Snippets - Ainsworth Star Coach....Walton to Plymouth?...Camp or Cerny?...Roberts Birthday...Langley Update...No Shimmin Deal

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The Sun/Andrew Dillon - Ainsworth tipped to shine
Ins and outs
IN: Kaspers Gorkss (Blackpool) £250,000 plus two players, Peter Ramage (Newcastle) free, Emmanuel Jorge Ledesema (Genoa) loan, Samuel Di Carmine (Fiorentina), Lee Cook (Fulham), Daniel Parejo (Real Madrid) all season-long loans.
OUT: Danny Nardiello, Zesh Rehman (Blackpool) both exchange, Stefan Bailey (Grays) free, Jake Cole (Oxford) loan.
GARETH AINSWORTH aims to be an instant success as player-coach at QPR.
The no-nonsense winger is learning a whole new ball game from boss Iain Dowie.
Ainsworth, 35, said: “I get GA on my kit — it used to be just my number!
“And I get changed in the staff dressing room which is a sure sign you’re getting on a bit.
“But, seriously, it is only now that I have moved into the coaching side of things I can finally appreciate what all my managers did for me.
“Nowadays, I am in early and home late. Every day is a school day for me and I am learning from Iain — who has enormous respect in the world of management.
“He gives me tons of advice and the set-up has never been as professional as this since I joined the club.”
By the end of this season, it will be 13 years since QPR were last in the Premier League.
But mega-rich owners Bernie Ecclestone, Flavio Briatore and Lakshmi Mittal are sowing the seeds of recovery.
The whole outlook of the club has changed, which includes a major refit on the much- cherished but matchbox size Loftus Road — in addition to new signings Peter Ramage and keeper Radek Cerny.
Ainsworth said: “The owners are trying to make the ground fit for the Premier League. Still one or two bits need doing but we are getting there.
“We are building to get into the Premier League. Some people will say we are not ready to go up, I’d say let’s go for it.”
MANAGER’S JOB PROSPECTS
IAIN DOWIE is popular with fans at a club where he played. That will buy him time. The Sun


Simon Walton to Plymouth?
Plymouth Herald - Arglye on Brink of Walton Deal
PLYMOUTH Argyle are on the brink of signing midfielder Simon Walton for a club record £750,000 transfer fee, Herald Sport can confirm.
Walton will complete his move from Championship rivals Queens Park Rangers provided he passes a medical tomorrow.
The tough-tackling 20-year-old visited Home Park on Friday and has agreed personal terms.
Walton is now set to become the Pilgrims' most expensive signing ever.
Striker Steve MacLean currently holds that title after he was bought from Cardiff City for £500,000 in January.
And Argyle's spending will not stop with the arrival of Walton, who is 21 next month.
Herald Sport has been told they are also in advanced talks with two other players – one a tall centre-back and the other an attacking midfielder.
...The transfer fees for Walton, plus the two other players, would total £1.5 million.
...Walton is a combative midfielder who is strong on the ball and in the tackle.
He started his career at Leeds United, making his debut aged 16 in a 1-0 home defeat of Derby County in the Championship in August 2004.
A graduate of Leeds' youth academy, he was immediately tipped for stardom.
Walton made a total of 38 appearances for United and scored three times before he was sold to Charlton Athletic – then in the Premier League – in July 2006.
Charlton paid out an initial fee of £500,000 for Walton in a deal which could have risen to £1m.
However, Walton did not play any first-team football for the Addicks.
He was loaned to Ipswich Town in August 2006 and made 19 appearances over the next four-and-a-half months, netting three goals.
After a brief return to Charlton, Walton was borrowed by Cardiff in January 2007.
The midfielder played six games for the Bluebirds, and was sent off for two bookable offences in a 1-0 home win against Leeds.
Walton moved from south London to the west of the capital when he signed for QPR for £200,000 in July 2007.
However, he suffered a broken leg in a pre-season friendly against Fulham.
Walton returned to action in mid-December and played five times for QPR, including at centre-back in a 2-1 defeat against Argyle at Home Park on Boxing Day.
He was then loaned to Hull City at the end of January.
One of Walton's 10 appearances for Hull came in a 1-0 Championship victory over Argyle at Home Park on February 2.
He played in central midfield for the Tigers on that occasion.
Walton is engaged to glamour model Nicola Tappenden and the couple are expecting their first child.
Sturrock has not talked about his interest in Walton, but he has made no secret of his intention to strengthen his squad.
The need to do that was highlighted by Argyle's 1-0 pre-season defeat by Dundee United at Home Park on Saturday.
Afterwards, Sturrock said: “There are some talented players I would like to bring to the football club.
“They are ones that have played in the Championship before, which is vitally important.
“I do envisage four to five players still coming in, which would take us up to the 22-23 we need.” Plymouth Herald.


Camp or Cerny? - Dave McIntyre - BBC 606 The keeper question

Iain Dowie will take Lee Camp and Radek Cerny to one side tomorrow and tell them which keeper will play in the opening-day match against Barnsley on Saturday.
Choosing between the two is one of the most important decisions facing Dowie.
It is also a test of his man-management skills, and Dowie’s approach will be to talk to Camp and Cerny face-to-face and fully explain the reasons for his choice.
He has also decided to do so several days before the game rather than keep the two men waiting until closer to kick-off time.

