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Well, where I start about yesterday's game I really don't know.
Unfortunately I don't have the time to write an in-depth review of the game itself, but there are a few things I would like to get off my chest with regard to what went wrong IMO.
I hope this doesn't read as a "Warnock out" type post, because that certainly isn't the way it is intended. But for me - Warnock made a number of fundamental mistakes with that team yesterday.
Right from the off, you looked at that starting lineup and couldn't help but worry...
Lee Cook on the right hand side of midfield? I can see exactly why Warnock decided to play him there, it's the same with Hogan. He doesn't want wingers getting to the byline, he wants them cutting inside. But Warnock/Cook himself can tell me that he can play in that position until they are blue in the face - but he is NO right winger.
It reminded me slightly of when Gregory was in charge and he started using him as a striker, you lose all the positive things he does as a player, and we won't utilize him to his strengths until he is restored to that left hand side. Cook looked very uncomfortable, and made very little impact on the game... A very odd decision.
Pretty much all of the players let us down yesterday (bar 2/3).
Carl Ikeme - Horrendous mistake for the second goal, and of course it won't be a game to remember for him. I personally happen to think he's a pretty good goalkeeper, he didn't have a chance with any of the other goals that Leicester scored. I hope he doesn't just get remembered for this error, because while on loan with us at times he had practically no defence in front of him... I think he has done pretty well, and certainly improved while on loan with us.
Matthew Hill - How much more poorly and how many more points does he have to cost us before Warnock decides to drop him? We bought Tosic in, give him a run out. He would do no worse. Ironically I thought one of his best games for us was at Nottingham Forest (yes I know we shipped 5 goals!), but he actually looked a pretty decent player. Having watched every game since then, it is clear that he has indeed proved a terrible signing... to me he looks out of depth at this level.
Kaspars Gorkss - What on earth has happened to him I don't know! For me, he was a dark horse for player of the season - but over the course of the last few weeks his form has absolutely plummeted! Looks nervous and edgy when on the ball, and got given a complete run around (again) by a big target man. A far cry from the usual dominant, confident and outstanding defender that he can be. Warnock will not be a happy with him.
Damion Stewart - Haven't been impressed with him at all of late, his control of a football is one of the worst I have seen by anybody that plays football. Kid's in a field can control a ball better than him, and he has no technique at all. His aimless punts up field are becoming worse and worse - Warnock was going mental on the touchline.
While he does have his strengths, without Mahon in front of him he looks like a rabbit in the headlights. Suppose the problem is who you bring in to replace him...
Mikele Leigertwood - In fairness I think it's right to put it into perspective. He is a player that I like, and I think on the whole he has had a pretty decent season. It always confuses me when people slate him after some games, the amount of times he wins back possession shouldn't be underestimated.
But make no mistake about yesterday, he had an absolute 'mare! His use of possession was (not over-exaggerating) just diabolical. Simple 5 yard passes were either over hit or misplaced, lost possession very cheaply, and was basically a huge weak link throughout the game. Extremely disappointing, and probably his worst game in a QPR shirt that I can remember.
Hogan Ephraim - Barely even noticed that he was playing. Gives it 100% and on his day he is a decent player, but like the rest of them I thought he was poor yesterday.
Simpson - Clearly not match fit. He had a pretty bad game on Saturday, and quite why Warnock decided to play him again I don't know. He needs a break, and to fully recover from this hamstring injury. Missed a glorious chance which with/without injury he should have put away.
Taarabt - What an infuriating player he can be. I don't have any issues with Warnock building a side around him next season (if that's the plan), but when the chips are down - he just doesn't produce. Bottled pretty much every single 50/50 challenge, gave up when losing possession and cost us the 3rd goal. On his day he looks a world beater, and while probably being our only real threat yesterday - he didn't really hurt them at all. That being said, I think he HAS to play every game, because we need that spark - and he is one of the few that can provide it.
