QPR v Swansea (FA Cup 3rd Round) 5 - 1 Full Time

Home to Sheffeild Wednesday. Awful

It is a dull tie, but so was yesterday on paper and it was a joy. We all moaned when we got Swansea and it panned out well.

If we were going to get a Championship side at least it is at home and it is a winnable game.

On current form we should not fear any other Championship side (and there are a few Premiership sides that applies to too)! Watching the first half of Arsenal v Leeds and you are seeing a side that enjoys passing, like QPR, against a 'superior' side that is struggling with motivation/confidence/pace. Leeds could win this one, and so could QPR! Sheffield Wednesday are having another impressive season but they are beatable!

Sheffield Wednesday should not be feared and are definitely beatable but on paper it's not a game that will attract the fans.

The Swansea game attracted a crowd of just over 6,000 and Wednesday will not attract many more. You wonder if the clubs actually cover their costs once the income is shared out.

Maybe the club could do kids for a fiver to attract a few more to the game.

Having enjoyed immensely the full 90 mins against 'Cardiff in disguise' I have to say how impressed I am that a side with players switched to new roles, and new players drafted in, has continued to play with style! Few observations:

• Whilst we could say that this is a side playing with confidence and swagger that deserves to win, the truth is that this team wanted the ball more than Swansea; and were determined to get it! There was so many examples of this, including Ball, Cameron, Masterson, Scowen, BOS, and Chair. The important bit is that they went about this game as a team, hunting in pairs if needed but always with calm ball-control. Jokes about QPRcelona are just that - jokes, but the passing and space-making is seriously impressive!
• Not only a good, solid win but a win that saw (in my opinion) the best performances this season from Scowen, Hugill and Ball; whilst BOS & Chair's performance maintained the high standard of their last game!
• We know (very well in fact) that teams do have collective sh*te days, and you could say that both Swansea and Cardiff had that problem; but the truth is that QPR did what some other teams have done to us - they closed down options, dominated the ball, and (miracles or miracles) finished far better.
• No surprise that Swansea came out with more determination in the second half, but they were never, ever in control. During the match they did, of course, have their moments in the goal area and did score, but from the first minute it was obvious they were never going to win!
• Before people leap to the defence of Swansea as they were lacking solidity at the back, suggesting that Bidwell as a centre back was bound to be a mistake and John was inexperienced - just note that we had Cameron right and Masterson on the left as our CBs. On paper they would have looked vulnerable. In truth, Cameron played well and Masterson produced a master-class at times!
• Like Cardiff last week, Swansea got a good goal that must have lifted their spirits, but QPR did not waver in their self-belief and the quality of their football. We really should fear no side when we play like this and anyone can score!
• The other point I want to stress is the ability of QPR in the last two games to successfully gather the ball punted forward from either defence. To gather that 'second ball' so many times was something we have failed to do on so many previous occasions, but now we are cooking!

You make an excellent point kingfisher that Swansea can make excuses about their line up and defence but we had a debutant centre half and a player out of position at the back too. We were simply the better side all over the pitch. It is rare to watch a match thinking we are going to score every single time we go forward but it really did feel like that. 5-1 was actually - genuinely - flattering to Swansea.

And you are right stoatey that if we can maintain this same standard in the next 2 games we stand a very good chance. The attacking players especially must have confidence flowing through their veins!!