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da doce： This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Before QPR’s match against West Brom kicked off, news emerged that Grant Hall was a doubt for the game having picked up a knock in training, an issue that had ruled him out of the 2-1 win over Millwall.
Geoff Cameron came in against the Lions in Hall’s absence and did well, recording a huge seven clearances as the R’s managed to grab a 2-1 win.
Against the Baggies, however, he was not as good and his presence seemed to disrupt the back three.
What happened?
Mark Warburton’s side could not extend their four-game winning run in the league against Slaven Bilic’s men, succumbing to a 2-0 defeat at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium.
Cameron, 34, picked up a yellow card in the game, while WhoScored handed him a measly 5.91 match rating for his performance.
The former Stoke man didn’t make a single interception or block, and his teammates – especially Yoann Barbet, who was doing well in a 3-man centre-back system – also struggled without Hall.
Toni Leistner and Barbet all over the place
Barbet and Leistner – the latter of whom received praise from supporters for his showing against Millwall – struggled against the Midlands-based side.
Barbet in particular, who has been criticised on two occasions after games against Swansea and Portsmouth this term, gave away three fouls, enough to get himself sent off having picked up two yellow cards.
In Leistner’s case, the German committed five fouls – he was arguably the best performing R’s defender on the day, although that isn’t saying much.
Right wing-back Todd Kane also struggled quite significantly, as we have already detailed here.
Of course, you cannot say that QPR’s tough day at the office was purely down to Cameron’s inclusion, but things did seem to be going better with Hall in the side.
Cameron certainly struggled to replace Hall, regardless of other things that went wrong for QPR on the day.