v QPR (a) - 4/2/2025

[Mattyblue]

He was the same against PNE. Like you say rather than that than strikers that walk in the opposite direction when there’s a pen.

[B16Rover]

3 minutes ago, Tom said:

I didn’t see the Gueye / Travis fall out but I don’t mind the striker wanting the penalty nor the fact that Travis as captain took control.

Hopefully it didn’t get too heated and Gueye was right in the celebrations when it went in so hopefully all good there. 

Unless he's developed a technique if diving headering a penalty, I'm glad Gueye is well clear of penalties 

[OsloRover]

27 minutes ago, Forever Blue said:

It’s Kargbo

OsloRover 3/10😉

You'll find I got it correct the second time, so that's harsh. Maybe 5/10 🙂

[Tom]

8 minutes ago, B16Rover said:

Unless he's developed a technique if diving headering a penalty, I'm glad Gueye is well clear of penalties 

His penalty against Blackpool was fine, passed it in I think 

[Upside Down]

4 hours ago, Parsonblue said:

A poor performance in so many ways.  Sadly in the introduction of Duberry and Cantwell proved a mistake as we lost control of the game at this point.  We badly miss Tronstad and Yuki.  Their energy and application has been badly missed these past few wereks.

 

If only there had been a way that we could have reinforced the squad in key positions over the last month.....

[roversfan99]

48 minutes ago, Tom said:

I didn’t see the Gueye / Travis fall out but I don’t mind the striker wanting the penalty nor the fact that Travis as captain took control.

Hopefully it didn’t get too heated and Gueye was right in the celebrations when it went in so hopefully all good there. 

They shouldnt be bickering before a penalty and it has happened before. They should know the taker in advance.

2 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

Why? 

We are 5th and just signed 3 attacking players. Dennis is a quality signing. Woodrow could be good. Kargbo has the pace we be missing. 

Surely we have more than a decent chance of top 6? 

It would require probably an average of 2 points per game from here on in. Well beyond this squad.

Even if those 3 transform our attack, too many points have been spurned waiting for those deals to be done. Pears has gone back to being a calamity, our previously solid defence is anything but and without Tronstad the midfield is all at sea.

 

[rigger]

I  am getting sick of reading comments by Eustace after games along the lines of, we didn't get the basics right. As pro footballers, I would expect that to be a given, or they are not being taught what is required, to do the basics. 

[Forever Blue]

6 minutes ago, rigger said:

I  am getting sick of reading comments by Eustace after games along the lines of, we didn't get the basics right. As pro footballers, I would expect that to be a given, or they are not being taught what is required, to do the basics. 

He can only work with what’s he’s given. It’s not his fault if some of the players are sub-standard. 

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

Though I understand people's emotions post match - I personally didn't feel it was as bad as performance as is being made out. It was just a typical Championship match - you only need to look at the table to realise that beyond the top 4 - there isn't much to choose between the next 10 teams. 

As well as getting key players fit again - we do need the rub of the green - unlike the handball prior to their goal - it will be the teams who get that rub of the green - be it in matches, injuries, referee decisions timing of when you play certain teams, that will heavily influence who gets those final 2 spots. Of course the one thing the owners didn't do is help weigh the odds more in our favour.

[dallydally]

18 minutes ago, rigger said:

I  am getting sick of reading comments by Eustace after games along the lines of, we didn't get the basics right. As pro footballers, I would expect that to be a given, or they are not being taught what is required, to do the basics. 

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Some of the players are lower Championship standard at best...end of

[Forever Blue]

8 minutes ago, DavidMailsTightPerm said:

Though I understand people's emotions post match - I personally didn't feel it was as bad as performance as is being made out. It was just a typical Championship match - you only need to look at the table to realise that beyond the top 4 - there isn't much to choose between the next 10 teams. 

As well as getting key players fit again - we do need the rub of the green - unlike the handball prior to their goal - it will be the teams who get that rub of the green - be it in matches, injuries, referee decisions timing of when you play certain teams, that will heavily influence who gets those final 2 spots. Of course the one thing the owners didn't do is help weigh the odds more in our favour.

Good post. In the cold light of day we did okay. Like you say, it was fine margins, just like the PNE game. Unfortunately we didn’t get the handball decision. 

Eustace is massively overachieving, that’s the reality. He just doesn’t have the quality and depth of squad that most other teams in the league have. 

[joey_big_nose]

6 hours ago, Parsonblue said:

A poor performance in so many ways.  Sadly in the introduction of Duberry and Cantwell proved a mistake as we lost control of the game at this point.  We badly miss Tronstad and Yuki.  Their energy and application has been badly missed these past few wereks.

 

Massively agree with this.... QPR were tactically well setup dominating the midfield its hard to see what a better call would be though. Sort of game where JRC in his pomp could have kept the energy up but he's been so off it. Maybe Kargbo and Dennis will do this for us now, hopefully with better end product. I'll be interested to see how industrious Woodrow is too.

