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Been a long time since I properly fell in love with a Rangers team, but I'm getting the feels with this one. Great characters throughout, they're a lovely team to watch, play great football, and the loans gave us the bit of nastiness we lacked. Every player comfortable on the ball. Great stat today that all 10 outfield players at the start of the game have scored this season. We are reliant on no one, but reliant on everyone. Cautiously optimistic but really excited about next season. Congrats to all the staff for a magnificent turnaround.
Last year was an absolute joy to watch as well. At least until lockdown!
As far as MW goes, it must be remembered that some people don't have any time for a manager other than Holloway & Warnock.
I admit that I wasn't over pleased when we appointed Mark, but it only took the win away at Stoke to realise that I would enjoy watching his team play.
Thank you to the management & players for making following Queens Park Rangers fun!
Not match to add from me - massive thank you to MW and the team - superb season of good football pretty much throughout and devastating post-New Year form (ditch that wretched month of December and it looks fantastic).
So many games to look back on and enjoy (partic. Brentford Home and Watford away - they were special nights) and I love the very revealing stat about our best 'non-promotion' season at this level for 25 years . That says, and means, a lot.
2 quick points from me:
1. The post-Covid 'shake-out' - I think this can't be underestimated across the Championship next season. The narrative seems to be that we are/will be in a better position than most financially but who the hell really knows?? Lots to work out, and there is the factor (hopefully) of fans in the stadium - obviously a good thing but, inevitably, there'll be times when our inexperienced players might feel the pressure of big game occasions - we'll see.
2. The 4 loanees - '4 hits out of 4' was great and re-launched our season. Impossible to know what's going to happen but the financial fallout from point 1 could be crucial here.
For now there, immense satisfaction, respect and pride in a club that is doing everything right on and off the field - how often have we said this over the last 25/30 years???
[Post edited 8 May 2021 21:17]
Re point 1. Probably been a good thing the newbies/youngsters have had a year to bed to the team and playing at this level. Can you imagine what the fans would have been like pre christmas when we were really struggling?!
A year on and so many positives take away from the last 4 months performances from so many of the players. A whole season behind them, improved performances as the season progressed, the team gelling and a new system that really works for us. Unlike the last 2 summers, I don't see huge wholsale changes, which can only be a good thing.
Next season will be a huge one for us as even though there may be interest in players like Dieng, Dickie, Dykes, Willock, Chair, I can't see any going this summer - it's too soon. If they keep prgressing and improving then there will inevitably more interest for them. Not such a bad thing as that's how we need to operate.
I genuinely think next season is the best chance we will have to make a push for the play offs/promotion. And we really do look like we've got many things in place to do so. Warbs knows that, maybe the players know that too, and I'm sure the board do too.
Last year was an absolute joy to watch as well. At least until lockdown!
As far as MW goes, it must be remembered that some people don't have any time for a manager other than Holloway & Warnock.
I admit that I wasn't over pleased when we appointed Mark, but it only took the win away at Stoke to realise that I would enjoy watching his team play.
Thank you to the management & players for making following Queens Park Rangers fun!
Have you seen this Warburton interview? If not, do so. It's a great watch and it opens your eyes to what Warbs really is about, and what he's done in his life to get to wear his is now. He has an ubelievable work ethic. And it also shows why he's so good with the youngsters.
I’ve given him credit have I not ? He and the team were shocking up until January , but he changed it around especially at the back and he got some very good players to help him so deserves another year maybe two to see where he can take us You and 99.9% of this board will get carried away and that’s your opinion but it’s been a very poor league this year and with the likes of WBA, sheff Utd & Fulham in it next I can’t see us in the play offs Happy to be proved wrong but finishing top half with a cup run would do me
Sheffield Utd are on course to lose 30 leauge games this season . Can't see them being up to much. We keep this bunch of players and we'll challenge for the play offs . If we don't, we won't.
Sheffield Utd are on course to lose 30 leauge games this season . Can't see them being up to much. We keep this bunch of players and we'll challenge for the play offs . If we don't, we won't.
That's actually one of the points Warbs makes in the interview in the post above yours, talking about his Championship season with Brentford.
He argues that relegated teams are always over-valued and promoted teams undervalued - people still think of them as "naturally" belonging to their previous tier, based on the players they have, but the relegated teams have come off a season of losing and the promoted teams come off a season of winning - the effect on team spirit in both is immense.
Teams used to losing can forget how to win, how to shut the other side out for the last 10 minutes when you're one up, while teams used to winning keep going because hey know that they can score in just one second if the ball falls right.
The last four months this has felt like a promotion team, without the actual promotion.
Regarding Sheff U I think a lot will depend on whether David McGoldrick is there again next year. He is a good player. Their other strikers, McBurnie, Burke and Brewster don't seem to know where the back of the net is.
