WARNING: this is not a proper football match report. If you want a real report on Wednesday evening's Boreham Wood vs. QPR XI friendly match, I'd suggest you read the one provided by the south Hertfordshire town's local 'paper.
It is not possible for this is my england to offer anything nearly as detailed as that piece appearing in the Borehamwood and Elstree Times. Conditions conspired against even making an attempt to write something of that sort:
- Unlke at St Albans on Monday night, when Martin Rowlands and Lee Cook both made an appearance (along with sluggish Italian hitman Pellicori, the usually goal-shy forward Clarke and the seldom-seen left back Borrowdale), the QPR side was composed entirely of younger players, most of whom were not immediately recognisable to someone who doesn't regularly attend matches played by the lads coached by Messrs. S. Gallen and M. Bircham.
- Announcements of goal scorers and substitutions varied in clarity: completely inaudible in the first half of the match; barely audible and often mumbled after the break.
- The evening at Meadow Park was, for me, as much about having a natter with my dad as it was about really paying close attention to this fairly inconsequential preseason fixture. He had been out of the country for a couple of weeks, during which time a lot has happened: the Murdoch media empire has been under sustained attack from all sides, including by a phantom flan flinger; related indiscretions have shaken institutions as august as Scotland Yard and No. 10 Downing Street; in his absence, my old man has grown a beard and developed a very healthy tan, the combination of which physical changes provides me with some comedy material as I decide to what degree he now looks like Ernest Hemingway in the later stages of the writer's career.
So, before reading the aforementioned piece in the local rag, all I could really share with any degree of accuracy was that the QPR XI prevailed 3-1 and that one of the Rangers' goals came from a fully deserved penalty taken by the man with the captain's armband, Antonio German, the only player we recognised with any degree of confidence.
Beyond those basic facts, I'd take issue with the assertion made in the Borehamwood and Elstree Times that "it was a real value for money evening with both sides contributing to a match of high quality." But perhaps this difference of interpretation springs from my being used to better fare than that usually on offer at the tidy little south Herts. ground.
I found it scrappy and disjointed for much of the time, with the spectacle being no real improvement on what I'd seen at St Albans on Monday evening. All that can be said, I think, was that the Boreham Wood match was played at a higher tempo than the earlier fixture. The white-shirted home side contributed to this element by putting the Rangers youngsters under much more pressure than their St Albans counterparts had managed against an admittedly stronger QPR side. Marc Bircham was in charge in the dugout, and, while not seeming to be too pleased with the performance, didn't really offer much detailed guidance that I could hear - and we were pretty close to the Rangers bench. A lot of what I heard from the former QPR midfielder consisted of quite non-specific criticism of a lad named Jake who played on the right after coming on as a second half sub. I also heard him bellowing the captain's name a few times but was struck that the skipper himself seemed to favour a pretty non-vocal interpretation of the leader's role.
By and large, it seems that the QPR youth system is able to produce players who at least look the right size and shape to be professional footballers. How much more can really be said of our youngsters, though, I'm not sure. A number of them seemed to have a kind of lazy body language and I was not seeing facial expressions or hearing comments that would suggest any of them is very excited to be on the fringes of a newly promoted Premier League side. Perhaps they all realise that their chances of breaking into that side are surely very slim. If this fairly uninspiring kick about is representative of these boys' capabilities, then, with the possible exception of German, I'd be very surprised to see any of them making it onto the Loftus Road turf this coming season.
Beyond those basic facts, I'd take issue with the assertion made in the Borehamwood and Elstree Times that "it was a real value for money evening with both sides contributing to a match of high quality." But perhaps this difference of interpretation springs from my being used to better fare than that usually on offer at the tidy little south Herts. ground.
I found it scrappy and disjointed for much of the time, with the spectacle being no real improvement on what I'd seen at St Albans on Monday evening. All that can be said, I think, was that the Boreham Wood match was played at a higher tempo than the earlier fixture. The white-shirted home side contributed to this element by putting the Rangers youngsters under much more pressure than their St Albans counterparts had managed against an admittedly stronger QPR side. Marc Bircham was in charge in the dugout, and, while not seeming to be too pleased with the performance, didn't really offer much detailed guidance that I could hear - and we were pretty close to the Rangers bench. A lot of what I heard from the former QPR midfielder consisted of quite non-specific criticism of a lad named Jake who played on the right after coming on as a second half sub. I also heard him bellowing the captain's name a few times but was struck that the skipper himself seemed to favour a pretty non-vocal interpretation of the leader's role.
By and large, it seems that the QPR youth system is able to produce players who at least look the right size and shape to be professional footballers. How much more can really be said of our youngsters, though, I'm not sure. A number of them seemed to have a kind of lazy body language and I was not seeing facial expressions or hearing comments that would suggest any of them is very excited to be on the fringes of a newly promoted Premier League side. Perhaps they all realise that their chances of breaking into that side are surely very slim. If this fairly uninspiring kick about is representative of these boys' capabilities, then, with the possible exception of German, I'd be very surprised to see any of them making it onto the Loftus Road turf this coming season.
This is a great shame, given that according to recent comments by QPR manager Neil Warnock, the club is only in the market for free transfers and loan signings and that any monies raised by the probable (?) sale of the talismanic Adel Taarabt would not be reinvested in new talent.
As it stands, a QPR side minus Taarabt (and minus the influential Wayne Routledge, who has returned to Newcastle from his loan spell at Loftus Road) will surely struggle in the top division. While some other top flight sides have also been very quiet in the transfer market, they are better established at the higher level and with squads that are undoubtedly stronger than the one Warnock will have at his disposal. Even if the Moroccan starlet does remain a Rangers player for the time being, the Superhoops look ill-equipped to survive in the Premier League. Sure, the two signings made so far might add value, but both look like a punt to me - Can Kieron Dyer suddenly be transformed into a player able to make it onto the pitch more than a handful of times without sustaining a serious injury? Which Jay Bothroyd have QPR signed? The prolific version of last season (20 goals in 42 games for Cardiff)? or the less reliable version of many of his previous campaigns (4 goals in 26 games for Wolves in 2007-08; 1 goal in 13 games for Charlton in 2004-05; 6 goals in 34 games for Perugia in 2003-04)?
Much as I'd like to think otherwise, the season ahead looks to be a very tough one for QPR, unless, perhaps, there is any substance to rumours of yet another takeover of the club.
If QPR's current owners have a master plan, its logic currently eludes me. So far it seems to consist of:
- alienating supporters with crazy ticket price hikes, raising only £3-4 million extra in the process (the 'prize' of promotion to the Premier League is supposed to measured in the tens of millions, remember)
- selling the best and most exciting player and not using the money to buy replacements
- targeting ageing/injury prone/inconsistent players who are available (because no one else wants them?) on a free transfer
- er...
- that's it
In this context, it does seem a pity that matches like the one we witnessed under a leaden Hertfordshire sky on Wednesday evening suggest that there is little prospect of supporters' worries being alleviated by the arrival of some great new talent from the youth ranks.
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