QPR 0:0 Sheffield United
It was a bit of a dull match if truth be told, but there were some positives to take away. It was a darn sight better than when we visited Bramall Lane earlier in the season and I thought it was marginally better than when we played Norwich the other night too.
Still, despite some golden opportunities being missed by either side, for some reason it had a feel of 0:0 written all over it from start-to-finish and I never really believed that either team was going to score.
We did create some decent chances, albeit, they seemed to be mustered out of nothing rather than from intelligent or effective build-up play. I was pleased though to see Dexter Blackstock working himself into positions where he created his own opportunities to score. Had he had a bit more luck, one of his efforts may have gone in. He looked more threatening in that regard than he has done for a while.
But I was disappointed by his and Samuel Di Carmine’s work rate whenever we lost possession of the ball. In fact, you can include Wayne Routledge in that too because quite often the three of them just walked back at snails pace without any urgency. That left them in offside positions and it affected our overall shape and isn’t acceptable really – at any level.
There is still a distinct lack of movement in attacking areas and I feel that the lack of urgency the front men are currently showing to reposition themselves quickly is partly to do with it.
When Angelo Balanta came on he put in a really good little shift. He showed good quality on the ball, was demanding it, had tight control when he had it and above all, looked more threatening because he showed a little bit of movement. It’s not rocket science either, he simply ran in diagonal lines across the front and was always looking for the ball to feet and that gave us a different dimension.
We still don’t seem to be getting the ball in the right places though, but it was good to see there was much less aimed at Routledge’s head. If we can just find him to feet and give him as little to do to get it under control, then we can unlock him properly and make use of the strengths that he has.
Until then, it would be nice to see more work ethic from the players, even if the quality or form isn’t there. The likes of Hogan Ephraim always work hard, and perhaps work harder than some of the others out there at the moment and might be worth a run in the side. If you’re not getting the rub of the green, then it’s important all those basics are covered as much as possible first. Right now, it seems that we’ve not quite got that spark, but we’re also labouring a little too much at the same time too.
I thought Mateo Alberti also had a good cameo appearance as well though and I like the way he gets on the ball and drives with it into space. It generated a little bit of urgency and purpose and we need a bit more of that from some of our other players.
I’m still not sure I’m entirely keen on the formation we’re playing, particularly when midfielders like Mikele Leigertwood are being dragged out to cover the left-flank. We got overloaded there one too many times for my liking but Sheffield United failed to capitalise on that opportunity.
Overall I didn’t think the Blades offered too much either and weren’t very ambitious, but they had a solid system that had some balance about it and they’ll be pleased to have come away with something. We definitely played the better football, although they played in physical way that you come to expect and suits them fine.
As for us, it’s still a decent point against a strong team. There is a definite problem in the sense that we lack strength in depth and it does need to be addressed…and with so many key players on the treatment table it’s no wonder we are struggling to find that spark which will ignite our performances and take it to the next level.
I think it will be interesting to see what type of approach we take from between now and the end of the season. It’s entirely possible we can use the rest of the campaign as an exercise to blood youngsters and develop players for next season, but if we’re still harbouring ambitions of a play-off place, then we’re really going to see if there’s any players available on the loan market who might improve us.
