Snippets: QPR Dining....Ex-QPR Jay Bothroyd...Rehman Speaks....Ainsworth Speaks...Nick Ward Coming Good...Charlton's Reserve Squad for QPR Game

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---[Posted earlier: The A-Z Listing of QPR Sites


Daily Mail's Charles Sale Latest...
"...The few QPR supporters who are prepared to pay £10,000 for a seat in the Championship club's obscenely over-priced Century Club have their match-day meals prepared by top London Italian restaurant Cipriani, as do the rest of the corporate hospitality customers at Loftus Road. And it just so happens that Flavio Briatore, one of the co-owners of QPR who likes to pick the team, is also a shareholder of the same eaterie." Mail


South Wales Echo/Terry Phillips Profiles Cardiff's Jay Bothroyd (One time at QPR)
...JAY Bothroyd will face boyhood idols Arsenal for the first time in FA Cup action when the Premier League giants visit Ninian Park.
The Islington-born striker, who attended the same school as former Arsenal favourite Charlie George, used to watch his beloved Gunners from the terraces at Highbury – and now has the chance to dump his old club out of the FA Cup.
“I lived round the corner from Highbury and my family have always been big Arsenal supporters,” said Bothroyd.
“I remember standing on the terraces at Highbury as a kid.
“My dad would take me to Highbury and when I signed for Arsenal as a schoolboy it was a dream come true. To sign professional terms later was just fantastic...”
“I grew up very near Highbury and my family have always been big Arsenal supporters.”
At the age of nine, Bothroyd signed for Queens Park Rangers but, with his ties with QPR coming to an end, he was spotted by Arsenal scout Bill Hollingdale.
“He came up to me and asked if I wanted to join Arsenal,” said Bothroyd.
“I didn’t think twice. Having supported the club from when I was a boy and living round the corner from Highbury – it was a dream come true.”
Bothroyd spent five years, at Arsenal from 1995 – the year before Arsene Wenger took charge at the club – until 2000.
He believes the passing style drilled into him at that early age made him the footballer he is today as coaches like Don Givens, Pat Rice and Don Howe improved him.
“To be at a club like Arsenal for the most part of my teenage years really moulded me as a player,” said Bothroyd.
“The facilities at the club were amazing and the coaches second to none...
. South Wales Echo


Blackpool Vital Football - Rehman Exclusive: Promised First Team Football
- Blackpool Vital speak to Zesh Rehman, after the Pakistan international rejoined QPR following his loan move at Bloomfield Road.

- Zesh, obviously your loan move was used as part of the Kaspars Gorkss transfer - did you have much of a say about your future?
-I went to Blackpool as part of the deal but had already spoken to Simon Grayson before the whole transfer saga. I decided to join Blackpool ahead of two other championship clubs and one SPL club in the summer as I was told by the manager I would play regular first team football.

-Was it frustrating not being picked for the majority of your spell here, especially with your Premiership experience?
- For whatever reason I did not get the opportunity to show the fans what I could do, which was very disappointing. It was frustrating watching and not really getting a chance against teams that I have played against in the past, and at stadiums I have played, at such as Vicarage Road, St Andrews, Ninian Park, St Marys, Turf Moor, Carrow Road etc and been on a winning side either with Fulham in the Premiership or QPR in the Championship.

-In the past, 'Pool fans have been in trouble for racist chanting - was this a problem when joining The Seasiders, and how did you find the supporters?
- I found the supporters great whenever I played, even when the team lost the supporters would clap the side off and continue to bang the drums - that does not happen at many clubs. Taking into consideration pool fans have been in trouble for racist chanting in the past I did not experience any racist chanting/behaviour.

-Some of the loan players had been accused by fans of lacking effort in some fixtures this season - is this an opinion you agree with, and do you think this is inevitable when a large proportion of the team are playing for futures elsewhere?
- I don't think any player, whether he is signed or on loan could be accused of lacking effort because if players are playing for their futures elsewhere then they will give 100% and that will benefit the club. The likes of Steve Kabba, Alan Gow and Liam Dickinson all gave their maximum to score goals, whether it was to get a move does not matter as it benefited Blackpool.

- Do you believe Blackpool have the resources to maintain their Championship status for years to come? Will Squires Gate training ground do in the long run and is it a running joke among players?
- I think Blackpool can stay in the championship as the team spirit is excellent and they are a great bunch of lad, the like of Rob Edwards, Keith Southern, Shaun Barker, Ian Evatt and Ben Burgess to name a few are great for the club both on and off the pitch. With the budget I think it will be a challenge for the club to stay established in the division over say the next five years but with the team spirit at the club I think the players can do it. People like the Club secretary Matt Williams do a lot of good work behind the scenes to keep everything moving.
I think the training ground has some work to be done on it and would benefit from some investment. Training grounds are a vital part of a teams' preparation for games as most of the work is done there and most of the time is spent there so it's important to have all the right facilities and equipment to help the players reach their full potential on a match day. It's also the windiest training ground I have ever trained at with the airport being right next to it!
- What was the general consensus of the players when Simon Grayson jumped ship to Leeds United, and who would you like to see take the managerial hot seat at Bloomfield Road, if Karl Oyston chose not to promote from within?
I do not know what the players reactions were when Simon Grayson left to join Leeds as I had already returned to QPR. I hope he does well there and is a success. I have seen various bits and pieces in the press linking Tony Parkes, Paul Simpson, John Hughes (Falkirk) etc with the managers job but think it should be some one who knows how to get the best out of players.

