City 0-2 Q.P.R

[lildave3]

All I have to ask is why the hell did Dyer get taken off for tossbag Gallagher?

[Tilley]

Having a player that needs a translator is laughable.

Can't even communicate with his team-mates for fuck sake.

[Cheeseydane]

Yet another Rangers fan here..

its frustrating, but give Sousa a little time and he will get it right for you. Still popular amongst many Rs fans who never wanted him gone.

he will have you solid as a rock. You may not score too many but you will be climbing up the table no probs.

Keep the faith and good luck for the rest of the season.

[Callabinho]

Having a player that needs a translator is laughable.

Can't even communicate with his team-mates for fuck sake.

Fair point, Hussain Kaebi? we need something else we really do i fear we will loose at least one of these two games against Pompey, and they have not won a game yet, Imagine what it would do to our confidence, and its the Leicester was to beat them 4-0 In the cup and loose 1-0 in the league. Im worried very worried...

[reynard]

Anyone else concerned by Soussa's post match interview? he sounded like a poor version of Wenger going on about a battle and how we couldn't win the battle etc etc.

I think he has some serious problems to sort out but does he know how?

[Callabinho]

Yet another Rangers fan here..

its frustrating, but give Sousa a little time and he will get it right for you. Still popular amongst many Rs fans who never wanted him gone.

he will have you solid as a rock. You may not score too many but you will be climbing up the table no probs.

Keep the faith and good luck for the rest of the season.

Cheers for the supportive comment mate, Warnock has you set up well. We were awful today at times mind, I think Mackie would agree the second goal was presented on a plate.

[Guest Mee-9]

All I have to ask is why the hell did Dyer get taken off for tossbag Gallagher?

He was shit in the second half.

Didn't run at all mate. Seemed to give up.

Having a player that needs a translator is laughable.

Can't even communicate with his team-mates for fuck sake.

I still think Yuki Abe was signed behind Sousa back.

[lildave3]

He was shit in the second half.

Didn't run at all mate. Seemed to give up.

I still think Yuki Abe was signed behind Sousa back.

Shit or not he's still our biggest threat.

[BedsFox]

Dyer, after Tuesday and the first half today, was completely spent after 55 minutes

He doesn't have the stamina to do two games a week, never has. Pearson used to withdraw him after 60 minutes of a lot of games too.

[Father Ted]

Warnock got it tactically spot on today and Sousa didn't have a clue as to how to change it.

Wanker played with 2 strikers constantly pushing up tight to Hobbs and Morrison meaning that we couldn't play out from the back. As a result, Ikeme had to hoof the ball (sometimes poorly) for Waghorn, Dyer or Fryatt to try and attempt to win the header, pretty much giving possession back to QPR.

They were dirty and disrupted Sousa's style of play and we struggled to adapt BUT this was not helped by the fact that the Ref could have easily put a stop to this. The ref was an absolute joke and it really does make me laugh that the FA are demanding 'respect' for the refs! FACK OFF!

[armstonfox]

Why did he start fryatt when howard had a good game on tuesday? i do not understand it tbh.

[Karljohn]

Couldn't believe what I was hearing from Sousa post match on the drive home, about not winning battles. That's what the league is about surely. Newcastle walked the league last year with Butt, Smith, Barton and Nolan in the middle of the park, battlers?

We must start to to do the dirty, ugly things, that's why QPR top this shitty league, hardly any change in Leicester personnel that saw us thump them 4-0 at home less than 6 months ago, yet we continue to try and pretty pass our way through two banks of four with our only outlets being Neilson who has come on very well but still doesn't have the engine or end product to deliver, and Dyer/Waghorn, the latter being out of position and the former being totally ineffective for half a game once switched.

Its a nice watch at times, but we simply don't hurt teams, we overpass and over-complicate play far too often.

I really enjoyed Tuesday night and thought we could claim at least a draw today but I have to point the finger at Sousa for changing a winning side, I do like Fryatt but Howard surely would have knocked them around a bit today at the back.

