Groundhog Day at Loftus Road

Match Review: QPR 1-1 Reading

Queens Park Rangers are still winless after this 'must-win' fixture ended in a draw. Time for Hughes to go now surely? I'm beginning to think so...

The message from Mark Hughes at the end of last season was simple and clear: "For as long as I'm here, the club will not be in this situation (a relegation dogfight) again". Very bold at the time but yet fairly convincing when you consider the outlay and calibre of players coming through the revolving door at QPR over the Summer. But football has a nasty habit of making your words come back to haunt you...

Going into this round of fixtures (the 9th game of the season) the Hoops found themselves rooted to the bottom of the league. We've been told not to panic and to start with I admit I bought into the noises coming out of the club and was prepared to be patient. "We haven't had the rub of the green with decisions", "We're dominating games, we've just been unlucky", "We've had a difficult fixture list and played all of the top teams bar Manchester United in those nine games", "We've made several changes to the playing squad and it will take time for the team to click and us to discover our best formation". But surely after this game, the 'must win and will win' game as labelled by the pundits, the game where Anton Ferdinand and Jamie Mackie told us they 'knew what they had to do'; the spin machine which puts the PR in QPR must be running out of lines...

The worst thing about this plight is that much of it seems to be so avoidable - individual defensive errors, lack of discipline and playing one up front at home - I thought we'd cured all those woes last year when we finished the campaign so strongly (well at home at least) and secured our Premier League status. All of the above has returned in recent weeks and it is very alarming. 

"We'll win this week kids, I promise"

Hughes seems to have signed players with lots of experience (which was definitely needed) but what we didn't need were 'has-beens' which push out the bread and butter players because of their reputation alone. On paper these players looked great signings, but as one pundit commented at the time: "this team would have been challenging for top honours five years ago, not sure about now". Players like Djibril Cisse and Ji-Sung Park started their QPR careers so well but have faded somewhat and look lifeless at times in a league where extreme energy levels are demanded no matter what the opposition. And then there are some players whose QPR careers just haven't started at all (Shaun Wright-Phillips). And then there are the 'hot heads'. Mark Hughes seems to have a knack of picking players with highly volatile temperaments, who can go from being calm and composed in one minute to just plain ridiculous the next - Cisse, Diakite, Mbia and probably even Taarabt can be considered amongst that number. Finally, there are those that are just lazy and don't look interested - Bobby Zamora is arguably the worst offender of those and astonishingly (though perhaps unsurprisingly) in the week following this game, he was quoted in an interview as saying that he 'doesn't enjoy' playing football any more and just 'does it because it's a job'. That's not the sort of player any club needs and it is gut-wrenching to think how much money he is earning.

Anyway, on to this game itself. Reading started brightly and clearly came sensing that they would go home with something if their attitude was right on the day. They've already turned over QPR's first team at Loftus Road in the COC this season with a 3-2 victory and the tactics used by McDermott were almost carbon copied here. They pressured QPR and allowed them little space, whilst also identifying crossing from the wings and getting in behind the back line as their best plan of attack. Unbelievably, Hughes didn't seem to re-brief his side after the disastrous performance, individual and tactical errors against the Royals in that cup match, and Rangers were undone yet again by the man they let go - Kaspars Gorkss. Having already been unmarked for a header early on, he again was given the freedom of the penalty area he once defended for  Rangers and this time even had so much time to show the home crowd something we didn't know he had in his locker - an excellent volley which flew past Cesar, who couldn't possibly have foreseen it. From what I have seen of Gorkss so far this season (not just against QPR), he has been quite impressive defensively in a struggling side and Reading use his aerial prowess to ruffle the feathers of many teams when attacking set pieces. I really regret that we let him go in favour of keeping Fitz Hall and signing Anton Ferdinand last season and just wonder how many of our goals he could have prevented this year if he had played rather than Scooby Doo or Madman Mbia. 

Hughes and his coaching staff also clearly didn't do any homework on Reading's only real danger man from open play - Jobi McAnuff. His tricky wing play has caused plenty of problems this year and he was the shining light in their recent match against Liverpool. I just can't understand how we allowed him so much space to operate in the first half. Part of the reason he had so much space though was the decision to persevere with Jose Bosingwa, who has not looked like a player that has won the Champions League twice at all since pulling on the Hoops jersey for the first time. I'm starting to wonder whether Chelsea have set us up with the guy. But with Nedum Onuoha equally inept, and Luke Young not named in the 25 man squad, what choice do we have?

Rangers did their usual 'response in kind' after the goal had gone in and were unlucky not to level through Esteban Granero's stunning free-kick which Alex McCarthy, a keeper in the form of his life at the moment, somehow tipped it onto the bar. You just sensed at that moment that the crowd knew it wouldn't be QPR's day.

