Lofty Heights... 'Ohhh Bobby Zamooooora!!!'

A look at Queens Park Rangers F.C. through the eyes of the fans - follow us on twitter @loftyheights70, @LoftyQPR and @qprleeroy








Thursday, September 27, 2012

A Right Royal Disappointment



With the R's having the strange distraction of a cup fixture in late September, Rangers' hosted Reading in the Third Round of the Capital One Cup.
Lofty Heights took advantage of witnessing such an occasion.

When the Third Round tie against Reading was pulled out of the hat after our victory against Walsall we knew that this would be a must not miss game for myself, Sam and Jenson as we all live not too far away from Reading and all share a similar dislike for them so this game meant a lot to us and also meant we may have some bragging rights earlier than we expected.
Along with us were Jess (who sat in the Upper Loft with us for the first time), Lofty, Luke and my mate Pete, who is a Chelsea fan but actually likes visiting Loftus Road and really dislikes Reading so we all shared the same feeling at the back of a chilly Upper Loft.
Jenson and Lofty arrived in good time for kick off with myself, Jess and Pete just making it to our seat in time, whilst Sam and Luke missed the opening 5 minutes of the game.

As we took our seats we got our first glimpse of Le Penis (not the actual thing) but he was started his first game since joining from Marseille on deadline day. If his shorts are anything to go by then he must be hung like a horse!
The opening exchanges saw the R's look to be getting into their usual rhythm and slowly take control of the game, whilst Reading's tactic for the night was hoof it to Pogrebnyak and hope that someone can receive a flick of him.
Kieron Dyer fashioned the first chance of the game as his cross-come-shot flashed across the face of the Reading goal with no R's player able to get a touch to poke home from close range.
This spurred on Rangers' and they took the lead ten minutes later.
Junior Hoilett was the creator and scorer of his goal as he dazzled the Reading defence, skipping past three challenges before slotting home to give him his first goal in the famous Hoops shirt.
We barely got our bums back on our seats and elation turned to frustration.
Reading were awarded a soft free kick (not for the first time) and Shorey's cross into the box was met by the unmarked Royals captain and former Hoops centre back Kaspers Gorkss and his bullet header left Cesar with no chance.
Just a few minutes later and the R's really should've made it 2-1. Granero's delightful free kick found Cisse and the usually potent Frenchman should only fire his shot straight at McCarthy.
As we got past the half hour mark Cisse again had a great chance to put Rangers' back in front. Cisse run from the halfway line in a Les Ferdinand fashion diagonally before hitting a shot that unfortunately this time flew wide of the mark.

At half time we gathered on a jam packed concourse as the Blue and White bar was closed, so myself, Jess and Pete queued up for a pie and a drink for the majority of half time only to find that there was no hot food available for us. We made our way back upstairs very hungry and disppointed!

The second half started off quite scrappy but the R's once again played the ball around the field in a patient manner whilst the visitors where intent on making their hoof and hope tactic work.
Hoilett had claims for a definite penalty waved away by a referee that was putting in one of the worst and one sided performances that I have seen in quite a while.
The R's kept puffing away and finally got the goal they deserve on 71 minutes.
Gorkss attempted clearance was blocked by Granero and the ball looped in front of Cisse before he allowed the ball to bounce four times without being challenged and as the chance seemingly disappeared, Cisse let fly with a half volley from 25 yards out and found the corner of the net with McCarthy in the Reading goal having no chance.
Cisse's celebrations of whipping his shirt off earned him a booking, but who cares we were winning..........
Just five minutes later it was level again!
Faurlin was adjudged to of fouled Karacan in what was a really soft foul considering that Hunt had got away with two blatant elbows on Faurlin with the referee in full view previously.
Once again that man Shorey stepped up and this time he took aim at goal. It looked like he had found the back of the Lower School End before the ball dipped, hit the underside of the crossbar and went in.
I hate to say it but it was a very well taken goal.
It got even worse four minutes later, Hunt was going no where in the corner before turning Onouha inside out and quickly laid the ball to Robson-Kanu and he crossed along to the unmarked Pogrebnyak, who for once had the ball at his feet and he backheeled the ball into the bottom corner when it seemed like Cesar had just about got over to make the save.
It could've got even worse in injury time when M'Bia was harshly adjudged to of fouled Pogrebnyak and the bald ref from Berkshire unbelievably pointed to the spot.
Cesar made a fine save from Pogrebnyak's penalty but all was too late and the R's long cup run was over!

