Norwich-QPR Tonight...Roeder on QPR

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Back on the pitch, it's Norwich tonigh...Although would be nice if other clubs and newspapers stopped referring to QPR's great wealth - because it's certainly not apparent how the money of QPR's wealthy owners makes QPR rich.


Norwich Official Site ROEDER READY FOR RANGERS
AS the Canaries prepare to play QPR at Carrow Road tonight (7.45pm), Glenn Roeder says a home win for Norwich would be a fantastic result in a week which sees a duo of games at Carrow Road.
On the back of their first win of the season away at Plymouth, the Norwich boss said that the squad would be doing all they could to put on a great show for the Canary faithful and to get their first home win.
"It's now a huge week for us in front of our own supporters," he said. "It would be nice to tick that box as well. It would be nice to tick it on Wednesday night in what is always an attractive game."
Roeder said that QPR would provide a challenge for his Norwich squad, and commented: "I watched them on TV at the weekend, and the coaching staff went to watch the game live. They're obviously a reasonably expensive team, playing with a lot of confidence and they look dangerous in the top half of the team especially.
"They've got a big squad so we won't have much idea who they're going to start. Ian Dowie has a lot of talent at his fingertips and I can see why, at the start of the season, lots of judges made them one of the favourites to be promoted. They've got to carry that pressure with them all year."
Asked if he would be making any changes to the squad, the Norwich manager said: "I wouldn't have thought so, but I've got a squad big enough if I need to or want to. They certainly all want to play, which is important.
"The only thing on my mind is getting that first home win against a QPR team which has be assembled for a reasonable amount of money and which is one of the high flyers in this division. I could easily see Russell and Sibierski playing up front together. There's absolutely no problem with Lupoli at all, it's just that Rusty has shown us that he can play up there and not just as a stand in - a couple of those performances were as good as any of his best performances in midfield.
"What he's done as a striker, I have to say he's done equally as well as he has in midfield. There'll be football judges who will say he's probably done better as a striker, and it was a really pleasant surprise to see how well he played up through the middle. I thought he retained possession really well, sometimes I don't think he always does that in midfield. He's got that physical presence as well and he's got such high energy levels. He wouldn't be nice to play against." Norwich


EDP24/Chris Lakey - Roeder hopes to tick that 'home win' box
Cash-strapped Norwich City come up against the big-money men of Queens Park Rangers tonight - but Glenn Roeder says all the pressure is on his opposite number, Iain Dowie.
The Canaries boss has kept his distance from questions on the club's finances, but has been warned by chairman Roger Munby that he has to tighten his belt in difficult times.
QPR boss Iain Dowie has no such worries, with Lashki Mittal, the world's fourth richest man, among a board of directors who count their money in billions, not millions.
But Roeder insists he doesn't envy Dowie - all that matters to him is ticking the box that says “home win”, having finally wiped “away win” and “first win” off the to-do list at the weekend.
“I don't envy him at all, because I don't envy anybody,” he said.
“Managers always want more players, managers always want more money and I would be no different. He has found himself at a club that I know something about, having played there for six years.
“They are a special club in west London, but they will always find it difficult to compete with Chelsea, always did.
“He has landed a special job - with money or without money - but of course money does help because he can go out and basically bring in the players that he wants to bring in. “He has got a lot of talent at his finger tips there and I can see why at the beginning of the season lots of judges made them one of the favourites to be promoted and obviously they have got to carry that pressure with them all year.
“His remit this year is promotion - he will need to win promotion. Because people who have that amount of money have normally got to the top in their own working lives because they don't accept second best.
“That is a different kind of pressure to have.”
After last year's flirtation with relegation, Roeder has been wheeling and dealing in the transfer market and come up with a squad that appears to be showing its true colours at last.
All that is needed to get the early-season Holy Grail out of the way is a home win.
“It is now a huge week for us in front of our own supporters - it would be nice to tick that box as well on Wednesday night in what is always an attractive game,” said Roeder, whose team face a quick return to Carrow Road with the visit of Sheffield United on Saturday.
“The only thing on my mind is getting that first win against a QPR team that has been assembled for a reasonable amount of money and are one of the high-flyers of the division because of the wealth they have got.
“They have a big squad so we won't have much idea how they are going to start.” EDP24


