Snippets: Keegan Praise for Ramage....Cranie Happy...Ward Doing Well...Mayor who's a QPR Fan...Partisan Belgrade Memory...Two Ex-Birthdays

-
Sunderland Echo - Keegan hails 'big-hearted' Ramage
Kevin Keegan wished Peter Ramage all the best at QPR – then vowed to sign another just like him.
The defender has signed a three-year deal with the Loftus Road club after reluctantly leaving Newcastle in search of first-team football.
Keegan had been keen to keep Ramage, but the 24-year-old felt, after losing almost a season of his career through a cruciate ligament tear, that he needed to be playing week in, week out.
The Newcastle manager: "I'd like to take his heart, and put it in the dressing room at Newcastle. The one thing he has got is a massive heart."
Academy product Ramage – handed his debut by Graeme Souness four seasons ago – made 69 appearances for Newcastle.
Meanwhile, QPR are set to name Iain Dowie as their new manager. Dowie tried to sign Ramage during his spell at Coventry. Sunderland Echo


[Messageboard rumours have had Cranie set to be announced as returning to QPR next season either on loan or even as a signing. Wouldn't know it from this article]

Recalled Cranie back in business
MARTIN CRANIE will tonight complete his injury fightback when he lines up for England under-21s.
The Pompey defender had been a regular in Stuart Pearce's set-up until breaking his leg while on loan at QPR.
That was six months ago, the majority of which has been spent on slugging it out on the long road to recovery.
Now he's back in the England fray for tonight's friendly with Wales at Wrexham's Memorial Ground.
It was a call-up which came as a surprise to Cranie, despite Pearce and assistant Steve Wigley being regulars at Pompey's reserves in recent weeks.
And the 21-year-old only learnt of his recall on Sky Sports News.
He said: 'It's obviously nice to get called back into the squad after a long lay-off. 'It's six months since my last under-21 game.
'I had four months out through injury and two months after that, so it's been quite a long time.
'I wasn't really aware Stuart Pearce had been watching me in the reserves. I'm just delighted to be called back in.
'Mind you, I didn't even know there was a game coming up.
'It wasn't until watching Sky Sports News that I found I was in the squad.
'The letter must have come when I had left the training ground that day. Still, at least I made it.
'I feel fine now. My fitness is good – it will be nice to go out on a high at the end of the season in the under-21s game.
'Then I can look forward to pushing on next season and getting some more first-team games.
'I'm in the under-21 set-up and in and around the squad at Pompey, so things are going well to be honest.' Report


Nick Ward - Ward fits into marquee role
Melbourne Victory has confirmed Nick Ward as its Under-23 marquee player for the upcoming Hyundai A-League season.
Under the Hyundai A-League's salary cap regulations, clubs can include one Under-23 player outside the salary cap, up to an amount of $150,000, enabling them to retain talented young players.
Ward had already agreed to stay with the club until the end of April next year, but now at least part, if not all, of his salary will not be counted as part of the cap.
Ward, who joined the Victory from English championship side QPR in December, has spent much of the past six months balancing his playing commitments with his rehabilitation from a groin injury.
H said the Victory's sports medicine facilities were second to none and that was one of the reasons he decided to extend his original deal.
"I think it came down to my injury as well. The treatment I got here has been first class. I don't think I've missed a game. They've monitored it. They've taken me out of training when I've had to. I get treatment every day," he said.
"You get the lifestyle here in Australia and also in my case, better treatment than I was getting in the UK."
Victory football operations manager Gary Cole was also of the belief that the club's medical staff has been crucial to retaining Ward, while the salary cap exemption had also played its part.
"His groin's the best it's felt for a very long time. He's been very appreciative of the medical and fitness staff here and he's in good shape physically," he said.
"Under the arrangement, we can spend up to $150,000 outside of the salary cap. But it's a fantastic opportunity for us to do a few more things within the salary cap."
"What this has enabled us to do is keep him in the country for at least another 12 months and that's a good thing for Melbourne Victory and good thing for the Hyundai A-League."
Ward's nest assignments are in the Victory's final AFC Champions League game against Chonburi next Wednesday and the exhibition match against Juventus on May 30. But after that his focus firmly turns to proving he is part of the Australian squad which travels to Beijing for the Olympics.
"That's the plan for me. The Olympics is a massive thing. I didn't go on the last camp because of the injury and I wanted to be fit. I took six weeks off for training, just working in the gym. It's gonna be a tough time because I don't get an off-season, but the Olympics only come around once in a lifetime," he said. Report


A QPR Fan as Mayor:! - RochdaleonLine - Mayor of Rochdale - Councillor Robin Parker
Councillor Robin became the Mayor of Rochdale at tonight's Mayor Making Ceremony at Rochdale Town Hall.
Born in 1944, Mayor Parker was brought up in West London. He moved to Rochdale in 1974, joined the Labour Party in 1975 and was first elected Councillor, for the then Central and Falinge Ward, in 1987.....
Mayor Parker has two children, Tim and Eleanor, from his first marriage and remains a Queens Park Rangers supporter, though he follows Manchester United in the Premier League. ROchdaleonLine


Not a Nice Memory from the Alan Mullery 'Era'!: fFom Jack Bell/New York Times Goal Blog "UEFA Cup A to Z"
"..P Partizan Belgrade went to London for the first leg of its second-round series against Queens Park Rangers and lost by 6-2 in the 1984-85 tournament. Partizan won the return match, 4-0, and advanced on the away goals rule." NYT

Two Ex-QPR Birthdays:
Mark Kennedy Turns 32
For one brief shining moment, winger, Mark Kennedy was on loan at QPR and there were hopes we'd be signing him. Unfortunately QPR and Liverpool couldn't agree/Liverpool wanted him back...and a few months later, Kennedy joined Wimbledon. Later the ex-Millwall player joined Manchester City and is now at Wolves.
In 1997-1998, Kennedy was on loan from Liverpool at Ray Harford's QPR. Played 8 scored 2. His final game was QPR's 5-0 win vs Middlesbrough. See Kennedy Profile

Garry Chivers Turns 48.
Terry Venables signed the former Chelsea defender on a free from Swansea in 1983-1984, He was with QPR for a couple of seasons and played a few games. Profile