QPR REPORT

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Now it's payback time for Roberts - Apr 15 2007 Andy Rose, Wales on Sunday

FEW players can put a figure on the true cost of becoming a professional footballer - but Tony Roberts is about to find out.

The former Wales goalkeeper expects to discover this week the size of the bill he must settle before he can join the rest of his promoted Dagenham and Redbridge teammates in the Football League for next season.

Roberts quit the professional game at 29 after suffering a serious injury to his left hand while playing for QPR against Ipswich in 1998.

But after consulting experts in the United States, he was able to return to non-league action in 2000 using a specially designed protective splint inside his goalkeeping glove.

Now seven years and some 300 Conference appearances later he knows he will need to pay back some or all of the £150,000 insurance payout before he can be readmitted to the professional ranks.

"I'm waiting to see how much it is going to cost me before I make a decision on my future," said the 37-year-old.

"I should find out in the next few days. The lads have all been winding me up telling me how they are all being promoted but I can't go with them and a few fans have joked that they will lend me a few quid. But I think it's going to take a bit more than that."

How much more, Roberts dreads to think. But he always hoped this day would eventually come.

"I knew when I received the payment that I'd have to pay it back if we ever got promoted and that is what I came to Dagenham to do," he said.

"After going very close in the first few seasons the last few have been more about rebuilding a young side but we've achieved what we set out to do now and even though I might not be able to join them I'm still happy about what we've done this season."

He must have known what was around the corner when he picked this season to be his testimonial year with the Daggers and the money raised could come in very handy very soon.

Roberts and his teammates sealed the Conference title and promotion last weekend although he admits the financial implications of success have been sinking in for a while.

"I've been thinking about it for a few weeks and now I just want to find out for certain how much it will cost so I can decide what to do next," he said.

"I'm 37 now but I'm still feeling all right and I'm desperate to keep playing. As long as I look after myself I am sure I can keep playing at a decent level.

"Look at people like Neville Southall and David Seaman. Nev played into his 40s at a higher level than me so I would love to do the same. Experience counts for a lot when you are a keeper and I feel I'm a better keeper now than when I was at QPR years ago.

"Mentally I'm a lot stronger and I seem to know the game better."

Indeed it was Southall's longevity between the posts which prevented Roberts from winning more than the two caps he has to his name.

"I finished when I was 29 and I'm still as hungry as ever," he said. "I would love to be a professional again. But I'm not thinking too far ahead at the moment.

"I haven't even got a figure in my head about what I can or cannot afford. I might get a nice or a nasty surprise.

"I don't like to plan ahead at my age because every game or even training session could turn out to be my last. You just never know what may happen."

But whatever the financial hangover proves to be, Roberts' campaign is still far from over.

"We've got two weeks of the season left and we want to enjoy it," he said. "After winning promotion we got beat on Monday and again on Wednesday. That's the first time in over a year that we've lost two on the spin. It looks like we lost a yard or pace somewhere along the way, probably in the bar, I would guess.

"We're booked up to go to Marbella for a week but because I'm the old boy, I'm only going for a weekend.

"I've also got the four nations tournament with Wales coming up." As for next season, who knows. Roberts Payback

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Burnley 42 1 51
QPR 43 -13 49
Leicester 42 -13 47
Barnsley 43 -26 47
Hull 43 -16 45
Leeds 43 -23 45
Southend 43 -27 42
Luton 43 -24 37


Tuesday, 17 April 2007
Burnley v Norwich,
Leicester v Birmingham,


Saturday, 21 April 2007
Barnsley v Crystal Palace
Plymouth v Southend
Preston v Leicester
QPR v Cardiff
Southampton v Leeds
Stoke v Hull


Monday, 23 April 2007
Burnley v West Brom


Friday, 27 April 2007
Sunderland v Burnley


Saturday, 28 April 2007
Barnsley v Leicester
Cardiff v Hull
Leeds v Ipswich
Southend v Luton
Wolverhampton v QPR


Sunday, 06 May 2007
Burnley v Coventry
Derby v Leeds
Hull v Plymouth
Leicester v Wolverhampton
Luton v Sunderland
QPR v Stoke
Southampton v Southend
West Brom v Barnsley

Final Fixtures

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PAST DECADE FINAL TABLES for Relegated Teams-

2005/06
Queens Park Rangers 46 12 14 20 50 65 50
Crewe Alexandra 46 9 15 22 57 86 42
Millwall 46 8 16 22 35 62 40
Brighton & Hove Albion 46 7 17 22 39 71 38


2004-2005
Crewe Alexandra 46 12 14 20 66 86 50
Gillingham 46 12 14 20 45 66 50
Nottingham Forest 46 9 17 20 42 66 44
Rotherham United 46 5 14 27 35 69 29


2003-2004
Gillingham 46 14 9 23 48 67 51
Walsall 46 13 12 21 45 65 51
Bradford City 46 10 6 30 38 69 36
Wimbledon 46 8 5 33 41 89 29


2002/03
Stoke City 46 12 14 20 45 69 50
Sheffield Wednesday 46 10 16 20 56 73 46
Brighton & Hove Albion 46 11 12 23 49 67 45
Grimsby Town 46 9 12 25 48 85 39


2001/02
Sheffield Wednesday 46 12 14 20 49 71 50
Rotherham United 46 10 19 17 52 66 49
Crewe Alexandra 46 12 13 21 47 76 49
Barnsley 46 11 15 20 59 86 48
Stockport County 46 6 8 32 42


2000/01
Crystal Palace 46 12 13 21 57 70 49
Huddersfield Town 46 11 15 20 48 57 48
Queens Park Rangers 46 7 19 20 45 75 40
Tranmere Rovers 46 9 11 26 46 77 38


1999/00
West Bromwich Albion 46 10 19 17 43 60 49
Walsall 46 11 13 22 52 77 46
Port Vale 46 7 15 24 48 69 36
Swindon Town 46 8 12 26 38 77 36


1998/99
Portsmouth 46 11 14 21 57 73 47
Queens Park Rangers 46 12 11 23 52 61 47
Port Vale 46 13 8 25 45 75 47
Bury 46 10 17 19 35 60 47
Oxford United 46 10 14 22 48 71 44
Bristol City 46 9 15 22 57 80 42


1997/98
Queens Park Rangers 46 10 19 17 51 63 49
Manchester City 46 12 12 22 56 57 48
Stoke City 46 11 13 22 44 74 46
Reading 46 11 9 26 39 78 42


1996/97
Bradford City 46 12 12 22 47 72 48
Grimsby Town 46 11 13 22 60 81 46
Oldham Athletic 46 10 13 23 51 66 43
Southend United 46 8 15 23 42 86 39

Tables

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Sunday Times
QPR look to replace John Gregory with Chris Coleman, while LA Galaxy reveal an ambitious bid for Zinedine Zidane -Peter Boyle

QPR want Coleman

John Gregory is unlikely to remain as Queens Park Rangers manager beyond the end of the season after the club targeted Chris Coleman as a replacement, writes Duncan Castles. QPR sought to contact Coleman last week after his sacking by Fulham. Gregory took over at Loftus Road in September on a single-season contract. Initial results were positive, but the team slipped back into relegation danger before a recent run of good results. There have also been several off-field problems Sunday Times

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Ian Holloway's Plymouth won 2-1 at Luton. Kevin Gallen, who has been suffering from Sciatica for the past few weeks came on in the 70th minute. BBC

Tommy Doherty returned for Wycombe after a two match suspension but went off after half-an hour. "Signs of a bad day at the office first came to light when Tommy Doherty hobbled off with what appears to be a knee ligament injury just short of the half hour mark. A collision with his own player Lewis Christon sent him crashing to the deck and more than likely out of the promotion race. - Wycombe Official Site" (Wycombe lost 0-1 at home to Hartlepool)

Jamie Cureton scored AGAIN as Colchester drew 1-1 at Hull - Report

Martin Allen's MK Dons won 1-0 against Darlington with a team that had ex-QPR Bancole in goal and ex-QPR Harper on the bench (and with ex-QPR Loanees, Dyer and Knight playing. BBC
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_3/6534971.stm

Ian Evatt's Blackpool won 4-1 versus Northampton. Marcus Bean was on the bench - Report

Rotherham lost 0-1 at home to Carlisle with Justin Cochrane going off after 63 minutes - Report

Yeovil lost 4-2 at Bristol City with Rose and Forbes both playing the entire game for Yeovil. For Bristol City, Thomas remained on the bench. BBC

Brighton lost 0-1 at home to Bradford - Rehman played the entire game. Ward was not in the 16. BBC

And at non-league, Dagenham (already promoted), Tony Roberts team won 4-1. BBC

And at what might be Bill Power's Swindon, Aaron Brown came on as as sub for Swindon who won 1-0 at Bury and are close to returning to Division One. BBC

At Manchester City, Liverpool, Peter Crouch came on in the 75th minute (0-0 draw) - BBC

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- - - - Played GD Points
Burnley 42 1 51
QPR 43 -13 49
Leicester 42 -13 47
Barnsley 43 -26 47
Hull 43 -16 45
Leeds 43 -23 45
Southend 43 -27 42
Luton 43 -24 37

JOHN GREGORY'S COMMENTS - QPR OFFICIAL SITE
PLUS POINTS

John Gregory is adamant the positives far outweighed the negatives after the R's winning run came to an end at Sunderland.

Speaking exclusively to www.qpr.co.uk after the 2-1 defeat at the Stadium of Light, the gaffer said: "We came very, very close today. They looked like they'd run out of ideas.

"Having said that, I can take a hell of a lot of positives out of the game.

"The fact that we've come to a place like this and matched arguably the best team in the division for the majority of the game is very pleasing.

"Unfortunately we didn't get the point I thought we deserved, but there a lot of plus points yet again.''

Gregory was disappointed with the R's defending for Grant Leadbitter's winner, commenting: "It was a needless free-kick to concede in the first place and then it went through about 20 players and nestled in the back of the net.

"On another day it gets blocked and we leave here with a point, but it wasn't to be today.'' QPR

BBC - Managerial Comments Sunderland boss Roy Keane:
"I thought it was a good performance and once again the players showed great character.

"They came good again and I've got great faith and trust in them. We're actually playing quite well and the players are enjoying it.

"We've been very much a team together over the past few months and I've got a great staff."

#BBC - MANAGERIAL COMMENTS
QPR boss John Gregory:
"We thought we'd done enough because Sunderland looked like they'd run out of ideas in the second half.

"Roy Keane made a couple of subs which gave them a lift, but how many saves did Lee Camp have to make?

"Hopefully we just need a couple more points to be safe.

"Leeds won, but we've got two games at home and one away and if we win one of those home games then it should get us over the line." BBC

OBSERVER - Keane keeps his cool as Sunderland edge closer - Spencer Vignes
Hell will probably freeze over before Roy Keane will admit it, but Sunderland are closing in on the most remarkable promotion of recent years from English football's second tier. Win number 14 from an unbeaten run of 17 games stretching back to last year, together with Derby's defeat at Ipswich, means that if other results go their way in six days' time then the Black Cats will return to the Premiership at the first time of asking. And to think they were sixth from bottom in November.

'I haven't got a clue,' was the Sunderland manager's deadpan response to next Saturday's permutations. We are, after all, talking about a man who regards back-to-back manager of the month awards as almost a source of embarrassment. 'No matter what happens next week we will be trying to win, no matter where, no matter what the situation is. That's what we're trying to do at this football club - continue to win football matches. Along the way, things will fall into place. But I'm not looking too far ahead.'
Of this latest win Keane added: 'I thought today was a good performance. We created plenty of chances. Once again the players showed great character, but this was always going to be a difficult game for us. We gave away a sloppy goal - I suppose any goal you concede you can look at as sloppy - but the players came good again. We got the second one and managed to, I wouldn't say hold on, but it would have been nice to get a third goal. We are winning games and the players seem to be enjoying it. There's a good bond between them and I think that's beginning to show. They seem to enjoy each other's company. I'm sure they enjoy mine, but they enjoy each other's and that's ultimately what's important.'

