-
-QPR REPORT Available on TWITTER!
- Visit the growing QPR and football-only QPR Report Messageboard (and quasi-blog)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Neil Warnock pinpoints one of the problems: "I've said to them if they want to stick around then do what I say and if they don't then they will be leaving," he said.I suppose in the past they must have thought 'we'll be all right in a couple of weeks'." Teamtalk
- Lakshmi Mittal #5 World's Richest Billionaires Forbes "...Upped stake in struggling British soccer team QPR in February..."
- QPR Shortlisted for Community Club of the Year
- Magilton Suing Ipswich
- Ex-QPR Zesh Rehman Shortlisted for PFA's PLAYER in The Community
- Could-have-been QPR Zimbabwean international Onismor Bhasera to Plymouth
- 25% Premier Season Ticket Holders May Not Renew
- One (Non-Football) Fan of Flavio Briatore
- Next: Sheffield United
- Ex-QPR, Tommy Cunningham Update
- An Italian Interest in Buying QPR?
- QPR Ladies Reach The Cup Final
- Chelsea Face Questions over Unlicensed Agent
- Portsmouth Axe 85 (non-playing) Staffers
- Two QPR Interviews with Gianni Paladini
- Football League Support for National Association of Disabled Supporters (NADS)
- Best Football League Programmes Shortlist
- Football League's Shortlist for "Family Club" Awards
QPR Official Site - NW: 'SUPPORT ON THE ROAD IS VITAL'
- Gaffer Neil Warnock has called on the R's faithful to turn out in great force for the trip to his boyhood Club, Sheffield United, on Saturday afternoon.
- The Rangers boss spent seven and a half successful seasons at Bramall Lane and knows more than anyone the important role the travelling support can play in the Steel City.
- "Make no mistake, it's a tough place to go - but the R's fans can play a massive role," he told www.qpr.co.uk.
- "I saw the impact the visiting fans can have in my many years there and all I ask is that the Rangers supporters turn out in great numbers to show their support."
- Tickets for the Bramall Lane clash are still available. To guarantee your seat…
- *Click here - *Call 08444 777 007 - *Visit the QPR Box Office - QPR FC, Loftus Road Stadium, South Africa Road, London, W12 7PJ QPR
QPR On The List - Football League - SHORTLIST IN FOCUS: MARKETING
Posted on: 11.03.2010
The 2010 Football League Awards take place on Sunday 14th March and all this week in the build-up to the prestigious ceremony we will be focusing on those in contention to receive awards on the night. Here we look at the best marketing campaigns clubs have run in the last year and that are in contention for the 'Perform Best Marketing Campaign' award.
PERFORM BEST MARKETING CAMPAIGN
JUDGING CRITERIA:
Judges were looking for the club that best demonstrated results they had achieved during 2009 by running a innovative marketing campaign which engaged fans. This could be either a club initiative or a partnership with a sponsor. Clearly defined objectives and innovative execution were integral to the short listed entries as well as an understanding of the drivers of fans engagements backed up by good results.
SHORTLIST:
CARDIFF CITY ('PLATINUM AMBASSADOR'):
Cardiff City launched their Platinum Ambassador campaign in 2009 in a marketing initiative that aimed to sign up 10,000 season ticket holders by December 31st. They demonstrated good use of different media channels such as sending Cardiff City players into the community to encourage fans to sign up. The judges were particularly impressed with the way the campaign utilised effective marketing techniques by recognising the target market and approaching them in a one to one fashion to make it more personal, such as by sending out personalised Christmas cards. By targeting the communication directly at the fans individually rather than using an umbrella campaign it made the fans feel valued and central to the marketing campaign. As a result, Cardiff City had very successful response with the uptake of the Platinum Ambassadors, not only achieving their target but surpassing it by 1,000 season tickets.
CHARLTON ATHLETIC ('SEASON-TICKET MARKETING CAMPAIGN'):
After relegation from the Championship to League 1 in 2009, Charlton Athletic recognised that they had the difficult task of trying to keep moral amongst supporters high, especially season ticket holders so this year their campaign had a single and clear objective - to retain as many existing season ticket holders as possible, especially after the loss of a previously successful 'free' season-ticket offer. A reduction in season ticket prices, a video and poster campaign and the influence of using Charlton legend Keith Peacock to encourage fans to stick with the club as they had overcome much worse situations in the club's history all combined to produce a very effective campaign. The judges felt that the campaign was extremely well put together and showed real character, successfully tapping in to the identity and heritage of the club. The campaign showed swift results as well as 9,000 season tickets were purchased in just 10 weeks, testament to a great campaign.
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN ('"KEEP IT UP" CAMPAIGN'):
2009 saw Huddersfield Town enter a new era and set about transforming themselves to become 'The Yorkshire Club'. As part of this the club donated the sponsorship space on the front of their shirt to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and together they created a dedicated campaign called 'Keep It Up', where for every £1 raised 50p would go towards the charity and 50p would go towards the Huddersfield Town Academy. A whole range of activities were organised, including sponsored cycle rides, charity dinners and even a naked calendar, to giving families, fans and businesses alike the opportunity to contribute and be part of it. The target set was to raise a total of £100,000, with £50,000 going to each partner and after just 6 months £80,000 had already been collected. Coverage of the campaign has been achieved across local and national media, not only helping the club to raise a lot of money but generating fantastic awareness of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and underpinning Huddersfield's 'Yorkshire Club' branding. It is clear that Huddersfield had put a big effort behind the campaign, and this has clearly paid dividends with the judges highlighting in particular the fantastic results achieved.
QUEENS PARK RANGERS ('RE-POSITIONING THE OFFICIAL SUPPORTERS CLUB'):Queens Park Rangers wanted to improve the relationship and communication between the club and its supporters. Firstly, they conducted primary research amongst their supporters to gain key insights. They then repositioned the Official Supporters Club (OSC) as the vehicle for supporters to use in which to provide regular feedback to the Club, as well as using the OSC as a key brand ambassador for the Club. The creation of a new identity and logo for the OSC, which they had never had previously, was commissioned by the Club and then placed on all Season Ticket and membership cards for the first time ever in order to highlight the fact that all Season Ticket Holders and members are automatically members of the OSC. The role of the OSC was redefined, and information was provided on how supporters could utilise it to their benefit. A constitution was also created and shared with supporters. The key findings of the research were shared with the OSC and used as a template for ongoing supporter feedback. The judges were really impressed with this marketing campaign as it is a great example of real business practice applied to football. Extensive and sophisticated market research resulted in key insights on fan segmentation, customer relationship management and supporter experience, while trials of different product initiatives such as a '5 pack' of tickets for those who cannot commit to a season ticket, early bird food offers and prepaid food packages were successfully received. QPR have effectively brought different, wide ranging concepts together in an extremely well thought through campaign.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST ('MIXED FAMILY AREA'):
Nottingham Forest set out with the clear objective of purposefully integrating home and away fans in a ground-breaking initiative that encouraged families to enjoy football together in a friendly atmosphere. Affordable tickets were an integral part of the campaign to promote families to sit in the mixed home and away family area with a £25 family ticket permitting 2 adults and 2 children to watch the match against Doncaster Rovers in November. Forest ensured the area operated a zero tolerance attitude to bad language, while furthermore a lounge was used to run activities with attending families through a local partnership with South Nottingham College such as face painting and Nintendo Wii games. Students used the experience as part of their involvement in the 'City United' community scheme by helping run the day's activities. Doncaster Rovers were able to whole heartedly support the initiative, helping to engage their family supporter base in the lead up to the game as well as being integral to the success on the day, and providing financial support. Players from both teams also attended a signing session before the game whilst Robin Hood and Donny Dog took to the field in a mascot race held during the half term interval, and each child went home with a goody bag and a big foam hand, embezzled with both club logos. It is with thanks to a number of other partners including Sovereign Security, Print Force and the Nottingham Forest Supporters Club the goody bags and foam hands were made possible. The judging panel found this campaign a pioneering idea which had great coverage and wonderful results. The full allocation of tickets was sold prior to the day and there were no reports of bad language or other issues ensuring the day was a tremendous success.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST ('MOTIV 100% CHALLENGE'):
Nottingham Forest worked alongside 'Motiv' Reward and Nottingham City Council by offering family tickets and a 'sports reporter for the day competition' as prize incentives to increase attendance in all Primary and Secondary Schools in Nottingham. The campaign involved over 100 schools and over 35,000 pupils by rewarding children who have achieved 100% attendance with the chance to win the prizes. The judges found it refreshing to see a campaign with non - commercially led objectives and motivation. It should be applauded for being a great concept with really high engagement as there are clear signs of improvement in levels of attendance in the campaign results. For example, Welbeck Primary School saw a 78% improvement in the numbers of children making 100% attendance. Offering tickets to families as a way of celebrating their child's attendance gave families and opportunity to sample a trip to The City Ground and the club the chance to encourage them to visit more often. A selection of children were invited to experience a match day in the life of a sports reporter visiting the press room, press box and meeting the BBC Sport presenter, Mark Clemmit and Forest's Press Officer before researching each team and writing their very own match report. The association with pupils striving for excellence in attendance and attainment across the schools network was extremely valuable in promoting the club on both a community and a marketing level.
SOUTHEND UNITED ('THE BLUES WORLD CUP WINNER COMPETITION'):
Southend United recognised that encouraging supporters to buy season tickets during a difficult economic climate is tough. Therefore, they chose to capitalise on the upcoming World Cup 2010 by creating an early offer to supporters to purchase next year's season ticket promising they will get their money back if England win the World Cup! The objective of the campaign was to raise £100,000 in season ticket sales for the 2010/2011 by 21st December 2009. The scheme was launched on the same day as the World Cup draw to arouse the attention of the local press looking for a World Cup angle. The judges found the campaign very original and a really interesting idea with good use of digital marketing such as SMS and e-marketing to remind fans about the offer. The campaign results proved to be very successful as sales reached £125,000, 25% above the target set. The results seem an even greater achievement given the limited budget Southend ran the campaign on.
SWINDON TOWN ('STAND BUY ME' AND 'NAME IN LIGHTS'):
The 'Stand Buy Me' initiative was designed by Swindon Town FC to offer supporters and local businesses the opportunity to participate in a lottery to raise funds for the Club's Youth Development Department, but with a unique prize - the chance to have the County Ground East Stand named after them for a three-year period. The lottery was launched live on Soccer AM and was timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Swindon Town's League Cup win in 1969. Tickets were therefore, limited to 1,969 at £10 per ticket giving the opportunity for supporters and Swindon's local businesses to engage with and support the Club in an innovative, cost effective way. In terms of results, all 1,969 tickets were sold, raising over £15,000 and proving to be extremely popular amongst all those who participated. The success of the Stand Buy Me initiative encouraged the club to follow it up with the 'Your Name in Lights' promotion, where the opportunity was for the winner to be the Main Sponsor of the Swindon Town vs. Huddersfield Town evening fixture in November. Overall, the judges were particularly impressed at how well both initiatives were put together and executed and felt it was heartening to see the money raised being used for such a worthwhile purpose. Football League
Mirror/Alan Nixon - Arsenal starlet is Celtic target
- Celtic boss Tony Mowbray is chasing Arsenal striker Jay Simpson as he looks to add more pace to his team for next season.
- Mowbray watched Simpson in action for QPR - where he is on loan from the Gunners - and is keen to snap up the speedy attacker in the summer.
- Simpson was with Mowbray at West Brom last season, only scoring one goal as they battled to beat the drop in the Premier League.
- However Mowbray thinks the former England youth international is still potentially good enough to be a big hit in the SPL where his side have had mixed success up front.
- Mowbray knows it is unlikely he will be able to keep Robbie Keane next season and is scouring around for replacements on the cheap - with Simpson an attractive alternative.
- Simpson has caught the eye for Rangers at times this season but may fancy a move to a glamour club like Celtic to advance his career. His chances of cracking it at Arsenal seem limited. Mirror
Daily Mail - QPR manager Neil Warnock eyes move for disgraced ex Wigan striker Marlon King
- Disgraced: King was jailed in October 2009
QPR manager Neil Warnock will consider giving jailbird Marlon King a route back into football.
King has been in prison since October, serving an 18-month term for sexual assault and causing actual bodily harm following an attack on a 20-year-old woman in 2008.
But the 29-year-old striker is hoping for an early release and could be back in action at Loftus Road next season.
King was unceremoniously sacked by Wigan chairman Dave Whelan, who hoped he was finished in football.
'It will be very, very difficult for any club to stick their neck out and take Marlon on, I cannot really see him coming back as a professional.
'A lot of people will say you do something wrong and you get a sentence, and when you've completed it, you should be allowed to go back in. I wouldn't allow him back in.'
King was signed by Steve Bruce for £3million from Watford in January 2008 but scored just once in 19 appearances. Daily Mail
Bristol Evening Post - Johnson rues Bristol City's injury jinx as concern grows over Agyemang
- Patrick Agyemang has become the latest Bristol City new-boy to fall foul of the club's injury jinx.
Signed on loan from Championship rivals Queens Park Rangers in January, he managed just four appearances for the Robins before being struck down by illness.
And the former Ghana international striker, pictured left, has now sustained a groin injury which could keep him out of action for the foreseeable future.
City boss Gary Johnson and his medical team are so concerned that they have sent Agyemang for a hospital scan and are awaiting the results.
- Should the problem be worse than first thought, and Wolves decide to recall Chris Iwelumo after the weekend, City's manager could find himself short of attacking options.
- He will still be able to call upon 11-goal top scorer Nicky Maynard, Scottland international David Clarkson and winger-cum-forward Danny Haynes, but may no longer have the option of selecting an experienced targetman who can hold the ball up and win headers.
- "It is a bit of a concern," admitted Johnson, who has decided to keep young striker John Akinde at Ashton Gate as a precaution, rather than send him out on loan.
"First of all, Patrick had an illness which kept him out for a couple of games, and now it's an injury which is stopping him.
"We've taken medical advice, he has had a scan and all we can do now is wait and keep our fingers crossed."
Agyemang is the latest in a series of new signings to experience misfortune after joining the Ashton Gate staff this season.
- Lithuanian international forward Andrius Velicka arrived on loan from Scottish giants Rangers in August, but lasted just five minutes before rupturing his cruciate ligament after he came on as a second-half substitute in the home game against QPR.
Former Motherwell hit-man Clarkson had managed only a handful of outings before he was struck down by a mystery illness, which also affected fellow newcomers Lewin Nyatanga and Dean Gerken.
In Clarkson's case, it was December before he was fit enough to resume first-team duties." Evening Post
Welcome to QPR REPORT - A completely unofficial and unaffiliated fan site focusing on G-d's Chosen Team, Queen's Park Rangers (QPR) FC. (Visit also QPR Report Messageboard and Follow on Twitter.) QPR Report accepts no sponsorship, advertising or financial contributions. In 2008, QPR Report was named as one of the top two blogs in the Football League
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
QPR Shortlisted for Community Club of The Year...Club Plans Fan Outreach and Dialogue
-
-QPR REPORT Available on TWITTER!