Hedges and Dolans final ball is so poor but they do a lot carrying the ball into the final third. ACD and Cantwell cant do that, real luxury players who offer very little in the midfield.

Edited February 5 by joey_big_nose

[Mercer]

Think that's 8 points from last 11 games.

Eustace is not a miracle worker.  Enormous sympathy for the bloke - not given the tools for the job.

IMO, a very, very poor window - bereft of ambition and very heavy in mediocrity or even worse.  Far too little and far, far too late - our chances blown with results since mid Dec..  Whoever sanctioned the signing of Forshaw (has there ever been a worse signing?)  should be sacked on the spot

We are about to enter freefall and expect much more of the same as we saw last night.

Edited February 5 by Mercer

[sharpysharps86]

Typically predictable result. Tuesday night away in London, in a fixture that was seemingly unnecessarily brought forward instead of pushed further back.

I'm afraid JE got the subs wrong again last night, and bringing Forshaw and JRC on together when 2-1 down...well that just about sums it up. Not to mention the awful Hedges staying on until the 87th minute.

There is a host of sides now forming a queue to push for the top 6, and Rovers look like they could easily drop to 12th or 13th in a couple of weeks. West Brom away next week....I just can't see anything other than a defeat in that one. Adam Armstrong absolutely nailed on to score.

Hope I'm wrong.

Edited February 5 by sharpysharps86

[Devon Rover]

54 minutes ago, rigger said:

I  am getting sick of reading comments by Eustace after games along the lines of, we didn't get the basics right. As pro footballers, I would expect that to be a given, or they are not being taught what is required, to do the basics. 

I'm more irritated by the substitutions he made (or didn't until far too late) and that he still publicly reflected on the game as one in which a draw would have been a fair result. We could have got a draw, we might have got a draw. We didn't really deserve one and QPR would have been very disappointed not to have won the game as they dominated for large stretches. I don't buy into any form of "we were unlucky not to draw" narrative. We got what we deserved.

Having said all that, Eustace is in the position he is, regarding team selection and substitution options, due to the ownership and the club's transfer strategy (or lack of). Venkys are the perpetrators of our situation, rather than our manager, or the players, whatever their shortcomings.

[ABRAM ROVER]

Just on the train back from Euston to Wigan after the game last night. Great backing last night 700+ on two weeks notice. Lots of London/southern based supporters in attendance.

On the game. What an uninspiring performance. Keep it tight for the first 10 minutes. First ball into our box we conceded pretty much and you instantly realise it's going to be one of them nights. Other than hitting the post twice soon after we created next to nothing and deserved nothing. QPR should have been 3-0 at half time. Pears made some good saves. Get back into the game with a penalty. Not good to see Travis and Gueye arguing btw. Then we had a little 5 minute spell where Gueye had a good shot saved. QPR 2nd looked like an absolute screamer from the away end but watching it back it was scrappy and went in to the top corner off Pears. Calamity of the ball not going out, handball then bad challenge.

For me Gueye is the only player that can come out of that game with any credibility. Too many touches Tyrese should have been taken off at half time. We couldn't keep the ball, QPR striker bullied Hyam all game. Cantwell might as well have had a QPR shirt on he looked injured or just not bothered.

We should have had new signings brought in at the start of January starting.

League 1 squad of free signings, loans and cheap options and a league 1 budget. 

We will finish mid table.

Loftus road great little stadium. 34/92 for me.

[arbitro]

The penalty spat looked absolutely ridiculous and almost childish but for me it's on Eustace. There should be a designated penalty taker and it has to be the managers choice. Given the pettiness around the incident I felt certain that Dolan would miss, there was an added pressure he didn't need due to ludicrous situation that developed.

[arbitro]

4 hours ago, philipl said:

The QPR defenders were monsters and they were all up so there were too many big lads to mark for their opener. Gueye didn't look unusually large last night and was battling to win aerial balls he usually wins almost uncontested.

QPR slaughtered us in the aerial duels statistics.

They, like us had two big centre halves and a big centre forward who were clearly going to be targets for crosses. Gueye is the spare man for us on defensive free kicks presumably for him to attack the ball. When Frey saw he was being marked by Beck he must have thought it was his birthday. They could have scored from every set piece they had in the first half and for me a lot of that was down to how we set up to defend them. 

 

[MarkBRFC]

One thing that always gets me, is that when we are defending a 1 goal lead in injury time our box is always getting absolutely peppered and our lads are usually defending for there lives.

Yet when we need a goal in injury time we can't get anywhere near the opposition box.