This was far from Sunderland's best performance of the past four months, but they deserve credit for showing patience against a dogged Queens Park Rangers side who travelled to Wearside with three successive wins under their belt. When Dean Whitehead struck David Connolly's through ball past Lee Camp after just six minutes it looked as though the Londoners might be looking at a hiding. But John Gregory's side weathered the storm and equalised midway through the first-half when Darren Ward rashly brought down Dexter Blackstock and Martin Rowlands scored from the spot.

'Premiership? You're having a laugh' sang the travelling fans of Sunderland's lofty ambitions. Throughout the third quarter of the game they looked to have a point. In fact had QPR been a bit more ambitious instead of looking to simply contain the Black Cats they could have done some real damage.

Instead, the visitors were made to pay when Paul Furlong gave away a free-kick on the Sunderland right just outside QPR's area. Carlos Edwards shaped to float the kick into the box, only to roll the ball sideways towards the lurking Grant Leadbitter. The resulting shot from 20 yards tore past Camp and sent the Stadium of Light into raptures, scenes which were repeated within seconds of the final whistle when news of a second Ipswich goal against Derby came over the public address system. Although QPR caused a few late jitters it was a case of too little too late.

'Sunderland have got that devil in them that comes from their manager,' admitted John Gregory, adding that the Wearsiders are the best side his team have played all season. 'A team like us coming here was a daunting task before kick-off and it got even bigger after we went 1-0 down. We showed a bit of character and to be honest that team spirit we've got in our set-up has got us into the position we are in - out of the serious trouble. Hopefully we've got enough now just to get across the line.' OBSERVER

SUNDAY TIMES
Keane still on course for top
Sunderland 2 QPR 1Pete Oliver at Stadium of Light
In a championship race that has resembled a game of pass the parcel, the music may finally be ready to stop at the Stadium of Light.

With the lead at the top of the table changing close to 20 times during the season and six clubs taking their turn in first place, Sunderland’s timing is perfect.

Having moved into the title-winning position for the first time at the start of the week, Roy Keane’s men avoided the stage-fright that has afflicted their rivals to secure a 14th win in 17 games since they lasted tasted defeat at the end of last year.

Not that there weren’t a few jitters, as they had to wait until the 76th-minute before getting the better of a QPR side that equalised from the penalty spot but barely mustered another attack.

But with Grant Leadbitter coming off the bench to score a stunning match-winner for the second game in a row, Sunderland were able to sustain a run that has seen them go from 12th in the table to within touching distance of the Premiership.

With just three games to go a playoff finish is assured, but anything less than automatic promotion, which could be secured next weekend, will now come as a major disappointment. Although the manager had detected no sign of nerves among his players, nothing settles a side expected to win more than an early goal and it took Sunderland just seven minutes to take the lead.

Dean Whitehead had been left out of the side for only the third time this season for the win at Southampton but returned to lead the team yesterday and seemingly set the tone when he ran on to a neat pass from David Connolly to slide the ball past Lee Camp for his fourth goal of the season. But confidence and complacency can be confused and after Darryl Murphy failed to get a touch to a Carlos Edwards cross to put Sunderland in clear water they gifted Rangers a route back. Sloppy passing conceded possession and when Dexter Blackstock advanced into the penalty area he was upended by Darren Ward as the keeper advanced too slowly off his line. Martin Rowlands equalised from the spot.

It was an uncharacteristic passage of play from Keane’s side, who have been so ruthless in their pursuit of promotion, but did at least inject vigour into their effort to avoid becoming the latest leader of the division to suffer from an attack of vertigo.

Set pieces were a constant source of danger to the visitors, who were fortunate to survive when Jonny Evans missed a heading chance from a Ross Wallace free kick and Murphy should have done better when he missed the target after getting a run in behind the Rangers defence. Edwards was proving equally elusive but when the winger gave Whitehead his next chance the captain was unable to force home his second goal.

Attacking options are never a problem for Keane, though, and with three strikers to choose from on the bench, Stern John got the nod at the start of the second half as Murphy moved out wide as replacement for the injured Wallace.

Murphy played a one-two with Connolly that Sunderland’s leading scorer was unable to finish off and John then shot across the face of goal as Rangers were forced into defensive mode. Yet for all that Camp was barely forced to make a save and Edwards failed to hit the target when he had made the most of a chance to go one-on-one with Rangers full-back Mar-cus Bignot. As at Southampton on Monday, Keane finally sent for Leadbitter to try and find a way through and again the local lad did not disappoint.

The midfielder had only been on the field for 15 minutes when he collected a free kick from Edwards and lashed a low shot past Camp from 20 yards to propel Sunderland a step closer to the Premiership.

Star man: Carlos Edwards(Sunderland)

Player ratings. Sunderland:Ward 6, Simpson 6, Nosworthy 6, Evans 6, Collins 7; Edwards 8, Whitehead 7, Yorke 6 (Leadbitter 61 mins, 6), Wallace 6 (John ht, 5); Connolly 5, Murphy 6 (Stokes, 77 mins)

QPR: Camp 6, Timoska 6, Cullip 4 (Kanyuka 43 mins, 6), Stewart, 6 Bignot 6, Rowlands 7, Lomas 7 (Idiakez 83 mins), Bolder 6, Smith 6, Moore 5 (Furlong 69 mins, 6), Blackstock 5

Scorers: Sunderland:Whitehead 7, Leadbitter 76

QPR:Rowlands 21pen

Referee:M Jones

Attendance:39,206
Sunday Times

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
Keane interventions proving decisive for Sunderland

By Louise Taylor, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 10:25pm BST 14/04/2007
Sunderland (1) 2 QPR (1) 1

Despite stumbling rather than striding towards this latest victory, Sunderland are now within touching distance of the Premiership and could conceivably be promoted as soon as next Saturday.

Top of the Championship and unbeaten in 17 League games they had another of Roy Keane's 'Midas touch' substitutions to thank for the three points, Grant Leadbitter once again stepping off the bench to score the winner.

"We should have maybe won the game a lot more easily but the players showed a lot of character," said Keane.

His QPR counterpart, John Gregory, who has steered his team towards safety, said: "Roy's are the best side we've played this season, it's a Premiership set- up here and we had a daunting task but Sunderland looked like they'd run out of ideas and we thought we'd done enough for a point. But Roy made one or two substitutions that gave them a bit of a lift."

If Keane is enjoying his place in the managerial sun right now, Gregory could tell him about life in the shade. Less than a decade ago, when he was in charge of a Premiership title challenging Aston Villa, he was tipped to coach England but, when he lost his subsequent job at Derby, the one time QPR midfielder spent three years out of work before returning to Loftus Road as manager last autumn.

Yet precarious as his new profession is, Sunderland fans are increasingly convinced that Keane is no mere mortal and could walk on the River Wear if he so wished. Chants of "We're going to win the League" duly reverberated around the ground after Dean Whitehead propelled Sunderland into an early lead. Cued up by David Connolly's adroit swivel and flicked pass, the midfielder accelerated through QPR's defence before beating Lee Camp courtesy of a low shot from just inside the area.

So far so straightforward but this was to be no simple victory procession. Instead QPR equalised when Darren Ward hauled Dexter Blackstock down in the box and Martin Rowlands converted the ensuing penalty.

Although Sunderland's Nyron Nosworthy and Jonny Evans again shone in central defence and the tricky Carlos Edwards's initially impressed down the right, Keane's players' final passes, crosses and shots were generally proving wayward and they struggled to impose a consistently high tempo while spurning several half chances.

Keane, though, is proving a dab hand at not only rotating his players in a manner to make even Rafael Benitez dizzy but making vital substitutions. So it proved when he introduced Leadbitter and the midfielder responded by directing an unerring 25- yard shot beyond Camp after Edwards had squared a free kick to him. Coincidentally - or maybe not - Leadbitter had scored the late winner at Southampton last Monday after beginning on the bench. Telegraph

SUNDAY INDEPENDENT
Sunderland 2 QPR 1: Leadbitter's sweet strike sinks QPR
Sunderland maintain charge to stay on course for automatic promotion place
By Simon Turnbull at The Stadium Of Light
Published: 15 April 2007
According to Boylesports, the Irish bookmaker backing Sunderland with £10 million of sponsorship, the club are 100-1 shots to finish in a Champions' League qualifying position next season. The trouble is Roy Keane has to get his team to the Premiership first.

Still, they are three points closer now, after holding their nerve yesterday against a Queens Park Rangers side who succeeded in knocking them out of their stride for much of a fitful Championship encounter. Sunderland got off to a flying start with a superbly-fashioned Dean Whitehead goal but were left grounded and frustrated when Martin Rowlands equalised from the penalty spot midway through the first-half.

For the second time in five days, it took a thumping drive by Grant Leadbitter to get Keane's side across the winning line. The substitute midfielder's 76th-minute strike kept Sunderland on top of the table, with a 13th win in an unbeaten run that stands at 17 games now.

With Sunderland four points clear with three matches to go, they could clinch promotion next week if they win at Colchester and Derby lose at home to Luton. Not that Keane is putting any champagne on ice just yet. "No matter what the situation is, we're just trying to win our matches," he said. "The players showed great character today. They had to be patient."

They did indeed after surging ahead with a peach of a goal in the seventh minute. It came from a sweeping move that was launched with a pass out of defence by Nyron Nosworthy and continued with a brilliant prompting feed on the turn by David Connolly. That allowed the overlapping Whitehead to stride into the right side of the Rangers penalty area and beat the goalkeeper Lee Camp with a neat side-footed finish.

It was a goal of the highest order but it counted for nothing by the 23rd minute. Rowlands put Rangers on level terms from the penalty spot after Dexter Blackstock had crashed to the ground on the left side of the Sunderland box under challenge from the diving Darren Ward.

It was a counter-blow that came out of the blue, though as the opening half progressed John Gregory's well-organised Rangers side succeeded in disrupting the flow of Sunderland's play, restricting them to a handful of fleeting chances. The most notable was another Whitehead shot, headed away.

Sunderland's frustration increased after the interval, with little rhythm to their play and Rangers quickly closed down any space that opened up. Stern John, a half-time replacement for Ross Wallace, did get a sight of goal in the 54th minute but steered his shot across the face of the target.

With half-an-hour to go, Keane sent on Leadbitter for the labouring Dwight Yorke. It was a switch that gave Sunderland more of a grip in central midfield and paid a rich dividend with 14 minutes remaining. Shaping to launch a free-kick into the penalty area from outside on the right, Carlos Edwards instead fed the ball sideways to Leadbitter, whose low drive found the back of the net from 20 yards out.

It was not quite as stunning as the winner struck by the young midfielder at Southampton on Monday but it could prove to be just as vital. Independent

QPR OFFICIAL SITE - MATCH REPORT
Sunderland clinched maximum points thanks to Grant Leadbitter's fearsome 76th minute strike at a packed Stadium of Light.

The Black Cats midfielder came off the bench and for the second game in succession, bagged the all-important winner to send plucky Rangers home with nothing to show for their efforts.

In a first half dominated by the hosts, Roy Keane's men stormed into a seventh minute lead.

Dean Whitehead was the recipient of David Connolly's neat pass and with the freedom of the 18-yard box, the Black Cats' skipper duly tucked the ball under the advancing Lee Camp.

Undeterred, back in the side and back on penalty duties, Martin Rowlands fired the R's on level terms midway through the half.

Dexter Blackstock was sent tumbling to ground by Darren Ward inside the box and Rowlands made no mistake, firing home with aplomb from the spot.

Rangers played second fiddle in most departments in the second half, but to their credit, they never gave up, with substitute Inigo Idiakez forcing Ward into two fine saves in the closing stages.

After six weeks out nursing a hamstring strain, Rowlands returned to the starting XI at the expense of broken leg victim Gareth Ainsworth.

