My journey to and from the ground usually involves around 2 hours in the car there and back. Yesterday I spent near on 6 hours in the car in total! If some of the players had shown the same tenacity as myself and many others in the ground, we may have seen a better performance. When we heard the team, my immediate reaction was....Cesar's fit, we should play him! (I was proved right) Apart from that I could basically see where Harry was coming from and he can only work with (the triers) what he's got. Anyway, the game got under way and West Brom completely out-classed us in all departments. Rangers were simply awful in the first half and apart from a couple of decent shots from M'Bia, offered little or nothing. Cisse and Taarabt linked well at times, but Adel was simply mobbed by 2 or 3 players every time he received the ball. This meant that others needed to contribute........they didn't. Faurlin had his worst half I can remember, as did Traore. SWP was probably the pick of a very poor bunch, along with M'Bia. When the inevitable goal came, Brunt was given far too much space and time with no-one closing him down. He hit an excellent low drive, but it didn't look to be right in the corner and Green seemed to leave his dive far too late with minimal foot movement. I think Cesar would have saved it. That lack of closing down ahead of our back four was down to Faurlin and M'Bia simply not understanding the instructions they'd been given. I couldn't work out whether we were playing 4-4-1-1 or 4-2-3-1, which sums it up really. Whichever. Morrison was given the freedom of Loftus Road to pick the ball up in the attacking "hole" and this gave us problems all afternoon. Neither M'Bia and especially Faurlin did enough protecting and were caught very square at times. Awful! Also, Mulumbu and Fortune simply played us off the pitch. The half ended with the ground as quiet and forlorn as I could remember it being for a long time. The 2nd half began with the same pattern. West Brom in control and Rangers looking like a pub team. The 2nd came for West Brom when Rob Green showed everyone all they needed to know about just how fragile he is. Yes, it would have been given as a foul by most refs, but then most keepers would have taken the player out as they punched clear. Green, however looked all nervous and un-sure and back-peddled behind his own goal line, while the player stood his ground in front of him and made it hard for him to get to the ball. Instead of being strong and punching clear Green acted like a total lettuce leaf and weakly and rather comically slapped the ball behind him into the net. Pathetic goalkeeping which only compounded HR's poor decision to leave Cesar out. Harry then showed why he is a better manager than Hughes by reacting to the situation and switched to 3 at the back, taking off the average looking Fabio and the simply terrible Faurlin and bringing on Hoilett and Diakite. At last Rangers now showed some urgency and started to put West Brom under a little pressure. M'Bia found Cisse with a good through ball and the striker did what he does best and finished superbly by dinking the ball over the on-rushing keeper. Game on! Although to be fair, West Brom continued to be in control and it was only in the last few minutes when Rangers started to really get them under pressure, forcing a few corners and deflected shots on goal. Hill had a great header cleared off the line in the last minute and I really felt that we would get a very undeserved draw. Then Foy rounded off his poor display by not awarding Rangers a stone-wall penalty in the 95th minute. M'Bia headed the ball inside the area and Ridgewell had his arm above his head and blocked the ball with his elbow. Clear penalty and how the linesman couldn't see it, standing a few yards away is just complete ineptitude. That was it, game over and it probably is!! In conclusion, although we should have had that late penalty, there was no way we deserved anything in a game where West Brom simply played us off the park without looking like they were ever really in top gear. Rangers were poor all over the pitch and look dead certs to go down. HR must take some responsibility too with his poor selections. Hoilett must start ahead of either SWP or Mackie as he looked a constant threat when he came on. Obviously the biggest mistake was starting with that lilly-livered, nervous wreck Green. Rangers were simply out-classed and nothing short of a miraculous turn around can save us from the inevitable drop imo. Player ratings and comments: Green - 5 - So nervy and at fault for the 2nd goal and should have done better for the first. Made a couple of decent stops in the 2nd half to keep the score down. Fabio - 5 - I was