What of the bench? populated by most of Sousa's signings, Vitor, Moussa, Moreno, Abe? not entirely sure what that says about his ability in the transfer market, Lamey being kept out by the Robster too at right back.

Starting to worry, just a little bit, yes QPR are top but they were nothing more than ordinary, the lads just don't look happy.

[DB11]

Ikeme is bollocks.

Pass, pass, pass, pass, back to goalkeeper and HOOF out for a throw in.

[Mack]

Why am i not surprised to come on here and see people asking for Sousa to go.

All was rosy after the Cardiff game. One bad result against the top of the table team and suddenly you are all up in arms again.

You keep saying the table don't lie. Well, if we are playing that game. The stats don't lie. Leicester had more shots on and off target and more posession - so its down to the players.

People need to stop trying to stick the boot into the manager. It's getting tiresome.

It certainly was'nt rosey for me after the Cardiff game.

Had we beat Cardiff with Chopra, Bellamy et al then I would have been on the respect bandwagon but the shell of a Cardiff side they showed up to try and nick a draw with one no mark in attack and the rest in midfield and defence did not float my boat.

For me Sousa has now been exposed as tactically inept and out of his depth, maybe he needs to take a step down and make his mistakes where they wont have such an impact but LCFC is not the place to cut your teeth. We need someone who knows this league and how to get a team out of it at the right end!

[Callabinho]

If i was Howard i would have belted the ****, getting up off the floor with a bloody nose? is the guy a fooking egit did he think Howard faked that?? jesus wept....

[Matt]

If i was Howard i would have belted the ****, getting up off the floor with a bloody nose? is the guy a fooking egit did he think Howard faked that?? jesus wept....

Bloodgate has come to football

[ian_marshall]

Thought Sousa was tactically inept today. With all due respect, when Warnock brings a side to the Walker's you pretty much know what your going to be up against and unfortunately we looked severely under prepared physically and mentally. I thought QPR came with a game plan today which they executed to perfection. They were well organised, closed us down quickly, played with lots of aggression, sprung the occasional counter to good effect and even counted down the clock whilst disrupting the momentum of our game. By contrast we looked disinterested, with no determination to win the ball, lacked any physical presence whatsoever until Howard came on, and seemed content with passing the ball backwards or to the side without looking to stretch QPR and distort their formation.

Okay, QPR aren't a pretty team to watch but they are effective at what they do and I think we could learn a lot from the way they play. Warnock for all of his critics does seem to know what is required to be successful in this division, something which I get the impression Sousa doesn't quite understand. I like Sousa's enthusiasm to play attractive football and think that his style of play would be effective if we make it back to the Premier League with more intelligent and skilful footballers, but unfortunately we're currently in a league where to be successful you either need to have quality in abundance (i.e. West Brom, Newcastle) or you play ugly football with good organisation (i.e. Stoke, Burnley, Blackpool). Pearson seemed to have the squad set-up towards ugly football with good organisation hence our success last season, but now Sousa seems to want to elevate the standard of football we play. Unfortunately I don't think we have the right blend of players to play this new style of football as they technically aren't good enough and lack the intelligence to play such football successfully.

As for individual performances today, Ikeme didn't seem to communicate very well with the centre backs and subsequently struggled to command the penalty box. Morrison struggled to contain Mackie and was left red-faced for the second goal. Neilson wasn't his usual self and seemed to get caught out of position a lot, whilst Oakley was absolutely non-existent. Wellens distribution was abysmal and Waghorn seemed lost in the formation. Finally, Fryatt didn't really seem to get too involved in the game today, but I felt that was largely down to the fact that he was up against two big centre backs who had him in their pocket as every time the ball was played to him it was in the air and not to feet.

If we want to win games against teams like QPR in this division then we're going to have to show more fight and aggression otherwise i'm afraid I think we may be in for a long season...

[Wdywd]

The passing style worked brilliantly against Cardiff tbf to him.

