QPR away thoughts / preview

Wards not been good enough for most of last season, now weve got options he should be on the bench and moved on in January.

 

I agree, Ward's not that good at the moment.
I feel though, as do many others I suspect, that Mick is the real problem to players being garbage whilst with us.

 

From reading all above comments, it seems with the changes, out of postions today, line-ups and subs, it was MM who needs changing after a poor day at the office. Wonder if we will be saying this over and over next few weeks.
I do hope not.

 

Disappointing loss this, however QPR seem improved and good at home this season. We won't go unbeaten every away game.

Beat Bolton Saturday ( surely we will ) and I'd be thrilled with that as a start.

Will Celina start from the off Sat?

 

Lets hope so Westy, we need another quick win to keep our surprising momentum going...and played with more flair too!
Several fresh faces seem to have played well, but will MM give them the start? And in the their preferred positions?

 

Normal service has been resumed after the euphoria of August!

 

I didn't watch the match, although I came close to actually going, but that's now three losses on the bounce and our threadbare squad are starting to come undone. There was an element of fortune throughout our winning streak, but it's important we put this defeat behind us and get all three points against basement boys Bolton. Two right backs at centre half, winger as a central midfielder, and strikers played out wide. That kind of formation and playing style may get victories over weaker teams in this division, but against the likes of Fulham and QPR, who have a playing identity and have purchased wisely, it's just not going to cut it.

 

Tough run after Bolton H coming up that's for sure...... Delighted Derby A was postponed. That would have been 4 defeats in a row how they're playing.

 

Lets be honest about this, although the purse strings were loosened a little in the summer we didn't spend anything like the amount that Wolves, Derby, and a few other Clubs did, also we didn't have the millions coming in from parachute payments and selling players such as Norwich did, so basically what we have got is a slightly better quality ragbag than we had last season.
On the upside we now have strikers who know how to put the ball in the net, on the downside we have a pathetic midfield which is incapable of supplying good ball to feet or a string of good crosses for our front men to convert, no ball = no goals = lose the game.
Our injury hit defence is a mess with only Bart showing any real quality but he cant do it on his own, hopefully this will improve when we get players back and our useless midfield also should benefit from a fully fit Huws etc to provide some cover to our defenders.
What we don't have and haven't had for years is a Magilton type player who will win the ball and get forward at pace to provide fast service to our front men but also challenge to break up opposition attacks, at the moment all our midfielders seem to do is escort the opposition to the edge of our box followed by a goalmouth scramble that Bart usually has to clear up.
Lets hope the returning players cure the problem because I think we know how much will be spent on new players in January don't we?

 

I think the returning players will go some way to resolving our current issues. Despite being fourth in the division, we are still fielding a side with major defenders and midfielders missing.

We have options in midfield, and I think when the likes of Huws and Adeyemi return to full fitness, they should be started ahead of Skuse and Ward. I like Ward, I think he can be a key player for us when played in his correct position, but he isn't cut out in central midfield against the best teams in this division. Likewise, Skuse is a reliable player against weaker teams, but put him up against a technically proficient central midfield, where their players enjoy maintaining position, and he always comes off second best and looks a very limited player. My concern is that McCarthy will continue to be too loyal to Skuse, when a more mobile Downes or a box-to-box player like Adeyemi would be better options. It's frustrating because McCarthy has correctly resolved some problem areas of our starting eleven and the overall squad in the transfer window, but still seems completely oblivious to Skuse's limitations.

It's even more frustrating because I think we actually have a decent starting eleven, when the squad is fully fit. The fact we've had half the squad out injured surely highlights some fitness / training issues at the club. I wouldn't hang that all on McCarthy, but I hope he has taken steps to reduce the risk of further injuries in the future. A midfield quartet of Celina - Huws - Adeyemi / Downes - Ward is, in my mind, a balanced and exciting midfield that should cause problems for our rivals. Play those behind two of Waghorn, Garner, and/ or McGoldrick, and we'll return to firing in the goals again.

As Fieldmarshall rightly states, we are still one of the lowest spending clubs in this division, but that should not disguise the fact the we have some technically capable and exciting players at this club. Last season aside, I think McCarthy's tenure at this club has been mostly successful (especially in comparison to his two predecessors), however he needs to select his teams according to form and talent, and not rely on old favourites that no longer put in the consistent level of performances that this club should expect. it's an age-old criticism of McCarthy at this club, and it's disconcerting to see it still applies.

