[h=2]He scores when he wants[/h][h=3]Late Cisse strike could keep Rangers up[/h]Posted: 07th May 2012 14:21 please log in to view this image Cisse: Jekyll and Hyde Nobody can deny the incredible team spirit and tenacity of this group of players. QPR FanZoner Chris King Djibril Cissé has been an enigmatic figure at Loftus Road ever since his arrival, in January, from Italian club Lazio for a £4m fee. Since the Frenchman put pen to paper on a two-and-a-half year deal, he has made only seven appearances. In that time the R's have played 15 games. Heavily misguided displays of ill-discipline against first Wolverhampton Wanderers at home, back on 4 February, and then Sunderland away on 24 March, left the R's woefully bereft of firepower for a number of crucial matches: Blackburn Rovers and Bolton away, and Fulham and Everton at home spring to mind. However, when he's been free of the shackles of suspensions, Cissé has demonstrated unstoppable goal-scoring form. Unquestionably the statistic of the weekend, concerning the 30-year-old, is that Cissé's seven appearances for the club are handily demarcated: he has scored in five, and been sent off in the other two. Sunday was one of Cisse's "good tempered" games, although you could have forgiven the former Liverpool forward for showing his frustration at being relegated to the bench for the game against Stoke City. A 50th-minute substitute for the woeful Akos Buzsaky, who for all his hard work and genuine talent is not a Premier League footballer, Cisse had QPR's best chance of the game. [h=4]incapable[/h]A Taye Taiwo cross was deflected onto the head of the striker, but his glancing effort was brilliantly turned away by Tomas Sørensen. Still, Stoke's clearly-defined game plan of shutting up shop and bullying the home side, as well as the incapable referee Andre Marriner, into submission, appeared to have worked. With 89 minutes on the clock, the hosts were no likelier to score than they had been when the game kicked off. However, in those final 10 minutes, both in W12 and at the Reebok Stadium, 217 miles away, something incredible happened. Having been 2-0 up and cruising against West Bromwich Albion, who from the sound of things had the metaphorical deck-chairs out, Bolton collapsed: first Chris Brunt clattered home to half the arrears, before, in the space of a minute, the relegation race was turned on its head. With the clock ticking, an unhindered run from Shaun Wright-Phillips sees the substitute's shot deflected away for a corner. Adel Taarabt swings the ball in, straight onto the head of the unmarked Anton Ferdinand, squanderer of a glorious chance a few minutes earlier. His header to the far post is met by a completely unmarked Cissé, who slots home, causing an eruption of untamed joy and relief around the stadium. Meanwhile, at the Reebok, the ball finds its way to West Brom striker Simon Cox in the Bolton area. He beats the defender, squaring the ball beautifully for James Morrison to slam home as the added time board is held up. Bolton have blown it, and QPR have done it. Nearly. Had the season ended on Sunday, it would have been mightily fitting. While there remains far too many negative perceptions of Rangers in the media, nobody can deny the incredible team spirit and tenacity of this group of players. And that, unarguably, is down to manager Mark Hughes. He has turned Taarabt from a sulkier, less-illustrious version of Cristiano Ronaldo (circa 2003) into a fully-fledged Premier League playmaker. This change was best exemplified by last season's Player of the Year tracking back, hassling Stoke's attackers in his own defensive third, and dropping deep to set up counter attacks. Joey Barton, meanwhile, is now a captain worthy of his armband. 37 points may not yet be enough, but for a team that less than two months ago appeared consigned to relegation, two points off the bottom of the table, to be heading to Eastlands with a reasonable chance of survival is nothing short of remarkable.
While there remains far too many negative perceptions of Rangers in the media, nobody can deny the incredible team spirit and tenacity of this group of players. And that, unarguably, is down to manager Mark Hughes. That is so well said...it will be such a shame if it has all come one match too late. Come on u Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrs (and Stoke)
Hard work and genuine talent? Not at this level I'm afraid. The lad lacks the tenacity and imagination to make any real contribution other than having a very occasional pop and scoring the odd goal - which doesn't happen in most games.
