Quick QPR report

[Balham]

Just back from QPR.

We fully deserve our place in the fourth round of the FA Cup after beating a lacklustre QPR side on their own patch. The 3-0 score line nicely mirrored our last visit when a woeful Blades side Ono their way to relegation rolled over.

As expected United lined up in a 4-5-1 with perhaps the only surprise being the wide left role being filled by Baxter with McNulty playing the lone role up front.

QPR were out of the blocks early but didn't have much to show for their efforts except a Fer effort which prompted a routine near post save from Howard before Austin headed well over. United were defending resolutely which was a welcome change, particularly at corners.

From one QPR set piece United broke with Baxter's through ball getting tangled in McNulty's feet before being recycled by Scougall and Reed whose through ball was emphatically finished by McNulty. A few minutes later another Ferdinand mistake left McNulty able to dance into the area before the forward dallied, seeing his eventual shot blocked.

Half time saw Zamora enter the fray for the hugely disappointing and dive-prone Hoilett, whose antics had irritated the 2,700 Blades in attendance. However, a terrible back header from Traoré gifted United a corner which led to the second goal with the sort of defending Blades fans being more used to seeing from their own side. Campbell-Ryce was the grateful recipient, prodding in from a yard.

QPR came at United who were more than happy to let the hosts try and break them down. Zamora had a glorious chance but put his header wide from 8 yards before Howard was forced into another routine diving save. Vargás and Isla, two of Chile's World Cup squad, came on for the hosts with the former's direct running proving problematic but United held firm while looking threatening on the break. Baxter drew a foul 25 yards out when a ball to Scougall may have been the better option, Reed shot over the top before McNulty, on a yellow card after kicking the ball away, was replaced by Murphy. Another break saw Baxter air kick, two more changes saw United run the clock down before Campbell-Ryce put the gloss on the score, pouncing on another poor back header before beating the keeper twice and slotting home.

Ratings:
Howard 8: did the simple things well, kicking generally good
Harris 9: swapping him for McMahon was probably deal of the decade. Solid defensively, clever use of the ball when attacking and a couple of glorious cross-field balls topped off his performance.
McEveley 8.5: solid. Did a great Bashambauer turn to boot.
Kennedy 8: defended resolutely. I just hope his injury problems are behind him.
Flynn 8: looks a veteran right back
Campbell-Ryce 9: revelled in the space afforded to him by QPR's formation and gave Traoré the run around
Reed 8: occasionally struggled physically against QPR's giants but used the ball well
Doyle 6: very good without the ball but woeful with it. Put us under pressure with some awful 10 yards balls.
Scougall 8: see Reed!
Baxter 6: typical Baxter performance, really.
McNulty 9: gave one of England's best centre-halves of the last 15 years the absolute runaround. Only blot was the booking which Clough looked particularly displeased by.

Subs: Murphy, Wallace, Higdon. Nothing to report other than Higdon playing defensive midfield for the last 3 minutes!

Clough: 8. Only gripe is the timing of the substitutions.

Referee: 8 fears of any Premier League bias dispelled by his refusal to buy Hoilett's dive (although you could argue he should have been booked).

Fans 11. Superb from start to finish.

 

[wizadry]

Just back from QPR.

We fully deserve our place in the fourth round of the FA Cup after beating a lacklustre QPR side on their own patch. The 3-0 score line nicely mirrored our last visit when a woeful Blades side Ono their way to relegation rolled over.

As expected United lined up in a 4-5-1 with perhaps the only surprise being the wide left role being filled by Baxter with McNulty playing the lone role up front.

QPR were out of the blocks early but didn't have much to show for their efforts except a Fer effort which prompted a routine near post save from Howard before Austin headed well over. United were defending resolutely which was a welcome change, particularly at corners.

From one QPR set piece United broke with Baxter's through ball getting tangled in McNulty's feet before being recycled by Scougall and Reed whose through ball was emphatically finished by McNulty. A few minutes later another Ferdinand mistake left McNulty able to dance into the area before the forward dallied, seeing his eventual shot blocked.

Half time saw Zamora enter the fray for the hugely disappointing and dive-prone Hoilett, whose antics had irritated the 2,700 Blades in attendance. However, a terrible back header from Traoré gifted United a corner which led to the second goal with the sort of defending Blades fans being more used to seeing from their own side. Campbell-Ryce was the grateful recipient, prodding in from a yard.