I'm not being biased in the slightest in any of the above, however I have to say that Reading are the worst team I have seen this season and we still lost to them! They were long ball and very short on ideas yet our defensive frailties really showed last night. Was is also worrying is that we are creating chances but not taking them. It was good to see Cisse grab a goal last night as his confidence looked to be shot to pieces before that wonder strike.
We got into some really good wide positions last night, mainly down the left with Park and Hoilett but found ourselves short in the box with just Cisse waiting for anything to come across to him.
I also have to say that despite the effort he puts in that Mackie was dreadful last night. We had acres of space on the right hand side on numerous occasions last night and Mackie had drifted in, meaning we had to rebuild our attacks. Also when he was making runs he never looked where the ball was and just run aimlessly, leaving Dyer exposed if Reading gained possession and hit us on the counter.
M'Bia looked comfortable in the first half but wasn't all too impressive in the second half, it will take a few matches for Le Penis to get match fit and used to the pace of English football.

Our Man of the Match vote was unanimous will Junior Hoilett gaining all the votes from the gang.

I will return after Monday's home game with West Ham, I hope to report on good news finally!

Keep the faith!!

U R'SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

View from the Tottenham End...


As promised, Rob from THFC1882.com has given us his views of the game on Sunday. Very complementary towards the R's it is too...

So I believe the term that sums it up best after the game on Sunday is that we got away with one.
After a dreadful first half display in which we were rightly trailing at the break, we have to give Andre Villa-Boas and the players due credit for turning it around in the second half and getting our first home win of the campaign.  In truth it didn’t look likely as an awful opening 45 minutes meant Villas-Boas left the pitch at half-time to a chorus of loud boos AGAIN! Now I am not going to get on my soap box again as by now you know how I feel about fans booing their own team but it has to stop.  This is a new manager who is implementing new techniques and playing style, it needs time to fall into place and getting on their backs isn’t going to help. RANT OVER

Bobby Zamora, who scored one goal in 18 appearances at Spurs, put QPR deservedly ahead after Alejandro Faurlin’s brilliant slide-rule pass, and had it not been for a couple of brilliant reaction saves from Brad Friedel (AVB once again saying after the game that Brad will rightly stay no 1 for now),  we could have easily gone in 3-0 down at half-time.

Spurs just never got going and full credit to the visitors as they quickly settled  into their rhythm and started pushing for an opener from the off.  Their game plan was spot on to close down and hurry us into giving possession away, which we did repeatedly. Friedel pulled off a brilliant save to deny Clint Hill after four minutes and nine minutes later the American again produced a world-class save from Junior Hoilett from 10 yards after some poor defending from Kyle Walker. It only seemed a matter of time before QPR broke the deadlock and it came just after the half hour when Zamora found the net and who could argue against it. Friedel was at full stretch moments later to deny Hoilett as Rangers pushed for a second.

We failed to test Julio Cesar once during the first half and we started resorting to long shots that failed miserably. The one time we had the ball in the net, Clint Dempsey’s effort was ruled out after Defoe was given offside in the build-up.

Something had to change and at the break AVB pushed Gareth Bale back to his natural left wing position, putting Jan Vertonghen to left back and bringing Steven Caulker on for Gylfi Sigurdsson.  The game completely changed from that moment on.

If one thing AVB gets from this game alone it should be that Bale cannot play left back anymore. If Assou-Ekotto and Naughton aren’t available then Jan needs to play left back as Bale helps us play with more speed, power and fluidity, plus Vertonghen looked excellent and very comfortable in the position. He should have also noticed how easily Caulker eased into the side and played very well at both ends of the pitch.
The 20-year-old powered a header from a Bale corner towards goal that was cleared off the line, before his header from the back post, from another corner, flew in off the chest of QPR midfielder Faurlin to get us back in the game.

Sixty seconds later and we were ahead with the in form Jermain Defoe getting it with a cool finish. Vertonghen charged at the Rangers defence and laid the ball off at the perfect moment to Bale, whose shot ricocheted onto the bar after Cesar got a piece of it and fell into the path of the England striker, who calmly controlled the ball and then slotted it home through a sea of QPR defenders on the line.  It was a lead that we barely deserved and didn’t look like we could keep hold off it with any certainty.

