Match Thread: Queens Park Rangers FC v Watford

[Hanuhoff]

How bad was it? I'm in Sheffield and my daughter had a drama performance so no way I was going to be able to make it and I couldn't even listen anywhere. Any glimmers of hope at all or should I lump my savings on us going down?

[notlob66]

My guess on Willock is contractual/selling issues

[Wegerle]

How bad was it? I'm in Sheffield and my daughter had a drama performance so no way I was going to be able to make it and I couldn't even listen anywhere. Any glimmers of hope at all or should I lump my savings on us going down?

It was boys against men for the whole match. Not conceding in the second half was more down to Watford taking their foot of the accelerator than anything else.
I'm not sure we had a real clear cut chance today.
The only positive is that we kept playing in the second half and didn't fold completely to get hammered by 7 or 8.
The fact that that was the positive tells you the story of todays game I'm afraid.

[JHC]

Obviously very ugly, but I think that is what we all expected. Far too early to put all the blame on Ainsworth. We need more players, and flirting with a point deduction may be necessary. We saw some young (QPR) players like Duke-McKenna, Armstrong make a contribution in the second half, and the 2nd half performance was an improvement, although I agree part of it was because Watford took their foot off the accelerator.

As far as Willock is concerned it is odd to bring him on so late, but he hasn’t been our best player for a long time. I think he needs to get used to coming on to spell Chair. He’ll get a chance to play more and we will see if he can be our best player again. The only memory I have of him from the Oxford game was him taking a woefully speculative shot when a simple pass to Dykes would have created a great chance to equalize.

I will be happy if we see some incremental improvement at Cardiff. Not sure we can expect a result, but we can hope.

[ZENITH R]

What is it with Willock?

Warburton, beale and Critchley all picked Willock so why doesn't Ainsworth? The 11 on the pitch must be crying out for our best player to be amongst them. So whats the issue?

A very good question. Although of the 12 games Critchley was in charge, Willock only started 5 and was subbed every time.

I get that last season he wasn't fit, but having played very little football last season and had all summer to recover, we should be seeing him back to his best or at least on the way. He is undoubtedly a talented footballer and you don't just lose that. Also, over the last 3 years the best football QPR have played has come from a Chair Willock combination, so why have we seen so little of them on the pitch together? I always thought one complimented the other.

[deadendjob]

Quite frankly, I blame Les. Oh wait.

[Rbee]

Kilmarnock 1 v Rangers 0    

[bigbobb]

I was at the game with my son Matt and this is what he posted elsewhere on our journey home:-

Where to start with that? The result isn’t a need for alarm bells, the performance very much is.

I was someone who very much wanted Ainsworth to come in last season. A former player with a touch of flair, who had a track record of taking a small club beyond its resources. On paper he’s a perfect fit.

I was also willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for last season. Something clearly happened at the end of the Beale era to change the mood at the club, and that only seemed to set in under Critchley. Being generous, Ainsworth came in and kept us up. He had a summer to get rid of the issues, move along a couple of the bad eggs in the dressing room and bring in some fresh faces to put an imprint on who we’d be this year.

Half time today, and the faith I had that Ainsworth is the right man is now already at 1%.

Make no mistake, the entire performance today is on Ainsworth. I’m writing this on the drive home with my Dad and as we’ve gone through the team and done our player ratings - we can’t see a single player who didn’t play exactly as you’d expect them to. Nobody had a ‘bad’ game, none of the goals came from glaring errors and instead it was a better set of players passing a ball easily through a limited set of players, who were set up badly, and with a manager who didn’t react to his troops being torn apart.

Let’s start with the tactics. Watford kept the ball short, played it out from the back and used some patient build up. In contrast, when Begovic had the ball our full backs legged it as far away from him as possible, and it was long ball to an isolated Dykes after long ball. We had the practice of 4 kick offs in the first half. All four were pumped long directly. Four times we lost the ball.

