How To Stop QPR

Queens Park Rangers at the start of the season would have been hoping for a real title challenge given the amount of money that has been injected into the club in recent years. Therefore, they will be disappointed at the start they have made especially considering how varied and inconsistent their results have been. However, their performances have all been similar and I am going to assess how we can play in order to win.

Recently, I have been very impressed with our defence. I don’t think that it was just me that was sceptical about Robbo continuing to play at the heart of the defence. But boy, he has proven us all to be very wrong. His communication in terms of organising the back four has gone some way to securing the good room of form that we find ourselves in defensively. Big Tom in goal has made some fine saves this season and it is a testament to both himself and the goalkeeping coaches that he has gained so much confidence. This increased confidence can be seen when he goes to take crosses as I felt this could be a weakness in his game. However, I was again wrong.

In terms of full backs, I have been really impressed with Ryan Shotton. When he was at Stoke, I watched him several times and actually thought he would make a better winger than a full back. At that time, he just didn’t look strong enough as a defender and I saw that he was agile enough to beat a man. But as a full back, he offers an alternative which Caddis doesn’t posses, and that is most certainly pace. If Shotton gets up with play, he is back defending in the blink of an eye. This athleticism is needed especially when Robbo, Morrison and Grounds are all not as speedy as the average garden snail.

The reason I mention full backs is because QPR like to attack with their wingers. Phillips and Hoilett are very good at not only crossing the ball, but cutting inside and firing a shot off. Therefore, we need to be able to read this situation and defend accordingly which I think both Shotton and Grounds can do.

In terms of the QPR defence, I believe this is their weakness. Smithies is a good goalkeeper but he isn’t unbeatable by any stretch of the imagination. Their defenders, Hall, who will be familiar to many Bluenoses, and Nedum are very physical in the box but are not necessarily the best at reading the game and being in the right position. Maghoma in particular could exploit this as could Toral given some of his delightful runs and passes in the Bolton game.