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- UPDATE: QPR BEAT WOLVES! Compilation of Match Reports, Managerial Comments and Video
- WOLVES GAME GOES ON AS SCHEDULED:
With three hours to go before Wolves vs QPR, there was a power cut, which affected Wolves' Molineux Stadium. Power has been restored. So game is on as scheduled .
- When Saturday Comes (WSC) Reposted 2001 Article re QPR
- Four Ex-QPR Birthdays today (September 17)...
- Fifty-ONE Years Ago Today: Mark Lazarus Made His QPR Debut (for the first time!)
- Wolves Fan Blog Q&A With QPR Report...and Wolves Fans on QPR!
- Next: Wolves vs QPR: Flashbacks, Stats & Previews
- Everton Offer Fans Refunds on Shirts with Sold Players Names
Goal.com/Wayne Veysey - The Sweeper: QPR ready to beat Chelsea in stadium race as they investigate site at White City
Ambitious chairman Tony Fernandes is racing ahead with changes to club infrastructure, while Craig Bellamy bows to Liverpool's wishes and Martin Jol concedes to player pressure
THE SWEEPER
Rumours have been rife for some time that Chelsea are ready to up sticks and move to a new stadium.
But The Sweeper can reveal that they could be beaten to the punch to one of the most desirable sites in west London by nouveau riche neighbours QPR.
The Loftus Road club’s new owner Tony Fernandes has detailed his chief executive Philip Beard to source a possible site and it is understood that the club have begun investigating a venue only a few misplaced passes from their Loftus Road home.
This is a parcel of land at White City, which is next to the vast Westfield shopping centre and adjacent to the A40, that has also come under consideration from Chelsea.
Fernandes revealed in an exclusive interview with Goal.com earlier this week that he has asked his management team to prioritise finding a top-class training base ahead of possible stadium sites.
Nevertheless, the ambitious Malaysian entrepreneur, who oversaw a massive recruitment drive in the last days of the window following his takeover last month, knows that QPR cannot compete with the salaries on offer at other big Premier League clubs while Rangers remain in their current 19,000-capacity stadium.
He has stated that he intends to press ahead quickly with infrastructure plans that will bring his club in line with their competitors.
It could develop into an intriguing battle for the White City land between newly-rich QPR and Roman Abramovich-funded Chelsea, whose Stamford Bridge home is four miles from the site but still, importantly, in the same borough of Hammersmith & Fulham.
Chelsea claim that “their preference is to stay” at the Bridge, although they recognise that it is not possible to expand the 42,500-capacity stadium in such a built-up area.
Although a crowd nearly 10,000 below capacity of 33,820 was registered on Tuesday for the Champions League group game against Bayer Leverkusen, Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay said earlier this year that “it would help if we have another 15,000 or 20,000 seats”.
For Chelsea, any move from their current home is believed to have been delayed by finding a naming rights partner to partly offset the cost.
Could this be an opportunity for QPR to move a step ahead? Goal.com
[- Goal.com Interview with Tony Fernandes
Independent - Neil Warnock: Sorry about the topless photo but fitness test has me feeling 10 feet tall
What I Learnt This Week
Saturday September 17, 2011
My apologies if you are still eating your breakfast, you probably did not expect to open your Independent to find pictures of a topless, sweaty, 62-year-old football manager, but I'm actually quite proud of the photograph on the front of the sports section, and those accompanying this column.
Let me explain. Through the League Managers' Association every football manager has the option of a regular check-up with Wellness International. It is a great idea. This is a stressful job, as some of my colleagues have found to their cost in recent years, and we should look after ourselves. We don't though, at least, not all of us. I last had a check-up in July 2008 and since then I have to admit I'd let things slide a bit. What with Crystal Palace going into administration, then changing jobs, keeping QPR up, rebuilding the team, and winning promotion, I've been busy and I kept finding reasons to put it off.
That was a bit foolish as a few years ago, when I was at Sheffield United, a scan picked up some problems around my heart in one of the valves. It was spotted early enough that I didn't need an op, just to take preventative measures like changing my diet. At the time I ate a lot of motorway service station food. I also used to eat a lot of cheese and biscuits at night at home, and prawns which are high in cholesterol. I realised I'd let myself go and for a while I improved my diet.
