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I think having two home games (even with our dodgy form at HQ so far) plus none of this "3 games in a week" malarkey, a full week on the training ground, and a fully fit squad to choose from are significant plusses for us this time around.
I trust Saint Marti to find the key to unlock enough from our bunch of misfits to sneak us just above the dotted line - probably on goal difference, and only after we've shed half a stone in nervous sweat on the final day.
Experience, calmness under pressure and the ability to keep the ball in the oppo end of the pitch - which, admittedly, didn't exactly play out as it was probably intended to
I'm with you on that, KR. Plus people seem to be forgetting that we already dispatched them successfully on our patch this season. I think we'll pull a lot of positives out of the energy and intent that we showed last night, even if our finishing is still clearly in need of some urgent attention.
Whilst all of that is clearly true, I think that the difference in positive intent from us last night was there for all of us to see, and we actually grew into the game as an attacking force.
Yes, their goal was a massive rick from us defensively, but we also have to remember that Begovic made 2 or 3 top-class saves last night, and we're always going to come under defensive pressure at some point over any given 90 minutes.
The major issue still to rectify is our lack of composure in general in front of the opposition goal.
Its pretty clear that we need to be working on the art of finishing with ALL our front players. It takes us an eternity to eke out gilt-edged chances, then, when we do get them, we manage to balls them up in the majority of cases. I think we would all hope that they're setting aside coaching sessions on keeping your head in 1-1 situations with the opposing goalkeeper, making the right decision in the final 3rd etc. Not just for the usual suspects, but also for Chair and Willock who have to shoulder some of the blame in this particular area.
I watched a podcast a few months ago (sorry, the name of it escapes me, but it was a couple of Irish lads focused on how young Irish lads in general are getting on at their respective professional clubs) where Armstrong was interviewed and he revealed how closely he'd been working with Paul Hall to get himself up to speed.
I'm sure we'd all love to know what the actual f*ck they've been working on, because it's hard to see much progression this season, apart from the fact he doesn't get caught offside as much.
How many times has he bottled it when in a 1-1 situation with a keeper, or scuffed his shot like he did early doors on Saturday?
Its not difficult to see what needs work with him, but somehow somewhere the dots are clearly not being joined up.
You couldn't write a better cliff-hanger to the end of this season than the one we're involved in (apart, of course, from us being involved in a similarly tight promotion race).
The great thing is that we're right in the mix, despite our horrendous start to the season.
if we pull this off, we can look back at it as being "character-building" and I for one wouldn't be at all surprised to see us up the other end of the table next season, assuming we can keep this squad together and make the loans signings permanent.
Sorry, Bluce. Can't be letting this level of blasphemy go unchallenged! Stanley Road is a work of genius, and I think the fact that you can spot the influences a mile off adds to the charm, rather than detracts from this. Anyone who covers Humble Pie's "I Walk on Gilded Splinters" should be roundly applauded, and "Out of The Sinking" with its shameless nod to Thin Lizzy is coolness personified in my book. Not sure where you get "arrogant" from when a lot of his writing alludes to the fact that he is only too aware of how inconsequential he feels he is - "Porcelain God" on that same album is a brilliant example of exactly that.
I think its something of an unjustified insult to put Jim Gregory in that list, TK! Without him, we would never have the glory years of the 70's, plain and simple. Look back at what and who QPR were before he came on board.
The other interesting question to ask is if this was known to the management at the time, and how they responded to it, of if it was kept "hush-hush" between the players.
Let's also hope that this incident hasn't caused the squad to splinter into different factions, leading us back to one or two more wholly unwelcome wooden performances.
It definitely goes some way to explaining his general demeanour during recent games and in interviews afterwards, where he has looked particularly hangdog.
I personally would not be at all surprised to see him rested tomorrow, just from the viewpoint of keeping him out of the spotlight - although that in itself is potentially likely to make sure that the spotlight gets firmly thrust back on him, of course.
I imagine that Marti has had a quiet word with him and asked him how he feels. Could be that being out on the pitch amongst people who will by and large stick with him for the moment is a welcome distraction, especially now that a verdict has allegedly been cast. cast.
Well said, Clive. To be fair to our new CEO, I think he's already shown himself very adept at handling the information flow (well, as much as he can do in a case like this for instance) and not showing the club's official hand until (a.) There is no other option or (b.) He can make a statement that can be shoehorned into some really positive PR (the 4 January signings being a superb example). Light years ahead of where we were in this regard under Uncle Tony Twitterfingers, and absolutely the most sensible way forwards in this particular context.
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