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Reply | Stephan
at 17:00 25 Feb 2026
There is a famous Bob Hope film called Paleface, Bob Hope is mistakenly believed to be a gunslinger in a wild west town. He has to face down a notorious gunman, he is given lots of helpful advice on how best to tackle his adversery. Needless to say he ends up utterly confused:
"Hey listen, the man that's after you just killed my brother. Here's a tip: He draws from the left, so lean to the right."
Potter: He draws from the left so lean to the right.
Greg: "Son, I'll let you in on something. Along towards sunset there's a wind from the east. So you better aim to the west."
Potter: He draws from the left so lean to the right. There's a wind from the east so better aim to the west.
Pete: "I know this Joe like a book. He crouches when he shoots so stand on your toes."
Potter: [Outside in the street] He draws from the left so lean to the right. There's a wind from the east so better aim to the west. He crouches when he shoots so stand on your toes. Thanks... Growl.
[Goes out into the street]
Potter: He draws from the left so stand on your toes... There's a wind from the east, better lean to the right... He crouches when he shoots, better aim to the west... He draws from his toes, so lean toward the wind. Ah ha! I got it!
As I look down at the dug out at Loftus Road around the 65th Minute this scene comes to me everytime. |
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Reply | Stephan
at 16:52 25 Feb 2026
The manager/head coach/whatever strikes me as an intelligent, articulate individual who knows his stuff. I am sure that there are better coaches out there, there are certainly worse. But one thing I am certain of, changing the coach will not solve the problem.
Personally, I do not see much difference, or progress, on the field. In some cases the football can be lovely to watch and matches what, in my head, is the 'QPR way'. All too often, however, the performances seem to lack intensity, guile, or any sense of freedom by the players. That is not a specific criticism of the current coach, it was similar under MC, and Beale, less so Warburton but certainly under others too. (Ainsworth and Critchley were more generally poor).
Maybe that is a symptom of the modern game. The physicality and stamina required of modern players has certainly gone up several notches, but the data obsession is turning it into some quasi form of NFL. I see ever growing numbers of coaches in the dug out with music stands for their laptops bombarding each other with data in 'real time' . Does this really make the game better as a spectacle? The performance of the players? I see precious little evidence of that. I am not even sure that all the managers or coaches buy into it, but to say so would probably be career ending.
Data helps smart people make better decisions. But even smart people can struggle to use it when making fast time decisions, where absorbing the data, understanding it and communicating it effectively have to be done almost immediately. My gut feeling is decisions on substitutions and tactical changes are delayed as some coaches grapple with this deluge of information rather than sometimes relying on oneself. The risk of ignoring data and screwing up in a world where data is king is obvious. Sticking to the data might still mean screwing up but the kings of data will be more tolerant of failure.
You can change the coach a hundred times but unless the individual is obviously poor, then it is unlikely that a reasonable coach would do much better than the present incumbant |
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Reply | Special mention for the kits last night
at 16:06 25 Feb 2026
Yup, have at least three kits, change them as frequently as you can, make a video drip feed glimpses, create a 'buzz' and maximise income. Then spend the season badge kissing and waxing lyrical about the fans and how special they are. Modern commercial football, so authentic! |
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Reply | Special mention for the kits last night
at 15:53 25 Feb 2026
A pet hate of mine, especially when teams play in a 2nd kit when there is no need. If I recall correctly a few years ago Norwich wore a dark (possibly black) strip instead of green and yellow. I am a bit of traditionalist but unless there is a massive clash the first kit should always prevail. |
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Reply | QPR v Fulham 1973
at 16:50 4 Feb 2026
I may be wrong but I think this was penultimate game, promotion assured but we were pipped by Burnley for top spot by one point. In the earlier away fixture Paul Went broke Martyn Busbys leg in several places and we went out and bought Dave Thomas I was at both games. Just before this last home game we bought Frank McLintock from Arsenal but Gordon Jago said he would not play until the following season in the First Division. The last game was away to Sunderland. Was that were Tony Hazel hit the FA Cup but Stan Bowles got the blame? |
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Reply | Field to Norwich
at 11:51 3 Feb 2026
This is a heart/head one for me. I really like Sam Field. He is under rated by some but I think he is an excellent professional, hard working and more skillful than given credit for. My frustration is that he hasn't quite unlocked his full potential. There have been flashes but I hope that a different environment may help. I think we will miss him.
My head says reality means taking decisions like this. Unfortunately other teams generally want good players, some valid points have been on that aspect that are hard to disagree with.
