QPR were a poor team, lacking in leadership, balance and tactical know how. True they dominated the first twenty minutes of the game but we grew into it and by half time had dominated the last ten. QPR have won only two games this year and the last of those was 4th of April, to get their season going they have to start well and losing Charlie or the threat of such, is not good for confidence. He scored 18 of their 41 goals last season, pundits say they have bought well but, not on todays evidence. I think it will be a long hard battle for QPR.
We can only beat the teams that are put in front of us and today showed we have a battle on our hands if we lack concentration which we did at times. Clearly we are a better side with Tony Watt and with Igor fit better still, I'd say. We battled to get ourselves back in that match and showed a lot or character and grit to do so.
Despite the difference in pedigree the difference between the teams today was the quality of goal keeping. Green should have stopped TW's goal but had no chance with Morgan Fox's, which was perfectly placed. Whereas Nick Pope made some excellent saves and picked some awkward balls out of defence.
All in all a very enjoyable game. We will I think, be better than last season however, the ease with which we brushed QPR aside shows as much their weakness as our strength. We need to improve to become what we all hope for, promotion contenders but, on todays showing we are not the relegation fodder advertised in the bookies windows or anything near it.
Full marks to our coach... The team came out prepared to meet QPR toe to toe. The performance is up there with the Southampton and Man City first day home wins. Very impressed with centre back pairing up against premier class frontmen. Cousins was free to roam effectively because our new Special K sat in front of our back four. Watt is continuing to be mr entertainment and loving every moment he's on the pitch. Great joy at telling stunned QPR fans on the train the name of our second scorer...and the fact that was his first shot at goal...ever.
Workmanlike first half performance by us which resulted in the two teams pretty much cancelling each other out.
Second half an up for it Tony Watt started running at the ageing Hill and others culminating in a goal of some quality a few minutes later.
For a change I was relatively relaxed, or exhausted because of the ticket stress, and was not nervously anticipating the inevitable equaliser. I was delighted when the Charlton Life Scapegoat of last season put in a sweet left foot strike from 25 yards or so to open his Charlton account.
Overall we deserved it. The new guys looked up to the level and what a novelty to see a Charlton team of physical presence competing and muscling opposition players off the ball rather than having it done to us.
Well done on today Guy and the boys. More of the same please.
Wasn't at the game and have no opinion beyond being pleased we won.
Well done to the QPR fans before the game.
Dearie me, your stalkerish behaviour is really getting creepy. In this thread above I mentioned being abused and threatened by QPR fans before the game, and so you write this. I have really tried hard to ignore you, and fend you off by pointing out how much of a stalker you are, but it really doesn't work does it? All you ever seem to do on this forum is be generally unpleasantly reactive to things others write, you don't seem to have the courage is it, or ability, to ever initiate anything, be it in terms of an idea or an opinion, but you are constantly speedy and eager to put others down, particularly me it seems (cue you calling me paranoid, so you can imagine a fnarr fnarr reaction from those you fantasise about being your admirers, and partners in trolling). Luckily, even though I really have to tell myself over and over again not to react to your deeply snide online persona PL54, even you are not going to be able to spoil the good feeling I have following todays win, which you didn't experience yourself. Jealousy and sniping from the sidelines seems to be your stock in trade, but it would be so much nicer if you rotated your targets more frequently, because it is really getting rather boring as well as creepy.
What Seth means, PL54, is "stop being such a dick".
1. I got a puncture on the M25 on my way over to SE Heaven. Luckily, I've got run flats and managed to get to Dartford and get a new tyre put on before the game. Just under £200 out of pocket for that.
2. On way home, major problems on the M25 between junctions 5 and 7. Cam off at Swanley and went via the back roads to Westerham before rejoining the M25 at Godstone - but still took me almost 3 hours to get home.
But i'm sitting here feeling on top of the world (if not quite yet the league). Reading all the above tells anyone who wasn't there the story of the day, and brings it all back for those of us who were.
Off on holiday tomorrow morning and won't be going to the Valley again until the Rotherham game on 12 September. Can't wait for that now!
Sam to Watt: "Magic 2nd half Tony, i hope you enjoyed it as much as the fans did" Watt to Sam: " cheers, i did, it was better than sitting on the bench" i hope this can be sorted.
