Originally posted by Smarkets View Post
Love your country though we’re sure you do, there is something anticlimactic about the first international break when it interrupts league football so soon into the season.

A lot, of course, depends on how your team is fairing in the qualifiers. As England had already secured their place at the finals, courtesy of the only 100% record left in qualifying, there was little to get excited about during routine wins against San Marino and Switzerland.

In the league if a team has started poorly, international fixtures can do some good and give everyone a chance to regroup and sort out problems. But with QPR on a run of 3 league wins, and many players then away with their national teams, there is a sense that the break could hinder progress. Combine that with an uncertain transfer window, which thankfully closed with no major loses, and I'm sure most fans are now happy to have focus return to the league and pressing on for promotion.

On that subject, QPR have steamed into 11.5 to win the league having traded at at 26.0 a matter of a fortnight ago. In part that price correction is due to a strong run of results (that saw Chris Ramsey nominated for the August manager of the month award), but also reflects keeping players like Austin and Philips until at least January.

Next up for the Hoops will be a Forest side who were tipped by some as a surprise package for the season. Poor results haven't backed that assessment up so far, but they have been busy in the transfer window. Whether they can gel the new players, and work without the likes of Michail Antonio (who moved to West Ham), will be tested on Saturday.

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