Snippets: Players "Learning" Italian...Blackpool Perspective re QPR and Blackpool-QPR Nostalgia

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The Mirror - predator: THE IT BOYS
Qpr boss Luigi De Canio is working hard to learn English - but his players are meeting him halfway.
The Italian coach has been forced to use a translator to get his message across in training so far.
But that might not be necessary for too much longer - because the Rangers squad are picking up the lingo of their boss.
On-loan striker Rowan Vine revealed: "The manager's team talks and training sessions are in Italian, and I'm starting to understand a few words. Perhaps before too long I'll be giving an interview in Italian!" Mirror

BLACKPOOL OFFICIAL SITE Larry Faces Selection Poser
Pool boss Simon Grayson could be set for a nice selection headache ahead of the visit of QPR to Bloomfield Road.
After weeks and weeks of continuous injury problems, the club are finally in a position where those missing in recent weeks could be back in contention for the crucial games over the winter period.
The main dilemma the manager faces is in defence, especially at centre-half, where captain Michael Jackson is pushing for a recall from the subs bench and Ian Evatt has now declared himself fit to face his former side following a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
It all makes for an interesting selection in Larry's hands, with the current defensive partnership of Kaspars Gorkss and Shaun Barker performing admirably at the back. If either Evatt or Jackson return to the backline, it is likely Barker will revert back to right-back, although Danny Coid has impressed in that position for The Seasiders in recent weeks.
The manager may also be in a position to boast all of his strikers fit and available. Ben Burgess made a scoring return for the reserves on Wednesday against Carlisle and he could be set to push the likes of Andy Morrell, Keigan Parker, Scott Vernon and loan signing Bartosz Slusarski to be involved at some stage.
On the likelihood of a return to face his former club for Evo, Larry said: "Ian is like any player preparing to face his former 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.
"There won't be major changes because I think the team has done well enough in the last two games, despite the results."
Pool go into the game with QPR one place above the R's in The Championship with both sides currently sitting on sixteen points. The difference between the two sides is the goals difference which means it's QPR who languish in the relegation zone.
Just because of the table, Larry insists that is no given right that The Seasiders are odds on to win.
On QPR, he said: "They've been an established team in The Championship for a number of years. 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."
Blackpool


Blackpool Gazette - Bernie's formula is getting Rangers back on track
THINK Bernie Eccleston, think Formula 1.
Which makes the racing chief's purchase of Queens Park Rangers Football Club all the more surprising.
You'd think nothing of asking Ecclestone a question about Lewis Hamilton's world title prospects or the traffic problems approaching Silverstone, but not perhaps about the aerial ability of midfielder Mikele Leigertwood or the scoring record of Dexter Blackstock.
But Ecclestone, who brought the club along with business colleague Flavio Briatore in September, claims he is serious about his involvement and has set a target of promotion to Premiership by 2011.
Rangers should meet Pool there, after all Valery Belokon reckons the Seasiders will be in the top flight by that year too ...
Eccelstone and Briatore's purchase came at a vital moment because the money invested by chairman Gianni Paladini – with help from his Moncao business friends – was reportedly beginning to run out.
There was serious concern that unless new money men could be found, the club might find themselves in the parlous position of administration last suffered five years ago.
Loyal
The deal has helped stabilise the club, with the new owners paying £1m for the club and another £10m to clear the debts.
Since then they have also shown their ambition by shelling out £1m to Sheffield United for Leigertwood, as well as allowing Italian manager Luigi De Canio to bring in Scott Sinclair from Chelsea and Bob Malcom from West Brom, both on loan.
"Bernie Eccelstone and I are delighted to be at QPR," said Briatore.
"We are fully aware of the history of the club and the loyal fanbase that it has, we are therefore totally committed to bringing future success back to the club.
"Gianni, Bernie and I are all determined to see the club return to the Premiership as soon as possible."
Those comments were made after the takeover on September 1. And given those lofty expectations, it was therefore little surprise when John Gregory – days after a 5-1 hammering at West Brom – got the sack.
Number two Mick Harford took temporary charge, brought in ex-Blackpool man Jason Jarrett on loan, and on October 8, guided Rangers to their first win of the season – beating Norwich.
He was never first choice for the job though and the club used their Italian links to appoint De Canio as boss on October 29. He arrived from Serie A outfit Siena and had previously coached at Napoli, Udinese and Genoa.
Rangers beat Hull City in De Canio's first match but he has failed to add to the victory tally in the last four games, QPR losing two and drawing two.
"We are performing better than results show," said De Canio, who has installed a continental set-up at Loftus Road which includes a performance director.
The Italian acknowledges that tomorrow's clash is a big game and, despite results, the encouraging news for Rangers is that they are playing good football, a world apart from the direct, route one style championed by previous managers Gregory and Ian Holloway.
There are likely to be at least two changes to the side which lost 3-1 at Stoke in midweek.
Striker Dexter Blackstock was sent off in that encounter and an appeal to the FA has failed so he's suspended.
Right back Michael Mancienne, on loan from Chelsea, came off with a hamstring injury at Stoke. He is also out, with Bob Malcolm – another of QPR's eight on-loan players – likely to step in.
Striker Rowan Vine (guess what? He's on loan too) and midfielder Martin Rowlands are top scorers with two goals each.
QPR's problem, like Pool's, is putting the ball in the net. Blackpool fans can only hope it's still a problem come tomorrow night. Blackpool Gazette

