Owen Coyle steps down, speculation: QPR might sign C.Y.Lee

[bonheurjh]

Can't say I agree with you on the Japanese thing, but as I say I really can't see us buying a winger when we have so many more pressing needs in the team.

M'bia, Nelson, Hill I want them all to be in form as soon as possible.

[Will M]

M'bia, Nelson, Hill I want them all to be in form as soon as possible.

Well, another centre back would be nice but with Fabio out injured and Traore out of favour it's alarming that we have no cover at left back at all. Right back isn't looking too good either.

Next season would be a better time to bring in Lee I think, would be crazy if we got a winger in at Christmas. Plus having Barton back would be better for the team than Lee imho.

[stainrodisalegend]

Well, another centre back would be nice but with Fabio out injured and Traore out of favour it's alarming that we have no cover at left back at all. Right back isn't looking too good either.

Next season would be a better time to bring in Lee I think, would be crazy if we got a winger in at Christmas. Plus having Barton back would be better for the team than Lee imho.

We have "cover" at left back. We have Fabio and then Traore. And in emergencies we have Hill. That is enough bodies, as many as any other team will have at left back. The question is whether any of them are good enough. Personally rather than shattering Traore's confidence by bringing in a loan player ahead of him I'd have made Traore the main man. But Hughes has gone for a different option and he now has to get more out of Fabio.

[Will M]

We have "cover" at left back. We have Fabio and then Traore. And in emergencies we have Hill. That is enough bodies, as many as any other team will have at left back. The question is whether any of them are good enough. Personally rather than shattering Traore's confidence by bringing in a loan player ahead of him I'd have made Traore the main man. But Hughes has gone for a different option and he now has to get more out of Fabio.

I like Fabio, but Traore I don't think is going to be playing much under Hughes and Hill is not a PL quality LB. I think we really need to address this area myself.

[stainrodisalegend]

I like Fabio, but Traore I don't think is going to be playing much under Hughes and Hill is not a PL quality LB. I think we really need to address this area myself.

Well we can't keep just adding bodies. We have just brought Fabio in on a seaon long loan. Traore was signed less than a year ago. Hill is a favourite of many fans and there wd prob be an outcry if he was pensioned off. I thought Taiwo was coming good but for whatever reason he was not signed. Not sure we are going to be able to attract a better left back than Fabio or Traore when we might be bottom of the league or near enough at Christmas. There must be at least half a dozen clubs in this division who have, on paper at least, worse left backs than us. I don't see the problem as a lack of "name" players available to us. Its now down to the manager and the players to perform to their capabilities. A revolving door of yet more players will only, imho, add to the problems.

[Will M]

Well we can't keep just adding bodies. We have just brought Fabio in on a seaon long loan. Traore was signed less than a year ago. Hill is a favourite of many fans and there wd prob be an outcry if he was pensioned off. I thought Taiwo was coming good but for whatever reason he was not signed. Not sure we are going to be able to attract a better left back than Fabio or Traore when we might be bottom of the league or near enough at Christmas. There must be at least half a dozen clubs in this division who have, on paper at least, worse left backs than us. I don't see the problem as a lack of "name" players available to us. Its now down to the manager and the players to perform to their capabilities. A revolving door of yet more players will only, imho, add to the problems.

Hill has been performing better as a CB, and see no reason why he can't continue to do so when needed. But Fabio being injured has highlighted the need for a LB. Traore isn't featuring for Hughes, for whatever reason. If he's not going to play him then he really needs to get in another LB. This, to me, is a much more pressing need than right wing where we have Park, SWP, Mackie, Hoilett and Dyer to play there.

[stainrodisalegend]

Hill has been performing better as a CB, and see no reason why he can't continue to do so when needed. But Fabio being injured has highlighted the need for a LB. Traore isn't featuring for Hughes, for whatever reason. If he's not going to play him then he really needs to get in another LB. This, to me, is a much more pressing need than right wing where we have Park, SWP, Mackie, Hoilett and Dyer to play there.

I certainly agree we don't need a right winger. The only glaring deficiency on the squad list - as opposed to how the team is performing - in my view is a really renowned centre half. we are probably also a striker light but that is secondary. if the jungle drums are to be believed there was an off field issue between hughes and traore. whatever it was hughes needs to resolve it fast because as you say, and as clint v decently admitted, he is simply not up to being a prem left back. But if we are only allowed a squad of 25 am not sure who makes way for another left back, even assuming we can attract a good one (Ashley Cole won't be coming any time soon). Hogan aside, we don't have any obvious passengers and we will have to bring in a centre back at Christmas if we are serious about staying in this division. Maybe Hughes will, as you suggest, off-load Traore, but half the season will be gone by the transfer window. He is a very gifted footballer. Hughes, imo, has to make him a success. I have sympathy for managers such as Warnock trying to coax a little more out of a Bradley Orr but I don't have a huge amount of sympathy for a manager such as Hughes who can't fashion a decent left back out of Traore and Fabio.

[Will M]

I certainly agree we don't need a right winger. The only glaring deficiency on the squad list - as opposed to how the team is performing - in my view is a really renowned centre half. we are probably also a striker light but that is secondary. if the jungle drums are to be believed there was an off field issue between hughes and traore. whatever it was hughes needs to resolve it fast because as you say, and as clint v decently admitted, he is simply not up to being a prem left back. But if we are only allowed a squad of 25 am not sure who makes way for another left back, even assuming we can attract a good one (Ashley Cole won't be coming any time soon). Hogan aside, we don't have any obvious passengers and we will have to bring in a centre back at Christmas if we are serious about staying in this division. Maybe Hughes will, as you suggest, off-load Traore, but half the season will be gone by the transfer window. He is a very gifted footballer. Hughes, imo, has to make him a success. I have sympathy for managers such as Warnock trying to coax a little more out of a Bradley Orr but I don't have a huge amount of sympathy for a manager such as Hughes who can't fashion a decent left back out of Traore and Fabio.

