Leicester v QPR | FA Cup Match Thread

[SheepRanger]

I'd like to see Frey on the bench with Lloyd & Kolli given a half each. I just want to see us give them a decent game and you never know we might get something.

[topperharley]

I'd like to see Frey on the bench with Lloyd & Kolli given a half each. I just want to see us give them a decent game and you never know we might get something.

Smart considering Marti says Frey still needs to be careful of injury, why not. it'll be a 70th minute swap if anything though.

This being said, we are'nt going up, and we're likely safe from the drop.

We should give the FA Cup a real crack, best side possible. Would be amazing if we can get a couple of big ties, do a Coventry last season.

[Abseits]

I see this bitter weather continues into Saturday and beyond.... deffo need to be mindful of the hamstrings belonging to Frey, JCS, Colback, Fox and Paal. Even Kolli has missed a lot through injury over past 12 months so if we seek to leave out or minimally use our "brittle" players I'm not sure we have an XI without dipping into the youth setup and handing out some debuts.

[SheepRanger]

Smart considering Marti says Frey still needs to be careful of injury, why not. it'll be a 70th minute swap if anything though.

This being said, we are'nt going up, and we're likely safe from the drop.

We should give the FA Cup a real crack, best side possible. Would be amazing if we can get a couple of big ties, do a Coventry last season.

Yeah, that was my thinking around Marti's comments that we still need to be careful with Frey. Id prefer to start with Koli and then bring on Lloyd. There's no harn in not even having Frey in the squad. Give the young guys a flavour of playing against prem defenders.......it will show trust in them and hopefully their commitment to us.

Although promotion is unlikely, theres more chance of us sneaking into the top 6 if we can win our 6 pointer games. Many like the FA Cup, but im not that bothered. All this "the romance of the FA Cup" doesn't float with me anymore.

I'm sure both teams will include younger players as that almost seems some sort of pre-match agreement.

Can we afford to give Jimmy a weekend off? Another ever present who might not be too far away from breaking down??????

[Abseits]

I'll be staggered if they play their 1st XI against us. I suspect we'll be facing a load of their kids who'll probably be nippy skillful little blighters. Still, can only beat what's in front of you - just focus on our game and ignore any personnel shuffling they do.

Oh, got an email off club today telling me there was zero tolerance of homoeroticism at the KP and if I sing that song about Chelsea fans hiring out their rectums I will be charged with terrorism. Bladdy hell, I'm scared to even sing URRRRRRs now in case it gets misheard...

[LordLoftus]

Yeah, that was my thinking around Marti's comments that we still need to be careful with Frey. Id prefer to start with Koli and then bring on Lloyd. There's no harn in not even having Frey in the squad. Give the young guys a flavour of playing against prem defenders.......it will show trust in them and hopefully their commitment to us.

Although promotion is unlikely, theres more chance of us sneaking into the top 6 if we can win our 6 pointer games. Many like the FA Cup, but im not that bothered. All this "the romance of the FA Cup" doesn't float with me anymore.

I'm sure both teams will include younger players as that almost seems some sort of pre-match agreement.

Can we afford to give Jimmy a weekend off? Another ever present who might not be too far away from breaking down??????

Agree Sheep! And might I take it a step further and say i'm good with losing this weekend, infact I welcome it so it doesn't impact our league form as I don't agree with the folks saying we are not going up, I think we have a decent chance to make the playoffs.

I used chatGPT o1 to provide an answer on this and whilst it doesn't have access to real time data, this is its answer to my question:
"in the championship English league for football, check how many games have been played so far this season and then find out how many the lowest and least points totals someone has come from to make it into the playoff spot from this stage of a season"

1. Wigan Athletic (2013–14)
   • At roughly the halfway stage (21–23 matches), Wigan were mid-table (hovering around 11th–14th place) with a points total in the high 20s/low 30s.
   • They put together a strong run from January onward and finished in the playoffs (5th place with 73 points).
2. Crystal Palace (2012–13)
   • After around a dozen matches, Palace were surprisingly low in the table. By the time they got to roughly the halfway mark, they’d rallied but were still behind the top two or three. They kept climbing and ended up 5th, eventually winning the playoffs.
3. Barnsley (2020–21)
   • Barnsley were in or around 16th–17th position in late December with a points total in the mid-20s.
   • They went on a remarkable run from January onwards, finishing in 5th place on 78 points.

