Match Day Thread QPR v Norwich City. Sat 24th April ko 1500 hrs

I think Watford have won 11 matches 1 - 0 according to BBC Sport app. Their biggest win was 6 - 0 against Bristol City.

 

33 points from 1-0 they scored all of their 10 penalies which is amazing but I think they won 6 or 7 of those in 1-0 ground out turgid wins

 

Portsmouth looking like leaving League 1?

 

Lol good I blame Harry Rednap

 

Cheers, although I'm still bitter about Easter Saturday 1976........

We've been really good since New Year and with the budget we have we're back to punching above our weigh again just like we used too........ We're developing a number of good youngsters who could go onto better things, Dieng in goal despite his error today has been seriously good, Dickie has stepped up from League 1 and looks good at this level, Willock has come on in leaps and bounds, his brother is the lad on loan at Newcastle from Arsenal, and our Willock should be a Premier League regular in a couple of seasons, not necessarily with us.......

All in all things are looking quiet rosie at the moment and if we can keep Austin & Johnasen whom we've had on loan since January then maybe a top 6 dash next season is possible.......plus it will help that several sides WRDC, Reading, Boro, Forest should really start to feel the pinch of having to operate on a much reduced budget, something we've been doing for the last 5 seasons..........

Good stream by the way........

 

I was born February 1976 so I'm too young to take ownership of this particular grievance but today was an exciting game where it could have gone 4 goals each way but today our big hitters came through Aarons scored Buendia scored and big Tim saved a penalty at 0-1 ...

I wasn't counting chickens until the last 10 minutes.

There was a lot of half chances that could have went in Norwich were under the kosh

 

@Farked19


" Iwas there and I actually wanted QPR to win. I just thought it would very good for a footbalng side to get the title instead of one of the usual suspects. And it wouldn't have made any difference to us in mid table obscurity."

@cruyfsturn


Lol

 

Stan Bowles now there is a name to remember: 97 goals in 315 appearances and still with us.

 

Null

 

I was there as well. Kevin Keelan made a reflex save with his chest at point blank. Like cruyfsturn (now Farked19), I was an admirer of that QPR side which played dynamic, flowing football. Hopefully those times will come again Trammers and judging by the performance today that could well be. Hope so.

 

Sadly Stan is suffering from Alzheimers, has been for a number of years........ Here's a link to an article from The Guardian from 2017....

The man was a footballing genius.....

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/mar/08/stan-bowles-qpr-alzheimers-memories

 

Trammers: It was sad to read your post. Is he another victim of heading the hard leather footballs of his era?

 

Yes, we've also lost some past heroes to Alzheimers, including Duncan Forbes and Martin Peters, another genius of that era. Sad losses.

 

I think this is an interesting question, I'm sure Farke & Webber have given it plenty of thought! It'll be interesting to see the solutions they come up with. For me, I see two areas they could look at to help us against well-organised teams, and increasing attacking efficiency:

1) Breaking the press

Even with a back 4 (+Krul) being very adept with the ball at their feet for this level, teams like Barnsley have shown that an effective press can really hurt us. Next season, the quality of press we're up against is going to be even better, with fitter opposition who we can't tire out so much by dominating possession. If a team can stop Skipp/Mclean from taking possession and turning upfield, Norwich really struggle to establish the platform from which to build attacks.

Perhaps we address this by adding an extra body, i.e. a 3rd CB or CM, or giving an attacking player the instructions to drop deeper when we receive possession and help us retain possession to move upfield, even if that limits that player as an attacking threat. Or we look at establishing an out-ball. That doesn't need to be replacing Pukki with a 6'4'' brute, but perhaps one of our attacking four could do with some aerial ability to aim for when under the cosh.

2) Set pieces

To start a sentence in a way that will alarm some....Sam Allardyce has always said that a major factor in Premier League survival is maximising set pieces, at both ends of the pitch. Now clearly Allardyce isn't exactly a role model for our style of football, but this was also an area Farke/Webber identified as needing improvement last summer, having scored just 3 times from set pieces in the Prem (20th in the league), whilst conceding 17 from set pieces (20th in the league).

To start with the positive, we have addressed that defensively frailty somewhat at this level, we're rated 2nd in the league for goals conceded from set pieces, with just 7. How well that improvement will translate to the Premier League of course remains to be seen, when we'll be under increased defensive pressure, but it's a promising sign. For comparison, we conceded 17 from set pieces in the Championship in 18/19.

