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Yes I said I felt the same in my original post, but with the benefit of hindsight Kone in particular shouldn't have come on the pitch. He gave us absolutely nothing in a period when our backs were really against the wall, his failure to make anything of Vale's ball in behind and losing the ball so easily from a second phase of a corner and setting West Ham on their way stick out in particular. Could have kept us up the pitch, killed time and swung momentum but he doesn't seem capable of even doing the basics at the moment. He wasn't the only culprit but needed so much more from him in that position.
The Poku for Mbengue sub was a bit of a waste as well, I know minutes need managing but Poku played 90 against Preston, had 3 weeks rest and has 4 days to recuperate for Derby. Had nobody capable of getting us up the pitch after that and combined with Lamptey getting injured just had us completely penned in for the last 10/12mins.
Having watched the game again I respectfully disagree, whilst I don't think Madsen had a bad game and done his best work off the ball, there were periods of it where he barely touched or showed for it and was hiding behind players, particularly in the second half. I didn't expect us to play through West Ham at all but by him being static it didn't move players around enough and forced us to go long and lose possession. We needed him to be more involved and settle things down when it got messy. In contrast Kamara was everywhere in more of a box to box role, breaking up play and wanting to get on the ball as well, and Edwards played his hybrid CDM/CB role with the class we've become accustomed too.
Probably a case of expecting more from Madsen due to the standards he set last season but I just thought he could have done a bit more when the going got tough.
Following on from the Preston game where the narrative was about the fight, spirit and mentality that this group showed in that second half, I feel like tonight’s game affirmed what they possess but in a completely different game and set of circumstances.
In pretty much any Season over the last 20 years (besides the Title winning one), playing the first game back from International Break, away at a relegated West Ham side, on a Friday night and live on Sky, I would have 100% backed us to lose toothlessly.
However, I don't think we could have executed the first half any better, it was as controlled and assured as I've seen us going in to a game like that, we genuinely looked the better more mature side, and totally unflustered by the occasion. Yes more could have been made from the break which ended with the Kolli shot, but to a man everyone done really well. No notes.
Second half was a slight but unharmful drop off until the 60mins, where we went to pieces once the substitutions commenced. During the game, personnel wise I had no problems with who came on, but I have to say I was so disappointed by their input and the negative impact they all had. Having thought about them in more depth since FT, I have to question whether they were all the right calls by Stephan. Mbengue aside; Vale, Lamptey and Kone have all been out injured either before or during the International Break, and they didn't look fit to play at all. They all really struggled to pick up the pace of the game, looked frantic and kept turning over possession back to West Ham in a spell where we really needed to keep it. Kone in particular was a disgrace with his lack of mobility and the way he got moved off the ball so easily a few times, something is really wrong with him. I know options were limited but with the versatility of Adamson and Edwards, I wonder if we could have shuffled the pack and brought on Varane instead of rushing Lamptey back, I don't know much about Obikwu but I've seen he has more pace than Kone and could have helped us get up the pitch a bit quicker, and Scarlett shouldn't be there to just make up the numbers and could have come on at LW with more in his legs than Vale.
Despite those disadvantages and effectively going down to 8 men, the capable ones really dug in and saw the game out when they could have quite easily folded, putting another big fat tick in the fight/spirit/mentality column. The cherry on the top was Charles' heroics which don't need explaining.
Honourable mention for Kolli coming in to that game with all the noise that's preceded it and putting in the solid performance that he did. I don't think he was quite a 7 but a 6.99 feels about right, having not kicked a ball in the Championship since April I thought he picked up the pace of the game well and put in a really intelligent and neat performance on and off the ball. There were some mostly excellent first time passes and a couple of stray ones, the nutmeg and switch was class, and he gave a good account of himself against Defenders that played in the Premiership last year. I wouldn't say he had the beating of Kilman but was definitely getting under his skin as he lashed out at him a couple of times, including the knee to the back of the head that the Officials chose to ignore. Fingers crossed it's the start of a successful redemption arc. Kemper was great after being out for a while too. If I'm being picky I thought Madsen hid a bit and didn't get on the ball enough as Kamara did, but everyone else put in a big shift.
Slightly improved second half, definite weakness down both flanks which had a big impact on the outcome of the game.