Still some work to do behind the scenes & I won’t comment on the board but this team is night and day if you go back to the Hughes & redknapp years Been a very poor championship this year and at one point I thought we were down it won’t be so poor next year so we can’t rest on our laurels Not a fan of Warburton but il give him credit for changing formation and turning things around so it’s fair he gets another season to see where he can take us
We've got one of the 5 lowest wage bills in the league, we occupy a creaking, outdated stadium which limits our income and we currently rent our training ground from a local college. Finishing top half again next year would be an *incredible* achievement given the resources the club has to work with, not to mention the fact that we've only managed it three times - including this season - in the last 25 years.
Finishing top half next season would hardly be ‘incredible’ would it? Great second half of the season with loads of positives: next season we need to push on towards the play offs building on the progress this year.
Give credit where credit is due. It takes some brass to come on at the end of this season and say something to the effect of “I suppose Warburton deserves another year”. I concede that you have to wonder what took so long for the coaching staff to look over Dykes and say “Check out Lyndon. I bet he can make a great long throw.” Aren’t there fun, competitive drills in the final 20 minutes on the training ground to try out things like that? With due respect, that we shouldn’t get over-excited and next year will pose challenges seems obvious. But to go with the theme of this thread, let’s celebrate this year, I have to celebrate Warburton as well. Of course he will have a shelf life and folks will come out saying “I told you so” when there is a dip. It happens with every manager. He should and will leave at some point. But with his high pressure day trader background doing research on investments that need to pay off, I believe the club should consider finding a place for him in upper management where he analyzes investments in players. Maybe I am missing something, but one thing that seems should be put to rest is that “there’s no Plan B”. Looking over the different line-ups that were used in the 2020-21 season, I was caught by surprise by how little consistency there was. It seemed that the coaching staff was constantly tinkering with the starting line up and formation, perhaps also working with the sports science staff. There were only a handful of times that QPR fielded the same starting line up and formation this season. Interestingly, the first two games of the season (remember how Paul Smyth was a key substitute at the start of the season) and the last two games. The big stretch was four games in February when QPR went on its run to get out of the danger zone, but even then the formation and line up were eventually changed and not flogged to death McLaren-style. Something like 36 out of 46 league games featured unique starting line ups/formations. Of course injuries, departures and signings were part of the reason, but it also says to me that the coaching staff was mindful in trying to find the right combinations and also throwing curveballs at the opposition’s coaching staff. Whenever I watched sides like Sheffield Wednesday, Derby, Rotherham and Birmingham City, it didn’t seem like QPR’s players were much more talented. Maybe it was paranoia, but sometimes it was those other lower-tier sides that looked like they had the better talent; “That’s who they bring off the bench?” All that emphasizes the beauty of team sport and how it is the best team, not individuals, that succeed and QPR this year ultimately were quite good at playing as a team. That comes from somewhere, including the dressing room, but it also needs to start at the top. Finally, thought Luton Town also deserve credit this year. Looking forward to next season.
Of course I also love this team but the thread has turned into a debate about the Manager.
As a documented Warburton sceptic, I feel that I should participate. Well done Mark, you really turned it around, however you did it I don’t care. Play off form and lovely to watch in 2021 really is an achievement.
But (and you knew it was coming!) please look at this in the round. Some on here were getting carried away a month into the turnaround (5 year contract for Warburton threads - did they not remember Magilton?) The first half of the season we were poor under this manager. After the lockdown last season we were awful, under this manager.
The incoming loan players have had a massive affect and facilitated a change in how we played (that elusive Plan B but also C & D.)
Early this season we were predictable and too easy to play against. BOS has been criticised for his poor application, some of it justified, but teams knew they could just double and treble team him and nullify QPR.
Back in midfield our ‘general’ (ahem) was so predictable, even I knew what he was going to do next. We now have a leader in midfield (Johansen), at the back (De Wijs) and CA upfront and off-field - the classic strong spine we were previously lacking. Marry, this with our lovely talented ball players (Chair, Willock et al) and this is a recipe for success. Long may it continue.
I don’t think I will ever take to Warburton as a person but he deserves a lot of the credit. But credit also the squad of players, the back room boys and the senior management. Collectively, it is working really well. Here’s to a great next season.
You make valid some valid points, Eastside, and I say that as a pro-Warbler.
In defence of him in the first half of the season I'd say we were often playing well but not getting results which I put down to the inexperience of many in the squad. I do agree with your point on how he used BOS though, and it was a relief to see that tactic end with BOS' departure.
The second half of the season was certainly shaped by the loans, but Warburton had to work them into his plans and he did so very well. The change to 3 at the back was the big one in that he identified the formation that best suited his new set of players. That really put paid to the 'No plan B' fallacy.