disappointed with his distribution, but he probably can't quite believe what crap he is surrounded by. Got forward well at times. Ferdinand - 6 - A better display from Anton. Some timely tackles and interceptions. Hill - 6 - Looked more shaky than he does with Nelsen beside him. Unlucky with that late header. Traore - 4 - Awful. Looked half asleep and never got going. SWP - 6 - One of his better games, but never really looked a threat. Worked tirelessly. Faurlin - 4 - Just about the worst I've seen him play. Gave the ball away and looked very slow and off the pace. Failed to give the back 4 any protection. M'Bia - 6 - One of the better players on the day, but also failed to offer enough protection to the back 4. Also seems to have a square head when trying to head the ball, as it flies off at ridiculous angles. Mackie - 5 - Running around with his clown's feet, Jamie is a crowd favourite who gives his all. Unfortunately he is a very average player who created nothing yesterday. Taarabt - 5 - Never stopped trying, although the conditions weren't suited to his type of game. Marked out of it and his corners were generally awful! Cisse - 7 - Took his goal brilliantly, as he will if the team could create more chances for him. Wouldn't blame him for leaving in January, as the abuse he gets totally bemuses me. Won a few headers against giant centre backs and linked up well at times. Worked hard too. Subs: Hoilett - 7 - Made an impression and ran at their defence. Must surely start against Liverpool. Diakite - 6 - Looked a bit rusty, but a huge improvement on the disappointing Faurlin. Thoughts?
just to add.I think there is so much wrong with the team at present I dont see alot of point in adding another lot of overpaid underperforming has beens to this squad.Two or three players will not change this squad from losers into winners.Best let things play themselves out and plan for next season.
Alarmingly similar to my sarcastic version posted yesterday Col. Agree that a couple of dodgy decisions should not mask a very poor performance, as bad as anything except Southampton under Hughes - as was the Newcastle performance in my opinion. I'm normally an optimist/ romantic/deluded (take your pick), and have promised myself never to moan about the cost and hassle of going to games - my decision to get STs, I can afford it and the M40/ Western Avenue were always part of the bargain. But yesterday was hugely frustrating, a very long day with nothing given back by the team. I am struggling to summon up the enthusiasm to do it all again on Sunday. But I will.
All season I've been telling myself we're much better than our performances suggest and we've been unlucky. But I think the WBA game really hit home how bad we are. Pub team pretty much sums it up. Every aspect of our play, we were miles behind them. How many times has Harry bemoaned our lack of quality? He's spot on. Unbelievable how three transfer windows under TF and this is what we get! This team would struggle in the npc.
Sorry to say Col, but the period from Harry taking over to the January window was always going to be the critical period that would cut us adrift. I really can't see this lot getting anything from Sunday, even against a stuttering Liverpool, then it's Chelsea. We could be nine or ten points adrift by then and even Lazarus would be saying game over. Harry must be so frustrated that players who seemed so capable of raising their game a few weeks ago when he first arrived have slipped back into their 'couldn't give a sh*t' mode. I really think Harry will look at planning for next season in the Championship more than survival now, if he can get the nucleus of a team with a bit of heart and passion gelling over the next five months we might have a chance of being competitive next season...
This is your best report yet, Col. Can't fault it. What worried me most was watching West Brom who looked a team of Olympic athletes, with an almost telepathic understanding of each other's play, and QPR that looked for most of yesterday (until the subs came on anyway) like a bunch of misfits. West Brom could target Adel at will, knowing that the rest of our team didn't offer much threat (Cisse excluded near goal). Every time Adel got the ball, they swarmed around him like bees reacting to an attack on their hive. We could and should have got something out of the game if the ref and linesman had done their jobs - but the fact is, West Brom were by some way the better team. If we're beaten by Liverpool, then absent some miracle purchases by Harry in Jan, I agree with Sooperhoop, we need to prepare for the Championship. And if we do get relegated, I cannot see more than 3 or 4 of the current squad being around next season.