I see parallels with a very old favourite, Mick Leach, once converted to a midfield player he was outstanding but rarely spoken about. He started out as a target for the boo boys but worked through it. Watch the clips from the 'golden era' and see his goals and overall contribution. Sam is a different player in a different role but I think that we will look back and appreciate does how much he gave to the team.
I hope he does very well at Norwich and gets plenty of time on the pitch. |
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Reply | No threads about JS?
at 15:59 15 Sep 2025
Weii you may be right about his motivation. He certainly comes across as a decent and intelligent chap.
But let's be real, he was unemployed, his track record in recent times has not been so good. This is professional football and there are numerous examples of players and coaches being extremely 'flexible ' in their choice of employers if the money is right. So, yes. It is possible that someone would travel to another country to take a job with particular constraints.
All I am saying is neither messiah or even just a naughty boy
. At the end of the season we will have an idea as to which end of that spectrum he is.
In the meantime, a bad run will lead to difficult questions and a good run will lead to softball ones, asking what the secret of success is.
If past achievements provide some form of shield against tricky questions then journalists may as well pack up and leave it to club PRs. |
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Reply | No threads about JS?
at 13:28 15 Sep 2025
As I have said previously, it is too soon to condemn and too soon to praise. We need to be patient. However, it is noticeable that Clive secured an interview with JS soon after some of the nonsense on the Internet. Harden suddenly signed when he has been available for months.
A noticeable change in tactics? As for the disrespectful journalist, why is it disrespectful to ask a question that many people have been asking? I have supported QPR since 1968 and have never seen a first team selection so radical for a cup tie. I would have been concerned if the question had not been asked.
I am really happy that we have won two games. I am really happy the manager sounds and looks confident. I hope this turns into a positive run. But if we don't beat Stoke it will not be the end of the world.
Let's just see how the season unfolds. If the trajectory is upwards then the questions by journalists will get easier. If the opposite occurs, the questions will get tougher.
If you are in a job that attracts media attention, challenging questions are part of the job. He is a second tier football manager not a monarch or religious leader! |
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Reply | Isaac Hayden
at 14:59 25 Aug 2025
Good news. If the left sided defender arrives and both are fit, then maybe players can be put in their natural positions.
My heart says that a reaction to Coventry, plus a better balanced team and a win against Charlton. My head says, a better performance and a draw. Hope heart wins over head! |
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Reply | Julien Stéphan
at 13:03 25 Aug 2025
Thank you, my comments were addressed to WWC.
I am intrigued as to why you refer to the recruitment as a work in progress?
Firstly, I thought the chap in charge had a deep understanding of the European football scene?
Secondly, I understand his background is in data analysis
Thirdly, I understand we had an experienced data team in situ, with presumably a wealth of player information- I think there have been quotes as to players we have tracked for several years?
It is a bit concerning if the club has gone through such a radical change programme if the player recruitment bit was a "work in progress "?
I agree with your sentiment regarding hope of better things to come and it is good to see positive perspectives too. Interesting times. |
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Reply | Julien Stéphan
at 12:11 25 Aug 2025
I am struggling to understand the logic of what you are saying. There must be a thread that links model to tactics otherwise it makes no sense. The tactician must devise a plan for players that is consistent with the game model. To do so the tactical commander is given the resources so that the game model is achieved.
You say that twice now, the strategist who devised the model has failed to provide the correct resources to make the model work, but the fault does not lie with the person who devised the plan and selects the resources!
This is surely fundamental? If someone sends me on a cruise ship with nice cabins, great entertainment and excellent food but the boat has no engine and cannot float then the good stuff is meaningless.
My view FWIW, is that if the hierarchy learn from their mistakes, improve as a result then maybe it will come good. It looks currently that 'if' is doing a lot of heavy lifting. |
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Reply | Coventry City 7 Queens Park Rangers 1 – Report
at 11:48 25 Aug 2025
I don't know you Clive but your writing is a joy to read What takes it to another level is your love and emotional connection to QPR. I hope you can enjoy a break and recharge your batteries. Your choice of Jamie based on his report of Saturday means match reports are in safe hands.
Best wishes |
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Reply | Julien Stéphan
at 12:20 24 Aug 2025
Coventry is not far for me and I was going to attend, especially as I will miss the next home game On Saturday. Thank goodness I changed my mind! Whilst I do feel that a rush to judgement on a handful of games is not a good approach, it does depend on the manner of the defeats and the evidence of some 'green shoots'.
At Preston in the first half I was encouraged but worried that opportunities were not being taken and whether it would come back to bite us. Well we know what happened and it struck me how fragile the team looked against a big strong and physically imposing team. To some extent this was a problem at times last season that the manager (sometimes!) was able to counter through his actions and as his knowledge and experience of the league grew.
