Cissé gave the referee a decision to make, and Mark Clattenburg pretty much blew the whistle for a free-kick to us instantly, so it wasn’t like the incident wasn’t being dealt with. It was an unnecessary reaction to the situation from an experienced player, and is yet another time where we’ve led a game, only to go a man down for doing something they didn’t need to and then losing the match.

We can’t keep making excuses either. The proof is in the pudding and in the points you acquire, and we’ve got nothing to show for it.

Wolves hadn’t really got into the match until the red card either, but I thought they played particularly well once we’d been reduced to ten. They stayed calm and played sensible football, especially in the second half and they used the extra man to their advantage really well. They deserved to win.

Matt Jarvis played well and scored a lovely goal, which resulted in another costly mistake by Joey Barton in midfield. In the first half, he gifted them possession twice that almost led to something more and he didn’t heed that warning and once again chose the wrong option on the ball and got it all wrong and the rest was history.

I’ve had a long look at Barton over the weeks now and it’s clear that he has too much influence in the side for someone whose passing is not up to standard. It’s this aspect of his play that really lets him down, and I have to say, his inability here is causing us to collapse both going forward and in defence as so much goes through him. He’s spoiling a lot of potential attacks and causing them to break down because he can’t play the right ball, and at the same time, when he risks them in the wrong area we’re being hit on the counter and punished severely. The problem magnifies with Alejandro Faurlin’s absence, where you can really see the stark difference between his quality on the ball and Barton’s.

I’m not really sure what the answer is though, because we practically only have Shaun Derry and Barton to choose from in the middle at the moment, and unless Barton can find a serious improvement in his style and form, we’re going to continue to be very hit and miss in these areas for the time being.

On the positive side, I enjoyed Taye Taiwo’s performance and felt some of his passing was excellent. He really found the strikers well with those inside channel passes to feet, and he played some decent balls over the top into space as well. There’s lots of potential here and once we work a bit on our attacking play we should be able to utilise this further.

Bobby Zamora should be able to take advantage of this because of his style. It was good that he got a goal on his debut too, it’s important the strikers we’ve brought in get off the mark, so that was another positive to take away. I wasn’t however that impressed by Zamora’s work rate. I found his performance to be somewhat lazy and sloppy overall, but you can see he will have influence on our style of play. I liked his leadership in the first half as well, where he was visibly going around telling players how and where he wanted the ball, and what he was trying to do with it in terms of movement and laying it off.

It was great to see Adel Taarabt back in the side as well. He looked nice and sharp and played very well. I loved how he always wanted the ball and just ghosted and skipped past players like they weren’t there and looked a threat every time he galloped forward. It’s a real eye opener for just how little Shaun Wright-Phillips is doing by comparison, who had another lukewarm game and just can’t do the simple things right. There comes a point in time when you wonder whether having him in the team is counter productive, especially when we desperately need to pick up points and there were even a couple of times when he chose not to pass to Taarabt in good positions, or simply didn’t even look up or see him.

Overall Cissé’s sending off had a massive impact on proceedings, but I was disappointed with how we played after that. I expected us to have a bit more about us when we were down to ten, but we retreated into a shell and apart from Taarabt, we created very little and didn’t look likely to do much without him once we’d been pegged back and then gone behind.

I think we could have done much better in possession of the ball, and when you’re down to ten men, you have to be really to give yourself a chance. But instead, we allowed Wolves time on the ball to build up their attacks, and actually they did a really good job of keeping things alive in and around the box. A couple of overhit crosses were put back across the face of the goal, and they hit the bar and had one cleared off the line from those moments. We never really seem to do that when we go on the attack. Either the crosses are over hit, or the player on the end of it tries a wild attempt and usually puts it out for a goal kick. Small lessons can be learned here that could result in opportunities for goals.

I also think for the second game running that some of the substitutions were a little bit strange. I’m not sure why we played Tommy Smith in centre midfield when he came on against Aston Villa on Wednesday and neither am I sure why we played Armand Traore in centre-midfield when he came on today? Traore still needs to learn how to play in his favoured positions, let alone in central midfield. He didn’t do a lot wrong to be fair, but it didn’t have any kind of positive impact for us either.

Still, if we can keep eleven players on the pitch, we’ll have a chance. But right now it’s not the millions and millions we’ve spent on replacing the manager or bringing in new players that’s going to save us and take us to that next level – it’s the man who got us here last season who’ll do that, Adel Taarabt.

One of the things we need to do better with is the average age of the squad. There are so few players who are capable of stepping in who are under the age of 21, that it really leaves us limited in terms of options for that twenty five man squad.