Cerny was certainly signed as a first-choice keeper, although that was before Dowie’s appointment.

Most fans will have a view on this and know what they would do were they in Dowie’s position, and you can vote for your choice on the LoftForWords website.

For me it would be the easiest of decisions.

I’d have no hesitation in telling Camp that he’ll not only play on Saturday, but is QPR’s number one keeper and will remain so indefinitely – hopefully for many years if he keeps developing.

Admittedly I’ve not seen that much of Cerny, but he has never really impressed me.

He will certainly have impressed many Match of the Day viewers with some of his saves last season, and perhaps this is why his arrival is seen by some as a big step forward for Rangers.

Cerny loves the Hollywood stuff - the kind of eye-catching stops he was pulling off to good effect during a purple patch for him last season.

But that’s nothing Camp isn’t capable of. In fact, most professional keepers are capable of that and have days when it all comes together for them.
Being rich isn’t a reason to be fickle

In terms of his overall game – positioning, command of his area and so on – I don’t think Cerny is particularly good, and certainly not an improvement on Camp.

At 34, Cerny is around the age at which most keepers produce their best performances whereas Camp, still only 23, has a lot of improving to do.

The club should show a willingness to develop a young, talented and, in some ways, home-grown keeper rather than look for a possible quick fix.

Rangers might have loads of money these days, but Camp was still signed for a not insignificant transfer fee only a year ago and his move was greeted with delight by fans.

Being rich isn’t a reason to be fickle. And any club that doesn’t rely on stability and developing its own players whenever possible will not be successful, no matter how much money it has.

All that would count for nothing though were Cerny a better keeper than Camp. But he isn’t.

And while Camp is not a world beater and has his faults, for a keeper of his age he is actually doing very well and is on the right track.

The failure rate for highly-regarded young keepers is very high.

Richard Wright is the classic example of a keeper tipped for the top whose progress stalled.

Former QPR man Nick Culkin is another. Great things were expected of him when joined Manchester United from York as a youngster.

Arsenal had high hopes for Stuart Taylor, who is now 27 and an Aston Villa reserve with a paltry amount of first-team appearances to his name.

There are plenty of other examples too.

Camp is not in the elite Kirkland/Carson/Hart bracket, but as promising keepers go he is not far behind.

Rangers are lucky to have a young keeper performing to such a high standard. There aren't many of them around.

To be 23 and an established Championship keeper with a proven record of winning points for his team makes Camp among the best of his age group and means he is on course to be a top keeper.

David Seaman joined QPR at 23 and before that played at the same level Camp did last year.

And I think Camp’s performances in his first full season at Rangers were as good as if not better than Seaman’s during his.

That’s not to say Camp will be anywhere near as good as Seaman, but he is developing well and has done enough to be given the chance to show if he can now move his game up a notch, which he will need to do this season.
Successful clubs have at least two good keepers, so Cerny’s signing this summer was an important one.
But successful clubs also tend to have one established, unquestionably first-choice keeper.
For QPR, that keeper is and should remain Lee Camp. BBC


Ex-QPR goalie, Tony Roberts Turns 39. Currently still goalkeeping for Dagenham. Over a decade at QPR, between 1987 and 1997, Roberts made 122 appearances Roberts Profiled


Blackpool Gazette on Danny Nardiello's Injury
Nardiello injury latest
DANIEL Nardiello endured the worst possible start to his Blackpool career when he limped off after only seven minutes on Saturday.
The striker, signed from QPR last week, came on as a 65th minute substitute in the 1-0 defeat at Tranmere.
But by the 72nd minute he had pulled up and limped off the pitch holding his left leg.
The damage doesn't appear to be serious, though the club won't know for sure until physio Phil Horner has taken a closer look today.
"It is a concern when you see a player clutching his hamstring and I thought, here we go again," admitted manager Simon Grayson, whose squad has suffered terrible luck with injuries since returning from the close-season break.
"Luckily Daniel thinks it is a nerve problem rather than a pulled muscle.
"We think it is his sciatic nerve connected to his back, so it's not too much of a problem."
Zesh Rehman, also signed from QPR, had better luck on his debut. He came on in the 55th minute and looked in good nick partnering Marlon Broomes at centre-half.
Blackpool Gazette


Richard Langley Update
This is Gloucestershire - "...[Cheltenham Manager Keith] Downing had a look at former Queens Park Rangers, Cardiff City and Luton midfielder Richard Langley in Saturday's 2-1 friendly defeat at Oxford United.
The Jamaican international showed some quality on the ball and his versatility could make him a useful addition to the ranks.
Downing said: “We wanted to have a look at Richard and it was a last-minute shout. He has one or two options, but we will see how things go.
“He has ability and he is a good technician. He is similar to what we already have, but he can play in a variety of positions across midfield, which is important when you have small squad...” This is Glouscestshire


Shimmin. NOT to St Mirren - "...However, Mac has told former Arsenal and QPR kid Dominic Shimmin that he will not be handed a permanent contract after his trial spell in Paisley." Evening Times