It seems we have neither recruited players to provide that physical power to get through the tough passages of a game, or devised through coaching, a means to overcome that deficit through best use of the players we have. The optimist in mean thinks that there are intelligent people at the club who are capable of learning and taking action. In the case of the coach, I am sure that will be the case.
I am not an expert in fitness, but as others have stated, I do not follow the logic of this approach of not hitting peak fitness until x number of weeks/games into the season. If it is supposed to pay back in terms of less injuries as the season progresses, does the data show that it has resulted in a better return in terms of both points won and player performance? I will bow to those who have the numbers but it does not feel like that from a lay perspective. Whilst I appreciate that going with the majority is not always the way to go, I do find it strange that this method does not appear to be universally adopted. Are there other football teams in the EPL or EFL following the same strategy? Again anecdotally from my limited observation, teams do appear to be stronger and fitter than QPR, certainly in the first few months of a season. Is there data that suggests these teams tail off in terms of performance later on in the season?
As others have pointed out, if the strategy is that the short term pain brings later gain then clearly the 'gain' has to outweigh the 'pain'. That seems a bit of a gamble to me.
My final point relates to the use of data which has spread into every aspect of the game. I saw a photo from yesterday and think there were four backroom staff sitting behind laptops on what looked like music stands and one? on a tablet. It would be stupid not to make use of data now that in real time you can get masses of information about players in realtime, how many specific types of activity they undertake, how far they have run etc. However sometimes so much data becomes a distraction rather than an aid to fast time decision making. The old saying about woods and trees springs to mind.
In a previous life, the use of data to inform decisions became the answer to everything. Experience and intuition were derided as some form of lazy thinking, lacking rational evidence and wasteful in terms of resource use. As always there was some truth in that assessment, but it missed the point that the most powerful approach was to marry the experience with an open minded approach that used the relevant data to make them even better decision makers. The open minded experienced person could quickly understand which bits of data would be relevant in a given situation. Conversely the data disciples believed that you followed the data, if you made a decision that did not follow the data at best you were resistant to change, (an 'old fart') and at worst 'dysfunctional' by not 'embracing' the need to use data. The problem is that data when aggregated still needs to be interpreted in a way that translates to the real world. It needs informed discussion to establish its relevance to a situation and therefore its significance.
I am not sure that data can be the lead driver in circumstances where factors such as emotion, fear, courage, belief, comradeship also play a big role. I think it can be massively important in helping understand how you can get a disperate group of people to collectively perform effectively and consistently.
This is best delivered by a person who the group identify as the leader not a bunch of people clutching laptops spewing out numbers. Their job is to make sure the 'leader' is equipped with relevant data that he can use in a variety of ways to motivate the group and give direction in simple terms that are easy to execute on the field of play.
Changing the cast will not lead to a better performance if the script does not enable the actors to give their best performance |
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Reply | Andy Sinton
at 11:24 24 Aug 2025
Sorry to hear that. He epitomises the word 'ambassador' for QPR. Hope he recovers well and back soon. He is a great asset to the club |
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Reply | The ‘project’…please enlighten me?
at 18:16 15 Aug 2025
Whatever anyone thinks about the CEO, or the plan, the 'game model' or whether the signings will prove to be good or bad, the truth is no one knows. It is far too early too say.
How can anyone say 'it' whatever they mean by 'it' is 'going well' or 'going bad'? At the very best there are indicators in some areas that look encouraging, there are some that are a bit 'concerning' . Probably all of the above have been articulated and given weight depending on where personal feelings lie.
As everyone knows the attrition rate of young professional footballers is high. Seeing our young players getting some success is heartwarming and gives hope that we will have home grown stars to cheer and maybe get handsome transfer fees for at some point. We will only really know if the different approach to youth development (if it is that different) wil succeed in a few years down the line.
Are we better at picking up young talent for the first team, maybe, more of the signings look to be promising than has been the case previously, so that is good news but will they maintain improvement and get better? Will they be 'Eze' standard of good, 'Chair' standard of good or fade and not reach their potential? Whether you are a 'CN' fan or an 'old fart' (which apparently was not an insult because the author meant a specific group ?!) No one knows.
If progress is creating new roles and giving the post holders new titles then we are doing well, but surely what we are interested in, is what they deliver. We will not know until they are bedded in and have time to demonstrate improvement.