Having said all that, this has still been a very successful, and surprising start to the season. Three points against Bolton, which we should be expected to get, and we'll still be looking pretty near the top of the table.

 

While I agree with some of the points you have made Nuggets I still think that we will finish towards the bottom of the division this season. The fact is that we are running just to stand still and each year it gets harder an harder! I am sick to death of the same turgid crap that we get every year! The only season where I have felt really good about things was the play-off year but since then it has been nothing short of horrific! Serious investment is needed but that aint going to happen with these clowns in charge.

 

Agreed about Downes Nuggets he seems to be our aggressive but skillful hope for the future, unless he gets sold off for a huge profit which instantly disappears.
I can't in all honesty go with you on Ward, he may improve with better players around him but I'm not convinced also Skues good games seem to be getting fewer so maybe time for a change there.
Iorfa looks like Bambi on ice which is a worry but Knudsen does seem to have improved, once again we will have to wait to see what the strongest formation will be.

 

Warky, I don't think we will finish in the top six, sadly we are lacking the identity, quality, and investment that provides the right foundation to challenge for those places. I do think performances and the entertainment factor has picked up this season, compared to the last two, as far as the home games have gone (Fulham aside where we were completely outplayed). Realistically, at best, we could sneak into the top half, while playing a more attacking, entertaining style of football and blooding through a few youngsters along the way. That would constitute a decent season and presumably end with McCarthy being let go and a more progressive manager coming in, able to work with a more attuned squad.

Fair enough regarding your thoughts on Ward, Fieldmarshall, but he is comfortable with the ball at his feet and he has had a couple of good performances in central midfield, which isn't his preferred position. Agree with you regarding Iorfa and Knudsen.

 

Sneak into the Top Half if we are lucky!!!! Well Whoop da fooking do!!!

This is how low we have sunk as a once revered football club!

 

Obviously I hope we get promoted, what Ipswich fan doesn't want to see that? But realistically I cannot see it happening. With the revenue of this club and the fact we've languished in this division for 15 years, it's either going to take a structured rebuild with investment and an established playing philosophy (Brighton, Burnley, Bournemouth, Huddersfield etc) or we're going to have to sneak into the play offs like a couple of years ago and strike lucky.

Not too long ago, some fans on here were quite content to view this as a transitional season where young players are given the opportunity to progress and for some attacking style of football to be developed. We've made the play offs once in the last decade, we have no claims for being a big club in contemporary football. That's the harsh reality that this club is in. In these moneyed times, it's the harsh reality that a lot of fallen giants are in, and some of them are in division three and division four. We are entitled to nothing.

 

Agreed Nuggets, its going to take a radical change in ambition, philosophy, and probably management to bring about advancement for the Club, and this can only come with a change of ownership I feel, weve had years of ME now and his outlook for the future is plain to see,but weve covered this subject many times before.

 

Personally, when all fit i would like to see this

Bart

Connolly
Webster
Smith
Kenlock

Rowe
Downes
Huwes
Celina

Garner
Waghorn

Not a bad side ya know, i just dont think our defence/midfield is good enough to play 3 at back.

 

I think given the resourced at his disposal Mick has put together a pretty good squad. And fair play to Brian Klug aswell as we've certainly got some good youngsters coming through aswell.

For me where we fall down and we have done for years and it's what our problem will be this season again is a lack of intent and coherence in midfield, plus now we actually have some decent footballers and talented youngsters yet we're still playing that rubbish bypass the midfield football. Does Mick actually coach our midfield?

You can accuse Mick of being negative but actually over the past couple of years he's put out some quite attacking team selections problem is this isn't reflected in his tactics and philosophy.

For me, we now actually have a team quite similar to that from the George Burley days, we just don't have an identity to match on the pitch. It's like Mick has tried to build a traditional Ipswich team but can't translate that on the pitch. For me we now have a squad a academy ripe for to give a young progressive manager a shot

 

Frank De Boer is looking for a job...

 

If the Palace lot struggled with his rigid footballing philosophy, imagine how badly our lads will fare!