But as time goes on you slip back into bad habits. Towards the end of last season Amy mentioned she didn't like my second chin. I realised I was always finding a reason to avoid stepping on the scales. And I felt bloated. So when, in May, Ellie rang me from the programme and suggested it was time I had another check-up I knew deep down she was right, and I thought maybe setting a date would give me an incentive to get fitter.
It did. As you know I embarked on a diet, the Dukan diet, and I also got on my bike and started pedalling round Richmond Park. It worked. As of this week I have lost 10kg, that's 22lb in old money, and my waist has gone from 41 inches to 37. All of which meant I actually looked forward to my fitness test.
I actually took it in the middle of the transfer window. As I said in this column last week, I've never been so busy and it would have been so easy to say I'd not got time, but I really wanted to do it. I thought it would be a reward for all my hard work over the summer. Besides, if I was going to sign Joey Barton I needed to check my heart was OK.
I was on my phone for a good hour on the way in so when young Ellie starting taking my blood pressure I said, "It'll be sky-high this morning after all the transfer talk I'm involved in," but to our surprise it was the best I've ever had. Then, after urine and blood tests to measure my cholesterol and glucose, I had my chest shaved, 10 electrodes wired up to an ECG machine stuck on, and a gruelling 20 minutes on the bike. Last time I did the jogging machine, but I'm a not big fan of that, it's tough on the joints and having had a hip resurface I didn't think it was a great idea.
The bike's not an easy option though. They keep upping the resistance and you have to keep up. The last two minutes were soul-destroying, I was hanging on and as you can see from the picture I was absolutely cream-crackered. The most difficult part was trying to breathe while keeping the tube which measured my lung capacity in my mouth. My mouth got so dry.
That was the bad part. The good bit was getting the results. All my tests were so much better than previously. It was an amazing day for me. I came out feeling 10 foot high. I had to thank Ellie for booking me in. To celebrate I went straight to Dunkin' Donuts.
I'm joking. I can still have treats, but I know the hard part is keeping this up and I'm aiming to make my diet change permanent. Some of the changes are simple. I could never imagine using skimmed milk in a million years, I thought it was the absolute pits, but switching has been quite easy. My favourite relaxing drink now is a skinny cappuccino. We've even got a little frother at home and I love doing it. Most mornings I eat fat-free yoghurt and bran for breakfast, with some berries. That does me till lunchtime. Lunch I normally eat at the training ground where the food is healthy – or at least it is since Carl Serrant, our fitness guy, had a word with the chef about how rich his sauces were.
As a manager you actually put the medical off to another day as you are frightened of finding out what might be wrong with you, yet prevention is so much better than the cure. That applies to everyone, not just football managers.
2. We defied the omens on special night against Magpies
I feared the worst on Monday when we played Newcastle. When I dropped Will at school I got a parking ticket. Then I saw a funeral, then a single magpie flew past me. With all those bad omens it was remarkable we got a result.
The match was billed as Joey Barton v Newcastle, but he went about the match without any fuss which pleased me. It really was one of the most enjoyable games I've had here, after doing so much work in the transfer window it was great to see those players on the pitch. The crowd were buzzing, even in the build-up it felt a bit special and once the game started it seemed like there were twice as many there.
The only disappointment was that we missed a few chances. That is always a problem for promoted sides. I notice between us, ourselves, Norwich and Swansea have scored four goals in 12 matches.
That's obviously got to change but it is hardly surprising as we all have Championship strikers, including the guys we've bought in, and they are bound to take time to adjust. The one exception is D J Campbell, but he's been knocked sideways by a virus for a month. It's great to have him looking sharp again. The good thing is we're all creating chances and once lads like Jay Bothroyd at our place, Danny Graham at Swansea and Norwich's Steve Morison see that first one go in I'm sure the goals will flow.
I was pleased with the way Adel Taarabt played on Monday, for an hour anyway. He still needs to get fitter and he knows that but he's well on the way because when we looked at his stats he covered more ground than he's ever done for us. He even ran more than Shaun Wright-Phillips did. I think he enjoyed just being able to play without the responsibility of being captain. We forget he's only 22 and when I told him I wanted Joey to take over as skipper Adel seemed almost relieved.
