Blackpool vs QPR

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UPDATE

QPR OFFICIAL SITE
"...Meanwhile, Rangers duo Michael Mancienne and Akos Buzsaky face a race against time to make the R's squad, after both players limped out of Tuesday's defeat against the Potters.
Mancienne is struggling with a hamstring injury, while Buzsaky sustained a dead leg in the closing stages at The Britannia Stadium.
Dexter Blackstock is serving the first of a three match suspension, while Simon Walton (fractured fibula) is still sidelined. QPR

Blackpool Gazette - Evatt's point to prove

Former Rangers defender Ian Evatt is desperate to start after 10 weeks out

BLACKPOOL boss Simon Grayson won't let sentiment enter his head when it comes to choosing a team to beat QPR in tomorrow's crucial Bloomfield Road encounter.
Former Rangers defender Ian Evatt is desperate to start after 10 weeks out, having proved his fitness in the reserves at Carlisle in midweek.

Evatt wants to prove a point to his former employers after being forced out of Loftus Road 18 months ago.

But Grayson, who plans to make the odd change to his starting 11 "but nothing major", after Tuesday's home defeat by Norwich is making no guarantees to Evatt.

The manager said: "Ian is like any player preparing to face his old club – he desperately wants to be involved."

"He's fit and ready to start if selected but there's no room for sentiment in football.

"We've got a lot of players who haven't been in the starting XI and who want to play. They are all in with a shout of starting and it's a difficult choice."

Striker Ben Burgess, who scored in the reserves' 2-2 draw on Wednesday, is also pushing hard for a place. Then there's skipper Michael Jackson, Andy Welsh,David Fox and Keigan Parker – all stuck on the bench recently and all anticipating a call-up after Pool's successive defeats.

But Grayson add
ed: "There won't be major changes because I think the team has done well enough in the last two games, despite the results."
The manager could certainly do with finding a winning formula against a QPR side a point below fourth-bottom Pool in the Championship.

Not that Grayson views it as make or break.

"Norwich wasn't a must win and neither is this one," he maintained.
"There are 29 games to go after tomorrow, so win or lose there are plenty more points to win.

"Just because teams are below you in the division you don't have any right to beat them, as we proved last season when we lost to the bottom three in League One.

"Anybody can beat anybody and we are fully aware of the threat of QPR, but I am very hopeful that we will have enough about us to get a result tomorrow."

John Hills and Adrian Forbes featured for the reserves as well and are also available for selection. Gazette

Playing for the Reserves on Tuesday - Match Report

BLACKPOOL RIVALS PREVIEWS GAME
I must confess until someone posted some stats on the message board, I didn't realise we'd had such a bad start to this season. Maybe performances have masked our results. However, we've lost five of our last six matches, only won one of the last thirteen and still not scored in the first half hour!...
I always had my doubts about how easy Tuesday's match would be and I sensed in both the players and the crowd a bit of an unease very shortly after kick off. We have to put that to one side and come out all guns blazing on Saturday. The simple facts are that we've not had a two goal lead in any game this season, as I mentioned we've not scored in the first half hour and we've not scored more than one goal in a game since Colchester in September. It's time we really started to impose ourselves on teams. QPR showed on Tuesday that conceding two goals in the first 20 minutes against Stoke proved a difficult position to recover from and that's what we need to achieve.
Difficult to say what or who you'd change on Saturday because either we looked OK in certain areas or we haven't the bodies to bring in behind people. Defence looks OK but has conceded four goals in two games, the midfield looked OK whilst not overly-creating or linking up with the front two and where do you start up top? Bart didn't set the world alight, Andy Morrell again missed good chances, Keigan didn't look at the races and Scott Vernon hardly had chance to touch the ball. Personally I'd stick Keigan down the right and put Taylor-Fletcher up top as an experiment but these are desperate times! With no new injuries, this is a time for Larry to show how good a manager he really is.
I always felt QPR would have a tough season but with new owners and money available in the New Year, you may feel they're another team who'll get out of it come January. That said they'll start in a poor position with only 3 wins on the board and just one on their travels. They have the worst goal difference in the league and have scored the fewest goals with just 15 on the board. Michael Mancienne and Akos Buzsaky both picked up knocks on Tuesday and are fighting to be fit whilst Dexter Blackstock's red card against Stoke means he'll sit this one out. QPR's problems scoring are reflected in the fact no player has yet scored more than two goals this season...
Blackpool RIvals

Also: Blackpool-Mad Previews The Game

Blackpool Mad

Also: Clive Whittingham/QPR Rivals Match Preview