QPR came at United who were more than happy to let the hosts try and break them down. Zamora had a glorious chance but put his header wide from 8 yards before Howard was forced into another routine diving save. Vargás and Isla, two of Chile's World Cup squad, came on for the hosts with the former's direct running proving problematic but United held firm while looking threatening on the break. Baxter drew a foul 25 yards out when a ball to Scougall may have been the better option, Reed shot over the top before McNulty, on a yellow card after kicking the ball away, was replaced by Murphy. Another break saw Baxter air kick, two more changes saw United run the clock down before Campbell-Ryce put the gloss on the score, pouncing on another poor back header before beating the keeper twice and slotting home.

Ratings:
Howard 8: did the simple things well, kicking generally good
Harris 9: swapping him for McMahon was probably deal of the decade. Solid defensively, clever use of the ball when attacking and a couple of glorious cross-field balls topped off his performance.
McEveley 8.5: solid. Did a great Bashambauer turn to boot.
Kennedy 8: defended resolutely. I just hope his injury problems are behind him.
Flynn 8: looks a veteran right back
Campbell-Ryce 9: revelled in the space afforded to him by QPR's formation and gave Traoré the run around
Reed 8: occasionally struggled physically against QPR's giants but used the ball well
Doyle 6: very good without the ball but woeful with it. Put us under pressure with some awful 10 yards balls.
Scougall 8: see Reed!
Baxter 6: typical Baxter performance, really.
McNulty 9: gave one of England's best centre-halves of the last 15 years the absolute runaround. Only blot was the booking which Clough looked particularly displeased by.

Subs: Murphy, Wallace, Higdon. Nothing to report other than Higdon playing defensive midfield for the last 3 minutes!

Clough: 8. Only gripe is the timing of the substitutions.

Referee: 8 fears of any Premier League bias dispelled by his refusal to buy Hoilett's dive (although you could argue he should have been booked).

Fans 11. Superb from start to finish.

Baxter worked really hard and it was him that got the ball off McNulty then quickly passed it to Reed,brilliant first time pass and it was this pass that created all the open space,but yet again he gets some flack.

 

[Bergen Blade]

Baxter worked really hard and it was him that got the ball off McNulty then quickly passed it to Reed,brilliant first time pass and it was this pass that created all the open space,but yet again he gets some flack.

I'm a big Murphy fan, but when I saw the two line ups I thought it could be a wise move to give him a rest and try Baxter in his position.

Murphy has struggled a bit against strong and pacey right backs. As Onuoha is that type it made sense to try Baxter on that side as he will do other things than just taking on his full back, i.e. playmaking and roaming around, which he did to good effect when we scored the vital first goal.

 

[Sheff de party]

Baxter 6: typical Baxter performance, really.

So harsh to give him a 6. Only JCR and McEverley better in my opinion today. Baxter gets so much stick, and I'm the first to criticise his workrate, but he is the only player we have who is confident in the middle of the pitch. He was the only player who carried the ball really and he was crucial when the game needed slowing down just before we got the second. He also picks passes no one else can and did so on a few occasions today. They just kept fouling him.

 

[Grappler]

So harsh to give him a 6. Only JCR and McEverley better in my opinion today. Baxter gets so much stick, and I'm the first to criticise his workrate, but he is the only player we have who is confident in the middle of the pitch. He was the only player who carried the ball really and he was crucial when the game needed slowing down just before we got the second. He also picks passes no one else can and did so on a few occasions today. They just kept fouling him.

I think young Reed can probably do the same passes, however that is no knock against Baxter, I am always surprised when he gets substituted (which he seems to, towards the end of most home games) as he is the most creative player we have, usually played out of position, which is not his fault.

 

[JJ Sefton]

Everyone was class today. We brought a touch of the sun kissed beaches of Rio De Janeiro to the grimy wastelands of West London.

 

[MBoreman]

I liked the post up until the sixes. Doyle did a crucial job yet again while Baxter (one of our best players, and the best technically) was impressive. Jermaine Jenas even singled him out as having quality.

 

[bartman]

Just back from QPR.


Baxter 6: typical Baxter performance, really.

