Highlights: QPR 3, FC Union Berlin 0 https://www.qpr.co.uk/videos/highlights/highlights-qpr-3-fc-union-berlin-0/
It all sounds very positive which is great! I am not surprised that when we play a winger like BOS, then we have more width and attacking potency. The objective would be to play the 4:3:3 or 4:2:3:1 system with two genuinely natural and fast wide men. For example, BOS and Smyth. However, the issue then becomes who to drop in the no.10 position? The obvious choice seens to be to play Eze and drop Freeman. However, this is a painful choice and the reason we see Freeman playing out of position on the left. It will be very interesting to see how the situation will develop.
This “Ultras” type of support (uniformed dress, orchestrated singing and movements, customised large banners, even sometimes pyrotechnics if they can get away with it) is very conmon in Germany as well as Poland. It is very different to the English supporting style, and you either love it or loathe it. Firstly, it must be quite fun to take part in it and it very effective with regards to continual support. I sometimes get the impression that the key objective is the “supporting” and the “football” is secondary and almost a burden. There is much “one-upmanship” between the clubs which almost raised it to art form. Polish club supporters call it the “oprawa” or “decoration” and are very proud of it. A few times when I gave watched Legia play, I have been more fascinated by the support in the “Żyleta” than the football on the pitch. I was even surprised that “the song” was not even interrupted when Legia scored a goal. Somehow, I can’t see it at LR! I attach an “official” video with two “oprawy” in one match during Legia’s centenary season.
Not sure Smythe can fully perform for a full 90 minutes at the moment. He seems to have a niggling injury...he is also very small and light ..Thinking he might be used as an impact sub at the start of the season Sent from my STF-L09 using Tapatalk
As you know Tel, 4-3-3 becomes 4-5-1 without the ball generally. Formations are at their best when fluid, a doctrine that the England team has finally adopted and Maclaren is hopefully going to adhere to too. 4-3-3 doesn't often become 4-2-3-1 though, as the two midfielders in front of the "holding" player tend to cover left and right, along with the two wider players further forward. However, with fluidity comes all manner of shapes as the game progresses, meaning that, at times, the shape can easily appear 4-2-3-1, however temporarily. A lot of emphasis these days is placed upon "transition" of possession and breaking quickly after winning the ball back, preferably as high up the pitch as possible. This means the players further forward, the three in a 4-3-3, can get caught up field at times, meaning the 3 midfielders need to spread across to cover. Quite often this means all three swinging across to one side or the other to get numbers to the danger area. (PS - I'm even more of a systems/formations nerd now that the lad is studying this stuff at Uni!!).
I think playing 4-3-3 makes it easier to play both Freeman and Eze. However, it is then difficult to play all of Eze, Freeman and BOS. I presume we could play Luongo alongside Scowan, with Eze in between BOS and Freeman, with a centre forward up top in a 4-2-3-1. This would leave Smyth out, unless we played without a proper 9. I think I prefer the line up from yeaterday with young Smyth as an impact sub or in instead of BOS.
I can see why SM and his coaches are talking about the players buying in to the style they want to play. This requires our team to be thinking more about the way they are playing, using their mind and their fitness to the teams advantage; it is always good to see a team pressing and closing down the opposition to win back the ball - but then need to make good use of it, which we didn’t maximise last season, and our forwards need to convert chances to goals better, which we also didn’t do well last season. It will again be an interesting first set of matches to see how we are capable; results will build confidence will build results.
https://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/football/queensparkrangers/news/48311/bright-free-and-eze--column Interesting write up from Clive on the game yesterday and more. Something between a 4 3 3 and a 4 2 3 1 yesterday according to him.
For the neutral these fans are fantastic. Of course it is highly organised, not very spontaneous like here, but a great spectacle, and a real communal experience. Italy in the old days (before attendances plummeted) was somewhere in between, very choreographed before the games with enormous banners tailor made for the opposition (often highly offensive) flares, chanting etc, but the focus was on the game after kick off. These are my favourites, outstanding for a middle of the table second tier team
Report from Union website..... In the last test: Sat, July 28, 2018 The 1. FC Union Berlin loses its final Test match before the second division start with 0: 3 in the Loftus Road Stadium. Against the Queens Park Rangers lacked the team of Urs Fischer for a long time the funds, only at the end of the game appeared the Eisernen occasionally dangerous in front of the gate of Londoners. Read more here........https://www.fc-union-berlin.de/de/union-live/news/profis/Union-verliert-mit-0-3-bei-QPR-19780g/
I don't disagree with that at all Col. However, Freeman & BOS definitely played wide with meaningful runs into the penalty area & Eze was not part of a trraditional midfield three as he performed the "number ten" role. All three of those players did defend when required, but it appeared to be their secondary role (which is good as far as I'm concerned). Freeman was probably deeper than BOS at times, but never in a holding role. I can't recall our midfield three spreading across the pitch as you described as Freeman, Eze & BOS were never deep enough for that. That doesn't mean they won't be during league matches! My inconclusion in our system was caused by Luongo going further forward & more frequently than I would have expected in a 4-2-3-1 system. i would have said that yesterday, we more often had a front four than a front three! Again, that may well not be the case in league games! What I think is certain is, as you stated, that our management will react during matches when required & we will be more fluid.
Yet when foreign players come here a lot of them go on about the atmosphere and the passion of the crowd. In a lot of our grounds the crowd are closer to the players than in many European stadia, but other than that I can’t really understand it.
