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Yesterday's game - A massive 3 points!

Discussion in 'Queens Park Rangers' started by rangercol, Apr 22, 2012.

  1. rangercol

    rangercol Well-Known Member

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    We were pretty quiet on the drive to the ground. Me and the boys were pretty worried that Spurs were going to hit us with a back-lash for their Wembley hammering!!
    We did our usual pre-match routine.....getting there early for my youngest to try to get the remaining autographs missing from his book and then off to Westfield for the older boy to spend some wages!!
    We got into the ground quite early and watched the warm up. My youngest immediately stated..."Cisse isn't playing then!" He'd spotted him warming up with the other more obvious substitutes! The talk all around us centred on whether this was the right or wrong call from MH. Opinion was divided....my youngest was certainly disappointed not to be watching him, whilst I questioned whether we needed him on the pitch whilst understanding the reasons for the team selected which was as follows:
    --------------------------Kenny---------------------------
    Onouha----------Ferdinand--------Hill---------------Taiwo
    ------------------Derry--------Diakite--------------------
    Mackie-------------------Barton-----------------Taarabt
    -----------------------Zamora----------------------------
    The preferred 4-2-3-1 that MH employs against the better sides.

    After initially being put on the back foot, Rangers got at Spurs during the opening 15 mins with Mackie giving Assou-Ekotto a torrid time and Zamora, Taarabt, Mackie and Barton pressing the Spurs defence into a lot of mix-ups with Friedel. Both Mackie and Diakite made good breaks only to finish with disappointing shots. But we were playing well with Taarabt looking very good going forward and really working hard to try to stop Walker down our left (what a change in the boy under MH!!).
    Then Rangers were awarded a soft free kick 25yards out. It appeared to me that Adel and Taiwo were having a bit of a disagreement over who would take it, although to be fair, it was the right side for a right-footer. And so it was that Adel curled in a beauty with Friedel hampered by the low spring sun (Joey again opting to kick towards the loft from the kick off to ensure the low sun was in the keeper's eyes.....good decision!!).
    Paddy Kenny made a very good save from a Bale header although he may have struggled if it hadn't been directly above him and more to the side! In fact Kenny made a number of good saves throughout the match, although he did push a couple straight out instead of steering them away to safety. Still....he DID SAVE THEM!!
    For the remainder of the first half and well into the 2nd, the pattern of the game was set, with Rangers sitting deep and allowing Spurs possession till they got into the attacking third. It worked well and Spurs looked a little toothless up front!!
    All the back four had extremely good games with Onouha making some good tackles but still looking a little dodgy in possession. Adel was superb on the ball and Mackie, Diakite, Derry and Barton were all very good, working extremely hard to deny Spurs space where it mattered. Derry was superb in front of the back four and Diakite did his usual trick of springing forward ahead of Barton with great effect!!
    Half way through the 2nd half Diakite was replaced with Buzz which puzzled everyone around me, as Samba had been superb. We wondered if he'd had a yellow but he hadn't!! Anyone know if he was injured? If not, this was one of Hughes's confusing substitutions!!
    Then....disaster!! Adel, who had been working so hard tracking back all game stupidly kicked the ball away following another questionable free kick award by Clattenberg. Adel had already been booked and so, after Twatenberg initially forgot this, he was shown the red card. Cue heads in hands and the prospect of hanging on against very good players for the last 15mins!!
    Well we did hang on and the entire team were superb, defending with their lives as ball after ball was flung into the Rangers box. Kenny stood firm and punched clear well a couple of times whilst Onouha, Ferdinand, Hill and Taiwo were simply magnificent in refusing to buckle under the immense pressure which was occasionally relieved when Rangers made a break forward with Zamora being particularly wasteful with a couple of shots. Although to be fair, Bobby did work hard all game!!
    The final whistle brought relief and jubilation in equal measure with the ground rocking to "High Ho Silver Lining"and Taiwo doing his usual celebration with the crowd. And the crowd were awesome all game....what an atmosphere!!
    A huge 3 points were ours and hope still springs eternal!!

