| Positives 08:34 - Aug 10 with 5993 views | Hunterhoop |
They warrant some focus.
Roberts, to my eye at least, looked excellent last night. Looked a class above in terms of first touch, and positioning. He wanted the ball, turned sharply and drove with it. Lovely strike to. Needs to play if fit. He’s a better quality of footballer than most in our squad.
Armstrong. There is no need to hold this kid back. To all intents and purposes, he’s not a kid. He’s built like a fully grown athlete, he has pace to burn, he seems to have no fear. He scared the Charlton defence. His technical ability may not be there yet, but he gives us an X factor that, with our budget and resources, we shouldn’t be afraid to use. He won’t come off or play well every week; I’m not sure he has the technical skills (yet) to ensure a consistent level of performance, so the crowd need to stay with him. But the support he received yesterday was unlike anything I’ve seen/heard for a young player who’s not played for the first team in competitive football yet. We might have a very good one here. Right time. Right place.
Shodipo. Okay, far from perfect, and end product is still missing, but he played well. He beat his man on the in side and outside. He got to the byline. He’s not a starter at this level, but as an option off the bench, he offers us something. His pace, along with the two above meant we suddenly played with genuine pace going forward. We could run in behind and play it through/over the top from deep OR we could go short, and all three could turn and drive with it. That is much harder to defend than knowing everything is going short.
Sam Field. Defensively still had another excellent game (not helped by no one else in the front 6 making a tackle in the first half. And it was nice to see it was him who played the first through ball (along the deck) into the channel for Armstrong to race on to and win a corner. I’m not sure that was a ball Chair or Johansen would play given how conservative they are.
Dickie and Dunne. I think both are playing well. They’ve been under a fair bit of pressure in the last two matches, without the 3rd centre half, and they’ve stood up well to it. Dunne is back to winning most things in the air, and Dickie seems to be stepping out of defence more and driving forward.
The squad is light, even at full strength, and certainly now. But there are some bright spots and we can still field a competitive XI.
I think Beale is gradually beginning to work out who is playing in line with what he’s asking them and who isn’t. I think Sunderland is a game to experiment a little with. It’s not a bonus game. We should still be aiming to win, but 20 mins up to the goal showed us we can play a different style to the last year.
There are enough threads on the “negatives” so I’ll leave it there. |  | | |  |
| Positives on 17:57 - Aug 10 with 1508 views | ManinBlack |
| Positives on 09:47 - Aug 10 by CliveWilsonSaid |
We’ve avoided a potential trip to Peterborough. |
Don't worry they will be back in the Championship next season to put us in our place. |  | | |
| Positives on 18:07 - Aug 10 with 1461 views | stainrods_elbow |
| Positives on 09:36 - Aug 10 by Tonto |
that is the most positive post form Stainrod's elbow Ive read. has someone hacked his account? |
No, it's all me.
Actually, it's all the defeatist, cup-throwing and 'we move on' posters who are the ones who should be in your sights. I am at one with Beale - defiantly 'old-fashioned' (his word), fan-respecting, demanding, impassioned. It's always the idealists/romantics who suffer the most of course, rather than the virtue-signalling, boderline-cynical realists. |  |
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| Positives on 18:31 - Aug 10 with 1416 views | BklynRanger |
| Positives on 18:07 - Aug 10 by stainrods_elbow |
No, it's all me.
Actually, it's all the defeatist, cup-throwing and 'we move on' posters who are the ones who should be in your sights. I am at one with Beale - defiantly 'old-fashioned' (his word), fan-respecting, demanding, impassioned. It's always the idealists/romantics who suffer the most of course, rather than the virtue-signalling, boderline-cynical realists. |
See you've reverted to type now. Twas like a brief glimpse of a rainbow on an otherwise drizzly day... Sigh etc. |  | | |
| Positives on 18:45 - Aug 10 with 1390 views | EmpireStateRanger |
| Positives on 17:57 - Aug 10 by ManinBlack |
Don't worry they will be back in the Championship next season to put us in our place. |
Don't have to wait til next season... FA Cup just around the corner. |  | | |
| Positives on 18:45 - Aug 10 with 1395 views | R_from_afar |
| Positives on 11:00 - Aug 10 by daveB |
I've not been this excited about a forward since the days of Angelo Balanta and Antiono German who I thought would both be superstars so I'm playing it cool with Sinclair but blimey he looked good |
"After some hours of traipsing through the dark and foreboding forest, the young striker stumbled upon what seemed to be some sort of crossroads, a fork in the rutted, indistinct path he had been following. He paused to gather his thoughts and wiped a bead of sweat away before it could trickle down his forehead into his eye. What had happened to all the wildlife? The previously uplifting birdsong had melted away into the Stygian gloom and as he stood alone, contemplating his situation, he could swear there weren't even any insects evident any more. The one sound which remained was that of his own heartbeat, louder than he had ever heard it, seemingly swirling round him like an audible shroud. He felt light-headed for a moment.
