What QPR Fans Think....Derby Ex-Directors Found Guilty...QPR Croatia Pre-Season?....Reserve Games at Aldershot...Ramage Warns Newcastle

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- Two Ex-Derby Directors Found Guilty...A...B...C


- QPR Pre-Season in Croatia?




What QPR Fans Think re QPR
[Combining/excerpting the QPR - This is London report by Raoul Simons on the London Football Fan Census) posted in full, below)

- "....There are signs that London's Premier League clubs are showing some empathy with fans hit by the recession. Taking into account ticket prices and other key expenses, fans of all five of the capital's top-flight clubs reported a drop in the cost of watching football. The average cost for a game in London was £55, the same as 2008, which includes a significant hike reported by fans of QPR (11.5 per cent).
- Despite this plateau in costs, 70 per cent fans still believe ticket prices are too high with 20 per cent admitting they will either attend fewer matches next year and/or not be renewing season tickets. Twenty five per cent of Arsenal fans said the price of tickets will mean they go to fewer games next season - the highest of all London clubs - while 20 per cent of QPR fans claim they won't renew season-tickets. ... This is London

Football Fan Census - Part II
- ...Research company Football Fans Census asked more than 2,000 supporters - with a minimum of 100 from each club - to rate their manager's performance last season. The top mark was +5 with the bottom grade -5...
- In west London, Paulo Sousa (-0.6) was not a hit with Queens Park Rangers fans and chairman Flavio Briatore has already acted to appoint Jim Magilton in his place....
- DIRECTORS
- "....- Elsewhere, the bubble appears to have burst for Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone's regime at QPR.
- Gripped by a wave of optimism in the wake of their takeover - along with Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal - fans of the so-called "richest club in the world" made Rangers directors the most popular in London in 2008.
- Twelve months later, following a season of underachievement, the same set of directors are bottom of the pile with a rating of -2.9."
PLAYERS
- Only 38 per cent of supporters quizzed thought their players had provided "value for money" last season given the salaries they earn.
- Fans of Charlton (9 per cent), Tottenham (12 per cent), Crystal Palace (12 per cent) and QPR (14 per cent) were the most unhappy with their squads' efforts...."
- RIVALRY
"Chelsea topped the list as the team London fans love to hate with 23 per cent naming the Blues as their most disliked club....". This is London

- The Football Fan Census Questions


Aldershot Official Site - QPR Reserves At EBB 2009/10
We are pleased to confirm that QPR Reserves will play their Football Combination fixtures at the EBB Stadium for season 2009/10.

We are delighted to announce that QPR Reserves will play their home matches at the EBB Stadium next season.

Manager Gary Waddock, a former Ranger player and Manager, spoke to The Shots after the announcement was released and said, "It is great to have QPR Reserves at the EBB for next season.

"It is a similar situation to when we had Reading Reserves a couple of seasons ago. It provides me and Martin [Kuhl] the opportunity to keep tabs with Combination football on the doorstep too.

"Importantly though, it also enables Aldershot as a club to develop good, positive links with a Championship outfit and that is something that is encouraging.

"Our Secretary Graham Hortop, has undertaken a great deal of time and effort as this arrangement has been confirmed and he should be greatly credited for his involvement.

"For QPR though it also enables their Reserve team to play on such a fine surface too and one that we are so proud of here at Aldershot."


Rangers boss Jim Magilton told www.qpr.co.uk: "It's imperative that the First Team have the best possible playing surface next season.


"As a Club, we have invested significantly on the Loftus Road pitch this summer and by only playing First Team fixtures there, we will maximise what we are able to get out of it.

"We want to play an attractive, passing brand of football and to do that to the best of our ability, we need a surface that will stand up to the rigours of a long Championship campaign."

QPR have placed on the record its thanks to Aldershot Town Football Club for their cooperation and assistance with regards to this agreement. Aldershot


QPR OFFICIAL SITE |RESERVES AT THE REC NEXT SEASON
- QPR Reserves will play their home matches at Aldershot Town's Recreation Ground next season.
- The R's have opted to switch their home fixtures to The Rec, in a bid to preserve the Loftus Road playing surface for the 2009/10 Coca Cola Championship season.
- R's boss Jim Magilton told www.qpr.co.uk: "It's imperative that the First Team have the best possible playing surface next season.
- "As a Club, we have invested significantly on the Loftus Road pitch this summer and by only playing First Team fixtures there, we will maximise what we are able to get out of it.
- "We want to play an attractive, passing brand of football and to do that to the best of our ability, we need a surface that will stand up to the rigours of a long Championship campaign."
- Admission for the Football Combination Central Division fixtures at the Recreation Ground will remain the same as last season, whereby Season Ticket holders and Members - upon the production of their cards - will be able to enter free of charge.
- Adults will be charged £3, whilst children and senior citizens can watch the R's second string in action for just £1.
- The Club would like to place on the record its thanks to Aldershot Town Football Club for their cooperation and assistance with regards to this agreement." QPR




