[Archived] News Article -> 2011/12 Match Report: Queens Park Rangers 1 Rovers 1

[Parsonblue1363894574]

Queens Park Rangers	(1) 1 – 1 (1)	Blackburn Rovers
Helguson 16		Samba 24
Referee: M. Clattenburg		Attendance: 16,487

After the recent sojourn in Pune to promote Blackburn Rovers in India, it was back to the bread and butter of the Premier League at Loftus Road on Saturday. Plans for setting up academies, merchandising outlets and making the Rovers India's Premier League team literally seemed a world away from this dull, uninspiring spectacle that passed for 90 minutes' entertainment in what is supposedly the most exciting league competition in world football. Make no mistake: this dour encounter provided plenty of evidence that mediocrity is alive and well and continues to thrive amidst the glitz and glamour that the Premier League has become.

Steve Kean remarked after the game that whilst an away point was always welcome, the players had a feeling of disappointment that a victory had not been forthcoming. It was an opinion that the majority of the travelling support no doubt shared. There was an overwhelming feeling that this was a case of two points dropped rather than a point gained.

Neil Warnock opted to leave the enigma that is Adel Taarabt on the bench, while Jamie Mackie made his first Premier League start since breaking his leg at Ewood Park last January. Steve Kean, meanwhile, was able to welcome back Michel Salgado after injury and Martin Olsson after suspension. Up front he opted to use Jason Roberts as the lone striker in front of a five-man midfield.

The opening proved a fairly cautious affair, which was no surprise in view of the fact that these two sides had conceded ten goals between them on their last league outings. It was the Rovers who went closest during the early stages when Martin Olsson's low cross was sliced onto the top of his own crossbar and behind for a corner by Anton Ferdinand. In truth it was a poor cross and a desperate piece of defending and was indicative of the nervy manner in which both sides approached the opening period.

On 16 minutes the home side took the lead with a goal that typified much of the football that had gone before it. A QPR corner was met at the near post by Heidar Helgusson, but his goalbound header struck one of his own men before rebounding back to him. He had time to control the ball and then dink a lofted cross to the far post in search of a teammate. However, the ball dropped straight into the net by the unguarded far post with the Rovers defence, once again, in complete disarray. It was completely unintentional and ought to have been avoidable, but such is the way of things with the Rovers at the moment.

The home side might well have doubled their advantage a few minutes later following another corner. The ball was whipped into the area and flew off the head of Chris Samba to Joey Barton, who was lurking on the far side just outside of the six-yard box. He fired in a low cross which struck Samba and deflected the ball away from the path of Helgusson, who seemed an almost certain scorer.

Fortunately, the Rovers were able to drag themselves back into the game fairly quickly thanks to a successfully executed set-piece. A typically tricky run by "Junior" Hoilett was ended when the home side conceded a corner. Jason Lowe swung the corner kick towards the penalty spot and Samba towered above his marker to thunder a header into the top corner of the net.

The Rovers began to look far more threatening during the closing stages of the first half. Hoilett and Olsson swapped wings and the home side struggled to contain their raids down the flanks. It was from one such attack that Hoilett almost gave the Rovers a lead. Steven Nzonzi passed the ball to Hoilett on the left wing and the young Canadian set off at speed down the touchline before cutting in, leaving defenders in his wake, and curling a delightful effort wide of Paddy Kenny and seemingly destined for the net. Unfortunately, Ferdinand had stationed himself on the line and was able to clear the ball.

Shaun Wright-Phillips, who had posed very little threat during the opening period, went close as the interval beckoned with a fierce shot that flew narrowly wide of Paul Robinson's right-hand post. However, in truth, neither goalkeeper had been overworked during the first forty-five minutes.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first but at a more frenetic pace. Both managers tried to shake up their attacks with Taarabt coming on for Mackie and Goodwillie replacing Roberts but neither substitute was able to make much impression. Taarabt threatened on a couple of occasions but his final ball was poor and on the one time that he was able to break free from Salgado he pulled his shot embarrassingly wide of goal when seemingly clean through. Goodwillie made one good run into the area but when he pulled the ball back for Olsson the young Swede couldn't make a proper connection with the ball and Kenny was able to save with little difficulty.

