Away for a few days in Kerry and took a slow journey back through West Cork today, sun splitting the rocks so only just catching up..... Great reading this thread.... a sign of a decent side is one getting a result when not at their best..... we are a decent side....
Sad to say but 6/4 Fulham is a cracking bet, they will walk this league with squad they have. West Brom probably 2nd but rest up for grabs hopefully we can take one of them
Did I just hear Warbs say we have 7 games in 22 days after the break?! Jeez Louise. Let's hope everyone comes back after the rest fit, healthy and ready. Farcical.
I think we can potentially lose three players to the African Cup of Nations this season as well. Dieng ( Senegal ), Chair ( Morocco ) and Kakay ( Sierra Leone. )
Interesting interview in the offy site before the Cov game. Warbs reels off every game in order between this break and the next. Then goes on to reel off a long list of Cov players. Now that is preparation and attention to detail. Impressive. Great result by the team hard to be too critical of a strikers performance in the first half if there is so little opportunity. Great that Dykes had a game changing goal and Dieng is just growing in stature within this team. Thank goodness for a rest now to get everyone fit and focused for a mass of games which will turn this league around by the next break for sure. If we can be in the top three by then that will be an amazing feat.
Feel some are being a bit unfair on Austin, he was a victim of the team's (and Coventry's) performance in the first half as much as his own. Dykes made an immediate impact but feel he would equally have struggled in the first half. I hope I'm not wrong but feel Charlie still has plenty to offer, no one else was scoring that goal last week for example. I don't think Warbs is messing about this season, if anyone isn't pulling their weight they'll be axed.
From the Sunday Times... Super sub Lyndon Dykes scores as QPR earn win with another strong second-half display Queens Park Rangers 2 Coventry City 0 Ivan Speck Sunday August 29 2021, 12.01am, The Sunday Times Football please log in to view this image Dykes scored within a minute of being brought off the bench IAN RANDALL/ALAMY Whisper it quietly, but promotion momentum appears to be stirring in west London after Queens Park Rangers produced another stirring second half performance to lift themselves over Coventry City. The vital ingredients appear to be there - the ability to stay in a match when they are being outplayed, timely goals and magical substitutions by manager Mark Warburton. Substitute Lyndon Dykes scored within 60 seconds of trotting onto the Loftus Road pitch before central defender Yoann Barbet strode forward to send in a scudding low shot which led to him bundling home a less convincing strike moments later. Rangers have now scored nine of their 11 Championship goals in the second half of matches. Warburton said jokingly: “I will take absolutely all of the credit for the substitution. No, not at all. It’s about the squad. Lyndon’s been ill with a bug and he was chomping at the bit. You could see his energy when he came on. “Coventry were the better team in the first half, far more dangerous and they stretched us in behind. We were fortunate to come in with a clean sheet but then much better in the second half.” Having been out-manoeuvred by Barnsley in the first half a week earlier, Warburton’s side found themselves chasing shadows around the Loftus Road pitch for a second successive Saturday. Coventry’s front pairing of Martyn Waghorn and Viktor Gyokeres happily took the Rangers’ central defenders into channels and even towards the touchline, thereby opening up space inside for Callum O’Hare and Gustavo Hamer to exploit. The fluency of the visitors carved out an abundance of chances in the opening 45 minutes. Ian Maatsen stung the hands of Semi Dieng with shot on the break before O’Hare forced him into another parry. Barbet then threw his body in the way of efforts from Waghorn and O’Hare in quick succession as Coventry threatened to overwhelm their hosts. Their dominance was interrupted by a magnificent Ilias Chair free-kick which was tipped onto his own bar by airborne Coventry keeper Simon Moore, but there was an insistency about the Coventry play that QPR could not match before half-time. The pattern appeared as if it would continue in the opening minute of the second period when Waghorn’s rising shot needed to be tipped over by Dieng. Gradually, the home side discovered a rhythm which was augmented by the decision to take off their playmaker Chair and add the physical presence of Dykes after 67 minutes. His impact was immediate. A swish of his right foot following a nod down by Charlie Austin sent a shot spinning into the Coventry net. Austin had a role to play in the second goal, too, although that was merely in support of Barbet whose initial shot and subsequent follow-up confirmed the home side’s victory. Disappointed Coventry manager Mark Robins said: “It’s been a brilliant start to the season for us but you have to take your chances in games.” Queens Park Rangers (3-5-1-1) Dieng 7; Dickie 6, De Wijs 6, Barbet 9; Odubajo 6, Ball 8, Johansen 7, Willock 7, McCallum 7 (Kakay 85, 6); Chair 8 (Dykes 67, 7); Austin 6 (Dozzell 77, 6) Subs not used: Archer, Dunne, Thomas, Adomah Coventry City (5-3-2) Moore 8; Dabo 7, Hyam 6, McFadzean 7, Salter-Clarke 6 (Allen 71, 6), Maatsen 7; Sheaf 6, Hamer 8, O’Hare 8; Waghorn 7 (Godden 61, 6), Gyokeres 7 (Walker 61, 6) Subs not used: Wilson, Rose, Dacosta, Shipley Man of the match: Yoann Barbet (QPR) Referee: Dean Whitestone 7
A fair reflection of the game, but it was Ball that headed it to Dykes for the first goal, not Austin.
Absolutely. But it was Austins not very strong shot shot that got to Barbet, who was following up his blockbuster shot that the keeper parried, for the second
I am following a lot more closely this season albeit reading what's being written on here and bbc and catching YouTube highlights. The one thing I think is worth mentioning on the Charlie Austin debate is the injuries he has been carrying around virtuality all of his career, dodgy knees, dodgy shoulder and probably a couple more I can't remember. I just find it amazing that his desire to keep going and produce an end product is commendable. I really love this type of player and what they bring a team which is an example for the younger players. Our last war horse Clint Hill also had this desire and both players are true leaders on and off the field. I hope he can last another couple of seasons.
Spot on, and as for him being disinterested, that sounds like complete nonsense to me. See his reaction to both goals yesterday.
I don’t think he’s disinterested, I think some people mistake his demeanour/attitude, which has always been simmering disgust with his colleagues, the opposition and the officials, for disinterest. He gets more love from the crowd in the stadium than anyone else, and he’d have to be truly stupid to take that for granted. But he can’t run like he used to, and I don’t think that’s down to carrying an injury, it’s just age and wear and tear. Still, give him the ball on his head or to his feet, in the box, he’ll score a lot of goals.
I do think the injury he picked up against Millwall has hindered him. I agree that he's always been a bit of a moaner, but he's never had any pace to lose. His scoring record for us is absolutely fantastic and something that is very, very hard to buy. He scored both goals in the play off semi. He deserves respect, admiration and thanks imo and as you say, I'm confident that he'll continue to score regularly at this level.
