Q.P.R - Championship Survival - FMFormation.net - Football Manager

treva · 18-03-08, 07:51 PM

Queens Park Rangers - Championship Survival

Started a new game and went on holiday until the 1st January. I decided to take over the bottom side in the Championship, Queens Park Rangers, and try and keep them from safety. I will give a thorough match by match report of how I get on

Table at New Year

click to view

January 2008 - 1st month in charge

Preston (H) [Championship]
Q.P.R 1-1 Preston
Reid '5 - Lallana og. '68

A pretty decent start, and the way they played showed me that they are able to get out of this mess. Got the goal with the first chance of the game, Kyel Reid with a great run and even better finish. They scored but was rightly given offside, although they still complained. They scored in the 2nd half with a deflected shot, the unfortunate man was Lallana. Overall a good performance, but a hell of a lot of work to do!

AFC Bournemouth [A][FA Cup]
AFC Bournemouth 0-0 Q.P.R

A poor game, in which we should've got the victory. Wasted good chances, but at least we're not out. Now we should be able to wrap it up at home, next week.

Plymouth Argyle [A][Championship]
Plymouth Argyle 1-1 Q.P.R
Ebanks-Blake '20 - Reid '63

Another good result, and that means we have 2 points from two tough games. We were poor in the 1st half, and let them run all over us. Ebanks-Blake put them into the lead on 20 minutes, and deservedly so. But we held on until half time and we turned it around from then on. We had the majority of chances, and finally put one away thanks to Kyel Reid's 2nd goal in as many games. So far so good in the Championship!

AFC Bournemouth [H][FA Cup]
Q.P.R 0-2 AFC Bournemouth
Kuffour '70, Bradbury '83

Very, very poor performance. We created chances, but the finishing lacked big style. Didn't take our chances and were made to pay with their 2nd half goals. But at least we now have time to concentrate on our main aim of staying in the Championship.

News
Ben Sahar goes back to Chelsea after loan [2/1/08]
Sign striker Jonathan Pringle on a free [4/1/08]
Zesh Rehman moves to Kilmarnock for £95k [13/1/08]
Adam Lallana's loan is extended until the end of the season [16/1/08]

Sheffield United [H][Championship]
Q.P.R 1-1 Sheffield United
Kyel Reid '31 - Alan Quinn '19
Sent off: Mikele Leigertwood '86

Another toughly fought draw, and again it took a goal to kick us into gear. They scored early but we were able to pick ourselves up and pull it back 12 minutes later, Kyel Reid scoring his 3rd in three Championship games. Disappointed with the decision to dismiss Leigertwood late on, a poor decision as the player who was fouled carried on playing straight away. Another good point for us nonetheless.

Cardiff [A][Championship]
Cardiff 2-1 Q.P.R
Steven Thompson '27, Gavin Rae '58 - Daniel Nardiello pen. '76

A hard loss to take considering our possession and amount of chances. Definitely deserved more, and their 2 goals came against the run of play. We hit the post and troubled their defence all day, but lack of concentration at the back cost us. I thought we could grab a draw after Kyel Reid was fouled in the area after looking certain to score, Nardiello slotting home the penalty. With results going against us, we were now 12 points behind safety, and the game against fellow struggler's Bristol City would need to be a victory.

News
Sign defender Colin Miles from Port Vale for £1k [18/1/08]
Sign Matt Jackson from Blackpool for £1k [20/1/08]
Howell moves to Barnsley for £1k (£13k instalments) and midfielder Michael Coulson [28/1/08]
Leigertwood appeal rejected and extended to 3 games [30/1/08]

February 2008 - 2nd month at the helm

Bristol City [H][Championship]
Q.P.R 1-0 Bristol City
Daniel Nardiello '87

Well we certainly grabbed the big result in front of the cameras. A fine performance, which was capped off by a late winner. A pretty even game, with chances spread well between the two sides. I thought we deserved the three points, although i'm sure Bristol will feel unlucky not to get something from the game. A big win for us!

