A Dyer day at the office - Knee Jerks Monday, 30th Jan 2017 12:18 by Antti Heinola Antti Heinola is here to brighten your Monday with a dissection of Saturday's dismal defeat at home to Burton Albion. HollowayI'm not one to shout 'never change a winning team' (not that this team won it's last game) - it's a facile cry, really, that ignores the next team you're playing will be different from the last one. But like many people on here I was baffled by the line-up on Saturday. Of all the games in the next week, this was the one that gave us the biggest opportunity for three points. The players haven't played for a week. They're all fresh. Really, all that was needed was a minor tinker: Hall to step up a little into midfield, Wszolek to be allowed to play higher up the pitch. I was concerned that our recent tactics have been set up to thwart better sides and therefore expected this to be tough and wondered if we might struggle when the onus is on us to force the pace. That was right to some extent, but Burton were't exactly shy. They attacked well and with pace. We went back to the dark days of before Christmas. The recent performances have been forged on, to quote a previous manager's favourite phrase, 'meticulous planning' - remember Mackie's glow and confidence after Reading, because the whole team had prepared so well and then carried out the gameplan to the letter. Here, you could smell the whiff of complacency and Burton took advantage to become worthy winners. But it wasn't just planning that had served us well - it was energy, desire, strength, attitude. Now I'm not going to dig out Lua Lua or Doughty, as reasons why we lost. And I can sort of understand the decision to maybe rest a player or two. But not Mackie and Manning, because along with Wszolek and Hall, they were the main reasons why the gameplan worked so well. Tenacious, unyielding, a winning spirit - even leadership - and I include Manning in that too. More on Lua Lua in a moment, but the midfield just didn't have the same dynamism and harrassing qualities it had recently. We didn't have the energy, the bite. It didn't look right from the start and Holloway couldn't turn it round. Win this and a defeat at Newcastle means little. Now, w're staring at almost definite back-to-back defeats, back to three without a win, and the Blackburn game (where we rarely do well) suddenly has enormous pressure riding on it. On top of that, in a game where we were desperate for an equaliser, Ollie compounded his error by refusing to give the desperate Mackie a run until the last five. Perverse. Yes, the players should have done better, but had JFH lost at home to Burton this place would have blown up, so Ollie must (as he has) take some blame for this insipid performance.
LuongoI'm a fan of Mass, but I think even he'll admit he had a dire first half. Better in the second, but the first was dreadful. Not through lack of effort. With Doughty less mobile and covering far less ground than the tireless Manning, he arguably had to cover even more of the pitch than he normally does (for the commenter who wondered what he does, I'm a bit confused - no one works harder, covers more of the pitch, covers his team-mates better and more often than Luongo - it was his harrying that set up the goal v Fulham, and his harrying that set up our best chance of an equaliser on Saturday). But what was most disappointing was his passing. At least four times in the first half he won or had possession in a great position, with space, usually around the inside right area, and four times he tried to measure a pass and messed it up - wrong weight or wrong direction. Infuriating. He has to get better at that - fine when you're trying to really split the defence with a risky pass, but all of these were reasonably straight forward balls that should have found their man. Second half was an improvement, but it still featured him messing up a simple five yard pass to Bidwell that was both dirtectionless and woefully overhit. We rely on Luongo to knit things - to get it and give it. When his radar is of that badly, the whole team really suffers. Furlong and DyerI'd be interested to know if Lloyd Dyer deliberately saves his best performances of the season up for when he plays us. Rarely has there been a game where we've been able to contain this guy. Martin Bullock, Paul Hall and an ex-Arsenal winger whose bloody name I can't remember, are all examples of half-decent wingers who we might have done well to buy just to stop them running rings round us every year. Furlong's been great since he came into the side, but Dyer was just too nimble, too sharp, and too clever for him. That's fine - that'll happen and it's a learning process, but while the whole defence was culpable for the second goal, Furlong's decision to leave Dyer and go to the ball was perhaps the most damaging. I wouldn't be completely surprised if Perch plays at right back v Newcastle, although with Hall out he may well find himself in that position instead. Lua LuaI thought he did OK overall - it was nice to see him finally get some time on the ball, and he does have a lovely stepover and turn of pace. The issue is more that sometimes, a little like Adel, he was slow to release the ball. A little unlike Adel, though, he isn't even close to having his end product, whether it's a ball into the box or a shot (who does?). But if Ollie is going to dig out Shodipo for not tracking back fast enough it's odd that he'd pick Lua Lua instead, because he doesn't have Shodipo's ability to put a decent cross in and certainly doesn't have the edge on him in terms of industry. He's stronger, yes, more experienced, with a bit more savvy, but I'm concerned that someone who's not that incredible is a loan signing who's limiting Shodipo's chances. SyllaArguably his worst game for us and I worry again here. We've let Polter go and there are less than 48 hours left in the transfer market. We are desperate for an alternative target man, because much as I like Washington, he's not it, and whether we play one or two up front, we need an option.He looked forlorn in this game. Feeding on scraps, chasing shadows, his (very) occasional flick-ons never finding a QPR shirt, frustrated with himself and with the passes he was getting. And the two chances he did have in the second half - a header, and when he tried to spin following good work from Lua Lua, were both tough, but spurned. He's not Polter, he won't chase like him or Mackie, and so to some fans he looks worse than he is. Especially so when he's failing so badly to hold the ball and lay it off, something he can do, particularly using his chest. But he was bullied out of this one and rarely looked threatening. Neither did Sordell for them, really, but he did enough to cause us important problems. Sylla didn't. And I worry because Sylla was excellent v Reading. Then he didn't want to come off, was lambasted not once but twice in press conferences by the manager and suddenly he looks less impressive. I could be reading too much into it, but Sylla looks to me like a player that needs to be told how good he is, not publicly bollocked for, essentially, making a face. If no striker is signed, we're still in trouble. FansAfter a great atmosphere v Fulham, it took just 20 minutes for people around me to start turning. Furlong took some stick. As did Luongo (deservedly) as did Sylla (a particular target near me) and Lua Lua. There's the bloke in front of me who is the king of hindsight - after every failed move, he pronounces on what should've happened: 'No, cross first time... no, should've kept it... no head it back... no should've headed it forward...' He has little appreciation of the game at all. But worse was a new bloke behind me, who very probably coaches a kids side and very probably thinks he could manage to professional level. The. Entire. Game. He shouted out cliché after cliché, as if he was standing on the touchline coaching his (miserable) kids: 'FEET! FEET!... Call him Bidwell, call him! (Bidwell probably was - but we wouldn't be able to tell, being about 100 metres away)... Time!... Quicker!... No, time!... Turn and face TURN AND FACE!' Oh God. Luckily he tired in the second half, possibly realising his coaching wasn't having the desired effect. Mainly because they can't hear him from the back of the SA Stand. Otherwise his nuggets might have turned the game. Anyway, that's my whinge. I'm probably as annoying as the next guy. PS - Goss. In long coat. On the pitch. Oh God. Last time we pulled that sh!t was Hateley. At least Goss was walking without the aid of crutches. Pictures — Action Images Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
You need to login in order to post your comments |
   Blogs 31 bloggersQueens Park Rangers Polls[ Vote here ] |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.We in turn value your personal details in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
