My journey to and from the ground usually involves around 2 hours in the car there and back. Yesterday I spent near on 6 hours in the car in total! If some of the players had shown the same tenacity as myself and many others in the ground, we may have seen a better performance.
When we heard the team, my immediate reaction was....Cesar's fit, we should play him! (I was proved right)
Apart from that I could basically see where Harry was coming from and he can only work with (the triers) what he's got.
Anyway, the game got under way and West Brom completely out-classed us in all departments. Rangers were simply awful in the first half and apart from a couple of decent shots from M'Bia, offered little or nothing. Cisse and Taarabt linked well at times, but Adel was simply mobbed by 2 or 3 players every time he received the ball. This meant that others needed to contribute........they didn't.
Faurlin had his worst half I can remember, as did Traore. SWP was probably the pick of a very poor bunch, along with M'Bia.
When the inevitable goal came, Brunt was given far too much space and time with no-one closing him down. He hit an excellent low drive, but it didn't look to be right in the corner and Green seemed to leave his dive far too late with minimal foot movement. I think Cesar would have saved it.
That lack of closing down ahead of our back four was down to Faurlin and M'Bia simply not understanding the instructions they'd been given. I couldn't work out whether we were playing 4-4-1-1 or 4-2-3-1, which sums it up really. Whichever. Morrison was given the freedom of Loftus Road to pick the ball up in the attacking "hole" and this gave us problems all afternoon. Neither M'Bia and especially Faurlin did enough protecting and were caught very square at times. Awful! Also, Mulumbu and Fortune simply played us off the pitch. The half ended with the ground as quiet and forlorn as I could remember it being for a long time.
The 2nd half began with the same pattern. West Brom in control and Rangers looking like a pub team. The 2nd came for West Brom when Rob Green showed everyone all they needed to know about just how fragile he is. Yes, it would have been given as a foul by most refs, but then most keepers would have taken the player out as they punched clear. Green, however looked all nervous and un-sure and back-peddled behind his own goal line, while the player stood his ground in front of him and made it hard for him to get to the ball. Instead of being strong and punching clear Green acted like a total lettuce leaf and weakly and rather comically slapped the ball behind him into the net. Pathetic goalkeeping which only compounded HR's poor decision to leave Cesar out.
Harry then showed why he is a better manager than Hughes by reacting to the situation and switched to 3 at the back, taking off the average looking Fabio and the simply terrible Faurlin and bringing on Hoilett and Diakite. At last Rangers now showed some urgency and started to put West Brom under a little pressure. M'Bia found Cisse with a good through ball and the striker did what he does best and finished superbly by dinking the ball over the on-rushing keeper. Game on!
Although to be fair, West Brom continued to be in control and it was only in the last few minutes when Rangers started to really get them under pressure, forcing a few corners and deflected shots on goal. Hill had a great header cleared off the line in the last minute and I really felt that we would get a very undeserved draw. Then Foy rounded off his poor display by not awarding Rangers a stone-wall penalty in the 95th minute. M'Bia headed the ball inside the area and Ridgewell had his arm above his head and blocked the ball with his elbow. Clear penalty and how the linesman couldn't see it, standing a few yards away is just complete ineptitude.
That was it, game over and it probably is!!
In conclusion, although we should have had that late penalty, there was no way we deserved anything in a game where West Brom simply played us off the park without looking like they were ever really in top gear. Rangers were poor all over the pitch and look dead certs to go down. HR must take some responsibility too with his poor selections. Hoilett must start ahead of either SWP or Mackie as he looked a constant threat when he came on. Obviously the biggest mistake was starting with that lilly-livered, nervous wreck Green. Rangers were simply out-classed and nothing short of a miraculous turn around can save us from the inevitable drop imo.
Player ratings and comments:
Green - 5 - So nervy and at fault for the 2nd goal and should have done better for the first. Made a couple of decent stops in the 2nd half to keep the score down.
Fabio - 5 - I was disappointed with his distribution, but he probably can't quite believe what crap he is surrounded by. Got forward well at times.
Ferdinand - 6 - A better display from Anton. Some timely tackles and interceptions.
Hill - 6 - Looked more shaky than he does with Nelsen beside him. Unlucky with that late header.
Traore - 4 - Awful. Looked half asleep and never got going.
SWP - 6 - One of his better games, but never really looked a threat. Worked tirelessly.
Faurlin - 4 - Just about the worst I've seen him play. Gave the ball away and looked very slow and off the pace. Failed to give the back 4 any protection.
M'Bia - 6 - One of the better players on the day, but also failed to offer enough protection to the back 4. Also seems to have a square head when trying to head the ball, as it flies off at ridiculous angles.
Mackie - 5 - Running around with his clown's feet, Jamie is a crowd favourite who gives his all. Unfortunately he is a very average player who created nothing yesterday.
Taarabt - 5 - Never stopped trying, although the conditions weren't suited to his type of game. Marked out of it and his corners were generally awful!
Cisse - 7 - Took his goal brilliantly, as he will if the team could create more chances for him. Wouldn't blame him for leaving in January, as the abuse he gets totally bemuses me. Won a few headers against giant centre backs and linked up well at times. Worked hard too.
Subs:
Hoilett - 7 - Made an impression and ran at their defence. Must surely start against Liverpool.