What does not help, as others have alluded to, is history of attempts at manipulating and dividing fans at QPR. Feeding stories to undermine unpopular employees and briefing to 'favoured individuals'. In some cases, decisions being made for the benefit of a few self interested individuals rather than the football club. So anybody who is smart, with vision and great ideas should be aware of that and engage and communicate in a way that demonstrates an understanding of that experience to get buy in. If it is perceived that similar tactics are being employed (i make no judgement as to whether that IS the case) than do not be surprised if there is a reaction. Learn from it and make adjustments. That is what a good leader does. BTW whilst I do not think that we are in a place where apologies need to be made, the best leaders do apologise when appropriate.
If, the plan, makes the club more stable financially, develops a stream of talented young players over the next few years that succeed here or somewhere else and incrementally improves the performance of the first team over that period then we will know whether or not it was a success. A failure in any of these three areas will indicate something else. But maybe lets wait and see how this unfolds in the real world so we have something tangible to consider. |
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Reply | Coventry Pubs with decent grub
at 15:55 13 Aug 2025
The Greyhound at Sutton Stop aka Hawkesbury Junction is a popular canalside pub not far from the M6 junction and about 10 minutes drive (Much more on a match day I suspect ) from the ground. A canalside pub. Haven't been for a few years but still has a good reputation for food. Check out the pub website. |
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Reply | Who was this disaster down to tonight....
at 13:38 13 Aug 2025
Thanks , but I think you are reinforcing my point! The fact they 'leaked it' ( am taking what you say at face value). Why not make and own the statement and use it as part of the message you want to convey?
In relation to playing lots of kids, firstly not this volume or age, but secondly why in conversation with fans allude to the cup expertise of the coach. By implication this infers that there is going to be a different approach to cupties, yet at the first test we don't just revert to the usual approach but take it to the next level!
I have no view as to the quality and ability of either the head coach or CEO. I agree it is far too early to judge. What I can see and sense is poor engagement which has created a vacuum and that can be destructive. The football club needs to communicate more clearly and honestly. As to whether they have the right plan and a coach that will improve the first team performance we will need to wait and see. |
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Reply | Who was this disaster down to tonight....
at 12:27 13 Aug 2025
I agree with the need to distinguish from the instant reaction to a disappointing match, but the circumstances of how it happened, the decisions made in terms of team selection, the fact that it required several hundred people to incur significant cost to support the team cannot be simply explained away as an inevitable consequence of a long term plan. These debates like so many facets of modern life try and distil complex and nuanced issues into a binary choice. Frankly that is nonsense.
Read the room, don't tell fans you have hired a cup winning coach and then within weeks select a team for the first cup tie you play!
Again another example of woeful communication with fans. If there is such confidence in the plan be honest and say "we are going to use cup ties to give young players a taste of what is required, this will be good for their development and attract new talent to the club". It doesn't matter if you forewarn the opposition because that isn't the priority. We fans might not like it, some may make strong noises of disapproval but many would get a feel for the direction of travel and the rationale.
Instead, it looks dishonest and a bit sneaky. Obviously people will react and think the worst, because that is what people do when they are emotionally invested.
Of course it will take time to develop a continuous line of talent, but you have deal with today as well. You have to give hope now as well as promising jam tomorrow.
The fans are part of the solution not the problem. |
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Reply | Who was this disaster down to tonight....
at 07:25 13 Aug 2025
I am not sure that being dismissive about supporters being upset about their team exiting a cup competition is fair. To then collectively label them and pour scorn on the emotional response says more about you than them.
People want to see their team win, failing that, try hard and hopefully play some good football. I have no doubt that the youngsters tried hard and hopefully got something out of the experience. But don't be surprised if people get hacked off when they buy tickets to make an extremely long journey to support a team that has been stripped of all regular first team players in its Leagues own cup competition.
There may be a super long term plan but I fail to see how such an extreme approach to team selection is a critical part of that strategy.
Supporting a team like QPR requires massive emotional investment and hope. Disregard that emotional connection and diminish hope at your peril. Platitudes and soundbites in curated media interviews will only work so long. Critique others views by all means, but an collective dig of this kind is unnecessary. |
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Reply | The QPR summer transfer rumours thread
at 15:40 6 Aug 2025
I agree! The current shorthand using numbers to distinguish specific roles does my head in. Why does it only apply to certain positions? I cannot recall a reference to a 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 or 11? So can a midfield player only be playing a 6, 8 or 10 role?
Is a 'false 9' really a 6, 8 or 10?.
A false 9 used to be a deep lying centre forward, I think made famous by Don Revie when he played for Manchester City? I think it was based on the Hungary team of that era?
There seems to be an insatiable appetite to make the simple complex. |
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