- Visit the growing QPR and football-only QPR Report Messageboard (and quasi-blog)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
- An Italian Interested in Buying QPR?
- QPR Ladies Reach The Cup Final
- QPR Beat Plymouth: Match Reports and Comments
- Raheem Sterling's Scoring Debut for Liverpool Youth
- Two QPR Interviews with Gianni Paladini
- Chelsea Face Questions over Unlicensed Agent
- On This Day in Football (March 10)...QPR Loss at Fulham
- Football League Support for National Association of Disabled Supporters (NADS)
- Southend's New Assistant Manger is...David Webb
- Country Where the Most World Cup Tickets Have Been Sold
- Best Football League Programmes Shortlist
- Football League's Shortlist for "Family Club" Awards
- Ex-QPR Zesh Rehman Shortlisted for PFA's PLAYER in The Community
Football League - HORTLIST IN FOCUS: COMMUNITY CLUB
Posted on: 10.03.2010
The 2010 Football League Awards take place on Sunday 14th March and all this week in the build-up to the prestigious ceremony we will be focusing on those in contention to receive awars on the night. Here we review the the clubs in contention to be recognised for outstanding community work and be named 'The Football Foundation Community Club of the Year'.
THE FOOTBALL FOUNDATION COMMUNITY CLUB OF THE YEAR
JUDGING CRITERIA:
The Judging Panel were looking for the community scheme that has best demonstrated success at engaging their local community during 2009. More specifically, the Judges examined the range of activities undertaken by the club, their impact on the community, the key achievements of the year, the key partnerships created and funding secured in 2009 and the sustainability of the projects.
SHORTLIST:
BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION ('ALBION IN THE COMMUNITY'):
What has been extraordinary about the community efforts of Brighton & Hove Albion is how they have managed to sustain and even further expand the broad range of activities that were so impressive last year. Albion in the community have worked across 6 different focus areas with 41,715 hours of activities delivered to the local community which have directly benefitted 60,843 individuals. The coordination of all the different community projects seems even more outstanding as the team of staff has managed to conduct another hugely successful year despite operating from multiple, split sites ahead of the move to a new stadium. It is visible that Brighton & Hove Albion are concerned about the well being of the local community as they realise how football can be used so effectively to bring together and motivate individuals and groups, whilst developing their health, self esteem and career prospects. In particular, the motive of tackling anti - social behaviour has produced some staggering results with Sussex Police reporting that Albion in the Community's work had contributed to a 40% drop in Youth Disorder and Anti-Social behaviour in the economically deprived area of the town.
COLCHESTER UNITED ('COMMUNITY SPORTS TRUST'):
It is evident that Colchester United Community Sports Trust (CUCST) have been working hard to improve the community around the new Weston Homes Community Stadium. Working across five areas of sports participation, community inclusion, health, education and creative development, their aim is to help ordinary people to achieve extraordinary things, working with others to identify and address the needs of the community. They have as a result established an admirable range of creative partnerships with organisations in their local community such as NHS North East Essex, The Prince's Trust and Essex County Council. What has stood out for CUCST this year is their education programme which has flourished at the Community Stadium with its very own 'EdUC@Utd Study Support Centre'. As an Apple Regional Training Centre, the educational support centre gives local individuals opportunities to fulfil their potential from utilising Apple technology and multimedia equipment to make learning enjoyable. The judges also felt that the recently formed project 'UcRe@Utd' was an innovative way of incentivising education for local school children with an award style ceremony for the most creative cross curricular project. It is great to see how well CUCST are using their new stadium to enhance the wide ranging yet focused activities to help those in their community prosper.
OLDHAM ATHLETIC ('OLDHAM ATHLETIC COMMUNITY TRUST'):
The diverse nature of the activities run by Oldham Athletic Community Trust in 2009 drew real praise from the judges. They operate 20 different programmes and projects across their five key areas of sports participation, education, health, environment and social inclusion that have given them the ability to encompass over 10,000 different participants aged from 5 to 95. The judging panel were drawn in particular to the Nintendo Wii project for the elderly members of the community. Oldham really have developed notable inter generation activity by involving younger volunteers to encourage the participants to keep mind and body physically active using games consoles. The Community Trust's social inclusion activities though have been their outstanding achievement of 2009 - projects such as 'Kickz', '3 v Free' and 'Street Games' are fantastic examples of how a football club can help their local community combat anti-social behaviour of children during hours where youngsters are most likely to offend.
QUEENS PARK RANGERS ('QPR IN THE COMMUNITY TRUST'):
QPR in the Community operate 25 different schemes and programmes, running 400 sessions per month to over 15,000 participants, in doing so making a real difference to the education and health of their surrounding community. Their very impressive range of activities was not all that caught the judges eye however, as within this their projects showed real innovation. The judges particularly focused on their social inclusion project 'Moving the Goalposts', developed specifically to engage the Gypsy Roma and Traveller (GRT) young people in the local community who are often hard to reach individuals. The judges were impressed by the new scheme as the engagement is innovative and the impact on the self image and identity of those involved in the scheme is something for QPR to be rightly very proud of. It is a difficult task to engage young Travellers in high quality football activities and as a result, other mainstream services, before they become too 'hard to reach'; with this in mind the advances that QPR in the Community Trust have made deserve merit and praise. The judges were so impressed with the 'Moving the Goalposts' scheme and they thought that it is surely one for other clubs to follow.
SOUTHAMPTON ('SAINTS IN THE COMMUNITY'):
Southampton as a club endured a turbulent 2009, until their summer takeover by Executive Chairman Nicola Cortese and owner Markus Liebherr, but for Saints In The Community it was a year to be extremely proud of and thoroughly deserving of national recognition. Despite challenging times they fought to maintain their high quality service to the local community, with a number of new and imaginative initiatives resulting in over 20,000 individual participants taking part in the broad types of activities they run - from After School clubs to a Football Arts Academy to diversity and anti-racism project 'Onside'. There is clear evidence that the health and education programmes in particular have provided outstanding results for the local area. In particular the judging panel were highly complementary of 'Health Kicks', a health programme that acts as the bridge between the Health services and adult men using football as the engagement tool, and also especially the partnerships with Southampton Primary Care Trust and Sure Start Children Centres.
SOUTHEND UNITED ('COMMUNITY & EDUCATIONAL TRUST'):
Southend United have produced a stunning range of activities for their community over the past year with over 30 different schemes and projects. During 2009 over 40,000 individuals took part in the various initiatives delivered by the Trust, covering all ages. The Trust's fantastic range of activities is capped by their flagship 'Goals' project which has produced great results which has led to a nomination for 'Best Project by a Professional Sports Team' category at the 2009 Beyond Sport Awards. As well as being concerned about the health and education of the participants of the schemes, the Trust have also offered additional training and development support for their employees. Examples of such training include makaton sign language, time and project management, IT skills and general sports and fitness qualifications. The Southend United Community & Educational Trust clearly understands and demonstrates how to operate effectively and offer sustainable, long term benefits to their local community whilst producing outstanding results.
WATFORD ('COMMUNITY SPORTS & EDUCATION TRUST')
Watford has had a very successful year supporting their community and the judges were full of praise that a club with a fantastic track record of community work is continuing to deliver. Their strategic framework has enabled Watford to deliver an excellent spread of activities as well as an impressive depth of funding. They offered around 8,500 different sessions through the year, attracting in excess of 150,000 participants. Programmes they run include anything from Breakfast Clubs right the way up to a state for the art Learning Centre. One project worthy of special mention though is Watford 'MyPlace' project because for the Trust this is a groundbreaking project as they have not been involved in a capital project like this before. 'MyPlace' is a £4.2 million project that involves knocking down and re-building a youth centre into a world class youth and community facility. It is projects such as this that see Watford's Community Scheme continue to evolve and develop, setting the standard as one of the leading community focused clubs in the country. Football League
Ben Kosky/Kilburn Times - QPR chief keen to renew dialogue with fans-
QPR'S new board intend to reopen fans' forums as part of a campaign to draw disillusioned supporters back to Loftus Road.
Meetings with fans' representatives had been held on a regular basis until Flavio Briatore took over the club in 2007 and they may return following Briatore's recent resignation as chairman of QPR Holdings Ltd.
Asked whether fans' forums were on the agenda for the new regime, chairman Ishan Saksena told the Times: "Absolutely. We want to communicate more with the fans and start a dialogue with them.
"That is a strategy we're in the process of forming and the commitment is there to do that. We need to have the support of our fans and keep building that up.
"We have stability back in the club and we want to do things in a financially prudent way. I think the most important decision we took was to get Neil Warnock as manager.
"That's our first real solid attempt to show the fans that we remain true to our vision of being successful in the future. I'm confident the fans will get the message and I'm relying on them to be part of the QPR family."
Saksena confirmed that he will work 'closely' with Warnock but, unlike his predecessor, does not plan to be involved in football affairs.
"There's the football side, which Neil will handle, and I'll handle the business and financial aspect," he added.
"We'll work in close consultation with the board prior to making decisions. Decisions were made in the past and some of them could have been altered in retrospect, but the intention was always to do the best thing.
"The dream is still there of making it to the Premier League. I know Neil will be able to help us get there, but right now we're concentrating on the short-term, trying to solidify our position in the Championship. Kilburn Times
-QPR REPORT Available on TWITTER!
- Visit the growing QPR and football-only QPR Report Messageboard (and quasi-blog)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
- An Italian Interested in Buying QPR?
- QPR Ladies Reach The Cup Final
- QPR Beat Plymouth: Match Reports and Comments
- Raheem Sterling's Scoring Debut for Liverpool Youth
- Two QPR Interviews with Gianni Paladini
- Chelsea Face Questions over Unlicensed Agent
- On This Day in Football (March 10)...QPR Loss at Fulham
- Football League Support for National Association of Disabled Supporters (NADS)
- Southend's New Assistant Manger is...David Webb
- Country Where the Most World Cup Tickets Have Been Sold
- Best Football League Programmes Shortlist
- Football League's Shortlist for "Family Club" Awards
- Ex-QPR Zesh Rehman Shortlisted for PFA's PLAYER in The Community
Football League - HORTLIST IN FOCUS: COMMUNITY CLUB
Posted on: 10.03.2010
The 2010 Football League Awards take place on Sunday 14th March and all this week in the build-up to the prestigious ceremony we will be focusing on those in contention to receive awars on the night. Here we review the the clubs in contention to be recognised for outstanding community work and be named 'The Football Foundation Community Club of the Year'.
THE FOOTBALL FOUNDATION COMMUNITY CLUB OF THE YEAR
JUDGING CRITERIA:
The Judging Panel were looking for the community scheme that has best demonstrated success at engaging their local community during 2009. More specifically, the Judges examined the range of activities undertaken by the club, their impact on the community, the key achievements of the year, the key partnerships created and funding secured in 2009 and the sustainability of the projects.
SHORTLIST:
BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION ('ALBION IN THE COMMUNITY'):
What has been extraordinary about the community efforts of Brighton & Hove Albion is how they have managed to sustain and even further expand the broad range of activities that were so impressive last year. Albion in the community have worked across 6 different focus areas with 41,715 hours of activities delivered to the local community which have directly benefitted 60,843 individuals. The coordination of all the different community projects seems even more outstanding as the team of staff has managed to conduct another hugely successful year despite operating from multiple, split sites ahead of the move to a new stadium. It is visible that Brighton & Hove Albion are concerned about the well being of the local community as they realise how football can be used so effectively to bring together and motivate individuals and groups, whilst developing their health, self esteem and career prospects. In particular, the motive of tackling anti - social behaviour has produced some staggering results with Sussex Police reporting that Albion in the Community's work had contributed to a 40% drop in Youth Disorder and Anti-Social behaviour in the economically deprived area of the town.
COLCHESTER UNITED ('COMMUNITY SPORTS TRUST'):
It is evident that Colchester United Community Sports Trust (CUCST) have been working hard to improve the community around the new Weston Homes Community Stadium. Working across five areas of sports participation, community inclusion, health, education and creative development, their aim is to help ordinary people to achieve extraordinary things, working with others to identify and address the needs of the community. They have as a result established an admirable range of creative partnerships with organisations in their local community such as NHS North East Essex, The Prince's Trust and Essex County Council. What has stood out for CUCST this year is their education programme which has flourished at the Community Stadium with its very own 'EdUC@Utd Study Support Centre'. As an Apple Regional Training Centre, the educational support centre gives local individuals opportunities to fulfil their potential from utilising Apple technology and multimedia equipment to make learning enjoyable. The judges also felt that the recently formed project 'UcRe@Utd' was an innovative way of incentivising education for local school children with an award style ceremony for the most creative cross curricular project. It is great to see how well CUCST are using their new stadium to enhance the wide ranging yet focused activities to help those in their community prosper.
OLDHAM ATHLETIC ('OLDHAM ATHLETIC COMMUNITY TRUST'):
The diverse nature of the activities run by Oldham Athletic Community Trust in 2009 drew real praise from the judges. They operate 20 different programmes and projects across their five key areas of sports participation, education, health, environment and social inclusion that have given them the ability to encompass over 10,000 different participants aged from 5 to 95. The judging panel were drawn in particular to the Nintendo Wii project for the elderly members of the community. Oldham really have developed notable inter generation activity by involving younger volunteers to encourage the participants to keep mind and body physically active using games consoles. The Community Trust's social inclusion activities though have been their outstanding achievement of 2009 - projects such as 'Kickz', '3 v Free' and 'Street Games' are fantastic examples of how a football club can help their local community combat anti-social behaviour of children during hours where youngsters are most likely to offend.
QUEENS PARK RANGERS ('QPR IN THE COMMUNITY TRUST'):
QPR in the Community operate 25 different schemes and programmes, running 400 sessions per month to over 15,000 participants, in doing so making a real difference to the education and health of their surrounding community. Their very impressive range of activities was not all that caught the judges eye however, as within this their projects showed real innovation. The judges particularly focused on their social inclusion project 'Moving the Goalposts', developed specifically to engage the Gypsy Roma and Traveller (GRT) young people in the local community who are often hard to reach individuals. The judges were impressed by the new scheme as the engagement is innovative and the impact on the self image and identity of those involved in the scheme is something for QPR to be rightly very proud of. It is a difficult task to engage young Travellers in high quality football activities and as a result, other mainstream services, before they become too 'hard to reach'; with this in mind the advances that QPR in the Community Trust have made deserve merit and praise. The judges were so impressed with the 'Moving the Goalposts' scheme and they thought that it is surely one for other clubs to follow.
SOUTHAMPTON ('SAINTS IN THE COMMUNITY'):
Southampton as a club endured a turbulent 2009, until their summer takeover by Executive Chairman Nicola Cortese and owner Markus Liebherr, but for Saints In The Community it was a year to be extremely proud of and thoroughly deserving of national recognition. Despite challenging times they fought to maintain their high quality service to the local community, with a number of new and imaginative initiatives resulting in over 20,000 individual participants taking part in the broad types of activities they run - from After School clubs to a Football Arts Academy to diversity and anti-racism project 'Onside'. There is clear evidence that the health and education programmes in particular have provided outstanding results for the local area. In particular the judging panel were highly complementary of 'Health Kicks', a health programme that acts as the bridge between the Health services and adult men using football as the engagement tool, and also especially the partnerships with Southampton Primary Care Trust and Sure Start Children Centres.