I thought the main problem today was that they put real pressure on the ball right from the start, and it shook our confidence losing the ball so often so early, and we never really regained our composure. They played very well it must be said, but we let ourselves down a bit. I dunno what the fook they do before the game, but I think that's 5 games in a row now we've been 1-0 down at half time, you're not going to go anywhere if you keep gifting the opposition the lead every week.

Ikeme's distribution was unbelievably bad, he should have been punished for one of two massive fook ups when trying to catch a simple high ball when the ref disallowed their goal for no particular reason. Weale cannot get fit fast enough. Too many balls from the keeper were either completely aimless, or at the towering powerhouse that is Matty Fryatt's head. If he's gonna do that, then you may as well play Howard from the start. Felt sorry for the F-dog today, so many terrible balls in his general direction that he had to try to make something of.

I'm not too disheartened, because we probably played the Champions, so going mental over a defeat to the best side in the division would be stupid. That said, we need to learn from it, since I'm sure loads of teams will try to play that sort of pressing style from the start more often, since it worked so well today. And because of how Cardiff gave us time on the ball midweek, and got played off the park.

[Head Honcho]

People saying ONLY seven games, you might be right but once you're down there in the Championship, it's a dogfight to get yourself out of it.

Too many poor players signed, not addressed the problems up front and Sousa is too busy trying to perfect a passing game that he is forgetting to address the basics of a solid defence, an effective midfield and a goalscoring forward line.

Clock's ticking, Paulo.

To be fair we are only 7 points adrift of last seasons total after 7 games...................hang on that's a point a game.

Sousa out

We only just made the play-offs last season and if we have any ambition of reaching them this year then a decision on Sousa need to be made pretty soon end of October at the latest!

[Callabinho]

Thought Sousa was tactically inept today. With all due respect, when Warnock brings a side to the Walker's you pretty much know what your going to be up against and unfortunately we looked severely under prepared physically and mentally. I thought QPR came with a game plan today which they executed to perfection. They were well organised, closed us down quickly, played with lots of aggression, sprung the occasional counter to good effect and even counted down the clock whilst disrupting the momentum of our game. By contrast we looked disinterested, with no determination to win the ball, lacked any physical presence whatsoever until Howard came on, and seemed content with passing the ball backwards or to the side without looking to stretch QPR and distort their formation.

Okay, QPR aren't a pretty team to watch but they are effective at what they do and I think we could learn a lot from the way they play. Warnock for all of his critics does seem to know what is required to be successful in this division, something which I get the impression Sousa doesn't quite understand. I like Sousa's enthusiasm to play attractive football and think that his style of play would be effective if we make it back to the Premier League with more intelligent and skilful footballers, but unfortunately we're currently in a league where to be successful you either need to have quality in abundance (i.e. West Brom, Newcastle) or you play ugly football with good organisation (i.e. Stoke, Burnley, Blackpool). Pearson seemed to have the squad set-up towards ugly football with good organisation hence our success last season, but now Sousa seems to want to elevate the standard of football we play. Unfortunately I don't think we have the right blend of players to play this new style of football as they technically aren't good enough and lack the intelligence to play such football successfully.

As for individual performances today, Ikeme didn't seem to communicate very well with the centre backs and subsequently struggled to command the penalty box. Morrison struggled to contain Mackie and was left red-faced for the second goal. Neilson wasn't his usual self and seemed to get caught out of position a lot, whilst Oakley was absolutely non-existent. Wellens distribution was abysmal and Waghorn seemed lost in the formation. Finally, Fryatt didn't really seem to get too involved in the game today, but I felt that was largely down to the fact that he was up against two big centre backs who had him in their pocket as every time the ball was played to him it was in the air and not to feet.

If we want to win games against teams like QPR in this division then we're going to have to show more fight and aggression otherwise i'm afraid I think we may be in for a long season...

You make very very good points,

1) Under Nigel we played football to get out of this devision, It wasn't always pretty but damn it was affective.

2) West Brom had Players like, Koren, Dorrens, Bednar, Jara Players who can play high tempo passing football at this level!