Although data on “exactly how many points they had after exactly 25 or 26 games” can vary, these teams demonstrate that being mid-table (i.e. ~25–35 points) near the halfway stage does not rule out a playoff charge. Rough “Lowest Points” Benchmarks at ~Halfway

• Teams still finishing top-six have often had at least ~28–32 points once they’ve reached 23–25 games.
• In rare cases, clubs who had fewer than 30 points at around the halfway mark have made the top six, but that requires a very strong run of form over the final 20+ matches.

_____________

The last part is the most interesting, we are at 32 points after 26 games, we are basically a game behind the pack.

[Sleeping Giants]

I'm not getting over excited but weren't Forest bottom for a while in their promotion season or am I remembering that wrong?

[Abseits]

I'm not getting over excited but weren't Forest bottom for a while in their promotion season or am I remembering that wrong?

Probably. They had a nightmare start I vaguely recall, no wins and 5 losses from opening 7 or so. BUT... they picked up and were comfortably midtable come turn of the year. I do remember Palace being in bottom three on January 1st and going up but that was yonks ago. I also remember Peterborough going down with 53pts and I'm sure SheffUtd made playoffs one year with 68pts so there doesn't have to be this massive gulf in class, performance and results between top and bottom. I think this is a weak Championship but simple fact remains: to get to 70+ points we have to produce champions form over remaining games - there is no margin for error and we cannot have any blips, dips or duff weeks and we must only suffer minimal injuries and suspensions.

Progress to 4th round of FA Cup and beyond would mean postponing Saturday league games and shoehorning them into a packed programme. I'm fairly certain it would affect our games with Blackburn, Burnley and Sheffield United. Plus the way TV interferes with things it could lead to a mad run like playing on Sunday, Tuesday and Friday. To me, we cannot over exert in the FA Cup without compromising our league form.

Didn't Cov's promotion charge wither and die during last season's run to FA Cup semis. Our squad is too thin to mount a charge on two fronts. We simply must rest players tomorrow.

[topperharley]

We aren't bothered by the romance of the FA Cup because we are always so rubbish in it. We'd find the love if we got through a couple of rounds. It's not even about the winning of games it's about cash, bigger money the further we go and the more TV revenue, more than a couple of places in the league table for sure?

Abs is right we'd lose some league form, but ultimately top 6 has passed us by. If we were even just another 3 points further up the table with a game in hand or something like that we'd be in with a fair shout.

All this being said you don't 'decide' to go on a cup run, you turn up to a football matcch and try to win it. Only question is do we throw our best 11 in, and as we're developing a better sqaud, we inevitably will put out a very strong side.

[QPRDave]

Bad omen chaps.
Out on deliveries today and have seen two foxes

[Abseits]

Bad omen chaps.
Out on deliveries today and have seen two foxes

Attractive ladies don't get half the attention you'd think they would so there is really no need to be scared y'know.. if you see a third one, pull over and invite her out for a steak meal.

[Abseits]

So 4.5K are travelling. A fantastic turnout. I believe we were in, or as near as dammit in, the bottom 3 when the 3rd round draw was made. At that point I'd have been surprised if more than 2K went. Our upturn in form has obviously caught the imagination of the fanbase.

Oh, I reckon several hundred of those tickets will be getting collected at the box office tomorrow. I suspect there will be a poorly stewarded throng of us queueing uncomfortably close to 2pm KO..... get yer ticket early as you can would be my advice.

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[QPRDave]

Attractive ladies don't get half the attention you'd think they would so there is really no need to be scared y'know.. if you see a third one, pull over and invite her out for a steak meal.

really must get over my shyness, mustn I?

[WeAreQPR12]

Unfortunately the prize money for the fa cup is woeful. It's such a shame because years ago it was a wonderful historic event. If we go ahead and win the fa cup final we could afford to buy 40% of Madsen as it's only 2million for the winner. Real shame but we must just give the youngsters a go

[Abseits]

Unfortunately the prize money for the fa cup is woeful. It's such a shame because years ago it was a wonderful historic event. If we go ahead and win the fa cup final we could afford to buy 40% of Madsen as it's only 2million for the winner. Real shame but we must just give the youngsters a go

Gotta add extra TV money to that and qualification for the group stage ie TEN matches of Europa League which will generate a shitload of prize money on top.