as a baggie who was there yesterday, for me our second goal was comical and i think a fair goal. i think the keepers have way too much protection in this day and age, how evertons goal was ruled out on saturday at upton park was beyond me. totally legitimate. the penalty though, have to say was stonewall, and we got lucky in that respect. don't know why ridgewell was doing that especially late on, arms flailing around in the air. however, rueing the decisions that weren't given means you have to create and take your own chances. we've all blamed refs for horrible decisions that havent gone our way but on the other side if chances were taken i suppose we wouldnt need to debate this. i thought as has been said we were good value for our win despite the controversy at the end. was a very nervy finish but im glad to have taken the 3 points back to the midlands. look forward to returning on the 5th jan, could be a very open game.
I must admit i think we were totally devoid of any attacking threat in the first half but to say we were outclassed i just don't think is true. Before the 30 yard thunderbolt West Brom looked as toothless as we did. I agree they only looked like they were in second gear but actually WBA did not look like the side who are blazing trails at the moment at all in my opinion. Agree with your player ratings apart from Hoilett though. 7 - never. He was average I thought and looks a too porky. SWP - the usual. Decent defensively, awful going forward for the most part. To be fair though so was everybody else. Poor old Faurlin though - simply not at the races. I'm not trying to be an apologist for Rangers poor display (at home too) I just think it was actually more even than you give credit for. I pretty much agree with everything else. Happy Xmas!
Thanks Col! Good write up as ever. Thought we deserved the draw on our 2nd half showing especially after the Subs, thought West Brom were marginally better 1st half, but we were in the 2nd. I thought Traore did OK, defended well, got forward, and won a few corners. Favio didn't get forward and looks very weak in the air to me.
Really? That 2nd goal was a definite foul. He's backing into the keeper, no attempt to play the ball. Obstruction at the very least. Yes Green flapped like a girl in traditional manner but it's still a foul nevertheless. I suspect any team who conceded a goal like that would feel hard done by. My feeling is West Brom only really got going after the second goal and should have been out of sight by the time we got our first. However, that second goal changed the complexion of the game completely. Again, not saying we're better than we are, we're patently not good enough at the mo but actually for me a draw would have been a fairer result yesterday. Rangers should really be aspiring to the West Brom model though, both on and off the pitch I think.
Good account Col, we must have been watching the same game Agree that Traore didn't do well, little disapointed as I think he's been one of our best players this season. He is so one footed that it's comical sometimes watching him turn and move the ball around, he uses his right foot only to stand on as he never touches the ball with it!
Great report wasn't there yesterday so respect to those you mixed it with the sales fools. My comment is this based on watching the footage of Green ... sorry that was a straight foul. He attempted a straight forward routine tip over however as he rose he was nudged IMO and the WBA knew exactly what he was doing. No criticism on Green in my book for both goals however the header for the second was as good as a own goal or a bad back pass .. Traore . I thought Cisse goal was brilliant to be fair as well. Result has gone move on
A good report as usual col. However im not confident that wba outplayed us, except the minutes 45-70. I believe we were not worth of three points and neither were baggies. Draw would have been a right result but Foy & his littlle helpers thought otherwise................ps. The second "goal" for the baggies was so clear foul as it could be. Its true that green acted like a girl in that situation, but if you look the replay carefully you can see green staggered just when he reaches to ball cos in the same time fortune pushed him with his ass.........
Agree with all that especially about Cisse, he is not a target man. M'bia was a beast and played a great pass for the goal. What was going on with our corners! Why does it take Adel 4 or 5 to get his bearings surely he should practice before the game. Wouldn't matter though as we a p**s poor on attacking corners anyway nobody seems sure what is coming, just looks like pot luck. We are lacking so much creativity to break teams down. Yet another game we concede a very poor soft goal. Hope we close Liverpool down better then we did yesterday and Suarez doesn't play (he is a doubt).
