Having had a couple of days to contemplate Tuesday's humiliation and not produce and effing and blinding response, I'll just share my thoughts with you all and see what you think as well. JFH has now been with us 10 months, I was not overjoyed at his appointment, mainly because his one management role in this country had been at a side he had no part in building and it's always easier to come in and maintain a winning team. However, I was happy to give him time to shape his own team and looked forward to seeing us improve as a result. I went well out of my way to make it to Tuesday's game, getting stuck in sh*t traffic at Battersea and arriving ten minutes late I'd hardly sat down before the first goal went in. My sense of foreboding prior to the match was well-founded, the unfathomable team selection and shape was inviting us to be taken apart and Newcastle, barely getting out of second gear, walked all over us. It seems whenever we have a small smidgeon of encouragement, ie Leeds, Cardiff, we then lapse back into mediocrity, 'normal service has been resumed' and we end up just being very poor. Results since those first two games show we flattered to deceive as they were poor opponents who are unlikely to be in the promotion race. What is far more worrying is our performances against teams like Preston and Blackburn, we simply don't seem to be able to produce any flowing football. It's all very well playing a pressing game to win the ball if you do something with it, and that is our main problem, we have no invention or threat and we are being made to look poor by teams we should be beating. There are players being picked who, frankly, are not up to Championship level and yet a supposedly Premier quality midfielder on silly money isn't being picked. You just couldn't make it up. We all can see where problems are in the team yet nothing was done to address them in the window and we are now facing a hectic schedule in the next few weeks which could see us really plummet as confidence drains away. It was worrying to hear JFH moaning last month about so many games in the month, obviously getting his excuse in early. I see no positives from him, his team selection on Tuesday said 'we are scared of you', we were beaten before we started. Winning teams have a shape, a game plan and purpose. We saw that against Leeds but not since. I really think JFH just doesn't know his best team and is now beginning to lose the players. On Tuesday no-one was trying or, most significantly, showing any self-pride or motivation, and you can include JFH in that as well. The next two matches will tell us all we need to know about which way our season is going, I'm not holding my breath...
Good post. The only thing I'd take issue with is that I thought the players were putting in effort - but because of poor tactics from the manager and lack of talent particularly in midfield, it may not always have shown. It's a big concern that we don't score from open play. We're too predictable.
If that is true, there is a grim inevitability that accompanies that situation which only leads one way. Here's hoping there can be a response on Saturday against a very in-form and high flying Huddersfield.
Bit soon for this surely. Yes a couple of crap performances but it was only a few weeks ago we were 2 wins from 2 and looking great.
Sooper has said so much of what I feel. Like him, I was not impressed by JFH's appointment because I felt he had not achieved very much in his fledgling career. Unlike Sooper, and most others on this board, I did see some positives in the Blackburn display. I liked the way we retained possession, we avoided hoofing the ball forward, we were patient in our build up and we were capable of playing a series of quick, first time passes. Whilst there were still too many backward passes and not enough creativity, I felt that we were establishing a base on which to build. And then came Newcastle. I have never, ever, in 50 years of watching live sport, left a game before the final whistle. I even sat through, to the end, the 6-0 home drubbing by Arsenal in the FA Cup. On Tuesday, I left after the sixth goal was scored. It was a complete capitulation, albeit to a very good side, playing exceptionally well. If selecting Perch in midfield, at home, alongside both Cousins and Henry, was not so serious, it would have been laughable. One of the three, yes, but all of them? Henry has reverted to the dreadful form that he showed in the first half of last season, Perch has only occasionally flickered into life when playing out of position at left back, and Cousins (my pick of the three) has yet to impress. I said during the Summer that we badly needed a proper right back.... The amount of space we gave Newcastle was amazing, especially in our final third. Shelvey was made to look even better than he is because he had so much time. There was one telling moment early on when Washington, doing little that couldn't be achieved by a headless chicken, closed down his man, that man passed to a teammate who was completely untroubled by any QPR player. Our high pressing game has been intermittent in previous games and here it was non-existent. It's. no. good. one. player. doing. it. they've. all. got. to. do. it! On this occasion, Washington turned around and shouted at his teammates in frustration. I'm told our new recruit, Yeni Ngbakoto, played on Tuesday. Did anyone see him? And the only noteworthy contribution by our new Pole, Pawel Wszolek, was to give the ball away for Newcastle to score one of their early goals. Despite all this, I am not yet ready to throw in the towel on the reign of JFH. We've had far too many managers in too short a time. We've spent a respectable amount of money bringing in his players. I want to see how it pans out for the rest of this season. BUT I have a 6 hour round trip from Somerset. The rush hour traffic for midweek evening games is horrendous. I am not going to waste my money on a season ticket to watch rubbish like I saw on Tuesday where the players were comprehensively beaten in every thought and deed. The word "slow" is wholly inadequate to describe it. In truth, I have not enjoyed watching QPR for any sustained period since Warnock's promotion season. Come on guys. Give us a reaction. Show you care.