3) We have not got these players, Oakley and Wellens give the ball away far to much, Neilson is still a poor player as i predicted he got found out today.

4) Sousa's tactics today were awful, Waggy was brilliant under Pearson and now he is being stuck out on the flank where he struggle's i hate to see this because last year we had a good team and they all looked happy, thats why we were successful. Letting Nigel Pearson go was the worst thing this football club could have done, and know were being punished for it!

[Donut]

Right.

1) Ikeme, Waghorn, Wellens and Fryatt were all total dross today.

2) We dominate possession ONLY because we play keep ball in areas of the pitch that the opposition team are quite happy to let us have the ball in, areas that wont hurt the opposition. I can only think of one time in the whole game we actually got their back 4 turned and running back towards their own goal. It was Dyer and that was in the first 10 mins, so after that, we spent the whole game playing in front of them. No penetration.

3) Think all the changes we made today were wrong. First up, Has Sousa got no faith in any of his signings? he's dropping all of them and doesnt look to change anything by using them. Dyer is the player with the most penetration, and we took him off. We took Howard out of the starting line up after a really solid game on tuesday and replaced him with fryatt, whos low on confidence for a start, but a total lightweight up there and barely had a kick all afternoon.

4) I really, really have a problem with using scapegoats for performances. We did it under Holloway with referees. YES the referee was poor, but he is not the reason we lost the game and if people are honest with themselves theyll admit this.

Also wanted to say whether popular or not, QPR's first goal was an absolute peach

[IOWFOX]

Truth be told, if QPR win the league playing the way they did, i would happily accept mid-table watching a team try to play football well and without resorting to such dreadful, dirty play. I think they may have believed they were playing at Welford Road at times. It will come, he proved that last season with Swansea, yes we may not be promoted this season but aslong as i am entertained and have a team to be proud of, i couldnt care less.

[Cropwellfox]

Letting Nigel Pearson go was the worst thing this football club could have done, and know were being punished for it!

Football often seems to be a case of you reap what you sew. Fast forward a few weeks - after Portsmouth get a win against us, and we struggle in games against Naarwich and Scunny, - NP then comes back and finishes (1 win in 11 league games) Sousa off. That's my prediction, let's see after the home game v Hull how accurate it is.

[ian_marshall]

Right.

1) Ikeme, Waghorn, Wellens and Fryatt were all total dross today.

2) We dominate possession ONLY because we play keep ball in areas of the pitch that the opposition team are quite happy to let us have the ball in, areas that wont hurt the opposition. I can only think of one time in the whole game we actually got their back 4 turned and running back towards their own goal. It was Dyer and that was in the first 10 mins, so after that, we spent the whole game playing in front of them. No penetration.

3) Think all the changes we made today were wrong. First up, Has Sousa got no faith in any of his signings? he's dropping all of them and doesnt look to change anything by using them. Dyer is the player with the most penetration, and we took him off. We took Howard out of the starting line up after a really solid game on tuesday and replaced him with fryatt, whos low on confidence for a start, but a total lightweight up there and barely had a kick all afternoon.

4) I really, really have a problem with using scapegoats for performances. We did it under Holloway with referees. YES the referee was poor, but he is not the reason we lost the game and if people are honest with themselves theyll admit this.

Also wanted to say whether popular or not, QPR's first goal was an absolute peach

I agree entirely with you. It's all well and good having possession, but any team can have a high rate of possession by knocking the ball about between their own Goalkeeper and Centre Backs. The good teams in any league however have the ability to play good possession football in the opposing half, and use it effectively to stretch the opposition and draw players out of position. Unfortunately, we don't currently fall into this category.

[J.Lisemore]

Just read Sousa's view on the game from the OS...

"We recovered after the goal but they pushed the game into a battle and a physical battle is one we don't know how to win".

Yes its no secret that were not the most physical side in the league, but if other managers are listening/looking to what hes said then theyre gameplan is sorted already.

Am i the only person that looks at it like this?