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20 y/o can help QPR tonight, and throughout the season as well, just let him shine – Opinion

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Time to shine?

Having started two of the first four games of the season, Matt Smith has fallen out of favour somewhat at Loftus Road, and I think it’s slightly harsh that he has.

However with tonight’s game against Fulham, I think it would be a great opportunity for him to get back into the side, mainly because he will act as a great counter to what Fulham will be looking to do.

The Craven Cottage outfit currently lead the league when it comes to possession, with an average of 6.25% throughout the campaign (via WhoScored), QPR in contrast come 5th in the league. So the best way to frustrate them will simply to be to keep the ball away from them, and that is where Smith comes in.

If you take a look at his numbers for Wales (via WhoScored) you can see that his numbers far outweigh what he has done at QPR so far, completing 39 passes a game for an 88.5% success rate for his country, compared to 12.3 and 65.% for his club. Not only that but his key passes increase from 0.3 per game to 0.5 and his ability to draw fouls as well, averaging 2 for Wales and 0.3 for QPR. So the potential is there for him to be able to produce, but that is only going to come when he gets some consistent minutes under his belt, and that should start tonight at Craven Cottage.

As I wrote yesterday, this game tonight has the potential to act as a springboard for the club going forward through the season, and that same logic applies to the players as well.

Should Matt Smith have a bigger role in the team

Yes

No

Smith can act as a real game-changer for QPR, not just tonight, but throughout the whole season as well. If tonight is too soon, then hopefully he’ll be able to find his way into the team eventually.

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