BTFS - QPR

[genome]

[paultheroyal]

[biff]

In a word - abject. No creativity, no discernible shape, no pattern to our play. Same old story, 72% possession and 1 shot on target. People on here banging on about there being no plan B, how about getting plan A sorted out first eh? You know, the most frustrating thing is that the team last night were more than capable of winning that game if we'd had a different game plan. Flat back four, Williams and Kelly in CM, McCleary and Beerens as proper wingers and Swift in the Gylfi role just behind Kermogant and we would have appeared as a different team.

But no. Stam plays some utterly ridiculous formation with Obita and Gunter as"wing backs" even though neither is suited to that role, McCleary and Beerens narrow between the midfield and attack and Williams, for reasons that can only be known to himself, wide right. It was painfully obvious that the players just didn’t know what they were supposed to be doing!

And I'm sorry but to then come out after the game and imply that he hadn't been allowed to build a team when 5 of his signings played and another was left on the bench was frankly embarrassing.

He may be using us to cut his managerial teeth but we are the ones who are suffering.

+1

[Hound]

Yep, we've really suffered this season...

[muirinho]

In a word - abject. No creativity, no discernible shape, no pattern to our play. Same old story, 72% possession and 1 shot on target. People on here banging on about there being no plan B, how about getting plan A sorted out first eh? You know, the most frustrating thing is that the team last night were more than capable of winning that game if we'd had a different game plan. Flat back four, Williams and Kelly in CM, McCleary and Beerens as proper wingers and Swift in the Gylfi role just behind Kermogant and we would have appeared as a different team.

But no. Stam plays some utterly ridiculous formation with Obita and Gunter as"wing backs" even though neither is suited to that role, McCleary and Beerens narrow between the midfield and attack and Williams, for reasons that can only be known to himself, wide right. It was painfully obvious that the players just didn’t know what they were supposed to be doing!

And I'm sorry but to then come out after the game and imply that he hadn't been allowed to build a team when 5 of his signings played and another was left on the bench was frankly embarrassing.

He may be using us to cut his managerial teeth but we are the ones who are suffering.

+1

I make it that the only one in the back 5 that was in a role he'd done before (at least for Reading) was Obita, playing left wing-back.

It was a back 5, but it was McCleary / Williams that was the right wing-back (they swapped during the game). Liam Moore was in the Tyler Blackett position, left of a back 3. Joey was the central defender (!!!!!!!), and Gunter was at the right.

I was amused by the criticism of Gunter for not getting forward more. He wasn't playing wingback or left back, he couldn't. And you could see the cogs turning when he had the ball - if there wasn't a pass on to McCleary, he went sideways to Kelly, because every time he passed to Williams, the ball was lost, and suddenly QPR had wide-open spaces in front of them because Joey had gone to have a natter with some invisible friend in a distant part of the pitch. Or was in the right place, but contemplating the meaning of the universe. OR something.

It might have worked if Evans had been on (for either Kelly or Swift), he'd have given a bit more solidity in the midfield.

Having said all of that - are we really suffering all that much? We are still 6 points clear of 7th. AS long as he gets most things right, I'll give Stam a pass on the times he makes mistakes. Even vastly experienced managers sometimes get the formation completely wrong. And I don't think the formation was necessarily wrong, he just didn't have the right people to do it, as Blackett and McShane are out injured. I doubt he wanted to risk Dickie, even on the bench as he won't have had much time playing with the group here, as he has been out on loan - give that a couple of weeks. I'd have preferred Evans in the central defender role instead of Joey VdB,but yeah, we all have our pet hates, and he's currently mine (supplanting Danny Williams - that is some achievement). And has Evans played there before either?

[Ian Royal]

Not sure how anyone can say that Gunter and Obita aren't suited to being wing backs given their pace, energy and general lack of defensive quality. The issue is, if you're going to play them as wing backs you need an extra centre back and or midfielders to cover them when they bomb on.

We had one and a half centre backs and midfielders nowhere to be seen.