Stefan Moore was given the nod to partner top-scorer Blackstock in attack, while true to form, Roy Keane maintained his rotation policy, drafting Whitehead, Daryl Murphy and Ross Wallace back into the Sunderland starting line-up.

With an expectant home crowd cheering their every move, Sunderland created the first opportunity of the match on three minutes.

Connolly's neat pass found Whitehead, whose shot from an acute angle was superbly blocked by Danny Cullip.

The breakthrough the hosts' partisan supporters craved arrived just four minutes later.

Connolly again turned provider, sliding in an inch-perfect ball to Whitehead, who took two touches to set, before calmly stroking the ball under the advancing Camp from 15-yards.

Rangers were made to wait until the 18th minute for their first opportunity on goal.

Samspa Timoska's slide-rule pass found Moore, whose neat cut back from the by-line was hacked to safety by Nyron Nosworthy, with Blackstock waiting to pounce.

Buoyed by that chance, the R's grew in stature and after Danny Simpson conceded possession all too easily, Moore's pass was deflected into the path of Blackstock.

His pace took him beyond Nosworthy and when Ward clipped the striker's heals, referee Mr Jones was left with no alternative but to point to the spot.

Rowlands stepped up from 12-yards and sent the Sunderland custodian the wrong way, for his ninth goal of the season.

Undeterred, the Black Cats continued to ask questions of the R's backline, with Stewart in the right place at the right time to clear his lines with Connolly poised on the edge of the six-yard box.

Sunderland finished the half in the ascendancy, with Murphy thrashing wide from a tight angle and Whitehead seeing his goal-bound shot headed off the line by Timoska.

After Cullip and Adam Bolder were each booked in a 60-second spell, Rangers were dealt a further blow on the stroke of half-time when the former limped off and was replaced by Pat Kanyuka.

Sunderland continued to pepper the Rangers goal at the start of the second half, with the lively Connolly firing over from 18-yards.

To their credit, the R's were by no means overawed by their high-flying opponents and when Jimmy Smith's corner kick was met by the towering Kanyuka, only a timely deflection prevented the R's substitute from testing Ward.

That brief foray silenced the home crowd briefly and sensing his side required fresh legs, Keane introduced Grant Leadbitter at the expense of the tiring Dwight Yorke.

It was the otherwise quiet Carlos Edwards who forced Camp into his next save, firing a shot on target from the edge of the box, which the R's custodian did fantastically well to hold on to at the first attempt.

As the clock ticked towards the 70th minute, Gregory made a change of his own, introducing Paul Furlong and withdrawing the hardworking Moore.

But it was Sunderland sub Leadbitter who made the desired impact for the hosts' 14 minutes from time.

After Furlong conceded a needless free-kick deep in his own half, Edwards' deft lay-off from the right hand corner of the penalty box fell perfectly for the young midfielder, who smashed a fearsome right-footed drive into the bottom corner.

Idiakez replaced Steve Lomas soon after and with his first touch, sent a curling free-kick into the hands of Ward.

The same player tested Ward again in the dying moments, yet despite three minutes of added time, a second comeback proved beyond Gregory's men.

Sunderland: Ward, Simpson, Evans, Edwards, Whitehead, Murphy (Stokes 77), Nosworthy, Collins, Connolly, Wallace (John 46), Yorke (Leadbitter 61).

Subs: Fulop, Elliott.

Scorers: Whitehead 7, Leadbitter 76

Bookings: Simpson 80

QPR: Camp, Bignot, Cullip (Kanyuka 43), Bolder, Rowlands, Lomas (Idiakez 83), Moore (Furlong 69), Stewart, Timoska, Blackstock, Smith.

Subs: Cole, Nygaard.

Scorers: Rowlands 22 (pen)

Bookings: Cullip 41, Bolder 42, Furlong 76

Referee: Mr M Jones

Attendance: 39, 206 QPR

SUNDERLAND OFFICIAL SITE
y Nick Alexander at the Stadium of Light

Full-time: Sunderland survive a nervy finish to pick up a huge win, their fifth in a row ... and news comes through that Derby have lost to a late goal at Ipswich. The Black Cats go four points clear at the top.

93 mins: Keeper Camp fires a free-kick into the box, Whitehead clears, surely that is time.

92 mins: Connolly cuts inside and curls a shot well over, not for the first time today, the striker is desperate to score.

92 mins: Edwards is stopped by Stewart as the winger looks to shoot.

90 mins: Three minutes of added time.

89 mins: Bignot blocks Connolly's shot after a clever back-heel by Leadbitter.

89 mins: Whitehead threads a lovely ball to Edwards who stands on it and falls over.

88 mins: Idiakez tests Ward with a right-foot shot, it is end-to-end stuff now.

87 mins: Connolly's curler from outside the box is high and wide.

87 mins: Leadbitter tries to pick out John who is unmarked in the box, the cross from the left is too long.

86 mins: QPR put Sunderland under pressure.

84 mins: Idiakez comes on and immediately takes the free-kick, which is driven straight at Ward.

83 mins: Evans again tussles with Furling and QPR get another free-kick, this time it is a yard outside the area and Sunderland are not happy with the decision.

82 mins: Bolder's shot hits the wall.

81 mins: Evans backs into Furlong and QPR get a free-kick 30 yards out, in a central position.

79 mins: The crowd is noisy now, they sense another important victory.

77 mins: Stokes comes on for Murphy.

76 mins: Goal flash Sunderland 2 QPR 1 Edwards catches Rangers out, squaring a free-kick to Leadbitter who smashes a first-time shot into the corner from 25 yards.

76 mins: Furlong flattens Evans with a late challenge, Sunderland get another free-kick by the angle of the penalty box.

74 mins: Bolder fouls Edwards and Sunderland get a free-kick.

71 mins: Sunderland have to defend for a spell, the crowd gets edgy.

69 mins: Furlong replaces Moore.

68 mins: Connolly's pass is poor, it is not happening for Sunderland.
[ Continued at...]
Sunderland

-
The Evening Standard (London) April 14, 2003
HEADLINE: QPR seeks £2m kick-start to revive flagging Fortunes
By Robert Lea

QUEENS Park Rangers fans will be asked to put their hands in their pockets and raise up to £2 million for the cash-strapped Loftus Road club.QPR today admitted it racked up losses of £10 million in the past two seasons. The losses cover the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons, during which the club was in administration after one of the more spectacular collapses among the stock market listed football companies. It came out of administration last summer after the sale of its sister rugby club London Wasps to Chris Wright, the former QPR chairman.Financial details reveal it was rescued after a £10 million cash injection from ABC Corporation, a secretive Bahamas-based trust that loaned the money secured on the club's Shepherds Bush stadium.That enabled the club to pay off Wright, who had bankrolled QPR from his own music-industry fortune, with a £3.5 million cheque. Wright, QPR's lifepresident, wrote off a further £3.3 million owed to him and waived his rights over the stadium - on which the loans had previously been secured.Wright's controlling shareholding has been given back to the club and is waiting to be sold to a prospective buyer.In the meantime, however, QPR finance director Paul English confirmed the club is looking to sell new shares. "Given the current negative investment climate in the City it is more likely to be aimed at our fan base," he said."We are actively seeking to raise the further capital to ensure the future of the company and club."Rangers made operating losses of £3.5 million last season despite slashing the players' and management's wage bill to £3.6 million from £6.8 million the previous season, when the club made an operating loss of £6.5 million.English said QPR would make further losses this season, though the underlying performance should improve.The Second Division club gets £1 million a season from tenants Fulham. QPR Report "Archives"

BBC- Hoop dreams
QPR caretaker boss Gary Waddock wants the chance to build his own side

Waddock wants to build for future
By Chris Bevan
The Ian Holloway situation needs to be resolved so the club can move forward - that is the most important thing, not any one individual
Gary WaddockQPR caretaker boss Gary Waddock is desperate to be given the chance to put together his own side at Loftus Road.
The 44-year-old has been in temporary charge since Ian Holloway was put on gardening leave on 6 February.
He has won only one game since then but told BBC Sport: "I want to be judged on my team, not somebody else's.
"I want to build my own team and play the style I want to play. I will bring in a better quality of player if I am appointed permanently.
He added: "I have inherited a group of players that Ian has put together.
"Some of these players have played a certain system for four or five years and I have publicly stated I want to change to a passing game.
"I was brought up that way at QPR and I know the sort of player who has been at the club before. I also know what sort of player the fans are loooking for.
"That is no criticism of Ian Holloway and his style of play or the success he had as a manager here. It's just I don't want to copy that - I have my own ideas.
"I've been able to put them into place in training but people don't see that side of it. They only see the team that you pick on a Saturday and you are judged on that.
"At the moment we are not getting the results or the performances that the club demands.
"But the players that are out there are not ones that I have brought to the club. I am not shifting all the blame here - I have a responsibility also - but hopefully I will get my chance.
"I am just starting out as a manager and I want to be a success at it."
Rangers are on a run of three successive Championship defeats and Waddock admits that in many ways the end of the season cannot come quickly enough.
"It is hard at the moment," he said. "We are in an awkward situation and the club is in limbo.
I have done the job on what I look at as a game-to-game basis so far but in recent weeks I am looking longer term
Gary Waddock
"The Ian Holloway situation needs to be resolved so the club can move forward - that is the most important thing, not any one individual.
"I have no idea when it will be resolved though.
"I have done the job on what I look at as a game-to-game basis so far but in recent weeks I am looking longer term and trying to think about a squad that can take the club forward.
"Someone has to plan for the future - and in the role I am in, even as caretaker, that someone is me and the chairman so I do have to look along those lines."
With four games left Rangers have slipped owards the wrong end of the Championship table but are not in any danger of the drop.
Waddock is determined that his players do not take their foot off the pedal in the run-in - and does not want this campaign to simply peter out.
He stated: "There is still plenty to play for. The players have to be professional and keep performing for the club and for the fans who are paying good money to watch us.
"They are also playing for their futures.
"We want to finish as high as we can in the table and, more than anything else, it would be nice to finish the season on a high." BBC


WADDOCK ON QPR WORLD
And then what Waddock said on the QPR World Site (reported by Derby OFficial Site)
QPR caretaker boss Gary Waddock has made a plea to the Rangers fans - don't judge me yet.
Waddock took over in a caretaker capacity after Ian Holloway was put on "gardening leave" in January.
The timing of the move meant he had little room for manoeuvre in the transfer window and was only able to add one more player to the squad he inherited from Holloway.
In a passionate interview with www.qpr.co.uk, Waddock said: "I came in at a time when the transfer window was closing so I've worked with the same group of players.
"Judge me when I've put in place the players and the team.
"I've been able to make changes off the field, which a lot of fans don't see, but the most important thing that needs to improve is the playing side and I've not yet had the opportunity to do that.
"But make no mistake about it, during the summer there will be some decisions made, and I'll definitely make them for the benefit of the club, to take it forward.
"I've had the backing from Gianni (Paladini, chairman), Antonio (Caliendo, non-executive director) and the members of the board, they've backed me 100 per cent.
"They want to take the club forward and I've seen what they've done on a day to day basis, and I've got an opportunity to take that forward on the football side.
"I keep saying it, give me a chance to put my players in place, judge me with my style of football, then if there's any criticism I will take it on the chin.
"But at the moment I've had to work with the players that I've been here for a number of years.
"That's fine, and the players have responded, but OK and average isn't good enough.
"This football club is a large part of my life and I want to take it forward, I want to make it successful again." Derby

And at the same time at Derby, their ABC Connection was discussed

Derby County chairman quits as police investigate - David Conn Friday April 14, 2006
The Guardian

John Sleightholme resigned as Derby County chairman yesterday following the revelation in Wednesday's Guardian that the police are inquiring into allegations of financial malpractice at the club.
Sleightholme is not the subject of those inquiries; quite the opposite. He said he had resigned partly because Derby's board refused his request to launch an independent investigation.

A barrister and the deputy coroner of North Yorkshire, Sleightholme, together with Jeremy Keith and Steve Harding, became a director of Derby in October 2003 after the club was put into receivership and then sold for £3 within minutes to a company called Sharmine Limited.