Sam to Fox "Morgan i told you your 1st goal was coming, how did it feel " Fox to Sam " To score in front of the Covered end was awesome"
Sam to Pope "when you did that save in the 1st half and the crowd gave you a great ovation you must of felt good." Pope To Sam " we had started off slow and they had a lot of corners and you grow into the game, a clean sheet is every keepers goal."
Nick then took the trouble to spend 5 minutes with a young lad who asked him what tips on being a Keeper, the advice was never get too down and always enjoy the good moments. practice and practice. The great Dane said he enjoyed the atmosphere, and Patrick Bauer said the noise was good.
There were 4 Norwegian fans after the game and Solly signed a plaster cast, They said that was their 4th visit to the Valley and we had won every game.
The Rest of the New players were happy to have pics taken even if their English was not so hot.
A lovely sunny day at the valley with 3 points and a clean sheet. Watts not to like ?
I really rate Tony Watt, game changer, match winner etc, but was a bit disturbed to see him blowing a bit near the end of the match in which he only played for 45 mins. Is he fit?
Was really looking forward to this game; have a good feeling about this season. Manager has a plan of action, and good luck to him. Players appear to be well-briefed and if this lot gel, we have a very good team to watch. Loved the intent of Tony Watt. Splendid, again. QPR fan Robert Elms might be having a little sulk on his show on Monday (BBC London, 94.9 FM, noon).
what a day good journey down, 3 hours from Lancaster to Charlton sat in the sun on the half way line of the East stand for a most enjoyable game and even better result, main positives were:
Pope and Fox,both grew into the game with a great save and a super goal
Tall players - we can defend corners at last and we might even get the occasional goal from a header Kashi a better defensive midfielder thn we have had for a while
Cousins and Solly as good as always
Watt really reminds me of Derek Hales, he uses his weight to bulldoze through and knows where the goal is
We also had 3 new players not even starting, JJ on the bench, H and Igor to return and possibly two new players to arrive.
loved the way we strangled their midfield. Haven't seen a Charlton side do that before and very interesting if it isn't a one off. Luzon deserves credit for his tactics and for giving a fresh Watt a half in hot conditions. Dour cagey first half but all the quality was from us in the second. Thought we should have had a penalty and JBG unlucky from free kick too.
All round perfect start to the season. Kashi will become a real fan's favourite, Ba is tidy and strong, Bauer a no nonsense tank and Makianok will be a pain in the backside for defences to deal with. With others back to fitness and one or two more in, I think we are going to have some exciting moments this season.
I really rate Tony Watt, game changer, match winner etc, but was a bit disturbed to see him blowing a bit near the end of the match in which he only played for 45 mins. Is he fit?
He's Scottish and it was very hot. Magic feet Tony had a 45 minute master class. Maybe having a barny helped motivate him.
Great game to start the season . In the past few years watching Charlton I've always thought we have been quite weak physically against the other teams and been bossed about. Today we were STRONG throughout the game. All the team battled for everything and we outmuscled QPR time and again. The back four were solid, the midfield had tenacity and no little creativity, and the forwards were both attritional and skillful. On that performance no one is going to boss us, and many teams will fear our physicality. All players were top notch in my eyes today. I would give special mention to Nick Pope for a fantastic save in the first half, as had it gone on I think we would have struggled to get on top. I also though Makionek had a very good game, puts himself about a lot, good in the air and can hold ball up well. Have a very good feeling about this team for the rest of the season.
I was disapointed with the mascots though - especially the robin which looked like a poundland fancy dress costume!!!! I think they need to put the bird out of it's misery and bring back the cat and the dog - maybe the knight can stick around and chase them around a bit !!!
Very impressed with Kashi and Bauer. Big Mac will take some getting used to, think he's going to play a big part but not get appreciated until he's out.
Yet to be convinced by Ba. Not saying I was unimpressed. He did a ok job I'm just biased because I like Jordan Cousins in the middle. JBG superb. Diarra very solid and looks like he carries quality at centre half. Solly very decent too. Tony Watt fantastic.
Morgan Fox did well just needs to keep learning and get the confidence to go forward a bit more as his goal shows. He is a threat.