Defensively, Friel struggled against their #11 who was quick and direct, think he ended up with 2 assists, Friel was playing on his opposite side so was inverting a lot rather than overlapping and supporting Sutton, was responsible for a lot of possession turnovers with square and misplaced passes. Tang looked very raw in and out of possession, and was lacking that bit of quality in his final pass/cross, but he's 15 so don't want to be too harsh.
I don't think Sutton or Brunson had the beating of their markers the whole match, and their deliveries when they cut inside and looked for a cross or pull back weren't great. Sutton worked really hard and got up and down all game but didn't threaten the final third enough.
Don't think we Defended well as a unit including the central Midfielders, they seemed to cut through us quite easily and 2 goals were just cut back and unchallenged tap ins.
Alemayehu was our best player over 90mins, most of our good stuff came through him, thought he was trying to do too much himself when we were really chasing the game after going 3 down and could have looked even better if he done the simple thing at times.
Obikwu won and missed his penalty, put himself about well but didn't see too much to get excited about, was only the 3rd time I think I've seen him play though so will reserve anymore judgement until I see more.
Kolli gave a good account of himself in his 30mins. Could see his quality straight away, started a bit deeper and was trying to link play before moving much higher where he began to threaten their goal. Could have had a hat trick, really unlucky with the shot off the bar, in the right place poaching wise for his goal and also threw himself in to a challenge turned shot which the Defender blocked and went over for a Corner. Looked dangerous occupying that half space on the left and put a good free kick in as well. Positive forward steps.
Wasn't anything else of note to highlight and don't think there will be anyone catching the eye for the First Team anytime soon.
Also watching, generally a poor and disjointed first half collectively.
Alemayehu the only player for us that looks above that level and capable of making anything happen.
Kone picking up where he left off against Middlesbrough, barely involved and when he was he looked slow in thought and movement. That extra training not yet paying off! On the end of a heavy tackle, impact in the shin area and hobbled off.
Joshua Wright has made a difference since coming on, big frame but looks controlled and skilled with the ball at his feet, potential upgrade on Alfie Lloyd in that sense but just doesn't look as strong or powerful in his running as Alfie right now.
Obikwu willing to run in behind and looks better playing on the last man, less convincing coming short and linking play, getting brushed off the ball too easily for someone of his stature as well.
I'm usually one to take time and reflect over a game, watch it back when available and come to my conclusions on where things went right/wrong, who played well, tactics etc, but it's hard to not want to come on here and commend the whole Squad and Staff for that second half performance. Very much disappointed to draw at Home to that Preston side, but absolutely buzzing with the comeback and mentality of the Squad to claw it back and almost win it.
Football is as much a mental and emotional game as it is down to physical actions and I think today told us more about the Team than any other game so far this season. We were responsible for both of Preston's Goals due to individual errors and just general poor Defending, and the sending off whether it was one or not, happened, you can analyse those incidents all you want but sometimes it's just human error and misjudgement and have to accept that is also part of Football. I don't think the first half was as shambolic and gutless as some have said.
QPR Teams of old would have played out that game with a whimper but today showed this lot seem to have something different about them. There were definitely tactical decisions and personnel changes that were a massive factor so credit to Stephan and his staff for making those, but the players on the pitch didn't look like they wanted to accept any excuses, and the spirit and standards they collectively showed for themselves and for us in the stands deserved that ovation at the end and had me leaving the ground in a different kind of mood that is usually just dictated by the result.
I would normally pick at things like should Dunne have started as he didn't look himself, was it a bit to soon to start Scarlett, berate the medical team for picking up another injury in the warm up, Alfie Lloyd missing a sitter - but pride is the overriding feeling tonight so I'm gonna stick with that!
I was going to post something exactly like this, even as recently as the pre season games I thought he looked terrible, just didn't seem to have any of the fundamentals to play full back in the Championship. I've been really encouraged that the Portsmouth game wasn't a one off and he's found a new level in his appearances since, long may that upwards trajectory continue. Stephan seems to have found some trust in him now as it felt like he only used him begrudgingly last season.
I'm on record saying he's awful, so want to give credit where it's due and congratulations to him.
