QPR – Poor side on today’s evidence but poorer approach. They have some decent players and have really picked up since they started the season dreadfully but today, I would have been angry if I had travelled all the way from London to see them set up to play like they did. They time wasted from start to finish and never really had a go at all. They were going down pretending they were injured and slowly things down completely. The keeper took forever to do things. It was really poor for a team middle of the league who have some decent players. I expected better but they just sat in and never really attacked at all first half. Kept going down and feigning injury and several players went to ground but then got up after having treatment and were sprightly and full of life immediately after. It was not great to see. We scored and then they had to come out more but did not really change too much!
They had a few long shots and more of the ball but did not commit too many forwards at all. McClaren said our goal was only effort on target but in truth we did what we had to do. We still had lots more clear chances than them (McGoldrick, Egan, Stevens) and at least had opportunities in the box. He says it was a close game but in terms of the play, control of the ball and quality; we showed nearly all of that and it was as easy a 1-0 as you would see really.
I felt for the lad Eze who is a decent player but was not given much chance by their approach. They played the diagonal high ball a lot which was odd and I know they tried to push our wing backs into our own half by doing this but they did not play down the middle at all. Freeman had one run and shot but was starved of the ball. Ditto for Wells. We limited their attacking players but we had so much of the ball as they just sat it. It was a startling approach where they played for a point from the start but deserved nothing for going about things the way they did. Second half they put Smith on and had a few long rangers but Henderson only had one weak shot to save and everything they attempted was from distance. I cannot remember them getting behind us or having any clear chances in our box. Even as time ebbed away; they did not really throw caution to the wind (literally) and we saw things out quite easily. It was a fairly comfortable 1-0 win. Strange as at Villa they had a go and have been scoring goals in some games but it was a very poor approach. Shows the respect we are starting to get as a team.
As for McClaren’s mob – I had them down to finish nearer the bottom than top and be around the relegation places but maybe just do enough to stay up. They have had a really good run so credit to him as player wise; there are many better teams on paper a lot lower down. However, I do not see them threatening the top 6 and feel the lack of squad depth might hurt them and still see them as bottom half but may finish just a bit higher than I expected and after a wretched few years for both QPR and McClaren will see that as upward trend.
Opponent man of the match – Not sure anyone was great. Eze maybe at least showed some bits and pieces and is a decent technical player. He is quite quick and strong and a bit like McGoldrick drifts around although he was forced to go deep to see any of the ball so poor was QPR’s passing and approach sitting so deep. Freeman played one or two nice balls but he did not have his best game and wasted two efforts from long range – I suppose it was QPR’s best efforts though.
Weak link – Lynch and Lieistner looked very clumsy to me and I felt McGoldrick made them look daft with his play and link up. They made a number of poor clearances and struggled with his movement. Leistner lost McGoldrick on the goal (did this twice for Abraham last time out) and seemed to be error strewn. Smith came on and was given punts too try and flick but was given nothing really in the box to compete for. The midfield never had control of the game and Cousins, Scowen and even Freeman were not in the game much at all and just chasing us about. Wszolek and Furlong were given high diagonal balls to compete aerially for rather than anything to feet which must have been annoying to them. The keeper was hopeless too. Apart from his timewasting. I think Joanna Lumley would move faster – even now at 72! He could not keep the ball in play kicking it out continuously and then also did not understand the rules when kicking it from dead; twice kicking it when it was moving and another time kicking it to a defender stood inside the box. A long way from being absolutely fabulous.
Henderson 7/10 – Had nothing to do other than one weak Freeman shot straight at him and watching another shot from the same player go wide. Other than that, he just watched long range shots fly well wide/over. His kicking; like the QPR keeper was not the best but maybe the wind did not help as he kept finding touch. Seemed to have a bit of dialogue with the away fans as he reacted with a fisted celebration to them at full time which clearly irked them. Loved the way when he did kick one out of play, he picked up a bit of grass and threw it in the air as if he was checking the wind and turned and laughed at the Kop! Short hair cut too – seems he popped to a barbers on the wicker!
Baldock 7/10 – Decent enough performance. He was involved in the goal and some of our better attacking play and was neat and tidy in possession. He was given a tougher time in terms of the way they played. It was not as if they had lots of attacks but kept pumping high diagonal balls from the keeper or defence into the wing back areas in an attempt to pin us back. Baldock did ok defensively and when he got forward, he had some decent runs. He actually put in one superb cross second half which evaded everyone but was an excellent ball – that is not always his strong point. He also worked really hard today and just did what he had to do to defend and keep the ball.
Stevens 7/10 – Thought first half; like Jack he was a bit off the pace and a few times he mis controlled or made poor choices and his touch was a bit off but as the game went on, he got better and better. Made one superb tackle to stop an attack as they broke and more of an attacking threat with some surging runs down the left and linked well with teammates. They played a lot of diagonal high balls which forced them to be back defensively more and I felt their man kept jumping into him but he stuck to his task. Nearly got a second goal for us with a low shot he just dragged wide near the end.
Egan 8/10 – Our best defender. He was excellent today and used the ball well, kept his composure and read the game too. Don’t recall Wells having many effective touches and when Smith came on, he kept him quiet too. He won most headers, was dominant when it mattered and when they had a spell of play (nothing major) made some key interceptions. Read the game really well too. Very consistent currently and a lynchpin at the back.
O’Connell 7/10 – First half he would have been more like a 4 or 5…he had one. From poor touches, passes and sloppy bits of defending to catching the ball before the ball had gone out. He just looked totally out of sorts. Second half he was a different player – he won tackles, headed it, was on the front foot and had several lung busting runs forward. One where he just barrelled over and the player took him out summed up his change. Also made one ***** tackle when they broke where he just took the lot out. Huge improvement in the 2nd half.
Basham 8/10 – Typical Bash performance. He was always onto the first ball, beat his man to nearly every 50/50 challenge and got forward too. He was all over the place at times and showed incredible energy. His commitment is second to none and the amount of yards he covered is something else. He was very consistent today and just did all the little things both in a defending and attacking mode.
Fleck 6.5/10 – He was a bit up and down today for me again. He showed some decent pieces of play with some calm touches and a few jinking runs but he also sold himself a few times when they attacked and got booked for a poor foul. He needs to keep his shape at times and not dive in as they give teams the chance to breakaway especially if Norwood is committed further forward. Still not sure he has been that consistent this season and we are 2nd!
Norwood 8/10 – Thought he shaded it for Man of the Match. Close between him and McGoldrick with Basham and Egan not far off. Just felt Norwood controlled the game. Of course, not every pass comes off and some he overplayed or gave away but he is always trying things and love the fact he keeps trying forward passes too. Some of his balls were superb with both short, medium and long stuff. He kept pinging the ball to different areas. Keep picking up the ball and always a willing recipient. He made us tick today when the other two midfielders; on the ball at least; did not quite offer the same threat. Made the goal with a superb angled cross that was begging to be converted.