Buzsaky - Came on and hit countless shots from 50 yards out, none of which got anywhere near the goal. The game was already lost, and he was clearly trying to show he had something to give... But didn't happen for him.
On the positive -
Peter Ramage - Think that most are in agreement that he is a lovely guy etc, but not upto the job. Personally, I don't think he is good enough for a team looking to mount a promotion charge next season, but credit to him, alongside Faurlin he was arguably our man of the match. He did get beaten on a couple of occasions (as he always will do), but he put in a couple of sublime crosses into the box, and didn't have that usual fear I get when a player runs at him. I thought he was very very good yesterday, and could tell from his face at the end the result really hurt him. People will criticize him, but I thought he had a very good game.
Alejandro Faurlin - Yet again he was one of the standout players. Always calm in possession, and sprayed the ball around the pitch effortlessly. Gave us real bite in midfield, and I just dearly hope he doesn't get injured throughout the course of our next few games.
In summary, this probably reads as a game in which we were outplayed from start to finish. In reality, the only difference between the teams was having Steven Howard upfront. We completely dominated that game throughout the first half, and quite how we were on the end of a 2-0 scoreline after the first half I don't know.
That physical presence upfront is crucial, and that has never been so apparent as it was yesterday. They put about 4 crosses into the box throughout the whole game and scored 2 of them, and missed one. But every single ball that get's put in, their strikers win.
Us on the other hand bombard them with crosses flying in from everywhere, and I can't think of a single one that we actually got on the end of. Having the likes of Simpson, Taarabt, Hogan and Cook trying to win headers isn't exactly the most frightening of prospects for a defence, and it really showed yesterday. Leicester sweeped up everything.
I had a couple of friend telling me the other day that our season is over - far from it! We are right in the mix now, and to be blunt I can't see where our next win will come from. We just cannot defend, and seem to constantly invite pressure.
I am an extremely nervous fan at the moment, fortunately I don't think we could have a better man in the job for this kind of scenario (even if IMO he got it wrong yesterday).
Palace and Watford games are absolutely HUGE now. Let's hope we can get some points on the board.
Unfortunately I don't have the time to write an in-depth review of the game itself, but there are a few things I would like to get off my chest with regard to what went wrong IMO.
I hope this doesn't read as a "Warnock out" type post, because that certainly isn't the way it is intended. But for me - Warnock made a number of fundamental mistakes with that team yesterday.
Right from the off, you looked at that starting lineup and couldn't help but worry...
Lee Cook on the right hand side of midfield? I can see exactly why Warnock decided to play him there, it's the same with Hogan. He doesn't want wingers getting to the byline, he wants them cutting inside. But Warnock/Cook himself can tell me that he can play in that position until they are blue in the face - but he is NO right winger.
It reminded me slightly of when Gregory was in charge and he started using him as a striker, you lose all the positive things he does as a player, and we won't utilize him to his strengths until he is restored to that left hand side. Cook looked very uncomfortable, and made very little impact on the game... A very odd decision.
Pretty much all of the players let us down yesterday (bar 2/3).
Carl Ikeme - Horrendous mistake for the second goal, and of course it won't be a game to remember for him. I personally happen to think he's a pretty good goalkeeper, he didn't have a chance with any of the other goals that Leicester scored. I hope he doesn't just get remembered for this error, because while on loan with us at times he had practically no defence in front of him... I think he has done pretty well, and certainly improved while on loan with us.
Matthew Hill - How much more poorly and how many more points does he have to cost us before Warnock decides to drop him? We bought Tosic in, give him a run out. He would do no worse. Ironically I thought one of his best games for us was at Nottingham Forest (yes I know we shipped 5 goals!), but he actually looked a pretty decent player. Having watched every game since then, it is clear that he has indeed proved a terrible signing... to me he looks out of depth at this level.
Kaspars Gorkss - What on earth has happened to him I don't know! For me, he was a dark horse for player of the season - but over the course of the last few weeks his form has absolutely plummeted! Looks nervous and edgy when on the ball, and got given a complete run around (again) by a big target man. A far cry from the usual dominant, confident and outstanding defender that he can be. Warnock will not be a happy with him.