Perfectly fine re Dunne, but I would add it's another instance of taking what someone has said to suit a certain narrative, which could then can be deemed as Club Captain having a loaded dig at a young player that's under constant scrutiny, which isn't helpful. Same way I mentioned that his comments on Lloyd and Adamson sounded like he said they're not very good but have a great work ethic, but I really don't think that was his intention.
I only mentioned Lloyd because you brought him up, I'm not belittling him just because I don't think he's a particularly good Footballer. I've said multiple times I think he is useful coming off the Bench to see out games against tired Defences, but I would prefer that he didn't start a game at the expense of any other Striker at the Club because I don't see him as a Goalscoring threat. Goes without saying whenever he plays I hope he does well and proves me wrong.
I've seen 1JD has brilliantly cleared up their Adel, Eze, Willock point so no need for me to comment there.
Definitely no mistrust in Stephan or Dunne, but I'm unable to fully trust others on this matter because there's a track record of the truth being twisted or rewritten in their favour before. Having said that, I think overall the Club seems to be in a healthy place and was happy to hear most of what else was said yesterday.
Dunne didn't say anything in relation to Kolli, he was asked a different question. I've seen his answers be conflated with Nourry's and Stephan's alot but I don't deem them to be related.
I have personally never said any exceptions need to be made for Kolli, I don't think anyone believes that. He needs to earn the right to play but how can he do that when he can't even train with the Squad?
Whatever I think of his ability, I don't begrudge Alfie Lloyd (or Leon Scarlett) of their opportunities. If I had Lloyd's ability and got the opportunity to train with QPR I would run until I dropped too, but if I was Kolli and saw him and Bennie last season getting more opportunities I would be knocking on the Manager's door seeking answers.
And I will continue to believe what I want, thanks for that!
As a few people replied directly to my posts I'll try and address those and do one last swoop on the Kolli situation and the takeaways on it from last night instead of spamming loads of posts individually.
daveb - Kone pretty much had a full pre season despite coming off against Fiorentina, he got plenty of minutes after. Yes there seems to be some sort of knock that has troubled him, but he has been afforded the chance to play whilst clearly unfit, and it's pretty damning that he's been pulled from Matchday Squads to get to an acceptable level of fitness now. He's also continued to train with the First Team to be able show that he's getting up to speed, and not made to train away from them like Kolli has, that's where the double standards lie. Nobody is questioning Kone's attitude despite his poor condition, but you're happy to state Kolli must have an attitude problem as a reason for him not being involved. This is a narrative that's been peddled for a long time that's really unfair, unproven and unhelpful.
numptydumpty - Nourry said Kolli "expressed his frustration about his lack of playing time" last season, not explicitly that he deserved more, there is a huge difference to what was said and how you have interpreted it. He then went on to say that if more minutes couldn't be guaranteed than Kolli himself may have to look at options elsewhere. If that was the case that does show some naivety from Kolli, and Stephan rightly made a point of saying he can't guarantee anyone playing time.
cpgerber - Nourry said that a Loan move was an option that was considered by all parties and inroads were made in to that from both sides, not that it was a definite solution. Kolli is well within his rights to take pre season to see what options presented themselves, and not go if he didn't feel the options were right for him. My question is whilst all that was happening, why was he not taken on the Tour and then not allowed to train with the first team to prove himself fairly like everyone else was?
nix - You picked apart one of my older posts for being full of assumptions and you've pretty much done the same mixed in with your own opinions based on how you view the situation with both Kolli and Kone. That's completely fine, but I respectfully disagree with most of them. I echo the sentiments in 1JD's replies to you, it's so tiring to keep seeing people say Kolli has an attitude problem, that he refused to go out on loan, that he's arrogant for not wanting to, that he's disruptive and must be a bad egg around the Squad. There is not one bit of concrete evidence to suggest he's any of those things. Your Kone V Kolli comparisons highlight exactly why Kolli would have been asking questions about his playing time, I'd be pissed off too if Kone's poor performances were given special dispensation and scrutinised in a completely different way, why should he get a free pass?