Which brings on to the next issue – no response from Ainsworth to us being repeatedly torn apart. Watford kept their midfielders close together, meaning it was easy to pass it around the isolated Field and the anonymous Dozell. Charlie Kelman didn’t touch the ball in the first half and despite me being 15 minutes late to the game, within 5 minutes it was clear we needed to bring him off and put another body in midfield. Instead nothing was done until half time. Too late and even then the changes were like for like. The second half may have been 0-0 but let’s not kid ourselves – the fight was better, but Watford eased off.

So piss poor tactics, no management response and let’s look at the players. Of those out there today the players who I’d classify as solid players who are comfortably good enough to be starters at this level are Begovic, Paal, Field, Chair and Dykes. Fox it’s not fair to judge based on today, I’m still not convinced by Dozzell and Kakay is just a 6 out of 10 who, whilst always giving his best and genuinely caring, wouldn’t be in any other Championship starting XI. The others – Gubbins, Kelman, Smyth, and you could add the lads who came on to this – all just looked too small for the Championship. Even Sinclair-Armstrong, who at least came on and put himself about and I think will be a player one day, just looked lightweight compared to the centre halves. We don’t look like having enough quality who can put a foot on the ball, we don’t look physically ready to compete and looking around that dressing room, we also lack a couple of nobheads who are going to mix it up (for pointers on how to do this look to the Watford keeper, who even at 4-0 against a defeated team still remained commendably comitted to acting the dickhead). So make no mistake, this is a squad that without improvement is heading for relegation.

So my final point. Last week I posted ‘got my ticket for Watford away tomorrow and already anticipating the panicked loan signings we make after a 4-0 pumping.’

This was only a half joke as I will be very surprised if we don’t have three or four more loan signings in by the end of the month, however the very serious issue is who would join us? If I’m a Premier League manager the last thing I want is for my youngsters to be sent out to a team playing hoofball, led by a manager with no tactical awareness, who are getting beat by 3 or 4 each week.

So back to my original point. The result today isn’t overly unexpected; Watford are decent enough with far superior resources. However the performance, lack of plan and a squad that doesn’t look anywhere near ready, all combine to mean that Ainsworth is already running incredibly thin on patience with me, and judging by the reaction today, a hell of a lot of the rest of the fan base.

This is not going to be a pretty season.
Where to start with that? The result isn’t a need for alarm bells, the performance very much is.

I was someone who very much wanted Ainsworth to come in last season. A former player with a touch of flair, who had a track record of taking a small club beyond its resources. On paper he’s a perfect fit.

I was also willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for last season. Something clearly happened at the end of the Beale era to change the mood at the club, and that only seemed to set in under Critchley. Being generous, Ainsworth came in and kept us up. He had a summer to get rid of the issues, move along a couple of the bad eggs in the dressing room and bring in some fresh faces to put an imprint on who we’d be this year.

Half time today, and the faith I had that Ainsworth is the right man is now already at 1%.

Make no mistake, the entire performance today is on Ainsworth. I’m writing this on the drive home with my Dad and as we’ve gone through the team and done our player ratings - we can’t see a single player who didn’t play exactly as you’d expect them to. Nobody had a ‘bad’ game, none of the goals came from glaring errors and instead it was a better set of players passing a ball easily through a limited set of players, who were set up badly, and with a manager who didn’t react to his troops being torn apart.

Let’s start with the tactics. Watford kept the ball short, played it out from the back and used some patient build up. In contrast, when Begovic had the ball our full backs legged it as far away from him as possible, and it was long ball to an isolated Dykes after long ball. We had the practice of 4 kick offs in the first half. All four were pumped long directly. Four times we lost the ball.

Which brings on to the next issue – no response from Ainsworth to us being repeatedly torn apart. Watford kept their midfielders close together, meaning it was easy to pass it around the isolated Field and the anonymous Dozell. Charlie Kelman didn’t touch the ball in the first half and despite me being 15 minutes late to the game, within 5 minutes it was clear we needed to bring him off and put another body in midfield. Instead nothing was done until half time. Too late and even then the changes were like for like. The second half may have been 0-0 but let’s not kid ourselves – the fight was better, but Watford eased off.

