And one more btw... Can we get a bit of love for George Thomas!?
Said above he changed the game. Very impressive, all energy and seemed to cover every blade of grass.
Agree with your other post about Field too - I kept saying earlier in the season he was going to be a massive player for us and he's now the number 1 midfielder already without doubt. And I love that he is still so young - if he can stay fit we have yet another fantastic signing for the future.
From the match reports it seems Willock is fast becoming the most important player in this team.
I have to admit that I haven't seen today's game yet but from the reports I've read we were 2nd best and only deserved a draw. If that is the case then it's brilliant that we came away with all 3 points.
We stay 4th but are now just 2 points away from 2nd spot with a game in hand
Both Bournemouth and Blackburn sit 2 points ahead. If Blackburn lose to Middlesbrough on Monday night we can go 2nd if we beat Swansea on Tuesday. However if Blackburn even get a draw we can only go 3rd unless we win by 5 goals against Swansea.
Both Reading and Watford had 47 points after 26 games last season. Neither ended up in the play offs... Reading finished 7th but Watford of course finished 2nd.
We have more wins after 26 games than we had in the 2010/11 title winning season (14 to 13) and are only 2 points behind where we were at this stage of that season (47 to 49)
We already have as many league wins (14) as we managed in the whole season in 13 of our last 26 campaigns
4 players are now averaging over 2 points per game this season:
Lee Wallace - 2.55 Sam Field - 2.33 Luke Amos - 2.23 Charlie Austin - 2.05
Yoann Barbet has started 87 league games in a row and is approaching his 2 year anniversary having last missed a match against Huddersfield on 8th February 2020 (run started on 11 February 2020 against Swansea)
Andre Gray has scored 5 goals for QPR and all have come away from home and all in the black away kit
We have won 4 away games in a row in the same league season for the first time since 2004 - and in this run all 4 away wins have been 2-1 (we won 5 away games in a row across the end of last season and start of this)
We have 4 league wins in a row... we haven't won 5 in a row since a run of 7 from September to October 2004
It was a fantastic win and I'm not sure it's fair to say we didn't deserve it.
We took the lead twice and defended brilliantly. Each time Coventry started to dominate us we found a way to get hold of the ball and wrestle back control.
I think we need to let go of the idea that it's only when we're playing fluid attacking football that we're playing well.
MW and the team really seem to understand what's required now depending on the opponent.
In seasons past we would have been all out attack all the time and concede loads of goals. More recently we have been tighter against strong opposition and then lost all goal threat.
At the moment we seem to have the balance just right.
BTW I was very concerned when we lost Field to injury and while we did well without him I do think he is a major player for us
i agree jim jammer
we sometimes overlook our great defensive play
lets face it each week we comment how well Wallace, Adomah, Dunne, Barbet and Dickie play as well as the great defensive work by Field
Here is what West London Sport thought of our performance (at least its not just me thinking Dykes is no good and Dozzell struggles) when i saw the starting XI thought it was a mistke going with Dozzell ahead of Amos
i havent seen any of the game but for those that have i will put a poll up on another thread seeing what you guys think -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Marshall: 7 Could nothing about the Coventry goal, slammed into the top left corner by Jordan Shipley. Unconvincing on occasions with his kicking but made a vital fingertip save late in injury time to help seal the win.
Albert Adomah: 7 Won the game with a fine header after ghosting in at the back post to power home Chris Willock’s excellent cross. Worked hard defensively to deal with Coventry’s pacy attack but did manage to get forward with purpose on occasions.
Rob Dickie: 8 Stepped in well several time as Coventry broke in numbers from midfield to thwart some promising first-half attacks. Outstanding in the second period as Coventry put the visitors under huge pressure, winning several crucial challenges.
Jimmy Dunne: 7 A few too many hurried clearances which put his side under pressure once or twice, but otherwise it was a typically committed display from the young Irishman as Rangers held firm in the final 15 minutes.
Yoann Barbet: 7 Spent most of the second half battling to keep his side in the game as the Sky Blues pressed hard for a winner, but did his job well at the back.
Lee Wallace: 6 Captain for the day in Stefan Johansen’s absence. Should have scored late in the first half when he blazed over Andre Gray’s low cross. Given some uncomfortable moments by former team-mate Todd Kane.
Sam Field: 8 A magnificent display. Held the midfield together for the first hour of the game as Coventry swarmed all over Rangers, winning tackles, headers and showing a calm head to use the ball wisely and alleviate the pressure.
Andre Dozzell: 5 Struggled terribly against Coventry’s mobile midfielders, who continually ran off his shoulder and caused problems for the Rangers defence. Perhaps should have been more alert to see the unmarked Shipley on the edge of the box at a corner for the equaliser. Substituted midway through the second half.
Chris Willock: 8 Set up both goals and was constant threat whenever he got the ball to continue his excellent recent run of form.
