QPR - A Rangers Revolution

1 December 2014

November Summary


Game 1 – Leicester (h), Premier League game 10
View attachment 287982
Well it sure wasn’t pretty but we got there. Had to survive a late scare as Kramaric, who was a handful all game, hit the post with a 25 yd effort. Really Austin was the hero with 2 early goals to set us on our way from 2 powerful finishes. We ended up being dragged back twice and it was left to Sandro to seal victory with a good effort from the edge of the 18.


Game 2 – Southampton (a), Premier League game 11
View attachment 287981
We implored the boys to keep their current run going prior to the match and the first half finished nil all and was very even. Unfortunately Tarabbt was injured on 64 mins with a twisted ankle, he will now miss 4 weeks but we have good cover with Phillips and Hoilett. This was our first draw of the season, not a bad result away at Southampton


Game 3 – Man U (h), Premier League game 12
View attachment 287977
Hoitlett sustained a minor injury whilst on international duty with Canada meaning Phillips got the start in Taarabt’s absence with Vargas sliding over to left wing. We started off well and had a goal disallowed after 6 mins with Austin adjudged to be offside prior to slamming home. Rojo then gave United the lead from a corner in the 48th​ min. We got a bit lucky when Blind was sent off for his second bookable offence in the 53rd​ but to be honest he was walking the line all game, Caulker smashed in a long range effort a minute later following a free kick and although we pressed hard following that we couldn’t get a winner – great result though.


Game 4 – Sunderland (a), Premier League game 13
View attachment 287975
Good result. Austin gave us the lead on 23 mins with a nice finish after being played in by Zarate. Austin then turned provider as he laid on the pass for Vargas to extended the lead on 44. McCarthy made great save from Steven Fletcher on the 77th​ minute but apart from that we were relatively untroubled.



Nov Table
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In a month where we faced the runaway league leaders we managed to improve our position on the table from 9th​ to 7th​. We are still 5 points off Liverpool in the last European spot so we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves with dreams of continental competition but regardless I am stoked with the start and feel as though we can already put any fears of relegation to bed.



Dec Fixtures
View attachment 287969
Squad depth will be tested this month with the 6 games. Arsenal away on Boxing day looks like it will be very tough. Playing West Brom twice in 11 days is something you don’t come across all the time but we are looking forward to the Capital One Cup having made it this far. I cut it off the screenshot but there is actually another game in there against Chelsea at home on the 2nd - big derby time.
 
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Bullardinho said:
Doing well so far mate, how's Gomez doing?
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Really well. He started off the season as my 4th choice CD but is now 3rd choice as both he and Onuoha now play in front of Rio Ferdinand. Starts every cup game and if one of my CD's isn't playing well he is the one who comes on for them. Will be pushing Onuoha for the spot beside Caulker next season.
 
Yeti01 said:
Really well. He started off the season as my 4th choice CD but is now 3rd choice as both he and Onuoha now play in front of Rio Ferdinand. Starts every cup game and if one of my CD's isn't playing well he is the one who comes on for them. Will be pushing Onuoha for the spot beside Caulker next season.
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Sounds good mate, he will definitely be in the team with Caulker soon enough. Good luck with the rest of the season
 
Pig you need a great young midfielder, Get will Hughes
he is a god on this fm
 
MashedPotato said:
Pig you need a great young midfielder, Get will Hughes
he is a god on this fm
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Mate would love me some Will Hughes - haven't got the money left in the budget though. Will definitely be keeping an eye on him from now on.
 
20 December 2014

December half yearly Review

“Right Gents I’ve called you all in today for a strategy session” I started. I had never understood why something that so obviously works in wider business hadn’t been implemented more across the board in Football. At Tottenham we had done a strategy day once and I thought it had been a great success so from then I was determined to implement it should I ever get a manager’s gig. And now here I was, surrounded by the key members of the management team. Steve Coppell had been brought into the Director of Football role after I left it to take the managerial reigns. He is proving to be an invaluable sounding board for me as he is so experienced yet is never backward in coming forward with his no-nonsense approach to his job.