A40Bosh - I agree with you that Julian spoke passionately and compassionately, but my point is that by him speaking more broadly to (rightly) not dig out Kolli publicly, it's given everyone that likes to assassinate Kolli's character the chance to keep perpetuating their narrative's about his attitude etc. I would have liked to have asked why he hasn't been allowed to train with the first team to impress and reach those standards full stop. If it was a case of his future being up in the air and he could have potentially joined a rival Championship side as rumoured then fair enough, but is he going to get a chance to reintegrate with the Squad now the windows closed?
Wombat - If you had been isolated from your colleagues and staff at work and wasn't exposed to information and training methods to help you do your job properly, but were still expected to meet your targets and do your job to the highest standard, do you think you'd be capable of doing so no matter how hard you worked? Your second paragraph is made up of your own assumptions on the scenario so will just let you sit with them.
I think the difference in responses to the Kolli question last night was that Nourry's felt rehearsed and a controlled narrative that he's happy to be out there. Stephan's at least felt very honest and spoken from a place of care and passion. We will probably never get to hear Kolli's side, at least not until he leaves the Club. I'm still conflicted that it's as simple as what Nourry said and that there isn't way more political stuff to the full story, but it looks like off the record snarky comments by CN and canteen spats with BW will remain in LFW folklore until someone can verify them. I hope Stephan's sincerity is truthful and his door is really open, that Kolli meets the standards he demands, and isn't made to jump through any extra hoops to prove himself that others seemingly don't have to.
I just checked and he featured in every pre season game except for when the Squad was split for the Bromley and AFC Wimbledon games, he played against AFC Wimbledon after he came off against Fiorentina after 7 mins, so he wasn't injured and his pre season wasn't as disrupted as I thought.
To me he has looked slow, heavy, unfit and uninterested every time he's played, but if he was deemed to be in good enough shape to start against Millwall, Bolton and Blackburn, how has he regressed so much that he looked so off the level against Middlesbrough and has since been pulled out of the Squad to get in better shape? That doesn't sound like he's applying himself properly on or off the pitch to me.
I'm not singling Kone out because I have an issue with him, only to highlight a contradiction with the Club that he seems to be getting treated differently to Kolli who wasn't/isn't allowed to build his fitness and be in contention in the same way, and instead being made to train away from the First Team.
It's still all a bit fishy to me and without hearing Kolli's side, which isn't in his best interests for him to make public, the unfiltered truth will remain unknown to us.
The transparency was appreciated re Kone, he had a disrupted pre season but was clearly miles off it compared to everyone else when he did play. I'd like to know if he did come back in poor condition, why he was still given the opportunities to play in friendlies and competitive games that Kolli wasn't, and hasn't been made to build up his match fitness away from the 1st Team/with the Development Squad. Feels like there's some double standards at play there.
Dunne was asked, "What is it about the culture of the club now compared to when you joined which makes you more excited and confident that we can achieve something this season?".
His answer was that how much people want to come and be at the club now. He was complimentary about Alfie Lloyd and Kealey Adamson and their work ethic, in a roundabout way said they aren't that talented, but can't imagine that was his intention.
Really surprised the Kolli question was asked, can only take what Nourry said at face value but of course only getting one side of the story. Interested to know if it was communicated in that meeting that he wasn't going to be first choice/couldn't guarantee minutes this season and therefore they immediately looked at Loan options, or just left it open that he could go if he could be guaranteed more minutes somewhere Kolli and the Club found suitable to continue his development. Begs the question about why it appears he was kept away from the group in pre season barring the first week or so where he was very visible in the clubs content, and not afforded the same chance as everyone else to prove he should be getting more minutes. The 1-2-1 happened at the end of last season so what went wrong after the first week back? Was his fitness testing on return unsatisfactory? Did he pick up an injury and couldn't go on the Tour? Or was he just banished to try and move him on? Still not crystal clear enough to make an educated judgement on the saga for me.
Stephan went off on a bit of a tangent, and as he didn't answer directly solely about Kolli but rather just the general standards he expects, it's going to leave more room for the accusations of poor attitude and conditioning for those that want to believe that, so wasn't very helpful. If the Door is always open and he loves Rayan as he said (as well as all of his players), then let's hope he can start to be reintegrated if he's given a fair crack to meet such standards, and takes it.
To add, was encouraging to see him get some minutes yesterday, hopefully the start of him being reintegrated in to the Squad rather than a calculated move by Nourry to have an answer if the question is allowed at the Fans Forum.
