QPR - one novice soccer watcher's opinion

Come on you R's!

I may not be a West Londoner (I am a West Coast American) but am still rooting for Queen Park Rangers to have a good season.

Of course, good depends on one's expectations!

In my case, my expectations for the Rangers is to be solidly mid-table with the hope in some future season to take a whiff of the promotion playoffs.

My personal connection to QPR is only through the one match I attended when I was in London with a free evening while on a business trip. However, as I learned about the Queens Park Rangers, I have become a supporter for narrative reasons.

I have heard of their efforts to be a community based club. Events like the Game for Grenfell and the moving story below of QPR's efforts to help those with mental health struggles.


Powerful stuff!

And so I'm a fan. Regardless of how they do, I'll be a supporter. I'll keep a check on the score of how they do. If they appear on USA TV, I'll try to see them and so far I've seen parts of two matches when they have appeared on ESPN3. I visit the official web page now and then to see highlights and sometimes I'll even see segments of the 90 minutes full match replay.

As a realistic sports watcher though, one can see that on the field, it doesn't look good for the R's. They appear to be heading for a relegation battle. On the heels of past financial mismanagement, there are limits for the club. Nonetheless, they do have more resources than some clubs. Certainly one would think enough to be solidly mid-table. But as it is, they are now lower mid-table and on the edge of the relegation zone.

As a relatively new soccer watcher, I see that the really good teams can score a variety of ways.

Some clubs are so good that even if the opponents "park the bus" the better team can pass and dribble and make zig zag runs and put the ball in the net despite nearly 22 legs in the box playing determined defense.

Some clubs are so good that they force turnovers and quickly shift from defense to offense and make lightening quick counter-attacks yielding goal scoring opportunities and goals.

Finally, the other way I see good teams score is from set plays. A free kick under the wall! Or a free kick that bends to the top corner of the goal just beyond reach of the goalie. Or a kick into the box and one of the attackers gets a head onto the ball and puts it into the net or re-directs it to someone else who puts it into the net.

Sadly, when I watch QPR goal highlights, they tend to occur late in the game when the Rangers are playing from behind and the other team has shifted into park the bus mode. Often times these goals come from free kicks where the R's load up the box with their players and in the mad scramble they get a goal. It is nice to get these goals. Rather have them than not have them!

But simply don't see many goals where they causes a turnover and get out on the counter attack. Rarely do they get goals out of dominating possession and working the ball around and carving up a defense.

I suspect they don't have too many higher end offensively skilled players.

What makes for a skilled offensive player?

The things I have seen:

1. having the great first touch upon receiving the ball
2. seeming eyes in the back of the head awareness of where your teammates are and where the opponents are
3. the ability to thread passes right onto the foot of the guy in the best place to shoot and score
4. the control and power to quickly get off a shot accurately and put it into the net

These are the more obvious ones.

Well, it cost lots of money to get players who can do all of the above well. And it cost lots of money to get players who can do most of the above well.

Only for a handful of teams in a handful of leagues in world football have the money to get such players on a consistent basis. Everyone else has to make do with proven B/B+ players or find the youngster who someday might be an A/A- player. Thus, the scouting department and the player development department is key for clubs with more limited resources.

Fans might like to call for the firing of the manager when their team isn't doing well. In some cases that is a legitimate response. But if the manager isn't entirely responsible for player recruitment then the responsibility isn't all his. And, in clubs with more limited resources, you can only do so much.

Don't know how much Ian Holloway is responsible for player recruitment and for player development. I'll leave that question for really hard core fans. But from this fan's view, it does seem as if the players do play for Holloway. They do appear to be putting in a good effort for the shirt. But, unfortunately, sometimes your guys just don't have as much talent as the other guys team.

Matt Smith is the leading goal scorer on the team this season. But I suspect most of those goals are late in games when QPR is playing from behind. In these situations, the defense is sitting back allowing the less mobile Smith to have more opportunities. Washington and Mackie appear to work hard but they might simply not have the skills to be consistent B+ attackers. In the match I watched at Loftus Road, Sylla seem to have the athleticism to get to the ball but doesn't seem to be able to do much with it once he gets it.

QPR defense is doing pretty well considering most of the injuries this season has been on the defensive end. But clearly, the offense has been a disappointment. According to this web page, QPR scored 39% of their goals from set piece and 0% on the counter-attack. Wolverhampton, current top-of-the-table got 22% from set pieces and 10% from the counter-attack. Sheffield United (holding last playoff spot at sixth) gets a whopping 79% of their goals from open play and only 12% from set-pieces. My sense is that scoring from open play is a reflection of having more skill players who can manage to score in a dynamic fluid situation compared to the relatively static set piece situation.

Anyway, don't know enough about the QPR roster to know if Holloway has any realistic options to put up top in his favorite 3-5-2 formation besides some combination of Smith, Washington, Mackie, and Sylla. Of the midfield, Freeman, Luongo, and Scowen, they seem pretty solid but am not enough of an observer to know how they compare to other talents in the league.

Hope the club can continue to improve their existing players and maybe pick up an impact player in the next transfer window.