League Table

Code:

20th - Colchester   - 35pts
21st - Stoke        - 34pts
22nd - Bristol City - 34pts
23rd - Scunthorpe   - 33pts
24th - Q.P.R        - 24pts

**Bfc-Fan** · 18-03-08, 09:38 PM

nicely set out and that mate, but its not too hard to do this is it? :S

treva · 19-03-08, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bfc-Fan

nicely set out and that mate, but its not too hard to do this is it? :S

I suppose it's not for people who play the game a lot, but this is the first proper game i've played on FM for a while. To be fair I aint amazing at the game and i'm not able to win title's wherever I go, so it makes it even more enjoyable when I do actually achieve something :p

----------------

Hull [H][Championship]
Q.P.R 2-1 Hull
Daniel Nardiello '34, Jonathan Pringle '65 - David Livermore '31

As the pattern of things so far this season, we managed to pull back a result after losing the 1st goal. A fine victory, which seemed unlikely with Hull having most of the chances, and making it 1-0 after 31 minutes. But we replied instantly, Daniel Nardiello scoring his 3rd in as many games to level it up. We continued to pressurise their goal and it finally paid off, my first signing, Jonathan Pringle, netting the winning goal. A well earned and needed home point.

Southampton [A][Championship]
Southampton 1-1 Q.P.R
Saganowski '25 - Lallana '12

After claiming the opening goal it went pretty much downhill from then on. The point was a good one, especially with the amount of pressure they piled on us. Lallana scored the opener just 12 minutes in, but Saganowski and Stern John caused us a lot of problems at the back. They had a disallowed goal very early on, but again it was the right decision by the linesman, which has helped us ever since I took over. So a good point, which was made even better by the fact that Scunthorpe, Colchester and Stoke lost.

Crystal Palace [A][Championship]
Crystal Palace 4-3 Q.P.R
Shefki Kuqi '14 & '30, Webber '28 & '43 - Pringle '44 & '90, Nardiello '63

Well by far the best game of the season, even if we did come out with the wrong result. But we certainly didn't deserve it after our 2nd half fight. We missed chances and they took them was the story of the 1st half. Being 4-nil down after just 43 minutes is as grim as it gets, but we fought back hard. Pringle netted his 2nd of his Q.P.R career just before half-time to give us hope. After telling the boys not to worry, they came out with real fire and passion. We created bags of chances, which was reflected by our 18 shots on goal. Nardiello score on '63 to give us hope of a miraculous come back, but we just couldn't find the net. Blackstock replaced Reid and we moved to a 4-3-3 formation. We grabbed a 3rd just as the added minutes were going up on the board, which gave us a glimmer of hope. But that's all it ended up to be as we couldn't get that 1 last goal that could've proven to be a season changing comeback. Even though we lost I told the boys that I was elated with their performance. But it's still 3 points lost.

League Table

Code:

 
20th - Scunthorpe   - 37pts
21st - Colchester   - 37pts
22nd - Bristol City - 37pts
23rd - Stoke        - 35pts
24th - Q.P.R        - 28pts

treva · 19-03-08, 02:05 PM

Sheffield Wednesday [H][Championship]
Q.P.R 3-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Mikele Leigertwood '16, Daniel Nardiello '25 & '58 - Francis Jeffers '8
Sent Off: Frank Simek '84

A fine victory at home, which was an expected one according to the bookies. For the 1st time under my management we came in as favourites for the win, and we didn't disappoint. Again they went ahead, Jeffers scoring inside 10 minutes. But Leigertwood's return was marked by a goal, and Nardiello scored again soon after to make it 2-1. We had a goal that was brought back because the ref had already blown for a freekick to us on the edge of the are, which I was not happy about. But it didn't make much difference, as Nardiello capped off another fine game with his 10th goal of the season. Simek was sent off for them late on, and rightly so, pulling back Pringle when he was in on goal. A fine win that brings us right up to the backsides of those above us.

March 2008 - 2 months to go!

Coventry City [A][Championship]
Coventry City 4-1 Q.P.R
Michael Mifsud '49, '52 & '54, Robbie Simpson '84 - Jonathan Pringle '47

Ian Dowie told the media that he felt sorry for me because of the position I was in, and he wouldn't like to be in my shoes. Well his bloody striker made it an even hard job by putting 3 past Lee Camp, all within 5 minutes of each other. Lady luck looked to be with us as we managed to withstand their masses of pressure and go in to the break level at 0-0. We came out and I replaced our top scorer and in-form striker, Nardiello, with Dexter Blackstock. Blackstock made an instant impact, laying the ball through for Pringle to put us 1 up. From then on in luck deserted us. Mifsud's magic tore us apart from head to toe. But we kept pressure on and at 3-1 I felt like we had a chance. A late goal was coming, but unfortunately it went at our end. The scoreline reflected Mifsud's performance, but not ours. The loss hurts us as we are now 9 points from safety.

