The QPR Tactics Discussion Thread

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Our relatively good form towards the end of last season was built on the CB partnership of JCS and Cook, plus the conversion of Dunne into a RB. JCS is our best player in my opinion, and his signing a new contract is massive, but sadly he's a bit of a sicknote. When he isn't playing, we look so leaky at the back. The other big loss over last season is Hayden. With four at the back, you don't need two sitting in front of them, so I'd prefer to see something like a 4-1-4-1 with Field (in the absence of Hayden) as the holding player and Madsen getting forward. Dembele and Saito are exciting players, but they come into the 'tricky winger' category - great one week, missing the next - and I don't think you can play both of them together on a regular basis. Chair must start now fit, with two from Dembele, Saito, Smyth and Andersen alongside him behind the striker. These five are very lightweight as a group, though, and easily bullied. Up top, Celar has been hugely disappointing, and Frey - whilst a little better than I first gave him credit for - is a very average footballer. Who'd have thought we'd miss Dykes? I always thought that we never played to Dykes's strengths by leaving him isolated up top and perhaps the same applies with Frey. Stick Dembele up with him for the 'big man, little man' combo, perhaps. It's all a bit depressing, though, not least because there doesn't seem to be a lot of team spirit at the moment. Heads dropped way too easily on Tuesday.
I agree about only needing the one holding midfielder Infront of a four. If we went 3 at the back then there could be need for 2 defensive midfielders but that then really does cause issues regarding the wide players, as most coaches prefer full backs to occupy the wide spaces. Our wide players are attacking types in Chair, Dembele, Saito and Smyth. Personally I wouldn't be against 3 at the back as long as we played wingers rather than wing backs. Again it amounts to defending as a 5 and attacking as a 5.
 

Ah ok, I only asked because Cook seems not to have been so rousingly encouraging towards the other players in recent games and when we got the penalty on Tuesday Field seemed to take charge. Cook is obviously the right choice for captain, but he doesn't seem to have been doing the job recently. There's a confidence issue in the squad in my opinion.
 
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I've said it many times, the majority of our passes are to players with their backs to goal, inevitably resulting in a pass back to where it came from. Our build up is so slow that it enables the opposition to retreat into shape. We don't press in the final 3rd as a team/unit. Neville said at the weekend "modern football teams take more risks in their own area than they do in the oppositions".
That sentence sums us up perfectly.
We seem like a very predictable team to play against. One, lone, isolated striker and 2 men out wide who don't support him closely enough, especially if needing to press. I've joked that Celar won't score a goal this season. Give him a couple of games with Frey and I bet he would. If it means sacrificing Anderson, who babs himself every time he's a decision to make then so be it. We have to be more flexible in how we set up. I could count on one hand how many times we have played with 2 strikers in the last few seasons.
I agree with you about players receiving the ball with their back to goal, happens all the time. Why can’t they open themselves up to give them a chance to receive and play forwards - these are basics.
It would also help if the players in midfield made themselves actively available to receive it off the defence. Most of them either seem to hide or just point elsewhere so they don’t get it.
On a separate point, I’d like to see us learn how to keep the ball from a throw in.
 
Feeling sorry for our strikers at the moment. They're getting the flak from a lot of people but they haven't got a bloody chance at the moment. I don't remember us giving the ball to a striker in a good position for a number of games. These players we have are not Ibrihamovic. They can't pull something out of nothing. They need supply, a ball at their feet while they're facing goal.
 
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Feeling sorry for our strikers at the moment. They're getting the flak from a lot of people but they haven't got a bloody chance at the moment. I don't remember us giving the ball to a striker in a good position for a number of games. These players we have are not Ibrihamovic. They can't pull something out of nothing. They need supply, a ball at their feet while they're facing goal.
Strikers want the ball in the box or at least the opportunity to run at a defender, I'm not saying our forwards are amazing but maybe they're role shouldn't just be judged by how they control a ball 8 foot in the air on the half way line.

If thats what we want from a forward just stick Dunne up there.

Personally I find one up front an awful system.

I know football has changed but I wonder how some of the forwards that I grew up watching like Clive Allen, Bradley Allen, Gallen, Penrice would ever get a game now.
(Each consistantly scored 10+ a season).
 
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Strikers want the ball in the box or at least the opportunity to run at a defender, I'm not saying our forwards are amazing but maybe they're role shouldn't just be judged by how they control a ball 8 foot in the air on the half way line.

If thats what we want from a forward just stick Dunne up there.

Personally I find one up front is an awful system.

100% agree. So often our lone striker is exactly that, lonely, and spends most of the game chasing no-hope long balls, or receiving the ball with no option other than trying to beat three or four players, having a shot from a very long distance, or passing the ball backwards. I don't understand why we aren't trying to play two up, maybe two big strikers who can work together to hold the ball up, or the classic big/little man combination. Would far rather see that than Celer or Frey have another 90 minutes of solitude.
 
This is what I've been thinking recently:

Our midfield only really exists for when we're out of possession and need to defend.

Absolutely NOTHING goes through the middle. I think I've seen one pass from Morgan that went between a couple of opposition players through the middle and actually found someone on the front line.

All we do is play out from the keeper and switch from left to right to left to right until a channel down one of the wings has opened up slightly.

By that time, opposition is well in shape and behind the ball.

That then means there's no space behind their defence for us to slot the ball through and put a striker through onto it.

So we either cross into a crowded box, usually full of massive opposition players.

Or Chair cuts in and blasts a shot straight into the nearest defender and we lose possession.
 
Yes, it's abysmal to be fixated on just this one way of playing/attacking.

Every team needs to be adaptable and use all members of the team and all areas of the pitch.

How we play every game thus far is frustrating, totally ineffective and downright boring.
 
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Yes, it's abysmal to be fixated on just this one way of playing/attacking.

Every team needs to be adaptable and use all members of the team and all areas of the pitch.

How we play every game thus far is frustrating, totally ineffective and downright boring.
When Anderson came on and we really started to go at them... I'd like to see that as our main approach. Live and die by the sword.

I'd rather see us go out in a blaze of glory than float down into the abyss like a dead leaf.

Anderson and Morgan worked really well together.
 
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