Have had this post lying in wait in the fear that I'd get slated vehemently for it, but after reading the responses to Cols match report I'll post it after all as this is something I'd really like to hear the views of from others on here. Firstly, I was all for Harry and have also said that to me, he and QPR could be the perfect match. But football is about scoring goals and what we have been served up under Harry has been some of the worst I've seen in that respect. No attacking patterns, no plan going forward. Something that can't be said about either Warnock or Hughes (even how inept he was). Fair enough we've been up against a lot of top half teams, but apart from City and United they can all be got at, proved by many this season. The worst example being Spurs. The way HR was talking about them made my stomach turn, another HR special about bigging himself up (his squad). Fair enough we kept Bale quiet something none other have done since. But the respect we showed them was appaling imo. We (Hughes) beat them last year with ten men, keeping a clean sheat and keeping Bale quiet in the same process. Exhibit A so to speak. He has openly degraded our squad, his ususal way of pushing the blame away from himself. Recently saying his Portsmouth squad was crap but still stayed up. A squad including the likes of Muntari, Boateng (both beat Barcelona last week), Crouch, James, Defoe (I think) and many more who has gone on to bigger greater things. Our squad isn't bad, but their confidence and form is. Imo statements like this won't help. I'm sick and tired of management, staff and players belittle us. Warnock and his promoted team was proud of being QPR (see picture below), much of the dross added since our promotion is anything but. Both Hughes and Redknapp is guilty of this. Barton last season was the biggest contributor, but many have followed him since. Little old QPR, should be lucky we bother showing up. Money talks, end of. please log in to view this image That picture tell a thousand words to me about harmony, togethernes and pride. A football club should always try to move forward. Maybe TF and co have tried to hard and to fast. As a stop gap, try and save us this season then Harry was probably the best call at the time. But regardless of what happens we should try and get someone in with their own ideas, seing us as a big step up and not a step down like MH and HR. Who can take us forward, develop our own way of playing with young hungry players. It might take time but imo is the only way to succeed. Prove me wrong Harry, I'd be the happiest man alive for it. Please discuss lads.
Well said Norway, I agree with every word. Publicly slating the squad by saying that they weren't good enough was poor form. When players are lacking confidence that is the last thing they needed to hear. I thought he would of been a good man motivator. Apparently not. Sb73's not wanting him to join us, for me, is now hauntingly evident.
i think you have to face the fact that some of your signings have been diabolical. as you mentioned it is time to get hungry young lads in there who have a desire to prove themselves. i think samba should be donating 90% of his salary back to nurturing youth. was really impressed by Townsend against man utd. get zamora fit and you may have a chance of survival, good luck
Yes, an excellent, thought-provoking OP Norway. I must say on the motivation front, I didn't see too many crestfallen players with their heads down, even after Raphael's great goal. There is fight in the team. As I said in another post, Harry's test is NOW. Starting at St Mary's. Most important match of the season...
My honest view about Harold is i don't trust him, like him or believe him... I think he is a football dinosaur ... Both SB73 and myself gave our feelings earlier on last year I will however wait until i let go until the season is finished because I am a QPR fan and thats what we do
The article is OK, poor headline though, to which the answer is no. My opinion is that Harry is starting to look overrated, we should be better now.
We are not creating and scoring goals North. We have stopped shipping them under Redknapp but he hasn't been able to find the balance between defending and attacking. Hughes at least got it right at home last season. Away from home I see no difference between Hughes and Redknapp, something we should as Redknapp has had enough time to change it around and bring his own players and staff. We're not moving forward, closer to backwards but at the moment it's status quo for me.
Even our defending has gone south lately, 6 in the last two games not to mention the 4 from MK. Hard to see where the spark for recovery will come from, although things can change inexplicably. That run of home wins last season came after a very low ebb, and for most of that Liverpool game we were terrible, but then it changed, and the players and fans came to believe that it was possible and had an expectation of success. Maybe that will happen at Saints; if it doesn't it will be too late.
As much as we can say that we are not scoring enough goals and what not the main problem we have is holding on to the ball, with all our huff and puff we only ever keep the ball between the center backs, we are not pressing the ball further up the pitch. When we had Helgeson we had someone who could hold the ball and bring others into it, Zamora is great at this but the players now need to start taking risks as with him on the pitch we are more likely not to lose the ball as easily as with Mackie or Remy up top, Harry has said this but are they going to do it?
Agree, there's nothing in it for me for Harold not to deliver, even though I made my views clear last year. Next 11 games are the acid test for him and the players. They have to take responsibility for their own performances and he has to be accountable for the team as a whole. No final judgments until its over, still time for us to get it right. And wouldn't it be glorious if we did....... Just been on the phone to a Mackem work colleague. I reckon, if we get something, even a point, at Southampton, the Sunderland game becomes a kick on or die moment. Good news is he thinks they are woeful, no pace in centre backs (O'Shea and Bramble) or centre mid (Larsson), no threat up front. After decades as an ST holder he and his mates are sick of the lack of entertainment (sound familiar?) not renewing next year and doing a couple of big weekends away built around games instead. And he reckons they could easily get dragged into the relegation battle. Time for Remy, Townsend and Hoilett to be buzzing around like angry bees.
Agree re the S'land game. If we get a positive result against the Saints this weekend the whole mood around LR against S'land will be totally different. God I hope so as I'm coming over for it, my one and only this season (u)fortunately (joking ) If we turn it around this will make for an end to a season like never before.
Hope you will be coming to the Conningham pre-match Norway, think there will be a few of us there. Where has my mate Oslo gone?
Definitely, wouldn't miss it. Conningham it is. Hope it's ok I bring two mates (Liverpool), we're celebrating the 40th birthday for one of them going up to Liverpool on Sunday against Spurs. But have to take 'em both to Loftus Road for a proper day out first I've missed Oslo of late myself. Believe he got tired with all the OT stuff and other negatives lately. But he'll be back, we're like the Hotel California you know.
Its a fair OP Thor and you make a good argument. There's just a couple of things I'd disagree with. For one, there's no way on earth that we could possibly have gone backwards from Mark Hughes. 4 points from 13 games remember? Harry's got just under a point per game. Yeah not great either but a vast vast improvement on Hughes. I welcomed that and thought it was refreshingly honest. The other way - talking them up all the time - hadn't worked under Hughes so he was well within his rights to slate them a bit and see would that elicit a response. Our squad is shockingly bad. Dreadful in fact. Unbalanced, over-age, over-paid, lacking hunger.....in fact I could go on all day about how rotten this squad is. Their confidence was at the same level as every other squad at the start of the season yet they went out and got 4 points from the opening 13 games. Its no excuse. What Management and staff have belittled us? The players have belittled us from the first kick of the ball this season. Redknapp's only telling it the way it is. He probably still can't believe how bad the squad of fraudsters he's inherited actually is. Having said all that, if Redknapp fails to keep us up, its a failure and he'll have to take at least a small portion of the blame. He's a dodgy character alright Norway and you are correct in that he knows what to say and how to say it to keep the blame as far away from himself as possible. But lets not forget how we got into this mess in the first place.
I think, if Harold averages a point or just over a point per game for the ones he's been our manager for, he can say its obviously an improvement on Hughes and had he been in charge the whole season we would have survived, even if he doesn't keep us up. But our current form is relegation form regardless of the Hughes legacy. He's still saying we can do it and we have a better squad than Pompey when he kept them up. And we are one point closer to safety than they were at this stage. With 2 wins in 27 its a miracle we are only 7 points adrift at this stage of the season. So its still possible. We'll know after the next two games.