News
Kyel Reid's loan spell ends [19/2/08]
Mikele Leigertwood named in Championship 'Team of the week' [25/2/08]

League Table

Code:

20th - Sheffield Wed - 40pts
21st - Colchester    - 40pts
22nd - Scunthorpe    - 38pts
23rd - Stoke         - 36pts
24th - Q.P.R         - 31pts

treva · 19-03-08, 05:23 PM

Ipswich [H][Championship]
Q.P.R 2-2 Ipswich
Daniel Nardiello '50, Dexter Blackstock '60 - Gary Roberts '45, Pablo Counago '62
Sent Off: Colin Miles '39

A well earned point against a good Ipswich side. Danny Haynes and Pablo Counago caused us problems all day, but thanks to our calm finishing we managed a draw. After going behind on the stroke of half time, we came out and again pulled it back, like we had done so many times this season. Nardiello continued his fine run of form bagging his 11th of the season and his 6th in the last 7 games. They deservedly leveled thanks to Counago and that's the way it stayed. Colin Miles was sent off in the first half, but it was great to be able to fight with 1 less player and come out of the game with something to show for it.

West Brom [A][Championship]
West Brom 2-2 Q.P.R
Ishmael Miller '23, Adam Bolder og. '45 - Nick Ward '67, Daniel Nardiello '73

A fantastic point away to one of the best sides in the league. It looked a hard game on paper, and it sure was playing at The Hawthorns. The task looked extremely hard when they opened the scoring through a fine strike from Miller that struck the post and went in. Again we had an up hill task, and again we gave away a goal on the stroke of half time. Gera's shot looked to be going wide but it struck vice captain Adam Bolder and went past Camp in goal. The half time talk again boosted their performance levels, and with Nick Ward replacing Leigertwood, we came out looking for one goal that we could get back into the game with. It came through Australian midfielder Nick Ward, the sub set up by Bolder, smashed one from the edge of the area into the back of the net. The comeback was complete with Nardiello continuing his scoring record, an easy finish 8 yards out. Closing in on those above us, but wins against the lower sides will be crucial.

Blackpool [H][Championship]
Q.P.R 1-0 Blackpool
Daniel Nardiello '75
Dexter Blackstock missed penalty '35

A predicted win, but for 75 minutes I thought it just wasn't going to happen. Blackpool were poor, but we just couldn't find the net. Blackstock missed a 1st half penalty, along with poor finishing, forced me to bring Pringle on at half time. Overall they only had 4 shots to our 10, but their possession frustrated us. As the game was drawing to a close, 15 minutes from time it was that man again, Nardiello, who won us the game. A must win game, which would hopefully lead us into some crucial games with teams in the bottom half.

Charlton [H][Championship]
Q.P.R 1-1 Charlton
Mikele Leigertwood '72 - Svetoslav Todorov '90

Lack of concentration in the final minute cost us 3 points at home to Charlton. They had more shots and possession but we had held strong at the back. With the ref handing out yellow cards left right and centre, it forced me to bring off bolder and Shimmin, who were on the brink of getting a 2nd card. Leigertwood put us infront 18 minutes from time, a fine run into the box and superbly finished into the roof of the net. They were always looking dangerous, and after McLeod beat Mancienne to the ball he laid in Todorov to grab them a late point. Could've done with a win, but it continues our unbeaten run to 4 games.

Burnley [A][Championship]
Burnley 1-0 Q.P.R
Joey Gudjonsson '76

A pretty dull game, in which we played very poorly. Possession was pretty equal, but the ball was mainly played around the middle. Burnley deserved it from the amount of chances they had compared to ours. Our 3 shots, 2 of them on target was what cost us. Lee Camp played a poor pass which fell straight to Spicer, who just had to roll the ball into Gudjonsson who wasn't going to miss. A sloppy goal and a sloppy game for us. Big final game of the month against Scunthorpe, which is a must win.

