QPR Vs Wigan

Not sure who BOS upset to find himself on the bench but I assume he was being rested.

We started with some sloppy defending from a corner and went a goal down. If we can't do the basics right then there is little chance of ever keeping a clean sheet. Last season our defence included Lynch who was prone to a mistake or two and this season we have Barbet who is no different. Barbet makes me break out in a cold sweat whenever he goes near the ball.

It was a brilliant comeback in the 2nd half and moving Hall into a defensive midfielder role and putting Leistner alongside Barbet gave us a lot more backbone. Going forward we create lots of chances but our finishing is poor, not sure if you guys have seen the Hugill miss but I shall be watching again on the highlights package later because it was amazing. He should replace Barbet in defence because if you can put the ball over the bar from standing on the goal line then you are in the playing in the wrong position. Hugill did redeem himself by scoring with a much more difficult chance.

Whilst we scored three and looked much better in the 2nd half I'm not sure that I'm any wiser on what is our best team but at least it was a home win and a valuable 3 points.

Good stuff stoatey ! I do feel that Scowen is not going to be a first-choice DM, and have to say Barbet is fine as a defender - as long as there are no opposition players nearby!!   The inability of the wing backs to close down their opponents and prevent crosses is dangerous. It is a question of percentages when you let too many get across your goal area, but the biggest problem seems to be the CBs being easily turned or outmanoeuvred. Of course, if we put away more chances at the other end then all of that becomes immaterial.... 

To amuse you northwesthoop (and others), Brentford dominated their game yesterday apparently and Charlton had only one shot. Trouble is they scored and Brentford, for all their possession and goal attempts, did not score....

Scowen is a good squad player but I agree he is not going to be first choice. In an earlier post I said that the choice of the 2 defensive midfielders would be from Scowen, Ball, Cameron and Smith but we now have to add Hall to that list.

In fact I would have Hall and Cameron as my first choice DM's with Kane, Leistner, Barbet and Manning behind them. It gives us a much more solid look and I thought that Barbet was more composed with Leistner alongside him. 

If we have someone in front of Barbet who is equally good at distributing the ball and can provide the CBs (and barbet in particular) with decent cover, then perhaps Warburton can restrict Barbet's 'wild side' enough to protect the team from his moments of madness....  If that means Leistner partnering Barbet, whilst Hall or Cameron works in front of them then that is fine. Ball has been interviewed today stating that he was unhappy with his first half performance as he gave away a few balls - claiming he hates to do that; so that is the sort of attitude the team needs! 

The atmosphere in the ground yesterday was the best it has been for a long time. I cant remember the last time all four standing were singing?