QPR v Fulham 1 - 2 30JUN20 FT

Mitrovic has been suspended for 3 games, so rather than a 100% chance of defeat we probably have a 99% chance of defeat.

He missed the first match between us this season, we still lost and his replacement scored!

On his current form BOS doesn't deserve a place in the team and Shodipo should be given his starting spot. In my mind it would show Shodipo that the manager has faith in his ability and that if he keeps performing then a place in the first team is his. 

It would also make a point to BOS that says if you don't perform then you will be lucky to get a place on the QPR bench let alone a transfer to a WBA or a Leeds.

Can't see Kelly getting dropped because he is a Warburton signing.

We have weak spots all over our defence and the thought of Kane and Manning/Wallace in the wing back positions has got me pouring another drink.

What makes things worse is that these guys will probably still be our main defenders next season, how frightening is that!

I'm saving myself £10 tonight.

We very rarely seem to win when I watch or attend.

So if we win, I'll happily take that. And if we lose I've saved £10!

"We have weak spots all over our defence and the thought of Kane and Manning/Wallace in the wing back positions has got me pouring another drink."




I've got my £10 to watch, half a dozen bottles of Augustiner Helles, and a bottle of Ardbeg for dessert. That's a result in my book, whatever the score.


Also, if there was ever a time to give Jack Clarke a start it must be tonight. With two games per week until the end of the season, and very few players guaranteeing themselves a start based on the last two performances, I can't see why not. It might give BOS a wake-up call too. An attacking midfield of Chair, Eze & Clarke wouldn't be the worst. People forget how Clarke tore these same Championship defences apart 2 seasons ago, he won't be a worse player than he was then, and I think the criticism of him not offering enough is harsh when his very limited playing time has not given him much of a chance to show what he can offer. 
 

I think Shodipo is promising, and we all love seeing one of our own come through. I also get the adding value argument - we can only add value to a player we own, not a loanee.
I would just start Jack Clarke because we need to start winning now, and:
1 = Warburton must rate him to keep him on until the new end of the season. After all, he did not have to keep him on. His loan contract was until the end of June so if he was a dud Warbs would have let him leave and saved the loan fee we can hardly afford (there would surely be a chunky monthly loan fee, as a cheap/free fee typically would come with some clauses about a minimum number of starts, which Warbs would have breached by now given his lack of appearances). Clarke was no doubt kept out of our team on merit, given that the Eze/BOS/Chair triumvirate were on fire when he came and before the league was suspended. You can't say the same about those three at the moment.
2 = I still remember what he did to Championship defences the last time he got a sustained run in that Leeds side, performances that saw Spurs shell out £9+million. I honestly think that had Pochettino still been at Spurs, rather than Mourinho who never gives a chance to youngsters, Clarke would have played for Spurs enough times to make him now out of our loan reach.

We rely so heavily on Eze and to a lesser extent on BOS to consistently perform that when they don't it shows the real inadequacies with the rest of the squad. This was the same last season with Freeman and the season prior to that with Freeman and Smithies.

In the past we had players like Clint Hill and Shaun Derry who were classed as the bread and butter to the cake of Taarabt. People will always remember the goals and skill of Taarabt but if it wasnt for the likes of Derry and Hill then Adel wouldnt have scored as many as he did. For any team to be a success those bread and butter players are just as important as the teams star. Unfortunately, our recent teams have lacked those engine room players and as a result our better players have managed to just keep us in the Championship.

Of course we all want QPR to beat Fulham but even if they do it only papers over some huge cracks that get bigger each season. Eze has been a star in the making for a few seasons and this year he has blossomed to show his capabilities. We all know that he will leave as soon as the transfer windows opens and I'd hoped that the nugget that is BOS would remain hidden and take up Eze's role next season. Unfortunately it looks like other clubs have now seen the potential of BOS and he will probably also leave in the next transfer window.

Without Eze or BOS and with no engine room things are going to be very tough next season. The assumption that TF will allow any of the funds we get from selling Eze and BOS to be used to buy players is just wishful thinking. We must have received c. £8m in 2019/20 from sales yet the only money he spent was £50k for Kelly.

Warburtons signings have been poor, if we have any stars in the Development Squad they remain well hidden. The club is poorly run from top to tail and needs some major investment or relegation is inevitable.