SOUTHEND UNITED ('COMMUNITY & EDUCATIONAL TRUST'):
Southend United have produced a stunning range of activities for their community over the past year with over 30 different schemes and projects. During 2009 over 40,000 individuals took part in the various initiatives delivered by the Trust, covering all ages. The Trust's fantastic range of activities is capped by their flagship 'Goals' project which has produced great results which has led to a nomination for 'Best Project by a Professional Sports Team' category at the 2009 Beyond Sport Awards. As well as being concerned about the health and education of the participants of the schemes, the Trust have also offered additional training and development support for their employees. Examples of such training include makaton sign language, time and project management, IT skills and general sports and fitness qualifications. The Southend United Community & Educational Trust clearly understands and demonstrates how to operate effectively and offer sustainable, long term benefits to their local community whilst producing outstanding results.
WATFORD ('COMMUNITY SPORTS & EDUCATION TRUST')
Watford has had a very successful year supporting their community and the judges were full of praise that a club with a fantastic track record of community work is continuing to deliver. Their strategic framework has enabled Watford to deliver an excellent spread of activities as well as an impressive depth of funding. They offered around 8,500 different sessions through the year, attracting in excess of 150,000 participants. Programmes they run include anything from Breakfast Clubs right the way up to a state for the art Learning Centre. One project worthy of special mention though is Watford 'MyPlace' project because for the Trust this is a groundbreaking project as they have not been involved in a capital project like this before. 'MyPlace' is a £4.2 million project that involves knocking down and re-building a youth centre into a world class youth and community facility. It is projects such as this that see Watford's Community Scheme continue to evolve and develop, setting the standard as one of the leading community focused clubs in the country. Football League
Ben Kosky/Kilburn Times - QPR chief keen to renew dialogue with fans-
QPR'S new board intend to reopen fans' forums as part of a campaign to draw disillusioned supporters back to Loftus Road.
Meetings with fans' representatives had been held on a regular basis until Flavio Briatore took over the club in 2007 and they may return following Briatore's recent resignation as chairman of QPR Holdings Ltd.
Asked whether fans' forums were on the agenda for the new regime, chairman Ishan Saksena told the Times: "Absolutely. We want to communicate more with the fans and start a dialogue with them.
"That is a strategy we're in the process of forming and the commitment is there to do that. We need to have the support of our fans and keep building that up.
"We have stability back in the club and we want to do things in a financially prudent way. I think the most important decision we took was to get Neil Warnock as manager.
"That's our first real solid attempt to show the fans that we remain true to our vision of being successful in the future. I'm confident the fans will get the message and I'm relying on them to be part of the QPR family."
Saksena confirmed that he will work 'closely' with Warnock but, unlike his predecessor, does not plan to be involved in football affairs.
"There's the football side, which Neil will handle, and I'll handle the business and financial aspect," he added.
"We'll work in close consultation with the board prior to making decisions. Decisions were made in the past and some of them could have been altered in retrospect, but the intention was always to do the best thing.
"The dream is still there of making it to the Premier League. I know Neil will be able to help us get there, but right now we're concentrating on the short-term, trying to solidify our position in the Championship. Kilburn Times
The Gianni Paladini Interviews: Two Interviews With QPR Chairman Gianni Paladini
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-QPR REPORT Available on TWITTER!
- Visit the growing QPR and football-only QPR Report Messageboard (and quasi-blog)
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- An Italian Interested in Buying QPR?
- QPR Ladies Reach The Cup Final
- QPR Beat Plymouth: Match Reports and Comments
- Raheem Sterling's Scoring Debut for Liverpool Youth
- Chelsea Face Questions over Unlicensed Agent
- On This Day in Football (March 10)...QPR Loss at Fulham
- Football League Support for National Association of Disabled Supporters (NADS)
- Southend's New Assistant Manger is...David Webb
- Country Where the Most World Cup Tickets Have Been Sold
- Best Football League Programmes Shortlist
- Football League's Shortlist for "Family Club" Awards
Two Interviews With QPR's Gianni Paladini
Audio of JNETRadio's Brian Melzack Interview With Gianni Paladini
- Part 1) https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=batch_download&send_id=832589734&email=8bf225199db7217e4481c095af701ce3
- Part 2) https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=S1VDZEU1TlFveE1LSkE9PQ
- Part 3) https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=S1VDZEU0WlRCTW5IRGc9PQ
A Fan "SM" Interview with Gianni Paladini
Firstly Gianni, how did the Director of Football role come about?
When Flavio took over the club, he wanted to do things the Italian way. In Italy all the clubs have both a manager and a director of football, and with my past in the sport Flavio decided that this role would be best suited for me.
So what exactly did this role involve?
My main activities were to keep Flavio informed of everything that was happening at the club. All owners of football clubs want to know what is happening, and this was no different. I helped with bringing in players alongside the manager, we would identify a player and watch them together. I would deal with the player’s contracts. I was also involved with helping with a couple of other sponsorship deals.
You mentioned player contracts, why were the likes of Agyemang & Hall given such large deals?
Agyemang was wanted by both ourselves and Charlton. At the time, Charlton were doing very well in the league and they could offer him a much better chance of Premiership football. So it was difficult for us to compete with them. They also offered him a very good contract, and we needed to make it attractive for him to come here. When he first joined he was fantastic, scoring 7 goals in 8 games it looked a very good signing. Obviously in hindsight, of course we did pay over the odds. But we needed a striker, and he fit the bill at the time.
As for Fitz Hall, he was a Premiership player with Wigan. To try and get a player to drop down a division isn’t easy. So as was the case with Agyemang we paid what we needed to get him to join us.
You also briefly touched on your past in football, can you tell us a bit more about that?
Gianni smiles. I was an agent for a number of years, and when the international players started to come across to England I was involved in a large amount of them. I think there were only around 6 agents at the time that dealt with these international deals and I was in a fortunate position. I was involved with Cantona, Gascoigne, Ravanelli, Gullit... (and continued to go through a whole list of names off the tip of his tongue – like the above, they were MASSIVE players).
I was absolutely flying at this stage. I was even involved in arranging friendly matches between European sides, it was fantastic. I made some brilliant contacts during these times. I earned extremely well from this.
I assume being an ex-agent must help when dealing with them? I hate them!
I hate them as well (laughs a lot!). You have to know how they work, but being an ex-agent has helped me. On a few occasions we have been sat down with an agent discussing a contract for a player, and you give them just the slightest bit of respect, and they walk all over you.
We had this one agent before; he came in and made very silly demands. I hit my hand on the table, and told him to get out. We knew that who we were trying to get was keen to come here. The agent then backed down abit, but I still threw him out. The other people in the room turned at me and said “Why do that?” I told them to just wait and see, within 45 minutes he will call us back. Just 20 minutes later he was on the phone, and when he came back WE were the ones that told him how it was going to be. It’s just the way that they work.
Gianni continues…
Eventually I ended up looking at a number of different clubs – Derby & Port Vale were the two that I was really interested in. Then one day I came to watch a QPR match. We were playing Wycombe away, and I instantly fell in love. He look’s with a huge grin on his face… What a fantastic club! I met Bill Power at the game, and he said to me that without investment soon QPR would end up going into administration. The next day I contacted him and invested the £700k needed to keep the club afloat. I didn’t even look at the accounts or what other debts were owed, I only realized how much financial trouble we were in a little further down the line. But we just couldn’t let that happen to this club. After being on the board for a while, I managed to get Caliendo and Dunga to come in and invest good money as well. We were extremely close to the line at times.
How close to going under were we?
I remortgaged my house to make sure that we could pay tax bills. Caliendo also invested good money into the club, as did Dunga and Bill Power. Kevin McGrath also worked tirelessly behind the scenes and did a tremendous job for us. I always made the promise to the fans that this club would never go into administration while I was here, and I would do anything to make sure that this never happened. Before the takeover from Flavio we were again close to going under, we needed someone with money to come in quickly and save us. Without the money from the Lee Cook sale the club would have gone bust, we just had to sell to give us some breathing space.
It was a very hard stage for me. Going home to my wife and trying to keep myself upbeat was horrible, and it was an extremely stressful time. Make no mistake; this would have hurt me personally as well, as I had put a lot of my money into the club. When I used to go to bed, all I could think about was my family, the press and our supporters… I would feel as if I betrayed them if the club did go into administration while I was on the board. I chased Flavio all round the world before he came in and saved the club, and the relief and emotion that went through me when it eventually was completed… unbelievable!
You mentioned Bill Power above, what is your relationship like with him now?
Bill is a great friend to me, and a truly fantastic man. My relationship with him is very very good, and we are in contact fairly regularly. He text me the other day, I was devastated to hear about his accident.
At this stage Gianni went through his phone and turned it towards me with a message on there from Bill Power. From memory I think the text was sent around 3 weeks ago…
“Hello Gianni, last night I was taken into hospital…”
I didn’t read the whole text (it was like an essay!) but I noted that the wording showed it was sent to Gianni the very next morning after Bill had been taken in.
I got back into my seat at this stage, and Gianni proceeded to shake his head left and right and said what a huge shame to hear about his ill health, he was clearly very upset about it.
I have to say I didn’t realize he was quite so close to him, I thought that they no longer got along with each other… but as the text he showed me proved, that wasn’t actually the case at all.
Just changing the subject slightly Gianni, I presume you are no longer DOF?
No there is no director of football anymore. I am chairman of QPR, this is all. I resigned from this position a couple of weeks ago now. We learned from the mistakes that we have made, and they have now been rectified, and we can push on and move forward. This is the best thing for QPR.
So will you have any say in transfers/team affairs?
None. Warnock has complete control over everything on the playing side now.
So what will your day to day activities be at QPR now? How long is your contract for?
I am here now to represent the club. I will make sure that the staff around Loftus Road are happy, and make sure things continue to keep ticking along alongside Ishan.
In football contracts are worth very little now. Technically I have a contract for another 3 years at the club, but things can change. Depending on my health I may not stay this long, or I may stay beyond 3 years. I think it’s better to view it as a rolling contract than a fixed period of time… You never know what can happen.
What was the truth behind what happened with Gino Padula? Did you pay back the money we lost?
I made a big mistake with Gino Padula, I was naïve and I take full responsibility for what happened. Gino came to me personally, and he was having some problems with his wife at the time. He wanted to purchase a property, but he needed to show a contract in order to do this. I approached Bill Power and Antonio Caliendo, and we agreed to give him this contract as a favour.
Gino ended up going and playing for Forest the following season, I think he earned slightly less for them than he did for us, but was still on good money. Then the agent comes to us with the contract we had given him demanding the money! We were left with no option but to pay back the expenses. I said that I would pay for the error, but bill and Antonio said that we were in this together, and we paid the debt to him.
I do hold my hands up though, it was me that approached them with this request for Gino, it was my mistake.
On the accounts it shows a £140k interest-free loan being credited to you? Can you explain this?
Legally I cannot discuss this. I will answer everything that I possibly can, providing that I am able. Sorry.
Sticking with the accounts, it says that your wife is a consultant for the club? What does she do?
I needed to set this up when I bought QPR. As a licensed FIFA agent you cannot own more than 10% of any football club, as it is viewed as a conflict of interests. I set up a company (he mentioned the name but I didn’t catch what it was), and my wife went down as a director of it. Where I am not English and was not a UK resident at the time, it meant I couldn’t get an English bank account, so having this company enabled me to invest in QPR. I then got rid of my FIFA license, and since the club has been taken over this no longer exists. It was just how things had to be done.
Moving onto the playing side now, how did we find Faurlin and what was paid for him?
Gianni started by asking me what I thought of him. I said that I really rated him, and still think he has been one of our best signings for a long time. Gianni nodded and agreed, and said what a huge admirer of him he is.
Faurlin came as a recommendation from a close friend I have at Inter Milan. They had been watching him for quite some time, but eventually decided that he probably wouldn’t be good enough to fit into their plans. My friend got on the phone to me and said “Get over there quickly, you HAVE to see this kid play, he would be brilliant for QPR” so that’s what we did. We went over to Argentina to watch him play, and of all the games to do it - he goes and gets himself sent off! But the talent that he had was clear to see, we knew he would be a great signing. We started talking with him, and found that his contract was due to expire at the end of that season. He verbally agreed to sign for us there and then.
As for the fee, it can rise to £3.5 million if certain clauses are met, but it wasn’t paid upfront.
Why did no players show up for the XMAS fun day at Loftus Road?
I didn’t even know that there was a fun day planned at Loftus Road, this is the first I have heard about this. It’s not something that I was involved in. On behalf of the club, I apologise for any families that were let down. Moving forward, these mistakes will not be made again.
How about player power? Is that a cause for concern?
Not at all, individual players don’t make the decisions on what managers can stay or leave QPR.
Was there not a bust up between Buzsaky and Magilton that led to the latter leaving? Taarabt even came out and criticized Paul Hart after he left the club?
There was a difference between those two of them. Jim Magilton is a superb manager, I really liked him. The team played attacking football, and when we were winning things couldn’t have been better, the football was good eh? Gianni then sighed… but when he loses things are terrible.
He does and says silly things to the players, and he lost the dressing room after the run of bad results. I think the problem was just inexperience; he can be a fantastic manager. If one player has a problem with manager, ok you can continue. But when the whole squad turn on him it’s very difficult to see any other way.
With Paul Hart (Gianni paused for a moment here)… he just wasn’t the manager for us. The football was dreadful, he would have taken us to relegation. I think fans could see this, and the board could as well. It’s true that Taarabt had problems with him, but he wasn’t the only one. The players couldn’t play the way that he wanted.
But was Taarabt not complaining about lack of first team football?
Yes, but there was more problems with Hart than just this. How many games did Taarabt start under Harford? Not much, he doesn’t get games... But he didn’t complain about him, actually he said he really liked him.
The problem with Hart was that he would get us relegated, and that showed on the pitch.
On the point of Harford, will he be staying at the club in some capacity?
No no, Warnock wants to bring his own staff with him. Harford has now left QPR.
Why was Routledge allowed to leave the club?
Routledge had been in very good form for us this season, he’s a player that I really like.
When Borough and Newcastle said that they were interested, he told us that he wanted to leave the club, so we got the best offer that we could for him. If Newcastle get promotion, the deal will be worth £2.2 million in total. We insisted on a £200k payment if they go up this season.
Will we be scrapping the loan system next season?
No team will ever win promotion by having a team full of loan players. Having a couple can be a good thing for the club, but having a team made of them doesn’t work. Believe me Warnock will not have this.
Maybe if a good player is available we may loan, that can be a very good thing. But no more than this, we need to buy players.
Who was responsible for Bent and Priskin?