Nick Pope made a very good one handed save in the first half and @WSS said as I was thinking it 'he needed that' and he went on to have a very good game.
I will say the first half was a tough watch and I think a lot of journalists would have dozed off.
We were good for that win today and I'm glad it was against those QPR shithouses. I've never liked them
Thanks Carter, saved me typing, agree with (almost) everything (although I quite like some QPR fans!)
I was disapointed with the mascots though - especially the robin which looked like a poundland fancy dress costume!!!! I think they need to put the bird out of it's misery and bring back the cat and the dog - maybe the knight can stick around and chase them around a bit !!!
They've not just dug out the robin costume we had at Selhurst have they?
Even first half, QPR started brightly but we finished the better. Second half was completely one sided. Watt scared the life out of them.
Classic holding midfielder display from Kashi. Very, very promising debut. A few nice touches from Makeniok without setting the world alight. I can tell from one game that he won't be troubling the top scorers table but could be a nuisance, perhaps better off the bench.
Cousins everywhere, Solly assured in attack and defence, Fox started a little nervously but had an excellent second half, Pope handled everything with ease. Ba was a little slow in possession but showed enough to suggest he could do well for us. Bergdich was positive when he came on.
Special mention to the centre halves, who were solid defensively and calm in possession, and to JBG for a performance full of industry as well as invention.
QPR very disappointing, not sure how long Ramsay will last as he didn't do a lot to change things, despite it clearly not working.
Great report Seth plum thanks. Living in NZ means attending matches is never an option but to read your reports - and others - adds to the enjoyment of winning I assure you. Pay no heed to stupid comments.
A thoroughly enjoyable day and a real pleasure to watch a magician like Tony WWW frighten oppo with genuine natural ability and he is worth the entrance fee in itself
Superb all round performance and as mentioned above by Croydonaddick I thought we were very strong as a side and I'd add that we were a bit horrible/dirty almost intimidating QPR with our physicalness
Well done Fox lovely strike and he grew into the game after some wayward passing in the opening exchanges
Kashis non stop engine was good to see
QPR were awful and we helped make em look crap
Automatic promotion 0.75% .......... 3rd-6th 5% ....... 7th -12th 55% ....... 13th-21st 39%...... The big "R" 0.25%
what struck me is how we crowded out their midfield. They couldn't get anything going there as we were on them like flies on sh*t. Not one player but two sometimes three.
Without repeating the positive comments, can only see this team improving the more they play, and things that didn't quite come off do start coming off.
All our players look comfortable on the ball and good first touches.
Not sure why, but Solly just seemed to have more space and time to really be effective at what he does best. Probably because the midfield was tying up more of their players defensively.
JBG put in a shift and worked as hard as I've seen tracking back and closing down.
Can't overestimate importance of Pope's performance. If he had melted we would have fallen behind and confidence shattered. He was decisive, he seems to see a ball very early and only moves when he has to, if he comes for a ball he takes it clean, he punched a ball second half that must have gone 40 yards. His kicking is not his strongest point and it was noticeable that orders must have been to roll the ball out to a defender in preference to kicking. Hendo might be feeling a bit nervous.
Optimistic for the season, if Luzon can keep the players hungry.
Comments
We can only beat the teams that are put in front of us and today showed we have a battle on our hands if we lack concentration which we did at times. Clearly we are a better side with Tony Watt and with Igor fit better still, I'd say. We battled to get ourselves back in that match and showed a lot or character and grit to do so.
Despite the difference in pedigree the difference between the teams today was the quality of goal keeping. Green should have stopped TW's goal but had no chance with Morgan Fox's, which was perfectly placed. Whereas Nick Pope made some excellent saves and picked some awkward balls out of defence.
All in all a very enjoyable game. We will I think, be better than last season however, the ease with which we brushed QPR aside shows as much their weakness as our strength. We need to improve to become what we all hope for, promotion contenders but, on todays showing we are not the relegation fodder advertised in the bookies windows or anything near it.
Second half an up for it Tony Watt started running at the ageing Hill and others culminating in a goal of some quality a few minutes later.
For a change I was relatively relaxed, or exhausted because of the ticket stress, and was not nervously anticipating the inevitable equaliser. I was delighted when the Charlton Life Scapegoat of last season put in a sweet left foot strike from 25 yards or so to open his Charlton account.
