QPR 0:1 Scunthorpe United
We are desperately short of confidence and you can tell morale in the camp is really low.
I thought it was a poor game of football from both teams who lacked the guile in the final third to make it an interesting match.
Scunthorpe actually worked themselves into four or five really good situations, but they failed to make them count. Their decision making and lack of vision at the top end was a pity for them and they just weren’t good enough to do the damage a better side would have.
I thought they worked really hard though and weren’t afraid to get stuck in. But that was about all they had really and it wasn’t until they brought on Josh Wright at half-time that they had anybody who was cute enough on the ball to control the game.
And that’s where we fell down. We competed in little bursts, but I saw on many occasions far too many of our players just standing about or walking around when they should have been on their toes and on the move. There was a real lack of urgency and tempo, both when we did and didn’t have the ball, so we weren’t able to do anything either.
The lack of energy and desire wound a few players up as well. I saw Nigel Quashie looking at one or two in disgust and disbelief for their lack of effort and care, and I also saw him curse quietly too. It came across to me as a bit of a split camp actually because I sense some of the players were prepared to roll up their sleeves and dig deep, but others weren’t. It’s a team game, so everybody has to do their bit and I did find it a bit worrying when I saw Matt Hill, a loanee, trying to gee up Akos Buzsaky who is supposed to be one of our star players. Buz almost refused to high-five him, such was his disinterest.
There wasn’t much pattern to our play either and that’s a worry and has been since Jim Magilton left the club. The passing and movement looks a little bit random, but because the players have been a bit pedestrian, it’s hard to say whether they do have a game plan and it’s just poor form that’s making it difficult for them to carry out. The moment we did pass and move quickly though we produced the best football of the match, which resulted in Jay Simpson’s disallowed goal.
Rowan Vine looked a little more mobile than when I last saw him, but after a positive start, it petered out very quickly. He was never really in the game and for long periods he was anonymous, but that’s also partly due to the way we’ve been playing too.
I saw him calling for the ball to be played into his feet, but the passer simply pumped it up randomly towards him or in an area for him to go and chase. Some will say he will stand there having a go, but to me, he was just asking why they were not responding to his request for the ball to be played where he wanted it. Still, he’s got a long way to go before we see the Rowan of old and you do wonder if it’s still there. He really needs to knuckle down and try and get back to full fitness and form.
Kaspars Gorkss looked very low on confidence at the start too, but he recovered well and went on to have a decent enough game. I’d actually say his nervousness in the beginning showed that he had passion and cared. His body language looked like a guy who was upset with everything that’s been going on around him.
Nigel Quashie had a decent game too. He had a good 20 minutes, but once Scunthorpe’s strikers dropped a bit deeper it stopped him getting on the ball so much and made it hard for him to get involved in the way that he wanted to. But I did like how he always came to take it from the defenders and how he plays that central pass to the striker just off the narrow angle and that works particularly well with Jay Simpson who knows how to hold the ball up.
From set-pieces, I was surprised that Buzsaky was often defending a lot of our own attacking corners and was one of the two left back. That seemed a bit odd and I couldn’t work out why, although he did take some corners near the end of the game.
The main positive from the game was the return of Lee Cook, who provided a timely boost and played well in the short cameo he had. I hope we don’t think him right back in the mix now though, because if he can make this kind of impact and lift both the team and the crowd, even for just 20-30 minutes I think that would be more beneficial to everybody. It’s important we don’t risk starting him and expecting too much too soon.
But we looked dangerous when Cook put some deliveries into the box and they were consistent and in the right areas to attack. It immediately gave us a little more balance and sometimes doing the obvious is the best approach. It’s simple stuff but it works and can give you a good starting point. Just tell the players to get the ball down, get it out wide, cross it in and get numbers supporting in the box. It’s a good starting point when you’ve got players who can cross the ball well.
The negative of course was losing this game and conceding yet again as we were about to make a substitution. I did joke to Leonie and say that they would score as soon as I saw the players getting ready to come on, but for it to keep happening is somewhat comical. It’s like the team switch off completely as they glance over to the side to see who is coming on.
The reality is of course that it was on the cards and coming. Scunthorpe were regularly just a short moment away from knocking on the door and eventually when they found their way through they buried the one golden chance they had. And it was game over.
Cook did rally us but the players seemed to have a beaten mindset. It’s like a lot of them knew they wouldn’t win the game and that affected their ability to really go and salvage something from it too. They could have got something if they really wanted as Scunthorpe were not all that and had we played this team when we were in form, I’d have been very confident we’d have taken all three points.
It’s hard to know how we go forward from here, what with everything that has gone on recently, but the players are still very capable and they’ve got to ride it out now. Some of them need to stop sulking and start working hard and enjoy their football again. They’re good players and they’ve got the quality to put up a steady fight until the end of the season and if anybody can lift the abjectness around Loftus Road right now, it’s them and it’s up to them too.
If they want to lift the spirits and mood, they’ve got to get on with it and if the club are going to continue their silence with the supporters about what’s going on, at least the players can do their talking on the pitch. If they do that, I’ve no doubt the fans will get behind them.