I was the one that negotiated the deals for them, but Mick Harford identified the players. Bent agreed to take a £20k a week pay cut to come here, so we aren’t spending much money on him. Paul Hart really wanted to sign Quashie, so we backed him and signed Nigel.
So what is the policy for selling players now? Are we a selling club?
Warnock is our manager, he will make every decision on the playing side. If we receive an offer, Neil will be the one that decides if it will be accepted or not.
The Mittal’s will back him one thousand percent. I can’t see any players leaving us unless we decide to let them leave from now on.
A lot of fans have been crying out for us to gain academy status, will this ever happen?
We want an academy at QPR. Amit desperately wants that as well, but there are complications with trying to get it in our current situation.
What’s wrong with our current situation?
To gain an academy status, you have to have an undercover pitch within the training complex. We have the facilities to do this, but we don’t own Harlington. This makes having this pitch a big problem. If we ever moved from Harlington training ground, we could potentially lose the status that we spent so much money on trying to get. There are also issues with building this pitch on ground that doesn’t belong to us.
But Amit is keen for us to have our own youth academy, and we have been in contact with both Harlington and the FA on how we go about it. This will happen, the wheels are in motion.
Why couldn’t we hang on to Raheem Sterling?
Raheem was a very difficult situation that we were put in. He was training with the first team before he left; he had a number of training sessions with them. When you looked at him during these sessions though, he looked way out of his depth. Of course, he was only 15 years old. But you get a lot of players that are very promising at that age, and they don’t always develop as you would hope. It’s the same with Dean Parrett, he hasn’t developed as quickly as people thought that he may do.
We made a massive offer to keep Raheem at the club. We offered to provide him with a house, and support for his mother. It was the largest deal that QPR had put forward to any of its youth players in our history. Even with all the speculation he kept his feet on the ground, but his agent started to make things very difficult for him.
He got him an expensive watch, and was throwing money at him to tempt him to leave for another club. Fulham were very keen to sign him, he didn’t want to go there. He always wanted to stay here at QPR, but his agent turned his head and when Liverpool came in for him he said he wanted to leave us. So we reluctantly accepted. Agents should not be allowed to deal with players of this age, the longer that Raheem listened to him, the more he began to change. But I wish him all the best, he is a great prospect.
We do have very good young players in the youth team here though. Elvijs is very highly rated amongst the coaches, and we have one or two other youngsters that really stand out as well. I hope they can follow Antonio and push for a place in the first team sooner rather than later too.
What scouting system do we have in place?
We receive recommendations, some we will watch on video and others we will go to see ourselves. All these decisions will lie with Neil from now on though; he will decide who he chooses to bring in.
We seem to sign a fair few players from Base Soccer?
We actually have more players with a company called Stella than we do with Base Soccer. Connolly, Ramage, Antonio are with Stella. Gorkss has his father as an agent. Stewart and Cerny have private agents.
These companies like Base Soccer and Stella are just an umbrella for football agents to fall under. We don’t deal with Base Soccer, we deal with the agent. We don’t have any idea which player is with which agent until we start talks with them.
Base Soccer do have a large number of agents though, and you will find most clubs will have a number of their players represented by them.
Looking at the change in ownership now, what kind of owners do you foresee the Mittals as?
They are very keen to build relationships with the supporters. Ishan and Amit want to see Loftus Road full next season, and they are in discussions about how they can make season tickets more affordable and attractive to supporters.
They will open up the paths of communication between fans, and this will become clear over the course of the season. This will be a very happy club under their ownership. They have big things planned for us now. The club is in fantastic hands.
What are your first impressions of Ishan Aksena?
He is a very nice lad; he has been a close friend of Amit for a long time. I think that they went to school with each other as well, but it’s great to have him on board with us. He has learnt a lot about QPR in the small amount of time he has been here already. He is a little too good looking for my liking though!
So what percentage of QPR is owned by the Mittal’s? Does Flavio have any say?
I can’t discuss the percentages. The Mittal’s have the final say on all matters now. Flavio does still hold a stake in QPR, and we shouldn’t forget that he is the one that came in and saved this club when it was on its knees. It’s important to remember. But yes the Mittal’s are now running the club.
What about our debt situation? Are there major debts owned to other parties?
This is not something we need to be concerned about. The Mittal’s have all this in hand. Any loss we make is easily sustainable by them, and the passion that they have for QPR is enormous. No fan needs to worry about debts. Like I said before, the club is in fantastic hands.
Paulo Sousa -
Unfortunately, I am unable to write ANYTHING with regards to Paulo Sousa. Where there is still an ongoing legal dispute regarding his dismissal, the QPR legal team have categorically stated that NO comments/quotes are to be made until after the legalities are finalized.
I did however take the opportunity to ask some of those core questions, and I will post these online as and when I am allowed. I don’t see any harm in saying that Gianni has an enormous amount of respect for him, and wishes him well with his job at Swansea.
As I said, I will elaborate on this much further when I can.
Is there any other message for supporters you want me to pass across?
Keep up your great support.
Things haven’t worked out as we hoped for, but we all want what is best for QPR. With Neil in charge, and with Ishan and Amit, QPR is really going places now. We will be successful, big things will happen here now.
At the end of this season, Amit has an annual football tournament on the Loftus Road pitch. I want to get a team of QPR supporters to come and play against them, but they need to be careful – these are Amit’s friends. So no sliding tackles or anything!! (laughs).
We will try and get something sorted for this nearer the time, but the family feel needs to come back to the club, and this will be another small step in that direction.
-QPR REPORT Available on TWITTER!
- Visit the growing QPR and football-only QPR Report Messageboard (and quasi-blog)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
- An Italian Interested in Buying QPR?
- QPR Ladies Reach The Cup Final
- QPR Beat Plymouth: Match Reports and Comments
- Raheem Sterling's Scoring Debut for Liverpool Youth
- Chelsea Face Questions over Unlicensed Agent
- On This Day in Football (March 10)...QPR Loss at Fulham
- Football League Support for National Association of Disabled Supporters (NADS)
- Southend's New Assistant Manger is...David Webb
- Country Where the Most World Cup Tickets Have Been Sold
- Best Football League Programmes Shortlist
- Football League's Shortlist for "Family Club" Awards
Two Interviews With QPR's Gianni Paladini
Audio of JNETRadio's Brian Melzack Interview With Gianni Paladini
- Part 1) https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=batch_download&send_id=832589734&email=8bf225199db7217e4481c095af701ce3
- Part 2) https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=S1VDZEU1TlFveE1LSkE9PQ
- Part 3) https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=S1VDZEU0WlRCTW5IRGc9PQ
A Fan "SM" Interview with Gianni Paladini
Firstly Gianni, how did the Director of Football role come about?
When Flavio took over the club, he wanted to do things the Italian way. In Italy all the clubs have both a manager and a director of football, and with my past in the sport Flavio decided that this role would be best suited for me.
So what exactly did this role involve?
My main activities were to keep Flavio informed of everything that was happening at the club. All owners of football clubs want to know what is happening, and this was no different. I helped with bringing in players alongside the manager, we would identify a player and watch them together. I would deal with the player’s contracts. I was also involved with helping with a couple of other sponsorship deals.
You mentioned player contracts, why were the likes of Agyemang & Hall given such large deals?
Agyemang was wanted by both ourselves and Charlton. At the time, Charlton were doing very well in the league and they could offer him a much better chance of Premiership football. So it was difficult for us to compete with them. They also offered him a very good contract, and we needed to make it attractive for him to come here. When he first joined he was fantastic, scoring 7 goals in 8 games it looked a very good signing. Obviously in hindsight, of course we did pay over the odds. But we needed a striker, and he fit the bill at the time.
As for Fitz Hall, he was a Premiership player with Wigan. To try and get a player to drop down a division isn’t easy. So as was the case with Agyemang we paid what we needed to get him to join us.
You also briefly touched on your past in football, can you tell us a bit more about that?
Gianni smiles. I was an agent for a number of years, and when the international players started to come across to England I was involved in a large amount of them. I think there were only around 6 agents at the time that dealt with these international deals and I was in a fortunate position. I was involved with Cantona, Gascoigne, Ravanelli, Gullit... (and continued to go through a whole list of names off the tip of his tongue – like the above, they were MASSIVE players).
I was absolutely flying at this stage. I was even involved in arranging friendly matches between European sides, it was fantastic. I made some brilliant contacts during these times. I earned extremely well from this.
I assume being an ex-agent must help when dealing with them? I hate them!
I hate them as well (laughs a lot!). You have to know how they work, but being an ex-agent has helped me. On a few occasions we have been sat down with an agent discussing a contract for a player, and you give them just the slightest bit of respect, and they walk all over you.
We had this one agent before; he came in and made very silly demands. I hit my hand on the table, and told him to get out. We knew that who we were trying to get was keen to come here. The agent then backed down abit, but I still threw him out. The other people in the room turned at me and said “Why do that?” I told them to just wait and see, within 45 minutes he will call us back. Just 20 minutes later he was on the phone, and when he came back WE were the ones that told him how it was going to be. It’s just the way that they work.
Gianni continues…
Eventually I ended up looking at a number of different clubs – Derby & Port Vale were the two that I was really interested in. Then one day I came to watch a QPR match. We were playing Wycombe away, and I instantly fell in love. He look’s with a huge grin on his face… What a fantastic club! I met Bill Power at the game, and he said to me that without investment soon QPR would end up going into administration. The next day I contacted him and invested the £700k needed to keep the club afloat. I didn’t even look at the accounts or what other debts were owed, I only realized how much financial trouble we were in a little further down the line. But we just couldn’t let that happen to this club. After being on the board for a while, I managed to get Caliendo and Dunga to come in and invest good money as well. We were extremely close to the line at times.
How close to going under were we?
I remortgaged my house to make sure that we could pay tax bills. Caliendo also invested good money into the club, as did Dunga and Bill Power. Kevin McGrath also worked tirelessly behind the scenes and did a tremendous job for us. I always made the promise to the fans that this club would never go into administration while I was here, and I would do anything to make sure that this never happened. Before the takeover from Flavio we were again close to going under, we needed someone with money to come in quickly and save us. Without the money from the Lee Cook sale the club would have gone bust, we just had to sell to give us some breathing space.
It was a very hard stage for me. Going home to my wife and trying to keep myself upbeat was horrible, and it was an extremely stressful time. Make no mistake; this would have hurt me personally as well, as I had put a lot of my money into the club. When I used to go to bed, all I could think about was my family, the press and our supporters… I would feel as if I betrayed them if the club did go into administration while I was on the board. I chased Flavio all round the world before he came in and saved the club, and the relief and emotion that went through me when it eventually was completed… unbelievable!
You mentioned Bill Power above, what is your relationship like with him now?
Bill is a great friend to me, and a truly fantastic man. My relationship with him is very very good, and we are in contact fairly regularly. He text me the other day, I was devastated to hear about his accident.
At this stage Gianni went through his phone and turned it towards me with a message on there from Bill Power. From memory I think the text was sent around 3 weeks ago…
“Hello Gianni, last night I was taken into hospital…”
I didn’t read the whole text (it was like an essay!) but I noted that the wording showed it was sent to Gianni the very next morning after Bill had been taken in.
I got back into my seat at this stage, and Gianni proceeded to shake his head left and right and said what a huge shame to hear about his ill health, he was clearly very upset about it.
I have to say I didn’t realize he was quite so close to him, I thought that they no longer got along with each other… but as the text he showed me proved, that wasn’t actually the case at all.
Just changing the subject slightly Gianni, I presume you are no longer DOF?
No there is no director of football anymore. I am chairman of QPR, this is all. I resigned from this position a couple of weeks ago now. We learned from the mistakes that we have made, and they have now been rectified, and we can push on and move forward. This is the best thing for QPR.
So will you have any say in transfers/team affairs?
None. Warnock has complete control over everything on the playing side now.
So what will your day to day activities be at QPR now? How long is your contract for?
I am here now to represent the club. I will make sure that the staff around Loftus Road are happy, and make sure things continue to keep ticking along alongside Ishan.
In football contracts are worth very little now. Technically I have a contract for another 3 years at the club, but things can change. Depending on my health I may not stay this long, or I may stay beyond 3 years. I think it’s better to view it as a rolling contract than a fixed period of time… You never know what can happen.
What was the truth behind what happened with Gino Padula? Did you pay back the money we lost?
I made a big mistake with Gino Padula, I was naïve and I take full responsibility for what happened. Gino came to me personally, and he was having some problems with his wife at the time. He wanted to purchase a property, but he needed to show a contract in order to do this. I approached Bill Power and Antonio Caliendo, and we agreed to give him this contract as a favour.
Gino ended up going and playing for Forest the following season, I think he earned slightly less for them than he did for us, but was still on good money. Then the agent comes to us with the contract we had given him demanding the money! We were left with no option but to pay back the expenses. I said that I would pay for the error, but bill and Antonio said that we were in this together, and we paid the debt to him.
I do hold my hands up though, it was me that approached them with this request for Gino, it was my mistake.
On the accounts it shows a £140k interest-free loan being credited to you? Can you explain this?
Legally I cannot discuss this. I will answer everything that I possibly can, providing that I am able. Sorry.
Sticking with the accounts, it says that your wife is a consultant for the club? What does she do?
I needed to set this up when I bought QPR. As a licensed FIFA agent you cannot own more than 10% of any football club, as it is viewed as a conflict of interests. I set up a company (he mentioned the name but I didn’t catch what it was), and my wife went down as a director of it. Where I am not English and was not a UK resident at the time, it meant I couldn’t get an English bank account, so having this company enabled me to invest in QPR. I then got rid of my FIFA license, and since the club has been taken over this no longer exists. It was just how things had to be done.
Moving onto the playing side now, how did we find Faurlin and what was paid for him?
Gianni started by asking me what I thought of him. I said that I really rated him, and still think he has been one of our best signings for a long time. Gianni nodded and agreed, and said what a huge admirer of him he is.
Faurlin came as a recommendation from a close friend I have at Inter Milan. They had been watching him for quite some time, but eventually decided that he probably wouldn’t be good enough to fit into their plans. My friend got on the phone to me and said “Get over there quickly, you HAVE to see this kid play, he would be brilliant for QPR” so that’s what we did. We went over to Argentina to watch him play, and of all the games to do it - he goes and gets himself sent off! But the talent that he had was clear to see, we knew he would be a great signing. We started talking with him, and found that his contract was due to expire at the end of that season. He verbally agreed to sign for us there and then.
As for the fee, it can rise to £3.5 million if certain clauses are met, but it wasn’t paid upfront.
Why did no players show up for the XMAS fun day at Loftus Road?
I didn’t even know that there was a fun day planned at Loftus Road, this is the first I have heard about this. It’s not something that I was involved in. On behalf of the club, I apologise for any families that were let down. Moving forward, these mistakes will not be made again.
How about player power? Is that a cause for concern?
Not at all, individual players don’t make the decisions on what managers can stay or leave QPR.