[Nostalgia from the Blackpool Gazette. Although could also go back to the 82 Cup Run, which saw QPR draw at Blackpool before Clive Allen put through at Loftus Road...or back to 68/69 the 6-1 win at Loftus Road with Marsh hattrick...or of course, going up on goal aggregated over Blackpool in 67/68.]

From Blackpool Gazette: Blackpool 2 QPR 2 – FA Cup fifth round, Feb 18,1990
BACK FOR SECONDS: The Seasiders took QPR to a replay in the Cup
Heaven forbid Blackpool will suffer the same fate this season that befell them the year they gave one-time aristocrats Queens Park Rangers a massive fright.
Back in 1990, as today, staving off relegation was uppermost in The Seasiders' minds – but they failed to beat the drop 17 years ago.
Such are the fortunes of football that the two clubs meet on a level playing field this afternoon at Bloomfield Road, struggling desperately to preserve Championship status.
From figuring in the old First Division and then finishing fifth in the Premiership's 1992-93 debut season, QPR progressively found it impossible to keep their heads above water alongside the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Man Utd and Liverpool.
Back in February 1990, Blackpool would have willingly swapped a presence in the hat for the last 16 of the FA Cup for Third Division salvation.
Finishing second-bottom, they sank back to the Fourth and manager Jimmy Mullen was shown the door after keeping the club up as caretaker 11 months earlier. Mullen promptly walked into the boss' job at Burnley.
The FA Cup had brought a welcome distraction from Pool's perils in the League. With the possibility of entertaining Liverpool in the sixth round, Pool kept that dream alive with a goalless draw in the replay against Rangers.
They lost the toss for ground advantage in the third meeting and returned to Loftus Road to lose 3-0.
A total of 37,739 watched the three tussles – 9,641 of them at Bloomfield Road.
The Pool line-up for the original tie was: McIlhargey, A Wright, Morgan, Coughlin, Methven, Bradshaw, Gore, Groves, Brook (Owen 73mins), Garner, Eyres. Sub not used, Diamond.
QPR: Seaman, Bardsley, Sansom, Parker, McDonald, Maddix, Wilkins, Barker, Clarke, Wegerle, Sinton. Subs, Channing, P Wright.
Rangers, managed by Trevor Francis, ended that season in 11th place.
Liverpool won the championship and it's interesting to note that only nine of the 20 Division One teams of 1990 are in the Premiership today.
Sadly, a handful of QPR supporters let the club down by causing mayhem. Eight appeared before the town's magistrates 48 hours later for incidents before, during and after the game.
Police said a group of 15 to 30 London youths attacked a man waiting for a taxi outside a nightclub on the Promenade.
At the end of that season, Blackpool dropped with Walsall, Northampton and Cardiff out of a division dominated by the two Bristol clubs and containing five current Premiership members in Bolton, Birmingham, Reading, Wigan and Fulham.
Reading made it a nightmare start for Preston's caretaker boss Les Chapman by thrashing Pool's lowly neighbours 6-0 at the old Elm Park.
Alex Ferguson's Man Utd lifted the FA Cup, beating Crystal Palace 1-0 in a turgid replay at Wembley after a 3-3 thriller.
On the day Pool entertained Rangers, Fylde RU's Brendan Hanavan rapped out an answer on the pitch after being subjected to claims of disloyalty by Liverpool St Helens coach Mike Slemen for leaving them to return to the Woodlands.
The flying winger starred with two tries in Fylde's 21-16 win on Merseyside. The brace gave Hanavan 24 for the season.
Elsewhere, the Fylde community rose in protest over fears of cuts to the renowned cardiac unit at Victoria Hospital.
Campaigners had collected 68,400 signatures after The Gazette revealed that secret plans were in place to switch bypass surgery to Manchester. Mercifully, the campaign succeeded.
Striking BAE workers at Warton were into the 17th week of a dispute in a bid to reduce the working week to 35 hours.
A total of 800 were reported to be on the picket line, which had been crossed by 190 objectors. Blackpool Gazette