My Assistant Kevin Bond was also there. Being my ear to the ground with the players he probably had the pulse of the dressing room better than any of us. Along with him was my old running mate Steve Gallen to provide input on the U/21’s and Paul Furlong to give insights to the U/19’s. Its one of the things I believe the club can be most proud of – giving managerial opportunities to past players. Paul had started off in the youth system here and gone on to play for many clubs, actually becoming Chelsea’s record signing in the early 90’s, before coming back to QPR in the early 2000’s to play over 150 games for the R’s. He’d been a fierce competitor on the field, something I can vouch for first hand, he let me know a few times he was there when I played against him! That gave me confidence though that he would have no problems speaking his mind. The last thing I wanted was yes men.

Our team was rounded off by the Head of Youth Development Simon Ireland. He’d been a journeyman midfielder in his day with a number of lower league clubs but he’d worked hard since retiring, carving himself out a great career as a scout and I really valued his eye for players. “First off let’s run through the first team squad. I’ll be frank I don’t think we can rely on Rio anymore. He’s already lost the starting job this season to Nedum Onuoha and he is a liability when he does play due to his lack of pace. Same goes really for Richard Dunne” I continued. “Agreed” said Coppell “You can add Clint Hill to that list, he is a decent leader but his time at this level is up. You’ve already begun using Joe Gomez as your 3rd​ choice central defender. Why not bring Coll Donaldson up when he gets back and make him your 4th​? He doing a great job on loan at Carlisle.” “I’m all for it, can anyone think of any reason not too?” I queried. Kevin spoke up “look all those guys are looked up to in the dressing room. I’m not saying let’s not try to move them on or decide now that their contracts won’t be renewed but let’s just ensure that we treat them with respect”. “Can’t see any issue with that either” I said.

View attachment 287506
Coll Donaldson could be in line for his Premier League debut
​

I continued, “I’ll be frank, my other big concern is our over-reliance on loan players. There’s a good chance Zarate, Vargas, Kranjcar and Isla won’t be around next season. There is also very, very little left in the transfer kitty. My feeling is that we either replace them with guys coming off contract or do what we can to replace them with loan signings for next season.” Bond spoke up again “Look we’ve got Taarabt who can be utilized a bit more along with Hoilett but yes, at the very least, our depth will suffer”. “Any names coming off contract we can target?” I said. “Rainford Kalaba or Semir Stilic could conceivably replace Zarate and Emmanuel Ledesma and Iain Vigurs could come in for the other 2” said Coppell. “Good, lets target those guys on free transfers” I agreed. “Have we got anyone lurking in the u/21’s or U/19’s that can step up at some point over the next year or so?”

Here things got a little weird - there were a few nervous glances shared between Gallen and Furlong and I grew a bit uneasy as the silence continued. “Come on, what about your boy Darnell Paul? Can he make the grade?” I prompted. “Look I love Darnell and he should have a good long career, finger’s crossed, as a professional footballer but I’m just not sure he’s up to Premier League standard, at least not anytime soon” Paul forlornly stated. ‘Wow’ I thought to myself, ‘I just wanted to break the silence with a quick one. That would have been really tough’. “Look I really appreciate your honesty Paul. Is there anyone else in the two sides who even might be good enough?” I pleaded. They both just shook their heads. “The cupboard’s bare boss, both sides need a revamp” Gallen added. “Is it just recruiting or are our facilities just not up to scratch?” I enquired. He’d spent most of the session in silence to this point but now was Simon Ireland’s chance to speak up “Frankly our recruiting isn’t up to standard” he said “We aren’t being given the resources to scout pre-youth effectively. Having said that it is too simplistic to say that it is just recruitment that is the issue. The youth facilities just aren’t up to the grade either and this is causing talented players to look elsewhere”. Gallen and Furlong nodded in agreement. “Right” I said “I commit to you guys that I’ll take up the cause with Board at my next opportunity”. That seemed to take the edge off the discussion and I could sense the mood in the room lift after that.