Chronicle - Peter Ramage tells NUFC of tough task ahead
Jun 25 2009 by Luke Edwards, Evening Chronicle

PETER Ramage has warned Newcastle United they will be made to fight for every single point in the toughest league in Europe following their relegation to the Championship.

The defender cannot wait to face the club he has both supported and played for, particularly as his Queens Park Rangers side are set for a potentially pivotal final game of the season showdown at Loftus Road on May 2.

But, if Ramage has a personal interest in playing against Newcastle, he claimed every Championship player will be rubbing their hands at the prospect of playing against the Magpies and predicted 46 cup finals for United’s players next season.

Although Newcastle are the early favourites for promotion, Ramage knows his former club are going to be the scalp everyone wants for other reasons.

He said: “Newcastle are going to be a massive scalp. Everyone I’ve spoken to over the summer, at QPR or other Championship clubs, that is the first thing they mention.

“Newcastle are going to be the big boys in the division and that is going to cause them problems.

“It really will be a cup final for them, home and away, every single game. Everyone will want to beat them and every player will raise their game that little bit extra when they are facing them.

“It certainly isn’t going to be easy and I think it’s vital they get a good start.

“Newcastle are arguably the third biggest club in the country if you look at the fanbase and they are in the Championship. Some players won’t get that opportunity to play at St James’s Park again and they will want to make the most of it.

“We actually watched the Aston Villa game out in Las Vegas and as soon as Newcastle lost the game, all the boys could talk about was playing them next season and how great it will be.

“Obviously, as a Newcastle fan, it will mean a lot to me personally and I can’t wait, but it’s the same for every player in the Championship.”


QPR, with their wealthy backers, will be one of the teams who will feel they can offer a challenge to Newcastle for a promotion place, but Ramage also argued it is impossible to know who will emerge as United’s rivals in the race to reach the Premier League.

He said: “For me, the Championship is the toughest league in Europe because every game can be won by either side. It’s definitely the most unpredictable league and that’s why it’s hard to say who Newcastle’s main rivals for promotion will be.

“If you look at last season, QPR were expected to do well and we were disappointed with where we finished. Having said that, we were still only seven or eight points off the play-off places so that shows you how tight it is.

“Everyone can beat everyone else. We beat both Wolverhampton and Birmingham City at our place and we drew with Reading twice.

“If you look at Plymouth, they were in relegation trouble, but they beat Wolves at Molineux and nobody expected Burnley to do well, let alone win promotion.

“I think the three relegated teams will be the ones to beat again, like they are every season, but then there are the likes of ourselves and Sheffield United who should do well. And one team will come from nowhere to challenge, like Burnley did last season.”

Ramage has had a new lease of life in west London, firmly establishing himself as a first-team regular with QPR following five years as a back-up at Newcastle. It is a move he has never regretted.

He explained: “The move has been an excellent one for me on a personal level. When Kevin Keegan told me last summer that I wasn’t likely to be a first-team regular I wasn’t going to gamble and stay.

“In the end, given the lack of cover they had in defence, I may well have played a fair amount of games, but I don’t regret the move at all, despite the fact I played under four different managers last season and QPR didn’t have the season we thought we were going to.

“I played more than 30 games for the first time in my career and the move has been a successful one both on and off the pitch. I’ve really enjoyed living in a new place and meeting new people.”

In an ideal world, Ramage will be able to celebrate QPR and Newcastle going up next May, but what if he is part of the team which denies the Toon Army promotion on that last day of the season?

He joked: “Can you imagine what it would be like if we both need something from the game and QPR go up and keep Newcastle down? It would be intense for me to say the least. I might end up being the new Graham Fenton!”Chronicle


- Holloway Talking

- Some Terrible-Looking Playing Strips

- Flashback: QPR's former CEO Simon Crane (who was replaced by David Davies)

- Flavio Briatore's Websites

- Video: 1969/1970 Fifth Round FA Cup: QPR vs Derby County (Rodney Marsh vs Dave Mackay)