I expected us to 1. Finish the season in roughly the same position as we are now, so no real issues there 2. Give every team we play a hard game, not roll over and play shadow football going through the motions. I expect QPR to go out and give it all and they simply have not done that; that is the most disappointing element of our season so far.I really don't know why this has happened; is there no heart to our team?
to finish above the relegation zone. Show some fight and spirit, and see players proud to wear the shirt, proud to fight for the shirt and players prepared to run through the pain barrier to stay up.
too many individuals and the team havnt really bonded as a unit,like we did last season. Without that team unity and passion,we are in trouble. Just look at Norwich and Swansea.They dont have top players,but they fight for each other and play for the shirt.They have a team ethic that just clicks.
At the beginning of the season, not a great deal. After the first wave of signings, avoid relegation fairly comfortably. After the second wave of signings, escape relegation with ease. Clearly I expect too much.
Yep definitely! To answe the OP I expected (hoped without great expectation really) that we'd survive. We still might just!
The longer this season goes on, the more misplaced that sort of comment becomes. both Swansea and Norwich have players proving their individual skill at the top level of the English game. Both keepers are in the top five. Naughton is in the top five tacklers in the league. Grant Holt is the 2nd/3rd best english striker in the league after rooney and defoe. He's has scored as many goals as Bale with significantly less minutes on the pitch. Russell Martin has cleared numerous balls from the line, stopping us conceding many times. His defending has been outstanding. And our midfield just out passed swansea in their own backyard, with the lions share of the possession and chances. Sure they work hard, but we wouldnt be where we are now if they weren't premiership quality players.
i know i know I do wonder what causes the dislike of Norwich by QPR fans. I think it must be something from before my time, because considering how well the team has exceeded expectations the last 3 yrs, i don't think our fans are arrogant or demanding of anything but survival from our side still. Good luck guys, it'll be tight but with cisse back you should scrape through!
I read your board from time to time and it is certainly not free from QPR-bashing on occasions! Anyway, most people on here do accept that your performances (and Swansea's) have been remarkable, so fair dues to you. You can have points, or praise, rarely both. Be happy with how you're seen. We chose praise, but got hardly any either!
youre right there's joshing on the Norwich board too, a bit of which comes from us being written off at the start of this season, whilst you were deemed the shiny new thing in the league i think. Whilst its fun to have a joke at each other i do hope you stay up this year though. Despite some mistakes made, it would be a grossly unfair punishment if you went down, and i think it would set you back a good few years. You guys seem to be able to play great football for 30 mins of each match at the moment, if you get that to 60 you should be laughing. I do think Faurlin was a big loss for you, and the beginning of the slide youd had of late, he was a fantastic tackler for you. Hope he mends well.
We've got to forget the last 25 games and get into the mind set that the season starts now. We have been the architect of our own downfall for many reasons. With 13 games to go and the talent we have at our disposal we should be able to outperform the other 4 sides who have their own problems. I am sure those teams would swop their prospects for ours. This is what Hughes and his team are paid for and i expect them to achieve it. The worrying feature is the lack of confidence and fight that we are exhibiting. If we were offered this position after the first game against Bolton we probably would have taken it. I expected us to survive comfortably and still do. Although it does have elements of a Greek tragedy about it the way the drama has unfolded and the gods seem to have been against us.
I just wish 'The Four Year Plan' had been 'The Five Year Plan', this season is just as crazy as the previous four and there's nothing to suggest it won't have more amazing twists before the year is out...
Its very easy for me to see why and not many on QPR board can see it. Both Norwich and Swansea have kept their souls intact as well as excellent team spirit. Far toomany QPR fans on this board have become fickle and claims that all three teams didn't have premiership quality should now be put to rest. We now have on paper a team full of premiership players yet we are in fact a very new team. Warnock built a great side and then I am sorry he and others blew it as he tinkered with the team and the spirit. Any team's spirit in England would be blown away with the arrival of Joey Barton that is obvious now and many more are seeing that. He is a very average footballer and while both the Swans and Norwich's midfield have grown stronger ours has never been settled and agree losing Faurlin is massive. In fact Faurlin is a perfect example how a average player grows in a team to become a potential world class player ... the same can be said about a team and both Swans and Norwich have and the key word here is grown. They are hungry teams on the up as we were last year. On paper and its only on paper we have a great squad so we have to believe and I am sure it will all click when the so called premiership players decide to start playing. I am sure MH will get the basics right soon and then its all about players taking chances and confidence will grow. I think both Norwich and Swansea are currently great teams and they have done their fans proud. Would i take any of their players of course as some are now very big targets and i expect a few from both teams to be plundered in the close season : Swans Keeper and Williams standing out for me Norwich are a unit IMO with no real stand outs but I bet they will lose a few to the big four as well .... this happens every year and I think BR and PL knows this so they are bringing through balanced players to their teams as replacements all the time, small changes as not to upset the apple cart ... QPR we are not currently in balance and have a lot of money that I fear is our undoing but I am confident we will break into the middle league by the end and by the end thats all that matters and as i have said any team in that middle league can finish 8th .. it will be the team who finishes on form and hats off that is currently Norwich City. I have said this from my first weeks on N606 and do you know what bugger me I am right. One week we only have players fit for League one then they are superstars on this board. I think Swans and Norwich have just shoved a large cock up the arse of all the doubters, the pundits, the journo parasites, the TV and the corporate types that run this league ... they all spin such a lot of ****e it's sicken ... its the richest league in the world but it ain't the best IMO and the stale talent that lives the rich life in it have had a shock this year. Another thing I will also say is that when we do survive and we will ... it will be because we brought our survival in a way ... it won't be long until some rich twat buys a complete team and coach in one sitting. Man City have found exactly how hard it is to put a team together with just money I for one in advance praise both Swansea and Norwich for doing it the proper way if of course they both stay up ... this thing ain't over yet as the surge from the bottom up will be very strong ... in fact climbing or growing is the food of team spirit and its coming like a thunder believe me ... Villa could prove my point here as they are sinking fast as are Stoke (lost their last three) while Villa 1 in 12 points ... it takes very little to go a losing streak met that with a few teams fighting ... positions can be reversed. No one IMO below 8th is safe at the moment
Oddball makes some good points but I can't remember many people saying that Swans and Norwich didn't have Prem squads. They brought in a number of players in the summer that made them able to compete. I said we'd be in a dog-fight with investment and that's where we are. With last season's squad we'd be well and truly down by now. The last minute panic-buys from COLIN didn't help us one bit but the season could still be a great success which, in case anyone's forgotten , would be a 17th place finish!
I agree with most of what you say, but saying Ruddy is in the top 5 goalkeepers in the league is a massive shout, as is Naughton being in the top 5 tacklers. Massive claims in my opinion. Holt and Martin have been fantastic for you this season though, and you deserve to be where you are. Cant argue. On topic, I realistically expected us to finish in the 14th-17th barrier, with it being towards the higher end. I even thought the lads might prove me wrong and push on higher up the league..how wrong I was.
