Match Day Thread Birmingham City vs QPR

I don't like laying into players but Bonne isn't good enough and judging by his frustrated body language he might even be thinking it himself.

 

Getting a result against them would be one of our best performances of the season methinks. Barnsley are on fire at the moment!

 

You say tired players but the same goes for every side & most teams are playing 3 times a week & we did have 11days off, all this talk of play offs a possibility is nonsense, as I said be happy if we can make it into top 10 & build for future & play offs maybe in a season or two

 

Warburton out

 

Have sides not always played twice a week in the Championship?
Warbs seems to make more of this than most.

 

In previous seasons I feel we've had around two mid week games a month, three if one was a cup game...but never most weeks.

 

The pitch looked awful today and my first thought was that Warbs had instructed us to go direct due to this. it wasnt a great spectacle of football yet we have come up against much stronger opposition and won. I also thought that it was quite a cocky substitution taking off Austin and Willock, as in, we've won the game, have a rest. We have had a rich run of form, but that's all it has been. It's been good and a blessing considering how we looked earlier in the season. We now seem to have something to build on aslong as we dont lose our best players for next season, like Chair, Dieng, Dickie and a couple of others. Remember, our season turned around with other clubs players who are basically in the shop window and we all know that the majority go for money or one last big contract. Anyway, let's get through this season and hope for a little more next season.

 

There are more this season because it is shortened, the start delayed by a month due late finish last season/Covid. We've not been at any disadvantage the last 2 months with 2 games postponed and thus no heavy schedule and a good run, but we will be in fitting in those 2 games into an already tight schedule in March and April, and having a thinner squad than some others.

 

The pitch was awful but surely I’d we had decided to play the ball long we must start Dykes. I personally think this and missing Chairs link up play was key.

 

Agree about Dykes. On that pitch which was so uneven defenders wouldn't want to be playing around at the back, and would have to clear long, it was strange not starting him. Think Chair has needed a rest for a while, but didn't see much of Willock first half. He did improve 2nd and helped return that one/two to Johansen who had made a really good gut busting run to get to that ball in the box, but shot over. That might have been partly due a bobble on the pitch as Warburton claimed.

 

What Warburton said:-

Chair has been a stand-out performer for Rangers but Warburton felt it was right to give the youngster a rest.

Warbuton has also been careful about managing the fitness of Austin since the striker’s return to west London on loan from West Bromwich Albion.

“We have to look after them. Ilias is a young player who has had a lot of loading. We just have to take care of him, look after Charlie too,” Warburton told West London Sport.

“I wasn’t sure if we would get 45 out of him or 60. We got 55.

“Some of these are guys that have not played a full 90 minutes and we have another game midweek.

“It’s about getting them fit and also keeping them fresh.”

Chair, who was replaced by Chris Willock at Birmingham, is expected to return to the starting line-up for Wednesday’s home match against Barnsley.

 

I feel Warburton is a little obsessed with this.