My 13 year old and I set off early yesterday in bright sunshine, much like we did for the opening day game against Swansea, although it was a good 10 degrees cooler! We both agreed that we didn't expect to get anything from the game and that we'd both be very happy with a point. He was well chuffed as he got the signatures of Cesar and Cisse to add to his book. I shaked Cesar by the hand and wished him all the best with us. Seemed a nice guy, as did AJ who stood and chatted and seemed a really friendly down to earth guy. With an improved Faurlin signature (the one he had was only in faint biro) he was happy to have once again met his heroes and we headed for our pre-match chips and gravy!! We got in our seats early as usual so that we could watch the players warm up. I felt a tingle run down my spine as the first player I saw as I arrived at the top of the steps was Julio Cesar!! Unbelievable really! We usually suss out the team very quickly as the subs all warm up together. I have to say that we were both very disappointed to see Cisse, Hoilett, Taarabt and even Mackie were ALL on the bench. Those around us also questioned this, but all we could do was get behind the team and see what transpired. Well, what transpired was a very good, solid performance against a top Premier League side and we at last started to look like a proper Premier League team! Chelsea started brightly and it was obvious to me that Hazard is a classy player. Rangers were competing well though, none more so than Faurlin and Granero who looked as though they'd played together for years. It was a cracking atmosphere and the game was played like a good old fashioned London derby....all blood and guts. Rangers looked to have a decent shout for a penalty early on when Luiz collided with Fabio, although having seen it on TV it looked more of a coming together. Chelsea also had a couple of penalty shouts....one when the outstanding Nelson clashed in the area with our mate Terry. This looked like 50/50 to me when I've looked on the TV and indeed Terry seems to collide with Torres which throws him off balance. The other one looked nailed on from my seat a long way away in S block and I was very relieved to see the ref indicate a goal kick after SWP seemed to take Hazard down from behind. Again though, after watching it on TV I'm not sure there was any contact and Hazard certainly dived very theatrically!! The muppet Shearer on MOTD thought they were both penalties while Gayle on Sky's match choice thought they both weren't. You've definitely seen the Hazard one given though. I thought Ramirez was lucky to stay on the pitch after an early booking and Bertrand could easily have had a straight red for a reckless challenge which saw him booked. (One of those card happy refs we had last year would surely have sent him off?!!) Chelsea had the better of the first half and were helped by the fact that Rangers had lost some momentum when the impressive Johnson and then Fabio went off injured. Everyone around me was calling for Cisse to replace AJ but I could see why MH put Mackie on....to replicate AJ's remarkable work rate! With Onouha now at right back, his inability to get forward and nervousness on the ball was disappointing after having watched the confident Bosingwa there, who had to move to left back. The highlight of the first half for me was Cesar's first touch as a QPR player.......a tremendous save down low to his left from Hazard. Class! The 2nd half was just as competitive as the first, but Rangers were the side that dictated for long periods. Granero and Faurlin were now bossing the midfield, with Faurlin looking so classy. I can only remember him losing possession once and even then he got back to help clear the resulting danger. Granero looks a good player, although he did give the ball away a bit too much at times. Very combative though, which I wasn't expecting. Rangers really should have had a couple of goals in the 2nd half, which their excellent all round display deserved. Park was outstanding, but really should have done much better with a clear header from 8 yards, after a good ball from Granero, directing a weak effort straight at Cech. Then Zamora latched on to a back pass by Mikel and should have shot quicker after stepping to Cech's left. Instead he delayed and then should have squared the ball to Cisse. Instead he shot rather tamely....chance gone. Chelsea's substitutions meant that they had 3 very quick, lively players up top in Sturridge, Moses and Hazard. The game became stretched in the last few minutes and was a very entertaining end to end tussle. After some good work by the impressive Moses, Hazard wasted Chelsea's best chance of the game, blazing over from 10 yards. Phew!! At the final whistle the Loftus Road faithful stood and applauded what was a very good, solid performance by Rangers against the Premier League leaders and European Champions! QPR retained possession very well, particularly Faurlin and Granero, both of whom won the ball back regularly. The whole team chased and closed down Chelsea and never let them settle.....from Zamora and AJ up front right back throughout the team. Nelson was superb and Anton had his best game in a QPR shirt imo. Bosingwa was very assured and we now have players all over the pitch who look top class and are comfortable in possession. My one foot-note is that whilst I fully understand MH not selecting our "flair" players for this game, as he wanted a hard working team to shut down Chelsea all over the pitch, I, as a season ticket holder who has paid out around 1100 quid, hope to