Sharmine subsequently disclosed that its shares were held in the offshore tax havens of Belize and the British Virgin Islands - Sleightholme and Keith later declared they owned them. Sharmine's £3 takeover was backed by a £15m loan from a Panamanian-registered company, ABC Corporation, which went partly to reducing £30m owed to the Co-operative Bank.
As the Guardian revealed, at the time of the takeover £375,000 was paid as a commission to a company, Streamline Management, for introducing ABC Corporation to the club. Now Murdo Mackay, the club's former director of football, is alleging that the money was shared, £125,000 each, by himself, Keith and Andrew Mackenzie, who was the club's finance director before and after the takeover. Keith and Mackenzie firmly deny receiving any of the £375,000.

Derbyshire police confirmed "an allegation has been made about financial irregularities" at Derby County and said the force "is making initial inquiries to ascertain whether there is any legitimacy to this allegation and whether any offence has taken place".

In the statement announcing his resignation Sleightholme said: "At my last board meeting I asked for an independent investigation into the allegations of payments directly or indirectly to board members. This request was refused."

Derby have debts of around £45m and are the subject of an increasingly bitter takeover battle. Keith introduced a London-based venture capital fund, Sisu, which is tabling a bid, opposed by a consortium of five local businessmen led by the club's former vice-chairman Peter Gadsby. Guardian

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Swindon Advertiser - It's a sorry state

SWINDON Town’s Supporters Trust last night apologised “unreservedly” to the club’s board and fans after it was confirmed a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) was in the hands of lawyers representing the consortium trying to take over at the County Ground.

TrustSTFC withdrew an earlier statement which had called on supporters to step up their protests at the Town hierarchy’s apparent ‘stalling’ of the bid, after learning that the documents likely to move the takeover to the next level had in fact been received by the legal team representing the fans’ group.

The Trust had accused the board of dragging their heels over the NDA, which would allow takeover negotiations to enter the confidential next phase and lead to the opening the club’s books for perusal by the consortium representatives.

Earlier, they had urged active protests after games, starting after the home match against Mansfield on April 21, a boycott of the club’s matchday programme and pledged to investigate the option of withholding season ticket money for next season.

Town branded the Trust’s statement as “inaccurate,” producing dates and times to back up their argument and demanded an apology to both the board and the fans.

And the Trust were forced to backtrack after subsequent enquiries confirmed the club’s insistence that an NDA had indeed been sent to Davis & Co, the lawyers representing consortium partners Bill Power and Phil Emmell.

A statement revealed: “This (yesterday) afternoon we released a statement which stated that STFC had not sent a Non-Disclosure Agreement to the Fans’ Consortium lawyers as promised two weeks ago.

“This statement was made in good faith and was checked today (yesterday).

“However, it transpires that due to a breakdown in communications, the statement was not accurate and the Non-Disclosure Agreement had in fact been received on Tuesday (April) 10.”

The statement added: “We warmly welcome the submission of the NDA which represents a significant step forward in the negotiations between the club and the consortium and apologise unreservedly to the board of STFC and the fans for this error and for any inconvenience caused by it.

“Accordingly we have withdrawn the statement released this (yesterday) afternoon.

“The NDA is being examined by the fans’ consortium lawyers and discussions will be ongoing between them and the club’s legal representatives.

“TrustSTFC will be making no further comment until this process is complete.” Swindon

SWINDON TRUST -Trust welcomes NDA

This afternoon we released a statement which stated that STFC had not sent a Non-Disclosure Agreement to the Fans' Consortium lawyers as promised two weeks ago. This statement was made in good faith and was checked today. However, it transpires that due to a breakdown in communications, the statement was not accurate and the Non-Disclosure Agreement had in fact been received on Tuesday 10th.

We warmly welcome the submission of the NDA which represents a significant step forward in the negotiations between the Club and the Consortium and apologise unreservedly to the board of STFC and the fans for this error and for any inconvenience caused by it. Accordingly we have withdrawn the statement released this afternoon. The NDA is being examined by the Fans' Consortium lawyers and discussions will be ongoing between them and the Club's legal representatives, TrustSTFC will be making no further comment until this process is complete. Swindon Trust

SWINDON OFFICIAL SITE Board Accept Apology

The Swindon Town Board accepts the apologies from the Board of TrustSTFC and acknowledge that this was due to a communication breakdown between themselves and their lawyer.

We hope that the Board of TrustSTFC and all of our fans will be unified with the Board of STFC in supporting Paul Sturrock and the team's final drive for promotion to League One. Swindon

Swindon Official - Club Update
6.15pm, Thursday 12th April 2007

Despite the claim by TrustSTFC Secretary Andy Tuck in response to the Club Statement, the Board of STFC confirm the following.

On Tuesday 10th April at 10.27hrs Clarke Willmott sent via email an NDA agreement to the Consortium's Lawyers Davis & Co. This was acknowledged by Davis & Co. at 11.26hrs the same day.

The County Ground

Today at 09.46hrs Clarke Willmott received a further email from Christan Evans of Davis & Co. which stated that they were awaiting their clients (The Consortium) instructions.

The Board of STFC therefore respectfully suggest that the Consortium contact their Lawyers for confirmation immediately.

5.05pm, Thursday 12th April 2007

The Directors of Swindon Town FC are deeply concerned by the recent allegation made on the TrustSTFC website.

TrustSTFC have wrongly stated on their website that the Board have not responded to the proposed takeover by the Fans' Consortium.

The Board respectfully suggest that the Trust Directors contact their Consortium partners, Bill Power and Phil Emmell and or their lawyers Davis & Co who acknowledged the receipt of the Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) on Tuesday 10th. April and have today, Thursday 12th April, confirmed to the club's lawyers Clarke Willmott & Co. that they still await their client's (The Consortium) instructions before they can respond.

The Board are therefore disappointed that the Trust have made this inaccurate announcement which is misleading the fan base and only serves as a distraction to the primary task in hand - gaining promotion to League One.

An apology from TrustSTFC to the fans and to the Board would be appreciated. Swindon

FIFA 07

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SUnderland Official Site - All you Need to Know By Martin Walker

General news:
• Sunderland are a point clear at the top of the Championship on 79 points. Second-placed Derby have 78 points, while Birmingham are five points behind with a game in hand.
• Sunderland need just a point against QPR to guarantee their place in the play-offs. They are currently top of the form guide after winning five of their last six games.
• They have won 42 points from a possible 48 during their current 16-match unbeaten run.
• They are eight games unbeaten at home, winning six of those.
• Derby are at Ipswich tomorrow, while Birmingham take on eighth-placed Southampton at home tomorrow. West Brom, currently fourth, entertain Sheffield Wednesday tonight and Wolves are at Crystal Palace.
• Striker David Connolly is Sunderland's current top scorer with 11 league goals, while Daryl Murphy has seven. Grant Leadbitter has six goals, Stephen Elliott and Ross Wallace have five goals while Dwight Yorke, Tobias Hysen, Stern John and Carlos Edwards all have four.
• Sunderland's reserves won 3-0 against Hibernian at the Stadium of Light yesterday, with David Dowson scoring two goals and Tommy Miller one.

Injuries:
• Liam Miller is expected to be fit after he played on with a thigh problem at Southampton on Monday.
• Nyron Nosworthy should also be fit after he went over on his ankle on Monday.
• Graham Kavanagh played the first half of the reserves game yesterday, his first action since rehabilitation from a knee operation.

The opposition:
• Midfielder Gareth Ainsworth will miss the rest of the season after breaking his leg in QPR's 3-2 win at home to Luton on Monday.
• QPR are currently fifth in the form guide after winning four out of their last six games, winning their last three consecutive games at home to Preston (1-0), at Coventry (1-0) and at home to Luton (3-2).
• They're currently 18th in the Championship with 49 points, seven clear of the relegation zone.
• Away from home, they have five games, drawn five and lost 11, scoring 22 goals and conceding 35.
• Striker Dexter Blackstock is their top goalscorer with 12 league goals, while midfielder Martin Rowlands has eight goals.
• League form guide: D W L W W W
• QPR finished just one place above the relegation zone last season, although they were eight points clear of 18th-placed Crewe.
Match officials:
• The referee on Saturday is Michael Jones and his assistants are Mick McDonough and Michael Oliver. The fourth official is Paul Simpson.

How far?
• It's 286.5 miles from Loftus Road to the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland-QPR - head-to-head:
• Sunderland won 2-1 at Loftus Road earlier this season with goals by Daryl Murphy and Grant Leadbitter. Ray Jones scored for QPR.
• The two sides drew 2-2 in the last meeting between the two at the Stadium of Light. Marcus Stewart cancelled out Paul Furlong's opening goal before Martin Rowlands put the visitors 2-1 ahead - Steve Caldwell grabbed a last-minute equaliser.
• Sunderland's last win at home to QPR was in the Championship on August 8, 1998, a Kevin Phillips penalty giving the Black Cats a 1-0 victory.
• QPR's last win here was in an Old Division One match at Roker Park on April 6, 1991, Rangers running out 1-0 winners.
• Sunderland have six of the previous 12 league meetings between the two on Wearside, while QPR have won three and there have been three draws.

SAFC wins / draws / QPR wins
League 9 6 10
FA Cup 1 0 0
TOTAL 10 6 10

The last 10 meetings:
• QPR 1, Sunderland 2 (Championship) 28.11.06
• QPR 1, Sunderland 3 (Championship) 2.4.05
• Sunderland 2, QPR 2 (Championship) 14.8.04
• QPR 2, Sunderland 2 (Championship) 9.1.99
• Sunderland 1, QPR 0 (Championship) 8.8.98
• Sunderland 2, QPR 2 (Championship) 10.4.98
• QPR 0, Sunderland 1 (Championship) 6.12.97
• Sunderland 0, QPR 1 (old Division One) 6.4.91
• QPR 3, Sunderland 2 (old Division One) 29.12.90
• QPR 1, Sunderland 0 (old Division One) 23.2.85

Other Championship fixtures this weekend:
(3pm unless stated)
Friday
West Brom v Sheff Weds (7.45pm)
Saturday
Birmingham v Southampton
Crystal Palace v Wolves
Cardiff v Stoke
Coventry v Preston
Hull v Colchester
Ipswich v Derby
Leeds v Burnley
Leicester v Norwich
Luton v Plymouth
Southend v Barnsley
Sunderland

QPR Net Preview - Ron Norris & Simon Skinner - Sunderland Game

QPR Rivals - Tracy Stent - Sunderland Preview

QPR OFFICIAL SITE - BLACK CATS
Two of the Championship's in-form sides go head-to-head, when Rangers travel to table-topping Sunderland on Saturday.

Momentum is key in any promotion race and the Black Cats certainly hold all the trump cards in that respect as the season reaches its finale.

Roy Keane's men currently sit at the summit of the Championship table - a point clear of second place Derby County.

It's a far cry from the day Keane stepped into the Mackems hot-seat, with his new charges rooted firmly to the foot of the Championship table.

The turnaround in fortunes since then has been quite remarkable, with Keane leading the Black Cats to within touching distance of promotion to the Promised Land of the Premiership.

'Keano' as he was affectionately known during his successful playing career, has worked absolute wonders during his first term in management and Chairman Niall Quinn is ready to repay him, regardless of whether they achieve promotion.

"If we don't go up, I'll make sure we'll have a decent team next season. I'm hoping we'll have bigger crowds and bigger parachute payments, from our time in the Premiership," said Quinn.

"If we do go up I expect us to pour the financial rewards into the playing side of things, it won't go to the investors.

"I also think Roy would attract the type of players that maybe in the past we never would have been able to sign. I'm there to provide Roy with what he wants."...

Top scorer (league goals only): David CONNOLLY 11

Last league game:
Southampton 1, Sunderland 2.
Coca Cola Championship.
April 9th 2007.
Sunderland: Ward, Simpson, Nosworthy, Evans, Collins, Edwards, Yorke (Leadbitter 69), Liam Miller (Whitehead 46), Hysen, Connolly, Elliott (Stokes 46).
Subs Not Used: Fulop, Murphy.