??? I thought Baxter played well today especially in the second half. He was the outlet for us and didn't give the ball away. His tracking back and tackling were also good. I'd give him 8/10

I also thought Kennedy was better than McEverley....both played well thou

Also think you are being harsh on Doyle

 

[JJ Sefton]

??? I thought Baxter played well today especially in the second half. He was the outlet for us and didn't give the ball away. His tracking back and tackling were also good. I'd give him 8/10

I also thought Kennedy was better than McEverley....both played well thou

Also think you are being harsh on Doyle

I agree, I think Baxter, the Eusebio of the North, was hard done to in the OP. In the second half he was central to a lot of our play. McEveley looked absolute class today but he was helped, as were they all, by the fact that every QPR pass was either under hit, over hit, a yard this way, a yard that way...they looked like a team who had been on the ale until the early hours of the morning.

And Redknapp; God, face like a sockful of testicles.

 

[Kenilworth]

.

And Redknapp; God, face like a sockful of testicles.

Just one - the wife calls one of mine 'Redknapp" because of the uncanny resemblance

 

[Balham]

With hindsight I was harsh on Baxter and a 7 would have been more fair. My issue with him is that, for me, he is the best player we've got both technically and tactically but he's really inconsistent. I've stuck up for him in the past but today I saw an element of what frustrates some posters: playing a clever ball then standing still.

I stand by my mark for Doyle. He brings a presence without the ball that no one else in the squad does but a better side than QPR would have punished his distribution today because it was awful.

 

[SE1Blade]

Not one of our players deserved any less that a 9 today. From 1-11 plus subs was a superb performance.

Whilst Doyle may not be our best player, he is a League One player up against three Premier League players, all of whom are bigger than him (and our other 2 midfielders Reed & Scougall) yet our midfield came out on top. That's not luck. Its bloody great football.

 

[Pinchy]

Just one - the wife calls one of mine 'Redknapp" because of the uncanny resemblance

I've got a thingy shaped like a turnip...

 

[ShockingBadBuy]

[QUOTE I've got a thingy shaped like a turnip...[/QUOTE]

That's funny, because I've got a turnip shaped like a thingy.

 

[Rossb123]

"Harris 9: swapping him for McMahon was probably deal of the decade. Solid defensively, clever use of the ball when attacking and a couple of glorious cross-field balls topped off his performance."

Completely agree with this comment. He is getting better every game, just needs to have the same temperament he has in the cups in league games. Good write up, now our attentions turn to an inevitable underwhelming performance against Preston to bring us all back down to earth.

 

[Deleted member 875]

I don't think any player yesterday deserves any criticism. They was all excellent. I took a lot of pleasure from seeing the performances of Louis Reed, Terry Kennedy and Marc McNulty. They was a delight to watch

 

[bertieblade]

Terry Kennedy epitomises what SUFC are all about.
I just hope that he can play through his injuries, but from what I gather he is similar to Del Boy in that his knees are shot, similar player to del and let's hope he lasts as long!

 

[SwissBlade]

McEveley was far and away the best player, I said elsewhere that he's the potential new captain. That's not a criticism of Doyle, I just think McEveley could be a cracking leader.

Performance wise, can't argue with many comments about how good we were. JCR was fantastic on the attack and worked hard, Baxter was so calm and collected especially towards the end of the game. The back four were so good.

Very slight criticism of Scoogs, but it's minor, he worked hard and used the ball well, but was a little bit of a headless chicken at times. The other criticism was Doyles distribution. Very poor at times and qpr did put him under pressure which made it worse. Personally I'd have slotted Baxter closer to him to take the ball off him. All that said, Doyles performance was fantastic in breaking up play.

 

[Sheff de party]

With hindsight I was harsh on Baxter and a 7 would have been more fair. My issue with him is that, for me, he is the best player we've got both technically and tactically but he's really inconsistent. I've stuck up for him in the past but today I saw an element of what frustrates some posters: playing a clever ball then standing still.

I stand by my mark for Doyle. He brings a presence without the ball that no one else in the squad does but a better side than QPR would have punished his distribution today because it was awful.

So true about Baxter. Hugely gifted but inconsistent and doesn't always appear like he's even interested. And he does usually stand still after playing a pass. Definitely blowing out of his arse after he got fouled for that free kick, may as well have taken him off!

I heard yesterday that Baxter still can't drive. Doesn't surprise me!

