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Apologies that this is a little later than I would have hoped for. But having not even arrived back on the island until 2am last night (added to the fact I don't have access to a car at the moment), it meant I got home even later than I had planned. Having to be up for work first thing this morning didn't help either, but for anyone interested here is a brief summary of how I saw yesterdays game against Sheffield United.
I'll confess that when I actually left home to travel to Loftus Road, it was the least excited that I have been about a QPR game for an awfully long time. The buzz of watching QPR has all but vanished for me since the arrival of Paul Hart, and the dire football that we have been served up thus far. Looking in the club shop before the game, and the slightly cringe-worthy sentence of "If Chelsea were playing in my back garden I would close the curtains" being stamped across shirts was something that I wouldn't only apply to one club in West London, such was my bitterness at recent performances/events at the club.
But when we actually got into the ground and into our seats, that familiar rush of adrenaline came straight back... Its something to do with those floodlights I'm sure of it!
Despite the look of a sparsely populated Loftus Road, suddenly my thoughts of not really being bothered about the outcome changed into being desperate for an FA cup win... Even though the thought of slogging upto Bolton in the next round wasn't something that I was particularly keen on doing.
This might be in contrast to what other people felt about the game, but I thought for the opening 20 minutes or so we looked absolutely superb. It was nice seeing QPR actually looking to try and play football again, and a monumental improvement on recent performances. We could have taken the lead a number of times in the opening few minutes. Faurlin played a marvelous ball through to the feet of Simpson, but he seemed to get the ball trapped under his feet and his tame effort spun wide of the post. Agyemang also had a brilliant chance to at very least test the keeper, but again he took too long and the chance came and went. There was a goal line scrap that looked destined to find it's way into the back of the net. Gorkss had a header cleared off from under the bar. Buzsaky saw a volley fly just wide of the post.
Then in typical Ranger's fashion, after complete dominance of the first quarter of the game, the opposition go and score with their very first attempt on goal. I haven't seen the replay's of any goal as yet, but it was clear to see that it was again a very sloppy one to concede. To have the time to shoot unopposed from the angle that Williams did was unbelievable, and I also felt Cerny should have done much better. With the shot being from such a tight angle (and not being struck particularly well), I felt at very least he should have got something on it. But I have felt and said for a long time that Cerny is slowly turning into a liability, and sad to say it got an awful lot worse for him as the game went on.
In truth, the Sheffield United goal was a real kick in the teeth, and the players heads did drop and from here on in. Despite Ched Evans looking morbidly offside, we were perhaps fortunate to not have been 2 goals down a matter of minutes later. As Evans broke from just outside the box, he approach on goal and crashed the crossbar with only Cerny to beat.
As the referee blew time on the first half, despite being pretty disappointed at not being at very least 2 goals to the good, I can't say I was anywhere near as angry with the players/Paul Hart as I have been prior to this game. For probably the first time since Hart has taken over I was actually enjoying watching us play, and I think we were unlucky not to be winning after this half... the fact that we were losing just made it all the harder to take.
Right from the first kick of the ball in the second half it was clear that we were going to be bombarded with the long hoof throughout the second period. Watching Borrowdale slice 3 long balls straight out for throw-ins within the opening couple of minutes was frustrating, as the one strong point he normally DOES have is his use of the ball in possession.
For the second Sheffield United goal I would be lying to say that I had a great idea of what happened. One second we had a goal kick, the next second we had conceded again. Like I said, I won't comment on what happened here as I didn't have a great view of it. One thing I can safely say though is that about 95% of our goal kicks throughout the game struggled to make it up to the half way line, and an even higher percentage surrendered possession straight back to Sheffield United. One fan next to me was actually cringing with every single goal kick we were taking, and I can't say that I felt too dis-similar myself. A complete contract to the monstrous kick of Bunn in the Sheffield United goal. You certainly won't be getting many favors from him.
Small pockets of boo's could be heard after conceding in this fashion. I watched on as the ball was played back to the feet of Borrowdale straight from the kick off... He fell over, one of their players picked the ball up and they scored again - 3-0. I was just as frustrated as everyone else, what was he playing at!
I looked back in horror though, as suddenly the boos turned into chants calling for the managers head/the board to sell up and leave/the players not fit to where the shirt, and everything else that was more fitting to us being murdered by a non-league outfit.
For anyone that questions whether or not our fans are fickle, next something happened that left me absolutely gob-smacked. We took the ridiculous chants for a couple of minutes, then both myself and lady next to me turned round and shouted for them to shut up and get behind the side... What did they do? Unbelievably not ONE single one of these fans said even one word back to us. Nothing under their breathe... nothing.
About 20 seconds later we were awarded a penalty... again I'm not the bias type, and from what I saw there was absolutely NO chance in the world that it should ever have been awarded. It looked like Taarabt had a shot on goal, and the referee saw something that nobody else did. Buzsaky stepped up and absolutely thumped it into the back of the net.