However there's clearly room for improvement in an attacking sense. This season, despite winning promotion and dominating games, and being the 4th most fouled side, we've scored just 7 goals from set pieces (23rd in the league), barely half that of Watford or Brentford, and far short of those who excel in this area (Cardiff, 24 goals). At least 2/7 were direct free kicks too, showing how limited our attacking threat has been at corners/free-kicks. (In 18/19 we scored 13 set piece goals, ranking 14th in the league - so arguably we've regressed in this area). Hanley has been essentially our only attacking threat at set pieces, and when the ball hits his head it comes off at a seemingly random angle, so it's not the most reliable weapon. McLean isn't bad in the air, but that's basically it. Another aerial threat may help here, or relying even more heavily on short corners or other routines to do away with the need to win aerial duels.

...

For me, I wonder if we'll look at tweaking the formation to remove one of our attacking trio. Fundamentally, Cantwell, Buendia and Dowell are pretty similar in what they offer, and whilst Buendia can tackle and they can all press, they aren't the best defensively. (And I know complaining that our attacking midfielders need to be able to defend is a rather Hughton-like view....). If we stick with 4-2-3-1, maybe adding into the mix a more pacy, counter-attacking threat (Hernandez and Placheta aren't performing at the level needed for them to claim this role), or someone stronger and more physical to add a different dimension.

Alternatively, we only play two of the trio each week, shifting to 3-4-2-1 or 4-3-2-1 and starting an extra CB or CM. This player could help defensively with set pieces and escaping the press, whilst in the case of the CM being able to contribute to attacks as well. A CM that can do it all like that wouldn't be cheap however! We struggled to offer much of an attacking threat during Project Restart when Farke started experimenting with a more defensive looking midfield, so perhaps an idea they won't fancy.

 

Complex issues to be sure DH and there are no easy answers. A first change needed is for us to be more solid and streetwise ourselves. We have shifted in that direction this season and our performances have improved as a result but we also need to be less predictable. When playing out from the back, we need to play through or over the press to take advantage of opposition players committed forward. We saw this earlier in the season when Sørensen and Gibson were passing effectively directly to attacking players. Yesterday few of those intermediate passes reached our players. We have added some height, but still struggle to win headers.

Another issue is our central midfield, which has been effective breaking up opposition attacks but less so in providing quick, telling passes to our attacking players. This is where a third deep playmaker in midfield at the expense of one attacking player could make a big difference in a 4-3-3 or 4-3-2-1 formation. That could make us more solid and improve our playing out from the back as well.

The rumours about possible CBs who can also play at DM could be another clue related to the option of playing 3 at the back in a 3-4-2-1 with WBs. That would allow the CBs to be more creative in playing out with one CB moving up into midfield when we have the ball and dropping back when we don't. Much may depend on what new players are brought in.

 

I thought a couple of times yesterday we actually tried to hit it long from the back, rather than play it from that back all the time. I agree we need to be less predictable if not we will b eaten alive.

 

There's a difference between trying to 'hit it long from the back' and making a long pass. In the first, player height dominates and we usually lose out, as happened often yesterday. When we made long passes, particularly angled to the wide players, we got the ball forward more quickly before their defence was settled. That allowed the overlapping FBs to create overloads on the flanks while McLean and Skipp stayed deeper to cover for the FBs if needed. That's the sort of tactics we need more of next season.

 

Please do. As far as I can tell, WFC have gained 12 points through penalties, NCFC have gained 10. (i.e. where the penalty changed the result - all other goals being scored as they were). It isn't that easy to work it out, so I am happy to have any errors on my part corrected. You too of course I am sure.
Of course you must have seen all the WFC penalties to know how 'dodgy' they were, (reference yesterdays quote) presumably based on your long experience and qualifications as.....
So, how many did you see ? It couldn't be, could it, that some form of predjudice is creeping into your comments ? Perish the thought.
And , so what ? When I last looked at the rules, if a team is awarded a penalty by the referee, and the team that is awarded the penalty scores from the penalty, the goal that is scored appears to be worth the same as any other goal scored. Have the rules changed ? If a penalty is awarded to Norwich, do they miss it because it isn't worth as much? After all ,who wants to score from a penalty when a goal from open play is so much nicer to watch ? If a penalty is awarded against Norwich ( 5 this season) does the goalkeeper let the ball in to demonstrate the unsporting behaviour of his teammates, who of course are unaccustomed to such disgraceful behaviour as committing a foul in such a pure footballing side as NCFC ? Oh, and by the way. WFC have had 3 penalties awarded against them this season - one saved. Clearly WFC are a far more civilised team when it comes to defending. All our yellow cards are entirely due to blatant diving by the opposition players. I should know, I've watched every game, as of course you have , haven't you ?