Our confidence did grow from then on though and we looked threatening when we attacked. Dempsey fired a 20-yard shot just wide of Julio Cesar’s goal and Bale’s powerful run and cross somehow wasn’t tapped in.
At the other end Hoilett then wriggled free from his marker on a rare QPR attack but Vertonghen came to the rescue with a heroic sliding tackle to dispossess the former Blackburn man.

The match was turning into a thrilling end to end encounter. QPR, mindful that we had conceded in the last 10 minutes of all our league games, threatened through Hoilett and substitute Djibril Cisse.

We poured forward, mainly on the break, looking for a third, however, and almost got it when Dempsey and Defoe had close-range headers blocked. Defoe raced through with five minutes left but he was forced wide by Park Ji-Sung.

QPR came forward in injury time looking for an equaliser that most fans would say they were value for but the nearest they came was a curled shot from Faurlin that went a yard wide.
Defoe almost added his second when he raced through in the last minute of added time but Julio Cesar saved well to his right.

On the second half display, which was as good as the first was bad, you could say we didn’t deserve to lose the match and you have to give plaudits to the players for showing character to turn it around 2nd half. A lot of the team have played 3 games in a week and looked jaded so hopefully there will be wholesale rotation on Wednesday in the Capital Cup to give some of the players a break.  Remember this is a project by AVB and it won’t be perfect straight away. The past is the past, let’s all look forward and give the team we all love the support it needs.

COYS
Rob
You can follow this blog on Twitter ( @THFC1882dotcom )

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Gone in 60 Seconds...


Tottenham 2-1 QPR

Spurs came from behind to win a very entertaining London derby at White Hart Lane this evening, but I, along with R's fans everywhere, am still wondering how on earth Rangers came away from this game with nothing...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The gang as always were in good numbers, but today, taking 4 seperate journeys. With myself and Jenson, fresh from his holidays in Cyprus, arriving first. Sadly, he didn't bring any weather back with him and it was peeing down all afternoon. We had a brief chat with Jointy, before meeting Lee, Jess, Sam, Luke and finally PK on the concourse. Myself, Jenson and Lee sampled a pie each, only for the ratings of course... more on that later, before we all took our seats in the Upper Tier. Amongst the away following were Anton Ferdinand and former Rangers, Lee Cook who we saw on a number of occassions, singing his heart out for the lads.
 
Rangers suffered an early setback as Jose Boswinga had to leave the field with a hamstring injury and another addition to our ever more populated treatment room. He was replaced by Kieron Dyer.
 
From here on in, we witnessed a quite superb first half performance from Rangers who took the game to Spurs right from the off.  Brad Friedal was the busiest of the keepers, saving well from a Clint Hill header early on and a stinging drive from Junior Hoilett. Ryan Nelsen perhaps should have done better with a header from a corner, but the R's were dominant and their reward came on 34 minutes - good work from Faurlin saw him play in Zamora who lofted the ball over the advancing Friedal. Amongst the celebrations, Anton Ferdinand took upon the firing the guns type celebrations, to which Sam and I thought a Usain Bolt celebration would have been so much better from the R's defender.
 
It was no more than Rangers deserved and could well have been 2-0 had Friedal not parried away another Hoilett effort just before the break. We all assembled on the concourse at half time, simply enthusing about the half of football we had just witnessed.
 
Onto the second half and after AVB had shuffled his pack, Spurs expectedly came at Rangers and Julio Cesar had to be at his best to parry away Dempsey's piledriver. But on the hour, disaster struck as Bale's corner was headed towards goal by Caulker when the ball deflected off Faurlin and into the net. There was barely time to catch breath and just a minute later, Spurs were in front - a Rangers attack broke down and Spurs launched a quick counter. Vertonghen found Bale on the left of the area and though his shot cannoned back off the underside of the bar, the ball fell to the unmarked Defoe, who made no mistake from close range. The R's fans sat completely gobsmacked at what had just happened, to be in control of a game and then losing in the space of a minute was incredible.
 
Rangers were now chasing the game which had become wide open and with Rangers pressing for the equaliser, Spurs were hitting us on the counter with pace. Dempsey and Bale went close to extending the lead and at the other end, Hoilett had a great chance to bring the scores level, but seem to hesitate a bit, leaving Vertonghen to slide in and clear the danger. The R's contiued to press but after being so dominant earlier in the game, just could not find their way through.
 