As we watched on as Sheffield United kicked off... "Oh Rangers we love you" / "Come on You R's!" was being sung by those fans that had just sang for the board to leave, quite unbelievable!
Suddenly we started playing football again, and we really did put Sheffield United on the back foot for the remainder of the game. We were then awarded a penalty around the 88th minute. Buzsaky crossed into the box, and Stewart bundled the ball into the back of the net... 3-2!
Now the fans were in full voice, and we dared to believe that maybe, just maybe we could take the game into extra time. We had one penalty shout, which again was never a penalty in stoppage time. Then right at the end of the 5 minutes added time we had our chance. Antonio German had came on as a second half substitute, and after plucking the ball out of the air, he spun on the spot and arrowed the ball towards goal. We watched on as Bunn just flicked the ball round the post for a corner kick, and the game effectively ended. I felt gutted for German, he had done everything right, and had it not been for a stunning save we might now be talking about a comeback that would have eclipsed the Derby game... Unfortunately it just wasn't to be.
Heading home from Loftus Road, I wasn't that down about the performance at all really. Yes we did concede very poor goals (yet again), but on the whole I thought it was a good performance against a very good (if boring) Sheffield United side.
I just hope that Hart continues to give the players the same kind of freedom from here on until the end of the season, at least it will be enjoyable to watch. My fear is that as it was a cup game, the pressure was slightly off and he allowed the players to express themselves a little more. Blackpool will be a telling factor of what we can expect for the rest of the season. There is a small (it is small) glimmer of hope that maybe we might start playing in the right way again though, let's all hope that it will be the case.
There were also plenty of negatives, most notably the substitution of Faurlin (another howler from Hart). With Cerny/Borrowdale and Ramage again all playing very very poorly.
The most disappointing aspect from yesterday was our fans though. What planet are they on.
Do I like Flavio? No.
Do I like Hart? No.
Should we have conceded such poor goals? No.
Did it justify turning on everyone inside the club and calls for a protest against the board for the next home game? Absolutely not!
Our board are fickle enough as it, we don't need to be calling for things like that from the terraces. If Hart doesn't do well in the next few months he will be out the door before the season is up anyway (we all know that). But I would prefer it if the board weren't following him out as well... Because I can't see who in their right mind would want to take over this club with the huge contracts etc that we have.
Get realistic, and get behind the team.
The performance nowhere near justifies all this negative talk, it wasn't THAT bad.
If we can perform like that against Blackpool, I wouldn't be surprised if we get a fruitful result up there... It just wasn't our day.
I'll confess that when I actually left home to travel to Loftus Road, it was the least excited that I have been about a QPR game for an awfully long time. The buzz of watching QPR has all but vanished for me since the arrival of Paul Hart, and the dire football that we have been served up thus far. Looking in the club shop before the game, and the slightly cringe-worthy sentence of "If Chelsea were playing in my back garden I would close the curtains" being stamped across shirts was something that I wouldn't only apply to one club in West London, such was my bitterness at recent performances/events at the club.
But when we actually got into the ground and into our seats, that familiar rush of adrenaline came straight back... Its something to do with those floodlights I'm sure of it!
Despite the look of a sparsely populated Loftus Road, suddenly my thoughts of not really being bothered about the outcome changed into being desperate for an FA cup win... Even though the thought of slogging upto Bolton in the next round wasn't something that I was particularly keen on doing.
This might be in contrast to what other people felt about the game, but I thought for the opening 20 minutes or so we looked absolutely superb. It was nice seeing QPR actually looking to try and play football again, and a monumental improvement on recent performances. We could have taken the lead a number of times in the opening few minutes. Faurlin played a marvelous ball through to the feet of Simpson, but he seemed to get the ball trapped under his feet and his tame effort spun wide of the post. Agyemang also had a brilliant chance to at very least test the keeper, but again he took too long and the chance came and went. There was a goal line scrap that looked destined to find it's way into the back of the net. Gorkss had a header cleared off from under the bar. Buzsaky saw a volley fly just wide of the post.
Then in typical Ranger's fashion, after complete dominance of the first quarter of the game, the opposition go and score with their very first attempt on goal. I haven't seen the replay's of any goal as yet, but it was clear to see that it was again a very sloppy one to concede. To have the time to shoot unopposed from the angle that Williams did was unbelievable, and I also felt Cerny should have done much better. With the shot being from such a tight angle (and not being struck particularly well), I felt at very least he should have got something on it. But I have felt and said for a long time that Cerny is slowly turning into a liability, and sad to say it got an awful lot worse for him as the game went on.
In truth, the Sheffield United goal was a real kick in the teeth, and the players heads did drop and from here on in. Despite Ched Evans looking morbidly offside, we were perhaps fortunate to not have been 2 goals down a matter of minutes later. As Evans broke from just outside the box, he approach on goal and crashed the crossbar with only Cerny to beat.