And therein lies the problem. As a season ticket holder I have nothing to look forward to but - at best - another 7 months of overly cautious, negative football and a lower mid-table finish. There is no sign at all that JFH recognises just how painful it is to those who have shelled out to watch. Paul Hart had just 28 days before a similar brand of depressing football caused his downfall. Should we have given him longer?
Cousins has been played so deep he hasn't been able to express himself he looks good on the ball and I would play him in a no 10 roll behind 2 strikers, it's almost like he has been told not to cross the halfway line and in my opinion Henry and our Captain should kept out of our first team!!!
That is the truth of it... JFH has been with us 10 months. I keep reading fans wanting to give him 10 games or until Christmas. He has had long enough to sort out a competitive team and hasn't. 10 months he has been with us and the football is dire and we keep making the same stupid mistakes. This will only end one way and it will cost us another season because we didn't act when we should have (Ramsey). Tuesday has shown us what ex Prem teams can bring to the party. It will only get harder the longer we are in this division. Other than Newcastle and Norwich this division is inconsistent and with the right man we can take advantage of it. The longer we leave this the less of a chance we have to finish higher.
Fair play Sooper. Despite my rant on the JFL out thread about knee jerk fire the gaffer outcomes which have blighted us for so long now, if the run of poor results continue I will be man enough to fall on my sword and admit how wrong I was about this. I would like to see more than a couple of games myself before making my own mind up but who knows, he could be fired before that if it is that bad. I got animated on that thread with my rant as it just feels like we are stuck in the vicious circle of changing leadership and that in itself is adding to this mire we have been stuck in for so long. I will be gutted if it has to come to this again and my question would be just who the hell do we get in to stop this keep repeating. Again I won't pretend to be an expert on this, I'm just sharing how I feel emotionally about whats happening. I do care like you all do about the club and just hope we can find a stable long term fix soon as changing the coach so often has not really do us much good ether. I'm sure and hope we get it right soon! Up thr Rangers!
If the players are willfully not playing for JFH that says worrying things about this bunch. I've not seen the recent games so can't really comment but I would hope that the effort is still there. I'm really struggling with my expectation for this season, my hope is play offs but mid table is more realistic I think. Problem is a mid table finish means losing as many as you win and we are already looking at fan meltdown after a couple of defeats. Biggest game of the season today.
Frome that's what worried me on Tuesday. They just gave up. Couldn't even bother to take the ball out of the net and our striker runs the length of the pitch to do so. Caulker put up the white flag and wanted off. It was too disjointed, low energy and non-commital. Not even to get a booking? Agree with Gregs comments in that i also hate changing time and time again but we kep getting it wrong. The blame must now fall on Les and TF for keep picking the wrong manager.
Once again the mythical right man. The one who can achieve instant results with a pile of dross and an eye for hidden masterpieces among the tat at the jumble sale. What's his name? Do enlighten us
David Wagner apparently ... http://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/footba...he-last-thing-hasselbaink-needs-now-–-preview
Neil Warnock came into the club. It was not his team yet he managed to motivate. Football wasn't great I will admit but we grounded out results. Never would NW have allowed our team to surrender so easily. Has that enlightened you?
