Another Saturday has come and gone leaving me with a sense of what if. Nine games into what was going to be a defining season for the hoops, a season where we would establish ourselves as an up and coming force in the Premier League, now sees us rock bottom of the league with no wins and only 3 points to our name.
Going to Arsenal on Saturday was a genuine chance to pick up 3 points. They were in poor form, losing to Norwich and Schalke in the space of a week and not only losing but playing poorly and lacking confidence. In my mind there was only one way to approach this game. Attack. We had to go for the jugular, show a ruthless side to our game. We needed to counter Arsenal's passing game with a high tempo high energy performance. We didn't. Instead we went to the Emirates seemingly looking for nothing more than a draw.
With Ji Sung Park missing the game through injury it seemed like the perfect opportunity to welcome back the massively talented Alejandro Faurlin to the starting lineup. Keep the same shape that looked strong for large parts of the game against Everton. It's important to match a team like Arsenal who look to dominate possession and control the midfield areas with a mirrored midfield setup. With Jack Wilshere returning for the Gunners there was no doubt some much needed quality returning to the Arsenal side, however after being out for so long through injury there was no doubt that we should go with 3 central midfielders and put him under real pressure. The worst thing we could've done was to allow ourselves to be outnumbered in the midfield department and give Wilshere the time and space to strike up an understanding with his new midfield partners Arteta and Cazorla which in turn would allow them as a trio to take control of the game. However, for reasons unknown Hughes decided to leave Faurlin on the bench and start Shaun Wright Phillips, whom has shown nothing but average to poor form during his time at Rangers.
This decision just didn't make sense for numerous reasons, firstly why change the shape of the team when we have been crying out for consistency all season? Secondly why choose Wright Phillips? For all his effort and enthusiasm he has never shown ability to match. He's not scored a league goal for us since he joined at the start of last season and his end product isn't dissimilar to that of a blind carpenter. If Hughes was looking for someone to put in a shift on the right hand side of midfield while still posing a goal threat then surely Jamie Mackie was a more obvious option? As it was it was plain for all to see that lining up the way we did left us exposed in the middle of midfield and gave us no real extra attacking threat.
As the first half played out I struggled to stay awake and felt that the game lacked noteworthy action. Arsenal as predicted enjoyed the bulk of possession as we showed the odd glimpse of causing a threat without actually creating any chances. The one positive to take into half time is that we defended reasonably well. The second half started with Arsenal continuing to have the bulk of the ball, with Jack Wilshere looking like their biggest threat. The time and space afforded to him was all to predictable, as Granero and Diakite worked hard but just couldn't cover enough ground. Our creative outlets were never able to get into the game because we could never really get a foothold on the game. We created a few more half chances as the game seemed to be meandering towards a 0-0 draw. To be honest with the amount of possession we had surrendered in this game, I was happy taking the draw at this point and the clean sheet would be welcomed with open arms. Then without doubt the moment that changed this game. An absolute moment of madness.
A corner swung into the QPR area and harmlessly rolled away towards the corner flag opposite, chasing the ball were Thomas Vermaelen and Stephane M'bia. As they came together to challenge for the loose ball M'bia went down and was awarded a free kick, then M'bia swiped a long, gangly leg out at Vermaelen. I screamed "What are you doing?" in the knowledge that as the referee approached the scene of the incident, that M'bia was a goner. The referee wasted no time in producing the red card just as M'bia wasted no time running off the pitch and disappearing down the tunnel to jump into an early bath. I sat there watching the replay of the act of madness in utter bemusement. What was he thinking of? Just like Joey Barton's episode at Man City at the end of last season, this was another thoughtless and selfish act by a player that should know better. Only M'bia will know why he did what he did, an inexcusable act.
The sending off caused a reshuffle of our pack. Jamie Mackie who had only recently been brought on now had to fill in at right back while Jose Bosingwa tucked in as a centre back. What ensued saw the last 10 minutes of this game deliver more in terms of action than it had in the previous 80 minutes of football. Julio Cesar earned his man of the match performance with some outstanding saves made, 1 in particular from the backside of Nedum Onouha that seemed to defy gravity as he scooped the ball away with his left hand when it had seemingly passed him.
As it was the game was decided by an offside goal. A number of Rangers fans have since been bemoaning our luck in conceding a goal that shouldn't have stood, but in reality it was a very difficult decision for the linesman to make in real time. The goal stemmed from the sending off, with Jamie Mackie getting beaten far too easily by Andrei Arshavin, allowing the Russian winger to deliver a ball that eventually, at the 3rd time of asking and after another brilliant save by Cesar, saw Arteta tap in the ball from a yard out to nick an undeserved win for Arsenal. That isn't to say that QPR deserved to win. We didn't, but a draw was a fair result. However, what was really disappointing aside from the manner of the sending off and the way we lost after defending pretty well for most of the game, was the attitude and manner in which Hughes sent the team out to play. We should've taken the game to Arsenal. The flurry of chances we created in the last 5 minutes showed that they were there for the taking. We showed them far too much respect and paid the price in a painful way.
This game highlighted to me that we are lacking a goal scoring threat, especially with Bobby Zamora looking like he couldn't give two hoots about scoring or getting into scoring positions at the moment. Cisse seems to have lost his fire he seems disinterested, while Hoilett and Taarabt for all their quality are not out and out goal scorers. Hughes is now not only getting his tactics wrong and not changing them soon enough once they aren't working but he also seems to be lacking the motivational aspect required of a successful manager. The players don't look like they are fighting for him and this is worrying. We face Reading next in what now seems like an absolutely massive game if we are going to get out of this rut we are in and not picking up points.
From watching Reading this season, one thing is for sure they will be up for the game. If Hughes cannot motivate the players that he has to put in a performance and once again fails to deliver tactically, then I think to add to the games and players he seems to be losing we may well see him lose his job. I desperately want to see him turn it round but he can only do that by looking at the mistakes he has made week after week this season and admit that they are mistakes. Only then can he understand where he is lacking and begin to deliver what is required to the club and the fans. It's make or break time Mr Hughes, you now need to deliver because the ice below you is becoming ever thinner.
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