An ancient, blistered signpost bearing barely legible script pointed up and to the left, into a part of the forest where the thorny undergrowth appeared even thicker, almost obscuring the faint, increasingly rocky, path. Armstrong could just make out the words "Way of Sabin".
Another signpost stood next to the right hand path, leaning crookedly to one side and pointing downhill, towards an almost imperceptibly brighter part of the forest, where a few shafts of light pierced the thick and imposing canopy, illuminating swirling particles of dust. Did it say "Path of Furlong?" It was hard to tell, the faded markings on the narrow, wooden arrow seemed reluctant to reveal their secrets.
Which way to choose?
Suddenly, an unseen corvid cawed somewhere overhead. The young footballer's throat was parched and dry. It felt like a pivotal moment, a deeply significant point of no return. He took a deep breath, pulled his cloak tighter around him and..."
To be continued |  |
| "Things had started becoming increasingly desperate at Loftus Road but QPR have been handed a massive lifeline and the place has absolutely erupted. it's carnage. It's bedlam. It's 1-1." |
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| Positives on 19:10 - Aug 10 with 1361 views | BklynRanger |
OK let's talk numbers RFA - ballpark figures, minimum maximums, upper percentages - whatever it takes to get this done. | | | |
| Positives on 20:56 - Aug 10 with 1299 views | BushRanger82 |
Main positive for me, I wasn't there last night. |  | | |
| Positives on 21:04 - Aug 10 with 1288 views | EmpireStateRanger |
Sunderland has looked worse in their Cup tie vs. Wednesday. Down 2-0 in the 57th. | | | |
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| Positives on 22:03 - Aug 10 with 1189 views | stainrods_elbow |
| Positives on 18:45 - Aug 10 by R_from_afar |
"After some hours of traipsing through the dark and foreboding forest, the young striker stumbled upon what seemed to be some sort of crossroads, a fork in the rutted, indistinct path he had been following. He paused to gather his thoughts and wiped a bead of sweat away before it could trickle down his forehead into his eye. What had happened to all the wildlife? The previously uplifting birdsong had melted away into the Stygian gloom and as he stood alone, contemplating his situation, he could swear there weren't even any insects evident any more. The one sound which remained was that of his own heartbeat, louder than he had ever heard it, seemingly swirling round him like an audible shroud. He felt light-headed for a moment.
An ancient, blistered signpost bearing barely legible script pointed up and to the left, into a part of the forest where the thorny undergrowth appeared even thicker, almost obscuring the faint, increasingly rocky, path. Armstrong could just make out the words "Way of Sabin".
Another signpost stood next to the right hand path, leaning crookedly to one side and pointing downhill, towards an almost imperceptibly brighter part of the forest, where a few shafts of light pierced the thick and imposing canopy, illuminating swirling particles of dust. Did it say "Path of Furlong?" It was hard to tell, the faded markings on the narrow, wooden arrow seemed reluctant to reveal their secrets.
Which way to choose?
Suddenly, an unseen corvid cawed somewhere overhead. The young footballer's throat was parched and dry. It felt like a pivotal moment, a deeply significant point of no return. He took a deep breath, pulled his cloak tighter around him and..."
To be continued |
Don't give up the day job! | |
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| Positives on 23:06 - Aug 10 with 1169 views | baz_qpr |
Armstrong for me is the really exciting player this season, the pace and power is frightening, but one thing I noticed last night that stood out was his movement in the penalty area, he nearly scored with a fantastic near post run. I think if this kid stays fit and nicks a few goals from the bench when he comes to getting a start I think he will keep the shirt, he will generate space for the 10s to operate in because defences will drop deep in a way they will never for Dykes. |  | | |
| Positives on 03:15 - Aug 11 with 1096 views | karlski |
Hard not to be excited by Armstrong. Raw power and pace galore. Having heard the word ‘raw’ used many times about him last season, I thought it might refer to his touch/control, but seeing him live a few times this season, I’m happy to see that part of his game is actually pretty good. Fantastic attitude too. Movement, positioning, and finishing will be the key things for him to develop, which are all coachable to an extent - haven’t really got a good read on that yet.
Roberts immediately looked a class above anything else when he come on. Superb touch and quick feet. Likes to be direct. Think he will be very important for us, especially whenever we’re without Willock. | | | |
| Positives on 22:04 - Aug 12 with 903 views | gazza1 |
In summary and in short Hunter......
Roberts took his goal well, poor defending though. Should be an asset for us and looks well decent.
Armstrong....got a real chance but not sure he is fully ready yet. I have not seen enough of him. He must continue to improve.
Shodipo is not good enough and will never be good enough. We must be well short if he is getting a smell of playing for us. Cannot see any point whatsoever. Just get a few quid for him and make space for another young player.
Sam Field is a defensive midfielder, all this hype about him soring goals and making goals, etc is nonsense. Just get him playing where he is good and he isn't any good as a forward thinking midfielder. Stick to what he is good at, tackling, shutting players down, attacking the ball.
Dickie & Dunne are decent although Dunne has had a wobble or two but he will be OK.
We are very light indeed within the squad, we need more players who are 1st teamers basically.
The jury is still out on Beale - we will see. | | | |
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