We spent the rest of the afternoon analyzing how effective our tactics have been, what’s been going on at set pieces and watching videos of upcoming opponents, we then devoted a session to analyzing our immediate competition on the table and attempted to predict their moves in the January window. When the day was drawing to a close I gathered everyone back around the whiteboard. “Right I don’t want to walk out of here today and for us to all go back to our usual tasks and forget what was discussed” I began. “Gal, I want you to go let Coll know he’s up training with the 1st​ team for the rest of the season when he returns. I know that some of the older guys will wonder what’s going on so can you Kevin take aside Rio, Dunney and Clint and let them know what we’re doing and give them the opportunity to say their bit. Coppello (I call him this because he hates it) can you sound out the agents for Kalaba, Stilic, Ledesma and Vigurs. Find out what they are looking for in terms of teams and ballpark wages desired so we can hit the ground running 1 Jan. Finally I’m off right now to talk with the Board, They’ve just finished their monthly meeting so I’ll catch them when they are all together and strike while the iron’s hot. We all happy with those actions?” I saw nothing but nods. “Great, I’ll see you guys tomorrow. Wish me luck”.
 
Enjoying this so far! do not like the lack of Zamora though! lol
 
Thanks Sam. I would use Bobby a bit more but don't feel he's gotten any love from SI for years now.
 
1 Jan 2015

December Summary - Part 1


Game 1 – Chelsea (a), Premier League game 14
View attachment 287168Fabregas opened the scoring on 6 mins with a speculative effort that McCarthy should have done better with. Following that Vargas powered home an equaliser in the 13th​ minute after a mazy run and cut in from the left. Due to a keeper crisis Chelsea had been forced to hand the start to 19 year old Mitchell Beeny and Austin exploited this with ruthless efficiency on 54 minutes collecting a Alex McCarthy kick that had sailed over everyone and smashing home.

The fierce nature of the derby bubbled to the surface on the 59th​ minute when John Terry was sent off for a reckless 2-footed hack on Charlie Austin. Obviously JT was still smarting from getting caught out by Austin minutes earlier. Kranjcar furthered the lead in the 65th​ minute with a neat finish from just inside the 18. Fer powered home our 4th​ in the 73rd​ minute after Austin and Kranjcar were able to cause confusion in the Chelsea box. Unfortunately Zarate has picked up a Hamstring strain and will be out for 3-4 weeks. Niko Kranjcar will be given his chance to impress in there whilst Zarate is out.

An amazing result in our biggest derby and am happy that this should please our fans.


Game 2 – West Brom(a), Premier League game 15
View attachment 287166
Well that wasn’t good. We dominated the possession and had more shots but just couldn’t find a breakthrough. Jonas Olsenn opened proceedings when he was quickest to a rebound in the 20th​ minute. Disaster struck in the 62nd​ minute when an innocuous enough looking cross was swung in and Caulker, rooted to the spot, couldn’t adjust his body position out of the way and the ball caromed in of what looked like his backside from the dugout…

Finally Pocognoli completed our misery firing home on the break in the 84th​ minute. Thus ends our run of 6 matches without defeat.


Game 3 – Everton (h), Premier League game 16
View attachment 287163Asked to team to expect better of themselves after the West Brom game and got a response as the team dominated early proceedings. Inexplicably though, Yun Suk-Young gave away a needless penalty in the 35th​ minute which Baines duly dispatched. Austin would fire us back on equal terms in the 53rd​ minute with a fine long range strike and even though we were maintaining pressure and peppering the Everton goal with shots it was Mirallas who pop up to nod home a free kick swung in from halfway…

Things were looking up when Fer then drew us level when he fired in a good shot from the edge of the area following some good lead up play by Matt Phillips. Unfortunately though there was time left for Cassano to send our fans home unhappy with a scrappy finish in the 89th​ minute. Heartbreaker, especially considering how much we had controlled the game.


Game 4 – West Brom(a), Capital One Cup Qtr Final
View attachment 287161Charlie Austin gave us the lead in this war of attrition with a deflected strike on the half hour. Given the amount of knocks our guys had taken we had made all 3 subs by the 75th​ minute just after going down to a Brown Ideye strike who capitalised on a Leroy Fer error in our box. Worse was to come as first Taarabt and then Austin who need to leave the field menaing we finished the game with only 9 men. Thankfully West Brom were also reduced to 10 when Darren Fletcher was sent off for his second bookable offence.