[tidus_mi2]

Given the other results today, yesterday now feels like a lost opportunity more than it could have been a case of other teams catching up. Also lolBrighton for making a big fuss on us losing then losing themselves.

[CountryRoyal]

Given the other results today, yesterday now feels like a lost opportunity more than it could have been a case of other teams catching up. Also lolBrighton for making a big fuss on us losing then losing themselves.

I think there has been far too much talk about the top two.

We will see how we bounce back but yesterday was so utterly abject that based on that, we won't even have to worry about the playoffs.

[genome]

Yeah guys, the game wasn't yesterday

[RoyalBlue]

Meite looked at threat certainly - would have put him on at half time

At no point did I ever think he was about to pose a serious threat on the QPR goal. The fact he 'looked a threat' was probably down to the fact that the rest were so p*ss poor!

[tidus_mi2]

Yeah guys, the game wasn't yesterday

Ugh, seems instinctive to say it was yesterday, oxf*rd Sky and their Thursday games.

[The Cap]

Jonathan Low, on getreading, wrote:
Yes it was cold and yes it was on television, but that's still no excuse.

Okay, so allowing for the fact that it was a Thursday night match. Where did that ever come from? TOTP's night back in the day. Mind you, enjoyed it when Middlesboro' had a cracking season in one of the Euro compos. And, invariably, always played on a Thursday night. Anyway moving on.....rank weather, on Sky, people trying to flog their tics, middle of Jan. and 5,000 having just forked out for a trip to Man U. Have a word with yourself Johnny.

[Hound]

Meite looked at threat certainly - would have put him on at half time

At no point did I ever think he was about to pose a serious threat on the QPR goal. The fact he 'looked a threat' was probably down to the fact that the rest were so p*ss poor!

Yep maybe

[leon]

He may be using us to cut his managerial teeth but we are the ones who are suffering.

penis

[Muskrat]

In a word - abject. No creativity, no discernible shape, no pattern to our play. Same old story, 72% possession and 1 shot on target. People on here banging on about there being no plan B, how about getting plan A sorted out first eh? You know, the most frustrating thing is that the team last night were more than capable of winning that game if we'd had a different game plan. Flat back four, Williams and Kelly in CM, McCleary and Beerens as proper wingers and Swift in the Gylfi role just behind Kermogant and we would have appeared as a different team.

But no. Stam plays some utterly ridiculous formation with Obita and Gunter as"wing backs" even though neither is suited to that role, McCleary and Beerens narrow between the midfield and attack and Williams, for reasons that can only be known to himself, wide right. It was painfully obvious that the players just didn’t know what they were supposed to be doing!

And I'm sorry but to then come out after the game and imply that he hadn't been allowed to build a team when 5 of his signings played and another was left on the bench was frankly embarrassing.

He may be using us to cut his managerial teeth but we are the ones who are suffering.

From January last year...

[genome]

Deary me, have you actually just cherry picked a shit performance from a season we finished 3rd?

That may be the worst "I told you so" I've ever seen

[Snowflake Royal]

Deary me, have you actually just cherry picked a shit performance from a season we finished 3rd?

That may be the worst "I told you so" I've ever seen

[Muskrat]

No, there were loads of sh1t performances that I could have chosen from, from the first game at home to PNE, up to and including the play-off final. The fact is I saw what others chose not to, that we have been shit for at least a year now.

[Snowflake Royal]

No, there were loads of sh1t performances that I could have chosen from, from the first game at home to PNE, up to and including the play-off final. The fact is I saw what others chose not to, that we have been shit for at least a year now.

Yeah, but you said we were shit and we finished 3rd. You can't say you were right when you were categorically proven wrong. Oh... you have. Well, hang your own credibility I guess.

[Muskrat]

Ugh? You've lost me there I'm afraid. You appear to imply that playing shit football finishing third in a league table are mutually exclusive, which clearly they're not. Hang yourself with your own logic I suppose...