Overall we deserved it. The new guys looked up to the level and what a novelty to see a Charlton team of physical presence competing and muscling opposition players off the ball rather than having it done to us.
Well done on today Guy and the boys. More of the same please.
1. I got a puncture on the M25 on my way over to SE Heaven. Luckily, I've got run flats and managed to get to Dartford and get a new tyre put on before the game. Just under £200 out of pocket for that.
2. On way home, major problems on the M25 between junctions 5 and 7. Cam off at Swanley and went via the back roads to Westerham before rejoining the M25 at Godstone - but still took me almost 3 hours to get home.
But i'm sitting here feeling on top of the world (if not quite yet the league). Reading all the above tells anyone who wasn't there the story of the day, and brings it all back for those of us who were.
Off on holiday tomorrow morning and won't be going to the Valley again until the Rotherham game on 12 September. Can't wait for that now!
Sam to Watt: "Magic 2nd half Tony, i hope you enjoyed it as much as the fans did"
Watt to Sam: " cheers, i did, it was better than sitting on the bench"
i hope this can be sorted.
Sam to Fox "Morgan i told you your 1st goal was coming, how did it feel "
Fox to Sam " To score in front of the Covered end was awesome"
Sam to Pope "when you did that save in the 1st half and the crowd gave you a great ovation you must of felt good."
Pope To Sam " we had started off slow and they had a lot of corners and you grow into the game, a clean sheet is every keepers goal."
Nick then took the trouble to spend 5 minutes with a young lad who asked him what tips on being a Keeper, the advice was never get too down and always enjoy
the good moments. practice and practice.
The great Dane said he enjoyed the atmosphere, and Patrick Bauer said the noise was good.
There were 4 Norwegian fans after the game and Solly signed a plaster cast,
They said that was their 4th visit to the Valley and we had won every game.
The Rest of the New players were happy to have pics taken even if their English was not so hot.
A lovely sunny day at the valley with 3 points and a clean sheet.
Watts not to like ?
Loved the intent of Tony Watt. Splendid, again.
QPR fan Robert Elms might be having a little sulk on his show on Monday (BBC London, 94.9 FM, noon).
good journey down, 3 hours from Lancaster to Charlton
sat in the sun on the half way line of the East stand for a most enjoyable game and even better result, main positives were:
Pope and Fox,both grew into the game with a great save and a super goal
Tall players - we can defend corners at last and we might even get the occasional goal from a header
Kashi a better defensive midfielder thn we have had for a while
Cousins and Solly as good as always
Watt really reminds me of Derek Hales, he uses his weight to bulldoze through and knows where the goal is
We also had 3 new players not even starting, JJ on the bench, H and Igor to return and possibly two new players to arrive.
WOW!
Magic feet Tony had a 45 minute master class.
Maybe having a barny helped motivate him.
http://www.gettyimages.ch/detail/nachrichtenfoto/the-queens-park-rangers-manager-chris-ramsey-looks-nachrichtenfoto/483396328
Superb all round performance and as mentioned above by Croydonaddick I thought we were very strong as a side and I'd add that we were a bit horrible/dirty almost intimidating QPR with our physicalness
Well done Fox lovely strike and he grew into the game after some wayward passing in the opening exchanges
Kashis non stop engine was good to see
QPR were awful and we helped make em look crap
Automatic promotion 0.75% .......... 3rd-6th 5% ....... 7th -12th 55% ....... 13th-21st 39%...... The big "R" 0.25%
Awful report was the journalist actually there?
All our players look comfortable on the ball and good first touches.
Not sure why, but Solly just seemed to have more space and time to really be effective at what he does best. Probably because the midfield was tying up more of their players defensively.
JBG put in a shift and worked as hard as I've seen tracking back and closing down.
Can't overestimate importance of Pope's performance. If he had melted we would have fallen behind and confidence shattered. He was decisive, he seems to see a ball very early and only moves when he has to, if he comes for a ball he takes it clean, he punched a ball second half that must have gone 40 yards. His kicking is not his strongest point and it was noticeable that orders must have been to roll the ball out to a defender in preference to kicking. Hendo might be feeling a bit nervous.
Optimistic for the season, if Luzon can keep the players hungry.