QPR V Boro
Wednesday 9/2/22
K.O. 19:45
So after the glamour and excitement of the F.A. cup we turn to the bread and butter of the league against “QPR”which is of course the abbreviation for Queens Park Rangers Football Club.
I remember the maverick players who once strutted the field for QPR long ago, the likes of Stan Bowles and Rodney Marsh. Show business personalities with a hint of devilment and skill and a “cheeky chappie” approach to the establishment and football in particular. Great strikers have also included Charlie Austin and Bobby Zamora. They have also had the bad boy image of Joey Barton and conversely the likeable image of Ian “Ollie” Holloway who still appears as a pundit on our TV screens to this day.
After the exertions of Friday evening it may be an opportunity for certain Boro players to be rested and a place on the bench instead of starting the game. However, after pondering this question, we now know that this manager after his short tenure at the club, has shown that he doesn’t like to change his team or players just for the sake of it.
A few players seemed to be running on empty towards the end of the game the other evening, with Jones and Crooks suffering from severe cramping and having to be replaced.
Our captain Johnny Howson who at 34 is turning back the years and producing match winning qualities, is another who could quite conceivably be benched to rest weary limbs and replaced by Martin Payero who did a sterling job when called upon to do so against our exalted mighty (and humbled) premiership opponents.
Fry and Paddy seem to be coasting through games and I would expect a few clubs took notice of their performances against world class players and hopefully they will continue to dominate opposing strikers to protect our goal.
Ah goal! turning to our goalkeeper Joe Lumley he sometimes drops the odd clanger then pulls off a brilliant block or save to keep the net from bulging. He is quite an enigma and hopefully he can settle into a more relaxed playing style as he does possess ability. His kicking and distribution seems to have improved and he is very vocal in marshalling the defence in front of him. Roy Keane was critical of both goalkeepers performances against the penalty takers the other evening but Lumley is a big unit and doesn’t leave much of the goal to aim at. If he’s good enough for Wilder then I’ll settle for that.
Crooks and Tavernier seem certain starters and Jones as right wing back and it’s nice to see a settled formation with players who are sure of their responsibilities and are growing in confidence.
A still unconvincing performance by Connolly who is strongly supported by Wilder may see him start alongside Sporar but if assurances have been made to Arsenal about constantly playing their man it will probably be Balogun alongside as the front two. Whilst most of us would prefer to see Watmore up front from a starting position, it has to be appreciated how many serious injuries this lad has sustained over the past few years. Notably, his all action style and running abilities does put severe strain on his body and if he was totally fit he would be a regular Premiership footballer.
So It’s 4th versus 7th in the table with both teams having played 28 games but QPR are 6 points ahead and perhaps one of the favourites. Bournemouth are starting to stutter and that all important second automatic place for promotion is now achievable for the hungry pack of clubs waiting to claim a place in the exalted promised land of the Premiership.
Fulham appear to be way out in front and certainties for promotion so only one place remains up for grabs so why shouldn’t it be Boro? It’s normally the case that towards the end of the season one team appears from nowhere and rises to the occasion and although our performances have been a bit stuttering winning results have still been achieved.
QPR will be hoping to turn things around quickly against Boro after being kicked out of the FA Cup by Peterborough who beat them 2 0 on Saturday.
They have a few match winners in their squad of players. Former Arsenal academy winger Chris Willock continues to impress with them winning their Player and Goal of the Month awards for January. The 23-year-old has six goals and nine assists so far, helping QPR up to fourth in the Championship table.
With 18 games remaining, it should be noted that Rangers could move up to second in the Championship if they beat Boro on Wednesday.
Their Manager Mark Warburton believes that QPR have the squad in depth to maintain a promotion challenge and this is a key game for the Boro which could help to establish the pecking order for promotion
So let’s have your forecasts Diasborians in what will be a tricky game and is live on TV (everyone wants to watch the Boro!)
Me ?
I’m going for a win !
Boro to win 2 0
I wonder what happened to those eyeballs in the sky ???
OFB
OFB, thanks for starting up a new thread to QPR. An interesting match so to say.
A good summary about Lumley in there. After a shaky start at Old Trafford by all Boro players, I think Lumley improved as the game went on. Actually I think he had a good game in all.
Interestingly, a friend of mine is a big Manchester United fan. We met yesteday as we played an hour of futsal to keep fit (we have 70 cm snow now, well over 2 feet). He was very excited about Lumley after Friday's game. He thought he was excellent.
