Make no mistake folks, this was a shocker! Writes Richard Sacks
The atmosphere and the level of football played reminded me of watching a first round tie in the Autoglass trophy.
The R’s were rampant in the early exchanges as Stoke found it difficult to get out of their own area. Bircham had two efforts, one tipped over and one wide whilst the Great Danes of Nygaard and Youssouf made a nuisance of themselves.
In the 7th minute the R’s unsurprisingly took the lead. A long Lomas throw seemed to avoid a number of players as it bobbled on the turf and the ball fell at the feet of Nygaard who stretched out to poke home from 6 yards and managed to smuggle the ball past Steve Simonsen. That was about as good as it got and the rest was downhill from there.
Youssouf had had looked quite bright was forced off early in the 15th minute after injuring his knee in a challenge and was replaced with Stefan Moore.
From Ainsworth’s short corner Lee Cook was sent tumbling by Dave Brammer and left Peter Walton with an easy penalty decision. Nygaard ran across to get the ball but was ushered away by Ainsworth. The winger put the ball on the spot but you could see from his body language that he didn’t really fancy it. His kick was almost a side footed daisy cutter and it was meat and drink for Simonsen who was almost lying there waiting for it to hit him. I was left wondering how Danny S**ttu would have approached a penalty if he had the chance?
From that moment on things took a downward turn badly and Stoke were suddenly back in a match they hadn’t got going in to this point. Hans Sigurdson forced Jones into an excellent low save, the ball ballooned up to Luke Chadwick but his looping header shaved the top of the bar with Evatt leaden footed beneath it.
Jones was forced into another save minutes later when the R’s defence somehow left Bangoura unmarked in the six yard box. His header looked like that of a man short of confidence but Jones was still forced to go full length to turn it away. Nygaard was almost caught out as he dallied whilst trying to complete the clearance.
Rangers’ best source of a goal as always seemed to be Lee Cook. He was giving Belgian right back Carl Hoefkens a torrid time whenever they managed to get the ball to him, unfortunately this was not half as often as it should have been thanks to some seriously below standard distribution in the middle of the park. Bircham was surrendering possession like nobodies business; this was a match that was crying out for the passing ability of Langley. The only thing he was kicking was his heels as he sat on the bench for the fourth game in a row.
At the start of the second half Cook created an opening for Ainsworth with a trademark jinking run. Ainsworth made a decent connection with the ball but Simonsen was equal to it as he went full length to his left. It certainly tested him more than the penalty had.
Jones saved bravely at the feet of Sigurdson at the other end and in truth Rangers should have had a freekick such was the lateness of the challenge. Referee Walton played a good advantage whether he meant to or not and a better ball in from Ainsworth could have created a clear opening for Moore.
The game looked to be going nowhere until it suddenly burst into life in Stoke’s favour. Sigurdson forced Jones into one of his customary double saves before Walton awarded his second penalty of the night.
Darel Russell played a one two on the edge of the area and the lively midfielder burst through at speed as S**ttu dangled a leg at him and he needed no further invitation to go over it rather cheaply in my book but I can still see how the referee gave a penalty. The R’s players were screaming at the ref saying it was a dive.
Hoefkens stepped up to take the kick and gave Ainsworth a lesson in how to do it with a cool hard effort that slammed into the net just inside Jones’ right hand post leaving the Welsh stopper helpless. Waddock now decided to bring Langley on in place of Bircham. With thirteen minutes to go this change was not surprising although about 20mins too late in my book. Bircham had been woeful all night yet it took a goal to prompt a change, if he had gotten into the game earlier maybe we would have managed to press on and get a second.
Langley hadn’t even touched the ball though before Rangers gave away a terrible goal. A ball into the box was met with a comedy effort at an overhead kick from Sigurdson but the ball was played back in. It was a simple ball for S**ttu to clear but he ended up totally scuffing the ball with an ‘air shot’ as the ball rolled to Sigurdson again and he slammed it past Jones.
Waddock then threw on Furlong for Ainsworth in one last attempt to get something from the match. The players suddenly struck on the idea of using Cook as a winger rather than an ornament and passed to him for the first time in almost thirty minutes. He launched into the Stoke defence, ghosting past four players before passing to Moore who fluffed his shot.
He then set off again and beat another three players before passing to Furlong who scuffed his shot. Lomas then managed to slide a lovely ball into the veteran striker but he failed to control and Simonsen could gather easily. As time ticked away Langley cracked a volley from twenty yards that failed to test the Stoke keeper.
The final whistle was rightly met with a chorus of boos. This was an awful display from QPR. Our defence was shaky and S**ttu looked like his mind was elsewhere as his timing was poor all night. Bignot seems to be now targeted for his lack of height and gave away some needless corners. Bircham was woeful and his attempt at an Ainsworth style overhead kick which just pathetically sliced 20ft in the air just about summed up his display. Wild Thing surprisingly looked jaded compared to previous displays. I felt sorry for Lomas who worked his socks off all night and his disappointment was clear to see as he stomped off down the tunnel at the final whistle without even acknowledging the opposition with a friendly handshake. It is a shame that the Danish partnership upfront got broken up after 15mins as it was looking positive and when you see the scoreboard say Youssef OFF and then Moore ON(pronounced Moron) you can’t help but think he is!
Crewe visit us on Saturday and Waddock has hinted that he may change things. I think he has to as he needs to get some creative talent in the middle of the park. Time for Langers to show why he is worth a new contract? Without question we need a striker who can put the ball in the net apart from Nygaard. He cannot carry the team on his shoulders alone. Kus maybe back from international duty and I would be tempted to place him at right back.
It’s kids for quid on Saturday and I will be bringing my son along for the first visit to Loftus Road. Please let him be entertained and ask to come back again. The thought of my son growing up wanting to support Arsenal or Chelsea would break my heart. It was easy when I was 6yrs old as Rangers were one of the top teams in London. He, like many other kids on Saturday are our future and the players must remember that!
Player Ratings
Paul JONES (6)
Yet again made some good saves and was not at fault with either goal
Marcus BIGNOT (5)
Did not look too comfortable all night
Danny S**TTU (4)
Worst game in a R�s shirt from him. Timing was terrible all night and responsible for both goals.
Ian EVATT (6)
Did ok without setting the world on fire.
Mauro MILANESE (6)
See Ian Evatt
Gareth AINSWORTH (5)
Lacklustre performance from a normally competent player. Confidence dipped after missing penalty
Marc BIRCHAM (4)
Could not string a pass together all night
Steve LOMAS (7)
Worked hard all night and badly let down by others around him
Lee COOK (7)
Was very effective when given the ball
Marc NYGAARD (6)
Struggled to make an impact after a lively start. Faded once Youssouf limped off.
Sammy YOUSSOUF (6)
Looked quite bright until he was forced to retire early from the match
Stefan MOORE (5)
He just cannot cut it at this level despite his effort
Manager Rating
Gary WADDOCK (6) Waited to make changes when certain players (Nygaard, Ainsworth & Bircham) were visibly tired. Players came out of for the second half and simply didn’t perform. What was said in the interval?
Opponent Rating
Johan BOSKAMP (8) Hats off to the Dutchman, Stoke came out fired up for the second half and were eager to take maximum points from the fixture.
Y RICHARD SACKS FOR VITAL QPR