    Player ratings and comments:
    Kenny - 9 MOM for simply keeping the ball out of the net!
    Onouha - 8 A little dodgy in possession but superb up against Bale.
    Hill - 8 Simply as solid as you like.
    Ferdinand - 8 Equally as solid.
    Taiwo - 8 Faced a huge threat from Walker, Bale when he switched sides and Lennon when he came on. Stood firm and wasn't beaten very often.
    Derry - 8 Protected the back 4 all game and kept things simple.
    Diakite 8 Also protected the back 4 whilst springing forward to great effect at times.
    Mackie 8.5 Ran Assou-Ekotto ragged in the first half and never stopped running and hassling!
    Taarabt 8 Great free kick and would have been MOM but for picking up the 2nd yellow!
    Barton - 8 Another good performance from Joey and worked hard all game.
    Zamora - 7 Worked hard, but was disappointing with his shooting.
    Buzz - 6 Didn't look too good trying to fill Diakite's boots!!

    Thoughts?
     
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  2. BrixtonR

    BrixtonR Well-Known Member

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    Pretty much how I saw it Col... apart from Westfields!

    Moot point but I'd agree all your ratings if they were down a notch in each case. Whilst it was a fine uniform display by the team as a whole, an average 7 tells the story of us containing Spurs. Imo, average 8s suggests a dominant performance which wasn't the case.

    Have to say, Hughes deserved an 8 for a game plan that created the conditions for a win and a clean sheet - whilst at the same time resisting the temptation of playing our ace card (Cisse). It's been a while since we last had the luxury of having such an explosive talent on the bench and not using them. The threat was enough.

    However, on a 9 out of 10, the real MotM for me was the crowd. We might only be able to get 15,000 Rs into our little ground but what a RACKET from beginning to end!! You don't get that effect at grounds of twice or thrice our capacity. Adds untold energy and determination to the players as games go on. No wonder Joey and the lads just want to please us! Solid support.
     
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  3. Rollercoaster Ranger

    Rollercoaster Ranger Well-Known Member

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    Excellent as ever Col, or at least I assume so. I was out and so didn’t see the match. There was no Football First this morning and so have only seen the brief highlights on match of the day and SSN (who showed an excellent flying save by Paddy Kenny that didn’t make MOTD for some peculiar reason!).

    As such I can’t add much except to mentioned that you’ve not given Barton any marks out of 10.

    A couple of pertinent observations from the MOTD coverage (well I think they are).

    Clint Hill was celebrating the goal before it went in.
    On the bench Heidar Helguson was absolutely ecstatic when we scored.

    Do you think that Buz was the wrong substitute? Should Barton have been pushed back and maybe Cisse brought on to get some match time under his belt? Or maybe Traore?
     
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  4. Sooperhoop

    Sooperhoop Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for that Col, I think the high marks reflect the massive effort by all rather than the domination Brix refers to. Agree with Brix that the crowd were awesome, some of these 'big' players look shell-shocked when we get at them from close-range, the 12th man was definitely man-of-the-match...
     
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  5. Rangers Til I Die

    Rangers Til I Die Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for the write up, Col. Nice to recall it all again!

    Absolutely minor point but Adel seemed to snub Hughes when he ran over to celebrate the goal?? Anyone agree or was it just me?
     
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  6. ColdharbourR

    ColdharbourR Member

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    I was shocked when Buz was chosen to come on, especially for Diakite. I can only think that maybe Diakite was carrying a knock. Buz is great at set pieces and shooting from distance, but is lacking in pace and defensive understanding.

    I'd like to see the same team start against Chelsea, with Cisse replacing the suspended Taarabt. Have him running at Bosingwa.
     
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  7. FFS.73

    FFS.73 Active Member

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    Nice one Col. RTID, I had the impression that Adel was about to leap on MH but thought better of it, and Hughes dodged a bit, but the hand was up for a high five.....
     
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  8. ColdharbourR

    ColdharbourR Member

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    I forgot to say, great write up Col!
     
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  9. ColdharbourR

    ColdharbourR Member

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    Who was it he chose to hug? I was thinking at the time maybe it was someone who had been working with him on his free kicks?
     
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  10. Sooperhoop

    Sooperhoop Well-Known Member

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    He always used to go for Curly when Warnock was boss...
     