So 0-1 it was at a thoroughly depressed Loftus Road at half time in cold and wet conditions. Hoilett was toilet and the recalled Jamie Mackie, brought into the side after looking lively and dangerous against Arsenal at the Emirates a week before, was completely anonymous (still, better him than SWP). The real concern is that Reading were not and are not even good. If we can't beat a team whose best player is top end Championship standard at best, and with Jimmy Kebe and Pavel Pogrebnyak (two of their other best players) on the bench, then what hope have we got for the rest of the season that lies ahead? We were even making Mikele Leigertwood look good!!! This was soul destroying. 

The second half was better from Rangers and as we've come to expect, they dominated possession, played nice football and created some chances which were wasted, with Taarabt the particularly guilty party. The Moroccan has definitely looked better under Hughes in the Premier League than he did under Warnock but continues to entertain and frustrate in equal measure. He just had to finish a one-on-one with McCarthy which he had in this half. But he didn't.

When the equaliser did arrive, it did so out of nothing. The ball ricocheted its way to Djibril Cisse, whose initial heavy touch looked to have taken the chance away from him, but he then adjusted himself very well to poke the ball beyond Alex McCarthy for 1-1. For a few moments, the crowd were back with the home side and there was belief. How nice it would have been to see Hughes make a positive attacking change to the formation or personnel with the wind in our sails and the crowd in full voice. No chance of that, and after this brief excitement the game returned to being evenly fought in midfield.

Eventually, with ten minutes to go, Bobby Zamora (who should have started but presumably wasn't in the mood) was introduced and he made a difference, up against the lofty Gorkss and Morrison centre half pairing who had had no trouble dealing with QPR aerially all afternoon up until this point. 'Bobby Zee' really should have buried one in the closing stages when a rare counter attack culminated in a rare fantastic delivery from Djibril Cisse, but he failed to connect properly with the ball and despite bundling it goal-bound there was not enough contact on it to take it pass the grateful McCarthy who was disappointingly even able to catch it.

The Biscuitmen attempted to snatch all three points late on with the introduction of Adam Le Fondre, but in the five or so minutes that he was on the pitch he only embarrassed himself with a terrible dive which saw him rightly booked by referee Michael Oliver.

In conclusion, this was Groundhog Day at Loftus Road: same shit, different week, apart from the small milestone of there being no QPR bookings(!) A draw was a fair result because neither side really did enough to win the game, in what was a low quality affair which threatened to entertain towards the end of the second half when both sides went for it. A draw, of course, is no use to either side though.

Since this report, another Groundhog Day (the away version) has occurred at Stoke, whereby yet again one defensive lapse (shocking marking by Rangers saw three men gather around Crouch and leave Adam all alone at the back post), a lack of attacking threat or poor decision making (Taarabt attempting a chip when placement into the bottom corner was all that was required) have proved our downfall. On the road the script tends to be that in spite of having some (albeit limited) chances we have lost by the odd goal. That doesn't bode well, especially as our next two away games are at Manchester United and Sunderland, traditionally unhappy hunting grounds for the R's.

"What the hell am I doing playing here every week?"

Southampton picked up a point against Swansea to send us back to the foot of the table (they lifted us off it with their inferior goal difference on Monday night) and they are the next side to visit Loftus Road. So next week really really is your last chance, Sparky. Win or bust.

Man of the match: I don't really think anyone really covered themselves in glory in Hoops in this game. Samba Diakite still looks a cut above the others though, and showed once more that if he can keep his discipline, he is a fine central midfielder. He continues to keep the much loved Alejandro Faurlin out of the team with his performances of late and will continue to do so whilst Hughes persists with the same formation. The question is: Can we find another way to use Faurlin? He's clearly one of our most talented players who is obviously hating being on the bench but the Granero-Diakite combination is the one positive so far. 4-1-3-2 anyone?

C

I should have known...

Match Review: QPR 2-3 Fake Hoops

Surprise surprise, QPR are out of the Capital One Cup! And unfortunately, I was there to suffer it...

This was a repeat of just about every home cup tie performance against inferior opposition that QPR have had over the past few years, bar Carlisle and Walsall at home (the latter, coincidentally, one I deliberately missed for the very reason above). I've seen QPR lose to Rochdale, Port Vale, Sheffield United, Northampton, Leyton Orient, Nottingham Forest, Luton Town. I've even seen Accrington Stanley run them close. But I was lured to this game because they promised it would be different. This game they promised they would play the strongest available side (which they did). This game they promised me a ten pound ticket and extra loyalty points (which they did). And this game they promised me they'd turn in a 90 minute performance, which they most certainly didn't... In fact, I'd go as far as saying they put in about fifteen minutes of a performance.