Queens Park Rangers: Cesar, Hill, Park, Wright-Phillips (Cisse 77), Granero, Onuoha, Nelsen, Bosingwa (Dyer 4), Hoilett, Zamora (Cisse 73), Faurlin. Subs: Green, Diakite, Derry, Ehmer.
 
In summary and as already mentioned, I am still baffled as to how Rangers have got nothing from this game. For 60 minutes of this match and with no bias or exaggeration, QPR were awesome! There were some superb performances throughout once more, which leads me nicely onto the Man of the Match - wittled down to 3 contenders from the gang, with Luke opting for Junior Hoilett. But we have our first deadlock of the season, with myself, Jenson and Sam going for another fantastic showing from Esteban Granero and Lee, Jess and PK singling out a superb attacking full back display from Kieron Dyer, to which you can now certainly see just why Mark Hughes gave him a new contract in the Summer.
 
Awayday Pie Rating - some unexpected offerings from Spurs with flavours such as Pea Supper, Beef and Beer and Bombay Vegetable on offer, as well as the more well known, Balti. Just myself, Jenson and Lee sampled today and the results are as follows;
 
Jenson - Beef and Beer - much enjoyed but commented that it was hard to eat with just hands and a fork was required  - 9/10
 
Lee - Beef and Beer - enjoyed and demonstrated it could be eaten with just hands, although the filling was already scooped out at the time - 8/10
 
Lofty - Chicken Balti - enjoyed as I am a fan of hot curry and the balti was very hot and spicy. However found it a tad messy and difficult to eat - 8/10
 
Tottenham Hotspur Pie Rating - 8.33/10 - New Leaders
 
We now turn our attentions to the Capital One Cup and a home tie with Reading on Wednesday. Lee will return with what is a massive game for him, Sam and Jo. I am looking forward to this one immensly!!
 
Come on You R'ssssssssssssssssssss!!!!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Friday, September 21, 2012

Lofty Heights on Tour....

Myself and Lee are very proud to say we have been called back to do another match preview for the excellent, THFC1882.com site.

You can read our article  by clicking the following link - www.thfc1882.com

We hope you enjoy are little outing over to North London, the guys will be sending us their match report from the game, for a view from the opposition.

THFC1882.com is an excellent site and well worth a look. You can also follow the guys on Twitter @THFC1882dotcom, @essexlad13

Sunday, September 16, 2012

A Point From a Gran-d Performance


The big Derby Day arrived yesterday as Rangers' played the host to their most hated rivals Chelsea. The spotlight was on a the handshakes before the game and whether Anton Ferdinand would shake the hands of John Terry or Ashley Cole. We were about to find out.

As this was the closest home game to Sam's birthday where all the gang would be in attendance she had arranged for a meet up at the White Horse before the game and met up with Luke, Lofty, PK, Lorna, Jointy and Iceman from my knowledge. Myself and Jess arrived at Loftus Road at 2.30 so missed out on the pre-game warm up.

The gang assembled in our seats awaiting what would happen with the handshakes and this pictures sums it up

Photobucket

In refusing to shake John Terry and Ashley Cole's hand, I cannot say I blame him at all. Would you shake the hand of someone that disrespected you? I could really go off and rant away but I have done this before so do not wish to bore anyone with this again.

On to the game.
Mark Hughes made one change from the team that started at Manchester City two weeks ago. Julio Cesar made his R's debut as Rob Green dropped to the bench.

Chelsea had the first clear chance of the game as Ramires' pass found Hazard unmarked and the Belgian's shot was fired straight at Julio Cesar, who stayed big for as long as possible and managed to deny Hazard.
Five minutes later and the R's had their first real opportunity, Fabio and Park combined before picking out Bobby Zamora and his shot was gratefully clutched by Petr Cech.
Minutes later and Julio Cesar was back in action as Fernando Torres broke clear and forced a really smart save from the Brazilian International.
Rangers' were forced into their first change after 20minutes, with Fabio limping off with what looked like a hamstring probelm. Nedum Onuoha replaced Fabio and took his place at right back as Jose Bosingwa swapped over to left back.
The R's were playing some excellent football in the first half with some good short passes and keeping possesion with Wright-Phillips and Park looking to run beyond the strikers to create openings. Faurlin and Granero in the centre of midfield showed a great understanding with each other, working hard and run the show in midfield.
On the half hour the visitors had a really good penalty shout as Hazard was brought down by Wright-Phillips. My reaction was that I thought it was going to be given but all R's fans were grateful of Andre Marriner for waving away a near definite penalty.
Rangers' were dealt with a second blow with ten minutes remaining of the half. Johnson collapsed in a heap after attempting a put a challenge in on Hazard. Surprisingly it was Jamie Mackie that was the replacement for Johnson, when you would of perhaps expected Cisse to be called into action.

