FM12: Queen's Park Rangers - Back in the Top Flight

[Dr. Pepper]

Heskey in the hole haha.

Nice to see there are still people doing proper stories on here. This place used to be buzzing, now there's only a handful who visit it (and they're mainly for the mafia games).

 

[hedger_14]

27th August - West Brom v QPR - Premier Division​

Following a 5-2 mid-week win, away to Huddersfield in the league cup, QPR faced a much tougher opposition in West Brom but would be confident after their 3-0 win against Aston Villa last week. A double for Tommy Smith against Huddersfield wasn't enough to win him a spot in the starting XI although two goals within 3 minutes of coming on from James McFadden earned him a spot on the left wing, despite playing as an attacking midfielder in the mid-week game, coming on for the injured Keiron Dyer. He was the only player missing for QPR but it would not be a huge loss. DJ Campbell made a return to QPR's starting XI. West Brom didn't have any injury news to worry about. They were having a poor start to the season though, having lost away to Norwich on Matchday 1 before going down to Everton at home last week. They did however, regain some confidence with an impressive display over a much weaker opposition in Rotherham, mid-week, with a 2-0 win. Tchoyi was one of the scorers and was named in the starting XI, behind Odemwingie.

Brendon Hedger had every reason to be angry at his players after some shocking defence in the opening minutes, giving West Brom three good chances within 5 minutes and it was Odemwingie who made them pay, rounding the keeper before tapping the ball into the open net. It was all West Brom and QPR were very disappointing and lucky to have not given away more goals. It remained 1-0 going into the half-time break and West Brom were playing by far the better football and it was going to take something huge to turn around QPR's performance.

Taraabt would have been disappointed to be brought off at half-time but he wasn't doing anything and had failed to create any chances for his side, McFadden moving into his role while Vaagan Moen moved into midfield. McFadden tested his luck with a good strike from 35 yards but the ball went just over the bar. West Brom finally made it 2-0 when Brunt's free kick took a slight deflection, giving Kenny no chance to stop the ball from flying into the back of the net. Things went from bad to worse though as Faurlin was given a controversial second yellow card which seemed to have nothing in it, much to the enjoyment of the home fans. QPR just couldn't get any luck though, Tommy Smith, off the bench, hitting the crossbar before Vaagan Moen went agonizingly close to halving the deficit. Jon Moss ended a miserable day for QPR fans with the final whistle, West Brom taking a comfortable 2-0 win, QPR playing horrendously.

West Brom couldn't be overly pleased with their performance, due to the abysmal performance from their opposition but it was Chris Brunt who took the MOTM award, having scored the second goal. Despite being unable to complete any of his 13 crosses, he proved a constant threat, making 3 runs and played solidly in defence, winning 4 tackles. Tchoyi had a solid game, setting up both goals, completing nearly all of his passes, winning 3 headers and making two interceptions.

 

[Spoobir]

Is it worth picking up FM12? If it's just database updates I probably won't bother.

 

[hedger_14]

I think it's better. The Add/Remove nations rule is probably the best feature, especially if you wanted to go on a World Journey but your computer can't handle 100+ countries at once The player tone is a good implementation although it could be better. And now, it gives you feedback on how your players respond to your team talks (through their body language) which can help. Team meetings are another good feature in this game, to raise morale when it's down.

 

[hedger_14]

10th September - QPR v Blackburn - Premier Division​

Queens Park Rangers needed to rebound strongly following their disappointing performance against West Brom. There was no new injury news to report of, Keiron Dyer still out with injury, while Alejandro Faurlin would miss this match through suspension. Blackburn have had a decent start to the season, taking a 2-2 draw at home to Wolves in their first match. They lost 1-0 away to Liverpool but rebounded strongly to that with a comfortable 4-2 win over the struggling Aston Villa. They would be missing midfielder, Steven N'Zonzi through injury though. Jay Bothroyd was selected in the starting XI to make his first start of the season for QPR, as both DJ Campbell and James McFadden were demoted to the bench, while Sergio came in for Alejandro Faurlin.

QPR started off strongly, with Robinson forced in to two very good saves in the opening 10 minutes. Jay Bothroyd's selection was justified after 11 minutes when he sprinted past the defence, before being brought down by Martin Olsson inside the box and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Adel Taraabt's penalty was unstoppable, Robinson stuck to the spot as the ball travelled into the corner of the net and QPR held a 1-0 lead. Adel Taraabt nearly had a double when his shot beat the keeper but smashed against the post. Vaagan Moen was brought from the field after suffering a minor injury while running down the left hand side of the field, McFadden replacing him. QPR suffered a major set back though when Shaun Wright-Phillips was forced from the field with an injury. Joey Barton moved out to the right, while Shaun Derry was brought on in the centre of midfield. QPR despite these set backs, doubled their lead right on the strike of half-time when Sergio headed home Taraabt's corner for his first goal for his new club and Blackburn would have to overcome a 2 goal deficit to get anything out of this match.

