Blackburn Vs QPR

Rosco Bosco has turned into a prediction machine

Varane's hot-headed tackle has certainly cost us. Two points though: if Colback was unavailable then who else could be selected but Varane, and PNE managed a draw against them last week with 10 players, so why couldn't we?

If we don't improve when Chair returns it will be a concern.

We need 3 or 4 points from the next 2 games this week before the break just to calm everything down and take the pressure off.

I didn't really get what our plan was second half, we started slow again and they stepped up the pace, we just seemed to have no plan for how to stop them.
Saying that the goal is a horrible deflection from a shot going miles wide, would have been interesting if we had got through that period still at 0-0 but Blackburn deserved the win

Varane is a liability. Not just with the tackle but primarily with the ball, killed one attack with a terrible pass to Smyth. Then consistently gave it or way or dispossessed. No idea what data they used to sign him, but blimey…

Saito and Dembele irrelevant. Out of possession it’s like having children in the team. Even with the ball, Saito looks like that. Too easily knocked off the ball, too ineffective winning it back.

For as well as Santos played against Wednesday, he put in the type of showing that his inclusion always leaves you worried about.

And for all Nardi’s acrobatics second half, he was poor first half and lucky not to cost us a goal.

Agreed regarding Marti. Too often he is getting his team wrong from the start and it’s costing us. The insistent desire to play a number 10 is costing us tactically too, whether it’s Dembele, Andersen or Madsen, it’s like playing with a man less when we lose the ball. It needs to be a 4-3-3 with a tighter midfield. Colback injury makes that hard to implement. But I’d go Colback, Field and Dixon-Bonner to begin with. Gives you legs and bite and allows you to get a tight midfield out of possession. Dembele from the right, Smyth from the left.

Teams got dimensional issues too. Aside from Smyth there are no vertical runners, particularly from the midfield. So we end up just going side to side. No midfielders ever want the ball on the half turn. They never take up angles to collect it and the defenders aren’t brave enough to even play it as they don’t trust the competency of the midfielders to keep it and play it. Doesn’t bode well

I’ve not seen us play someone this season and come away thinking we were a better or more dangerous team than them. Every single one looks to have more guile, craft and danger in them.

Rayan Kolli problem is also causing additional issues. Not signing a new deal owing to the abuse he got online, club not playing him because of it. Robbing us of a player with flare and bite. The Martí and Nourry messiah narratives will collapse if this continues.

Caveat this with the fact that Blackburn have a plethora of players I like. Travis, Tronstad, Pickering, Hyam, Weimann, Ohashi, Dolan, Rankin-Costello, Brittany, Cantwell and Buckley are all very good players and would all probably get in our team. Underrated team with an underrated coach.

I'd be interested to know why we were so keen on Varane... It sounds like we went to an awful lot of trouble to get him... Is he a player Marti wanted?

Regarding where we're at after 7 games... If you go back and read comments from both Nourri and Marti you will see that they've gone out of their way to play down expectations and I think they both know that this is going to be a tricky season.

The same is happening at Sheff Weds with Rohl.

I don't feel like we've lost anything from the players that we let go and I'm still very positive about some of new arrivals... Less so about others.

There are definitely 3 teams worse than us but any idea that we will be pushing for a playoff place is fanciful.

My biggest concern is not having any replacement for Colback... Last season we were able to swap Colback and Hayden in and out. Between injuries and red cards I don't suppose Colback will be available for that many games and Varene is not a replacement

One other thing... Did anyone notice the effort Frey put in yesterday!? A few of our other players need to find that kind of physical commitment.

Agree jimjams Frey showed incredible effort. Made sense to withdraw him once we were 2-0 down.

I still can't make my mind up on the red, the Blackburn player nearby holding his head like Batth had been broken his leg didn't help. Either way Varane didn't need to do anything, just let the ball go and its half time.