At half time the gang met up on the concourse in a very positive mood and really enjoying what was a comfortable first half. We were impressed with the way our defence looked more assured with Cesar in goal and had Nelsen and Ferdinand looking confident in front of him.

The second half started with the R's being the brightest of the two sides. Good work from Park saw him find Zamora, who in turn flicked it on to Mackie and the Scot hit his shot straight into Petr Cech's arms.
The confidence was clearly growing amongst the R's players and they begun to take control of the game.
On the hour mark the R's had their best chance of the game. The excellent Granero found Park completely unmarked and the Rangers' captain could not direct his header past Cech, as he once again made a straightforward save.
Soon after Faurlin played a brilliant thirty yard pass to Wright-Phillips, who let the ball bounce in front of him before hitting his shot on the volley and just past the post.
On 70 minutes the introduction on Cisse delighted the R's faithful as he come on to replace Wright-Phillips who had looked lively all game.
Soon after Cisse's arrival his pace troubled Terry and the Chelsea captain pulled up with an injury which the R's fans celebrated as if they had scored! Terry returned to the field to complete the 90minutes of hate filled chants towards him.
Rangers' had their best chance of the game with 15minutes to go. Mikel played his backpass short and Zamora was able to round Cech but found himself at an acute angle so chose to cut back in towards goal and really should have laid the ball back to Cisse or the on rushing Mackie, however he decided to be greedy and ended up having his tame shot blocked.
The final chance of the game fell Chelsea's way with Hazard being found unmarked at the back post unmarked and his shot flew over the bar into the Upper Loft.

A point at the end of the game was probably a fair result on reflection.
When you review the game you can safely say that no R's player had a bad game and everyone stood up and made a positive contribution to the game.
Our defence looked a lot more assured with Julio Cesar in goal and apart from the four saves he had to make, there was very little for the Brazilian to do. Ryan Nelsen and Anton Ferdinand looked comfortable and like they are starting to forge a good partnership. Bosingwa looked threatening on the attack whilst also showing good anticipation and making important tackles. Park put in his usual industrious performance and did not stop running all game. Wright-Phillips made some impressive runs off the ball and did trouble Ashley Cole at times as he begins to look like the confidence is growing and getting back to the player we know he is. Faurlin and Granero were outstanding in the centre and really worked hard to contain Chelsea's midfield three whilst also controlling the game from an R's perspective. Their vision and passing was a joy to watch and considering this is only their second game together, who knows what these two are capable of? It was a shame to see Johnson limp off as he was enjoying a good game and his link up play with Zamora was superb. Zamora led the line well and really should've done better when he was one on one with Cech.

Having said all of the above the Man of the Match vote was closely contested. Getting one vote was Bosingwa, two votes were given to Nelsen, Park and Granero and the winner with three votes was Alejandro Faurlin.

After the game the gang went to the Springbok to continue Sam's birthday celebrations with Luke, Lofty, PK, Corp, Steve, Jointy, Perry, Jess and myself.
Plenty of Jaegarbombs and booze was consumed as the party went onto the Walkabout as Jess and myself left and I'm sure there was plenty more drinking and dancing enjoyed by everyone.

Lofty will return with the Spurs report as we hit the road next Sunday.

U R'SSSSSSSSS!!!

Sunday, September 02, 2012

Positive in Defeat...


Man City 3-1 QPR

In what was a repeat of that memorable last day of the season, Rangers left the Etihad Stadium empty handed, depite an extremely emcoutaging display for the ESPN audience last evening.













The travelling gang were almost back to full strength, with only Jess missing, still in sunny Cyprus and the journey to Manchester started at about midday for the 2 car loads. With it being an evening kick off, we at least had the afternoons football to listen to in what was more or less, a trouble free and very quick trip. We hooked up for a catch up and refreshments on the M6 Toll services, where the main subject was the female QPR porn star that has appeared on twitter. I'm not entirely sure, but a few follows may well have been added as we left...