If you look around at other clubs, they have youngsters that play in their first team or make the match day squad, but do not count towards their twenty five because of their age. We need to address this going forward and have a nice gradual transition and influx of youngsters that progress into players that we want to register by the time they’re 22.

Right now, Federico Macheda is the only one who qualifies, and he’s not even ours. I don’t expect to see Angelo Balanta, Bruno Andrade, Troy Hewitt or Max Ehmer feature unless we have a serious injury crisis, and even then if they did, they’d be far from ready for this level.

If you compare us to other clubs, you can see what I mean. Arsenal have Tomasz Szczesney, Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxade-Chamberlain, Emmanuel Frimpong and Jack Wilshere in their Under 21 section, while Manchester United can call upon David de Gea, Rafael, Fabio, Phil Jones, Danny Welbeck, Federico Macheda (stop laughing at the back) and Paul Pogba in theirs.

Hughes has always been a here and now kind of guy and focused on getting results today, but at some point, as a club, we’ve got to move away from that philosophy and focus on our future. I hope that a new training ground will be the stepping stone and platform to achieve this.

When he was last playing in the Premier League, he broke his leg for Sheffield United long before the season was over and still ended up their top scorer with eight in twenty nine games – not too bad. And his goals to games ratio and performance level has always been pretty decent elsewhere.

He’s never been fully fit with us, and that didn’t help him when you’ve a crowd like ours who bay for your blood if you can’t get going from the outset. I wish we were more patient and forgiving sometimes, but he’ll pleasantly surprise when called upon and under Mark Hughes, who likes to play 4-4-2, he’s got a much better chance of playing to his strengths than not.

I think he’s done well in his last couple of outings and I hope if he continues to get playing time that he can grab a goal just for his own good, and I’m actually convinced he can score goals if he gets service in the box. Sure, he’s still probably more a Championship style striker over a Premiership one, but that doesn’t mean he can’t still do a job when called upon.

Cissé was different class. His touch and movement were on a level we’ve not seen for a long time, but the way he took his goal with that crisp snapshot strike was also one that not many of our players are capable of technically. A cracking finish.

He tired towards the end of the match and became more and more isolated, but it’s early days and hopefully he’ll be able to reproduce his first half showing on a regular basis. A lot to like here.

It was a shame we didn’t make half time with a two goal cushion, but after we doubled our lead, our passing and possession of the ball became sloppier and sloppier.

Joey Barton had a better game all round here, but he still gave the ball away needlessly a couple of times, just when we needed to put our foot on it and maintain some territorial possession. That sequence of being cheap on the ball led to Villa getting a chance to pull one back just on half time, which is never a good time to concede.

But we were poor in the second period, and really, while nobody in particular played poorly, the negative approach we adopted cost us the chance of taking all three points and that was well within our grasp.

I was a bit puzzled by the way we came out, and the changes we made, because they didn’t help us and I can only point to Mark Hughes’ style here, as well as perhaps having a few new faces in the side who don’t know each others games.

The same traits that have reared their heads in recent matches showed up here, and we were almost non-existant going forward in the second. You might say a lot of that was down to the removal of Rob Hulse, who had a good game, and you can see where Bobby Zamora would fit into that picture and help the team.

We were resolute at the back mind, but despite all the good organisation and discipline, Villa reigned in chance after chance on our goal. We dealt with the pressure well, but there were some very hairy moments indeed. I thought Anton Ferdinand and Nedum Onuoha both had very decent games, even if Bent nicked in ahead Onuoha for his goal.

It’s still a very good point in the end though, as Villa will feel on the basis of possession and chances created, they should have won the game. I think I can see now where the team is heading and that individual quality we need is going to be the difference on whether this system and style suits us and works or not. Cissé looks like he will be key, and if he can strike up a good partnership with Zamora, then it should allow us to find the attacking opportunities we need to win games.

There’s a lot to like, but there’s a lot to be concerned about too, and, there’s a lot of work to do!

Now, I haven’t been particularly inspired by what I’ve seen from our side under Mark Hughes to date. Yes, he’s shored things up at the back, and yes, we’re looking a little more organised and disciplined with our shape. And of course, he’s achieved that in just a couple of weeks with the players.

But, doing that has taken away every ounce of creativity and effectiveness we had going forward. And that’s a real worry, because had we kept the same squad, I couldn’t really see them making that transition. The style relies on individual brilliance, and we just didn’t have the quality within to play that way or the enough individual talent to do the damage at crucial moments in games.