- Do you feel that you have an extra 'burden' of having to prove yourself, with there being so few British Asians playing pro-football, and have you found any obstacles in your way to a successful career in the game?
- Being a British Asian in the game has come with its challenges - I have grown up hearing stereotypes such as scared of the weather, wrong diet, not strong enough, the more I heard them the more determined I was to prove people wrong and become a professional footballer. I have managed to clock up over 100 games, predominantly at Championship and Premiership level so hopefully that will inspire the next generation to believe its possible to also break down the negative generalisations. I don`t see it as a burden but it would be great to be looked at as a footballer only.

- Tony Parkes has apparently said he was contacting the clubs about getting loan players back, you were quoted as saying how you were glad to get away from all the hustle and bustle of London, and that you really liked it in Blackpool; would you consider coming back?
- I would never say never in football and if in the future the opportunity came to play for Blackpool I would not rule anything out in this game.
At the moment I am back at QPR and have spoke to the manager Paulo Sousa since returning, he told me it's a clean slate and a fresh start so hopefully I can show him what I'm capable of. I have not lost faith in my ability and believe I am good enough to play in the current side, however with my contract up in the summer I will have a decision to make. All I want to do is play football and if that's with QPR then great.

We'd like to thank Zesh for his time, and wish him every success in his future in the game. Blackpool Vital Football


QPR Official Site GAZ: TAKE EACH FIXTURE ON ITS MERIT
- Gareth Ainsworth insists Rangers can't look beyond next Tuesday's third round replay against Burnley in the FA Cup, despite Sunday's fourth round draw.
Should the R's triumph at Turf Moor a week today, a trip to the victors of the third round replay between Peterborough United and West Bromwich Albion awaits, but the Rangers Player / Coach has been in the professional game long enough to know that you've got to take each fixture on its merit.
- "Our FA Cup focus is entirely on Burnley," Ainsworth told www.qpr.co.uk.
- "I think it's probably a blessing that neither ourselves or Burnley know exactly who our opponents will be in the next round, and the gaffer's at Peterborough and West Brom are probably thinking the same.
-"Whoever progresses from that tie will provide stiff opposition, but we need to make sure we do our part first, and that means winning at Turf Moor."
Despite Saturday's stalemate at Loftus Road, Ainsworth is adamant the R's can still progress to the fourth round stage - for the first time in eight seasons.
-"We've struggled in recent years, but I look around the current squad and I've got every belief we can go up to Burnley and get a positive result," he said.
- "They're a very good side. They're sitting pretty in the top-six of the Championship and are in the latter stages of the Carling Cup, so it won't be easy.
-"But we won at their place last season with a typically gutsy performance and there's no reason why we can't do the same again." QPR


Charlton Official Site -Strong squad for R's trip
Charlton's reserves return to action on Tuesday afternoon when they take on London rivals Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road (2pm).
- Reserve-team coach Damian Matthew has named a strong squad for the trip to West London, with several players who have featured prominently for the first team starting against the Hoops....
- Charlton's reserves were last in action just before Christmas when they secured their first win of the season with a 6-1 thumping of Lewes at Ebbsfleet United's Stonebridge Road.....Charlton: Randolph, Solly, Thomas, Wright, Mambo, Youga, Wagstaff, Demontagnac, McLeod, Todorov, Dickson. Subs: Clark, Stavrinou, Lozano-Calderon, Christie, Godfrey.
Charlton



Victory refuses to be cornered by Adelaide - Grantley Bernard
IT'S taken more than a year for Melbourne Victory to see the best of Nick Ward, but it's been worth waiting for.
The attacking midfielder, signed from English club Queens Park Rangers in December 2007, last night scored his second goal in the past three games to send Victory back to the top of the A-League table with a 1-0 win against Adelaide United.
With Victory's second-largest home crowd of the season - 27,196 - making a finals-like atmosphere for the top-of-the-table showdown, Ward added to his cracking equaliser against Sydney FC by heading home the only goal in the 58th minute.
Just when Adelaide goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic looked like remaining invincible for 90 minutes, Ward rose on the edge of the six-yard box to head home Billy Celeski's corner to ease the palpable tension inside Telstra Dome.
Given only his second start of the season, Ward was excellent, as was reliable defender Matthew Kemp, who was also promoted from the bench to replace Michael Thwaite at the back, which was fitting given he had come on as sub for him in the past two games.
....There was nothing Galekovic could do about Ward's well-placed header two minutes later, but it was soon Victory goalkeeper Michael Theoklitos's turn for heroics, keeping the lead intact with a brilliant close-range save.
It was the only save Theoklitos had to make all game, but it was crucial, helping Victory back to the top of the table with three games to play. Herald Sun