A better night at the office – Knee Jerks

Wednesday, 19th Oct 2016 17:08 by Antti Heinola Praise for Luongo, Sylla and Onuoha from Antti Heinola as our columnist looks back on Tuesday’s home win against Bristol City. Luongo All hail the returning Aussie hero. He runs, he tackles, he passes, he assists, he does that thing where he flicks a high ball up in the air, turns his man and draws a foul. It's Massimo, our best Massimo since Mauro (one for the 90s lads, there). Boy oh boy do we miss him when he's out. Just the addition of one player makes us look like a totally different proposition, improving our movement and dynamism in one swoop. OK, so he wasn't *amazing*, he gets a solid 7/10 from me and probably MOTM, but this was still a performance that sent a big message to the manager - when it comes to your midfield, I am THE man. Before yesterday, he had made 26 more tackles in the league than any other QPR player this season, making a mockery of the idea that only holding midfielders break up play. And he made a load more last night. He may not be quick, but he is sharp, hard working and has excellent anticipatory skills. But perhaps most important is his contribution higher up the pitch. Last night he made several good runs with the ball and in the first half saw a good shot palmed away by their keeper. In the second, fairly deep into the game, it was Luongo who made a run beyond Chery on the right wing to feed in a beauty of a cross for Sylla to score from. Luongo's celebrations in front of Q block showed what it meant to him. He knows he needs to be more deadly - to supply more goals and score some himself. Hopefully, that will come. Pleasingly, he's also becoming a bigger figure in the team. It was noticeable how, as Hamalainen struggled a little with the defensive side of his game, that Luongo frequently tucked himself in on our left, giving him some support and also offering words of advice. If Cousins can shake off this injury, a midfield three of him, Mass and Borysiuk will be an interesting proposition. Sylla

