We ran out of steam as they upped their work rate, but it all comes back to the poor defending. It shows how bad things are that when an ageing Steve Cook and Jack Colback do not play we look so poor in dealing with threats. A real shame as there were good bits of play in there that deserved more than a 2-3 loss. On the positive side, my whisky bottle remains safe....
It’s simple tactic when you play QPR Don’t try to score from open play Just try and get corners and free kicks As we can’t defend set pieces The Bournemouth manager even stated that being our weakness before the game even started
Bournemouth gave us plenty of warning in the first half and Moore should have scored when Fox cleared off the line. The good news in that first half was that Sinclair and Lyndon caused them issues and both were rewarded with goals.
In the 2nd half all our frailties came to the fore yet again. What they train on in mid week is a mystery. You'd think after the number of times we've conceded from set pieces that Marti would have been working on being better organised and not letting the attacker get first run on them.
In addition Marti has to take the blame for not replacing Drewe sooner. It was obvious they had targeted him at the start of the 2nd half and both corners for the goals came came down his side.
We ran out of steam as they upped their work rate, but it all comes back to the poor defending. It shows how bad things are that when an ageing Steve Cook and Jack Colback do not play we look so poor in dealing with threats. A real shame as there were good bits of play in there that deserved more than a 2-3 loss. On the positive side, my whisky bottle remains safe....
I thought that 4 players were particularly poor in that 2nd half.
Dixon Bonner was anonymous and offered nothing. He got over run in the centre of the pitch and offered Field very little help in dealing with the Bournemouth midfield.
Andre Dozzell is such a wasteful player, I don't understand how he continues to get in the team because his delivery is so awful.
Jimmy Dunne is one of our most experienced defenders and should be organising things at set pieces but he's become a liability. He is as slow as they come, was out muscled for the 3rd and in the second half his legs looked gone.
Begovic made another mistake and he flaps at too many crosses. He's an experienced player who should be helping to organise our defence but he doesn't inspire confidence at set pieces.
There were some pluses, with the Armstrong and Dykes looking good as they rattled the Bournemouth defenders when they were given the service they needed.
In respect of Colback and Cook we've learnt nothing from the days of signing the likes of Geoff Cameron and Lee Wallace or Stefan Johansen and Jordy De Wijs. To a lesser extent the same can be said for Leon Balogan. These guys can be assets when fit but because they are in the twilight of their careers they are more often than not injured and struggle to play more than one game per week. You'd have thought that we'd have learnt our lesson and invested in younger players that have no history of a major injury.
Armstrong goal was absolute quality He tore them apart down that left hand side for that goal Just why he can’t do that in the league every week I never know x.com/SkyFootball/status/1743660367652233335?s=20
Last Edit: Jan 7, 2024 14:26:51 GMT by singlespeed
Armstrong goal was absolute quality He tore them apart down that left hand side for that goal Just why he can’t do that in the league every week I never know x.com/SkyFootball/status/1743660367652233335?s=20
I suspect even Armstrong doesn't know he cannot do that in the league every week!
In respect of Colback and Cook we've learnt nothing from the days of signing the likes of Geoff Cameron and Lee Wallace or Stefan Johansen and Jordy De Wijs. To a lesser extent the same can be said for Leon Balogan. These guys can be assets when fit but because they are in the twilight of their careers they are more often than not injured and struggle to play more than one game per week. You'd have thought that we'd have learnt our lesson and invested in younger players that have no history of a major injury.
This should be put to Lee Hoos. It's a really good point. Because I'm pretty sure everybody you listed was/is amongst the highest earners whilst playing for QPR. Yes we are lucky if they play 25-30 games a season.
Wallace and Cameron were fantastic for us when they played, our stats with and without them were like chalk and cheese... but they were regularly missing and like you say stoatey could rarely ever play 3 in a week which unsettles the side chopping and changing.
In respect of Colback and Cook we've learnt nothing from the days of signing the likes of Geoff Cameron and Lee Wallace or Stefan Johansen and Jordy De Wijs. To a lesser extent the same can be said for Leon Balogan. These guys can be assets when fit but because they are in the twilight of their careers they are more often than not injured and struggle to play more than one game per week. You'd have thought that we'd have learnt our lesson and invested in younger players that have no history of a major injury.
This should be put to Lee Hoos. It's a really good point. Because I'm pretty sure everybody you listed was/is amongst the highest earners whilst playing for QPR. Yes we are lucky if they play 25-30 games a season. Wallace and Cameron were fantastic for us when they played, our stats with and without them were like chalk and cheese... but they were regularly missing and like you say stoatey could rarely ever play 3 in a week which unsettles the side chopping and changing.
Playing devil's advocate, if you sign a lower league player you are hoping he develops to a higher level to add to your Championship side; and if you hire older players, as you say, they are prone to longer recovery times from injuries. I would venture that a good or very good side would be composed of a mixture of both, but it is hugely dependent upon scouts identifying quality younger players. There will always be players , of all ages, that fail to reach the mark. In my opinion, our problem is that there have been too many of those, compared to other clubs!
Asmir Begovic: 5 Just as he did in recent defeats against Cardiff and Millwall, Begovic’s failure to claim a corner resulted in a goal. His distribution continues to be poor too.
Aaron Drewe: 6 Given an outing at right-back and was decent enough.
Jimmy Dunne: 5 Has really struggled for form since his return from a shoulder injury and he made another costly error, losing the ball in the build-up to Bournemouth’s winner.
Morgan Fox: 6 A useful run-out for the defender in his first start since returning from a knee injury.
Ziyad Larkeche: 7 Given a chance in his natural left-back position, having previously been deployed at right-back and as a left winger, and fully justified his inclusion. Linked up really well with Sinclair Armstrong on the flank in the first half, particularly when he set up the striker’s goal with a lovely ball down the left.
Sam Field: 5 Combined nicely with Larkeche and Armstrong at times. But Philip Billing was repeatedly able to run off the shoulder of the out-of-form Rangers midfielder.
Elijah Dixon-Bonner: 6 Found the going tough as Bournemouth started to dominate, but has potential and is always willing to work hard.
Andre Dozzell: 5 Ineffective for large spells, especially as the visitors took control.
Paul Smyth: 7 Worried Bournemouth with his pace and directness in the first half.
Lyndon Dykes: 6 Scored, albeit with the help of a deflection off West Londoner Max Aarons, but was otherwise pretty easily contained.
Sinclair Armstrong: 7 Terrific in the first half, when he gave Bournemouth major problems and scored a cracking goal, breezing past Marcos Senesi and superbly lifting the ball over keeper Mark Travers. Was much less effective after that though and lost his man at the corner for Bournemouth’s equaliser.
Osman Kakay: 6 Came on for Drewe just after the hour mark. Did nothing of note.
Albert Adomah: 5 Way off the pace after his second-half introduction.
