AshtonRobin21

Alex Scott and Semenyo look keen to attack, but have to question the positions that Martin is picking up. All of our play seems to be out on the wings with no central option.

Martin also playing to his strengths. Is that 2 assists in 2 games?

Yes, certainly looked well tonight. I really want things to work out well for him here. Things are looking positive, even with some experienced players missing through injury. Excited to see us continue to progress under his leadership.

Really good to see the positivity on the forum tonight. A couple of good results has brought a feel good factor back to the club, and we now prepare to enter a decent run of fixtures over the Xmas period. The atmosphere tonight was fantastic. Passion inside the stadium, the belief in injury time that we could get over the line. The fans were in unison with the team to the end tonight. Two outstanding young academy graduates leading by example, demonstrating composure to secure the win. A much needed clean sheet. And a feeling of togetherness amongst fans, staff and players. Credit to every single player tonight, there was a real sense of pride and passion demonstrated from each one of them. Long may it continue. Up the city!

Both are fantastic talents. Really impressed with how they have made the step up. I hope they will remain with us for many years to come. Benarous' composure during injury time was incredible. The calmest player on the pitch, making all the correct decisions, and forcing Stoke into challenges. Huge credit to both of them tonight. Also great to see the players praise Benarous at the final whistle. Up the City!

Ryan Lowe would be my choice. Has a style of football (much like Russell Martin who is earning plaudits with Swansea). Has worked wonders in his short time as a manager, promotions with both Bury and Plymouth on minimal budget, whilst taking Plymouth to 2nd place in League 1.

A team of 10 men has: - outplayed us, - outclassed us, - outsmarted us. Gutless bunch playing for us. No excuses from this performance. Embarrassing!

Concerning a goal at a corner against 10 men is inexcusable! Schoolboy defending.

I mentioned in mid-week about the need for more shots from outside the box. That's what can happen! Get in City!!

Not making the extra man count for anything here. How the team with 10 men is controlling possession baffles me. Get the ball and peg them back into their own half. Apply some pressure. Pathetic.

Also did this during his time with Charlton. Fantastic to see! The idea seems a great way to raise awareness to the younger generation as well. Younger fans will ask the question about the pink hair.

By name players, I was referring to the likes of Martin, Simpson, Wells, etc who all WERE very good championship players once upon a time. The problem for us being, we signed them a couple of seasons too late. Wells applies less so, as he was in good form for QPR when we signed him. We need to be looking for the next generation of these players, who have the potential to be regular 'top end' championship players for years to come. However, we seem to have a severe lack of forward planning at the club. We have reverted to short-term fix signings, whilst actually not really fixing anything.

