QPR Perspectives of Connolly, Mahon, Ephraim and Ainsworth

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Ben Kosky/Kilburn Times - Connolly can be exception to the rule
LEAVING Arsenal for QPR is a move that rarely seems to spell success - but Matthew Connolly sees no reason why he cannot buck the trend.
Lee Harper drifted down the divisions, Matt Hislop is currently without a club and Dominic Shimmin has mustered just a handful of first-team appearances in nearly three years at Loftus Road.
The least said about Gus Caesar the better... and even Matthew Rose, who gave Rangers nearly a decade of service as a full-back, centre-back, sweeper and midfielder, never really fulfilled the potential he had shown as an Arsenal youngster.
Like Rose, Connolly - who joined the Rs last week in a seven-figure transfer - has already broken into the England under-21 squad and can play at both right-back and in central defence.
And Connolly consulted another versatile defender before making his decision to quit the Emirates Stadium - Michael Mancienne, halfway through his year-long loan with QPR.
"I know Michael from the England under-21s and he said QPR was a good club with good facilities, which helped me to make up my mind," Connolly told the Times.
"I could have signed again at Arsenal. I spoke to the boss there, he said he wanted me to stay and I thought about it for a while, but I felt it was the right time for me to move.
"I wanted to move to a club that was going forward. Obviously at Arsenal there are world-class players in every position and it's very, very hard to get in the first team.
"Looking at the players that haven't made it there, like David Bentley and Steve Sidwell, they've gone on to make good careers for themselves, so that inspired me to come here.
"I just want to play as many games as I can. The fact that they're bringing in new players shows they want to be in the Premier League and I'd hope to be part of that."
The 20-year-old defender made just two Carling Cup appearances for the Gunners - and, with Kolo Toure and Alex Song absent on African Nations' Cup duty, might have been in line to feature in their semi-final clash against Tottenham.
Instead, though, Connolly made an accomplished QPR debut on a similar stage last weekend, playing 90 minutes at right-back in the FA Cup third round tie at Chelsea.
And he already has 18 appearances to his name in the Championship this season, having featured regularly for Colchester during a loan spell that ended when he opted to sign for Rangers.
It was the third time in six months that QPR have stepped in to snatch one of the Us' loan stars after persuading Chris Barker and, more recently, Hogan Ephraim, to switch to west London.
"Staying at Colchester was another option," Connolly admitted. "I really enjoyed my time, the lads were brilliant and the manager was brilliant to me too.
"But QPR are a growing club and that's why I came. Results have picked up lately after a slow start and the aim is to finish as high as possible this season.
"I'm still young and learning the game, but I'm aware of what's needed in this division and I'm sure that period at Colchester will help me as time goes on. Kilburn Times

Ben Kosky/Kilburn Times - Now nobody is safe
NEW signing Gavin Mahon accepts he may well be dropped at Sheffield United this weekend, despite his impressive full debut against Chelsea.
Mahon was surprisingly selected ahead of QPR captain Adam Bolder for the FA Cup third round tie at Stamford Bridge, but justified the decision with a gutsy performance in the centre of midfield.
Rangers boss Luigi de Canio is likely to shuffle his ever-increasing pack on Saturday at Bramall Lane and Mahon admitted: "Who knows if you're going to play the next game?
"Adam Bolder's the captain, he scored in the previous game and yet he was left out at Chelsea. If you score and play well, it doesn't guarantee you're going to stay in the side.
"But there have to be no grudges if you're left out. It's going to be a squad game and whoever pulls on the shirt is going to be needed.
"When I met Flavio [Briatore], he told me about his plans and where he wants to take the club and spoke about having two or three players for every position.
"He asked me what I thought about the squad and what sort of team we needed and I said we need good footballers as well as players who are going to fight for each other.
"The team spirit's really good here. Two or three of the lads hadn't even trained together before the Chelsea game, so to bond together and gel like we did is excellent.
"The cup game was a nice distraction against top-class players, and Sheffield United are going to bring different challenges - it'll be hustle and bustle and we've got to make sure we're ready for that."
Including Mahon, Rangers have made a staggering eight signings so far this month and could well have even more new players on board by the time they travel north to Bramall Lane.
And another of the recent arrivals at QPR, forward Hogan Ephraim, is relishing the battle to hold down a regular place in de Canio's side.
Ephraim told the Times: "If you don't have competition for places you're not a club that's going to move on. Every top club has players fighting for places.
"Once you don't, that's when you start slipping into the comfort zone and when things go wrong. If everyone's on their toes and knows their place is under threat it can only bode well for the future."
De Canio is confident of having midfielder Akos Buzsaky available on Saturday, although he was forced off with a sprained ankle early in the second half at Stamford Bridge.
The Rs coach said: "It was unfortunate, but we hope to recover all our players in time for the next fixture.Kilburn Times


GARETH AINSWORTH -KILBURN TIMES
EVERY day I come in to training, there seems to be a new face there, so it's very much about getting to know each other at the moment.
We all knew that was going to happen once the transfer window opened and it's a bit early to say that everyone's on the same wavelength, but I think the early signs have been encouraging.
The main concern is about match fitness, because some of the new lads haven't played for a while, but that'll improve with time.
Having so many new faces around the squad added to the novelty of our game at Chelsea last weekend. You're never happy with a defeat, but anyone reading the score in the Sunday papers would have been fairly surprised.
In reality, there weren't too many chances for either team and the goal Chelsea did score was unlucky for Campy. Not that he was down about it - he knows that's how it goes for keepers and it went the other way for him last week at Watford.
If Rowly's shot had gone in, things might have been different and it would have been great to take them back to Loftus Road. But the fact is that we didn't give them the win, they had to work for it and that's an achievement in itself.
I must say that the QPR fans were immense - they got behind us all afternoon and made the Chelsea supporters seem very quiet. It shows what a great fanbase we've got and I know the new signings were impressed.
I'm sure that, whenever we hit the Premier League, our fans will have a massive part to play in that success. That game was our taster for what we want to achieve and, if it doesn't give us the impetus to get there, nothing will.
But Chelsea will keep - for a year or two, anyway! Our most immediate target has to be Sheffield United and, even away from home, it's a game that looks very winnable.
Sheffield United have been a surprise to me this season - I'd expected them to be much stronger, but they seem to be in a transitional period and they've given away a lot of goals to lesser opposition.
Without James Beattie, they appear to be lacking a real goalscorer, which makes a massive difference in this division, and we've definitely got a good chance of coming away with a result.
The gaffer's made it clear that keeping a clean sheet is the minimum expectation, and that's what we'll aim for. Kilburn Times


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