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  11. N22hoop

    N22hoop Well-Known Member

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    Thanks col. Couldn't go yesterday or watch so good to read your report.
     
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  12. qprbeth

    qprbeth Wicked Witch of West12 Forum Moderator

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    First time I saw it on MOTD I thought it was Harry Redknap, but then I realised he was on our bench....butfor a second I definately thought it was Harry. Now that would have been funny
     
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  13. Rollercoaster Ranger

    Rollercoaster Ranger Well-Known Member

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    If only....
     
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  14. QPRNUTS

    QPRNUTS Well-Known Member

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    Thanks Col. Always enjoy your view of a game. Couple of points/questions for you and the guys. I thought Barton was very good again. is it a coincidence that since he stopped tweeting his performances have improved? Our supporters have really got behind him in recent weeks and i think his confidence has returned. IMHO he deserves even more credit than he is getting at the moment. He is covering a huge amount of ground. I think Diakite is improving by the game but while he is great at winning the ball and driving forward, his end product is usually poor. But the boy has great energy and drive. Next year i would like to see Barton and Diakite as the defensive duo and think we need a new CM. I know Ali will be back but IMO it should be two from Ali, Diakite and Barton. Neither of these three are creative enough for me especially at home. Buz is not really good enough for a concrete first team place. prehaps Ali may be able to play this role, but i'm not so sure!! I posted elsewhere that our full backs have not been venturing forward much in recent games. Has anybody else noticed this?, don't see Onuoha as a natural fullback anyway and think we may need to buy a new young energetic right fullback for next year.

    Think that we should keep the same formation for next week with Traore coming straight in for Adel. He can help with the defending and will also offer more than Buz and SWP going forward. Would also like to see us buying a young pacey left midfielder for next year to allow Adel to play more centrally in the hole.

    Either way, i think this formation is perfect for the big boys, let them have the ball in areas where they can't hurt us, stay solid and then hit them on the break. IMO its not great against the remaining teams as we need to be able to take a game to the opposition. I also think that we need more genuine pace in the team in creative positions. As i said above i would like to see a more creative CM bought and a pacey left winger.
     
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  15. rangercol

    rangercol Well-Known Member

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    The ratings were there to reflect the superb effort put in by the entire team mate. You are right about the crowd....it was a fantastic atmosphere to be part of!!
     
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  16. rangercol

    rangercol Well-Known Member

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    Fixed the Barton rating mate.
    On the substitution.....if Diakite wasn't injured I can think of no reason for him to be replaced by anyone!!
    Cerny was also celebrating like a maniac when we scored!!
     
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  17. rangercol

    rangercol Well-Known Member

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    Agreed that Barton is playing well and now looks fully committed!! I don't think its a coincidence that he's knocked twatter on the head!
    On next year's team....I don't really want to tempt fate as we're not safe yet and the team could be very different if we go down. But re Ali....I'd love to see him and Diakite together. Both better than Barton imo.
     
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  18. BrixtonR

    BrixtonR Well-Known Member

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    Still no idea why Diakite was taken off.

    However, seems to me that the Hughes game plan is all about defence atm. Mackie and even Tarrabt and Zamora appear to be under orders in that respect. Protecting our back four has made us so much more impermeable of late.

    Whilst the main holding jobs have fallen to Diakite, Barton and Derry, you can't fail to notice how Buz and SWP when brought on immediately move to deep centre to fill in as understudies. Hughes interpretation of midfield seems to require defensively-minded players capable of springing forward when the opportunity arises. Buz appears to have accepted that his only chance of playing premier league football is to forget his creative mid past and adjust and conform to the Hughes model. In this Buz has done extremely well since Hughes came in imo.

    As such whilst I was surprised to see young Diakite being taken off (thought it'd more likely be Shaun) I wasn't at all surprised with Buz (and not Cisse) coming on as his replacement.
     
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  19. rangercol

    rangercol Well-Known Member

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    Agreed....but I still don't know why Diakite was taken off as he's a far better holding midfielder than Buzz, with far more energy!
     
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  20. Sooperhoop

    Sooperhoop Well-Known Member

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    The commentator on my feed said Diakite had taken a knock and signalled to the bench, better precautionary than letting him damage himself...
     
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