Deep rooted problems are embedded within the club. We find ourselves slipping down the table once again. I have seen many varied analysis' of who is to blame for the current state of affairs. Is it the manager? Is it the players? Is the Ownership to blame? Previous regimes? The truth is, all have played a part in leading us to where we're currently at. Has Pearson had the desired effect since his arrival? The simple answer is no. However, the playing personnel at his disposal is the worst I have seen since our relegation season in 12/13. My main criticism is that we still don't seem to have a 'style of play'. It's anyone's guess as to what formation we are going to play with, but one things for sure, Chris Martin will be starting. Yet, amongst all of this, I believe NP is working hard with the tools he has. Would anyone else do a better job? I'm not so sure many managers would be able to get a tune out of this squad. Confidence seems lost, any form of aggression is non existent, and there is no grit or fight within the squad. The players were keen to perform a lap of honour on the weekend following what can once again be described as a drab performance against a poor Barnsley side (bar a 5 minute spell in which the 2 goals were scored). Now I, like many others, felt that the home win on Saturday may have injected new life into this squad and provided an uplift in both results and performances, but tonight proved that was not to be the case. Instead we were served up another dull, gutless performance with no attacking threat whatsoever. The players need to face up to the position we are in. In regards to ownership, SL has provided us with great financial backing over the years, and long may that continue. But a 'Football brain' is required within the club to ensure we are investing wisely. The job carried out by Mark Ashton can only be described as diabolical. Every asset within the club sold and the money reinvested poorly, thus leaving us with a squad of overpaid, underachievers. The likes of Martin, Wells, James, King, Simpson, Kalas and Baker would have made up a very good championship side - 5 years ago. We are behind with the times. A large majority of this squad has performed to their peak levels and are now on a decline. Yet we still fall into the trap of recruiting 'name players' as opposed to searching for genuine potential. As a club we are on a slippery slope. Off the field things may seem okay, We have a great training ground, a fantastic stadium, but we are a million miles away where it really counts, ON THE PITCH. A thorough review needs to be conducted by Mr Lansdown to understand where we go from here. Teams such as Luton are bypassing us with minimal spend, so where are we going wrong. Players deemed no longer suitable for our requirements such as Korey Smith and Jamie Paterson are now seen as crucial members of a much improving Swansea side. If you have not already read @Harry post in regards to the state of our recruitment department within the club, then I would certainly recommend taking a look. Alarm bells will begin to ring. The infrastructure at the club needs reviewing. A director of football would go along way to starting to fix some of these issues. A genuine football individual who has lived the game and understands the requirements to succeed. Someone in the mould of Joe Jordan for example. My feeling is that we have tried to give Pearson free reign in terms of being the manager, whilst also overseeing various areas within the club (the role of a DOF). This task is simply too big for one individual and requires assistance. QPR currently have a very solid foundation due to the working relationship between Mark Warburton (Manager), Les Ferdinand (Director of Football) and Tony Fernandes (Owner). A club that seems to be getting back on track after a few seasons of decline. Apologies for the long post, but we require an in-house review as to where we are currently underperforming, and it is certainly in more areas that just on the pitch.

And to think the sales of Webster, Reid, Bryan, Flint, Brownhill and Pack etc, has left us with this utter mess of a squad.

Is that all it takes to score against us these days? Painful to watch. No fight in this squad whatsoever.

The point I'm making is we rarely shoot outside of the box, full stop. Whether that's 18 yards or 30 yards, we don't attempt it anywhere near enough. You don't win games without scoring goals, and averaging 1/2 shots on target a game is simply not enough. If the chance is on, take the shot. You present yourself with the opportunity to score, gain a corner or you lose possession. We seem very one dimensional in the sense that we are always looking to play into the box. Games like tonight, where we are losing 1-0, requires more fluidity in the attacking third to give ourselves the best chance of getting back into the game. 45 minutes played and no shots on target should tell you all you need to know.

What better opportunities do we create? From what I've seen, it's a case of pass it into the final third before losing possession on the edge of Birmingham's box. How many shots on target have we had?

As you say, Bakinson can shoot from distance, but doesn't try it enough. Their goal is a perfect example of what can happen by trying your luck from range. We always try and pass it into the box before considering a shot.

Why do we always look afraid to shoot from outside the box. Most teams would have tried their luck. Instead Bakinson tries to play a hopeless pass.

Once upon a time we lacked any aggression within midfield. Now we are blessed with the likes of Williams, James and Massengo. He has looked very good in recent games. Certainly replicating his Wigan form.

Positives within that performance again. However, also a couple of discussion points. - Weimann and Martin look tired. - O'Dowda looks miles off the Pace, and his decision making is woeful. - Afobe looks like the profile of striker we are missing. Physical yet mobile, can come short or look for the through ball. - I felt Bakinson had the opportunity to bring down Saville on the half way line in the build up to the goal. - Jed Wallace joins the likes of Barry Bannan, Callum Robinson and Daniel Johnson by impacting the game each time he plays against us. Overall, I feel a draw would have been a fair result.

That was a special performance. You can see the unity amongst this squad. We battled all the way through and got the reward. Loved the attitude we showed the equaliser as well. Took it in our stride and went straight back at them. Up the city!

This is a tough watch.

Unbelievable

That's a fantastic finish from Janneh. The youngsters are certainly knocking on the door. Some could easily become regular starters as the season goes on.