The game started in a similar vein to the last two league games - QPR in the ascendancy and playing nice football, particularly in the middle of the park. Stephane Mbia was making his full Hoops debut and showed some assured touches, leading the couple behind me to repeatedly turn to each other to remark on how well he reads the game (obviously know his ability well after watching him for five minutes). And just like there has been in the last few games, there was yet another early injury - this time just 52 seconds in Junior Hoilett went down in pain. Thankfully, after some delay he was able to return to the pitch and went on to score the opener after 14 minutes. He beat two Reading defenders who tried to slide in on him in desperation before firing low into the far corner with an accurate finish. This was all very promising - we'd started well and even had a goal to show for our efforts, and looked as though we could now go on and win the game comfortably. But I'd forgotten to factor in the current worrying tendency of this R's team to switch off completely in the aftermath of a goal scored. A needless free kick was given away about thirty yards from goal, which Nicky Shorey (who always saves his best for us) swung in and was met by Kaspars Gorkss, who had the freedom of the QPR penalty area to manouvre himself and powerfully head home. 

Reading had barely threatened up to this point but this gave them something to work with in the game. They responded by upping their tempo. QPR still looked a technically better side, but what Reading didn't have in quality they made up for in determination and they just ran and ran to put pressure on QPR's midfield when they didn't have the ball. This knocked the R's out of their stride and the first half performance was increasingly disjointed. Worryingly, Mbia picked up a yellow card and looked as though he would get himself sent off. Whilst Jamie Mackie was offering very little in attack, and also offered absolutely nothing in defence, prompting Clint Hill to have a 'quiet word' during a break in the play. As the half wore on, Mbia's performance increasingly reminded me of the debut of Samba Diakite, who completely lost his head to get himself sent off for two bookings after just 30 minutes on that day at home to Fulham. What is it with defensive players from the French league being so eccentric? 

At half time it was anyone's game, but Reading will have been the happier with their first half performance, and you'd have expected Mark Hughes to tell his players to up their tempo and get a grip on the game. But they came out looking more disjointed than when they went in. Park lost his magic touch, Granero was shot shy and Hoilett was taking an age to set himself to shoot or even pass, a crime he was guilty of on Sunday at White Hart Lane. Jamie Mackie also continued to have a shocker.  

The referee, Roger East, was becoming more and more fussy, but this could partly be attributed to Reading increasingly employing their renowned Championship tactic of getting in his ear at every opportunity (something Mr East will no doubt have been used to, after being promoted, like Reading, to the top flight this season). The usual perpetrator in chief, Jem Karacan, had taken centre stage and began to referee the game himself, reminding QPR fans what a serial moaner, ridiculous feigner of injury and all round complete tart he is. He plays football how you'd imagine the characterless, always hard done by Brian McDermott would play.

For the whole game so far, Djibril Cisse had continued to look off the boil. He chose not to try and take on a defender with his undoubted pace but instead to shoot wildly from distance with shots that ended up closer to the corner flag, presumably of the belief that eventually one would go in. And on 72 minutes, after the QPR fans had vented their frustration with these continuous distant hit and hopes, one did indeed go in. A real rocket into the top right corner that gave McCarthy no chance (who had probably been lulled into a false sense of security by Cisse's earlier efforts). Typical!

Now it seemed the Superhoops would go on and win comfortably and Djibril had the goal he needed to get his hunger back again after having looked a bit sorry for himself ever since missing a penalty at Norwich away. But yet they didn't go on and win, because nothing's quite as straight forward as that at QPR. Again QPR were caught napping after scoring and gave away a free-kick in a dangerous position (although this one was earned by the well known extra from Platoon, Jay Tabb). Shorey again stepped up and scored with an excellent strike that went in off the bar. 

This time QPR looked shaken, panicky and subsequently neglected to defend altogether for Reading's third. The Royals broke down the left hand side and the R's sent two defenders over to deal with the same ball, leaving two biscuit boys at the far post with all the time in the world to beat Julio Cesar from about four yards from goal (Pogrebnyak did the honours). Absolutely shambolic defending, but then again, this is QPR in the cup, I should have seen it coming. Reading successfully saw out the last ten minutes through a combination of timewasting, cramping up and winning cheap free kicks off their officiating friend. There was even time for them to win what was a seemingly inevitable penalty off of him (right decision, though, this time!), which Cesar encouragingly managed to beat away very well indeed. However QPR failed to take advantage and disappointingly didn't force McCarthy into any further saves.

The concern is that this team is the strongest we have for the foreseeable future, and if we can't beat the poorest side the Premier League has to offer, then where are the points going to come from? Somehow, I'm still convinced we'll come good... Probably... Maybe...

Cesar had an eventful night, shipping three and saving a penalty, but could hardly be blamed for the outcome

Man of the match: For the first time this season, I'm going to give this to an opposition player because the QPR team was devoid of any performers warranting of the status. Kaspars Gorkss was colossal on his return to Loftus Road for Reading and had Cisse and Zamora in his pocket all game. I also always admire footballers that show respect to their former clubs when they score and the Latvian did just that after scoring the 1st. Letting him go and keeping Fitz Hall was Neil Warnock's biggest mistake, in my opinion. Having said that, we were far too kind to him on the night and he will be given much sterner tests this season.

C