The Monday Verdict: The unlikely problem which is dogging QPRâs season - QPR - London 24 Neil Warnock has seen his side held to three consecutive home draws, with just two goals scored The Monday Verdict: The unlikely problem which is dogging QPRâs season Ian Cooper Monday, October 17, 2011 12:00 PM Joey Barton, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Adel Taarabt - but Rangers still canât score goals Several times in recent weeks Neil Warnock has claimed that the reason for QPRâs troubles in front of goal were due to their lack of a prolific striker to take the chances created. But after watching Rangers limp to a tepid stalemate with struggling Blackburn Rovers on Saturday afternoon, the QPR managerâs assessment of his side may well have been altered. Having not yet scored this season, Jay Bothroyd has taken his fair share of criticism, and Warnock acted to solve the perceived problem by replacing the one-cap England man with Heidar Helguson. After 16 minutes, the move appeared to have paid dividends, yet after Helgusonâs opener, the chances dried up as Rangers ran out of ideas as Rovers dug in. When Warnock signed Joey Barton and Shaun Wright-Phillips to play alongside Adel Taarabt in his sideâs midfield, he could not have predicted that his side would struggle for creativity. And yet, save for the draw with Newcastle and win at Wolves that has been exactly the case. First against Aston Villa and again against Steve Keanâs struggling side on Saturday, Rangersâ midfield men have struggled to consistently create chances for their lone striker. Barton in particular is yet to match his prolific Twittering off the pitch with the same level of performances in matches; the former Newcastle has struggled to impact on the tempo of games, while his delivery from corners and free-kicks has been poor. His assertion after Saturdayâs match that Rangers âhave been playing some really good stuffâ was at odds with the evidence presented to 16,487 frustrated fans inside Loftus Road. Similarly, Wright-Phillips has performed only intermittently since he tore into Newcastle on his debut. Against Blackburn, he presented glimpses of the form that he hopes could produce an England recall, but his delivery from the wings remains frustratingly unpredictable. Warnockâs biggest problem though, and one that he is to solve, is the form of Taarabt, whose petulant walk-out against Fulham two weeks ago resulted in him being relegated to the bench. When he was introduced inside the final half-hour, Taarabtâs sole meaningful contribution was a scuffed shot wide from the edge of the area when a more composed effort may well have brought the home side a winning goal. A midfield minus Taarabt did though provide a glimpse of a future which may sooner rather than later become a reality: life without Taarabt. He may not have got his summer move to PSG, but Taarabt still appears a player who wants to leave west London, while Warnock cannot continue to build his formation around one man who was outstanding in the Championship but looks lost in the Premier League. Taarabt and QPR is increasingly looking like a relationship on its last legs, and the playerâs performances so far this season suggest that Warnockâs best option may be to cut his losses and sell the Moroccan, and revert to two strikers ahead of a four-man midfield. That would certainly be a plausible option if, as both Warnock and Tony Fernandes suggested on Saturday, another batch of new signings are made during the January transfer window. Another striker has been outlined as the priority, but, with Bothroyd, Helguson, DJ Campbell and Jamie Mackie at Warnockâs disposal up front, the manager would do well to focus on finding an alternative to Taarabt; a figure who can play off either one or two strikers and across the midfield - Lilleâs Belgian international Eden Hazard may be one such option. Wholesale changes to a side which is in its infancy and yet to gel is not the answer to QPRâs problems, particularly when the Premier Leagueâs 25-man squad rules come into play once again in January - âfour or fiveâ new signings would simply equate to another batch of highly-paid players shifted to the sidelines, or forced out on loan while staying on the wage-bill. Instead, Warnock must make tweaks to a team which, although still lacking in strength in depth, is packed with plenty of talent. To that end, solving his QPRâs actual lack of attacking creativity, rather than a perceived lack of firepower, must be Warnockâs number one option. Follow Ian Cooper on Twitter @QPRTimes iReader
Warnock changes training schedule in bid to stop QPR leaks NEIL Warnock plans to change QPR's training schedule in a bid to stop leaks from the camp. The Rangers boss was furious after his plans to start Heidar Helguson and Jamie Mackie, and the foot injury to DJ Campbell, were blown open by a supporter on a fans' website in the build up to Saturday's draw with Blackburn. Warnock believes one of his fringe players is the 'mole' in the camp, and will only allow the matchday squad to train together on a Friday from now on. “I think it is a disgrace that a supporter tried to get kudos like that,” he said. “That should be kept in house – it is disappointing. “It is possibly a player contributing that is probably not wanted, but that is life. I hope our loyal fans get hold of the person as I will definitely put it on our website so that they can bombard him. “I am not bothered who it is. It is the low of the low. They can't be a QPR fan that is cert. “I can't pull my staff and tell them, you have to trust them. But unfortunately, apart from the team that are playing, we will have to let the other lads train in the afternoon on a Friday. “That is the best thing. You can't start pointing fingers, can you? You just have to start having the team in and everyone else away from it. “It is disappointing as it has come from the dressing room. That is the only place that it could have come from because the person who put it out as good inside information.” Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest QPR news. Follow me on Twitter. iReader
A fair summing up I think. We created nothing on Saturday without Adel in the side. Needs to be seriously looked at as if he goes we are screwed!
there was no one touch football & no passing movement like there has been prior to the fulham game the game had nothing boring but hey its another point.
We looked poor on Saturday and Derry was caught out and was off the pace for the whole game. Blackburn were pants but if we are honest Rangers didn't look any better and a draw was fair.
Don't agree that we couldn't absorb 4 or 5 good players. They don't all have to play at once. We need strength in depth particularly in defence.