3. Backing has helped Mick to do marvellous job at Wolves
We're at Molineux today which means a reunion with Mick McCarthy. I've a lot of time for Mick. As I've mentioned before, he used to clean my boots when he was an apprentice at Barnsley. He was about 16 but even then he had a voice like a 60-year-old and looked about 6ft 11in.
He's done a fantastic job. On and off the field Wolves are so well run. Jez Moxey (chief executive) and Steve Morgan (chairman) have given Mick backing and stability. That's enabled him to take them to the stage where they are looking to join clubs like Stoke and Fulham in that group of clubs just below the top half-dozen. Looking at the players they've added to the squad you have to say they are far better than a couple of years ago. I feel the same about us, though we are 18 months behind the likes of Wolves.
4. Will's team-mate scores at both ends in 3-3 thriller
I saw a magnificent goal this week, a superb header by one of Will's team-mates in a school match. Shame it was in his own goal. To give the lad credit he went up to the other end and scored in the right net. The match ended 3-3.
5. Get off Johnson's back – the players need a release
Martin Johnson has been taking some flak for allowing his rugby players to go to a bar where they enjoyed dwarf racing. I don't know why. If the footballers had been allowed a similar release we might have gone further in the World Cup. Players need a break. I can't say I've taken mine dwarf racing, but in my earlier days as a manager, in the hotel on a Friday night before a big cup match, I used to relax the players by having them drink glasses of sherry and raw egg. I'd start with asking one player to nominate someone, and work from there. You soon found out who was friends with who. Wolves
MAIL/Neil Ashton - Rowlands demands £200k wage increase from QPR... but doesn't even have a squad number
QPR rebel Martin Rowlands is demanding a £4,000-a-week increase in wages – despite failing to land a squad number at Loftus Road.
Despite playing just 23 minutes for Rangers last season, Rowlands has the rise built into his contract.
The former Ireland winger negotiated the £200,000 a year increase to his salary if QPR made it to the Premier League.
Remember me? QPR midfielder Martin Rowlands (left)
Despite being ignored throughout last season's promotion run, Rowlands is insists he is entitled to the increase.
Rowlands is so far down the pecking order at Rangers that boss Neil Warnock has not even issued the midfielder with a shirt number. That has not prevented the former Ireland star demanding the salary increase under the terms of his contract.
QPR are refusing to buckle but Rowlands is threatening to take the matter to the FA if they do not cave in.
Warnock sent him out on loan to Millwall during Rangers' promotion run in last season and he is no longer part of the first team picture.
He is not the only player threatening action against the club because of a dispute with former Rangers striker Rowan Vine.
Dispute: Rowan Vine (top) wants a settlement with QPR
Vine broke his leg in a training ground tackle with reserve team keeper Matt Pickens three years ago.
He claims he is entitled to a settlement under the terms of his contract, but Rangers claim he did not work hard enough in rehabilitation.
Despite the pair's claims, QPR are about to settle the long-running disputes with the players over their promotion bonuses.
Rangers chief Warnock and his squad have yet to be paid in full by the club after reaching the Premier League. They were promised the cash when the television revenues were paid by the Premier League but that was back in August.
The payments were delayed to the players while Air Asia tycoon Tony Fernandes completed his buy-out of the club.
But the new Rangers owner has promised the players that the dispute over the six figure bonuses will be paid this month. Mail
DAILY MAIL/Matt Barlow
Shaun's on the run! Exiled at Chelsea, sidelined at City, SWP is finally reborn at Rangers
Exclusive by Matt Barlow
Shaun of the dead? Not on this evidence. The touchline shimmies may have been absent from Match of the Day for a year or so but there seems to be plenty of running left in Shaun Wright-Phillips.
He arrives in a whirl, carrying a tower of boxes and explains he cannot hang around. He talks quickly, perched on the edge of his seat and pauses only briefly to fire an insult towards Jay Bothroyd.
Then he is gone. It is all something of a blur. Difficult to get to grips with is SWP. He is just as he plays. Newcastle’s Ryan Taylor had the same problem at Loftus Road on Monday.