If you have the time, give the recent Warburton interview a watch - there's a link on this forum. He's an impressive guy and a dedicated professional who has traits I really admire, even if he doesn't have a particularly endearing personality.
I’ve given him credit have I not ? He and the team were shocking up until January , but he changed it around especially at the back and he got some very good players to help him so deserves another year maybe two to see where he can take us You and 99.9% of this board will get carried away and that’s your opinion but it’s been a very poor league this year and with the likes of WBA, sheff Utd & Fulham in it next I can’t see us in the play offs Happy to be proved wrong but finishing top half with a cup run would do me
What makes you say it’s been a poor league this season. To need 77 points to make the play-offs seems to me that it’s actually been a tough league. I doubt there are many seasons where you’ve had to get more points than that to finish 6th.
You make valid some valid points, Eastside, and I say that as a pro-Warbler.
In defence of him in the first half of the season I'd say we were often playing well but not getting results which I put down to the inexperience of many in the squad. I do agree with your point on how he used BOS though, and it was a relief to see that tactic end with BOS' departure.
The second half of the season was certainly shaped by the loans, but Warburton had to work them into his plans and he did so very well. The change to 3 at the back was the big one in that he identified the formation that best suited his new set of players. That really put paid to the 'No plan B' fallacy.
If you have the time, give the recent Warburton interview a watch - there's a link on this forum. He's an impressive guy and a dedicated professional who has traits I really admire, even if he doesn't have a particularly endearing personality.
[Post edited 9 May 2021 9:05]
Thanks mate. I will check out that interview.
I did not think this thread was the place for me to list all the things that I don’t like about him**, but I wanted to provide some balance. The title of the thread has it - LOVE THIS TEAM.
** Looking forward as usual to Clive’s end of season pieces
You make valid some valid points, Eastside, and I say that as a pro-Warbler.
In defence of him in the first half of the season I'd say we were often playing well but not getting results which I put down to the inexperience of many in the squad. I do agree with your point on how he used BOS though, and it was a relief to see that tactic end with BOS' departure.
The second half of the season was certainly shaped by the loans, but Warburton had to work them into his plans and he did so very well. The change to 3 at the back was the big one in that he identified the formation that best suited his new set of players. That really put paid to the 'No plan B' fallacy.
If you have the time, give the recent Warburton interview a watch - there's a link on this forum. He's an impressive guy and a dedicated professional who has traits I really admire, even if he doesn't have a particularly endearing personality.
[Post edited 9 May 2021 9:05]
dmm,
I'd also add that Warburton actually mad the move to three at the back before the loan players came in, which I think is a slightly bigger feather in his cap.
[Post edited 9 May 2021 9:38]
"The opposite of love, after all, is not hate, but indifference."
What makes you say it’s been a poor league this season. To need 77 points to make the play-offs seems to me that it’s actually been a tough league. I doubt there are many seasons where you’ve had to get more points than that to finish 6th.
I've had several comments from fans of other clubs saying they reckon us as contenders next year. On the one hand it's flattering to be noticed, on the other a bit worrying as it'll increase pressure on a youngish and fairly thin squad. Still, that's the game eh? QPR's back!
We don't need to improve on this season per se though Brian. The turnaround since January has been so dramatic - and so consistent - we just need to maintain it.
Not saying it will happen, or even that it's probable, but it's certainly possible in a way that it hasn't since we were financially doping our way to promotion with Redknapp. But now it's being done the right way, with a team of what seem like good lads devoid of cliques, playing nice, inventive, robust football, and a club that does the right thing off the pitch.
This division's hard and it's also unpredictable. Look at Middlesboro. £15m strikers on the bench, paying wages well above what we can (see you later, Grant Hall) and still get turned over 3-0 at home by Wycombe on the final day and finish below the likes of, well, us. Imagine this place if we were under-performing like that.
We're going in the right direction and amid the endless shtshow that 2021 and most of 2021 have been, the team have actually been a bright spot. (How many times could we honestly call it that in the last 25 years?)
Honestly, I feel bad for anyone who can't take at least a bit of pleasure in that. We're all a long time dead, aren't we?
I’ve given him credit have I not ? He and the team were shocking up until January , but he changed it around especially at the back and he got some very good players to help him so deserves another year maybe two to see where he can take us You and 99.9% of this board will get carried away and that’s your opinion but it’s been a very poor league this year and with the likes of WBA, sheff Utd & Fulham in it next I can’t see us in the play offs Happy to be proved wrong but finishing top half with a cup run would do me
You;ve got to admit, PP, that the credit you are giving to Warbs is grudgling.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the Earth all one’s lifetime. (Mark Twain)
Find me on twitter @derbyhoop
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