Snippets: Ex-QPR Birthday...Leigertwood Assessed....Ainsworth's View...Cerny Happy ...Flashbacks: One Year...Twenty-One Years: Bulstrode/Parker Debut

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Former QPR defender, Georges Santos Turns 38. Born August 15, 1970. Signed by Ian Holloway after our promotion from League One. See SantosProfile. Also Santos Profile II


Dave McIntyre/BBC 606 -Mikele in midfield?
You can't outrun him, you can't out-power him and he's got two good feet.
Those are the words of Iain Dowie talking about Mikele Leigertwood after last night’s win at Swindon.
Emmanuel Ledesma took the plaudits – and rightly so after a performance that was superb at times – while Dani Parejo made his first start in the centre of midfield.
Dowie praised both of them but also spoke in glowing terms about Leigertwood, who is keen to prove he can be a top midfield player having spent the early part of his career as a defender.
It will be interesting to see whether Leigertwood can hold down a place in midfield once Martin Rowlands becomes available after suspension.
Then of course there’s Akos Buzsaky to come back from injury.
Competition for midfield places will be fierce and Dowie is not at all fazed at the prospect of having an open, attacking side, so Leigertwood won’t play simply because the manager wants at least one defensive midfielder.
And Rowlands, despite his ability going forward, provides enough bite for him to play alongside the likes of Parejo and Buzsaky.
The 4-2-3-1 formation is all the rage lately but I do think it’s one that could work for Rangers given their attacking midfield options, and Leigertwood could be very effective in that system.
But in a 4-4-2, it may be harder for Leigertwood to get into the side, although he did his cause no harm at all with his performance last night.
Leigertwood has been around a bit but is still only 25, so has probably yet to reach his peak.
Who knows how he’ll develop in the next few years and it’ll be interesting to see if he manages to become a fixture of Rangers’ midfield.
He certainly offered Parejo good protection last night as well as posing a threat going forward himself, and I thought at times last season his partnership with Buzsaky looked like Rangers’ best midfield combination for over a decade.
Do you see Leigertwood having a long-term role in Rangers’ midfield? And if you do prefer a more defensive player in there, would you rather it was Mahon or maybe Bolder?
Over to you. BBC606


Gareth Ainsworth/Kilburn Times - Step on the Gaz
Iy was great to see how fired up the lads were for the start of the season - but with hindsight we probably needed to get them more relaxed.
I'd be the last man to moan about over-enthusiasm, but we seemed to be too cavalier in those first 20 minutes against Barnsley. It was probably the worst we've played in a long time.
Everyone was so up for it that they forgot about some of the basics in that first part of the game. But once we got our noses in front I don't think there was much for Radek to do.
By the end of the game, we were coping really well - we kept our heads and saw the game out. The lads' fitness and concentration has clearly improved since last year and the fact was that, although we didn't play that well overall, we still took the three points.
Obviously it was great to see Fitz Hall score the two goals - he's someone I'd describe as a consummate professional and one of those quiet leaders, not someone to go shouting his mouth off.
It's just unfortunate for Fitz that he missed perhaps the only chance he's ever likely to get of scoring a hat-trick. The penalty was disappointing, but what was more disappointing was some of the newspapers saying it was unprofessional to let him take it.
Firstly, anyone who knows Iain Dowie knows how totally organised he is and the idea that sentiment would have come into a decision like that is ridiculous.
There wasn't any argument about who was going to take the penalty because Fitz was down as the penalty taker. The reason for that was he'd won a penalty competition the week before in training.
Dexter was on penalties for the Chievo game and maybe after Fitz's miss someone else will be down for it next time.
Thankfully, we didn't need penalties to go through in the Carling Cup at Swindon on Tuesday night.
I felt we played some good stuff, created lots of chances and could have had a few more goals, but it was good to see three players open their accounts for the season.
We could have crumbled after going 2-1 down, but the lads' response was fantastic. It's a nice feeling to be taking an interest in the second round draw for a change!
But straight away the focus shifted to Sheffield United this Saturday - the league's always going to be the priority and this is an important game.
I think Sheffield United are a strong side, but they've got a couple of injuries, so it might be a good time to play them.
Last season we got into a winning position there and let it slip, so it's important we go to Bramall Lane and show how far we've come." Kilburn Times


SKY SPORTS/Vasek Kadlec - Cerny relishing Rangers life Keeper happy at Loftus Road
Radek Cerny is delighted with the manner in which his time at Queens Park Rangers has begun.
The Czech keeper joined the Championship outfit on a free transfer this summer, and helped his new club to a 2-1 victory over Barnsley on the opening day.
He admits that there are exciting times ahead for a club bankrolled by Formula One magnates Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone, but has been impressed by the cautious approach adopted by the owners so far.
"They said that they are not trying to build a second Chelsea, filling the squad with expensive players," Cerny told Denik Sport.
"They think that the club should operate normally and they will take a sensible course.
"But our ambitions are clear. We want to finish in the top six, which means the play-offs.
"Although, if we finished second we would go up automatically, and that would be better.
"To reach the play-offs we need to pick up 10 points from every six games.
"After each block we will analyse where we are and go on from there."
Tempo
Cerny also revealed that he will need time to adapt to life in the second tier of English football, having previously experienced life in the Premier League at Tottenham.
"People say the Championship is a typically English competition," he said.
"The Premier League is certainly different. Here, the games are played in an up and down tempo.
"I think that happened on Saturday. Mainly in the first 20 minutes where the commitment was enormous. You don't often see that in modern football." Sky Sports


Flashback One Year: August 15, 2007: Former Chairman Bill Power speaking about the takeover Developments - Meanwhile, also a year ago QPR1st issued a statement responding to Antonio Caliendo's "The Club is Not for Sale" Announcement.


Flashback Twenty-One Years: David Bulstrode's QPR started the season with a great win as Paul Parker made his QPR debut. QPR Report