It wouldn't have taken a lot to notice that most of us could've done with an Ark to get to Spurs on Sunday but it's safe to say our performance was just as miserable as the down pour that met us arriving into N17.
How did I expect the game to go? Tough call. I find QPR a tough side to figure out. They'd turn up to some games whilst in others look as though they were still on the beaches, mellowing in the summer sun that has just proceeded them.
It's safe to say Rangers were well on top. We gave them far to much respect in midfield and found ourselves pegged back. Uncharacteristically deep. With 3 centre midfielders this really baffled me. All of them seemed a little lost and, without the ball, we struggled to track, tackle and our positioning was woeful. Sigurdsson in particular for me looked lost. I'd be surprised if he found his way home okay; hopefully he did. The only vague positive I took from the opening half hour was I enjoyed the little give & go's, the one-two's and quick passing in triangles. Although, despite this, we didn't undertake them anywhere near as often as we should've and class was severely lacking throughout.
What also shocked me was no one looked for the ball. Players should always have atleast two options given to them. We made it incredibly hard for ourselves. At half time, it wasn't just the change from AVB that I loved but also the obvious talking to he'd had with the players. Changing it up at the first sign of players not hitting their best is something we'd arguably lacked last season. The flair was in full throttle second half. The players looked to fight more and we pressed more than we had in the first half.
Chances in the game for us were few and far between, but we took two and won. We've played better in previous games and not left with maximum points. Good sides win even when they're poor and I can only see this as positive. Mentally it should do the players wonders. They know they can come from a goal down to win. Depending on whether you're a half empty/ half full person, I do see that as 5 unbeaten regardless of the opposition. We also seem to have quite a player in the making in Jan Vertonghen. Comfortable on the ball, fantastic when one-vs-one against a forward and intelligent with his positioning and tackling.
This obviously wasn't our best performance but we'll play better and lose in the future. I'm happy for AVB to get his first home win and with Old Trafford beckoning this weekend, I just hope we give a god account of ourselves.
Regards,
Ben