Was there not a bust up between Buzsaky and Magilton that led to the latter leaving? Taarabt even came out and criticized Paul Hart after he left the club?
There was a difference between those two of them. Jim Magilton is a superb manager, I really liked him. The team played attacking football, and when we were winning things couldn’t have been better, the football was good eh? Gianni then sighed… but when he loses things are terrible.
He does and says silly things to the players, and he lost the dressing room after the run of bad results. I think the problem was just inexperience; he can be a fantastic manager. If one player has a problem with manager, ok you can continue. But when the whole squad turn on him it’s very difficult to see any other way.
With Paul Hart (Gianni paused for a moment here)… he just wasn’t the manager for us. The football was dreadful, he would have taken us to relegation. I think fans could see this, and the board could as well. It’s true that Taarabt had problems with him, but he wasn’t the only one. The players couldn’t play the way that he wanted.
But was Taarabt not complaining about lack of first team football?
Yes, but there was more problems with Hart than just this. How many games did Taarabt start under Harford? Not much, he doesn’t get games... But he didn’t complain about him, actually he said he really liked him.
The problem with Hart was that he would get us relegated, and that showed on the pitch.
On the point of Harford, will he be staying at the club in some capacity?
No no, Warnock wants to bring his own staff with him. Harford has now left QPR.
Why was Routledge allowed to leave the club?
Routledge had been in very good form for us this season, he’s a player that I really like.
When Borough and Newcastle said that they were interested, he told us that he wanted to leave the club, so we got the best offer that we could for him. If Newcastle get promotion, the deal will be worth £2.2 million in total. We insisted on a £200k payment if they go up this season.
Will we be scrapping the loan system next season?
No team will ever win promotion by having a team full of loan players. Having a couple can be a good thing for the club, but having a team made of them doesn’t work. Believe me Warnock will not have this.
Maybe if a good player is available we may loan, that can be a very good thing. But no more than this, we need to buy players.
Who was responsible for Bent and Priskin?
I was the one that negotiated the deals for them, but Mick Harford identified the players. Bent agreed to take a £20k a week pay cut to come here, so we aren’t spending much money on him. Paul Hart really wanted to sign Quashie, so we backed him and signed Nigel.
So what is the policy for selling players now? Are we a selling club?
Warnock is our manager, he will make every decision on the playing side. If we receive an offer, Neil will be the one that decides if it will be accepted or not.
The Mittal’s will back him one thousand percent. I can’t see any players leaving us unless we decide to let them leave from now on.
A lot of fans have been crying out for us to gain academy status, will this ever happen?
We want an academy at QPR. Amit desperately wants that as well, but there are complications with trying to get it in our current situation.
What’s wrong with our current situation?
To gain an academy status, you have to have an undercover pitch within the training complex. We have the facilities to do this, but we don’t own Harlington. This makes having this pitch a big problem. If we ever moved from Harlington training ground, we could potentially lose the status that we spent so much money on trying to get. There are also issues with building this pitch on ground that doesn’t belong to us.
But Amit is keen for us to have our own youth academy, and we have been in contact with both Harlington and the FA on how we go about it. This will happen, the wheels are in motion.
Why couldn’t we hang on to Raheem Sterling?
Raheem was a very difficult situation that we were put in. He was training with the first team before he left; he had a number of training sessions with them. When you looked at him during these sessions though, he looked way out of his depth. Of course, he was only 15 years old. But you get a lot of players that are very promising at that age, and they don’t always develop as you would hope. It’s the same with Dean Parrett, he hasn’t developed as quickly as people thought that he may do.
We made a massive offer to keep Raheem at the club. We offered to provide him with a house, and support for his mother. It was the largest deal that QPR had put forward to any of its youth players in our history. Even with all the speculation he kept his feet on the ground, but his agent started to make things very difficult for him.
He got him an expensive watch, and was throwing money at him to tempt him to leave for another club. Fulham were very keen to sign him, he didn’t want to go there. He always wanted to stay here at QPR, but his agent turned his head and when Liverpool came in for him he said he wanted to leave us. So we reluctantly accepted. Agents should not be allowed to deal with players of this age, the longer that Raheem listened to him, the more he began to change. But I wish him all the best, he is a great prospect.
We do have very good young players in the youth team here though. Elvijs is very highly rated amongst the coaches, and we have one or two other youngsters that really stand out as well. I hope they can follow Antonio and push for a place in the first team sooner rather than later too.
What scouting system do we have in place?
We receive recommendations, some we will watch on video and others we will go to see ourselves. All these decisions will lie with Neil from now on though; he will decide who he chooses to bring in.
We seem to sign a fair few players from Base Soccer?
We actually have more players with a company called Stella than we do with Base Soccer. Connolly, Ramage, Antonio are with Stella. Gorkss has his father as an agent. Stewart and Cerny have private agents.
These companies like Base Soccer and Stella are just an umbrella for football agents to fall under. We don’t deal with Base Soccer, we deal with the agent. We don’t have any idea which player is with which agent until we start talks with them.
Base Soccer do have a large number of agents though, and you will find most clubs will have a number of their players represented by them.
Looking at the change in ownership now, what kind of owners do you foresee the Mittals as?
They are very keen to build relationships with the supporters. Ishan and Amit want to see Loftus Road full next season, and they are in discussions about how they can make season tickets more affordable and attractive to supporters.
They will open up the paths of communication between fans, and this will become clear over the course of the season. This will be a very happy club under their ownership. They have big things planned for us now. The club is in fantastic hands.
What are your first impressions of Ishan Aksena?
He is a very nice lad; he has been a close friend of Amit for a long time. I think that they went to school with each other as well, but it’s great to have him on board with us. He has learnt a lot about QPR in the small amount of time he has been here already. He is a little too good looking for my liking though!
So what percentage of QPR is owned by the Mittal’s? Does Flavio have any say?
I can’t discuss the percentages. The Mittal’s have the final say on all matters now. Flavio does still hold a stake in QPR, and we shouldn’t forget that he is the one that came in and saved this club when it was on its knees. It’s important to remember. But yes the Mittal’s are now running the club.
What about our debt situation? Are there major debts owned to other parties?
This is not something we need to be concerned about. The Mittal’s have all this in hand. Any loss we make is easily sustainable by them, and the passion that they have for QPR is enormous. No fan needs to worry about debts. Like I said before, the club is in fantastic hands.
Paulo Sousa -
Unfortunately, I am unable to write ANYTHING with regards to Paulo Sousa. Where there is still an ongoing legal dispute regarding his dismissal, the QPR legal team have categorically stated that NO comments/quotes are to be made until after the legalities are finalized.
I did however take the opportunity to ask some of those core questions, and I will post these online as and when I am allowed. I don’t see any harm in saying that Gianni has an enormous amount of respect for him, and wishes him well with his job at Swansea.
As I said, I will elaborate on this much further when I can.
Is there any other message for supporters you want me to pass across?
Keep up your great support.
Things haven’t worked out as we hoped for, but we all want what is best for QPR. With Neil in charge, and with Ishan and Amit, QPR is really going places now. We will be successful, big things will happen here now.
At the end of this season, Amit has an annual football tournament on the Loftus Road pitch. I want to get a team of QPR supporters to come and play against them, but they need to be careful – these are Amit’s friends. So no sliding tackles or anything!! (laughs).
We will try and get something sorted for this nearer the time, but the family feel needs to come back to the club, and this will be another small step in that direction.
QPR's Plymouth Win: Reports and Comments..Congratulations to QPR Ladies: Cup Finalists!
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- Visit the growing QPR and football-only QPR Report Messageboard (and quasi-blog)
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QPR Beat Plymouth...Win Two Games in a Row...Don't Concede a goal for the first time since mid-October (ending the League's Longest Run):
QPR Official SIte - WARNOCK: 'A PROFESSIONAL JOB'
- Neil Warnock hailed a 'job well done,' as the R's made it two wins out of two under his guidance with a comfortable 2-0 victory over relegation threatened Plymouth Argyle.
Goals in either half from Adel Taarabt and Damion Stewart clinched the victory, to the delight of the R's gaffer.
"It was a thoroughly professional performance," he told www.qpr.co.uk.
"Plymouth worked hard, but we had that extra bit about us and fully deserved the win."
Warnock reserved special praise for his back four and goalkeeper, who rarely looked troubled and kept a long awaited clean sheet.
"It was much-needed and well deserved, because we defended very well," he said.
"The two centre-backs were magnificent, as were the full-backs and Carl was solid as a rock.
"We've been very slack in the past looking at the DVD's, but we don't take unnecessary risks anymore and we got the clean sheet we were after tonight.
"We defended well as a team - right from the front through Jay, Adel and Hogan.
"They all worked very hard to close the game out." QPR
PLYMOUTH OFFICIAL SITE - SHOT IN THE FOOT
ARGYLE head coach Paul Mariner admitted his side had shot themselves in the foot after the Pilgrims went down 2-0 at Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday night.
A first-half penalty from Adel Taarabt followed by centre-back Damion Stewart's set-piece header three minutes after the break proved Argyle's undoing as they try to raise themselves out of Championship relegation trouble.
The spot-kick was awarded after Kári Árnason's soft foul on Tamas Priskin and Paul said: "It was a poor penalty to give away at that stage of the game.
"There was nothing in the game. [QPR] had a lot of possession in front of us but nothing really hurting us. We conceded a goal at the wrong time.
"Then, when you readjust, and try and change it up a little bit, we concede a goal after 48 minutes. We did that last week [at Sheffield United].
"A ball going into the box to the far post - you see that every five minutes in this league and for somebody to have a free header at the far post is unacceptable.
"A team in our position can't keep doing it. We can't keep shooting ourselves in the foot.
"Two-nil's a dodgy lead - everyone knows that in football - [but] we just couldn't crack a very, very strong well-marshalled QPR defence."
Paul and his assistant John Carver now have to raise their players for Saturday's visit to Coventry, and somehow put together a run to lift the club out of the bottom three.
"I think we have got some players who are obviously low on confidence," said Paul. "We're going to stay positive. The lads are very disappointed.
"The support was superb again tonight. I'm just sorry we couldn't give them a better show.
"In simplistic terms, we need to keep clean sheets and score goals, but that's easier said, than done, obviously.
"We have got to stick to the plan that's laid out. The reason that we only lost one game in five recently, up until tonight, was that we stuck to the game-plan, and we were extremely organised, and there was a tremendous amount of fight in the team."
Put to him that the football world has written off the Pilgrims as a Championship force, Paul said: "They've written us off ever since I took over, so that doesn't bother me in the slightest.
"I'm enjoying working with the players, and I believe the players are enjoying working with John and me. You can debate until you are blue in the face about the quality of the squad but, if you come and look at the day-to-day running and happenings, everything is hunky dory.
"It's just that there's a great deal of pressure on the players to perform on match-day, but that's why they play in the upper echelons of football - because they've got tremendous strength of character, technical ability and mental strength.
"We have tough run-in - there's no two ways about it. Every single game in this league is a very, very tough game: when you are in the position that we're in, when confidence is low, it's up to us as a management team to try to instil confidence in the players." Plymouth Official
The Times/Nick Szczepanik - Adel Taarabt’s magic does the trick for Neil Warnock
Neil Warnock, the Queens Park Rangers manager, admits that he has yet to master the pronunciation of Adel Taarabt’s name. But he already knows the value of the man he calls “Tarbs” to a team who have won both their Coca-Cola Championship matches since Warnock took over eight days ago.
Taarabt — in his second spell at Loftus Road on loan from Tottenham Hotspur — was on the pitch for only 72 minutes last night, but the ovation as he left it told the story of the match.
The Morocco midfield player had opened the scoring from the penalty spot with his sixth goal of the season, provided the assist for Damion Stewart to head the second and been a thorn in the side of a Plymouth Argyle team who were beaten far more convincingly than the score suggests.
“I knew he’d got a lot of ability,” Warnock said. “Harry [Redknapp, the Tottenham manager] said, ‘You’ll pull your hair out at times,’ but I think I’m the right type of manager for him, if I’m honest. I believe in him and he’s working as hard as he’s ever worked.”
Two errors by Kari Arnason gave QPR the advantage at half-time. First, the Iceland defender headed Alan Judge’s free kick over the bar when unmarked, then he wrestled Tamas Priskin to the ground. Taarabt converted the inevitable penalty kick.
Taarabt was enjoying himself immensely, getting on the ball as much as possible and taking on defenders. And his dead-ball delivery was spot-on four minutes into the second half, when his inswinging free kick from the left allowed Stewart to glance home his first goal of the season.
Taarabt tried to add more goals with shots from distance and although his accuracy did not match his ambition, QPR were not in the mood to let Plymouth off the hook.
“We knew Plymouth would fight for their lives, but the centre halves were outstanding,” Warnock said.
“It’s the first clean sheet in 25 matches, I’ve been told. I’m sure that’s right because it was the centre halves who told me.”
Plymouth remain seven points from safety. “We need to keep clean sheets and score goals, but it’s easier said than done,” Paul Mariner, the manager, said.
“David Stockdale hasn’t had to make a save and we’ve lost 2-0.
“It was a terrible penalty to give away and a free header on the far post is unforgivable.” The TImes
QPR Official Site - QPR vs Plymouth
Adel Taarabt and Damion Stewart were both on target as QPR collected three more vital points with victory over Plymouth Argyle at Loftus Road.
It turned out to be back-to-back victories for the R's following their 2-1 defeat of West Brom at the weekend, and they took the lead in the 36th minute from the penalty spot.
Tamas Priskin was adjudged to have been fouled in the area, before Taarabt stepped up to fire the ball home into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.
And the points were safe for Neil Warnock and his side just five minutes after the break. Taarabt turned from scorer to provider, sending a free-kick into the area that was expertly nodded home by Stewart to send the R's up to 15th spot in the Championship table.
QPR remained unchanged for the visit of Paul Mariner's Pilgrims to Loftus Road, though Lee Cook did return to the squad to take up his place on the substitutes' bench.
Rangers began with Carl Ikeme in goal.
Matt Connolly, Stewart, Kaspars Gorkss and Matt Hill made up the QPR backline.
Taarabt and Hogan Ephraim were out wide in midfield for the Hoops, while skipper Mikele Leigertwood and Alejandro Faurlin began in the middle of the park.
Jay Simpson was joined by Priskin up front.
Rangers were out of the traps immediately.
After a lovely passing move between Faurlin, Taarabt and Simpson, the ball fell to Priskin but he couldn't quite get a shot away from ten-yards out when under pressure from his marker.
Chances were hardly forthcoming in the opening ten minutes, as both sides seemed intent on keeping things tight in the early stages of the match.
It was Rangers who were posing more of a threat if any, however, and when Ephraim combined with Faurlin down the left, his cross went agonisingly across the face of goal before eventually being cleared away from danger.
Soon after, when the R's won a free-kick midway into Plymouth's half, a Taarabt ball from deep was headed harmlessly wide by Priskin.
The hosts, by now, were shading the affair in terms of possession, and they created their best chance to date when Ephraim won the ball back on the edge of the area, before cutting in to shoot straight at David Stockdale in the Argyle net.