Might be looking in to things too much myself, but his Instagram post yesterday was very interesting in terms of tagging the location as 'Home', the lyrics of the accompanying song, positive interactions from the Squad that supposedly hate him, and a lot of comments from ex Academy Teammates suggesting he's been locked/chained up.
If by managed you mean is his Dad his Agent, no he's not. His agent was Shree Usher when he renewed his contract in Jan 2025, and he's most recently been represented by Philippe Piola at Deal With My Agent, he's no longer listed as a client on Transfermarkt though so something may have changed there very recently.
All this information is out there and available for everyone to look up.
Can we get a third party in to come and audit the Head's of Performance and Methodology and determine if they are actually any good at their jobs? Or are they just being kept there because they're CN hires?
The Fans Forums have become so curated and performative under CN so I expect zero honesty or transparency again. Hopefully Dunne can give us an unfiltered insight in to the mindset and culture of the Club/Squad from the players perspective but I'm sure he will be briefed on what he can and can't say too.
I think the game ultimately came down to not having enough creativity out wide, no intelligent movement on our last line and the lack of an individual that just wanted to go and win the game for us.
There is already a lack of player availability which made the starting XI look like a pre season experiment. I have some sympathy for Stephan as he's already being failed by the Performance/Medical Staff, and lost 2 sub windows because of the injuries, but he did choose to start Alfie Lloyd and even worse play him out wide in the 2nd half which made him completely void as an attacking option. Mbengue turned out to be the best attacking Sub of the triple change from RB which says alot. I noticed Emmerson Sutton was the 21st man in the Squad, why not have him on the bench instead of Morrison to come on and try and make a name for himself instead of shoehorning Obikwu in to a position he's never played before? Scarlett got himself involved in the game so credit to him.
The topic is being done to death but Kolli not being selected is becoming a bit of a farce now, especially with the lack of attackers on the bench. I think we deserve to know if Stephan just doesn't fancy him or if the ruling is coming from above him for non footballing reasons. He's the type of player that does want to be the match winner and could make something out of nothing against a low block. It's just becoming sad now.
Missed this before my previous post but completely agree on the last paragraph. He has struggled to maintain a consistent level of performance since joining, yes he hit the ground running, yes he scored 10 goals but there were plenty of games he was way below the level in as well.
I will say the Club mismanaged his minutes last season, it seemed like they just decided he was the crown jewel and he had to play because of the investment made in him and to drive up his value to sell. Regardless of the injuries we had he shouldn't have been ran in to the ground like he was.
For balance, no Footballers development is completely linear, Kone wasn't academy trained and has been fast tracked up the Leagues since playing in England. I'm certain he's been asked to do things at QPR he never had to think about in non league and at Wycombe where he could play more freely and instinctively. However, he really has to sharpen up on the basic CF play, pinning his Defender and controlling and passing the ball to a team mate, it sounds rudimentary but those are the things he really fails at doing and makes him look like an average player.
Kone has been training this week and can be seen around the 30 second mark in Stephan's Charlton preview, so could well be in the squad tonight:
Something is definitely not right with him so far this season though, may be that he's playing within himself if he thinks there's an underlying problem in his knee and it could go at any point. Wouldn't trust our Medical/Performance team to spot it if there was, but that should really be managed properly if so as it's costing us and his confidence by him playing so poorly. He also just doesn't look fit and his body language has been a concern, makes a farce of Kolli being kept behind from the pre season tour to work on his "physical and athletic development" but Kone is being afforded minutes whilst being way off the pace....!
Also, Stephan's comments to WLS can be interpreted many ways but if he is alluding to some mental or off the field problems than I hope he can get the support he needs there.
Vale is a very good, intelligent player, potentially one of the highest ceilings of anyone currently at the Club. He has all the technical attributes you could wish for, I also think he sees the game quicker than a lot of others but sometimes rushes his final action and therefore fluffs his lines.
He's had enough contributions in his 37 games for us to show how impactful he can be, Derby at Home last season he was the best player on the pitch as a 10, need to see more of those complete performances on a consistent basis which I'm sure will come with more experience, also doesn't help that he plays 3 positions in a game at times, but Stephan clearly trusts him.
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