The one thing I have liked about Hughes’ style to date however, is that his assessment of our performances have been pretty spot on. He’s been bang on with what our strengths and weaknesses are. That bit, he’s pulled no punches and sometimes coaches just say these things, almost as a smokescreen, and to some degree, I haven’t made up my mind about whether he’s doing that or not. But it sounds positive and I’m hopeful.

But now he’s got players in, so we will find out whether these players can make us more effective and creative to go with the defensive side. I was worried he wasn’t going to get the players in that he wanted, and we have struggled our way over the line a little bit.

And I really hate the way we’ve done our business this season, which is practically building a squad in the last days of both transfer windows, compounded by the fact that it’s been done by two different manager’s.

It’s no way to run a football club, frankly. It’s not a good idea to build teams like that, and is always going to be a rush job and a bit of a risk. If you look at the signings we made back in the summer, you’d have to say that the majority of them haven’t quite gelled yet or found their feet with us. Our best performers have been the men who got us here in the first place, your Alejandro Faurlin’s and Heidar Helguson’s of this world.

We’ve got to hope that the latest batch of players can settle in quicker than the last, but it’s usually harder for players to do that in the middle of the season, rather than at the start. We can’t afford any delay with the short term win or bust strategy we’ve gone for here.

But of course, needs must, and we needed to do some business, and some of that business has been fascinating. I mean, to see players lik Djibril Cissé here is astonishing and Nedum Onuoha sound. This is QPR, so it feels really surreal to me and we’ve probably broken our transfer record to land Cissé too, though I did say much the same about Shaun Wright-Phillips when he arrived, and at the moment, that one is just not working out at all.

So overall, I’m a little bit excited, a little be anxious and a little bit apprehensive about so many little things. We’re entering a critical phase of the season now and having to gel fast and get results and I hope we can do it and with some style too – this is QPR we’re talking about, after all.

I am interested to see if the straight lined football we’ve been playing so far will change, and it will take players running from deep and players willing to make overlapping and supporting runs to help facilitate that. I’m just not sure if that’s Hughes style or whether he’s held the existing group back to keep them tight while he sorted out some fresh faces.

The one thing I am sure of though, is that the business we’ve done is only good business and value for money if we stay up.

He has been a little bit out of his depth at this level, but not enough for the alarm bells to start ringing. It’s a case of needing time to adjust, but unfortunately he was never really going to get that time in the struggling situation we find ourselves in.

I’m sad to see him go, but I’m also really pleased for him that he’s managed to nab himself another Premier League club, even if that may only be for the rest of the season. If Blackburn go down, they’ve got a great right-back on their hands and one of the best at that level.

Thanks Bradley and all the best.

He’s been an excellent servant down the years and should look back on his time here fondly, especially as he went on to captain the club and became an international player, although sadly it was an injury on international duty that effectively ended his career with us.

He will point to the centre of midfield being his preferred position, but I found he was most effective for us when playing on the left flank. He always cut inside so well and made better use of the ball, but he was so handy that he could play in the centre, on the right or even at right back when needed.

The past few years have been a bit sour obviously, but hopefully he will still leave with fond memories, and he served QPR at a time when we really needed players like him. I think he could have left and gone elsewhere during his peak years with us, and I’m glad he didn’t, as he’s helped get us to where we are today. It’s a shame his body is no longer at the level where he could have had a chance to get involved at this level, but hopefully he can still find another club and continue his career in the game.

Good luck, thanks and all the best.

So we had a cup match contested by two pretty average teams really. Chelsea dominated possession, but they were just so one paced and ordinary on the ball, that it was pretty baffling to watch and they struggled to break us down.

They’ve so many quality players, but they’re really playing without any kind of confidence or belief in themselves. If you compare the two performances against us versus the ones that Tottenham and Manchester United dished out, well, they’re some way behind those teams and need a lot more work to get themselves back in order.

I found their whole performance just odd and unusual. They played better with nine against us last time around.

But for us, well, I am not sure what to say really? We had very little going forward, there isn’t an attacking plan, and I was disappointed by that as I expected to see the first signs of those possibilities and what potential we might have under Mark Hughes today – and that’s irrespective of the result.

There was also a chronic lack of urgency or tempo from us, as well as Chelsea too. It’s like this game didn’t really matter to either team and they were happy to just play it out. The last time we came up against them we were in their faces, putting in challenges and really inspiring each other and the crowd to give our all. There was none of that here, even with seven minutes stoppage time on the board, we looked barely interested in trying to force an equaliser.

The positive however was that we were disciplined and kept our shape well, but when you do that, it’s always at the risk of reducing the output at the other end. And that’s what we’ve done, compounded by the fact that we’re missing players too.

