|
Come on you R's
I'm still not convinced playing 4-4-2 is the right way to go though — our players are better suited to 3-5-2. Forbes and Murphy hardly need any excuse to bomb forward down the wings and will find the wing-back roles easy to accustom to. With Langley back and the signing of Shittu, our main strength is through the middle and thus we should play to these strengths.
Digby has been doing well in goal, but perhaps hasn't been getting the sort of protection you would expect from our defence — moving Rose back to sweeper should go some way to alleviating that, with any two from Palmer, Ben Askar or Shittu behind him. Peacock and Langley should form the central midfield, with Doudou (or Connolly) playing behind Thomson and Gallen with an emphasis on keeping the ball on the deck — we're still playing too many long balls for my liking.
It's a side that would easily hold it's own in Division 1, and whilst the top two may just be out of our reach this season, making the play-offs would be a formality. Even sticking with 4-4-2, the play-offs are within easy reach — to say this after being happy with mid-table for so long is quite a contrast, but the ability is there for all to see when only a month or two ago we looked every bit the club in administration and going nowhere fast.
The fact we've managed to make such giant strides over a short length of time was always a possibility to cling to for the future. Gallen coming back was a surprise and the catalyst, with everything else falling into place nicely — Peacock's had his Premiership fling but is now back and playing well, Murphy looks every inch the player we all hoped he could be, and Shittu is capable of preventing and scoring goals whilst frightening the life out of opponents.
The signing of Shittu is still a strange one. With Carlisle due to make his comeback within the next few weeks, the need for another centre-back is hardly an urgent one, especially considering the club is still in administration. I can only assume someone will eventually make way — if not Carlisle once he proves his fitness, then certainly Ben Askar when his loan runs out at the end of the season.
Even so, the squad at present is big enough and more than capable of sustaining a prolonged effort to get out of this division this season, but the cynical side of me would say that the likes of Peacock and Gallen are due to pick up an injury soon and everything will start to go pear shape. But as it's been so long since I've been able to write so positively about QPR, I'll be keeping my positive hat on all the way. Come on you R's...
* Goals from last and previous seasons in the QPR Cinema will be back on line over the next couple of days.
* Goals from last and previous seasons in the QPR Cinema will be back on line over the next couple of days.