QPR were getting closer to finding that opening goal of the match, and moments later they came within inches of finding it.
Connolly found Taarabt, who in turn played a cutting through ball to Simpson.
Through on goal but under pressure from a defender, the Arsenal loanee could only fire just wide of the right-hand post.
Moments later, the R's were again on the attack, though after a free-flowing passing move between Ephraim, Faurlin, Leigertwood and Connolly, the latter fired high and wide of the goal.
Play then switched to the other end, where the visitors created their best to date chance to score - and nearly did so.
After Argyle won a free-kick on the left, Alan Judge's delightful centre found the head of Karl Arnason, who could head just over the target.
The R's - and namely Taarabt - then almost found an opening goal of the game that would have surely been a contender for goal of the season.
Taarabt found the ball just outside the area, producing several step-overs that led to him beating two opponents and shooting just wide of the goal.
The Loftus Road faithful weren't made to wait too much longer for that first goal though, as QPR raced into the lead moments later from the penalty spot.
Taarabt and Connolly combined before the right-back crossed for Priskin in the box, who was deemed to have been tugged back.
Moroccan international Taarabt stepped up to take the spot-kick and did not disappoint, sliding the ball home into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.
Just before the interval, Rangers missed two superb chances to find a second goal.
Stewart's opportunity was probably the better of the two, after he headed just over when Faurlin's free-kick was nodded on by Connolly for QPR.
That was before Ephraim found the ball down the left and sent over a cross that somehow went across the face of goal and was then cleared for a corner kick.
As the play got underway in the second half, the R's took just five minutes to add that all important two-goal cushion in the affair.
When Taarabt was felled on the left, he dusted himself down before sending in a delicious free-kick on to the head of Stewart.
The big defender couldn't miss thereafter, nodding past Stockdale to double Rangers' lead.
Buoyed by their second, the R's almost added a third when Taarabt's cross dropped to Faurlin on the edge of the area, but he could only blast over the goal.
And it was that combination that was in the thick of the action once again. Taarabt fed Faurlin on the left-hand side of the area, before the Argentine midfielder shot straight at the Plymouth keeper.
Taarabt was proving a constant menace to the Pilgrims' back four, and he was inches wide of finding a QPR third after he beat one man and sent a shot just past the left-hand upright for Rangers.
Soon after, Leigertwood breezed past three men down the right before sending in a cross for Simpson, who could only shoot just wide of Stockdale's left-hand post.
R's gaffer Warnock then decided to change things in midfield with Akos Buzsaky replacing the excellent Taarabt, who was given a standing ovation by the QPR fans.
The Hoops could, and probably should, have added a third goal just before the match reached its conclusion in W12.
Simpson was almost rewarded for some persistent hustling that resulted in a mix-up between a Pilgrims defender and keeper Stockdale, though he could only shoot wide with his left foot.
QPR: Ikeme, Stewart, Leigertwood, Gorkss, Connolly, Faurlin, Hill, Simpson (Vine 85), Ephraim (Cook 78), Priskin, Taarabt (Buzsaky 73). Subs: Cerny, Ramage, Borrowdale, German. Goals: Taarabt (Pen 36), Stewart (50) Bookings: Hill, Connolly
Plymouth Argyle: Stockdale, Duguid, Fletcher, Johnson, Mackie, Arnason, Fallon (Mason 55), Barker, Sawyer, Eckersley, Judge (Bolasie 55).
Subs: Larrieu, Wright-Phillips, McNamee, Summerfield, Cooper.
Bookings: Duguid, Eckersley, Barker
Referee: Mr P Tierney Attendance: 12, 013 (863) QPR
PLYMOUTH OFFICIAL SITE
QPR vs Plymouth
2 - 0
Date:
09/03/2010
Venue:
Loftus Road
Attendance:
12,013
Referee:
Paul Tierney
QPR 2
Taarabt pen 35, Stewart 50
Argyle 0
MOROCCAN midfielder Adel Taarabt produced a master-class in creative play to consign Argyle to a painful 2-0 defeat at Queens Park Rangers.
The man on loan from Tottenham showed Premier League quality in running a one-sided first-half for the home sideand was rewarded with a cooly-converted penalty on 35 minutes.
Argyle improved marginally after the break but Damion Stewart's header moments into the second period made it a mountain the Greens never looked likely to climb.
Argyle boss Paul Mariner made three changes from the 1-1 weekend draw with Preston North End. Joe Mason dropped down to the bench to allow Rory Fallon to take his place alongside Jamie Mackie in attack after the Kiwi was used as a substitute on Saturday because of jet-lag from a midweek international trip to California.
Behind them, Carl Fletcher moved back into midfield after playing as an emergency defender against the Lilywhites, bumping Luke Summerfield down to the bench. Chris Barker shuffled across from full-back to take Fletcher's vacated spot in the centre and Gary Sawyer was promoted to left-back.
The other change saw Alan Judge make a timely return from a tight hamstring to replace Chris Clark, who limped out of the Preston match with a similar complaint. Mariner was also stripped of the attacking attributes of Craig Noone because of an ankle knock picked up on Saturday, which meant a return to bench-duty for fit-again David McNamee.
QPR manager Neil Warnock celebrated his debut victory in charge of the R's by naming the same team that secured a fabulous 3-1 win over promotion-chasing West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
There was, however, one significant change on the home bench where QPR's talisman Lee Cook returned from injury to replace Angelo Balanta. One of Cook's companions among the replacements was former Pilgrim Ákos Buzsáky.
After conceding the first goal in the previous seven games, a bright start was essential for the Greens. QPR, unfortunately, repelled any plans for a determined opening by controlling possession in the first few minutes.
The first position of panic created by the home team involved the dancing feet of Hogan Ephraim and his chipped cross from the left only narrowly evaded the near-post run of Hungarian striker Tamas Priskin.
Despite QPR's confident start, Argyle looked a far sturdier side than the one that produced such a flimsy performance in the opening 30 minutes against Preston, although a slip by Karl Duguid allowed Taarabt to dig out a hopeful shot on 12 minutes that David Stockdale gobbled up happily.
Taarabt was again involved six minutes later with a terrific threaded pass through the Argyle defence for the pace of Jay Simpson, who steered his shot back across Stockdale but also, mercifully, beyond the far post.
It was clear that the Pilgrim midfield of Fletcher and Damien Johnson would need to get closer to Taarabt, who was given to license to roam freely by the dual screen Mikele Leigertwood and Alejandro Faurlin provided for the R's defence.
At the other end, the Greens created their first meaningful opportunity of a frustrating opening quarter when Judge swung in a perfect free-kick for the head of the unmarked Kári Árnason, but the Icelandic international seemed to lose his bearings and glanced his backward header well over Carl Ikeme's crossbar.
Árnason's misdirection suffered major retribution within 10 minutes. A drifting cross from the right by Matthew Connolly was aimed for Priskin in the penalty area and Argyle's Iceman was adjudged to have pulled down the Magyar.
First appearances suggested referee Paul Tierney had given the home team a slightly soft opportunity to take the lead and Árnason's bemused reaction to the decision confirmed the general Pilgrim disappointment with the award.
Taarabt swiftly banished any Argyle complaints from his mind to stroke a simple penalty into the bottom right-hand corner, sending Stockdale the wrong way in the process.
If the penalty was harsh, then the scoreline was completely fair. Argyle looked stout in defence but an inability to get moving in the attacking third was allowing Rangers to keep sweeping forward with Taarabt, yet again, dinking over an excellent cross that proved a fraction too far for the run of Simpson.
The half-time whistle was greeted by satisfied applause from the home support but Mariner and his coaching staff marched straight down the tunnel for another rousing team-talk, as the Pilgrims, once again, sought to salvage something from a game where they had conceded the first goal.
Mariner resisted the temptation to make any changes to personnel at half-time, although the option of Mason, Yala Bolasie, Kenny Cooper or Bradley Wright-Phillips would surely be taken if the restart failed to prompt a change in the pattern of proceedings.
There was, however, a reshuffle in the shape of Argyle's midfield, with a diamond formation deployed to combat the influence of Taarabt.
Unfortunately, the Morrocan could not be stopped from set-pieces, and a delightful swinging free-kick from the left found the back-post run of Stewart. The Jamaican defender had all the space in the world to cushion an easy header past the stranded Stockdale for a two-goal Rangers lead.
Within two minutes, the R's won another dangerous free-kick and Taarabt planted a low cross into the box for Priskin, who blasted his first-time effort wide of Stockdale's post.
Mariner had clearly seen enough and he hauled off Fallon for Mason and Judge, who had arguably been the best player in a Green shirt, for the blistering pace of Bolasie.
Despite the changes, the blue and white wave could not be stopped, and Taarabt teased the retreating Argyle defence with a twisting run before unleashing a fearsome drive that flew inches over. The Pilgrims had only one option left: all-out attack, but Taarabt was the perfect man to exploit the space left in midfield.
QPR's next foray forward actually came from a bumbling run by Leigertwood and his eventual shot smacked into the shins of Simpson, and beyond Stockdale's right-hand post.
Argyle will point to the fussy and inconsistent display from Mr Tierney in their post-match analysis, but it was impossible to deny that the better side on the night were winning the game and the Greens, for the first time, were looking a slightly dispirited unit.
The withdrawal of the superb Taarabt on 73 minutes would have briefly cheered Mariner's troops, although the Moroccan's replacement, a certain Mr Buzsáky, can play a bit as well.
Argyle's disastrous evening almost took a final turn for the worst when Árnason and Stockdale both went for the same ball. The inevitable collision gave Simpson a stab at an open goal but the difficult angle saved Green blushes.
It was the final act of a disappointing night. Every season throws up the occasional poor performances that warrant defeat. The problem for Argyle this season has been the good displays have generally yielded one point instead of the deserved three.
Mariner now has the difficult challenge of rousing his troops for the Saturday trip to Coventry City but, knowing his boundless enthusiasm and optimism, Argyle will bounce back at the Ricoh. Plymouth
- QPR REPORT Available on TWITTER!
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QPR Beat Plymouth...Win Two Games in a Row...Don't Concede a goal for the first time since mid-October (ending the League's Longest Run):
QPR Official SIte - WARNOCK: 'A PROFESSIONAL JOB'
- Neil Warnock hailed a 'job well done,' as the R's made it two wins out of two under his guidance with a comfortable 2-0 victory over relegation threatened Plymouth Argyle.
Goals in either half from Adel Taarabt and Damion Stewart clinched the victory, to the delight of the R's gaffer.
"It was a thoroughly professional performance," he told www.qpr.co.uk.
"Plymouth worked hard, but we had that extra bit about us and fully deserved the win."
Warnock reserved special praise for his back four and goalkeeper, who rarely looked troubled and kept a long awaited clean sheet.
"It was much-needed and well deserved, because we defended very well," he said.
"The two centre-backs were magnificent, as were the full-backs and Carl was solid as a rock.
"We've been very slack in the past looking at the DVD's, but we don't take unnecessary risks anymore and we got the clean sheet we were after tonight.
"We defended well as a team - right from the front through Jay, Adel and Hogan.
"They all worked very hard to close the game out." QPR
PLYMOUTH OFFICIAL SITE - SHOT IN THE FOOT
ARGYLE head coach Paul Mariner admitted his side had shot themselves in the foot after the Pilgrims went down 2-0 at Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday night.
A first-half penalty from Adel Taarabt followed by centre-back Damion Stewart's set-piece header three minutes after the break proved Argyle's undoing as they try to raise themselves out of Championship relegation trouble.
The spot-kick was awarded after Kári Árnason's soft foul on Tamas Priskin and Paul said: "It was a poor penalty to give away at that stage of the game.
"There was nothing in the game. [QPR] had a lot of possession in front of us but nothing really hurting us. We conceded a goal at the wrong time.
"Then, when you readjust, and try and change it up a little bit, we concede a goal after 48 minutes. We did that last week [at Sheffield United].
"A ball going into the box to the far post - you see that every five minutes in this league and for somebody to have a free header at the far post is unacceptable.
"A team in our position can't keep doing it. We can't keep shooting ourselves in the foot.
"Two-nil's a dodgy lead - everyone knows that in football - [but] we just couldn't crack a very, very strong well-marshalled QPR defence."
Paul and his assistant John Carver now have to raise their players for Saturday's visit to Coventry, and somehow put together a run to lift the club out of the bottom three.
"I think we have got some players who are obviously low on confidence," said Paul. "We're going to stay positive. The lads are very disappointed.
"The support was superb again tonight. I'm just sorry we couldn't give them a better show.
"In simplistic terms, we need to keep clean sheets and score goals, but that's easier said, than done, obviously.
"We have got to stick to the plan that's laid out. The reason that we only lost one game in five recently, up until tonight, was that we stuck to the game-plan, and we were extremely organised, and there was a tremendous amount of fight in the team."
Put to him that the football world has written off the Pilgrims as a Championship force, Paul said: "They've written us off ever since I took over, so that doesn't bother me in the slightest.
"I'm enjoying working with the players, and I believe the players are enjoying working with John and me. You can debate until you are blue in the face about the quality of the squad but, if you come and look at the day-to-day running and happenings, everything is hunky dory.
"It's just that there's a great deal of pressure on the players to perform on match-day, but that's why they play in the upper echelons of football - because they've got tremendous strength of character, technical ability and mental strength.
"We have tough run-in - there's no two ways about it. Every single game in this league is a very, very tough game: when you are in the position that we're in, when confidence is low, it's up to us as a management team to try to instil confidence in the players." Plymouth Official
The Times/Nick Szczepanik - Adel Taarabt’s magic does the trick for Neil Warnock
Neil Warnock, the Queens Park Rangers manager, admits that he has yet to master the pronunciation of Adel Taarabt’s name. But he already knows the value of the man he calls “Tarbs” to a team who have won both their Coca-Cola Championship matches since Warnock took over eight days ago.
Taarabt — in his second spell at Loftus Road on loan from Tottenham Hotspur — was on the pitch for only 72 minutes last night, but the ovation as he left it told the story of the match.
The Morocco midfield player had opened the scoring from the penalty spot with his sixth goal of the season, provided the assist for Damion Stewart to head the second and been a thorn in the side of a Plymouth Argyle team who were beaten far more convincingly than the score suggests.
“I knew he’d got a lot of ability,” Warnock said. “Harry [Redknapp, the Tottenham manager] said, ‘You’ll pull your hair out at times,’ but I think I’m the right type of manager for him, if I’m honest. I believe in him and he’s working as hard as he’s ever worked.”
Two errors by Kari Arnason gave QPR the advantage at half-time. First, the Iceland defender headed Alan Judge’s free kick over the bar when unmarked, then he wrestled Tamas Priskin to the ground. Taarabt converted the inevitable penalty kick.
Taarabt was enjoying himself immensely, getting on the ball as much as possible and taking on defenders. And his dead-ball delivery was spot-on four minutes into the second half, when his inswinging free kick from the left allowed Stewart to glance home his first goal of the season.