We haven't scored an added time equaliser or winner in front of fans since before covid. (Batth at Leeds was smack on 90 mins)

[RoverCanada]

Certainly don't mind Gueye wanting to take the penalty (as per below, he's 8 for 8 in his career!). It was just something about Travis' body language that bothered me. Looked no different than him trying to wind up an opponent rather than 'leading'... perhaps he was annoyed that Gueye should've known it wasn't his to take? Anyway, Travis has been great this year overall, so I'm not questioning his captaincy! Just happy Dolan buried it...

Gueye seemed to react okay after sulking for a second. Happily celebrated the goal and had his best spell for the next 5min or so... So probably a nothingburger in the end!

---

Had me curious about our squad's penalty taking record (counting league and cups, all according to fbref):

Woodrow: 13 for 15

Gueye: 8 for 8

Forshaw: 5 for 6

Cantwell: 2 for 2 (I'm surprised this year have been his only senior PKs! He's 3 for 3 in PL2)

Ohashi: 3 for 3

Sigurdsson: 2 for 3

Dolan: 1 for 1 (does fbref have that wrong? I could've sworn he's taken one before...)

Buckley: 1 for 1

Dennis: 0 for 1

Plus a few with a PK record in PL2:

Leonard: 3 for 3

Vale: 3 for 3

ACD: 2 for 4

JRC: 0 for 1

Edited February 5 by RoverCanada

[Waggy76]

53 minutes ago, Mercer said:

Think that's 8 points from last 11 games.

Eustace is not a miracle worker.  Enormous sympathy for the bloke - not given the tools for the job.

IMO, a very, very poor window - bereft of ambition and very heavy in mediocrity or even worse.  Far too little and far, far too late - our chances blown with results since mid Dec..  Whoever sanctioned the signing of Forshaw (has there ever been a worse signing?)  should be sacked on the spot

We are about to enter freefall and expect much more of the same as we saw last night.

100% agree on your comment about Forshaw, absolutely bloody useless. 

[Exiled_Rover]

1 hour ago, Mercer said:

Think that's 8 points from last 11 games.

Eustace is not a miracle worker.  Enormous sympathy for the bloke - not given the tools for the job.

IMO, a very, very poor window - bereft of ambition and very heavy in mediocrity or even worse.  Far too little and far, far too late - our chances blown with results since mid Dec..  Whoever sanctioned the signing of Forshaw (has there ever been a worse signing?)  should be sacked on the spot

We are about to enter freefall and expect much more of the same as we saw last night.

I think the opposite - we'll start bucking our ideas up now it's back to 1 game a week and we have a better bench to choose from.

However, the damage has been done by our inactivity in the summer and January transfer windows. It's too little, too late. We dropped too many points over the festive period and January due to a stretched squad.

[Inferi]

Not good enough from Pears for their second goal. Should have been a routine save. He has been poor for several matches now so maybe it's time to give Toth a chance. 

[Forever Blue]

In LT Eustace has called out the defending and Pears for their 2nd goal. 

[CottonTownBoy]

Now that I've calmed down a bit.

v QPR away 04.02.2025

Pears 2/10 - Poor

Brittain 5/10 - Unproductive

Beck 6/10 - Uninspired

Batth 8/10 - Good

Hyam 4/10 - Disappointing 

Travis 4/10 - Disappointing

Buckley - 3/10 - Poor

Weimann - 2/10 - Unproductive

Gueye - 7/10 - OK

Hedges - 4/10 - Unproductive

Dolan - 4/10 - Mediocre.

Subs

Cantwell - 1/10 - Poor

Rankin-Costello - 2/10 - Poor

Forshaw - 4/10 - Unproductive

Cozier-Duberry - 2/10 - Lost

Kargbo - 5/10 - OK.

Manager

Eustace - 4/10 - Substitutions too late. Our woeful away form is not being addressed.

My Dad always had a saying, "Men against boys," which I always thought was bit condescending when I was younger but now I am of that age, his saying came back to me last night when watching the game. Pears, Buckley, Cozier-Duberry, Weimann, Hedges are not Championship standard but we all know that because nobody else wants them. John Buckley is the biggest disappointment, as I had high hopes for him when he was coming the age groups but he hasn't physically developed, is just one paced and just isn't good or strong enough for the Championship. I would have subbed him at half time as their midfielders were just passing through him and Travis. I would have brought on Deon Sanderson, played him in front of Hyam and Batth and told him to destroy anything that moves.

Also, it's obvious that Pears is being targeted by the opposition coaches, who are encouraging their players to shoot at goal when they get a chance as Pears will let in 80% of the shots. Last night was no different and its costing us dearly and it's not being addressed. Theres no point bringing in three forwards in on loan if we can't stop the ball going into our goal.

Without Danny Batth it would have been 3 or 4 against us. I though he had a decent game but that was it for the rest of them. Our substitutions were made too late and had no impact.

Our woeful away form is not being address by John Eustace and that is a real concern.