Well not a good start by any means - but thats all it is - a start. Think back this time twelve months ago - QPR 0-4 Bolton. Who ended up in the Championship? Obviously many, like myself we expecting a great start from our new team - and rightfully so considering the talent we now have. But for one reason or another today it didnt work. Perhaps too many new faces? Wrong tactics? Poor performances? In my opinion thr major problem was the tactics. Hughes got it badly wrong imo - last season against swansea we let them have the ball in their defence, and started pressing only when the ball got to their midfield. Today there was pretty much no pressing until they were right near our penatlty box. And that was the major problem - we just didnt get in their faces. Also to play one up front, whoever it is, against Swansea is just plain stupid. We need two strikers to press their short goal kicks and to help eachother up there. Cisse was completley cut off from the other 9 oufield players all day. And MH was at fault for not noticing this and changing it. Couple that with off the pace performances, and what looked like a surprisingly tired performance we deservedly lost. They simply wanted it more, and outfought us all day long. As i said, the performance was a surprisingly tired one - dont know if anyone else noticed that? BUT... Its one game, and tbh as MH said - it could be the making of us - just as the Liverpool home game last season was. Perhaps the players were over confident and got carried away with the excitement - this is sure to bring them all back down to earth for sure. Plenty of time to go, not to get worried about yet. And normally when QPR lose it normally hits me very hard and I constantly moan about it all week - this time however I am not, maybe thats due to the shock of losing 5-0, but also because I am totally confident in the team, MH, TF and AB to get it right.
It was a strange game of two halves. The key for us is to focus on how we bossed the first half and the number of chances in the first half. Once Hughes sorts out whatever happened in the second half, we will be fine. Goals change games and if Mackie had put his chance away it might have changed matters. Just a bad day at the office and I agree with judo - not even remotely worried. Yet!
Absolutely. Sparky sorts this out, that is for sure. Next months will show was this result be derived from brilliancy of Swans or just a really bad day of our goalkeeper and defence. Still, if you remember of first 40 minutes yesterday, you may recall that we were totally dominating that match until then. It was just after their second goal that we collapsed totally. We did get the same amount of points with this horrible 0-5 defeat, that we would have get if we would have go down fighting and lose 2-3......Last season we lose our first match home to Bolton 0-4, but we won Everton away 1-0 a week after. So, keep the spirit up we will rise from here!
I know many of us are trying to put a positive spin on things but once again we find ourselves making excuses for the inexcusable. Players need time to gel, it's only the first game, we played better in the first half, we were thumped in the corresponding game last season etc etc etc....bulls***. This was a monumental f***ing disaster. A 0-5 scoreline can only be read one way. If TF is serious he will summon MH to his office on Monday and issue a please explain. Did they not say doing 'incredible' early business helped the team prepare better for the season??? Do the words perfect preparation ring a bell? We have just wasted the entire pre season by the looks of things. We had only 4 debutants in the starting XI ffs, not 11 and they were part of the entire pre season so the whole issue of gelling is irrelevant. We were picked off at will by a side we considered inferior, despite all the positive talk coming from the club in the last month. I don't know what feels worse, being lied to or finding out MH may not be as good as I first thought. And unlike last season, we don't have 5-6 new players coming in the plug the gaps. S***. As I said it was a f***ing disaster. Completely unacceptable and inexcusable. I tolerated this kind of performance last season but will not this one, not with our squad or our setup. There is something inherently wrong with a side, filled with quality, that gets spanked 5 zip at home....whether its the first game, last game, cup game....I don't give a ****. Accountability is what I'm after. Sorry but I just can't dismiss this performance as one of those that 'happens in football'. Rant over.
Hi 12th. What sort of accountability produces the best results? The Headmaster with the cane lurking type of accountability or the encouraging type with a knowing look and a hand on the shoulder that speaks volumes? The best is self accountability. I know those guys will be gutted after that farce and will do all they can to put it right. Sadly, we are up against Norwich who have the same to prove, the home advantage (that we squandered) and they also appear to be a QPR bogie team.
I can't see how we can compare anything about last season to this apart from we lost our first game to a heavy scoreline ... It stops there for me
After what happened last season you'd think they all learnt a valuable lesson. If that's not motivation then I don't know what is. But they were not up for it which worries the **** out of me. As does the she'll be right attitude. I'm beginning to think this 'long term project' sales pitch by TF is starting to breed complacency.