Taarabt tried to add more goals with shots from distance and although his accuracy did not match his ambition, QPR were not in the mood to let Plymouth off the hook.
“We knew Plymouth would fight for their lives, but the centre halves were outstanding,” Warnock said.
“It’s the first clean sheet in 25 matches, I’ve been told. I’m sure that’s right because it was the centre halves who told me.”
Plymouth remain seven points from safety. “We need to keep clean sheets and score goals, but it’s easier said than done,” Paul Mariner, the manager, said.
“David Stockdale hasn’t had to make a save and we’ve lost 2-0.
“It was a terrible penalty to give away and a free header on the far post is unforgivable.” The TImes
QPR Official Site - QPR vs Plymouth
Adel Taarabt and Damion Stewart were both on target as QPR collected three more vital points with victory over Plymouth Argyle at Loftus Road.
It turned out to be back-to-back victories for the R's following their 2-1 defeat of West Brom at the weekend, and they took the lead in the 36th minute from the penalty spot.
Tamas Priskin was adjudged to have been fouled in the area, before Taarabt stepped up to fire the ball home into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.
And the points were safe for Neil Warnock and his side just five minutes after the break. Taarabt turned from scorer to provider, sending a free-kick into the area that was expertly nodded home by Stewart to send the R's up to 15th spot in the Championship table.
QPR remained unchanged for the visit of Paul Mariner's Pilgrims to Loftus Road, though Lee Cook did return to the squad to take up his place on the substitutes' bench.
Rangers began with Carl Ikeme in goal.
Matt Connolly, Stewart, Kaspars Gorkss and Matt Hill made up the QPR backline.
Taarabt and Hogan Ephraim were out wide in midfield for the Hoops, while skipper Mikele Leigertwood and Alejandro Faurlin began in the middle of the park.
Jay Simpson was joined by Priskin up front.
Rangers were out of the traps immediately.
After a lovely passing move between Faurlin, Taarabt and Simpson, the ball fell to Priskin but he couldn't quite get a shot away from ten-yards out when under pressure from his marker.
Chances were hardly forthcoming in the opening ten minutes, as both sides seemed intent on keeping things tight in the early stages of the match.
It was Rangers who were posing more of a threat if any, however, and when Ephraim combined with Faurlin down the left, his cross went agonisingly across the face of goal before eventually being cleared away from danger.
Soon after, when the R's won a free-kick midway into Plymouth's half, a Taarabt ball from deep was headed harmlessly wide by Priskin.
The hosts, by now, were shading the affair in terms of possession, and they created their best chance to date when Ephraim won the ball back on the edge of the area, before cutting in to shoot straight at David Stockdale in the Argyle net.
QPR were getting closer to finding that opening goal of the match, and moments later they came within inches of finding it.
Connolly found Taarabt, who in turn played a cutting through ball to Simpson.
Through on goal but under pressure from a defender, the Arsenal loanee could only fire just wide of the right-hand post.
Moments later, the R's were again on the attack, though after a free-flowing passing move between Ephraim, Faurlin, Leigertwood and Connolly, the latter fired high and wide of the goal.
Play then switched to the other end, where the visitors created their best to date chance to score - and nearly did so.
After Argyle won a free-kick on the left, Alan Judge's delightful centre found the head of Karl Arnason, who could head just over the target.
The R's - and namely Taarabt - then almost found an opening goal of the game that would have surely been a contender for goal of the season.
Taarabt found the ball just outside the area, producing several step-overs that led to him beating two opponents and shooting just wide of the goal.
The Loftus Road faithful weren't made to wait too much longer for that first goal though, as QPR raced into the lead moments later from the penalty spot.
Taarabt and Connolly combined before the right-back crossed for Priskin in the box, who was deemed to have been tugged back.
Moroccan international Taarabt stepped up to take the spot-kick and did not disappoint, sliding the ball home into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.
Just before the interval, Rangers missed two superb chances to find a second goal.
Stewart's opportunity was probably the better of the two, after he headed just over when Faurlin's free-kick was nodded on by Connolly for QPR.
That was before Ephraim found the ball down the left and sent over a cross that somehow went across the face of goal and was then cleared for a corner kick.
As the play got underway in the second half, the R's took just five minutes to add that all important two-goal cushion in the affair.
When Taarabt was felled on the left, he dusted himself down before sending in a delicious free-kick on to the head of Stewart.
The big defender couldn't miss thereafter, nodding past Stockdale to double Rangers' lead.
Buoyed by their second, the R's almost added a third when Taarabt's cross dropped to Faurlin on the edge of the area, but he could only blast over the goal.
And it was that combination that was in the thick of the action once again. Taarabt fed Faurlin on the left-hand side of the area, before the Argentine midfielder shot straight at the Plymouth keeper.
Taarabt was proving a constant menace to the Pilgrims' back four, and he was inches wide of finding a QPR third after he beat one man and sent a shot just past the left-hand upright for Rangers.
Soon after, Leigertwood breezed past three men down the right before sending in a cross for Simpson, who could only shoot just wide of Stockdale's left-hand post.
R's gaffer Warnock then decided to change things in midfield with Akos Buzsaky replacing the excellent Taarabt, who was given a standing ovation by the QPR fans.
The Hoops could, and probably should, have added a third goal just before the match reached its conclusion in W12.
Simpson was almost rewarded for some persistent hustling that resulted in a mix-up between a Pilgrims defender and keeper Stockdale, though he could only shoot wide with his left foot.
QPR: Ikeme, Stewart, Leigertwood, Gorkss, Connolly, Faurlin, Hill, Simpson (Vine 85), Ephraim (Cook 78), Priskin, Taarabt (Buzsaky 73). Subs: Cerny, Ramage, Borrowdale, German. Goals: Taarabt (Pen 36), Stewart (50) Bookings: Hill, Connolly
Plymouth Argyle: Stockdale, Duguid, Fletcher, Johnson, Mackie, Arnason, Fallon (Mason 55), Barker, Sawyer, Eckersley, Judge (Bolasie 55).
Subs: Larrieu, Wright-Phillips, McNamee, Summerfield, Cooper.
Bookings: Duguid, Eckersley, Barker
Referee: Mr P Tierney Attendance: 12, 013 (863) QPR
PLYMOUTH OFFICIAL SITE
QPR vs Plymouth
2 - 0
Date:
09/03/2010
Venue:
Loftus Road
Attendance:
12,013
Referee:
Paul Tierney
QPR 2
Taarabt pen 35, Stewart 50
Argyle 0
MOROCCAN midfielder Adel Taarabt produced a master-class in creative play to consign Argyle to a painful 2-0 defeat at Queens Park Rangers.
The man on loan from Tottenham showed Premier League quality in running a one-sided first-half for the home sideand was rewarded with a cooly-converted penalty on 35 minutes.
Argyle improved marginally after the break but Damion Stewart's header moments into the second period made it a mountain the Greens never looked likely to climb.
Argyle boss Paul Mariner made three changes from the 1-1 weekend draw with Preston North End. Joe Mason dropped down to the bench to allow Rory Fallon to take his place alongside Jamie Mackie in attack after the Kiwi was used as a substitute on Saturday because of jet-lag from a midweek international trip to California.
Behind them, Carl Fletcher moved back into midfield after playing as an emergency defender against the Lilywhites, bumping Luke Summerfield down to the bench. Chris Barker shuffled across from full-back to take Fletcher's vacated spot in the centre and Gary Sawyer was promoted to left-back.
The other change saw Alan Judge make a timely return from a tight hamstring to replace Chris Clark, who limped out of the Preston match with a similar complaint. Mariner was also stripped of the attacking attributes of Craig Noone because of an ankle knock picked up on Saturday, which meant a return to bench-duty for fit-again David McNamee.
QPR manager Neil Warnock celebrated his debut victory in charge of the R's by naming the same team that secured a fabulous 3-1 win over promotion-chasing West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
There was, however, one significant change on the home bench where QPR's talisman Lee Cook returned from injury to replace Angelo Balanta. One of Cook's companions among the replacements was former Pilgrim Ákos Buzsáky.
After conceding the first goal in the previous seven games, a bright start was essential for the Greens. QPR, unfortunately, repelled any plans for a determined opening by controlling possession in the first few minutes.
The first position of panic created by the home team involved the dancing feet of Hogan Ephraim and his chipped cross from the left only narrowly evaded the near-post run of Hungarian striker Tamas Priskin.
Despite QPR's confident start, Argyle looked a far sturdier side than the one that produced such a flimsy performance in the opening 30 minutes against Preston, although a slip by Karl Duguid allowed Taarabt to dig out a hopeful shot on 12 minutes that David Stockdale gobbled up happily.
Taarabt was again involved six minutes later with a terrific threaded pass through the Argyle defence for the pace of Jay Simpson, who steered his shot back across Stockdale but also, mercifully, beyond the far post.
It was clear that the Pilgrim midfield of Fletcher and Damien Johnson would need to get closer to Taarabt, who was given to license to roam freely by the dual screen Mikele Leigertwood and Alejandro Faurlin provided for the R's defence.
At the other end, the Greens created their first meaningful opportunity of a frustrating opening quarter when Judge swung in a perfect free-kick for the head of the unmarked Kári Árnason, but the Icelandic international seemed to lose his bearings and glanced his backward header well over Carl Ikeme's crossbar.
Árnason's misdirection suffered major retribution within 10 minutes. A drifting cross from the right by Matthew Connolly was aimed for Priskin in the penalty area and Argyle's Iceman was adjudged to have pulled down the Magyar.
First appearances suggested referee Paul Tierney had given the home team a slightly soft opportunity to take the lead and Árnason's bemused reaction to the decision confirmed the general Pilgrim disappointment with the award.
Taarabt swiftly banished any Argyle complaints from his mind to stroke a simple penalty into the bottom right-hand corner, sending Stockdale the wrong way in the process.
If the penalty was harsh, then the scoreline was completely fair. Argyle looked stout in defence but an inability to get moving in the attacking third was allowing Rangers to keep sweeping forward with Taarabt, yet again, dinking over an excellent cross that proved a fraction too far for the run of Simpson.
The half-time whistle was greeted by satisfied applause from the home support but Mariner and his coaching staff marched straight down the tunnel for another rousing team-talk, as the Pilgrims, once again, sought to salvage something from a game where they had conceded the first goal.
Mariner resisted the temptation to make any changes to personnel at half-time, although the option of Mason, Yala Bolasie, Kenny Cooper or Bradley Wright-Phillips would surely be taken if the restart failed to prompt a change in the pattern of proceedings.
There was, however, a reshuffle in the shape of Argyle's midfield, with a diamond formation deployed to combat the influence of Taarabt.
Unfortunately, the Morrocan could not be stopped from set-pieces, and a delightful swinging free-kick from the left found the back-post run of Stewart. The Jamaican defender had all the space in the world to cushion an easy header past the stranded Stockdale for a two-goal Rangers lead.
Within two minutes, the R's won another dangerous free-kick and Taarabt planted a low cross into the box for Priskin, who blasted his first-time effort wide of Stockdale's post.
Mariner had clearly seen enough and he hauled off Fallon for Mason and Judge, who had arguably been the best player in a Green shirt, for the blistering pace of Bolasie.
Despite the changes, the blue and white wave could not be stopped, and Taarabt teased the retreating Argyle defence with a twisting run before unleashing a fearsome drive that flew inches over. The Pilgrims had only one option left: all-out attack, but Taarabt was the perfect man to exploit the space left in midfield.
QPR's next foray forward actually came from a bumbling run by Leigertwood and his eventual shot smacked into the shins of Simpson, and beyond Stockdale's right-hand post.
Argyle will point to the fussy and inconsistent display from Mr Tierney in their post-match analysis, but it was impossible to deny that the better side on the night were winning the game and the Greens, for the first time, were looking a slightly dispirited unit.
The withdrawal of the superb Taarabt on 73 minutes would have briefly cheered Mariner's troops, although the Moroccan's replacement, a certain Mr Buzsáky, can play a bit as well.
Argyle's disastrous evening almost took a final turn for the worst when Árnason and Stockdale both went for the same ball. The inevitable collision gave Simpson a stab at an open goal but the difficult angle saved Green blushes.
It was the final act of a disappointing night. Every season throws up the occasional poor performances that warrant defeat. The problem for Argyle this season has been the good displays have generally yielded one point instead of the deserved three.
Mariner now has the difficult challenge of rousing his troops for the Saturday trip to Coventry City but, knowing his boundless enthusiasm and optimism, Argyle will bounce back at the Ricoh. Plymouth
An Italian Interest in Buying QPR?
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Too late, one would say (and hope)!
IMSCouting
-"Massimo Cellino, the president of Italian club Cagliari is closing in on a bid to buy Crystal Palace , according to reports in the Italian media.
Cellino had been interested in purchasing West Ham back in January, launching a reported £100m bid before David Sullivan and David Gold took over at Upton Park. Despite Cellino's failure on that occasion, he has not given up hope of entering English football, according to Italian daily Corriere dello Sport.
- Crystal Palace are in administration and as a consequence of their financial woes have had ten points deducted, plunging them into a relegation battle at the bottom of the Championship. Last week, they lost their influential manager Neil Warnock to London rivals Queens Park Rangers with former Portsmouth boss Paul Hart taking over the Selhurst Park hotseat.
- Corriere dello Sport reports that Cellino is "very close to an agreement" with Palace administrator Brendan Guilfoyle.
- Should his bid for Crystal Palace fail, Corriere dello Sport reports that Cellino will attempt to buy Queens Park Rangers . However, this would seem an unlikely development given the recent revamped ownership of the West London club under the Mittal family.
- Cellino has been in charge of Serie A club Cagliari since 1992. The club currently lies in eighth position in Italy's top division. IMSport
- The story in Italian in Corriere Dello Sport
- Wikipedia Profile of Cellino
- Visit the growing QPR and football-only QPR Report Messageboard (and quasi-blog)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Too late, one would say (and hope)!
IMSCouting
-"Massimo Cellino, the president of Italian club Cagliari is closing in on a bid to buy Crystal Palace , according to reports in the Italian media.
Cellino had been interested in purchasing West Ham back in January, launching a reported £100m bid before David Sullivan and David Gold took over at Upton Park. Despite Cellino's failure on that occasion, he has not given up hope of entering English football, according to Italian daily Corriere dello Sport.
- Crystal Palace are in administration and as a consequence of their financial woes have had ten points deducted, plunging them into a relegation battle at the bottom of the Championship. Last week, they lost their influential manager Neil Warnock to London rivals Queens Park Rangers with former Portsmouth boss Paul Hart taking over the Selhurst Park hotseat.
- Corriere dello Sport reports that Cellino is "very close to an agreement" with Palace administrator Brendan Guilfoyle.
- Should his bid for Crystal Palace fail, Corriere dello Sport reports that Cellino will attempt to buy Queens Park Rangers . However, this would seem an unlikely development given the recent revamped ownership of the West London club under the Mittal family.