see the likes of Cisse, Hoilett and Taarabt given game time at home against the teams we hope to win against, as goal threat and chance creation was the one area we were a little lacking in. Just my opinion as I prefer to watch the flair players for my money, but I fully understand yesterday's selections and it also must be said that the enforced substitutions due to injuries no doubt prevented Sparky from bringing on one of the more attacking/creative players! A superb point won and very promising for the future. Player ratings and comments: Cesar - 8 - Looked safe and secure, saving everything thrown at him. His first save from Hazard was very, very good and he seemed to give the players in front of him confidence. Bosingwa - 8 - Very good both going forward and defensively and still looked assured when forced over to left back. Ferdinand - 8 - His best game for us imo. Very solid. Nelson - 8 - Solid as you like and reminded me of Clint Hill at his best. Seemed to marshal the back four which must have helped Anton. Won nearly every header and didn't put a foot wrong. Fabio - 8 - Very good before going off injured and defended well too! SWP - 7 - A steady, hard working performance which I presume is exactly what MH asked for. Little end result though. Granero - 8 - Looked very good technically and played some lovely passes. Also battled it out and won a lot of tackles. Very good. Faurlin - 9 - MOTM. Just looked every inch a top class central midfielder. Won so many tackles, retained possession and knitted everything together for us. Was blowing out of his arse by the end but he kept going and his fitness is improving with every 90 mins he completes. Love the guy! We will be very lucky to hang to him after this season!! Park - 7 - Worked tirelessly and looked far more effective playing from out wide. Should have done better with his header which was our best chance.....not a sitter, but should have done much better! Johnson - 8 - Very lively before what looked like a worryingly serious knee injury. Ran at their back 4 and defended well from the front by dropping into the hole behind Zamora to make up the numbers in midfield. Zamora - 7 - Worked very hard and gave it his all as usual. Should have done better with his chance when through and lost the ball a little too easily at times. Subs: Onuoha - 7 - Very solid at the back and won some good headers. But he is very ineffective going forward and looked poor on the ball, getting caught late on by dithering and allowing Chelsea to break dangerously. A good defender but offers nothing going forward! Mackie - 7 - Took over from AJ by running and running and running. Had one shot on target on the turn but didn't produce much of a threat on goal. Cisse - Didn't really have enough time to get a mark. Could have won it with a shot near the end which was blocked by Luiz. Thoughts?
Hard to disagree with that Col, as good, and more importantly, solid performance against top class opposition that I can remember. Thought Nelsen worth a 9 as well but Ale is such a fantastic 'addition' to the squad it makes you realise how much his injury jeopardized last season...
Mark Irwin in The Sun gave Faurlin a 6 and said "he really failed to impose himself on the game". Quite, quite unbelievable. He can't have been at the game!!
Nicely written piece. Would give Cesar a 10 for the positive effect he's had on all our defence, Nelsen looked world class yesterday.
I've thought the same for a long time Col. Some of the scores given at these matches are truly unbelievable (not just to our team) and i'm certain the lazy journalists are not at the game and just write their reports from their cozy office's.
I just e mailed him (not something I ever usually do!) and told him that he couldn't have been there after his analysis of Faurlin's performance.
That's spot on col. Exactly how I saw it. Your comment on the one time Faurlin did lose possession was a good one. When it happened I was cursing him, but he recovered well. This also happened a couple of more times ( Onouha and Mackie I think. ) At the time i was thinking that in three passes the ball will be nestling in the back of net, as it tended to do a lot when teams broke in similar circumstances last season. I'm relieved to see that we are more tactically aware and better positioned to counteract this. A clean sheet against a quality side like Chelsea was also pleasing.
Col, you really can write a load of tosh mate . LOL. As usual top drawer stuff. Great read. Agree with all you said. I think that MH has shown in the big games last year and again yesterday that he can set the team up to compete against the best. The problem, is that to shut teams like Chelsea down, he has to bench the flair players and choose less stylish grafters. We can all understand this tactic and will gratefully accept a point against the top teams. The challenge now for MH is to get some of our flair players into the team without loosing our structure otherwise we will be a very boring mundane team to watch. Against all other teams outside the top 6 we have to show enough to win games. We have to create more chances and play the likes of Adel, Cisse, Hoillet etc etc
Totally agree mate. We won't stay up with battling draws alone. We MUST win against the lesser teams and that means getting our flair players playing!!
Thanks Col. Reports like this make it well worth looking on here. I was working all yesterday so all I saw was MOTD this am and read the report in the paper. Made it seem like we were crap and lucky to draw. So thanks again - i feel much better now!