Dwight Yorke

Black Cats gaffer Roy Keane: "Now is not the time to reflect on what has happened.
"We can't do that with four games to go. We've been top for five minutes so it's difficult to say how it feels.
"We have a tough game with QPR at the weekend and that's the next challenge."

Superhoopsbet.co.uk match odds:
Sunderland 4/11
QPR 7/1
Draw 3/1

Star Man: David CONNOLLY
Sunderland completed a whirlwind of transfer window deadline transfers in August 2006 with the £1.9 million signing of Wigan striker David Connolly.
The Republic of Ireland international joined the Black Cats for an initial £1.4m, with an extra £500,000 based on appearances and promotion.
The 29-year-old, who signed a three-year contract at the Stadium of Light, brings experience, as well as an impressive goalscoring record, to the Black Cats front-line.

Black Cats hot-shot David Connolly

Head to head:
Sunderland wins: 9
QPR wins: 10
Draws: 6

Last league meeting:
Queens Park Rangers 1 (Jones), Sunderland 2 (Murphy, Leadbitter).
Coca Cola Championship.
November 28th 2006.

Latest news: Roy keen on kid Evans
Roy Keane wants to keep on-loan Manchester United starlet Jonny Evans at Sunderland for another season.
Evans, 19, has been one of the stars of Sunderland's march to the Championship summit and the Northern Ireland international has not lost a league game since joining at the turn of the year. He is due to return next month.
(source: Daily Mirror) QPR

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PETER CROUCH: THE BIG INTERVIEW -
Mark Platt 28 February 2006 Liverpoolfc.tv catch up with Peter Crouch to discuss life at Anfield on and off the pitch, those rumours about him becoming a nightclub DJ, his aspirations for the remainder of the season and much more.

...Unlike some players who join this club you have never claimed to be a Liverpool supporter but there is some confusion as to what club you followed as a boy. Can you clear this up?

My dad was a massive Chelsea fan and I used to go with him to Stamford Bridge quite regularly but my mates were all QPR fans and so I used to also go to some games at Loftus Road with them. I never really classed myself as a fan of either but since playing for QPR I'd say my allegiance is more towards them. They are the team whose results I look out for. I don't care for Chelsea anymore; there is no allegiance there whatsoever. In fact, seeing as they are our rivals now, I hope they lose every game!

Have you always been a striker and who would you say were your boyhood idols?

Yes, I've always played up front. When my dad took me to Chelsea I think Kerry Dixon was probably the one going forward and scoring all the goals so I'd say he was a hero of mine back then. There was also Roy Wegerle at QPR; he was a fantastic player in his day. Interview

Also This:
AnfieldRoad.com Crouch: He's big and he's definitely Red Written by Jim Boardman Friday, 13 April 2007

Liverpool striker Peter Crouch has confirmed that he is most certainly not a Chelsea fan, and never has been. And what’s more his dad has become a Red since Peter joined the five-times Champions of Europe.

It’s no secret that Crouch’s dad was a Chelsea fan as Crouch was growing up, and that he also became a season ticket holder there. But that support didn’t stick for Crouch junior, who was more interested in one of Chelsea’s London rivals, QPR. After the quarter-final on Wednesday Crouch was asked about his dad’s support of Chelsea but some interpretations the next day put Crouch down as a Chelsea fan himself, which he’s not exactly happy about: “I was stitched up a bit with that!” he said.

Not all football supporters follow in their father’s footsteps in terms of who they support, and that’s how it was for the Liverpool striker: “When I was younger my dad did take me to see Chelsea, but when I was with my mates I was more a QPR fan, so it's not like I was ever a big Chelsea supporter.” He also points out that watching Chelsea at the time was quite unlike watching them today in their era of big-money transfers under Roman Abromovich: “You've also got to remember the Chelsea back then was nothing like the Chelsea it is now,” he says, “I remember going along there when they were in the old Second Division.”

Regardless of who Crouch supported as a child, he says it’s very clear where his – and his father’s - loyalties are these days: “Put it this way, there's no question where my allegiance is now. I'm firmly in the red camp. The same applies to my dad. He's been travelling to our European games with Jamie Carragher's dad and his friends, so you don't have to worry who he'll want to win.” Of course Jamie Carragher wasn’t a Red growing up either, but he soon learned to support the right team. ...
.” Anfield Road

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Statement on the Witney United Website

LATEST NEWS ! 13-04-07 lake blasts qpr chairman!!

It is with deep regret that we have to announce that the QPR Chairman has taken it upon himself, personally, to cancel our prestigious friendly that was due to take place on 30th April 2007.

Chariman Steve Lake was furious with his counterpart and released the following statement;

"The first the Club heard about this was via a QPR fan that attended their ‘Fans Forum’ on Tuesday of this week (see minutes of the Fans Forum on the QPR Official web site). It was just lucky that this fan contacted the Club otherwise we would have known nothing about the cancellation.

At the forum the QPR Chairman, Gianni Paladini(pictured left), was asked about the ‘Friendly’ and stated that it was NOT to be played – claiming it was arranged on a ‘word-of-mouth’ basis.

I can only say that I am particularly disappointed by this as no one from QPR has of yet to confirm, officially, that the game has been cancelled.

However I can confirm that the arrangements were certainly not made on a ‘word-of-mouth’ basis but through and confirmed by several high-level QPR officials.

Witney had extensively advertised this match in the press and on local radio and have sold hundreds of advanced tickets for the event.

This now leaves Witney United’s development funding seriously depleted – and with the Club with hundreds of pre-match ticket sales to attempt to refund.

Having said all of this I would personally like to thank both Richard Hill and John Gregory for their help in attempting to arrange this game – who’s actions in this matter have been exemplary – just a shame that a Chairman’s claim of ‘word of mouth’ does not mean his Club keeping it’s word.

The Club will shortly release details, through their web site (www.witneyunited.co.uk) and the regional press, of how ticket holders will receive refunds. Witney United

See Previous Postings re the Witney vs QPR Game - Witney vs QPR Statements

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[In the article, doesn't talk about his QPR experiences]

Blackpool Gazette - Ian Evatt

Player of the year contender Ian Evatt has admitted that his season has been a real rags to riches story.
The popular defender began the season out of the picture at Queens Park Rangers and not expecting to figure in their first team.
But on the eve of the campaign he was shipped out to Blackpool on loan – and QPR's loss has been the Seasiders' gain.
After sitting on the bench for the first three games – all defeats – the 25-year-old eventually got the nod from the manager and hasn't looked back. He made his 40th appearance of the season at Huddersfield on Easter Monday and then reflected on a hugely successful year.
"It's turned into a brilliant year," he admitted. "I wanted to play first team football at the start of the season.
"I spoke to the manager Simon Grayson before I came and he told me things about this football club, that it was going places – and it has.
"It has moved on leaps and bounds from last season. We are on the verge of the Championship and if we can keep winning games you never know.
"I had to sit on the bench for the first three games which no one likes doing.
"I had to be patient but I came in eventually and managed to keep my place and the team have been doing well. So it's good for me and good for the team.
"I think now we've got to be very confident that we can go up because other than Scunthorpe we are the team in form. We have to go into every game going for the win.
"It's a tough end to the season, but we've already beaten Scunthorpe at their place and so we have to go into that game expecting to beat them.
"We outplayed Swansea here earlier in the campaign and were unlucky not to win so we've got a great chance in that one too.
"If we can keep winning I don't think we can rule anything out yet – and that includes automatic promotion.
"We've just got to keep picking up maximum points. Every game is a cup final now."
Evatt is one of the front-runner's for The Gazette's player of the season award.
"If I'm being mentioned that's flattering," he added. "I came here to do as well as I can and that's what I've been doing.
Doubt
"If I'm up there in the running for player of the season then happy days for me." Blackpool Gazette

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QPR Forward, Shabbaz Baidoo celbrates his birthday today (Born April 13, 1988 according to one figure or 1987 according to another!) It's actually not been a great season for him at QPR, in terms of games played, etc. This time last season, he was being hotly pursued by the club to sign a new contract. But hopefully next season, he'll still be at QPR and doing well. Given the #22 shirt at the start of the season.
See:
Career
Dave's Queens Park Rangers Site Profile of Baido Baidoo Profile

What They were saying Last season:

Q.P.R - Waddock on Baidoo delay EXCLUSIVE -07 Apr 2006

Queens Park Rangers caretaker-manager Gary Waddock has admitted the club will have to wait until the summer before teenage striker Shabazz Baidoo makes a decision on his future.
Rangers have already tied up the future of Stefan Bailey and Scott Donnelly on two-year professional deals but Baidoo has yet to sign up.
The 18-year-old's contract expires in the summer and the worry is that the player could leave the club, but Waddock remains hopeful of keeping the player at Loftus Road.
"He has been offered two deal but both have been turned down," Waddock exclusively told clubcall.
"As everyone is aware I want him to sign and commit his future to the club. I think at present his agent has said he will leave it until the summer so Shabazz can concentrate on his football," Waddock added.
"I don’t know what their thoughts are, I want him to stay but he has got every right to leave it until the summer and make a decision then." Press

Baidoo pens pro deal
SkySports - By Andrew Scurr - Created on 5 Jun 2006

Queens Park Rangers striker Shabazz Baidoo has signed a two-year deal at Loftus Road, ending months of speculation about his future.

The 18-year-old had been linked with a switch to Premiership new-boys Watford after stalling on his first professional contract with Rangers.

Manager Gary Waddock was keen to secure the starlet to a professional contract having impressed in his 17 appearances last season and the player was finally happy to oblige.

"QPR is in my blood and I'm going to do my best to become a regular for the first team next season," Baidoo said.

"I'm fortunate to be training with Paul Furlong and Kevin Gallen, and I hope to emulate what they have achieved here."

Waddock was understandably delighted to secure Baidoo to a contract after previously admitting his concern at the prospect of losing his future star.

"Shabazz is a great young player with a very bright future. He's a natural goalscorer, and it's fantastic to see another scholar become a professional," he added. ..
." Skysports

Also:
Baidoo urged Ray to stay
Ben Kosky/Kilburn Time -10 January 2007
SHABAZZ Baidoo has revealed he persuaded team-mate Ray Jones to follow in his footsteps by committing his future to QPR.
Jones finally put pen to paper on a three and a half year deal with Rangers last Friday after his agent had previously turned down numerous contract offers.
That decision was welcomed by management and players alike, including Baidoo - who also rejected initial offers of a professional contract before signing last summer.
"We had quite a few conversations about it, because obviously I was in a similar situation last year," said Baidoo.
"I just said to him 'I can't tell you what to do, you have to do whatever you feel's best for your future. QPR have helped you out for the last couple of years, so stay loyal and maybe if you have to move on later, that's the way it is.
"That's the way I saw it as well when I signed and of course I'm happy that Ray's staying - we get on well, we've known each other for a couple of years and played well together in the youth team.
"It means we've got good competition for places and, if you have better players around you, that's going to make you a better player as well."
QPR turned down a £50,000 offer from Fulham for Jones last month, but it looked inevitable that the 18-year-old striker would be leaving during the transfer window.
Boss John Gregory admitted only last week that he was resigned to losing Jones, who has netted six goals this season.
But the manager said after Saturday's FA Cup tie against Luton: "It made everybody here feel great that Ray wanted to commit himself to the club for three and a half years... Kilburn Times

-
For the last three months, Witney United have been promoting an April 30 Friendly against Queens Park Rangers. (The game was originally scheduled to be played in January, but QPR ended up playing an FA Cup replay against Luton Town). Finally at a Fan Consultative Group meeting with Chairman Paladini, earlier this week (just released on the QPR Official Site), the Chairman was asked about the Witney game. He said no game. As of this writing, Witney are still promoting the game and there is no individual official announcement (besides the minutes report) from QPR saying no game. [This is the Witney United Site - Witney United and Witney's "Breaking News"

QPR OFFICIAL SITE - APRIL 12, 2007
From QPR Fans Consultative Group Minutes April 10th April 2007 -

Gianni Paladini (GP) was asked about the Witney United game.