Mind, even my friend has supported United for the past 50 years, he has been to Rockcliffe and Riverside once with me. He - like me - scored a goal behind Jim Platt in a friendly match in 2015. And he watches about two footy matches a day on TV now when retired!
So he was impressed with Lumley. He rates Boro as his second favourite team since his visit to Teesside. He even had a Boro shirt on yesterday and was quite happy that Boro won the Cup match. Strange world!
Up the Boro!
Great start from OFB. QPR lost in the cup against Peterborough with apparently then playing the Man Utd role; 78% possession and plenty of shots. They are going to be hurting from that and I fear that we're going to be on the end of a rebound. Bit like playing Blackburn away I feel that we're going to be playing them at the wrong time for us.
Every season no matter how good you are, you get at least one stupidly large defeat and this feels like that to me.
As OFB says, Wilder doesn't rotate his starting 11 as such; he only changes it for injuries or loss of form. I think we'll see the same starting 11 with the aim to freshen up with subs around the 60 minute mark. That might seem harsh on Watmore but I think we may see him used to inject energy at the end with a potential start for him and Payero or McGree against Derby.
QPR are going to be desperate to win this because if they do and Blackburn continue to slip, they can see 2nd place ahead of them. This is going to be the start of one hell of a scrap for the playoffs. With Bournemouth splashing the cash, Forest, QPR and Sheff Utd all looking really strong, the Baggies appointing Bruce (I may not like Bruce but he is a smart appointment for them) and Blackburn and Huddersfield still in the mix this is rats in a sack time.
I can see us losing a really open game 4-1 but if we can grind out some eyes in the sky I'll take that.
Thanks OFB for another informative opener.
Thanks also for the heads up on the match being on the Sky red button albeit I will probably watch via Riverside Live as there are more cameras than the red button option. I also prefer the local commentary team of Mark Drury and Maddo, except when they do birthday and anniversary announcements during the match!
I am with Deleriad on this one. I would take a point now but fear that our exertions on Friday coupled with QPR looking to bounce back from their FA Cup exit could work against us.
Loftus Road as it used to called is not a happy hunting ground in my experience and I can see a 3-0 defeat sadly, but hope we can at least nick a point and that uncle Albert does not bite us.
As far as a team emerging from the pack, my money is on Sheffield Utd and fear we may just miss out on top six; Wednesday could be a defining moment for us. 😎
Cheers Bob once again. Lovely starter.
Like Deleriad, I'm a bit fearful for this one. We're coming down from a high, QPR are looking to respond from a low and are a good side who can score goals.
This is the two form sides in the division again but Boro's performances have not been as good as the results in the past month - very untypical Boro. That said, QPR are only eighth for home form having suffered back-to-back home defeats, albeit back in December. There again, Boro's away form sees us in 13th for that stat so how the two sides are first and second overall is a bit of a mystery!
We haven't beaten QPR in nearly 3 years but I would happily take a draw here.
QPR 1-1 Boro.
Thanks to OFB for his comprehensive match preview and this will be another tough game against the in-form Hoops. As mentioned on the FA Cup thread, this is the start of 11 games in 36 days for Boro - though not sure if Wilder can afford to rest any key players for this game.
OK Jones went down with cramp but he'd been running and chasing at Old Trafford for two hours on what looked a heavy pitch. At least we played on Friday so have had an extra day to recover and hopefully the fitness team have massaged those aching limbs over the last few days.
One player who probably learned a lot from the game at Man Utd was Dijksteel - he got caught a few times trying to run the ball out of defence and perhaps that is something best kept as a surprise tactic rather than the norm. If the opposition know you're running out of defence they will set the trap and double up. Boro must ensure to make the angles to pass out of defence and then only run out when the space opens up - Djed Spence he is not.
The other thing learned from Friday is just how much difference Duncan Watmore makes to the team with his high pressing and intelligent running. Neither Connolly or Balogun have so far shown they improve the team when taking his place. OK, it's early days for both and a goal for either will certainly give them added confidence. It was noticeable that Connolly was only one of two players (the other being Dijksteel) who didn't take a penalty, which is odd for a PL striker unless he is indeed struggling for confidence as four defenders jumped the queue ahead of him.