Scunthorpe [A][Championship]
Scunthorpe 0-3 Q.P.R
Daniel Nardiello '64, Lallana '88 & '90
Sent Off: Dominic Shimmin '80

A comprehensive win, which was made look better by two late Lallana goals. They never threatened, even with 15 shots they never looked likely to score, putting 9 of them off target. We however made the goalie work, and after a goal-less first half, Nardiello scored his 14th goal of the season with a fine volley after Blackstock knocked the ball down. Shimmin was given a 2nd yellow for a ridiculous decision, with Shimmin actually winning the ball before he tripped Hayes. The decision didn't cost us however as Lallana scored his 1st of 2, with their goalkeeper up for a corner, the ball fell to Lallana who hit from the half way line into the open net. He rounded off our victory with a tight angle rebound after Rowland's freekick hit the post. A comprehensive end to a good month!

News
Shimmin's ban is rescinded [1/4/08]
Reserves put 9 past Brentford, swapped signing Michael Coulson scores four [5/3/08]
Colin Miles is warned for his poor tackle that resulted in his sending off against Ipswich [4/3/08]

League Table

Code:

 
20th - Scunthorpe    - 47pts
21st - Sheffield Wed - 46pts
22nd - Colchester    - 44pts
23rd - Stoke         - 43pts
24th - Q.P.R         - 40pts

wylsey · 19-03-08, 11:18 PM

Some very good results so far, you have got the team to play well to have got so close to the other teams after being 9 points behind, still 7 needed to get out of relegation, good luck pulling the points back and keeping them up.

walkinshaw · 20-03-08, 03:41 AM

nice couple results the last month there mate. What patch are you using for this game, as by your cheap buys im presuming not the newest patch where they got stacks of cash and jan tfers?

treva · 20-03-08, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by walkinshaw

nice couple results the last month there mate. What patch are you using for this game, as by your cheap buys im presuming not the newest patch where they got stacks of cash and jan tfers?

I'm using the original version, just so that all the players who were at the club at the start of the season are at the club on the game. It just makes the thing a whole lot more realistic when you don't have the January transfers with you at the start of the season. Also I can put up with disallowed goals, because scorelines are still always realistic and I usually just ignore them.

Thanks for the comments guys, will update April today

treva · 20-03-08, 12:45 PM

April 2008 - Crunch Time

Norwich [H][Championship]
Q.P.R 2-1 Norwich
Daniel Nardiello '77, Martin Rowlands '81 - Simon Lappin '31
Sent Off: Gary Doherty '87

A fine win which was needed to gain points on those above us. They troubled us very rarely, and with our 7 shots on target we were bound to finish a few. But as usual they took the lead, Simon Lappin drilling home a free kick on 31 minutes. We took our time in getting that equaliser, Blackstock and Miles coming on to liven things up a touch. The goal we had been waiting for came 13 minutes from time. It was that man Nardiello again to slot home his 15th of the season, a fine through ball by Blackstock which Nardiello drilled 1st time into the top corner. 4 minutes later we had our winner. Nardiello's free kick could only be parried and skipper Martin Rowlands was there to tap it home. A much needed point that gives us our 3rd win in 5.

Stoke [A][Championship]
Stoke 0-2 Q.P.R
Dexter Blackstock '48, Martin Rowlands '51

The biggest win of the season so far, away at fellow strugglers Stoke. Fully deserved again, but as usual we had less possession than the other side. Counter attacking was the order of the day, which was helped by our strikers making their keeper work. A quiet first half with little action, but I was determined to keep things the same. It worked as Blackstock snuck in and tapped home a simple goal after their left back played the ball across the box, just 3 minutes into the 2nd half. The game was as good as over when Rowlands scored his 2nd in as many games, nipping in behind the defence after a good long ball by Shimmin. A vital victory that lifts us off the bottom for the 1st time under my management, and 3 wins on the trott.

Watford [A][Championship]
Watford 2-0 Q.P.R
Marlon King '30 & '74

We couldn't quite do what we did against Bristol City in-front of the cameras this time around. Watford fully deserved the win, creating more chances than us right through the game. King threatened all game, so it was no surprise when he slotted home their 1st after 30 minutes, Barker to blame for a poor pass out of the defence. King made sure of their victory 74 minutes in, a fine individual run from a Lee Camp goal kick that was nodded down straight to him. Luckily Scunthorpe, Bristol City and Stoke lost, but Colchester managed to knock up a win. This left us 3 points from safety with 2 games to go.