Rovers might have won it at the death when Olsson was played in by Hoilett but, having cut into the area, his powerful shot was turned around the post by Kenny.

In truth this was a desperately disappointing affair that was devoid of any real quality for much of the time. Queens Park Rangers looked a very poor outfit indeed but, of course, with Tony Fernandes at the helm one assumes that huge amounts of money will be poured into the transfer pot come January. On the evidence of what we have seen so far this season, it is going to require a similar amount of investment on the part of Venky's if the Rovers are to retain their Premier League status.

There was little new to be discovered from the Rovers' performance at Loftus Road. It remains clear that the players are fully committed to the manager, while those who travelled to London to support the team did so with gusto and on this occasion there was no significant protest with regard to the manager, a fact which Kean later commented upon.

In defence the Rovers were largely untroubled, with Salgado and Gael Givet enjoying a more comfortable afternoon than in recent weeks. Dann and Samba were, for the most part, largely untroubled by a home side that offered little in the way of sustained pressure. However, after the game the manager remarked how much the team lacked the leadership of Ryan Nelsen and many, I suspect, would concur with this opinion.

Similarly, the team are missing the creativity of David Dunn in midfield as this area of the team has become somewhat sterile in recent weeks. Nzonzi was a tireless worker in the centre of midfield, while Lowe offered good support. However, Radosav Petrovic had another indifferent afternoon as he struggles to get to grips with the pace of the Premier League. How the Rovers miss the rampaging runs of Jermaine Jones in the centre of the field and one could only wonder what a player of Joey Barton's ability might bring to Rovers lacklustre midfield.

In attack the Rovers' best efforts all came from Hoilett and Olsson. Both caused the home side problems with their direct running and ability to switch flanks. One wonders if Hoilett might be able to be used in the hole, behind the striker, so that Vukcevic might be accommodated in the team. While Hoilett and Olsson remain on the wings the Montenegrin international is seemingly consigned to the bench. On the evidence of his recent international performances, he surely has far too much quality to be wasted in this role.

Up front Jason Roberts worked manfully but with very little service, which meant he was never a threat to the opposition goal. Likewise, Goodwillie fared no better when he appeared and, like Petrovic, appears to be struggling with the speed of the Premier League.

The point gained at Loftus Road took the season's total to five from a possible 24 and resulted in the Rovers dropping to the bottom of the table. Five points from eight games is undoubtedly relegation form and alarm bells ought to be ringing loud and clear in the corridors of power at Ewood Park. The next three games, Tottenham Hotspur (home), Norwich City (away) and Chelsea (home), will surely settle the fate of the manager, but the fear must be that the situation has already been allowed to drag on for far too long.

Teams

Queens Park Rangers

Paddy Kenny; Luke Young, Anton Ferdinand, Fitz Hall, Armand Traore; Alejandro Faulin, Shaun Derry; Shaun Wright-Phillips (Tommy Smith 83), Joey Barton, Jamie Mackie (Adel Taarabt 64); Heidar Helguson
Subs not used: Brian Murphy (gk), Bradley Orr, Akos Buzsaky, Jay Bothroyd, Jason Puncheon
Manager: Neil Warnock

Blackburn Rovers

Paul Robinson; Michel Salgado, Christopher Samba, Scott Dann, Gael Givet; David "Junior" Hoilett, Steven Nzonzi, Radosav Petrovic, Jason Lowe, Martin Olsson; Jason Roberts (David Goodwillie 68)
Subs not used: Mark Bunn (gk), Grant Hanley, Simon Vukcevic, Mauro Formica, Ruben Rochina, Yakubu
Manager: Steve Kean

Bookings

Queens Park Rangers – Fitz Hall, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Armand Traore

Blackburn Rovers – Steven Nzonzi, Jason Lowe


Join in the discussion on the forum here.

View full article