Bundle of energy: Wright-Phillips is rarely at rest as he talks about his rejuvenated career and his dreams of an England future
Running man: Wright-Phillips shone on his QPR debut against Newcastle
Wright-Phillips is 30 next month but the only trace of age is an unreliable memory. ‘Thirty is the new 20,’ he laughs. ‘That’s what I told the lads at City when they said I was getting old. I enjoy the game so much I almost forget how tired I am.’
Queens Park Rangers seems to agree with Wright-Phillips, as anyone who watched his debut, a goalless draw against Newcastle, will testify.
‘QPR just felt right,’ said Wright-Phillips. ‘There were four or five clubs. I said thank you to all the other managers who were interested but the timing was right to come here.’
Rangers have been abuzz since Tony Fernandes bought the club last month and Neil Warnock set about signing six players in the final week of the transfer window.
Among them, Wright-Phillips found former Manchester City room-mate Joey Barton. ‘He’s always had a little mouth on him,’ he smiled. ‘He’s been like that since he was a kid. It’s just that people take more notice now.
‘The owner seems like a great guy and he’s told us what he’d like to achieve. We all want great things and if we work hard it’s possible but it’s not something that’s going to happen overnight.
‘The first goal is to concentrate on staying up, get the team gelling. Next season, aim for the top end of the table. We just have to take it slowly.’
The winger did not look ready to bide his time against Newcastle. Starting his first Barclays Premier League game in more than a year, he was a powerball of energy, riding tackles, forcing saves and delivering crosses which no-one could convert.
‘All the players I’ve brought in have got things to prove,’ said Warnock before setting Wright-Phillips a target of 10 goals for the season.
Squeezed out: The former Chelsea man saw his place threatened by the millions invested when Roberto Mancini took over
Wright-Phillips accepts the challenge. ‘I could get that if I find my scoring boots,’ he said. ‘That was only the start, something to build on. I was excited for the whole week. By the time the game came I was dead up for it. It felt good to get out there, good to be playing again.’
Back in May, Roberto Mancini left Wright-Phillips out of the match-day 18 as Manchester City won the FA Cup, their first major trophy in 35 years.
A similar fate had befallen him three years earlier when Chelsea reached the Champions League final. Both times he would leave the club soon after but it was only last month when he realised it was time to quit City.
‘It was this season I made up my mind to leave,’ said Wright-Phillips. ‘After playing pretty much all pre-season and scoring four goals in five games, I just thought I had a chance but it obviously wasn’t to be. I played well and it didn’t change anything. It was time for me to move on and play football.’
Wright-Phillips joined City as a teenager as they slid into the third tier of English football. As he left, they were being likened to Barcelona by Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp. On Wednesday, they made their Champions League debut against Napoli.
‘I cheered them on just like any fan would,’ said Wright-Phillips. ‘This is exactly what they deserve. I’m just glad I was able to help them on the journey.
‘I’ve always been proud to pull on that blue shirt from the moment I came through. City can go anywhere they want. They have everything they need to go all the way to the top. I’m delighted for them, especially the supporters who’ve been there for years. For them to see this is fantastic.’
The by-product of City’s aggressive team-building project has been the clustering of unwanted senior players, paid well but offered little prospect of game time. Some escaped in the final days of the transfer window but others, like Wayne Bridge and Nedum Onuoha, remain at Eastlands, unable to get a game.
England expects: The diminutive winger wants his place back under Capello
‘I don’t think people realise how hard that actually is,’ said Wright-Phillips. ‘It’s mentally draining because you never know where you stand or where you career’s going to go. You don’t know if anyone’s going to touch you because of the position you’re in.
‘You’re in it to achieve your goals. As long as you don’t give up and keep working hard then surely your chance will come. That’s what I’ve done.’
Goals for Wright-Phillips include the chance to add to his 36 England caps. He has not been in a squad since his last appearance, as a substitute in the goalless draw against Montenegro at Wembley last October.
‘I don’t see why I can’t play for England again,’ he said. ‘If I’m playing well and I deserve it then, hopefully, I’ll get picked. I’m a fighter and that’s something I won’t be giving up on easily. If I play well and stay clear of injury I might have a chance of playing in the European Championship.’
Full of life. Full of ambition for club and country. Shaun is back from the dead. Mail
QPR IN THE COMMUNITY TIGER CUBS
Sport England
QPR Tigers receive funding boost
QPR in the Community Trust Tiger Cubs
“The opportunity to try a new sport for the first time is often all a person needs to catch the sporting bug."
