City 0 QPR 2
One of the most memorable games I have ever seen ended in City losing by 2 goals to nil. Unfortunately it wasn't this one which will have faded from the memory by the time the next match comes round.
All the pre-match portents suggested that this would be a hard game for us and thus it turned out to be. The games was effectively over as a genuine contest when QPR took the lead after 12 minutes when a crossfield switch was immediately followed by a cross from the right which the prolific Mackie, completely unmarked, headed confidently into the far corner of the net.
The goal bore more than a passing resemblance to King's equaliser against Cardiff 4 days earlier. So once again City have gone behind in the first half and not having scored in the first half of any league game this season it was not surprising that we went in at halftime a goal down.
There is not much more to be said for the first half as we never looked like scoring and Rangers clearly decided that they had done enough to win and made no real effort to extend their lead. They are a big side and won 90% of balls in the air all over the pitch. This was made easier by Sousa's tactics which involved Fryatt playing up front as a lone central striker. I have never seen Fryatt so ineffective, not helped by the fact that the ball invariably came to him in the air which was meat and drink to two large central defenders…….
City found it hard to make any forward progress. As soon as a player was challenged he would turn and pass back so that Hobbs and Morrison were left with the dirty work of lumping the ball upfield from whence it came straight back! How we needed Mark Davies who would turn swiftly and accelerate past seemingly static defenders and create space for the strikers. No chance of that happening with this team who looked jaded after their exertions against Cardiff. The half time whistle was a relief from the predictable tedium playing out before over 22 000 fans.
The second half was an un-action replay of the first until Sousa finally got the message that you cannot play Fryatt, or indeed any player currently at the club, as a lone striker. So on came Howard, 'a very important player for us.'
For some 15 minutes the match came alive and there seemed hope of an equaliser. The crowd got behind the side and they responded although not managing to engineer a clear chance. A controversial incident occurred when Howard seemed to be elbowed at a corner but the referee took no action.
The crowd's growing frustration now had an outlet and the referee was seriously abused for the next ten minutes. Gradually City's storm blew itself out and the match dragged uneventfully to its inevitable conclusion in spite of 7 minutes of added time.
QPR are big, tough and uncompromising and know how to close games out. They are Olympic-standard time- wasters and goalkeeper Kenny a gold medalist. They showed no interest in adding to their lead as a punchless City posed absolutely no threat. However when Morrison showed no enthusiasm for collecting a loose ball between himself and the goal and the remaining defenders took a 'it's not my job' stance Mackie decided that this was too good a gift to ignore and cut in from the left to score with a decisive finish. On the day we had nobody who could score a goal like that – come to think of it any goal at all!
Difficult to single out any City player as having had a good match. Keeper Ikeme is not up to the job and it is hard to see why Sousa prefers him to Logan. Neilson, excellent on Tuesday, couldn't cross a decent ball today to save his life. We must get a big left-sided central defender to enable Hobbs to play on the right of centre.
King was anonymous and Wellens like Waghorn had a poor game. Dyer looked knackered. To be fair it was unfortunate that we had to play Rangers shortly after a hard match four days previously, but that's one of City's faults – we are physically soft, carrying players such as Oakley and Gallagher who are anachronistic show-ponies in a land of shire horses.
I must confess to severe reservations about Paulo. Today's tactics were woeful and reduced Fryatt and Waghorn to Conference standard. The bench was full of his signings, none of whom (discount Waghorn) made the starting XI. To declare that he can guarantee promotion to the premiership in two years must rank as one of the silliest statements ever by a City manager.
Today we were outclassed and out fought and looked more likely to head in the opposite direction. I really want Sousa to succeed but the signs, including transfer requests, are not good. We need to get four points at least from the next two games (Portsmouth away and Scunthorpe home) or I will start to think the unthinkable!
City: Ikeme, Neilson, Morrison, Hobbs, Berner, Oakley (Howard 63), King, Wellens, Waghorn, Fryatt, Dyer (Gallagher 58)
QPR: Kenny, Hill, Gorkss, Walker, Connolly, Derry, Taarabt (Leigertwood 78), Buzsaky, Ephraim, Helguson (Aygemang 73), Mackie (Smith 89)
The views expressed in this report are the opinions of the Trust member nominated to file the report only and do not represent the views of the Foxes Trust organisation