill Will kills QPR's unbeaten start - Report
at 22:28:49
Thanks for your report Tom.
Overall I didn't feel that Middlesbrough outclassed us the way they did last season, but they still looked stronger than us. For the goal, Smyth's tackle looked weak, and Cirkin looked out of position. Perhaps the only thing Middlesbrough weren't expecting was Charles' passes through the middle into the heart of the Middlesbrough half.
Vale is an enigma. Bouts of poor passing and shots blasted over the bar interspersed with moments of sublime skill.
With Chair and Kone going down in the first half, it's already looking like some of the injury patterns of last season are re-emerging. The only good thing about the result is that it will temper expectations. |
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Comment | A song for the lovers – Preview
at 12:17:46
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Not easy to change traditions, or to create new ones. Yet tinkering with everything is part of our world, something that has become very obvious in football in recent years. As pointed out by a certain German: 'everlasting uncertainty and agitation distinguish the bourgeois epoch from all earlier ones'. Perhaps that's why we cling to traditions, especially in a country that has lost all sense of direction.
Online pile-ons are not a pretty sight, but perhaps we should keep in mind that are just that, and not blow them out of proportion. Anyway, fair point that the club would do well to liase with supporters.
Agree with JB007007 that Middlesbrough are by far 'our toughest test and a good indicator of where we are', particularly as they showed us up twice last season. Can we handle Lankshear who is in red hot form? |
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Comment | Is this Kim Hellberg version of Boro finally the real deal? - Oppo Profile
at 11:38:55
Thanks to Jonny.
That's interesting that while Middlesbrough had almost everything in place to go up last year there were some key flaws that prevented the team getting over the line. It sounds like those flaws have been addressed (mostly).
Seny Dieng to Cyprus? What happened? We had high hopes for him. |
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Comment | Burrell's deadly double downs Welsh dragon - Report
at 11:17:07
Thanks for your report Jamie.
Fortunately we did enough to win, even without taking all our chances. I noticed some of our players (Saito, Vale) leaning back when shooting - inevitably those shots went over the bar.
It's great that Edwards can both win the ball and supply a killer pass. In retrospect that second goal won us the game.
Lamptey looks really, really good. He was literally running rings round his opposite number.
Another key player is Burrell. His pace can turn almost any pass over the top into a good pass, and in this game he did take his chances.
Cardiff were better than expected and showed what they are capable of in flashes. They just looked a bit weak up front. |
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Comment | Have QPR finally cracked this transfer window business? Preview
at 18:42:00
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Well, obviously good if Nourry is actually able to learn from experience, especially if everything goes through him. Things seem to be running much more smoothly, although whether this translates into results remains to be seen.
From the oppo interview it sounds like Cardiff have picked up some momentum during their trip to League One, which has carried over into this season. |
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Comment | Dunne and dusted – Report
at 18:07:51
Thanks for your report.
Even though this turned into a reasonably comfortable win, the strange thing is that we could have lost if Cantwell had taken his many presentable chances.
Special mention for Burrell his assist. He always knows what his next pass is going to be and brings other players into play. Lamptey is also looking good. |
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Comment | Possession can do one? Preview
at 12:32:43
Thanks for your preview.
Talking of innovators, in his 1977 book 'Tackle Soccer' Dave Sexton argues that counter-attacking football is the most effective kind of football, being equivalent to hitting someone when their guard is down in boxing (Sexton's father was a boxer). Whether that rule is universally applicable, or more applicable for underdogs, is another question.
What to do then, in tight games, when nobody wants possession? As you mentioned, one way out is set pieces (although there is the danger that the game becomes mere filler between set pieces). Another way out is players who can break the deadlock against defensive teams with exceptional shots from outside the box (Chery used to do this, Chair and Vale look capable of doing it). Another way out is long balls (if the other team has come forward). I noticed during the World Cup that long balls (which Stéphan seemed to like last season), while not necessarily back in fashion, were definitely a legitimate weapon in a team's arsenal.
A win would be good, but Blackburn have proved so far this season that they are not the write-off that many expected. |
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Comment | Go get the rooster? – Oppo Profile
at 22:30:59
Thanks to Ian.
It all sounds very bleak, but somehow Rovers carry on, and have actually managed to get a couple of decent results already. |
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Comment | A concert six months from now – Report
at 11:10:40
Thanks for your report.
I missed this one, but on the highlights it looked like one-way traffic, and your report confirms that.
Interesting to hear Edwards was MoM. The previous week I thought he didn't look that comfortable trying to win the ball in midfield (and got booked for it). Perhaps this game suited him more if he got more chances to to carry the ball forward.
Hopefully Kone will get into gear once he's got a couple of goals. Has Stéphan given up on the idea of the Kone-Burrell partnership? |
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Comment | Jeepers Creepers – Preview
at 13:15:15
Thanks for your preview.
We got McClaren at the wrong time, when his decline had already begun. A typical Fernandes decision...anything for a big name.
Although QPR never do the expected, another win during this phase of playing clubs that finished at the lower end of the table last season would give us points in the bank for when things get tough.
I still think injuries could have a big impact on our season. I hope the injury to Kemper isn't a sign of things to come. |
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