Ok, so this cant have been the start we'd have all being hoping for let alone expecting. An early contender for goal of the season from Gary Cahill, followed by 2 deflected goals and a fine finish from Fabrice Muamba put pay to any hope for QPR of a good start. However its not all doom and gloom. For the first 30 minutes at least, we were actually on top. Boothroyd and Campbell both had chances with Campbell (rightly) having a goal disallowed. Boltons 1st, a perfect curling finish from Gary Cahill proved the old saying that 'when you get your chances, you've got to take them'. Once again after the break, we actually showed some promising signs, with Taarabt unlucky with a long range shot. Then, Rangers decided to give a masterclass in 'how not to defend - premier league edition'. Step 1: never ever sign Fitz Hall or Danny Gabbidon let alone play them Step 2: if theres a deflected balll going across the goal, keeper come and claim it Step 3: dont triple mark one player leaving two open Bolton's second, can only be described as a lucky goal. A deflected shot from Chris Eagles was turned into his own net by Danny Gabbidon. As to why Gabbidon was sliding is unknown at the moment and also as to why he sidefooted it, instead of whacking it away is another question that must be asked. Bolton's third followed in much the same vein. Klasnic took a shot which Kenny had covered only, for Orr this time to deflect it in. Goals like this will happen from time to time. The fourth however was purely comical defending. With Hall and Gabbidon choosing to double mark the Davies, it was left for Muamba to walk through the open door left for him and score. Now let me make this clear. In no way did the 4-0 scoreline flatter Bolton. QPR simply weren't good enough. Ratings: Kenny 6 - didnt really make any bad decisions other than choosing to come way off his line for a ball yet the game was already lost with the score at 4-0 Hill 3 - the red card was unneccessary. Whilst Petrov went down easily and through a few elbows himself, you CANNOT headbutt someone or even attempt to headbutt someone. otherwise his defending left a lot to be desired with his lack of pace showing from time to time. Hall 4 - poor defending today. not a good partnership with gabbidon. Gabbidon 4 - own goal aside looked shaky when on the ball and generally poor. Dyer n/a - unable to give a score considering he only spent 3 minutes on the pitch before going off with another injury. wish him well Derry 6 - showed attacking promise never seen before. needs to be given captains armband show he can show more leadership on the field. Taarabt 6 - overall not too bad but not too great. got into the game more in the second half and showed more attacking presence but will needs a few more games to adjust. Faurlin 4.5 - needs to adjust, was slow at times and not strong enough on the ball. Smith 5 - same as faurlin but showed some attacking threat Campbell 6.5 - when in the game looked a threat. needs time to gel with boothroyd, couldbe a good combination Boothroyd 6.5 - same as campbell Subs: Orr 6 - inspite of own goal, marshalled side well and shoudl be a regualr fixture on the right side this year Buzsaky 5 - timid, nneds to build up confidence Helguson 5 - showed very little but spent most of time aroudn halfway line waiting for ball to be cleared up Ref: Atkinson 9 - did nothing wrong with no controversial decisions, very good today Thoughts for Everton: the centreback pairing has to change. i think Connolly and Gorkss provide the best combo so should start the next game. The pairing of Boothroyd and Campbell will get better with time so inspite of the hefty scoreline, I'm honestly not too worried at this stage in time. And to any R's supporters that are worried, just think of it this way, we're only 3 points from the top.
Maybe we'll follow Wigan's path from last season as they were beaten 0-4 at home to Blackpool. Or maybe we won't. I'd knock Tarbs down to 5 or 5.5
Got to take chances,I thought Boothryd was the best player by far. Apart from Jay,its the same team from last season and we are in big trouble if we start with the same players week in,week out. I dont think Bolton broke a sweat and there did seem to be a gulf in class and in the way they move the ball from front to back,with pace. We have no pace,no wingers and our back four are awful. Neil wants 3 more??..Im thinking more like 5!..I hate football again!
Bothroyd was excellent, easily our best player in the first half. Everyone was anonomous in the second though. DJ looked a bit frustrated by a lack of supply at times!
Just my opinion but I though Derry was also good today. Bothroyd was probably our motm he was brilliant with the ball at his feet and also in the air. Unlucky not to score
There are so many threads I don't know which one to put my thoughts on. We were not 4 goals worse than Bolton. There were the better team, but they had all the luck. I think that the criticism of our defence is unjust. Paddy was Paddy, no concerns with him. Hall defended well. We know he canât pass, but he won many headers and wasnât over powered by Davies. Gabbidon likewise. Bradley Orr didnât look out of place when he came on. Sure he was beaten for pace on a couple of occasions, but he didnât panic and do anything stupid, he just got back in to position. Derry would get my vote as our man of the match. He showed more determination than anyone and fought hard. Faurlin however was poor. I voiced my concerns about him previously and got some stick, maybe now more will agree. Smith gave his all and didnât look out of place, he should not have been substituted. Campbell and Bothroyd both showed a lot of promise, they looked good together and a class above the rest of the team. Taarabt gave a standard performance. I think there was enough for hope for the future once he works out what he needs to do at this level. However Buzsaky looked good when he came on. He linked up well with Campbell and Bothroyd. That may be the way forward. With him in play, we managed some quick one touch moves. The bench was of concern. Apart from Buszaky who was there to change the game? Dave, Hogan, scary isnât it? Our problems were going forwards, not defending. We didnât really look like scoring after the first 10 minutes. We struggled to retain possession and couldnât work any clear openings. Iâd like to see Buszaky start a match. I think he linked well with DJ and Jay, is Warnock brave enough to leave Taarabt on the bench?