Hannah Bladen - Sport England Regional Strategic Lead for London
Sport England has given QPR in the Community Trust’s Tiger Cubs football team a major boost in the form of an £18,000-plus investment
Funded through Sportsmatch, a Sport England initiative which brings additional funding to not-for-profit organisations that have secured sponsorship to deliver new sporting projects, the investment matches a recent donation by Global Initiative - a registered charity founded by QPR Holdings Limited Vice-Chairman Amit Bhatia.
The investment will increase sports participation for children, young people and adults with Downs Syndrome across four London boroughs.
“The opportunity to try a new sport for the first time is often all a person needs to catch the sporting bug, said Hannah Bladen, Sport England’s Regional Strategic Lead for London. “The QPR Tigers and Tiger Cubs project is a great way for children and adults with Downs Syndrome to try football and have a quality sporting experience that will encourage them to stay involved.”
Founded in 2008, the Tiger Cubs project has gone from strength to strength and is a scheme that the Community Trust, QPR and its fans are extremely proud of.
Sport England’s grant will allow the Trust to deliver new Tiger Cubs sessions for children and young people in the boroughs of Hillingdon, Brent and Westminster.
In addition, a new adults session called the ‘QPR Tigers’ will be launched in Hammersmith & Fulham.
Crucially, the money will enable the Trust to employ a Disability Officer to lead these sessions.
“In our drive to increase the amount of opportunities for those with Downs Syndrome to participate in football, we are delighted that Sport England through their Sportsmatch scheme are assisting us to achieve this goal, said QPR Community Trust CEO Andy Evans. “This award of much needed funds will enable us to more than double the provision and reach more families across the whole of West London.”
Minor changes made to the Sportsmatch scheme now mean that more clubs can benefit from funding. Where in previous rounds it was only open to clubs who had obtained new sponsorship deals, funding is now available to clubs with existing relationships with sponsors as long as it is for new projects. These changes recognise the hard work done by sports clubs to maintain relationships with local businesses. The scheme matches eligible sponsorship pound for pound, up to a maximum value of £100,000.
Find out more about Sportsmatch visit http://www.sportengland.org/funding/sportsmatch.aspx
Sportengland
And here's the press release on the QPR in the Community Site (from last week!)
QPR in the Community
QPR’S TIGER CUBS RECEIVE FUNDING BOOST
Press release
Date: 09 September 2011
QPR in the Community Trust’s Tiger Cubs football team has been handed a major boost with the news of an £18,000-plus investment from Sport England.
The grant matches that recently donated by Global Relief Initiative – a registered charity founded by QPR Holdings Limited Vice-Chairman Amit Bhatia.
This new investment will increase sports participation for children, young people and adults with Downs Syndrome across four London Boroughs.
Founded in 2008, the Tiger Cubs project has gone from strength to strength and is a scheme that the Community Trust, QPR and its fans are extremely proud of.
Sport England’s grant now means that the Trust will be able to deliver new Tiger Cubs sessions for children and young people in the boroughs of Hillingdon, Brent and Westminster.
In addition, the Trust will also start up an adults session called the ‘QPR Tigers’ in Hammersmith & Fulham, for the older participants and new adults to be signposted to.
Crucially, the money will enable the Trust to employ a Disability Officer to lead these sessions.
Hannah Bladen, Sport England’s Regional Lead for London, said: “The opportunity to try a new sport for the first time is often all a person needs to catch the sporting bug.
“The QPR Tigers and Tiger Cubs project is a great way for children and adults with Downs Syndrome to try football and have a quality sporting experience that will encourage them to stay involved.”
QPR Community Trust CEO Andy Evans added: “In our drive to increase the amount of opportunities for those with Downs Syndrome to participate in football, we are delighted that Sport England through their Sportsmatch scheme are assisting us to achieve this goal.
“This award of much needed funds will enable us to more than double the provision and reach more families across the whole of West London.”
ENDS
For more information, please contact QPR Community Trust’s Funding Manager, Fiona Hodgson, on 020 8740 2520 or e-mail fionah@qpr.co.uk.
http://www.qprcommunitytrust.co.uk/