Yes, that's true. I think we have all lost faith in Hughes' ability to get the best out of players. Maybe you're right mate, if Hughes can't make the best of what he has got then instead of bringing in more players.. it's a new manager that's a more pressing need.

[stainrodisalegend]

Yes, that's true. I think we have all lost faith in Hughes' ability to get the best out of players. Maybe you're right mate, if Hughes can't make the best of what he has got then instead of bringing in more players.. it's a new manager that's a more pressing need.

Its so frustrating. His CV makes him the best manager we have had since Gerry Francis but for some reason its not working and he isn't helping himself with some patently strange decisions. That said I'm not going to join the boo boys just yet, if only because I haven't seen one plausible alternative being mentioned. i keep thinking "we will look back and laugh at this terrible start to the season", but that could start to sound a little tiresome in half a dozen games or so if we still aren't winning...

[Will M]

Its so frustrating. His CV makes him the best manager we have had since Gerry Francis but for some reason its not working and he isn't helping himself with some patently strange decisions. That said I'm not going to join the boo boys just yet, if only because I haven't seen one plausible alternative being mentioned. i keep thinking "we will look back and laugh at this terrible start to the season", but that could start to sound a little tiresome in half a dozen games or so if we still aren't winning...

His success has come in building from the back, so I really can't understand what he's doing with us. Strange isn't the word. Even trying to play prettier football shouldn't mean your team defends badly. If he didn't have the same backroom staff he always have, I'd suspect his previous success was down to one of them. Or maybe it was, and he's not listening to them anymore. Like you say, frustrating! We seem close to something, but at the same time miles away too.

[stainrodisalegend]

His success has come in building from the back, so I really can't understand what he's doing with us. Strange isn't the word. Even trying to play prettier football shouldn't mean your team defends badly. If he didn't have the same backroom staff he always have, I'd suspect his previous success was down to one of them. Or maybe it was, and he's not listening to them anymore. Like you say, frustrating! We seem close to something, but at the same time miles away too.

What I don't understand is all summer we were saying on here we need a centre half. I remember bumping into Philip Beard at a social event and making the same point, and he agreed. Then we finally brought in Mbia at the 11th hour and within five minutes of his debut I was worried. Not because Mbia is a bad footballer, far from it. But he so clearly wasn't/ isn't an accomplished/ experienced prem centre half who cd slot right into a prem side and do a job from the off. I'm probably in a minority of one on here but I'm a fan of Ferdinand's, yet it was obvious to me that he needed a real brute alongside him - and he wasn't signed. We have been unlucky with injuries but even with Ferdinand, Bossingwa and Fabio we still wd have leaked goals without that missing beast. And it was all so obvious - this is not the luxury of hindsight, anyone who cd be bothered to look through threads on here this summer wd find many of us saying the same.

[Will M]

What I don't understand is all summer we were saying on here we need a centre half. I remember bumping into Philip Beard at a social event and making the same point, and he agreed. Then we finally brought in Mbia at the 11th hour and within five minutes of his debut I was worried. Not because Mbia is a bad footballer, far from it. But he so clearly wasn't/ isn't an accomplished/ experienced prem centre half who cd slot right into a prem side and do a job from the off. I'm probably in a minority of one on here but I'm a fan of Ferdinand's, yet it was obvious to me that he needed a real brute alongside him - and he wasn't signed. We have been unlucky with injuries but even with Ferdinand, Bossingwa and Fabio we still wd have leaked goals without that missing beast. And it was all so obvious - this is not the luxury of hindsight, anyone who cd be bothered to look through threads on here this summer wd find many of us saying the same.

Yes, I think every poster on here has been clamouring for a centre half all summer. And one name that keeps coming up is Samba. Maybe Hughes has planned to bring him in and thought we could make do with M'Bia as a makeshift centre half until then?

I think with Samba or AN Other, and M'Bia playing in a holding role we'd look a lot stronger, but we still have stupid lapses in concentration far too often for me.

[ConorM1882]

Having Lee means having two Taarabts at both wings

Two Taarabt's??!! Let's not get too carried away...

[BigAl]

Can we get the bloke who sings Ganglan style to link up with him and Park?

[QPR Richard]

Hill has been performing better as a CB, and see no reason why he can't continue to do so when needed. But Fabio being injured has highlighted the need for a LB. Traore isn't featuring for Hughes, for whatever reason. If he's not going to play him then he really needs to get in another LB. This, to me, is a much more pressing need than right wing where we have Park, SWP, Mackie, Hoilett and Dyer to play there.

Correct, the LB issue is the most pressing, but keep it to yourself. You'll have some people on here having a dig and saying we've got plenty of cover

One thing is sure, Hughes got it wrong if he thought Onouha and Hill could cover at fullback. They can't. I'd like to see us get a top notch LB in January. He and Bosingwa will be the first choices with Traore and Fabio as back ups. Our CBs are Hill Onouha Nelsen M'bia Ferdinand. My money is on one of those being outed in January.

We have to get a couple of strikers, but defence is the priority. I'm fed up of losing