2.5 Are we will still playing Witney United on 30th April? It is on their website but not on ours.
GP said the game with Witney would not be going ahead, that it was merely a word of mouth thing and that Ian at the press office has been asked to get in touch with Witney to inform them. It was pointed out that it is this kind of thing which yet again leads to bad communication, which then brings the club bad publicity, though it was also agreed by others that taking part in friendly games when the club is involved in a relegation battle is not exactly useful under the current circumstances.
An announcement about this should be on the official website asap.QPR Official Site


As "reported" over the past few months on the QPR Report Blog.

QPR Report - April 10: Witney vs QPR April 30?
-
According to the Witney United Site, the April 30 Friendly against Queens Park Rangers is still on. (Nothing been mentioned on the QPR Official Site, since the original game back in January was rescheduled).

Witney United Site - News 06-04-07 "..."Any concerns about the QPR fixture were today aallayed as the Hellenic League announced that the Harrow Hill fixture will now take place next Wednesday 11th April to avoid clashing. Witney

Witney United Site
New Date: 30-04-07 MidSeason Friendly... Witney

Witney Schedule: Monday 30th Apr 07 - Friendly - Q.P.R- Home - 7-45pm
Schedule

Previously Reported re QPR vs Witney

There has been no word from QPR (and in fact the rescheduled game - or even the originally-scheduled game's cancellation - was never announced on QPR's Official Site - but Witney United's site continues to list April 30 as the date for the visit of QPR. (The man who was originally heavily involved in this match being scheduled (and then rescheduled was QPR's currently-suspended Assistant Manager, Richard Hill)

Witney United - 19-01-07 full strength hoops coming to witney!!
The website can today reveal that the postponed friendly against Championship side Queens Park Rangers has been re-arranged and will now be played on Monday 30th April.
The original game was postponed due to QPR’s FA Cup replay at Luton Town being postponed but the game was swiftly re-arranged with a new date for nearer the end of the season.
QPR Assistant Manager and ex Witney Town man Richard Hill offered his apologies to any Witney fans over the change of date.
“It was totally out of our hands, we had actually got to Luton before the game was postponed so we also had a frustrating evening. However I made a promise to bring the First Team to Witney and I won’t go back on that, although the date is some way off it will be a very strong side that I will bring to Witney on the night. It would have been really easy to send a Youth or a Reserve side down and just fulfil the fixture but the deal was I would bring the First Team down so in April that’s what we will do. On behalf of Queens Park Rangers I would like to apologise for any inconveniences caused but we look forward to seeing you on the new date”
The club have announced that all tickets purchased for the original date will be valid for the re-arranged game and that tickets are now back on sale for the new date and are available from the following places.
Printinco Corn Street Witney 0845 652 6552
Ady Bircher 07747 123411
Mark Reid 07771 805823
Witney United Football Club 01993 848558
Witney United

Witney Fixtures:

Monday 30th Apr 07
Friendly Q.P.R Home 7-45pm
Witney United Schedule

See also: QPR Report - Friendly with Witney United


Saturday, January 20, 2007

QPR Vs Witney United - Rescheduled for April-
[Not actually on the QPR Official site, yet - which actually hasn't yet announced that the original Witney United date, next week, is off.]

WITNEY UNITED
Witney United Vs QPR - New Date 30-04-07
"Mid Season Friendly"

19-01-07 full strength hoops coming to witney!!
The website can today reveal that the postponed friendly against Championship side Queens Park Rangers has been re-arranged and will now be played on Monday 30th April.
The original game was postponed due to QPR’s FA Cup replay at Luton Town being postponed but the game was swiftly re-arranged with a new date for nearer the end of the season.

QPR Assistant Manager and ex Witney Town man Richard Hill offered his apologies to any Witney fans over the change of date.“It was totally out of our hands, we had actually got to Luton before the game was postponed so we also had a frustrating evening. However I made a promise to bring the First Team to Witney and I won’t go back on that, although the date is some way off it will be a very strong side that I will bring to Witney on the night. It would have been really easy to send a Youth or a Reserve side down and just fulfil the fixture but the deal was I would bring the First Team down so in April that’s what we will do. On behalf of Queens Park Rangers I would like to apologise for any inconveniences caused but we look forward to seeing you on the new date”
The club have announced that all tickets purchased for the original date will be valid for the re-arranged game and that tickets are now back on sale for the new date and are available from the following places.
Printinco Corn Street Witney 0845 652 6552
Ady Bircher 07747 123411
Mark Reid 07771 805823
Witney United Football Club 01993 848558 - Witney

Earlier Announcements of the Game (and postponement) Witney/QPR

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Postponed: QPR's Friendly Versus Witney United
-QPR's rearranged FA Cup 3rd Round Replay against Luton is set for Tuesday, January 23 - QPR the same day as the previously-scheduled friendly against Witney United. Witney United have announced the QPR Friendly is now off. (QPR have yet to make that announcement)

WITNEY UNITED - 6-01-07 QPR MATCH OFF FOR NOW!!
United have been dealt a blow tonight with the news that the prestigous friendly with Queens Park Rangers scheduled for Tuesday 23rd January has been postponed.
QPR were due to meet Luton Town in an FA Cup replay tonight but the game was postponed and the replay has been set for next Tuesday.
However the club can confirm that QPR have promised to re-schedule the match and there will be a further announcement with a date on Thursday or Friday of this week.
The club has stated that any tickets purchased for the match already will be valid for the rescheduled date but anybody looking for a refund should contact Ady Bircher on 07747 123411 or Mark Reid on 07771 805823. Witney United Football Club would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused. Witney

From a couple of weeks ago: QPR Official Site -Witney United Game
QPR will play Witney United in a mid-season friendly on Tuesday 23rd January.
The R's travel to the Marriott's Stadium - home of the Hellenic Premier division club - later this month.

The match kicks off at 7.45pm.

Ticket details will be available on www.witneyunited.co.uk in the next few days
QPR


Saturday, January 06, 2007

QPR's Friendly With Whitney United & The QPR-Whitney Connection-
QPR Play Whitney United in a Friendly, January 23. QPR #2 Richard Hill used to play for Whitney and his son is a youth team player there.

WHITNEY UNITED OFFICIAL SITE
Witney United can today exclusively reveal that they have managed to secure a friendly against Championship side Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday 23rd January 2007 at Marriott’s Stadium.
The match came about with the help of former Witney Town player Richard Hill who is currently the Assistant Manager at Loftus Road. He was looking for an option to bring a side to and after a conversation with Club Secretary Adrian Bircher the two sides have managed to agree a date.
Hill is expected to bring a strong side to Marriott’s Stadium with the names mentioned so far being Paul Furlong, Dexter Blackstock, Ray Jones and Lee Cook. A full squad will be finalised nearer the time but a strong side had been guaranteed.
As a further gesture Hill has agreed to bring some signed merchandise which the club will look to raffle on the night including a signed Dexter Blackstock shirt.
Ticket details for the match will be finalised this weekend and announced at the start of next week but the match will NOT be all-ticket although supporters wishing to guarantee a seat will have to purchase in advance.
The club meanwhile are looking for potential sponsors for the match and also any volunteers who can help with stewarding etc. Anybody interested in helping should contact Ady Bircher on 07747 123411 or Mark Reid 07771 805823. At the moment please do not call these numbers for tickets. Whitney United

Oxford Mail- Witney fix up friendly with QPR
Witney United's players get the chance to take on a Football League team when Queen's Park Rangers visit Marriotts Stadium on Tuesday, January 23.
The match, for which ticket details will be released next week, came about through the friendship of Witney secretary Ady Bircher and former Oxford United midfielder Richard Hill, who is now No 2 to manager John Gregory at Loftus Road.
Hill's son, Dan, plays for Witney's youth team.
"When Richard got the job at QPR I asked him whether it would be possible to bring a QPR side down to play us," said Bircher. "And he stuck to his word.
"They are without a league game that weekend, so Richard or John Gregory will be bringing a side along.
"We're not sure what sort of team they are sending, but we've been promised a few first-teamers. We're hoping that Dexter Blackstock (the ex-Oxford United youngster) will play.
"QPR are getting a shirt signed by Dexter, so we can auction it off."
Witney are looking for sponsorship for the game. If you can help, contact Bircher on 07747 123411. Oxford Mail


QPR Official Site - FRIENDLY DATE
QPR will play Witney United in a mid-season friendly on Tuesday 23rd January.
The R's travel to the Marriott's Stadium - home of the Hellenic Premier division club - later this month. The match kicks off at 7.45pm. Ticket details will be available on www.witneyunited.co.uk in the next few days. QPR Official

QPR Report - Sunday, March 25, 2007
QPR's April 30 Friendly vs Witney United
-
There has been no word from QPR (and in fact the rescheduled game - or even the originally-scheduled game's cancellation - was never announced on QPR's Official Site - but Witney United's site continues to list April 30 as the date for the visit of QPR. (The man who was originally heavily involved in this match being scheduled (and then rescheduled was QPR's currently-suspended Assistant Manager, Richard Hill)

Witney United - 19-01-07 full strength hoops coming to witney!!
The website can today reveal that the postponed friendly against Championship side Queens Park Rangers has been re-arranged and will now be played on Monday 30th April.
The original game was postponed due to QPR’s FA Cup replay at Luton Town being postponed but the game was swiftly re-arranged with a new date for nearer the end of the season.
QPR Assistant Manager and ex Witney Town man Richard Hill offered his apologies to any Witney fans over the change of date.
“It was totally out of our hands, we had actually got to Luton before the game was postponed so we also had a frustrating evening. However I made a promise to bring the First Team to Witney and I won’t go back on that, although the date is some way off it will be a very strong side that I will bring to Witney on the night. It would have been really easy to send a Youth or a Reserve side down and just fulfil the fixture but the deal was I would bring the First Team down so in April that’s what we will do. On behalf of Queens Park Rangers I would like to apologise for any inconveniences caused but we look forward to seeing you on the new date”
The club have announced that all tickets purchased for the original date will be valid for the re-arranged game and that tickets are now back on sale for the new date and are available from the following places.
Printinco Corn Street Witney 0845 652 6552
Ady Bircher 07747 123411
Mark Reid 07771 805823
Witney United Football Club 01993 848558
Witney United

Witney Fixtures:

Monday 30th Apr 07
Friendly Q.P.R Home 7-45pm
Witney United Schedule

See also: QPR Report - Friendly with Witney United

# posted by QPR @ 5:13 AM
Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Postponed: QPR's Friendly Versus Witney United-
QPR's rearranged FA Cup 3rd Round Replay against Luton is set for Tuesday, January 23 - QPR the same day as the previously-scheduled friendly against Witney United. Witney United have announced the QPR Friendly is now off. (QPR have yet to make that announcement)

WITNEY UNITED - 6-01-07 QPR MATCH OFF FOR NOW!!
United have been dealt a blow tonight with the news that the prestigous friendly with Queens Park Rangers scheduled for Tuesday 23rd January has been postponed.
QPR were due to meet Luton Town in an FA Cup replay tonight but the game was postponed and the replay has been set for next Tuesday.
However the club can confirm that QPR have promised to re-schedule the match and there will be a further announcement with a date on Thursday or Friday of this week.
The club has stated that any tickets purchased for the match already will be valid for the rescheduled date but anybody looking for a refund should contact Ady Bircher on 07747 123411 or Mark Reid on 07771 805823. Witney United Football Club would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused. Witney

From a couple of weeks ago: QPR Official Site -Witney United Game
QPR will play Witney United in a mid-season friendly on Tuesday 23rd January.
The R's travel to the Marriott's Stadium - home of the Hellenic Premier division club - later this month.

The match kicks off at 7.45pm.