I'm still unsure of Taylor at left wing-back as it makes the side feel lopsided and doesn't offer an out-ball - perhaps McGree can play that role but probably not just yet until he's recovered from Covid and has time to train. Of course the problem with midweek games all the way until that international break in March is that there won't be much work done on the training pitch. It will be game, recovery day and then light training sessions ahead of the next game the following day.
So the Championship season of attrition resumes tomorrow - at least Boro go into this with confidence and belief and importantly the will to win!
OFB, I'm going for the absent 'eyeballs'. If it happens to be your prediction, well, I bow to superior knowledge. However knowing what Boro now appear to be capable of... no I won't say it. I'm dead superstitious me like.
UTB,
John
Thanks for another great opener OFB.
What a turnaround it has been. You can almost hear the excitement in everyone's posts in here these days.
Much as some people are thinking we might be playing QPR at the wrong time, with them having something to prove after losing out to Peterborough and with us still coming down from a high, I suspect that the Hoops will definitely not fancy playing Boro just now. Almost any other team in the Championship to put their cup disappointment behind them than a Boro side that just never stops and has the confidence that there is a result there to take no matter who you are playing and where.
I think I agree with Deleriads's observation about the us eof Watmore as an impact substitution. It makes sense to protect him in that way and actually enables us to get the absolute best out of him when he comes on fresh against a tiring defence. I hope that CW perseveres with Balogun and Sporar up front as on the evidence so far, I think there is more likelihood of those two establishing a good rapport than Connolly and Sporar. Still early in his career, Balogun has to prove his worth to his home-club and I hope that we will see that in his game and benefit.
The goalkeeping position is difficult. We didn't get a replacement keeper in, so we have to make best use of what we have. OFB is right, that there are some good qualities to Lumley. All the same, every game I have the concern that there is one costly blunder just waiting to happen. Would we be better with Luke Daniels ? I honestly don't know. SO for me we have to carry on with Lumley and hope that he is learning from his mistakes and that the coaching team can encourage him in the better habits of the art of keeping goal. Let us be thankful t least he doesn't quite deliver the kind of gaff that Forest's keeper did to gift the Foxes their goal on Sunday.
QPR will not play at anything like the speed and intensity that ManU did for large parts of the game on Friday. I am confident we will find both the time and the space that will make the difference between the teams on the night and I am letting my head work in tandem with my heart and predicting a 2-1 win for the Boro.
Thanks for the opener, OFB.
Sorry not to have posted some proper reaction after the extravaganza that was Boro's penalty shoot-out win at Old Trafford but I was tired and emotional. Not in the "Private Eye" sense, as used to be said of former Labour Deputy Leader George Brown, but because it was, by the end and having watched/listened to the various reactions and interviews, rather late and I certainly WAS emotional. It took some time to calm down as the adrenaline was still pumpting round my body. I had no alcohol at all on Friday but I did try to remedy that shortfall on Saturday.
I agree that Whatmore made a big difference when he came on against ManU and obviously he would find it easier to make that difference against Championship defences rather than top-end Premier League ones. I suspect Whatmore with Balogun might be the best starting partnership but if they come together at 60 minutes against more tired defenders that is fine. Whatmore and Sporar would also be interesting. Balogun was obviously trying too hard to impress against ManU (and he wouldn't be the first youngster to do that) but I suspect he will improve more than Connolly over the next few months. We will see.
I think trying to run the ball from defence might also be easier in the Championship than against ManU even if ManU were "misfiring" on Friday.
QPR will be a difficult opponent. We seem to be meeting team after team all playing "on a good run of successful games" at this stage in the Championship. The thing is that (Blackburn apart) we have coped with those confident teams which are on a roll. If this carries on for a few more weeks, then I think other teams will look at Boro and wonder whether the team likely to sneak into the 2nd promotion spot is from Middlesbrough. Play-offs: Boro will feel crestfallen if not in the top-six at the end of the season and if we are in the play-offs then we will be a difficult opponent for any team in there with us, but no reason why we shouldn't dare to HOPE and strive for 2nd place with so many games left to play.
Fry - a collossus at our level. There CANNOT be £80M worth of difference between him and Maguire. I'd love him to play in the Premier League with Boro. (Longer term I'm hoping young Kavanagh currently out on loan at Queen of the South - which seems to be one of Boro's preferred improvement-schemes for youngsters - turns out to be the Real Deal he appeared to be in the age-group teams).
