Notwithstanding tonight's disappointing loss to Brentford, I have enjoyed much of the football that we have played this season and, at this early stage, we are in a higher league position than I would have dared forecast. I am very pleased with the job that Mark Warburton has done so far and, for long periods, I feel we have played a style of football on which we can build success. Whilst I don't wish to appear negative, there is one aspect of Warburton's reign that has surprised me: how few of his Summer recruits have made an impact on the first team. He brought in a total of 15 players and, if you exclude known quantities like Cameron, Wells and Rangel, there were 12 new faces. Tonight's starting line up was not untypical: only one of those new faces made an appearance, Liam Kelly. But for his suspension, Jordan Hugill might have been another but Warburton can't claim too much credit for unearthing a lower league unpolished diamond because Hugill was a high profile, known quantity. To mitigate any implied criticism in my observations, one must give the manager credit for the improved performances of both Wells and Hugill, the latter hardly having been a resounding success last season at Middlesborough. Possibly, the re-emergence of Eze and the fact of Chair holding down a regular first team place also speak in Warburton's favour. However, these improvements do not invalidate my central point: I just want to flag that Warburton's actual recruitment record, albeit without incurring significant fees, is so far rather sketchy. Having made some excellent saves in his last two games, Kelly may just be starting to show what he can do. Barbet has had some good moments, as well as some bad ones! Injury has deprived Amos of a prolonged run in the side and he has looked promising at times. I sincerely hope some of the other recruits start to appear, or appear more regularly. A few injuries and a few more cards may help accelerate this process. However, I did expect us to be a little further down that line by now. And if he gets any money to spend in future transfer windows, I hope those recruits make a more immediate and sustained contribution. Our shaky defence, once again fairly abject against Brentford, might be a good place to start!
26 goals against, the worst in the division bar Barnsley in last place, who have conceded just one more, tells a sorry tale. But despite that, I love Rangers this season, the spirit and the goal scoring, long may it continue to erase the memories of the last few seasons.
It’s a fair point but equally I guess you could credit him for getting so much out of some of the existing players.
Some interesting points raised in the opening post. Credit to Warbs up to date. Manning just called up for international duty. Eze's price rocketing each week. Chair developing at a fast rate. Samuel looking more confident. We are yet to see most of his signings get a run in the team and that might be because we have started so well with the players he has used. Time will tell but this still is an enjoyable season for me, apart from just paying 39 ****ing quid for a ticket at leeds.!!!
At the start of the season if you'd offered us 23 points at this stage no one would have refused. We're playing some attractive football, scoring for fun and being entertained. Yes, the defence is shaky but it adds to the fun and I've always said I'd rather lose high scoring than whatever nil. As I posted earlier, if we'd won both televised games in the last week we'd have been top but perhaps these two results remind us we're a work in progress and have a way to go yet. I hope we get the chance to bring in another decent defender in January, if the defence was a bit more solid we'd have a good chance of a proper Play-Off challenge...
Whilst I can see that the young players potential transfer fees are rising, I hope they stay with QPR and help us become better. That being said, for some, it is their first or could be their first full season in the championship so hopefully that mean we hang on to them for a bit longer. Luke Freeman was in the championship for a while before he earnt his move to the Premier League, and things haven't exactly worked out well for Alex Smithies. I only want the team to get the next 30 points as soon as poss so I will be thankful that we will have beaten relegation. Anything else is a bonus.
Interesting to see that freeman is struggling to get a game with Shef. Utd. Seems to be making the bench, but only coming on as sub and a start once (both cup games) in last eight games/two months. Just shows our youngsters would do better to stay and develop to a stage they can get a decent move/contract and genuinely push for game time at a higher level.
To be honest the only one of our youngsters who looks ready to play at a higher level to me, is Eze, and then based only on his better games.
I had to agree with the TV commentator on Monday night, who said nearing HT, that our performance was more that of a team in relegation contention than one who would go 2nd if they won.
I think that Lee Wallace will make a massive difference to the defense once he gets up to full match fitness
Perceptive comments. With our lack of funds, we rely on our manager to find gold in the lower leagues. And in recent history, they've not done badly. Well worth monitoring this aspect of Warburton's skill set.