 

[IOM Blade]

Just watched the whole game on Blades Player, my god we were brilliant. Could have been 4 or 5 if we'd got the final ball right on our numerous counter attacks second half.

Oh, and Baxter was superb. Worked his socks off and was the most composed player on the park.

 

[LSF]

A great team performance. Will the cup balloon burst at Spurs in a couple of weeks? Hope not!

Another head scratching display from the Blades, why can we play like that and then fail to beat the 'also rans' of Div3 on another day. Discussed elsewhere I believe, but for me, its just how football is, unfathomable!

Every player was not less than good, some were superb (McEveley, Kennedy), most were excellent (all except Doyle and maybe Baxter). Doyle and Baxter were good but some aspects of their game let them down slightly, Doyle's distribution was wayward at times but he made up for it with leadership and the sheer will to win the ball. Baxter worked so hard ( he really did Sitters!) and ran himself to a standstill, just the occasional wasted piece of mis-control that is so infuriating of such a gifted player when he feels that way.
Jay and TK were indefatigable, not in the least fazed by the gifted attackers they subsequently blunted to insignificance. Superb Jay and Terry!

 

[flash-blade]

HOWARD 8
FLYNN 8 (BEST RIGHT BACK WEVE GOT)
HARRIS 8.5
MACCA 9 (SOLID AND TALKED TERRY THROUGH GAME) MOM
TEZ 8 (GREAT GAME)
BAXTER 7 (WORKED HARDER THAN USUAL, SHOULD HAVE BEEN SUBBED 10 MINUTES EARLIER THOUGH AS HIS LEGS HAD GONE)
DOYLE 6.5 (GAVE THE BALL AWAY A LOT AND SOME OF HIS PASSES PUT US UNDER PRESSURE)
READ 8 (GREAT CORNER FOR OUR 2ND)
SCOUGS 8 (A LOT BETTER THAN HE'S BEEN LATELY)
JCR 9 (RAN HIS LITTLE LEGS OFF)
NULTS 8 (BEST STRIKER AT THE CLUB)

QPR FAN WITH MEXICAN HAT 10, REYT LAUGH
FAT STEWARD 8, WOULD HAVE BEEN A 9 BUT IS LEGS WENT TOWARDS THE END

 

[Fiery Blade]

Top Performance by the Blades yesterday !
Well worth the early start and also managed to get into a Home Fans Only pub near the ground before the kick off !
Apart from Doyle's distribution (Montyesque at it's best !) everyone had a great game - McEverley MotM, Reed, JCR and Kennedy especially
Perhaps we may see performance more akin to yesterday in the comimg games against the so called better teams of Div Three rather than the turgid performances recently (Southampton apart) !

 

[Balham]

FAT STEWARD 8, WOULD HAVE BEEN A 9 BUT IS LEGS WENT TOWARDS THE END

 

[IKWIG]

I went to the match on Sunday and can honestly say it's one of the most satisfying away games I've ever been to. Yes QPR could have played better but the biggest reason for that was we played so well. After the first 15 minutes when they had looked a bit lively and like they could overpower us if they stepped it up a bit, I just sense our players realised that we actually had more skill and finesse than them. They looked huge compared to most of our lot but in the second half we just made them look cumbersome. It was like watching a boxing match where the little guy is streets ahead on points and just keeps jabbing away biding his time for a knockout punch. Our decision making all round the pitch was spot on, when to play it short, when to play it long, and the defence never panicked one bit.

I'm hoping once the big brutes in our league start getting fatigued we can thunder on up the table. If not, who says we can't finally go up through the play offs.

Knockout competition anyone?

 

[Bergen Blade]

Just watched the whole game on Blades Player, my god we were brilliant. Could have been 4 or 5 if we'd got the final ball right on our numerous counter attacks second half.

Oh, and Baxter was superb. Worked his socks off and was the most composed player on the park.

I think Baxter's had a poor season, but that was clearly his best performance so far.

 

[Fulwood Blade]

I think Baxter's had a poor season, but that was clearly his best performance so far.

Do you not think it was because the opposition weren't bullies and let us play football?

For me out whole midfield played well, Reed and Mcnulty have that uncanny knack of finding space very easily - Baxter is comfortable when he knows he isn't going to get closed down quickly - he was a footballer among an opposition of footballers on Sunday.

UTB