No idea what will happen against QPR. My heart overestimated Boro's capabilities against ManU . I had them down to win 1-2 at Old Trafford but in reality we could "ONLY" draw after extra time, and then win after an admittedly good set of penalties in the shoot-out. I suppose a draw at QPR, in their current form and bearing in mind they could go 2nd if they win against us, would be a good result and certainly acceptable to any team in our league - even for Fulham. But let's put our faith in the team: either a 1-0 or a 2-1 win to Boro. And after that we really will be swinging from the chandeliers in celebration and confidence for the future.
I wish the season had started in December, but I'll certainly take the current state of affairs over our inconsistent first part of the season. Football is much better with some hope rather than exasperation.
Forever Dormo
Like your post but
Teenage striker Calum Kavanagh has joined Harrogate Town on loan until the end of the season.
OFB
OFB - You are, of course, right. Kavanagh is on laon to Harrogate Town (not a bad choice there) and it is Sam Folarin who has gone on loan to Queen of the South.
With ref to goalkeepers. David Marshall who was the regular goalkeeper for Scotland and he made some amazing saves.
Well his his time at Derby came to a sad end when Mickey Rooney dumped him. The sad thing was he couldn't play for another club because of some wrangling going on at Derby.
I thought he would be great to have at Middlesbrough but finally has now got a club and joined QPR! In the last game kept a clean sheet. He also hopes now to get back into the Scotland team.
With regards to Djed Spence, if as rumoured or suggested, Man City take an interest, Boro could be in for a reasonable transfer fee in the summer.
Come on BORO.
Another one for the future ?
https://www.mfc.co.uk/news/calum-kavanagh-nominated-for-pl2-potm
Come on BORO.
It is surprising but after climbing a mountain at Old Trafford, we cannot help seeing a Championship club as that same mountain, and I include myself in that. Whatever! We must have a chance, and when we make our subs I'm sure they will do the job. P.s. I see that Traore had an absolute blinder on his debut, oh! and Wolves are boasting that they have a monumental add on attached to his sale.
I don’t know where people think that Boro’s record away to QPR is dismal. Admittedly it used to be bad in the distant past in the last century but away from home in the last eight meetings Boro have recorded three wins and two draws there with a goal ratio of 15 goals scored and 13 conceded, not that will have any bearing on Wednesday’s match. Two of those wins were by massive margins 5-1 in 2009 amazingly under Gordon Strachan’s managership and the other 3-0 in 2018 when Tony Pulis was in charge.
I agree though that QPR will want to put the wrongs of their FA Cup defeat to bed and fear a defeat coming for Boro here. Let’s face it, Boro were outplayed by Man Utd on Friday over 90 minutes if not over 125 minutes. So a draw would be acceptable, but unlikely in all honesty.
I don’t know where people think that Boro’s record away to QPR is dismal. Admittedly it used to be bad in the distant past in the last century but away from home in the last eight meetings Boro have recorded three wins and two draws there with a goal ratio of 15 goals scored and 13 conceded, not that will have any bearing on Wednesday’s match. Two of those wins were by massive margins 5-1 in 2009 amazingly under Gordon Strachan’s managership and the other 3-0 in 2018 when Tony Pulis was in charge.
I agree though that QPR will want to put the wrongs of their FA Cup defeat to bed and fear a defeat coming for Boro here. Let’s face it, Boro were outplayed by Man Utd on Friday over 90 minutes if not over 125 minutes. So a draw would be acceptable, but unlikely in all honesty.
As always Ken your records tell the true story. My experiences at QPR, on numerous visits, were to watch us predominantly being tortured by the likes of Stan Bowles, Rodney Marsh et al and usually being on the end of a drubbing! I must have attended 5/6 times over the years and I can't remember seeing us gain even a point. Perhaps it's just me, never been lucky! 😎😂
I've been reading some of the articles about Boro on News Now. I don't think I'll bother again. From Spence and Forest to Dael Fry speculation there's some shoddy journalism. According to one writer Boro are situated in North West England, news to me but maybe it's to confuse Derby. fees for dale fry range from 5.2 million, a bargain for West Ham, upwards to 15million or more. Where do they get the information from or do they cut and paste and simply make it up.
Anyway I decided I was a fool for reading it all and getting irritated and even I can't disagree with that.