Barnsley [H][Championship]
Q.P.R 4-1 Barnsley
Dexter Blackstock '8, '19, '56 & '68 - István Ferenczi '27

My huge decision paid off against Barnsley at home. I rested our top goalscorer Daniel Nardiello and played Blackstock and Pringle up top. Boy did it work well! Blackstock netted 4 and run their defence riot all day, creating 8 shots of which he hit 6 on target. He opened the scoring just 8 minutes in, a great piece of counter-attacking play as he knocked down a clearance and ran on to score. 11 minutes later he doubled our advantage, skipping in-front of their defence to make use of a poor pass by their centre back. But the brought it back to 2-1, their man main István Ferenczi linking up with Odejayi to cut the defecit in half. Just the one defencive change at half time, looking for more of the same. Blackstock got his hat-trick on 56 minutes, creating space for Rowlands to roll him the ball and blasting it past Heinz Múller. On came Nardiello at left mid to make sure Rowlands wouldn't get a 2nd yellow and miss the final game of the season. 2 minutes after Nardiello came on Blackstock rounded off the victory. Pringle played a superb cross field ball where Blackstock thumped hom his fourth, a record for goals in a game at Q.P.R. A huge win that moved us out of the relegation zone on goal difference. We just need to better or level Scunthorpe's and Colchester's result to stay up, away to 17th place Leicester.

News
Dexter Blackstock and Jonathan Pringle named in Championship 'Team of the week' [28/4/08]
Dominic Shimmin and Martin Rowlands named in Championship 'Team of the week' [14/4/08]
AFC Wimbledon sign Jake Cole for £1k [11/4/08]
Martin Rowlands named in Championship 'Team of the week' [7/4/08]
Recieve £300k for Shittu transfer deal after he played his 20th game [5/4/08]
Coaches Brown, Ryan and Neill sign a new contract [2/4/08]

League table

Code:

 
20th - Bristol City  - 52pts
21st - Q.P.R         - 49pts
22nd - Scunthorpe    - 49pts
23rd - Colchester    - 48pts
24th - Stoke         - 46pts

woodsy · 20-03-08, 05:24 PM

good luck getting out relegation zone, ur alredy getting better going up 3 places :D

**WozzaWolves** · 20-03-08, 06:00 PM

Congratulations mate, i think it's a great achievement although many think otherwise :D

KIU ;)

**oO SioS Oo** · 20-03-08, 10:28 PM

looking great m8i, im sure you can do it :D
prooving that you can get out of the bottom 3 now you just need to stay above, keep it up and good luck ;)

**Bfc-Fan** · 21-03-08, 06:38 AM

Keep it up lad!!!! :D
Atleast you got out of relegation zone.

treva · 20-05-08, 05:09 PM

Sorry to leave you guys hanging with the last game to go, so here it is...

------------

May - It's do or die

Leicester [A][Championship]
Leicester 1-1 Q.P.R
Gareth McAuley '53 - Michael Mancienne '35
DJ Campbell missed Penalty '58

A tight 1-1 draw was enough to see us stay up with Scunthorpe losing 2-0 to Sheffield United and Colchester and Stoke drew 2-2 against each other. A nerve racking game as the Colchester-Stoke game swayed either way. We went ahead thanks to Michael Mancienne's first half header. They piled on the pressure in the 2nd half, 18 shots in the whole game showed that. They got the equaliser 7 minutes after the break, McAuley heading home a free kick. The turning point in the game came when DJ Campbell was brought down by Barker. DJ Campbell stepped up himself and Lee Camp saved to his right. A fine save which in the end kept us up. Fryatt had a few late chances but we held on. We had managed to complete the miracle after being 9 points from safety at new year. A brilliant season had come to an end, with Queens Park Rangers staying in the Championship...

Final League Table

Code:

20th - Cardiff       - 53pts
21st - Q.P.R         - 50pts
23rd - Colchester    - 49pts
22nd - Scunthorpe    - 49pts
24th - Stoke         - 47pts