When it looked certain to be going to penalties Junior Hoilett was able to break onto a through ball and beat Boaz Myhill to send us in the semi final where we have drawn Newcastle. Relief, also thankfully none of the injuries sustained look bad enough that anyone will miss any time.

Game 5 – West Ham (a), Premier League game 17
View attachment 287158
What a tight contest. Carroll gave West Ham the lead after we failed to deal with yet another corner. Austin put us back on level terms though shortly after rifling a shot into the top corner after a cutback from Hoilett. Not too much else to report this was a good result from a tough fixture.


Part 2 to follow...
 
1 Jan 2015

December Summary - Part 2


Game 6 – Hull (h), Premier League game 18
View attachment 287154
Caulker opened the scoring in the 17th​ minute bundling home after McGregor in Hull’s goal could only parry Karl Henry’s initial header. Abel Hernandez equalised only minutes later with Hull’s first shot on goal. We were then denied a penalty on 20 mins after Hoilett was brought down in the box. Not really sure what the ref was looking at there, clear penalty for me.

Kranjcar though would restore our lead in the 34th​ minute with a sweet free kick from 25 out. We then had the ball in the net again on 84 mins but Austin was clearly offside prior to receiving the through ball but it didn’t matter as in the end Kranjcar’s goal was the difference with us picking up a very valuable 3 points.


Game 7 – Arsenal (a), Premier League game 19
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Wow the schedule makers didn’t do us any favours here. Arsenal away on only 2 days rest! We are above them on the table surprisingly but any point would be gleefully accepted today. We went down early to an absolute screamer from Danny Welbeck – he deadest put that one up amongst the pigeons with only 5 gone. Only minutes later we were 2 down. Giroud with the free kick but I can’t help but think McCarthy should have done a lot better with that one. Can’t be giving away easy goals at the Emirates if we want to pick up points…

After the second goal I asked the boys to push higher and got an immediate response as Vargas had a nice run and shot. Worse was to come however as Isla gave away a penalty in the 25th​ minute and Arteta made no mistake from the spot. We were desperately unlucky in the 41st​ minute when Gomez’s flighted cross from deep was met full on the sprint by Leroy Fer but he could only watch helplessly as his header cannoned back off the bar.

I let the boys know in no uncertain terms how disappointed I was with the first half. Lloyd Jones was brought on for Onuoha after his dreadful (4.7 rating) first half. We clawed a goal back almost from the restart when Austin turned in a Vargas cross with a low shot. Sanchez though would restore Arsenal’s 3 goal lead, ghosting in at the back stick and powering his header off Caulker in such a fashion that it looped over a scrambling McCarthy. As we chased the game it opened up even more and Welbeck took advantage furthering Arsenal’s lead with a quality effort in the 65th minute.

Fer scored a consolation goal with 2 minutes to go with Arsenal’s heads appearing to be already in the sheds. At the end of the day we came to the Emirates and had more possession and more shots than Arsenal. There aren’t many teams who will be able to say that. In the end Arsenal’s superior depth showed.


Dec Table
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At the halfway point of the season we sit in 8th​ place so nothing to complain about really. We are only 13 points from the magical 40 point mark typically associated with safety so that remains our first goal this season.


Jan Fixtures
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January looks to be another hectic month with a FA Cup tie against Brighton and the 2 legs of the Capital One Cup semi against Newcastle to be slotted in between 4 Premier League games, the pick of which seems to be Manchester City at home. There is also a somewhat comical stretch where we will play Newcastle 3 times in 10 days!
 
View attachment 286873
RANGERS MAKE THEIR 1ST SIGNING OF JAN WINDOW


  • STRIKER LEIGH GRIFFITHS EXPECTED TO JOIN ON 2 AND A HALF YEAR DEAL

By MATT BARLOW FOR THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED: 07:35 GMT, 4 January 2015 | UPDATED: 09:27 GMT, 4 January 2015
View attachment 286872


View attachment 286866
Celtic's Leigh Griffiths expected to add more firepower to the R's front-line
​


Some huge news today out of QPR’s Harlington training base as they announced the capture of Celtic’s Leigh Griffiths on a 2 and a half year deal. The exact terms of the transfer are as yet unkown but it is understood there is an upfront fee of around £350,000 although there is also allegedly add-ons that could see the total fee reach £1,000,000. Regardless this is seen to be a real coup for the West London club.