UTB,
John
https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/sport/football/djed-spence-middlesbrough-arsenal-tottenham-23022700......He is contracted to Middlesbrough till 2024
Sorry can’t open page Malcolm
John
i must admit I was pretty amused at the various fees being bandied about for our players who are not for sale.
I also saw the location of BORO for the NW and just thought if we need to read anything creative about the Boro look no further than all the posters on Diasboro!
You know it makes sense
OFB
Sorry can’t open page Malcolm
Yes, seems to be a problem OFB but this was the headline 'Djed Spence signed Middlesbrough contract extension before Nottingham Forest loan move' till 2024.
KP in Spain,
I remember going to an evening match there, I think we lost, in 67 or 68 but I clearly remember John O'Rourke on the pitch and a QPR fan said 'if that little centre forward was six inches taller we'd be getting a hammering. Obviously the crosses were a problem then! At least it was friendly ground unlike The Den.
UTB,
John
https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/sport/football/djed-spence-middlesbrough-arsenal-tottenham-23022700......He is contracted to Middlesbrough till 2024
https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/sport/football/djed-spence-middlesbrough-arsenal-tottenham-23022700
Try this
KP in Spain,
I remember going to an evening match there, I think we lost, in 67 or 68 but I clearly remember John O'Rourke on the pitch and a QPR fan said 'if that little centre forward was six inches taller we'd be getting a hammering. Obviously the crosses were a problem then! At least it was friendly ground unlike The Den.
UTB,
John
Oh what memories we have. The Den - Cold Blow Lane, where you were intimidated before you even got to the ground. Having survived the journey from the station to the ground, once inside you were then verbally intimidated and subjected to a variety of missiles, including old penny coins which had had the edges sharpened and pointed! Those were the days, the trials and tribulations of being a Boro away supporter!! 😎
KP in Spain,
I remember going to an evening match there, I think we lost, in 67 or 68 but I clearly remember John O'Rourke on the pitch and a QPR fan said 'if that little centre forward was six inches taller we'd be getting a hammering. Obviously the crosses were a problem then! At least it was friendly ground unlike The Den.
UTB,
John
Oh what memories we have. The Den - Cold Blow Lane, where you were intimidated before you even got to the ground. Having survived the journey from the station to the ground, once inside you were then verbally intimidated and subjected to a variety of missiles, including old penny coins which had had the edges sharpened and pointed! Those were the days, the trials and tribulations of being a Boro away supporter!! 😎
I'll second that. Cold Blow Lane was always a tough trip and freezing cold and it always seemed to be 1-0 one way or another with both teams near the top of the table. I have to admit to being quite cowardly. I was living in London with two older brothers and we used to buy seats and make sure that we kept pretty quiet with no scarves or anything red. It wasn't so bad at the other grounds such as The Valley which was so big that they invented social distancing. Having said that, one of my brothers has a story of being chased from Brentford's ground to Gunnersbury Station. I'm not sure what he did to cause that small disagreement.
More recently, I've had to resort to other subterfuges to get tickets when over from Oz. In our last Premier League year, I wanted to take my youngest son to his first PL game and the one that worked out was Watford v Boro in January 2017. However, they were restricting tickets to home fans plus the away allocation that had already been snapped up. Therefore, I had to sign up my daughter - who lived in London and had no interest in the game - as a member of the Watford Supporters Club and we were able to buy the tickets. I'm sure that plenty other people have done the same thing.
With QPR coming up and them looking to move up the table, this could be a hard one to get into. Have we sold out our allocation?
Anyway, good luck to anyone going.
UTB
Apparently sold just under 2200 for tonight and no sales on the night as it is all ticket for the Boro. An amazing number for an away game in London on a Wednesday night.
As Warnock got a point away to Fulham when the season started, I would like to think we must get a draw in London toningt, again.
We are better than in August, but so are QPR, too. I will predict a hard-fought 1 - 1 draw tonight. Balogun to score for Boro. And Uncle Albert for them 😊.
Albert Adomah was my favourite player during the Mogga era. Nice to see he still gets some minutes from the bench at his boyhood club now. He is just over 34 year old now.
Up the Boro!
Apparently sold just under 2200 for tonight and no sales on the night as it is all ticket for the Boro. An amazing number for an away game in London on a Wednesday night.
I'm not sure how many members they have but MSS - Middlesbrough Supporters South - may be taking up quite a lot of those tickets.
UTB