QPR's lead was even more decisive when McFadden sprinted down the left hand side of the field, before swinging in a cross for Bothroyd who would have been disappointed not to finish, but was helped by Paul Robinson who put the ball into his own net. QPR could have easily made it 4 or 5 by the end of the game, given the number of chances they had but they would definately be happy with a 3-0 win. It wasn't all over though, when Martin Olsson was sent off for a second yellow card in stoppage time to add to Blackburn's defeat.

Adel Taraabt took the MOTM award after a strong performance. He was more active than he had been against West Brom, as he made 4 key passes, set up Sergio's goal, scored the penalty and completing 3 of 4 crosses. Anton Ferdinand played very well for QPR as well, winning 2/3 tackles, 4 key headers and 6 interceptions. Ryan Nelson was one of the only Blackburn players to have a decent game, winning 6/6 tackles, winning 6 headers including 3 key headers and taking 2 intercepts.

 

[JBlues08]

League table please.

 

[hedger_14]

It's only been like 4 matches

 

[JBlues08]

Alright. Just wanted to see how are the other teams doing.

 

[hedger_14]

Wigan are actually in first...

 

[JBlues08]

Have they played any of the big teams?

 

[hedger_14]

Yeah, they beat Arsenal and drew Man City. Their other two wins came away to Newcastle and Fulham.

 

[hedger_14]

17th September - Bolton v QPR - Premier Division​

Both teams had both had solid starts to their seasons sitting next to each other on the ladder, Bolton in 7th and QPR in 8th. 2 points separated the sides, Bolton having won 3 games although to be fair, was against Swansea, Norwich and West Brom. Morale in the QPR camp was very good following their dominant 3-0 victory over Blackburn but were still looking for their first win of the season. They would have to do it without the injured Shaun Wright-Phillips and Petter Vaagan Moen, along with Keiron Dyer. Bolton were missing two important players in Martin Petrov and Ricardo Gardner but they would still be confident of taking all 3 points. There was a reshuffle in QPR's lineup with injuries, giving Shaun Derry a chance to start in the midfield, with Faurlin on the bench having returned from his suspension. Joey Barton moved to the right of midfield while Jay Bothroyd kept his spot up front following a solid performance last week. The back 4 was unchanged for the third consecutive week, with Clint Hill forced to start from the bench again.

Surprisingly, it was the QPR vice captain, Luke Young who made the first real mistake, playing a horrible ball across the field straight to Diouf. Two on one, Bolton weren't going to throw away the chance, as Diouf played the ball through to Klasnic who slotted it home to give Bolton a 1-0 lead after 12 minutes and Luke Young was to blame. It didn't take long for QPR to respond though, Joey Barton scoring his first goal for his new club as Shaun Derry's ball was perfect and Jaaskelainen rushed out, leaving the QPR skipper the chance to lob the ball over him, and he made no mistake. Bolton had a couple of chances to regain the lead but QPR hung on until half-time and it was all level going into the break.

Tommy Smith was brought on after the break and had the chance to take the lead for QPR after a minute, but his shot went well over. Controversy struck though in the 52nd minute when Diouf appeared to handle the ball into the goal off Holden's corner but Probert awarded the goal and Bolton had taken the lead again. Crosses hadn't been QPR's strong point this season but Armand Traore's was near perfect in the 58th minute and Tommy Smith tapped it home from 5 yards to square things up at 2-2. McFadden nearly set up Joey Barton for his second but his snap shot was pulled wide of the goal. Luke Young's poor game was ended when he was brought off for Bradley Orr who came on to play in his first game of the season. The move payed off when he scored a stunning goal. Taraabt's corner was headed away by Steinsson but straight to Taraabt who laid it off for Orr who tried a banana shot, which curled straight into the top right corner and QPR had a one goal lead with 4 minutes. Orr's stunning strike proved the difference as QPR had defeated Bolton 3-2 for their first away win of the season.

El-Hadji Diouf took the MOTM award despite being substituted in the 54th minute. He played a part in both goals, setting up the first before scoring the second himself. He didn't have much time on the ball, only completing 7 passes but was solid, winning a couple of tackles, completing 2 crosses, winning 3/3 headers and making 1 run. Stuart Holden also had a fine game for Bolton, completing 37 passes including 3 key passes, won 4/4 tackles and took 3 intercepts. Shaun Derry was exceptional for QPR and was unlucky not to take the MOTM award. He completed all 28 of his passes, won 11/12 tackles, took 2 intercepts, drew two fauls and set up a goal. Joey Barton had a very good game out on the right, scoring his first goal for QPR, completing 23/27 passes and making 2 intercepts, tackles and headers. Bradley Orr and Adel Taraabt also played very well.

 

[Bevab]

Bolton had 22 shots?!

 

[Themer]

You lucky git (referring to the last game), I do love a good FM story.

 

[hedger_14]

Most of our chances were better than theirs though apart from the the two goals which were clear cut