A bit like England yesterday, yet ultimately both sides lost. 1 goal and 1 point from the last 6 games doesn't lean towards the suggestion being ridiculous ! Things need to turn around very quickly or it could become a real possibility.
One goal and one pint in six games. That is relegation form. Two of the losses against the bottom teams, Huddersfield with a truly makeshift workforce too who beat us squarely at LR. I wish I could share your optimism.
Now I’ve thawed out and can reflect, we were indeed rather poor. Burnley are a decent team, they keep the ball, move it quickly and with purpose and double up down the wings effectively. They didn’t make many clear cut chances though. We were always second best, tried to play the same as them but much more slowly, and back to Warburtonesque fiddling around keeping the ball on our own 18 yard line, something which has crept back into our game recently. When your chief creative player is away winning the World Cup single handed from a sitting position I don’t think the natural replacement is Thomas, especially when Richards is available. There is something very wrong with Willock, all confidence gone, but I assume he was injured because it makes little sense taking him off when we need to score, not exactly a surfeit of regular scorers on the bench. At least Shodipo and Albert added some urgency. Tim looks imperious one minute, a ****ing liability the next. Need something to happen to break this run though. Perhaps a new head coach would help, who knows.
Fair play to you for going. I couldn't face it after last night's disappointment and excessive drinking. I share your frustration with Tim - a bit of a luxury in the Championship.
The WC finals show the World's best fiddle around at the back now and then. The very best lull the opposition to sleep then open them up with speed and electric passing. Paul Hall said in his after game interview that Willock was fine. The subs were tactical, and worked according to him. We were better at least at the start of the 2nd half.
Which of the World’s best international teams do you think today’s QPR team is comparable to? We fiddle around at the back and then someone boots the ball upfield. The best manoeuvre the ball forward with purpose. If taking off Willock, who has a higher chance of scoring than Albert, Shodipo and Armstrong combined even if he’s playing poorly, was tactical, I’m very happy that Mr Hall’s tenure has been one game only.
Watched the game with my Burnley supporting mate, although I did miss the first 20 minutes...... he was rather sheepish about the non penalty in the first minute and the dive by Cork to win the free kick before they scored, but truth be told we were poor in what I saw of the 1st half, no pressing, no urgency, no intensity...... it was like a training session for Burnley. 2nd half was a tad better but the bar was set very low and it looked as if Burnley could score almost every time they went forward..... It was a clear mis match between the have's and the have not's and I said to him that if Burnley don't win the league by 10 points then something has gone very wrong........ What I'd like to know is what has happened to the side that played front foot football and made Boro, Reading, Cardiff look like Sunday League sides, the side that won at Watford......... I really can't fathom out how what is effectively the same personnel can be so good and so bad...... we do miss Steff though as he seems to trigger the press..... Just hope Critchley can come in and convince them to revert back to being the front foot side and take the game to the opposition instead of this weak, limp side we saw today..... And as for the ref, we thought last night's was bad but man that was pure incompetence......... Do these "Best League in the World" refs rely so much on Var to bail them out that they forget how to apply the Laws of the Game? He made Keithy Baby look competent........
Now, now. You know if any side, especially England aren't 3 up within 30 minutes all the social media coaches decide they're too negative, even though they may be completely controlling the game. As for Hall taking Willock off..... Thank **** he won't be in charge anymore.
I was there as always freezing in places not to be discussed in polite company. From a live perspective it was very obvious that Willock was playing at a much-reduced pace and definitely not engaging in anything with the slightest element of risk. It could be he picked up yet another injury but more likely he is acutely aware that he will be off to a PL club in January assuming he stays fit. Either way, at 2-0 down it was a tough but sensible decision to sub him off and the extra pace of the two wingers did at least provide a little spark to an otherwise dire team performance. If you want to criticise Hall it should be for failing to inspire the team before the game but TBH as an stand-in manager, on a freezing cold December day, without your key flare player of recent months (probably the only player in England to miss games due to the world cup!) and facing the best team I have seen us play against this season it was a tough ask to say the least.
FWIW I don’t think Willock is off in Jan. 18 months on his deal and with a lingering hamstring issue. If I were him I’d be accepting the 18 months on whatever money he’s on and taking a few mill as a signing-on fee when he becomes a free agent. Not great for us but feels the most realistic option for him.
I'd like to see Shodipo given a run. He looked lively. There's a player in there somewhere. Who would make way though for this to happen?
Yep, fair enough. He also started Tim on the left which seemed odd too, but at least moved him second half. Let's see what Neil has to offer.
Willock contributed little in that first half and put our only chance of the half I remember made by Laird, well over. Brave and good subs made by Hall imo. We were much more lively the first part of the 2nd half with Shodipo and Albert on for Willock and Thomas. From watching remote Willock hasn't looked 100% fit or fully up for it since he came back from his last injury.
The report from The Times: "Normal service was resumed for Burnley yesterday after the World Cup break. They had lost their previous game on the road, but Queens Park Rangers — still without Ilias Chair, who is in Qatar with Morocco, and still without a manager since Michael Beale left for Rangers — lacked the inspiration to topple the Sky Bet Championship leaders. Instead Burnley re-established their three-point advantage at the top of the table after Sheffield United had drawn level on points on Saturday by beating Huddersfield Town. Vincent Kompany, the Burnley manager, had claimed at the beginning of the season to be concerned about a possible shortage of goals, but his team are the top scorers in all four divisions and yesterday their finishing was razor-sharp. Johann Gudmundsson put them ahead with a perfectly placed free kick, and the Dutch defender Ian Maatsen showed a striker’s instinct to extend the lead in first-half added time. After digging in to resist a QPR comeback, they made it 3-0 when Nathan Tella pounced on a defensive error. “It feels like a new start,” Kompany said. It’s never perfect but today it was close. I always talk about the effort and everyone could see that today. The free kick is something we have in the team, and Ian’s and Nathan’s finishes were difficult, really good goals. Not many players would have put [the third] in.” The home side could not match that level of efficiency, but Beale’s successor will inherit a squad full of promising young talents. Neil Critchley, the former Blackpool manager, is the favourite, but Gareth Ainsworth, the Wycombe Wanderers manager, has also been linked with the vacancy. Paul Hall, the present caretaker boss, felt that his team had been denied a first-minute penalty when George Thomas went down under a challenge from Arijanet Muric, the Burnley goalkeeper. But Peter Bankes, the referee, was less reluctant to give Burnley a free kick for Andre Dozzell’s lunge at Jack Cork after 19 minutes. Gudmundsson stepped up and curled a left-footed shot over the wall and past the left hand of Seny Dieng into the far corner. Chris Willock passed up an excellent opportunity to level just after the half-hour, shooting hurriedly over the bar from 15 yards. Maatsen showed how it was done, reacting quickly to half-volley home after Dieng had saved full-length from Vitinho. Sam Field’s powerfully struck shot — straight at Muric — was the highlight of QPR’s second-half attempts. But Tella completed the finishing masterclass when Jimmy Dunne tried to chest the ball back to Dieng, twisting past the goalkeeper and shooting into the empty net from an angle that looked impossible."
And Amos, Richards and Balogan..... and Willock was protecting something too (reputation or injury). Basically everyone who was injured before the break is still injured
The whole day was a disaster. I have never felt so cold in all my life. The match was shocking. My day was complete with a 5 hour delay getting home from Heathrow. Arrived home at 01.45 having been up since 3am. Those fecking players don't deserve our support. With the new coach in place, hoping the journey to Preston next week will feel more worth it.