Diakite - 6 - Looked a bit rusty, but a huge improvement on the disappointing Faurlin.
Thoughts?
When we heard the team, my immediate reaction was....Cesar's fit, we should play him! (I was proved right)
Apart from that I could basically see where Harry was coming from and he can only work with (the triers) what he's got.
Anyway, the game got under way and West Brom completely out-classed us in all departments. Rangers were simply awful in the first half and apart from a couple of decent shots from M'Bia, offered little or nothing. Cisse and Taarabt linked well at times, but Adel was simply mobbed by 2 or 3 players every time he received the ball. This meant that others needed to contribute........they didn't.
Faurlin had his worst half I can remember, as did Traore. SWP was probably the pick of a very poor bunch, along with M'Bia.
When the inevitable goal came, Brunt was given far too much space and time with no-one closing him down. He hit an excellent low drive, but it didn't look to be right in the corner and Green seemed to leave his dive far too late with minimal foot movement. I think Cesar would have saved it.
That lack of closing down ahead of our back four was down to Faurlin and M'Bia simply not understanding the instructions they'd been given. I couldn't work out whether we were playing 4-4-1-1 or 4-2-3-1, which sums it up really. Whichever. Morrison was given the freedom of Loftus Road to pick the ball up in the attacking "hole" and this gave us problems all afternoon. Neither M'Bia and especially Faurlin did enough protecting and were caught very square at times. Awful! Also, Mulumbu and Fortune simply played us off the pitch. The half ended with the ground as quiet and forlorn as I could remember it being for a long time.
The 2nd half began with the same pattern. West Brom in control and Rangers looking like a pub team. The 2nd came for West Brom when Rob Green showed everyone all they needed to know about just how fragile he is. Yes, it would have been given as a foul by most refs, but then most keepers would have taken the player out as they punched clear. Green, however looked all nervous and un-sure and back-peddled behind his own goal line, while the player stood his ground in front of him and made it hard for him to get to the ball. Instead of being strong and punching clear Green acted like a total lettuce leaf and weakly and rather comically slapped the ball behind him into the net. Pathetic goalkeeping which only compounded HR's poor decision to leave Cesar out.
Harry then showed why he is a better manager than Hughes by reacting to the situation and switched to 3 at the back, taking off the average looking Fabio and the simply terrible Faurlin and bringing on Hoilett and Diakite. At last Rangers now showed some urgency and started to put West Brom under a little pressure. M'Bia found Cisse with a good through ball and the striker did what he does best and finished superbly by dinking the ball over the on-rushing keeper. Game on!
Although to be fair, West Brom continued to be in control and it was only in the last few minutes when Rangers started to really get them under pressure, forcing a few corners and deflected shots on goal. Hill had a great header cleared off the line in the last minute and I really felt that we would get a very undeserved draw. Then Foy rounded off his poor display by not awarding Rangers a stone-wall penalty in the 95th minute. M'Bia headed the ball inside the area and Ridgewell had his arm above his head and blocked the ball with his elbow. Clear penalty and how the linesman couldn't see it, standing a few yards away is just complete ineptitude.
That was it, game over and it probably is!!
In conclusion, although we should have had that late penalty, there was no way we deserved anything in a game where West Brom simply played us off the park without looking like they were ever really in top gear. Rangers were poor all over the pitch and look dead certs to go down. HR must take some responsibility too with his poor selections. Hoilett must start ahead of either SWP or Mackie as he looked a constant threat when he came on. Obviously the biggest mistake was starting with that lilly-livered, nervous wreck Green. Rangers were simply out-classed and nothing short of a miraculous turn around can save us from the inevitable drop imo.
Player ratings and comments:
Green - 5 - So nervy and at fault for the 2nd goal and should have done better for the first. Made a couple of decent stops in the 2nd half to keep the score down.
Fabio - 5 - I was disappointed with his distribution, but he probably can't quite believe what crap he is surrounded by. Got forward well at times.
Ferdinand - 6 - A better display from Anton. Some timely tackles and interceptions.
Hill - 6 - Looked more shaky than he does with Nelsen beside him. Unlucky with that late header.
Traore - 4 - Awful. Looked half asleep and never got going.
SWP - 6 - One of his better games, but never really looked a threat. Worked tirelessly.
Faurlin - 4 - Just about the worst I've seen him play. Gave the ball away and looked very slow and off the pace. Failed to give the back 4 any protection.
M'Bia - 6 - One of the better players on the day, but also failed to offer enough protection to the back 4. Also seems to have a square head when trying to head the ball, as it flies off at ridiculous angles.
Mackie - 5 - Running around with his clown's feet, Jamie is a crowd favourite who gives his all. Unfortunately he is a very average player who created nothing yesterday.
Taarabt - 5 - Never stopped trying, although the conditions weren't suited to his type of game. Marked out of it and his corners were generally awful!
Cisse - 7 - Took his goal brilliantly, as he will if the team could create more chances for him. Wouldn't blame him for leaving in January, as the abuse he gets totally bemuses me. Won a few headers against giant centre backs and linked up well at times. Worked hard too.
Subs:
Hoilett - 7 - Made an impression and ran at their defence. Must surely start against Liverpool.
Diakite - 6 - Looked a bit rusty, but a huge improvement on the disappointing Faurlin.
Thoughts?
