Holloway on Eze, QPR’s lack of a goalscorer, Rangers and Fulham fans – and his half-time ‘rant up’

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A rundown of what QPR manager Ian Holloway had to say following his side’s 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage on Saturday, when they came back from two down to earn a point.

Rangers’ poor start

“I’d rather start a bit better, get closer to people and be a bit tighter.

“I’m delighted with our character, but we’ve got to get tighter to people and not give them so much respect.

“We kept giving it away and when they had it they could roll it around everywhere, so I was fuming.

“We didn’t get anything like close enough to them in the first half and we were the same at Wolves.”

A half-time rant

“We needed half-time. I needed to have a bit of rant-up and say ‘Wait a minute, you need to get closer people and you need to realise when to go to work’.

“When, because when they passed it there was a malaise of ‘Oh hang on a minute’ and by the time you get there they’ve already passed round you and that’s exactly what they want.

“I had a right go at half-time: ‘Get at them and get about it’.”

Missed chances

“We also need to be a bit more clinical with our breakaway chances when we get them, because we should have won that game in the end.

“Really I feel disappointed that we haven’t come away with all three points.

“We had a lot of breakaway chances and unfortunately didn’t take them, and I’ll be looking at that. We should have been more clinical.

“We are consistently making chances against everybody and unfortunately we are consistently not taking them.

“Anyone who wants to argue with me, have a look at the chances created today and see who had the most.”

Lacking a goalscorer

“If you look at the top of the league table, nearly everybody who’s at the top has got a goalscorer who’s got 20 goals this year.

“I think Matt Smith is getting better and better and better all the time. I could probably never have played him before because of (what was happening) without the ball, and he’s getting a foot in for me.

“So well done to him. But we’ve got to get the balance right.”

QPR fans

“I’m delighted with the character my whole club is showing – my supporters who walked here today (to raise money for the QPR Tiger Cubs).

“I’m delighted for my fans who actually stuck with us and kept singing.”

Fulham fans chanting “It’s happening again” when 2-0 up

“I don’t like football sometimes, because people start gloating.

“You start gloating and then you look the idiot. When it’s 2-0, people are singing and chanting – what is that all about?

“The game’s much bigger than you. You can do what you like, but go and gloat on your own at home now, because you almost lost
that game.

“At the end of the day, ‘It’s going to happen again’? – I don’t think so. I don’t think so.”

Ebere Eze

“What my boys have got to do is go week in, week out, knowing when they go to work without the ball.

“Ebere’s so good with it at times that it never mattered when he was in the Under-23s whether he could win it back or not, because everybody was talking about that wonderful bit of skill.

“But he’s got to realise ‘Hang on, I’ve got to get close to him now. I can’t give McDonald that time. I can’t give Johansen that time to hit the ball out there to Ryan Sessegnon who is screaming down on my poor full-back’.

“We were getting dragged everywhere. It’s not rock science. You get close to your man.

“I took a risk with Ebere Eze and Matt Smith up front, because they’re not the best closers.”