So piss poor tactics, no management response and let’s look at the players. Of those out there today the players who I’d classify as solid players who are comfortably good enough to be starters at this level are Begovic, Paal, Field, Chair and Dykes. Fox it’s not fair to judge based on today, I’m still not convinced by Dozzell and Kakay is just a 6 out of 10 who, whilst always giving his best and genuinely caring, wouldn’t be in any other Championship starting XI. The others – Gubbins, Kelman, Smyth, and you could add the lads who came on to this – all just looked too small for the Championship. Even Sinclair-Armstrong, who at least came on and put himself about and I think will be a player one day, just looked lightweight compared to the centre halves. We don’t look like having enough quality who can put a foot on the ball, we don’t look physically ready to compete and looking around that dressing room, we also lack a couple of nobheads who are going to mix it up (for pointers on how to do this look to the Watford keeper, who even at 4-0 against a defeated team still remained commendably comitted to acting the dickhead). So make no mistake, this is a squad that without improvement is heading for relegation.

So my final point. Last week I posted ‘got my ticket for Watford away tomorrow and already anticipating the panicked loan signings we make after a 4-0 pumping.’

This was only a half joke as I will be very surprised if we don’t have three or four more loan signings in by the end of the month, however the very serious issue is who would join us? If I’m a Premier League manager the last thing I want is for my youngsters to be sent out to a team playing hoofball, led by a manager with no tactical awareness, who are getting beat by 3 or 4 each week.

So back to my original point. The result today isn’t overly unexpected; Watford are decent enough with far superior resources. However the performance, lack of plan and a squad that doesn’t look anywhere near ready, all combine to mean that Ainsworth is already running incredibly thin on patience with me, and judging by the reaction today, a hell of a lot of the rest of the fan base.

This is not going to be a pretty season.

[UxbridgeR]

How bad was it? I'm in Sheffield and my daughter had a drama performance so no way I was going to be able to make it and I couldn't even listen anywhere. Any glimmers of hope at all or should I lump my savings on us going down?

Well the lads gave everything against what might be the league champions according to the manager,
so nothing to worry about really. Once he sorts the time management out, we'll be fine. Probably.

[Wegerle]

I just heard GA post match interview.
I understand he has to stay positive and keep believing but sometimes it's better to just say nothing because that was about just as bad as our performance.

[Giorgio]

Loss to Bolton 0-4 first game up 2011 season

....I also witnessed a 0-5 home vs Swansea.....then 0-6 to Newcastle, but it was not the opening match of the season...

[Giorgio]

How bad was it?

...pretty bad.....I would save only Dykes who ran and fought and jumped all alone up front....and Sinclair who at least put some effort....
all the others were zero.....and please GA no more Dozzell e Kelman in the starting eleven...they are hardly good for the bench...

[222gers]

How bad was it?

...pretty bad.....I would save only Dykes who ran and fought and jumped all alone up front....and Sinclair who at least put some effort....
all the others were zero.....and please GA no more Dozzell e Kelman in the starting eleven...they are hardly good for the bench...

The one little bit of optimism I felt was when Dykes renewed his contract despite reported interest from other clubs.
Well, it was short lived. The term “barrel scraping” pertains to this club now.

[Giorgio]

I was at the game with my son Matt and this is what he posted elsewhere on our journey home:-

Where to start with that? The result isn’t a need for alarm bells, the performance very much is.

I was someone who very much wanted Ainsworth to come in last season. A former player with a touch of flair, who had a track record of taking a small club beyond its resources. On paper he’s a perfect fit.

I was also willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for last season. Something clearly happened at the end of the Beale era to change the mood at the club, and that only seemed to set in under Critchley. Being generous, Ainsworth came in and kept us up. He had a summer to get rid of the issues, move along a couple of the bad eggs in the dressing room and bring in some fresh faces to put an imprint on who we’d be this year.