Ticket details will be available on www.witneyunited.co.uk in the next few days
QPR

See also: QPR-Witney Connection - QPR Report

# posted by QPR @ 6:55 AM
Saturday, January 06, 2007

QPR's Friendly With Whitney United & The QPR-Whitney Connection-
QPR Play Whitney United in a Friendly, January 23. QPR #2 Richard Hill used to play for Whitney and his son is a youth team player there.

WHITNEY UNITED OFFICIAL SITEWitney United can today exclusively reveal that they have managed to secure a friendly against Championship side Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday 23rd January 2007 at Marriott’s Stadium.
The match came about with the help of former Witney Town player Richard Hill who is currently the Assistant Manager at Loftus Road. He was looking for an option to bring a side to and after a conversation with Club Secretary Adrian Bircher the two sides have managed to agree a date.
Hill is expected to bring a strong side to Marriott’s Stadium with the names mentioned so far being Paul Furlong, Dexter Blackstock, Ray Jones and Lee Cook. A full squad will be finalised nearer the time but a strong side had been guaranteed.
As a further gesture Hill has agreed to bring some signed merchandise which the club will look to raffle on the night including a signed Dexter Blackstock shirt.
Ticket details for the match will be finalised this weekend and announced at the start of next week but the match will NOT be all-ticket although supporters wishing to guarantee a seat will have to purchase in advance.
The club meanwhile are looking for potential sponsors for the match and also any volunteers who can help with stewarding etc. Anybody interested in helping should contact Ady Bircher on 07747 123411 or Mark Reid 07771 805823. At the moment please do not call these numbers for tickets. Whitney United

Oxford Mail- Witney fix up friendly with QPR
Witney United's players get the chance to take on a Football League team when Queen's Park Rangers visit Marriotts Stadium on Tuesday, January 23.
The match, for which ticket details will be released next week, came about through the friendship of Witney secretary Ady Bircher and former Oxford United midfielder Richard Hill, who is now No 2 to manager John Gregory at Loftus Road.
Hill's son, Dan, plays for Witney's youth team.
"When Richard got the job at QPR I asked him whether it would be possible to bring a QPR side down to play us," said Bircher. "And he stuck to his word.
"They are without a league game that weekend, so Richard or John Gregory will be bringing a side along.
"We're not sure what sort of team they are sending, but we've been promised a few first-teamers. We're hoping that Dexter Blackstock (the ex-Oxford United youngster) will play.
"QPR are getting a shirt signed by Dexter, so we can auction it off."
Witney are looking for sponsorship for the game. If you can help, contact Bircher on 07747 123411. Oxford Mail

QPR Official Site - FRIENDLY DATE
QPR will play Witney United in a mid-season friendly on Tuesday 23rd January.
The R's travel to the Marriott's Stadium - home of the Hellenic Premier division club - later this month. The match kicks off at 7.45pm. Ticket details will be available on www.witneyunited.co.uk in the next few days. QPR Official

-
The Minutes of the April 10 Fans Groups Consultative Meeting with the QPR Board has been released on the Club Official Site. Below some of the points of special interest (at least to this "observer") made by Chairman Gianni Paladini. The full minutes follow these excerpts.

CHAIRMAN PALADINI

".... He maintained that the club is in a better position that it was before than when we'd had a CEO, and from when the club had a chairman who had been one of the richest men in England, going on to state that the investment in the club is ten times more than it was back then....

2.2 Does Lee Cook still have a £10 million value attached to him?
GP said that when the comments about £10 million were made he was trying to maximise the most for the player. As things stand, the club does not know if Lee will be leaving. ...

3.1 Players contracts and Dean Parrett
A discussion also then took place about players' contracts with GP saying he was angry still about the Dean Parrett situation. He stated again that the club had not wanted him to go but that the big clubs call the shots in such situations. He said that neither the parents nor the lad had asked him/John Gregory for a better deal; that John Gregory had offered Dean a scholarship with us; and that the club had received a straight £1m from Spurs (which had gone to the taxman) but went on to hint that there is more to it but that he could not say anymore at the current time.

.5 Will we move from/or expand Loftus Road?
Regarding expansion, KS said that there was a legal right preventing the club from currently expanding height wise due to the restrictions about building higher and thus obstructing light to the houses around the stadium.
As regards to moving GP stated how Hamman and Noades had made an approach about moving the club to Oxford but that there was no way this was going to happen.
He spoke about having football only at Loftus Road and mentioned the possibility of a youth tournament taking place at the stadium in the pre season.
JR raised the issue of the constant rumours that do the rounds about the ground either being sold, (with its current worth reputed to be £24m) or that we are going to groundshare with Brentford or Fulham and asked if there were any possibility of this happening?
GP stated that "the ground has not and will not be sold, end of story", going on to say that we are going nowhere and that he knows nothing of any groundshare. When pushed about the rumours, and where they come from, he again stated that there is "nothing in this, on the life of my grandchildren, no-one has spoke to me".

5. Accounts update
5.1 Why haven't the accounts been filed with Companies House? We were told they would be filed by 31st March 2007?
GP replied that the accounts for the year end May 2006 have been filed; that they'll be in the public domain soon; and that the AGM will follow, citing the 21 day period that has to be given to inform shareholders of the meeting.

5.2 What does the total loss for the year stand at as we speak?
GP said that the loss is about the same as the last year, saying that we'd had to bring in playing staff, which added to the budget.

5.3 Why describe the Shittu sale price as £3m when it clearly wasn't?
GP said that the Shittu deal was worth £2.5m initially, with £2m having been banked, and another £250,000 due shortly. There will be another £300,000 to the club should Watford stay up....

6. ABC Loan Update
KS spoke/updated about this; saying that the ABC loan as we all know came via an offshore company and that there are regulations protecting their confidentiality; that the interest rate of 10% is crippling and that the board are looking at ways of getting it refinanced/paid off.
He went on to say that there are discussions ongoing currently with three banks - one German and two well known banks - and that they are trying to negotiate a 7%- 7.5% rate of interest. Not only that but also looking at the possibility of incorporating some way of starting to pay off the capital. Talks are ongoing, but obviously due to the confidential nature of the discussions, they cannot say too much at the moment.

. Pre-Season
10.1 Any news on this
GP said that there is a Celtic game on. A youth tournament is being arranged currently to take place at Loftus Road. And discussions are taking place with Arsenal for a Kiyan Prince memorial game.
GP also mentioned that there might be the opportunity for two or three days in Dublin but that the club would have to see about that.

10.2 The Italian pre-season that Gregory was critical of? Who was responsible?
GP commented on how the club were offered the tour in December 2005, and that in the New Year, Gary Waddock, Prav and himself went to look at the venue etc. Then things changed and the club were informed one of the games would be taking place on a plastic pitch. He accepted it was a poor pre season.
_________________

QPR OFFICIAL SITE - APRIL 12, 2007
FINAL MINUTES

QPR Fans Consultative Group Minutes - Meeting Two - Tuesday 10th April 2007 - 6.30pm - Loftus Road

The following are the minutes taken from the second QPR fans consultative group meeting, which was held at Loftus Road on the night of Tuesday 10th April.

In attendance: Gianni Paladini (GP) Chairman, QPR FC ~ Nick De Marco (NDM) for second part of the meeting, Director, QPR FC ~ Kevin Steele (KS) Director, QPR FC ~ Pat Harrison (PH) Official Supporters Club ~ Karen Hampshire (KH) Official Supporters Club ~ Stephen Dedridge (SD) QPR 1st Supporters Trust ~ Tracy Stent (TS) QPR 1st Supporters Trust ~ John Reid (JR) Loyal Supporters Association ~ Mark Dunbar (MD) Loyal Supporters Association ~ Victor Stevenson (VS) Friends of QPR ~ Spencer Schwartz (SS) Friends of QPR ~ Dave Anderson (DA) Rebuild QPR.



TS explained that NDM was running late due to being unavoidably delayed down on the south coast, and it was decided upon by those present for TS (and SD) to chair the meeting in the interim until NDM arrived.

The agenda was a full one, and with items having been forwarded by various fans, it was suggested that the meeting be kept on track by discussing each item without too much chit chat in between, and as per the initial meeting, it was agreed for TS to take the minutes, and when drafted for them to be circulated amongst those present, and once approved by those in attendance to be posted on the various outlets, including the official website first.

There were two representatives from each of the groups, and once again, Bev from the Official Supporters Club was present to impart her experience in relation to the disabled fans. There was also representation from Rebuild QPR in Dave Anderson, who is part of the Rebuild coalition with his A Kick up the R's fanzine representation.

We hope the following is an interesting and enjoyable read for QPR fans everywhere.
As alternate Chairs and minute taker, we'd like to thank everyone that made the effort to attend this meeting.
TS, SD and NDM.

GP started off proceedings before going onto the agenda items, by saying that he'd like to put the record straight on a couple of matters, beginning by talking about the Gino Padula contract, saying that he had taken the blame for this, that Gino had wanted to buy a house in the area to settle down and that he (GP) had been naïve in trying to help Padula. He maintained that the club is in a better position that it was before than when we'd had a CEO, and from when the club had a chairman who had been one of the richest men in England, going on to state that the investment in the club is ten times more than it was back then.

He then spoke about how it had been reported in one of the papers about him criticising QPR fans about bucket collections, stating that he had said that fans should have not been put in that position with buckets; that they should not have had to do that; and that to have allowed fans to do this was humiliating.

PH said that in the past she has been a fan that has participated in bucket collections for charity etc and that she had never found it demeaning. GP said that he accepted that for charity that is fine; to raise money in this way for the youth team is fine; but for the fans to have found themselves in the position of going out with buckets to buy a player was, he felt wrong.
It was pointed out that other clubs have player funds. VS said he could see what GP was saying in that clubs (fans) shouldn't need to go out to do this type of thing and a discussion took place about how the club has been under the media spotlight for some time now, most of it in a bad light, with SD suggesting that sometimes the media take things out of context and that the club with its relationship with the such outlets need to be more media savvy.

GP stated that there is not anything he would not do for the supporters, saying that if someone were hard up/having troubles, he would help that person out by letting their child be mascot, or whatever he could do to help. At this point, Bev said at the last home game, whilst talking to the mother of a child with learning difficulties, she learnt that the mother had been promised that her son could be a mascot at the Stoke game by someone who now no longer works for the club, and was concerned about this as she did not know who to speak to. GP said that the child could definitely be a mascot and Bev will liase with GP, the club and the mother of the child.

1. Apologies for absence and matters arising
There was an apology for late arrival from NDM. TS explained that there were a few items from the previous agenda that the club had said they would look into, and that such questions had been incorporated within the various sections in relation to such items in the agenda.

2. Football
2.1 What is the transfer kitty for the summer likely to be?
GP and KS said they did not know yet with GP saying that football is a game of chess, which takes an element of bluff, and with the need to keep certain things close to the chest.

2.2 Does Lee Cook still have a £10 million value attached to him?
GP said that when the comments about £10 million were made he was trying to maximise the most for the player. As things stand, the club does not know if Lee will be leaving. As regards his injury, he has a sore knee and obviously cannot wait to get back into first team action.

2.3 Will Gallen come back from loan?
GP said that Gallen will be a free agent in the summer and that it is down to John Gregory. It all comes down to player salaries, but that JG is looking to bring in fresh players.
It was suggested by some in attendance that Gallen be given some kind of recognition for all his years of service to the club, not necessarily financial, especially taking into account that he was usually prepared to turn up for various fans group events and children's parties etc.

2.4 Ballboys at Loftus Road. Following the suggestion at the last meeting, has this idea been taken any further?
GP said it had been spoken about but that it is a health and safety issue with the risk of injuries to youngsters around the pitch.

2.5 Are we will still playing Witney United on 30th April? It is on their website but not on ours.
GP said the game with Witney would not be going ahead, that it was merely a word of mouth thing and that Ian at the press office has been asked to get in touch with Witney to inform them. It was pointed out that it is this kind of thing which yet again leads to bad communication, which then brings the club bad publicity, though it was also agreed by others that taking part in friendly games when the club is involved in a relegation battle is not exactly useful under the current circumstances.
An announcement about this should be on the official website asap.