He didn't dominate the Bristol defence quite as much as Polti did at the weekend, but it was nevertheless another good performance from him, topped with a real striker's goal from really only the second decent chance he'd had all game. Three goals already, two of them matchwinners, and it appears we may have found one here. And again, as with many of our recent signings, it's his attitude that impresses. What frustrated me about the booing at some games this season, even if it was aimed at the manager, is that we can no longer look at this side and claim they don't care or they don't try. They might not be good enough or quick enough or skilful enough at times, but it's not down to lack of effort. And the camaraderie between Sylla and Polti is a case in point. they know they're fighting for the same shirt, but they clearly relish it and are helping each other and are pleased when the other does well. Polti's reaction at the end of the Fulham game, carrying Sylla around on his shoulders, was followed last night by Sylla rushing to the bench to hug his mate after his goal. Team spirit not only takes time, but it tends to come with wins too. It's difficult for us to relate to this team because it's so new and those who have been here a while (Henry, Onuoha) tend to divide opinion. But slowly that's improving - certainly thanks to Polter, but definitely due to this very likeable striker too, with a love of chesting a ball and a neck as thick as that of Brock Lesnar. Onuoha Is he a centre back? Is he a right back? Is or isn't he a captain? Is he any good? It's the debate that will rage on here until his retirement, or until he signs for Swindon in three years' time. But in some games the criticism that he isn't a JT-style shouter and screamer of a captain seem a little hollow, because he plays like a proper leader. I'm not sure those games happen often enough, but sometimes they do - Reading away last year was one example, and last night was another. I'll be honest, at some stage last week I was ready to put a month's wages on Tammy Abraham scoring at any time in this game. Following the Newcastle debacle (known to me only as the Newbacle) and the way in which Fulham sliced through us like a sharp scythe through thin grass, it seemed inevitable that Tammy would probably net at least a couple at LR. His famed chance to conversion ratio surely meant that he'd only need about a fiftieth of the chances Fulham made to fall his way in order to increase his haul for the season. In the end, though, he was managed brilliantly by Ned and Caulker. Just one chance fell to Abraham, just before half time, when a slightly fortuitous series of events saw the ball land at his feet and he swivelled to slam a shot first time past the excellent Smithies and, luckily, past the post. He never had a sight like that again. chief out-muscled him, out-fought him and out-thought him throughout the night, leading by example in his favoured position. Just possibly JFH has stumbled on his best centre back pairing almost out of necessity, but time will tell. Ned is often better in these situations. Another of his great games for the club was at right back against Bale at LR in a 0-0 draw. Given one important task, he nailed it, smothering Bale much as he smothered Abraham. Few full backs can ever have given Bale a tougher game. Perhaps that is the secret - challenge him to totally nullify one player and leave Caulker to do the rest? whatever the answer, good games from both and great to see the captain have such a good game. Hamalainen Our fourth choice left back did not have an easy time of things once poor Lynch limped off. In a tight game he had to come on and not only defend, but also make sure he supported the attack with some overlaps in the impressive way Lynch had done. First the very good - he doesn't panic, he's decent in the air, he's not slow, and he's extremely comfortable on the ball, once again showcasing great close control, calmness under pressure and a clever eye for a pass. However, he did struggle against the experienced Tomlin. Tomlin, who, while carting round a few extra pounds in weight still looked great against us at the back end of last season, mercilessly attacked Hamalainen and caused real problems. No disgrace there - Tomlin on form is a tough proposition for anyone at this level, but we clearly looked weak down that side, despite Hamalainen's best efforts. Two things then happened - Luongo and Washington made sure they gave Hamalainen some extra help (Washington in particular worked his nuts off) and then Lee Johnson tried to pile on some pressure by moving Tomlin infield and bringing on the vaunted Freeman (as good as Alli two years ago, according to our Bristol friends). It didn't work. Tomlin had less space, Freeman never got in the game and Hamalainen ended I believe his second league appearance with his second win. Big test on Saturday though - with all our other left backs rubbing each others thighs and shoulders in Prav's old stomping ground, he looks a likely starter against the reasonably rampant Owls. Wish him luck. How nice to have two youth players as a genuine part of this squad. Gladwin The messages on here after the game have been largely positive - which is interesting in itself. Yes, we probably were more positive that Saturday, but this was a similar display of attacking intent to the Fulham game. It hasn't come out the blue. Had Sylla not scored I suspect there would not be quite so much happiness with essentially the same performance - the margins are that fine. The point is, while the fans did their best for much of the game, the reaction to Gladwin was disappointing from at least a couple of quarters. We've not seen much of him, but for some their mind is made up. I admit I haven't been hugely impressed so far, but I think I've only seen him play about four times. Last night he was chucked on unexpectedly when Cousins went off, thrust into a difficult midfield picture. And yes, he is languid and he did dally too long two or three times last night, but can we just give him a chance? Chery let him take a free kick (awful, admittedly) and some corners, so presumably the players believe in his quality. One thing that definitely won't help someone with obviously fragile confidence at the moment is to huff and puff and jeer every time he touches the bloody thing. But that's what a section of our fanbase is like at the moment. The group in front of me are particularly bad, every cross that doesn't result in a goal greeted with 'rubbish!', every time someone doesn't run 40 yards to chase a ball they have no hope of getting, deciding instead to conserve energy for something more important greeted with a 'chase it you lazy cnt!' (this is usually on the 85th minute mark), every backward pass to keep possession greeted with a 'FORWARD!' as if backward passes are illegal. It's quite easy to spot those that have barely played the game and have likely not exercised in about 20 years either. None of this helps. But that is the modern fan - a customer, frustrated, angry, in need of a fix. 4-3-3 Nice to see something else tried and it worked well. Bristol outplayed us despite the result at the end of last season, and JFH's plan to combat that worked. Three in midfield, more dynamism, a bit more pace and a bit more width. Chery may have been marginalised a little, but he worked hard (even if little came off for him), Washington caused problems and Sylla constantly had options when he received the ball. I'm not sure it will always work and it puts a lot of potential pressure on the full backs (a quick mention to Perchy who had a good game), but it proves this team can be flexible - and there were strong options on the bench too. Footballers you haven't thought of in ages, Number 22: Chris Bart-Williams Pictures – Action Images Action Images



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