Dowie's Selection "Problems"...Leigertwood's Desire to Play...Gorkss Happy to be at QPR

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Three stories from this week's Kilburn Times.

Dave McIntyre/Kilburn Times - Cup shock as Rs reach round two!
QPR boss Iain Dowie is preparing for a selection headache after his side swept into the second round of the Carling Cup on Tuesday.
Dani Parejo made his full debut for Rangers in their 3-2 victory over Swindon and was partnered by Mikele Leigertwood, while Emmanuel Ledesma did brilliantly on the right flank.
Dowie was full of praise for all three players and remains an admirer of Gavin Mahon, who missed the game and is nursing a foot injury.
With Martin Rowlands due to return from suspension next week, the Rs manager is facing some difficult decisions when he sits down to pick his starting 11.
"It's absolutely not going to be an easy choice and the players understand that," said Dowie.
"Martin Rowlands is a good player and as for Dani Parejo, you don't play for Real Madrid without being a good player and his set-piece delivery was sensational.
"I think Mikele has a chance to be a top midfield player. He wants to play there and he's got that solidity - you can't outrun him, you can't out-power him and he's got two good feet.
"We've got another good pro in Gavin Mahon, who played well against Barnsley on Saturday.
"Ledesma has great charisma and is a fans' favourite already. He was the most special player I saw when I went to Italy in the summer - such great ability."
Despite missing several chances, Ledesma was superb at the County Ground and could take the Championship by storm.
He ran riot in a first half that Rangers somehow ended 2-1 down after creating a host of chances and going ahead with a goal from the impressive Angelo Balanta.
Simon Cox fired home Swindon's equaliser before Billy Paynter's header put the League One side in front.
Parejo struck the post with a free-kick just before the break and Dexter Blackstock headed in Lee Cook's cross to level for Rangers less than a minute into the second half.
Damien Delaney, who captained the side, netted the winner after Swindon had failed to clear Ledesma's 54th-minute corner.
Dowie said: "I counted 12 good chances we had in the first half, yet we found ourselves 2-1 down.
"But the response was very good after half-time - it was one-way traffic.
"There was also a lot of resolve about it. This club gave away a lot of leads last year but we hung in there."
Dowie gave Lee Camp the nod against Swindon, having started with Radek Cerny in goal at the weekend.
"Now it's a decision for Saturday," Dowie admitted. "I'm lucky because really I've got two number-one keepers." Kilburn Times


Ben Kosky/Kilburn Times - Mikele won't Rowl over
MIKELE Leigertwood has warned skipper Martin Rowlands he cannot expect to walk back into the QPR side as soon as he returns from suspension.
With Rowlands serving a three-match ban held over from last season, Leigertwood was given the nod to partner Gavin Mahon in midfield against Barnsley and kept his place for the Carling Cup tie at Swindon.
But, with Rowlands available for next week's home clash with Doncaster Rovers and Akos Buzsaky around a fortnight away from returning, the Rs will soon have 11 players contesting the four midfield slots.
"Rowly's the club captain, so you'd think he'd be in with a shout - but I want to play and Gav wants to play as much as we can," Leigertwood told the Times.
"People are probably saying we're just keeping the shirt warm, but we don't look at it like that and no-one in their right mind would give it up easily.
"Last year the team almost picked itself but now, with the quality of competition we've got, you've got to perform well to keep your place and no-one's shied away from that.
"It's up to all of us to do the business on the pitch and, if something's going to change, it'll be because it's beneficial to the team."
Whatever combinations Iain Dowie might select for the Doncaster game, Leigertwood is hopeful of retaining his place for this weekend's visit to his former club Sheffield United.
The combative midfielder left Bramall Lane in an £800,000 move just under a year ago, having represented the Blades 19 times during their recent season in the Premier League.
Suspension ruled him out of this fixture last season - when the Rs were beaten 2-1 despite taking a first-half lead through Patrick Agyemang.
The Yorkshire side finished the season strongly, narrowly missing out on the play-offs, and Leigertwood expects Saturday's game to be a good test of Rangers' own promotion credentials.
"I was disappointed not to be playing last time, but hopefully I'll be selected for this one," said Leigertwood.
"I enjoyed my time living in Sheffield and had a decent season, but there was a change of manager and he wasn't too keen on me.
"Sheffield United have good players - they did last year and it's a shame they didn't do what was expected of them, but this time I think they'll give it more of a go.
"It's going to be a difficult game but if we're looking for promotion ourselves we've got to be beating teams like Sheffield United."
Rangers have tended to find that task difficult in recent years, especially at Bramall Lane, where they have triumphed just once in their last nine visits. Kilburn Times


Ben Kosky/Kilburn Times - Kaspars Gorkss - Relieved to be a Ranger at last
'JUST happy to be playing' is a common cliché in football, but Kaspars Gorkss is voicing a heartfelt sentiment after his summer in limbo.
The Latvian defender spent most of the close season as the subject of a transfer tug-o'-war between Blackpool and QPR - and feared he might miss the start of the new campaign.
Rangers were reported to the Football League after Blackpool accused them of an illegal approach for Gorkss and, although they accepted that the centre-back would be leaving, refused to let his move to Loftus Road go through.
The player joined Rangers for pre-season training, but was unable to feature in their friendlies and it was only a week before the season began that the messy saga was finally resolved with a £250,000 deal.
"I was confident that I was going to end up at QPR," Gorkss assured the Times. "But I just got nervous about how long it was going to take.
"At first I thought it shouldn't be a problem, but it took longer and longer and longer and somebody even told me I might miss the whole of August. That wasn't a pleasant time for me.
"Obviously I was very frustrated and I was particularly disappointed with the way they [Blackpool] acted in this case.
"I don't know what it was, but now I'm looking forward. I'm just happy it's over now and I can play for QPR."
Gorkss, who forged his reputation as a commanding centre-back in one and a half seasons with the Seasiders, finally made his competitive QPR debut in Saturday's 2-1 win over Barnsley.
And, while Rangers' performance was far from impressive, the 26-year-old defender has seen enough to convince him of their promotion credentials - even though he rates this year's Championship as tougher than last season.
"I think it should be harder this season when you look at the teams who have come up with big ambitions - Swansea and Doncaster - and also the teams who went down from the Premier League," said Gorkss.
"When you look at the quality of players we have, we should be up there but as we've seen before, it isn't always the team with better players who win the Championship.
"We have a lot of things to work on, we need to keep improving and at the end of the season see where we're at. I think we're capable of not only the top six, but winning the league.
"I think we started really nervous against Barnsley - all of us, including me - and we didn't play the best football we can play, but as the game went on longer we performed better and better."
As well as helping to keep the goals out, Rangers will also be hoping their new defender can chip in at the other end of the pitch - he netted eight times for Blackpool last season.
"Fitz [Hall] scored two goals on Saturday - maybe next time I can do something similar," Gorkss suggested.
"I didn't really go up for corners because they had three men up front all the time, but I hope I can improve that in the next few games."
If the forms a tight defensive partnership with Hall and gets his name on the scoresheet now and then, Rangers fans will surely feel Gorkss was worth waiting for.
GORKSS will be in international action next Wednesday when Latvia travel to Romania for a friendly.
QPR team-mate Damien Delaney has also been called up by his country - he is in the Republic of Ireland squad for their game in Norway the same evening. Kilburn Times