2.6 What is the current position on Richard Hill?
GP said he is not coming back and that he had been taken on initially on a weekly basis.

3. Season tickets
Next season's season ticket info will be advertised at the Cardiff game. As discussed at the last meeting, there will be reductions in all areas, with the children's prices staying the same. There will be an early bird offer up until the end of June. When asked if this offer will be sent/dispatched to lapsed season ticket holders on the club's database, as raised at the last meeting, GP said this will be done.

He then spoke about the need to having to make sure the club makes enough revenue from this, going on to say that to attract players we need more money. A discussion was held about this, with the money from the premier league being distributed to the leagues below as derisory by those in attendance, and with JR saying how there needs to be a much more fairer distribution. GP said that one thing he is trying to do is to get together with other chairmen of football league clubs to lobby the authorities in asking them to extend the money more fairly down the pyramids.

It was agreed that getting back the lapsed/lost fans is a must and that with everyone at the club, from the players, to the manager, to the fans, all doing their bit in creating a feel-good factor about the place, this must carry on for next season.

3.1 Players contracts and Dean Parrett
A discussion also then took place about players' contracts with GP saying he was angry still about the Dean Parrett situation. He stated again that the club had not wanted him to go but that the big clubs call the shots in such situations. He said that neither the parents nor the lad had asked him/John Gregory for a better deal; that John Gregory had offered Dean a scholarship with us; and that the club had received a straight £1m from Spurs (which had gone to the taxman) but went on to hint that there is more to it but that he could not say anymore at the current time.

4. The ground
4.1 Access to and use of the blue and white bar from the ellerslie road stand. Has this been reviewed?
Bev informed that in the Season Ticket - Rules & Regulations 2006/2007, number 21 - it states that as there is no Bar as such in Ellerslie Road: "At the conclusion of the match only, Members and Season Ticket Holders in Ellerslie Road will be permitted to pass through to the Loftus Road stand for the purpose of using the Blue & White Club Members Bar".
Richard Turner (Security Officer) and Steve Pike have confirmed they will ensure stewards are made aware of this.

4.2 Supporters who are unable to buy a programme before a game often go in the clubshop after the match to see if they can buy that day's programme, only to be told that they will not be made available in the shop until a later date. Is there any way that they can be made available in the clubshop immediately after the game?
GP said that sometimes the clubshop is shut after some games on police advice and that it is not always possible to get such merchandise in the shop. MD made the suggestion that programmes be available at outlets throughout the ground during games (and after if possible) as is the case in the lower loft and GP said this was something to be followed up on.
He also said, that talking about the programme, Dunwoody no longer does the publishing of it due to them owing the club money, and that another company has now taken over the printing of them.

4.3 Has the club had a re-think about reviewing/suggesting that the stewards hold away fans back for 10 or so minutes after matches at Loftus Road?
GP informed that security had indeed looked at this and that this had been the case with Luton and that it will occur again at the Cardiff game.

4.4 When will the ground get a coat of paint?
It was suggested by some in attendance that fans would help with this when it comes to the upkeep of the stadium. GP acknowledged this but said that the Ellerslie Road side had been painted last season, and that the rest of the ground is being done bit by bit, saying that the reception area has had a £70,000 makeover; that there will be a new pitch laid during close season; and that the edges/perimeters will be painted during this time too.
A question was raised about the Ellerslie Road female toilets, and about how they never seem to work/flush and GP said this would be investigated. PH also pointed out that the female toilets in the upper loft at half time very often do not flush.

4.5 Will we move from/or expand Loftus Road?
Regarding expansion, KS said that there was a legal right preventing the club from currently expanding height wise due to the restrictions about building higher and thus obstructing light to the houses around the stadium.
As regards to moving GP stated how Hamman and Noades had made an approach about moving the club to Oxford but that there was no way this was going to happen.
He spoke about having football only at Loftus Road and mentioned the possibility of a youth tournament taking place at the stadium in the pre season.
JR raised the issue of the constant rumours that do the rounds about the ground either being sold, (with its current worth reputed to be £24m) or that we are going to groundshare with Brentford or Fulham and asked if there were any possibility of this happening?
GP stated that "the ground has not and will not be sold, end of story", going on to say that we are going nowhere and that he knows nothing of any groundshare. When pushed about the rumours, and where they come from, he again stated that there is "nothing in this, on the life of my grandchildren, no-one has spoke to me".

4.6 A supporter suggests that the food outlets are poorly run and lacking in choice. If it was quicker to get served and there was more of a choice, then surely more money would be made?
GP said that the current catering company are based in Langley; that it's not a bad deal with them; and that the club gets an extra £70,000 from a deal with Carlsberg. It was pointed out to him that again, big problems in Ellerslie Road mean that fans at half time have got next to no chance at being served with either beer or food because the queues are so long. Beer is not pre-poured (unlike in the Blue and White bar) and they frequently run out of food supplies. DA also mentioned how the queues are a problem in the upper loft. GP said he has a meeting with the caterers this week and that he will raise the issue of poor food/drink supplies to see if they can look at ways of improving this.

5. Accounts update
5.1 Why haven't the accounts been filed with Companies House? We were told they would be filed by 31st March 2007?
GP replied that the accounts for the year end May 2006 have been filed; that they'll be in the public domain soon; and that the AGM will follow, citing the 21 day period that has to be given to inform shareholders of the meeting.

5.2 What does the total loss for the year stand at as we speak?
GP said that the loss is about the same as the last year, saying that we'd had to bring in playing staff, which added to the budget.

5.3 Why describe the Shittu sale price as £3m when it clearly wasn't?
GP said that the Shittu deal was worth £2.5m initially, with £2m having been banked, and another £250,000 due shortly. There will be another £300,000 to the club should Watford stay up. A discussion then took place about lack of communication and how misinformation can occur, not only the Shittu deal but with the Ugo Utah situation being described as an example also. Some felt that the lack of explanation regarding the comings and goings of Ugo did not help the club's cause in its lack of communication information channels to the fans, with it being suggested that a press officer of a PR officer to impart clear information and keep the fans informed about all manners of QPR related issues would go a long way in helping to improve this aspect.

5.4 In view of the position we have been in this season and last, despite promises made by the chairman and the board, will the board be putting its money where its mouth is and backing success for QPR or will we be again subject to more loans we can ill afford?
GP started off by saying how he was glad this question had been raised and went on to say how next season will be his fifth season at being at QPR, though he has in reality been involved heavily for the past four seasons. He went on to say how there is no reason why there should be animosity between people before saying how he has had to beg the people who have backed him. "You have to convince an investor". He claimed how people "those people waiting for us to go bust" vanish when you ask those who can afford to put money into the club to do so. He said he was glad about Dunga supporting him, and also glad of the support of Zanotti and Caliendo. He said that they will lose their investment later if the loans cannot be repaid and then claimed that for the first time in a long time, the club is looking self sufficient and that there are positives to look towards.
VS said how things do look to be going forward, especially now when the results are going our way, and that there seems to be more of a togetherness about the club and the fans. DA made the point about keeping the momentum going and GP said he'd had a meeting with John Gregory about next season, and the plans to start building for it squad wise. He again said how JG is looking towards having a more focussed set of players, with a squad of around 22-25 players. Michael Mancienne was mentioned and GP remarked that the club are saving on £50k video expenses because Chelsea football club are paying for those expenses themselves when it comes to all the video footage involving their loan players.

5.5 Why is it that despite promises to the contrary we are yet again changing strips after just one year and will the club be doing any deals to compensate this?
JR pointed out that according to the football supporters federation there is no legislation preventing clubs/sponsors from changing kits each season, despite them lobbying against this. GP said that Le Coq are changing the kits, going on to mention that next season's away kit will be the Dennis the Menace strip. The new kits have already been decided upon.

5.6 Who is paying Idiakez's wages?
GP said that this was half and half (Southampton and QPR).

5.7 The taxman. Any money owed and how much?
GP stated that the club are now in control of it and that the aim is to now pay it monthly. He again mentioned how the club is self-sufficient and when asked to elaborate on this he gave an example of season ticket monies saying that in the past the money that has come in during May/June, has been spent straight away/paid for other things. He stated this is not the case this time around, though he did say that the club is now learning to spend less than what it brings in. He acknowledged that sometimes he has been criticised for laying off staff numbers, but that in the Deloitte report they have confirmed the company is running on the right number of staff, though there is the recommendation within it that it must not have any less than it currently does now. He described the losses/steadying of the ship as "slowly slowly" and went on to say that the losses in season ticket monies for this season was made up by the extra sponsorship money brought in.
JR mentioned how it was a shame that the proceeds sharing system whereby years ago away clubs would get a portion of proceeds from league games at all grounds was stopped, especially bearing in mind some of the larger crowds at which we have played in front this season (including a big crowd expected at Sunderland on Saturday) as we could do with some of those proceeds now!

5.8 Will the financial plan for the next 5 years be published?
KS said that basically the plan at the moment is to keep the club sound with prudent and sound accounting. As for a 5-year plan, he suggested that no-one really knows what is likely to happen and therefore said that planning for next season should be the first step.

6. ABC Loan Update
KS spoke/updated about this; saying that the ABC loan as we all know came via an offshore company and that there are regulations protecting their confidentiality; that the interest rate of 10% is crippling and that the board are looking at ways of getting it refinanced/paid off.
He went on to say that there are discussions ongoing currently with three banks - one German and two well known banks - and that they are trying to negotiate a 7%- 7.5% rate of interest. Not only that but also looking at the possibility of incorporating some way of starting to pay off the capital. Talks are ongoing, but obviously due to the confidential nature of the discussions, they cannot say too much at the moment.

At this point NDM had joined the meeting, and after a quick five-minute break, the meeting resumed with NDM then taking over the chairing of it.

7. Club communication and responding to fans
Some of this had been covered earlier on in the meeting i.e. the quotes in the press from GP regarding the buckets comments but there were a couple of other things on this theme which were raised including:

7.1 What is the response to the suggestion that the Chair for the consultation meetings be rotated?
NDM had already spoken to TS about this prior to the meeting, saying that basically as these meetings are club ones, they feel it is the club's ultimate responsibility to ensure someone from the club i.e. a director chairs them for example.

7.2 Could more effort be made by QPR staff to reply to emails from fans who are essentially the club's customers?
It was explained how fans often raise concerns about not getting responses from the club when enquiring/offering help etc, giving examples of such concerns. After some discussion on the matter GP made a suggestion/offer for two or three from the consultation group to have access to an office at the club, with a computer being set up in it, whereby all different ideas and suggestions from fans could be raised face to face with either himself or club personnel perhaps on a voluntary once weekly basis?
TS suggested this was a nice and kind offer, that this could go a way towards helping with communication channels, and that as time was getting on, the group would get back to him on this.
NDM also suggested that at the next meeting the club comes back with a proper structure regarding club contacts etc and this was agree this would be most helpful.

7.3 As a follow up to the Trust's meeting with Jason Kallis and Kevin Steel, what involvement does the club intend to take with the consultation of the new local development framework? Will the club look into a covenant style scheme to safeguard the ground in cooperation with the fanbase?
KS said that the board had every intention of working with the council regarding their new development framework and would also like to work with fans groups in relation to this. TS said that the Trust had contacts with the relevant department and that we'd all need to speak about this soon.
Regarding a covenant style scheme, KS said there would obviously be legal implications and this is something needed to be looked into in the near future.

7.4 When is the next fans forum?
GP said this has now been arranged, details released soon, and that it will be taking place in late April.

8. Press room stewards/greeters issue
GP said that the training and new regulations in relation to this are being imposed by the football authorities. He had a letter from the football licensing authority stating that anybody dealing with a customer (not only stewards) will now have to go on an NVQ training course. It also stated that there has to be a minimum of 20 people sent on such a