Half time today, and the faith I had that Ainsworth is the right man is now already at 1%.

Make no mistake, the entire performance today is on Ainsworth. I’m writing this on the drive home with my Dad and as we’ve gone through the team and done our player ratings - we can’t see a single player who didn’t play exactly as you’d expect them to. Nobody had a ‘bad’ game, none of the goals came from glaring errors and instead it was a better set of players passing a ball easily through a limited set of players, who were set up badly, and with a manager who didn’t react to his troops being torn apart.

Let’s start with the tactics. Watford kept the ball short, played it out from the back and used some patient build up. In contrast, when Begovic had the ball our full backs legged it as far away from him as possible, and it was long ball to an isolated Dykes after long ball. We had the practice of 4 kick offs in the first half. All four were pumped long directly. Four times we lost the ball.

Which brings on to the next issue – no response from Ainsworth to us being repeatedly torn apart. Watford kept their midfielders close together, meaning it was easy to pass it around the isolated Field and the anonymous Dozell. Charlie Kelman didn’t touch the ball in the first half and despite me being 15 minutes late to the game, within 5 minutes it was clear we needed to bring him off and put another body in midfield. Instead nothing was done until half time. Too late and even then the changes were like for like. The second half may have been 0-0 but let’s not kid ourselves – the fight was better, but Watford eased off.

So piss poor tactics, no management response and let’s look at the players. Of those out there today the players who I’d classify as solid players who are comfortably good enough to be starters at this level are Begovic, Paal, Field, Chair and Dykes. Fox it’s not fair to judge based on today, I’m still not convinced by Dozzell and Kakay is just a 6 out of 10 who, whilst always giving his best and genuinely caring, wouldn’t be in any other Championship starting XI. The others – Gubbins, Kelman, Smyth, and you could add the lads who came on to this – all just looked too small for the Championship. Even Sinclair-Armstrong, who at least came on and put himself about and I think will be a player one day, just looked lightweight compared to the centre halves. We don’t look like having enough quality who can put a foot on the ball, we don’t look physically ready to compete and looking around that dressing room, we also lack a couple of nobheads who are going to mix it up (for pointers on how to do this look to the Watford keeper, who even at 4-0 against a defeated team still remained commendably comitted to acting the dickhead). So make no mistake, this is a squad that without improvement is heading for relegation.

So my final point. Last week I posted ‘got my ticket for Watford away tomorrow and already anticipating the panicked loan signings we make after a 4-0 pumping.’

This was only a half joke as I will be very surprised if we don’t have three or four more loan signings in by the end of the month, however the very serious issue is who would join us? If I’m a Premier League manager the last thing I want is for my youngsters to be sent out to a team playing hoofball, led by a manager with no tactical awareness, who are getting beat by 3 or 4 each week.

So back to my original point. The result today isn’t overly unexpected; Watford are decent enough with far superior resources. However the performance, lack of plan and a squad that doesn’t look anywhere near ready, all combine to mean that Ainsworth is already running incredibly thin on patience with me, and judging by the reaction today, a hell of a lot of the rest of the fan base.

This is not going to be a pretty season.

...that is a perfect analysis of the game. I think what I have witnessed yesterday is the worst ever performance of a so called football team. That was not only the lack of football skills - already a concern - but above all that lack of any will, passion, fighting spirit from a bunch of individuals scattered on a football pitch with no whatsoever organization. No idea on the offensive part of the game, how to create something, by moving both the players and the ball and just kicking it up front hoping that some sort of miracle might happen...then on the supposed defensive part no pressing - Watford players could come into our half completely free and as they played as a team, they had options to pass the ball, coming from players running and moving into the spaces, not marked at all. One image comes to my mind: Kakay running behind their attacking player, trying to grab him, trying to keep his pace, just trying to be a supposed football player acting as a defender.

[Andy_N19]

What's the odds on quickest Manger sacking of a new season..?

Which is why I confidently predict he'll be gone by October.