So, being the student I am living oop norf, I don't get to go to many games, but I happen to watch all of them online. But anyway, I thought I'd give my account of today's occurrence's and you can see what you think. Getting to Wigan was simple enough, not the nicest place in the world but there was a delightful little chippy on the way to ground outside the station, Battered sausage and chips for £2 is never a bad thing. But I got to ground pretty early, and the team arrived what I thought was pretty late (1.45). Normally I would have expected to see a team in the ground at at least 1.30 to prepare properly but so be it. There definitely seemed to be a positive atmosphere in the camp, especially with the new female member of the backroom staff. As I watched the warm up I had a decent chat with a bloke, who was seemingly as optimistic as me about the game, but were both surprised that Mbia and Diakite were both starting considering their injuries last week. The game itself; we started off very brightly didn't we? But again a lack of movement up front always seems to be our downfall, and as much as he tries Mackie just doesn't have that strikers instinct of moving into the gaps naturally. Wigan's first goal came from a corner which was as a consequence of Jose Bosingwa giving away one of his numerous stupid fouls where he jumps up with his back to the man and 10 times out of 10 gives away a foul. From the stand it looked like a very good finish, having seen the replay just another bit of luck not going our way. Our goal was a great bullet header in front of our fans. Great passion from Nelsen, what a hero. Second half Rob Green made a couple of fantastic saves in the opening minutes. Again going forward we don't have the movement to really trouble teams, and it is very painful to watch. Our second goal, horrendous error from their gentleman but credit to Cisse, great finish. It really bothered me how we then decided to just sit back and take a breather. The last time we did that was City away last game of the season in the 93rd minute. We work better when everyone is working hard and it was no surprise they scored straight away. Mbia and Diakite looked half a hard short in the second half IMO. The most frustrating part of the day for me was in the last 10 minutes. On three occasions Granero had the ball and wanted to move it quickly but had NOBODY moving, and almost lost the ball. At one point we were playing at a walking pace when we should have been trying to get a winner. All in all a draw probably a fair result, credit to Wigan defensively they're very rigid and coming forward they cause teams problems. However I must say, some of things you hear at QPR games are just priceless. My highlight was a quote from a gentleman sitting behind me who clearly had no knowledge of football as he was yelling at the lino for making correct decisions. Upon one Jamie Mackie offside in the first half he yelled "No effin way Lino, he came back onside, because I saw it with my own eyes". Just priceless. A good day out, especially considering I managed to get a junior u16 ticket for a fiver despite being several years older than 16. EDIT* Also a big shout out and respect to Mbia today. At the end of the match he went into the crowd to give a young Ranger his shirt instead of throwing and hoping. Earned a standing ovation from both sets of fans still there!
Glad you enjoyed one of our local delicacy and the price was ok and good to read that your time at the DW was a good one and that you got a cheaper ticket than normal now that IS priceless.
travelled over to wigan myself full of optimism. liked the look of the team bit soon realised mackie was too isolated up front. i still think we will stay up.
Spent most of the game painting with it on in the background, you don't argue with Mrs Rhino. Have to disagree the game was there for the taking but our inability to cross the line showed up again, not lack of effort or heart just a state of mind that now pervades the squad. It will come good. Jesus I sound like DT, but it will, the signs really ARE there, heads were up, the tempo WAS premier league. The fight is back. Proud of Clint Hill and Shaun Derry today **** me how much do those guys care eh? Come on R'sss remember it's not the result now, it's how we play the game.
Disagree about elnino's comments regarding Mackie's movement. I felt on a number of occasions he moved their defence out of position creating a huge gap in the centre just gagging to be exploited by a run from midfield. This was one of our issues yesterday, a lack of intelligent movement and runners off the ball - something Wigan did on numerous occasions.
I am studying Human Geography and Planning; don't ask me what I want to do because I am in limbo! Preferably something with housing though. Back to the football talk; Mackie's movement was good, but it took him too long to do it. A natural/confident striker would do it instinctively and quicker.
There's no doubt that Mackie's not a top-class striker, but nevertheless he dragged the centre-halves out of position of several occasions in the 1st half. Perhaps there were times when a bit more instinctive movement would have been in order; but overall in our current situation Mackie's efforts far out weigh those of Cisse.
Yes I agree with you regarding Cisse. Personally I would have expected Hoilett to come on for Taarabt. I also feel there are so many occasions where our players fail to have efforts from outside of the box. It opens up so frequently; just have a pop!
Elnino: agree about the Hoilett swap, though personally I would have left Adel on. They seem to have a good understanding when they've played together before.
Nicely constructed OP Elnino. Great read and pretty accurate from what I saw. Agree with most of the replies too in different ways. Just wish we knew how to regain the initiative when things start going against us. And yes, credit to Stephane for the feelgood efforts at the end.