Lyndon Dykes: 5 One smart pass aside to tee up Gray early in the game aside, the big striker was a non-factor up front. Struggled to hold the ball up and was well contained by the home defence before being substituted for Charlie Austin.
Andre Gray: 7 Finished his goal in a cool manner and troubled Coventry with his pace. Worked really hard before being replaced by George Thomas for the last half-hour.
George Thomas: 7 Did really well after being introduced against his former club. Helped reduce pressure on the defence with two powerful runs.
Luke Amos: 7 Made a big improvement to the Rangers midfield when he came on and gave the tireless Field some much-needed support in the middle of the park.
Charlie Austin: 6 Helped see out the game by defending well from the front.
Post by northwesthoop on Jan 23, 2022 10:18:20 GMT
I think they've got most right aside from Gray being a 7. Yes he scored but he did literally nothing else. He was anonymous. They say he 'worked hard' but I didn't see that.
Dykes was very, very poor too. I said it last week but he doesn't look right at the moment, like he is carrying/managing an injury. He's not putting himself about like he used to. He did a few good balls around the corner in the first half but aside from that the game just passed him by.
I have watched the game and it proves just what an exciting league the Championship is. Coventry had only lost 3 games at home prior to yesterday so it was always going to be a difficult game.
Being without Dieng, Chair and Johansen is always going to disadvantage us but our starting line up still looked good and the defence is probably as strong as we have. Whilst Coventry tested the defence and Marshall I thought we held up well. Their strike force caused us issues with their speed and movement but I expect that from a top 10 team who have smashed four past Fulham in October.
My MotM was Rob Dickie who I thought was brilliant, his positioning was key to making some tremendous tackles and clearances. Coventry did have lots of chances but a lot of them were from distance and Marshall coped with them well.
Sam Field is now match fit and showing the form of last season, I feel that Dozzell never plays well when Johansen isnt playing alongside him and he really struggled with the pace of the game. Dozzell has done well at times this season and when teams allow him time and space he creates chances. The Championship is a helter skeltor league and with the experience of this Championship season behind him he will become more consistent. In previos years players like Eze, Chair and Willock all showed glimpses of form in their first full season in the Championship and then really bloomed in their 2nd full season. Hopefully, Dozzell will be the same.
Willock is as important as anyone in the team at the moment and with his mate Chair at AFCON he is our main creator. Some teams in recent matches have double marked Willock to try and negate him but luckily Coventry didn't or couldn't. Willock's movement is a nightmare for defenders because in Chairs absence he has been given licence to go wherever he wants. Willock now has 6 goals and 7 assists.
It was great to see Gray score early but he really didnt offer a lot after that. Dykes needs a goal and is lacking confidence. I'm not sure if he has fully recovered from the injury and illness he got before Christmas. In addition I think he needs to partner Austin who helps him with his continuous encouragement and cajoling. When we play Dykes and Gray as the front 2 it seems to restrict our movement and both can become very static.
The subs Amos (20 minutes) and Thomas (15 minutes) injected that fresh energy that we needed and it would be good to see them both get a longer spell on the pitch. Maybe they could both be given more minutes in the FA cup against Peterborough.
To know we can play a lot better but still get 3 points is huge. In the past we might have succumbed to the pressure but this team have great spirit. To have scored 40 goals and not have a player in the top 25 Championship scorers shows that we are a team who can score goals from any position.
It was a fantastic win and I'm not sure it's fair to say we didn't deserve it. We took the lead twice and defended brilliantly. Each time Coventry started to dominate us we found a way to get hold of the ball and wrestle back control.
I think we need to let go of the idea that it's only when we're playing fluid attacking football that we're playing well. MW and the team really seem to understand what's required now depending on the opponent. In seasons past we would have been all out attack all the time and concede loads of goals. More recently we have been tighter against strong opposition and then lost all goal threat.
At the moment we seem to have the balance just right. BTW I was very concerned when we lost Field to injury and while we did well without him I do think he is a major player for us
I disagree that we did not deserve the win, although it was damn close! However, I do strongly agree with your comments jimjams regarding the way we are now playing achieving the best out of the team. All out attacking football will not work for us (we do not have the strikers to achieve it anyway); and we now have a defence we can build momentum from. Perhaps the biggest positive change over last season has been the ability of players like Johansen, Willock, and Chair to deliver superb passes that change play so well. Sam Field had his second best game for us I felt, and George Thomas delivered what he has promised in Under 23/B Team games. I would add that after watching the highlights I realised how influential Rob Dickie had been with his defending. QUESTION: Did Mark Warburton tell Uncle Albert to go central or did he use his initiative instead...? btw Does anyone else think McFazdean is a nose with a body grafted on...?
Last Edit: Jan 23, 2022 17:53:33 GMT by kingfisher
However, I do strongly agree with your comments