EDP24 - Double header will test Sibierski
Antoine Sibierski has been “wrapped in cotton wool” for this week's Carrow Road double-header.
The Canaries face Queens Park Rangers tonight and Sheffield United on Saturday - and after his debut at Plymouth at the weekend, it could prove to be a hectic week for Sibierski.
The French striker scored one and made one in the 2-1 win at Plymouth - the first match he has started since last January.
But whole manager Glenn Roeder admits he is shy of match fitness, the good news is that he has emerged from the trip to Devon unscathed.
“He was pleasantly surprised how long he lasted himself because it is January or February since he started a game,” said Roeder. “We have wrapped him up in cotton wool since Saturday to make sure he is okay.”
Roeder is hoping the Sibierski touch will pay off on the training ground as well as the pitch.
“Some of the boys' eyes have been opened by his quality on the training ground,” he said. “When we have a finishing practice he hits the back of the net more often than any of the others and he doesn't have to break the net to do it either. He just angles his shots away or his headers away - he doesn't have to smash it in.
“I think half the trouble with us we have been trying to take the back of the net off the goal and not even hitting the target.”
Matty Pattison was guilty of that at Plymouth, when he missed the target from close range - but he was impressive in his willingness to take shots on from distance, coming desperately close to scoring on several occasions.
“We have made them very aware of what I thought was obvious anyway - when you have a chance to shoot and score a goal don't give it to someone else, don't try and walk the ball in the net,” Roeder said.
“Sometimes with our short passing game we get to areas around the penalty box and we sometimes try to maybe walk the ball in instead of taking shots.
“With Matty it is just a shame for his sake the goals are not 8ft 6in - they were a couple of fantastic strikes. And I am glad people are starting to see what he is really capable of. He is a young player and he is learning all the time.”
Sibierski is likely to partner Arturo Lupoli again tonight, but Roeder admits midfielder Darel Russell could have a role to play up front again after his recent makeshift appearances.
“I could easily see Sibierski and Darel Russell playing up front together,” he said. “What he has done here as a striker I have to say he has done equally as well. There will be football judges who actually say he has done better as a striker. It was a really pleasant surprise how well he played up the middle. I have to say he retained possession really well and sometimes I don't think he always does that in midfield. But he has certainly proved his worth - it is an important string to his bow because he has a physical presence and because he has such high energy levels he wouldn't be nice to play against.
“He has shown us he can play up there not just as a stand-in. He has shown he is better than a stand-in and a couple of those performances were as good as any of his best performances in midfield. I can now view Rusty in both positions equally.” EDP24


QPR Official Site MATCHDAY PREVIEW: CANARIES
Rangers travel to Carrow Road - the home of Norwich City - tonight (Wednesday), for the first of three away fixtures in a week.
Iain Dowie's men will be gunning for a first away league victory of the campaign in East Anglia - yet despite the Canaries' indifferent start to the season, the history books don't exactly favour the R's.
Indeed, Rangers have lost on their last six visits to East Anglia, and haven't scored in their last two outings in NR1.
Prior to Saturday's successful trip to Plymouth Argyle, Norwich had endured a tough start to the new campaign.
After an opening day defeat at Coventry City, Glenn Roeder's men crashed out of the Carling Cup to League One newcomers MK Dons.
A disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Blackpool followed, before the Canaries were again held to a draw, this time against last year's FA Cup runners-up Cardiff City.
Roeder's men made it three draws on the spin with a creditable point against Birmingham City prior to the international break, but despite an improved display, the result left them teetering just above the relegation zone.
But a 2-1 victory against Plymouth on Saturday, courtesy of goals from Arturo Lupoli and Antoine Sibierski, got their season up and running - and according to Canaries skipper Mark Fotheringham, that win could prove to be the catalyst for a shot at promotion this term.
"We are definitely striving to be the perfect team in this league this season and to go up," he said.
"The fans should start believing as well because we have got the players capable of doing it.
"We should be comfortable in a lot of the matches with the team we've got.
"It'll be a different type of pressure for Norwich this year because we're going to be favourites going into a lot of games."
With a mouth-watering trip to Dowie's former Club Coventry City and the small matter of a Carling Cup third round tie against Aston Villa on the not too distant horizon, Rangers will be keen to make Fotheringham eat his words at Carrow Road this evening, at the start of a crucial run of games on the road.
Team News
Glenn Roeder could name an unchanged line-up as the Canaries bid for their first home win of the season.
Sammy Clingan, David Bell and Gary Doherty remain out, but Darel Russell should retain his place following a double hernia operation. QPR


Also: Ashleigh Rose/Loft For Words - Norwich vs QPR: Connections and Memories
See Also:

- Norwich Preview/Past Encounters/Played for Both Teams

- Norwich Prepare for QPR