First and foremost we need to start playing football that takes pressure off any defense ... I can't understand anyone you thinks it's our defence ... They can be all good enough sick and tried of it in fact ... Good football breeds confidence ... Barton the **** is eating into that at am alarming rate
Yeh agree Goldhawk. We need more strength in defence, and a new striker. The writer of " the Monday Verdict" ignores Adel's good performances before the Fulham game as well - I hope, think ,he is going to come good for us again, Sunday I feel.
Posted by Brian Mahon 1 day, 1 hour ago Queens Park Rangers were held a frustrating draw against Blackburn Rovers, yielding an early lead and failing to capitalize on several opportunities to take control of the match. Heidar Helguson put the R's ahead on a curving fade over the head of Rover's keeper, but Chris Samba's towering header put the visitors level minutes later. Both teams battled for position and consistency for the rest of the game but were unable to break the deadlock. QPR's failure to secure a victory is not a disaster, but rather another disappointing instance where the evolving club missed a chance to take three points from a beatable opponent. The line-up featured two changes up front, as Helguson returned to the striker role over Jay Bothroyd and Jamie Mackie made his first start of the season in central attack, in place of Adel Taarabt. QPR returned to a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Armand Traore at left full back and Fitz Hall continuing to fill in for the injured Danny Gabbidon at centre-back. Following the drubbing by Fulham, Neil Warnock returned to the defensive setup to support the back line, and Shaun Derry and Alejandro Faurlin looked comfortable dropping back to break up the few Blackburn attacks that came their way. However, where this formation has provided steady build up play in the past, against a similar set up from the visiting team it lead to a stagnant game of give and take with fast transitions but few sustained attacks as the match wore on. QPR put the visitors on the back foot from the whistle, dominating possession for the first twenty minutes and doing their most interesting work early on. Helguson's goal came from a follow-up attempt after a fine header was knocked down, he received the ball again and chipped a beauty that sailed over defender and keeper alike to slip into the net. Another opportunity came moments later off a cross from Joey Barton but he could not convert. Shaun Wright-Philips added a fine effort from the right side later on, driving a low shot that had the keeper beat but skipped just wide. After the fast start, QPR worked hard, but ineffectively. SWP had several long runs up the flank, but his attempts came to little. Joey Barton and Ale Faurlin were often on the ball, but created few opportunities on goal. Much of the match was in QPR's hands, yet few successful efforts on goal came of it. The squad played better - but not great - losing the solid build up in favor of more aggressive but unsupported runs and deep passes that were easily broken up. There were moments that QPR could have controlled better to put the game away, but the draw was a fair result for the quality of play shown. For their part, Blackburn fit moments of danger into a mess of long balls and corner attempts, occasionally threatening the net but more often trading bad passes with their counterparts. The flow of the game was stop and start, back and forth, but mostly a snore as neither squad found any consistent approach. Their central strategy seemed to be kicking the ball toward their gargantuan captain Samba and hoping he could nail a header in, as he did on the 24th minute cross to put his side level. Having seen it work once, Rovers repeated deep-cross-to-Samba again and again, thankfully to little effect. Other than that approach, Junior Hoilett was the main standout player for the visiting team. He made some noise with excellent ball skills in the first half and looked like he might threaten Paddy Kenny's net a few times, but disappeared in the second half. The silver lining of this fixture is knowing that for as much work as the R's have to do to avoid relegation, Blackburn have more. A few QPR players stood out in the draw. Heidar Helguson never stopped hustling to gain an advantage and press the attack, though once again the striker in this setup found himself with little to work with. Some of the offensive struggles can be attributed to the support play and as a unit the team needs to be more effective in getting the strikers the ball. Of course, the strikers have been inconsistent too, so it is a work in progress. Helguson looked controlled and ambitious though and with DJ Campbell now injured for up to two months, R's fans should expect to see more of him in the coming weeks. Jamie Mackie was energetic, doing his best to get open and create chances, including a great run on goal that was broken up at the last moment by defender Salgado. Mackie looked good in the forward role and creates an interesting problem for Warnock, who will need to fit him into his future plans. Luke Young was very active and made some great stops to neutralize what little offense Blackburn tried to muster. Fitz Hall had another memorable day, drawing an early yellow card on a bad foul against Olsson just beyond the penalty area. He made up for ceding the dangerous free kick by taking it on the chin as part of the wall. Chris Samba scored his header over Hall, though few players would have fared much better guarding the giant defender and he was doing his best to foul him in the air. Hall nearly scored later in the game at the other end, diving for a header but only receiving a boot to the face for his trouble. Of the performances he's had this year, this was probably his best - he didn't get worked over by attackers with the same ease he usually does. Late in the game he even had a chance to put the club ahead, as a cross cut through the crowd to find him completely unmarked. He seemed as surprised as everyone else though and popped the ball over the bar. Adel Taarabt had a disappointing appearance in relief. The crowd lit up when his number was called and his mates got the ball to him as soon as he came on. He completed some good short work on the left side to get into position to threaten the defenders and looked electric, like the star he should be coming on to save the day. Once in their territory however, he had several questionable moments where he tried to drive long range shots or fit impossible passes into his teammates. His dribbling skills were there, but the decision-making was sloppy and he gave possession away too easily in the closing moments when QPR were making a final push to go ahead. QPR are still waiting for him to catch up with his potential and take his game to the next level. Taking one point from this match was fair, but a let down from a fixture that the R's could have done more with. With Chelsea coming to visit next week, better form and a dominant win would have been a bigger boost, but it was not to be. For now the club must focus on developing their offensive tactics and preparing the defensive approach to withstand one of the game's best clubs. Until next time, Come on you R'sss!
Basically, Warnock needs to a) create some new tactics and b) get the team spirit and discipline correct. Hopefully his staff are helping him with this.