But we concentrated throughout the ninety minutes and Chelsea never really looked like scoring or prying us apart. It was a sad sight seeing what’s become of Fernando Torres too, a once feared marksman looking completely shot and very strangely, out of his depth. His passing was poor, his movement was poor and he was largely anonymous and nothing like I expected him to be. Fifty million? Are you having a laugh or what?

In that sense, we’ve taken a step forward in organisation and discipline, but football is about winning games, and we quickly need to address the other end if we’re going to achieve the goals we want in terms of Premiership survival.

If you don’t score, you don’t win. If you don’t concede, you don’t lose. But not winning is worse than not losing in most cases, because you make the football uninspired and tepid, and lose fluidity and dynamism in expressive and creative play.

I said last week against Wigan, that despite the win, we didn’t really do a lot in the attacking third to convince me, and that I was alarmed by that. We didn’t get behind the defence at any point, turn them around, put any crosses in or find through balls. It was the same here in this game, and against better opposition, you don’t get the chance to take so many pop shots from range at goal like we did against Wigan. That avenue was a closed shop this time around and hence we created very little.

I think we’re still in that transitional phase right now and that probably between now and the end of the season, we’re going to see a lot of games end goalless or decided by the odd goal. That seems to be the way the set-up is going by Hughes.

That’s fine to do, but there’s a risk and a danger than when you play for one goal either way that the players mentality adapts to that situation, so when they concede, they find it an uphill battle and a struggle to turn it around, or when they score, it becomes about that next goal and whether you can keep the other team out. You don’t want too much emphasis and importance placed on that first goal when you’re down at the bottom. You need to believe, like we did away to Stoke, that if you fall behind you’ve got enough about you to come back and score one, two or in that case, three goals to turn it around.

You lose a crowd more easily playing the way Hughes currently is, if you can’t grind out results too, so it’s a very delicate time for us and a dangerous game to play.

I noticed in this match that at times on some attacks, I visibly saw the winger and full-back on the opposite side checking and holding their position, to ensure we maintained our shape and protected ourselves from counter attacks. I saw us getting into wide positions, but the two central midfielders holding their positions and staying deep, but us giving the ball away because we didn’t have enough numbers in the box, or, when a second ball situation arose, didn’t have anybody anywhere near enough to contest it, thus, still being hit on the counter attack anyway.

While these aspects are good defensively, it’s not going to help us win games. I just hope for now that we’re sorting aspect of the team out before working really hard on the other end. I’d have liked us to have gambled more. We never tested Chelsea’s resolve and believe me, they were there for the taking if we wanted to have a go.

I wasn’t impressed by Federico Macheda’s second half showing here either. While he didn’t get much service, he was lazy, and whenever the play broke down he just walked back slowly from offside positions and disregarded the disciplined shape and defensive work we’d worked so hard to achieve.

Shaun Wright-Phillips continues to flatter to deceive at the moment, and just needs the rub of the green to get himself going and Jamie Mackie’s still approaching play with all brawn and no brains. Somewhere along the line, we need these players to step up and take the next step forward if we’re to progress.

But I was pleased with Joey Barton’s performance. It was much better than against Wigan and he kept his play much more simple and tidy. Anton Ferdinand did well considering the circumstances too and despite his critics, it was nice to see Rob Hulse out there as well.

Overall, while the defensive aspects are all well and good, and a positive, even if it sounds like I’m nagging, I’m just hoping that this is going to be a foundation that’s being laid in order for us to move forward at the other end too.

What we really need though is an injection into the midfield or attack, and it might be that Adel Taarabt is still our best answer here and we’ll know for sure by the time we face Aston Villa just what the situation is, because once that transfer window shuts it’s down to the players and the manager to do what is necessary to win games.

We just need that bit of inspiration and hopefully we can find it from somewhere.

He also already knows Anton Ferdinand from his loan spell with Sunderland last season, so you hope the pair can strike an immediate understanding over the coming weeks and then there’s the added bonus that he knows Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joey Barton from their time there, and has been managed already by Mark Hughes as well.

There are plenty out there who feel Onuoha is unproven at Premiership level, but it’s easy to overlook the fact that he’s made well over 125 appearances in the top-flight for both Manchester City and Sunderland, and that’s a great deal more than many of our existing players and not too bad for a 25-year-old.

He will also have benefitted from training regularly with several world class players in his time at Manchester City and you hope with us, he’ll find the form to make himself either and England or Nigerian international.

Welcome aboard and good luck!

While it hasn’t gone to plan for him at AC Milan, the experience there as well as the many years he played for Marseille in the French league will serve him well for the challenge ahead.

Welcome aboard and good luck!