When pressed about what it was about Leigh Griffiths that attracted them QPR Manager Les Ferdinand offered “He’s a player we’ve had our eye on for years. I wasn’t here at the time I know there was a real push to sign him in back when he signed for Celtic from Wolves. Also, from a squad point of view there was a real need for this signing. Till now we had Mason (Bennett) as our key back up to Charlie (Austin) however he is young and still learning the ropes. A major injury to Charlie would have spelled disaster for us as it likely would have mean reshuffling the players behind and using either Zarate or Vargas up front as we didn’t want to rely solely on Bennett just yet. So now we have quality depth and also a player who offers us something a little different to Charlie. Whereas Charlie is the quintessential complete forward we see Leigh as more of a ‘fox-in-the-box’ type player”.

Chairman Tony Fernandes also gave his thoughts on the issue when the club released the below press release.

“We are delighted to make Leigh Griffiths our first signing of the January window. He offers everything we look for in a Rangers player and we are delighted to have picked him up at a price we believe fits firmly within our plan.”
 
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1 Feb 2015

Jan Summary - Part 1

Game 1 – Swansea (a), Premier League game 20
View attachment 286827
Sandro carved out the first goal with a bustling run into the box and forcing his shot under Fabanski who’d been a brick wall up to that point. Following the goal I always felt comfortable in the way we controlled the match. Although the stats show a somewhat even number of shots Swansea were predominately restricted to speculative efforts that rarely threatened. In truth we probably should have had one or two more but again a fairly good performance away from home so nothing to complain about.


Game 2 – Brighton(h), FA Cup 3rd​ rd
View attachment 286826
We fielded a second string side here to give a rest to some players and Brighton opened the scoring in the 5th minute as Mackail-Smith latched onto a former R’s favorite Leigertwood’s pass before finishing with aplomb. Even though I’d taken the opportunity to rest some starters I was disappointed to go 2 down to that man Mackail-Smith as our side still had the quality to win. March scored a 3rd on the break and Gomez was injured late on to compound our misery and in truth we were lucky not to concede more...


Game 3 – Man City (h), Premier League game 21
View attachment 286825
Terrible conditions to play football in but although we typically play a possession game I’m hoping that it plays into our hands more than City’s. After an extremely dour first half that we probably just shaded a slick run by Austin in the first minute of added time broke through the gloom and after he was found by Kranjcar he made no mistake burying his shot into the bottom left corner across Hart. As we sloshed off the field the boys were treated to a standing ovation from the hardy fans who had braved the elements to come watch – I must say I was extremely proud of how they had played in the first half also and let them know in the break.

We continued to have the majority of the ball and create more chances to start the 2nd half and just after the hour mark Leigh Griffiths made his QPR debut coming on for Kranjcar who have been subject to some rough handling by Fernando and he almost made an immediate impact when his corner was turned just over the bar by Austin, very unlucky. We were made to pay too when Iheanacho scored with a long range effort. McCarthy seemed to have trouble gripping with his studs and his desperate lunge was in vain as the ball curled around his outstretched palm.

With seven minutes to go it appeared we would have to settle for a point but after some tidy build up play between Fer and Austin Charlie found Leigh breaking into the box and although Joe Hart did extremely well to block Griffith’s first effort there was nothing he could do as the rebound fell nicely to Leigh to slot home his first QPR goal. City though haven’t been as successful as they have been without some determination and fought back again to equalize almost directly from the kick off through Navas.

If you had asked me before the game would I be happy with a point I would have said yes but seeing how this played out I do feel now as though it was two points dropped. This feeling though prompted me to go back and look at our first encounter. Although the score line on that day had only been one nil we had been comprehensively outplayed. So to see us essentially play City off the park today is a sign of how far we have come.


