Hull v QPR 2 - 3 Full Time [now 5th place on 22 pts]

I certainly think that Warburton is a good man manager because he has instilled certain players with loads of confidence and as I've said previously he has that one attribute that money can't buy, luck. For me having a lucky manager is better than having a good manager. I would also agree that he deserves lots of credit for turning a struggling QPR team into a QPR team that is now competing.

However, let's not forget that he was all for shipping out Leistner who is our best defender but still continues to play Barbet who is a libility. Only Warburton will know the reason why because Leistner was our best defender last year as well.

For more reasons known only to Warburton he wants to play a sweeper in goal rather than Lumley who is one of the best goalkeepers in the Championship. From what I have seen Kelly is positionally poor and makes rash decisions, I would rather have a decent goalkeeper between the sticks.

For me, the biggest qustion is,

Were Manning, Eze, BOS and Chair going to blossom this season whoever was appointed manager or is their improvement solely down to Warburton or was it a combination of the two. I think that they were all just about there and they just needed a bit of fine tuning.

This is where Warburton was again lucky because if Amos had stayed fit then Chair would probably be sitting on the bench.

The same applies to Manning because if Wallace hadnt got injured then instead of being one of the best attacking left wing backs that apparently 3 or 4 Premiership teams want to sign he would have been lucky to get on the bench.

We all knew Eze was good but he is now consistently good and whether that is down to Warburton or just natural progression can be debated. 

I will need to see a few clean sheets and a few more wins for me to think that Warburton is a good manager, however, I'm happy for him to stay lucky and keep  us winning by scoring more goals than the opposition.

Thanks (as ever) northwesthoop for the stats, especially in regard to how we have done compared to last season! I watched the full 90 this afternoon and (again as ever) have some points to make:

• The first 27 minutes were pure dominance by the Rs, with Scowen, Eze, Manning and Chair particularly busy; but it has to be said there was little to show for it.
• Their first goal on 29 minutes was just one of those things as far as beating the defensive line goes, but why was Kelly off his line? What should have been a simple save (as it was lobbed towards goal by Bowen with more accuracy that power) instead saw him outmanoeuvred. Goalie error for me...
• That goal against the run of play seemed (as is often the case) to revitalise Hull and they played more positively afterwards. It should be noted that Manning, for all of his great playing along the wing, is still not closing down the player about to cross the ball. When he (finally) gets that added to his repertoire he will have become a great LB...
• The preference in the first half to focus the attack through Manning on the left, rather than BOS as the winger on the right, eventually meant Hull were just waiting to pounce as the ball moved out of the back line. I said previously that this was a 'make or break' season for Chair & BOS, and it was frustrating to see BOS not taking on opposing players when he had the ball in the first half, or conversely defending better when they had the ball. I love when he uses his strength to power through opponents so, as it stands, I am wondering if he will feature much more at the Rs.
• No great surprise that playing Wells up front alone led to him 'ploughing a lonely furrow', but I suspect this will become common when playing away games, especially after winning on Saturday. Funnily enough, Hull seemed to be set up as if they were playing away too. (and seemed content for a draw at 1-1)..
• Manning's goal just before HT meant we were level going off the pitch, and you have to say we definitely did not deserve to be losing at that point! Well taken goal by Ryan!!
• Subs: Was he right to replace Wells with Hugill, and Bos with Pugh at 61 minutes? For me, Warburton was right to replace Wells with another striker as he is injecting fresh legs and a different style into the attack; whereas BOS had just started to take players on and be more positive in his defence, so I can only assume the change was more to do with supplying Hugill more through the middle (as Pugh moved in and Chair went over the the right wing). Then at 82 minutes we had the final substitution - Chair off to allow Amos to get some match minutes under his belt after injury. Pretty much a 'like-for-like'.
• This was a physical game at times, with Hull in particular happy to do anything to prevent QPR from using the ball well. So it comes as a real surprise to only one Hull player booked when there were some potentially dangerous tackles and a lot of cynical fouls. The referee was poor in my opinion.
• No question about the penalties being right, and no surprise that it was Stewart pushing Eze over for the second one as any talent he possesses is overridden by his dirty play! Both times there was 'gamesmanship' [that is a real oxymoron] shown by Hull and both times Eze coolly slotted the penalty home. All of this and Eze also produced some excellent runs with the ball.
• At 3-1 both sides were still pressing forward (no time-wasting from the Rs despite being ahead), but the second Hull goal was unexpected - even if the poor positioning of Kelly was! If you are going to come out a goalie must gain the ball. Cannot help wondering if Lumley will be back soon...
• Finally, a well-deserved win, but the good team performance means nobody automatically gets awarded MotM - stand-out candidates though must be Eze, Scowen and Leistner. I suspect people will award it to the goalscorer, but both Leistner and Scowen never stopped working and produced important interceptions.

Can't thank you enough for that kingfisher, your thoughts on the 90 minute review are always greatly appreciated.

Scowen get's a few mentions and he is really taking his chance in the team right now.

I think what is really benefiting us this season is having at least two very good options in every position. Players have to perform or their place will be taken and Scowen clearly knows that. If he has a poor match then he knows Amos will take his spot.

I think Kelly could have done better with both goals but they weren't 'howlers' as such, so I think he will get a few more chances before he is switched for Lumley. Especially whilst we have won the last 2 games. Lumley was finally dropped after a defeat.

The fact that Ebe Eze didn't make the EFL team of the week makes me think that Ronaldo and Messi must now be playing in the Championship!