We arrived at the impressive Stadium at about 4pm and slowly made our way inside, where we sat down and relaxed with a beer and a pie. This week, myself, Jenson and Luke joined Lee and PK in sampling the delights for the Pie Ratings, with Lee and PK, obviously unsure of their first score, going for a second each. More on that later...

We took our seats in good time at the front of the upper tier and were joined by Iceman and Lorna. A good few less R's fans were in attendance this time around but hardly surprising with the kick off time and live TV coverage.

Onto the game and the R's started like rabbits caught in the headlights, with the Champions making all of the early running. Dzeko and Toure both went close and on 16 minutes, the opening goal finally came - a deep corner found Tevez who's effort deflected into the path of Toure who smashed the ball home from close range - a poor goal really and if you give anyone that sort of space, you are going to get punished.

As the half went on, Rangers started to grow in confidence bu the notable chances fell to City, with Rob Green saving superbly from Nasri from close range and a superb block from Fabio denied Silva. Rangers only notable effort on goal was a long range shot from Granero which was comfortably dealt with by Joe Hart.

The gang assembled on the concourse at half time pretty encouraged by what we had seen and not overly dissappointed with the half. As the second half began, it was City again making the early running and a lovely Zabaleta curling effort smashed off the R's crossbar.

On 57 minutes, Zamora headed Fabio's cross just over the bar, but the R's frontman wasn't to be denied 2 minutes later. Andy Johnson wriggled his way into the box before a firing a fierce shot at goal and Joe Hart made a smart save via a deflection, the ball bounced along the goal and the oncoming Zamora made no mistake, heading home from close range to bring the scores level and cause bedlam in the away end.















City had received a huge wake up call and sadly for us, restored their lead 2 minutes later - Tevez found the byline before crossing for the unmarked Dzeko to head home - another poor goal to concede.

The R's could well have crumbled at this point but it was hardly the case and were playing some superb football whilst hunting for the equaliser. Bosingwa went close before on 76 minutes, Ryan Nelsen should have done much better but blasted Onuoha's nod back well wide. Soon after, Granero's superb free kick was agonisingly missed by the outstretched Nelsen at the far post, there was only inches in it.

Sadly, City put the game to bed in stoppage time when Dzeko's effort was turned into the net, somewhat fortunately by the impressive Tevez. A goal his performance deserved but one that Rangers second half performance certainly didn't.

QPR: Green, Ferdinand (Onuoha 67), Park, Johnson, Wright-Phillips, Granero (Cisse 85), Nelsen, Bosingwa, Fabio, Zamora, Faurlin (Dyer 72). Subs: Murphy, Derry, Mackie, Hoilett.
 
Man of the Match - several contenders but an outright winner overall. PK and Jenson opting for Ryan Nelsen for another solid display at the back. The overseas vote from Jess in Cyprus went to Andy Johnson. But with votes from myself, Lee, Sam and Luke, today's winner is Esteban Granero for a superb debut. Special mention also for Kieron Dyer who has looked every bit the player he used to be in the last 2 games and you can certainly see why Mark Hughes has taken a punt on him. Long may it continue...
 
Away Day Pie Rating -
 
Lee - Chicken Balti - heavy on the crust and filling salty - 4/10 - surprisingly low mark really as 2 were consumed
 
Myself - Chicken Balti - Heavy Crust but good taste - 7/10
 
Jenson - Peppered Steak - enjoyed - 7/10
 
Luke - Meat and Potato - 4/10 as the filling was dry, if not so dry, would have been 8/10
 
PK - Peppered Steak x 2 - very nice but not as good as Norwich - 6.5/10
 
Overall Man City Pie Rating - 5.7/10
 
In summary, it was a fine gang day out much enjoyed by everyone and I think it is fair to say that despite the result, there wasn't much dissappointment on leaving the ground from the R's performance. The team started to click and when they did, played some superb football and it is so refreshing to see so much quality in the R's squad with plenty of options everywhere. Very exciting times indeed. Although you wouldn't have thought that reading some Twitter posts with some unbelievable negativity. I really don't know what some people expect or see, but in our opinion, we played away at the current Champions and ran them very, very close. Get real people, please!!
 
The journey home was pretty much trouble free and after a stop for dinner and Keele Services, we said our goodbyes and made our way home. Im pretty sure everyone was back at home by midnight or just before.
 
Lee will return in 2 weeks time, following the International break for the small matter of the home game versus Chelsea, which looks a very interesting game indeed and certainly one to savour...
 
Come on You R'sssssssssssssssssssss!!!!