Game 4 – Newcastle(a), Premier League game 22
View attachment 286824
We were high on confidence following the City game and we took the lead early through Vargas with a laced shot in only the 2nd minute. Austin then had the ball in the net 5 minutes before the break but it was called back for offside. That was touch-and-go. Thankfully though it didn’t come back to bite us as we managed to hold the lead through to the final whistle. We rode our luck at times and there were a few heart-in-mouth moments but this is probably the 2 extra points we should have had last game coming our way.


Next - Jan Summary Part 2 to follow.
 
1 Feb 2015

Jan Summary - Part 2

Game 5 – Newcastle (h), Capital One Cup semi final leg 1
View attachment 286823After our win a few days earlier at St James Park we entered the 1st leg of our Capital One Cup semi full of confidence. First half was all one way traffic but the goal was proving elusive to us and when we were getting shots on target Krul was up to the task. The second half started in much the same fashion and it wasn’t until the 74th​ minute that Leigh Griffiths, who had been brought on for an ineffective Charlie Austin, scored with a looping flick-on from a Zarate free kick out wide. Griffiths extended the lead on 79 mins when he latched onto a Zarate through ball before rounding Krul and passing into an empty net. He then completed his hat-trick on 83 mns when he fired in a long range effort that Krul had no answer for. A 3 nil lead with no away goals conceded. I am one happy Manager!


Game 6 – Newcastle (a), Capital One Cup semi final leg 2
View attachment 286821Leigh Griffiths was given his first QPR start after his impressive hattrick on the first leg. Ayoze Perez pulled a goal back in the 10th min capitalising on some calamity in the box. Mat Phillips though would calm some nerves blasting in and restoring the 3 goal advantage but crucially giving us an away goal meaning Newcastle would need to score 4 more now to win. Siam De Jong would grab another back for Newcastle in the 43rd​ and when Vida scored another with 52 gone things were getting a bit out of hand. A change was made to a more conventional 4-3-3 and that seemed to stifle some of Newcastle’s attacking threat. When Griffiths snuck in behind and got onto an incorrectly weighted backpass before slotting home for his fifth goal in 4 appearances since joining the tie was effectively over. As Newcastle chased goals we found more space in behind and newcomer Fredrik Ulvestad scored on a breakaway to even up this leg and ensure a 6-3 overall victory. We are off to Wemberly!!!

Game 7 – Aston Villa (h), Premier League game 23
View attachment 286820
Leigh Griffiths held his spot in the side thanks his incredible current form and he repaid my faith by calmly sliding home in the 23rd​ minute to open the game. He is turning out to be a great bit of business. We continued to dominate and when Vargas smashed home our second just before the break the game appeared as good as over. Grealish scored against the run of play early in the 2nd​ with a smart shot but in reality that was the only time they really threatened and the only disappointment to come out of this game is that we should have won by more.


Jan Table
View attachment 286818
Despite the torrid Jan schedule we managed to climb one spot into 7th​. I don’t think we quite have the quality to catch those above us but if e can manage to hold this spot it will be a great result for the season.


Feb Fixtures
View attachment 286817
Things quieten down a little this month with only the 5 Premier League games. There are some tough fixtures in there though – Liverpool away and Tottenham at home will both be difficult.
 
Looking good for a strong finish mate. Been following this with interest as I am also at QPR at the moment. Keep it up!
 
Lippo255 said:
Looking good for a strong finish mate. Been following this with interest as I am also at QPR at the moment. Keep it up!
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Good stuff - what formation have you gone with? I'm using a 4-2-3-1 based losely on the Sir Goalalot tactic to take advantage of Zarate as an AM but given I don't think I'll have him next season I'm thinking I might need to change it up
 
Mainly a 4-1-2-2-1 with a winger on one side & Inside forward on the other. I only took over half way through the 2nd season though & we are in the championship so no Caulker, Austin etc.
 
Lippo255 said:
Mainly a 4-1-2-2-1 with a winger on one side & Inside forward on the other. I only took over half way through the 2nd season though & we are in the championship so no Caulker, Austin etc.
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Yeah that would suck a bit without those two. You look like you are doing very well though. Something suggests to me the Manuel Pablo knows how to get the best out of his players!
 
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