As the referee blew time on the first half, despite being pretty disappointed at not being at very least 2 goals to the good, I can't say I was anywhere near as angry with the players/Paul Hart as I have been prior to this game. For probably the first time since Hart has taken over I was actually enjoying watching us play, and I think we were unlucky not to be winning after this half... the fact that we were losing just made it all the harder to take.
Right from the first kick of the ball in the second half it was clear that we were going to be bombarded with the long hoof throughout the second period. Watching Borrowdale slice 3 long balls straight out for throw-ins within the opening couple of minutes was frustrating, as the one strong point he normally DOES have is his use of the ball in possession.
For the second Sheffield United goal I would be lying to say that I had a great idea of what happened. One second we had a goal kick, the next second we had conceded again. Like I said, I won't comment on what happened here as I didn't have a great view of it. One thing I can safely say though is that about 95% of our goal kicks throughout the game struggled to make it up to the half way line, and an even higher percentage surrendered possession straight back to Sheffield United. One fan next to me was actually cringing with every single goal kick we were taking, and I can't say that I felt too dis-similar myself. A complete contract to the monstrous kick of Bunn in the Sheffield United goal. You certainly won't be getting many favors from him.
Small pockets of boo's could be heard after conceding in this fashion. I watched on as the ball was played back to the feet of Borrowdale straight from the kick off... He fell over, one of their players picked the ball up and they scored again - 3-0. I was just as frustrated as everyone else, what was he playing at!
I looked back in horror though, as suddenly the boos turned into chants calling for the managers head/the board to sell up and leave/the players not fit to where the shirt, and everything else that was more fitting to us being murdered by a non-league outfit.
For anyone that questions whether or not our fans are fickle, next something happened that left me absolutely gob-smacked. We took the ridiculous chants for a couple of minutes, then both myself and lady next to me turned round and shouted for them to shut up and get behind the side... What did they do? Unbelievably not ONE single one of these fans said even one word back to us. Nothing under their breathe... nothing.
About 20 seconds later we were awarded a penalty... again I'm not the bias type, and from what I saw there was absolutely NO chance in the world that it should ever have been awarded. It looked like Taarabt had a shot on goal, and the referee saw something that nobody else did. Buzsaky stepped up and absolutely thumped it into the back of the net.
As we watched on as Sheffield United kicked off... "Oh Rangers we love you" / "Come on You R's!" was being sung by those fans that had just sang for the board to leave, quite unbelievable!
Suddenly we started playing football again, and we really did put Sheffield United on the back foot for the remainder of the game. We were then awarded a penalty around the 88th minute. Buzsaky crossed into the box, and Stewart bundled the ball into the back of the net... 3-2!
Now the fans were in full voice, and we dared to believe that maybe, just maybe we could take the game into extra time. We had one penalty shout, which again was never a penalty in stoppage time. Then right at the end of the 5 minutes added time we had our chance. Antonio German had came on as a second half substitute, and after plucking the ball out of the air, he spun on the spot and arrowed the ball towards goal. We watched on as Bunn just flicked the ball round the post for a corner kick, and the game effectively ended. I felt gutted for German, he had done everything right, and had it not been for a stunning save we might now be talking about a comeback that would have eclipsed the Derby game... Unfortunately it just wasn't to be.
Heading home from Loftus Road, I wasn't that down about the performance at all really. Yes we did concede very poor goals (yet again), but on the whole I thought it was a good performance against a very good (if boring) Sheffield United side.
I just hope that Hart continues to give the players the same kind of freedom from here on until the end of the season, at least it will be enjoyable to watch. My fear is that as it was a cup game, the pressure was slightly off and he allowed the players to express themselves a little more. Blackpool will be a telling factor of what we can expect for the rest of the season. There is a small (it is small) glimmer of hope that maybe we might start playing in the right way again though, let's all hope that it will be the case.
There were also plenty of negatives, most notably the substitution of Faurlin (another howler from Hart). With Cerny/Borrowdale and Ramage again all playing very very poorly.
The most disappointing aspect from yesterday was our fans though. What planet are they on.
Do I like Flavio? No.
Do I like Hart? No.
Should we have conceded such poor goals? No.
Did it justify turning on everyone inside the club and calls for a protest against the board for the next home game? Absolutely not!
Our board are fickle enough as it, we don't need to be calling for things like that from the terraces. If Hart doesn't do well in the next few months he will be out the door before the season is up anyway (we all know that). But I would prefer it if the board weren't following him out as well... Because I can't see who in their right mind would want to take over this club with the huge contracts etc that we have.
Get realistic, and get behind the team.
The performance nowhere near justifies all this negative talk, it wasn't THAT bad.
If we can perform like that against Blackpool, I wouldn't be surprised if we get a fruitful result up there... It just wasn't our day.
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