Damion Stewart - Haven't been impressed with him at all of late, his control of a football is one of the worst I have seen by anybody that plays football. Kid's in a field can control a ball better than him, and he has no technique at all. His aimless punts up field are becoming worse and worse - Warnock was going mental on the touchline.
While he does have his strengths, without Mahon in front of him he looks like a rabbit in the headlights. Suppose the problem is who you bring in to replace him...
Mikele Leigertwood - In fairness I think it's right to put it into perspective. He is a player that I like, and I think on the whole he has had a pretty decent season. It always confuses me when people slate him after some games, the amount of times he wins back possession shouldn't be underestimated.
But make no mistake about yesterday, he had an absolute 'mare! His use of possession was (not over-exaggerating) just diabolical. Simple 5 yard passes were either over hit or misplaced, lost possession very cheaply, and was basically a huge weak link throughout the game. Extremely disappointing, and probably his worst game in a QPR shirt that I can remember.
Hogan Ephraim - Barely even noticed that he was playing. Gives it 100% and on his day he is a decent player, but like the rest of them I thought he was poor yesterday.
Simpson - Clearly not match fit. He had a pretty bad game on Saturday, and quite why Warnock decided to play him again I don't know. He needs a break, and to fully recover from this hamstring injury. Missed a glorious chance which with/without injury he should have put away.
Taarabt - What an infuriating player he can be. I don't have any issues with Warnock building a side around him next season (if that's the plan), but when the chips are down - he just doesn't produce. Bottled pretty much every single 50/50 challenge, gave up when losing possession and cost us the 3rd goal. On his day he looks a world beater, and while probably being our only real threat yesterday - he didn't really hurt them at all. That being said, I think he HAS to play every game, because we need that spark - and he is one of the few that can provide it.
Buzsaky - Came on and hit countless shots from 50 yards out, none of which got anywhere near the goal. The game was already lost, and he was clearly trying to show he had something to give... But didn't happen for him.
On the positive -
Peter Ramage - Think that most are in agreement that he is a lovely guy etc, but not upto the job. Personally, I don't think he is good enough for a team looking to mount a promotion charge next season, but credit to him, alongside Faurlin he was arguably our man of the match. He did get beaten on a couple of occasions (as he always will do), but he put in a couple of sublime crosses into the box, and didn't have that usual fear I get when a player runs at him. I thought he was very very good yesterday, and could tell from his face at the end the result really hurt him. People will criticize him, but I thought he had a very good game.
Alejandro Faurlin - Yet again he was one of the standout players. Always calm in possession, and sprayed the ball around the pitch effortlessly. Gave us real bite in midfield, and I just dearly hope he doesn't get injured throughout the course of our next few games.
In summary, this probably reads as a game in which we were outplayed from start to finish. In reality, the only difference between the teams was having Steven Howard upfront. We completely dominated that game throughout the first half, and quite how we were on the end of a 2-0 scoreline after the first half I don't know.
That physical presence upfront is crucial, and that has never been so apparent as it was yesterday. They put about 4 crosses into the box throughout the whole game and scored 2 of them, and missed one. But every single ball that get's put in, their strikers win.
Us on the other hand bombard them with crosses flying in from everywhere, and I can't think of a single one that we actually got on the end of. Having the likes of Simpson, Taarabt, Hogan and Cook trying to win headers isn't exactly the most frightening of prospects for a defence, and it really showed yesterday. Leicester sweeped up everything.
I had a couple of friend telling me the other day that our season is over - far from it! We are right in the mix now, and to be blunt I can't see where our next win will come from. We just cannot defend, and seem to constantly invite pressure.
I am an extremely nervous fan at the moment, fortunately I don't think we could have a better man in the job for this kind of scenario (even if IMO he got it wrong yesterday).
Palace and Watford games are absolutely HUGE now. Let's hope we can get some points on the board.
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