Drab QPR left empty-handed
RIVERSIDER23’S ROVERS VIEW
THE “later” kick-off caused by leaving British Summer Time behind added to the greyness of a dank November day with the wind swirling around Ewood, bringing showers sweeping across the pitch and draughts chilling us through the gaps in the Riverside crowd.
We welcomed a QPR side on a good run of results that had seen them just about edge above us close to the play-off positions despite a poor start to the season.
Their fuchsia-pink kit might have brightened the scene but their approach was as drab and limited and unimaginative as a conifer in a pot on a concrete patio.
And they left with what they deserved – absolutely nothing.
I don’t mean to be insulting or disrespectful, but QPR have always seemed to me to be a bit non-descript in that I don’t have a sense of any particular geographical or social identity that defines them, or of any great history or rivalry.
The three main QPR images that spring to my mind are:
THE period in the 1970s when the fancy footwork and maverick tendencies of Rodney Marsh and then Stanley Bowles brought them a touch of glamour and some success;
SHOTS of ex-Claret David Thomas, one of my favourite wingers, jinking and crossing in the same era while being filmed from a TV gantry that must have been almost directly above him;
THEM on the receiving end of a 1994 Shearer hattrick, including the last off the underside of the bar that I thought at the time was the hardest shot I’d seen since the days of Kenny Knighton. (That’s two backward leaps of just 24 years each…)
Given that Saturday’s match wasn’t much of a spectacle, I’ll permit myself to pursue a minor diversion prompted by that memory of Shearer. Because that was Shearer at his very best.
We were so lucky to have him when he was at his best, and he was the best we ever had.
In a similar vein, but one small step below, I would place Duff, Friedel and Jansen.
Great players right at the top of their game when they were with us.
We knew they were very special, and we could rely on them to deliver.
One more step down to Bentley and Dunn.
Of course, that’s leaving out defenders and any player before the Sky/Premier League epoch, in the days when the ball was heavy, the pitches were muddy, and the world was black and white.
Anyway, back to the more mundane.
It wasn’t a game for Evans, who more than once allowed QPR to regroup when he slowed things down or moved sideways or backwards rather than push on or pick a forward pass.
He has been brilliant recently, but this performance was a reminder of his flaws.
Neither was it a day for Graham, who struggled several times to control the ball in good attacking positions, and was generally outjumped, outrun and outmuscled by QPR’s doughty centre-back and captain Toni Leistner.
In a game that was never particularly combative, the referee managed to book four players from each side, mixed in with a series of decisions and interventions that provoked the usual crowd response.
It’s impossible to judge the crowd’s impact on a referee, conscious or subconscious, but it wasn’t a great surprise that a relatively soft challenge on Brereton resulted in a late penalty after several earlier calls had been denied – the most obvious when Bell was challenged from behind as he prepared to shoot.
Before the game, the big unknown had been how well Jayson Leutwiler would perform in goal, having got the nod ahead of Smallwood. As it turned out, he had next to nothing to do, and what he did, he did very well.
That mainly involved collecting over-hit passes and clearances at the edge of his box and kicking out much better than Raya. But QPR’s lack of endeavour leaves him still really untested. With hindsight, Smallwood would have managed fine.
Dack had another poor game. If the team was selected on current form, he wouldn’t be in it, but we know he’s the man with the magic, and once more he was the player who provided the memorable moments.
First, he slotted a sweet penalty under pressure, and then – as QPR suddenly realised they’d blown it and decided to go a bit giddy – he rolled the ball down the touchline step by step all the way to the corner flag where he squatted solidly for most of the added minutes with robust support from Brereton.
When QPR at last threatened to escape from Dack and Brereton’s blockade, Harrison Reed showed how much these lads are up for it, flying across with a sliding block-tackle followed by a fist-pump and fullthroated roar to and with the Riverside. No pasaran! It was a fitting last act.
Rotherham are next up, fresh from a home win against our recent conquerors Swansea, but with a poor away record this season of only two points from eight matches.
With Evans suspended, Mowbray will have to shuffle the pack.
Whatever he decides, we can be sure that we’ll get whole-hearted commitment – and that is something worth enjoying and appreciating.
KATERINA LEE’S CLARETS VIEW
IF it doesn’t rain it certainly pours at Camp Burnley at the moment.
Just when it looks like we might be in with a bit of a shot, we lose 4-2 to West Ham.
It’s hardly divine retribution for the last hostile meeting we had with West Ham at their place as the poison was seeping through their club, not ours, but it’s certainly a kick in the teeth for all of us as we still scratch our heads and wonder how in the world we’re going to start winning some games.
It really is starting to become quite a worrying state of affairs for us now, although scoring some goals this weekend was at least a positive in some respects.
It’s not even starting to become quite a worrying time for Burnley, we’re knee deep in it now and the teams we thought we could rely on to be worse than us this weekend won.
I still don’t want to hear anyone calling for Dyche to leave though. What everyone who is starting to think that way needs to remember is that we do owe him everything for the past six years.
It hasn’t exactly