- Cellino has been in charge of Serie A club Cagliari since 1992. The club currently lies in eighth position in Italy's top division. IMSport
- The story in Italian in Corriere Dello Sport
- Wikipedia Profile of Cellino
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
QPR Ladies Reach The Cup Final (And QPR Men Beat Plymouth - Keeping Their First Clean Sheet in Five Months)
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- QPR 2 Plymouth 0: Updated Table
QPR Ladies through to Cup Final
by head coach on March 9, 2010
http://yoursoccerclub.info/2010/03/09/qpr-ladies-through-to-cup-final/
Queen’s Park Rangers are through to the Final of the Middlesex Women’s Senior Cup after defeating Enfield Town 2-0 in a hard fought semi final.
This season is Rangers’ first appearance in the competition after a four year absence, during which time all their efforts were focused on gaining promotion to the FA Women’s Premier League which they achieved at the end of last season. Rangers went through courtesy of goals by strikers Rebecca Kane and Beth Curtis.
They now await the winners of the other semi final tie which is between Old Actonians and Barnet, the latter of whom has just progressed through to the semi finals of the FA Women’s Cup where they will meet Everton – who were victors over QPR in the Fourth Round.
Manager Martino Chevannes told Women’s Soccer Scene: "Although our main focus this season has been on the league and to maintain our Premier League status, it is a great achievement for both the players and the club to reach a Cup Final in a game in which our victory was thoroughly deserved.
"Our league campaign this season has been severely disrupted and somewhat difficult as a result of long term injuries sustained this season to no fewer than seven regular first team players, but we have had to cope with it as best we can with players from both our reserves and third team filling the void and doing a good job in the process, which is a credit to them and in turn has aided their development as players.
"Between now and the 7th April – when the Final is scheduled to take place – all talk about the Final is on the back burner as our priority and focus will be firmly on our forthcoming league games and increasing our points total." Report
- QPR REPORT Available on TWITTER!
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_____________________________________________________________________________________
- QPR 2 Plymouth 0: Updated Table
QPR Ladies through to Cup Final
by head coach on March 9, 2010
http://yoursoccerclub.info/2010/03/09/qpr-ladies-through-to-cup-final/
Queen’s Park Rangers are through to the Final of the Middlesex Women’s Senior Cup after defeating Enfield Town 2-0 in a hard fought semi final.
This season is Rangers’ first appearance in the competition after a four year absence, during which time all their efforts were focused on gaining promotion to the FA Women’s Premier League which they achieved at the end of last season. Rangers went through courtesy of goals by strikers Rebecca Kane and Beth Curtis.
They now await the winners of the other semi final tie which is between Old Actonians and Barnet, the latter of whom has just progressed through to the semi finals of the FA Women’s Cup where they will meet Everton – who were victors over QPR in the Fourth Round.
Manager Martino Chevannes told Women’s Soccer Scene: "Although our main focus this season has been on the league and to maintain our Premier League status, it is a great achievement for both the players and the club to reach a Cup Final in a game in which our victory was thoroughly deserved.
"Our league campaign this season has been severely disrupted and somewhat difficult as a result of long term injuries sustained this season to no fewer than seven regular first team players, but we have had to cope with it as best we can with players from both our reserves and third team filling the void and doing a good job in the process, which is a credit to them and in turn has aided their development as players.
"Between now and the 7th April – when the Final is scheduled to take place – all talk about the Final is on the back burner as our priority and focus will be firmly on our forthcoming league games and increasing our points total." Report
TEAMS: QPR vs Plymouth
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- QPR REPORT Available on TWITTER!
- Visit the growing QPR and football-only QPR Report Messageboard (and quasi-blog)
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- Praising Neil Wannock...Raheem Sterling Scores...Player Of The Year Details With Jago and Wicks...Gianni Paladini Audio...David Webb Back in Football
- Stats and Past Results
- David Webb Back in Football
- Country Where the Most World Cup Tickets Have Been Sold
- Best Football League Programmes Shortlist
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- Football in Israel
- Plymouth Finances
QPR vs Plymouth
QPR: Ikeme, Stewart, Leigertwood, Gorkss, Connolly, Faurlin, Hill, Simpson, Ephraim, Priskin, Taarabt.
Subs: Cerny, Ramage, Vine, Buzsaky, Cook, Borrowdale, German.
Plymouth Argyle: Stockdale, Duguid, Fletcher, Johnson, Mackie, Arnason, Fallon, Barker, Sawyer, Eckersley, Judge.
Subs: Larrieu, Wright-Phillips, McNamee, Summerfield, Mason, Cooper, Bolasie.
- QPR REPORT Available on TWITTER!
- Visit the growing QPR and football-only QPR Report Messageboard (and quasi-blog)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
- Praising Neil Wannock...Raheem Sterling Scores...Player Of The Year Details With Jago and Wicks...Gianni Paladini Audio...David Webb Back in Football
- Stats and Past Results
- David Webb Back in Football
- Country Where the Most World Cup Tickets Have Been Sold
- Best Football League Programmes Shortlist
- FA Chairman Supports Fan-Run Clubs
- Football League's Shortlist for "Family Club" Awards
- Football in Israel
- Plymouth Finances
QPR vs Plymouth
QPR: Ikeme, Stewart, Leigertwood, Gorkss, Connolly, Faurlin, Hill, Simpson, Ephraim, Priskin, Taarabt.
Subs: Cerny, Ramage, Vine, Buzsaky, Cook, Borrowdale, German.
Plymouth Argyle: Stockdale, Duguid, Fletcher, Johnson, Mackie, Arnason, Fallon, Barker, Sawyer, Eckersley, Judge.
Subs: Larrieu, Wright-Phillips, McNamee, Summerfield, Mason, Cooper, Bolasie.
Praising Neil Wannock...Raheem Sterling Scores...Player Of The Year Details With Jago and Wicks...Gianni Paladini Audio...David Webb Back in Football
-
- QPR REPORT Available on TWITTER!
- Visit the growing QPR and football-only QPR Report Messageboard (and quasi-blog)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
- Tonight: Plymouth at Loftus Road - Stats and Past Results
- David Webb Back in Football
- Country Where the Most World Cup Tickets Have Been Sold
- Best Football League Programmes Shortlist
- FA Chairman Supports Fan-Run Clubs
- Football League's Shortlist for "Family Club" Awards
- Football in Israel
- Plymouth Finances
The Guardian Sports Blog/Louise Taylor
In praise of Neil Warnock: the Championship's Mr SmoothQPR's gain in signing one of the division's best managers is very much Crystal Palace's loss
Thought for the week
The Championship is lucky to have Neil Warnock
A few years ago I interviewed Neil Warnock at Sheffield United and, when the photographer complimented him on his near perfect skin, Warnock happily regaled us with details of a thorough moisturising routine. After experimenting with his wife's face creams he had become a fan of, if memory serves me right, Elizabeth Arden and was reaping the benefits.
It was an illuminating little chat that not only highlighted the importance of moisturising for anyone frequently working outdoors but revealed a wonderful lack of inhibition or self consciousness on Warnock's part. It is hard to imagine discussing male grooming and face creams of choice with too many leading managers but such types often lack the sort of left-field imagination the one-time chiropodist who led Scarborough into the Football League possesses in spades.
Make no mistake, Warnock, for all his ability to rub people up the wrong way, is a top manager. Crystal Palace's loss will surely be QPR's gain – although it will be interesting to see how the Loftus Road team's style evolves in the coming months. Under Jim Magilton at the start of the season QPR were playing some gloriously purist stuff but increased pragmatism is likely to now be on the agenda.
Whatever the tactics QPR's win percentage will surely increase – providing, of course, Warnock is given time to do his thing. Alarmingly he is the 12th manager, although some have been caretakers, to take charge in this corner of west London since John Gregory's dismissal in October 2007.
For the moment, at least, Warnock is very much on his honeymoon – which got off to the perfect start courtesy of Saturday's 3-1 home win against promotion chasing West Bromwich – and could not be happier if he were driving his beloved tractor down a Cornish country lane.
At 61 he is unlikely to devote the next decade to QPR but that did not stop the team's defender Kaspars Gorkss declaring: "I'd love to see Neil Warnock stay here for the next 20 years. He's very enthusiastic and a good motivator That helped us, that's what we've been lacking, along with consistency. The Gaffer has a long-term contract and it means we can adapt to his ideas and work with him. Hopefully he will bring us some stability."
And honesty too. After Saturday's win Warnock had the candour to confess he had been close to making a major gaffe before the first whistle blew. Indeed he was forced to alter his starting XI at the last minute after striker Marcus Bent, borrowed from Birmingham, spotted that QPR's squad contained more than the permitted five loanees. "Poor old Marcus said to me 'you've already got five in there, so you can't have me on the bench,'" said Warnock.
His return, on Saturday, to Bramall Lane should be a cracker… Guardian
Liverpool Official Site - Raheem Sterling
Sterling on the mark in mini derby
- Raheem Sterling scored on his debut as Liverpool Under-18s produced a stunning second-half fightback to beat 10-man Everton 4-3 on Tuesday afternoon.
- The Reds recovered from a 2-0 deficit to see off their Blue rivals, with the former QPR teenager enjoying a dream start for the club.
- Michael Roberts (penalty) , Krisztian Adorjan and Craig Roddan (penalty) were the other scorers as the away side made their numerical advantage count, following the 46th minute sending off of Toffees defender Shane Duffy.
It was an afternoon to savour for boss Rodolfo Borrell, who dedicated the victory to first-team manager Rafael Benitez.
"It is a nice victory for me, but especially for the fans and the club," he told Liverpoolfc.tv.
"I am also happy for Rafael Benitez, as he invests a lot of time in the club and the Academy.
"He made a bold move to bring me and the rest of my staff to Liverpool, so it's nice to be able to win this sort of match for him."
Reflecting on a rollercoaster 90 minutes, Borrell admitted his side were almost made to pay for some poor defending.
"We cannot concede such sloppy goals," he said. "If you concede so easily then normally you lose the match."
The Reds coach also had some words of encouragement for debutant Sterling, but was keen to stress that it was a team performance that saw Liverpool come away with the three points.
"I was pleased with Raheem's contribution and that he scored on his debut. He is quick and skilful but still only young. He can improve tactically and has a long way to go, but he is a great signing for this football club.
"He was one of a number of good individual peformances, but the main thing was how well the team did as a whole. That is what matters most and they all contributed to a deserved triumph."
Liverpool under-18s: Oldfield, Flanagan, Robinson, Wisdom, Sama, Coady, Sterling, Roberts (Roddan 74), Ngoo (Emilsson 76), Adorjan (Alex Cooper 90), Ince. Unused subs: Matty McGiveron, Deale Chamberlain.
Author: Paul Hassall at Finch Farm Liverpool Official Site
MIRROR By David Maddock - Liverpool's signing of Raheem Sterling shows they are finally ready to challenge for the top British youngsters
It went largely unheralded last week, but Liverpool made a significant signing in the transfer market that could have massive implications for their future.
On the surface, the capture of a 15 year old kid who has yet to play a senior game of football is hardly earth-shattering, but the arrival of Raheem Sterling at Anfield is big news, believe me.
10 things you need to know about Raheem Sterling
What it shows is that the club is finally prepared to take on the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal in the competition to sign the best young English kids in the game, an area in which they have previously been reluctant to compete.
It is a new policy implemented by their forward-thinking MD Christian Purslow, and it is a refreshing new approach, because for too long Liverpool have been second best when it comes to developing English talent.
Sterling is an England U-16 international who first played at that level when he was 14 years of age, and he is widely regarded as possessing the potential to become the next Theo Walcott, Jack Rodwell or even Wayne Rooney.
Liverpool’s policy in the past was depressing. It was set by Gerard Houllier and made little sense, because he was prepared to ignore any and all young British players to focus instead on signing obscure foreign talent that mostly proved to be journeymen.
It was a disastrous approach which almost destroyed the club’s youth system, and left them a million miles behind Arsenal, with their much-vaunted accent on youth that has paid such handsome dividends.
Even in recent years, there was a real reluctance from the Anfield hierarchy to compete at the big money level to sign the likes of Walcott or Aaron Ramsey, who both went to the Gunners instead, and will both prove fantastic value despite the high level of their initial fee.
Not any more though. Purslow wants to give Liverpool’s youth system fresh impetus, and he wants to place the emphasis back on developing British talent, whether already on the books or bought in.
The club has a history or producing brilliant local players like Robbie Fowler, but it also has a fine tradition of signing fine young prospects and turning them into superstars, with Ian Rush springing instantly to mind.
Sterling is of a similar vein. Signed from QPR, his fee will rise to at least £2million and could even go beyond the £5million mark should he enjoy the success everyone believes him to be capable of. But that will be a small price to pay if he does come through like Rush did before him, or Jamie Redknapp, or Rob Jones.
Because of Houllier’s short-sighted ignorance, Liverpool haven’t produced a kid through their own youth system for 10 years, and something drastic was required to address that. Quite clearly, one of the avenues has to be to challenge Arsenal, United and Chelsea for the best talent, and it’s finally happened.
Sterling – genuinely – was courted by all three of those clubs as well as Spurs and Fulham, but the Merseyside club stole a march on them all, to herald what is to be hoped a new era, and a new direction that couldn’t come a moment too soon. Mirror
QPR Official Site - PLAYER OF THE YEAR EVENT 2009/10
Posted on: Tue 09 Mar 2010
The Club is delighted to announce details of this year's annual Player of the Year Dinner & Dance, in this, the 50th successive year of the famous Blue and White Hoops.
The event will take place on Sunday 2nd May 2010 at the Novotel London West, Hammersmith, following our Championship fixture against Newcastle United on the final day of the 2009/10 campaign.
Prices are £69.00 per person, maximum 10 to a table. This includes sparkling wine on arrival; a three course set meal; half a bottle of wine per person; and disco until 2.00am.
The earlier you book, the better choice of table you'll have, and as always, we expect this event to sell out.
The drinks reception will be held from 7.00pm in the Champagne Suite, where you will get to mix with the players and coaching staff. Guests will then be asked to proceed to their tables at 7.30pm for dinner.
Once the meal has been served, we will be holding an Auction and Raffle with top prizes. The Awards Ceremony will then take place and after this you can dance the night away until 2.00am.
To book your seat at this showcase event, call the QPR Box Office on 08444 777 007 now!
During the night, the winners of the coveted Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year Awards will be revealed. Damion Stewart has his name on the main trophy at present, but will he make it two years in a row? You - the fans - will decide.
So, if you want to see Stew-Peas crowned again, or you think someone else has stood out this season, please send in your votes for your Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year to Julie Newman, Loftus Road Stadium, South Africa Road, London, W12 7PJ.
You can also vote via e-mail - julien@qpr.co.uk
Please note, only players who were under the age of 21 on the first day of the 2009/10 campaign will qualify for the Young Player of the Year award. The shortlist is as follows: Angelo Balanta, Jay Simpson, Antonio German and Adel Taarabt.
Also up for grabs will be the prestigious Supporter of the Year accolade. This award is for those amongst you who go that extra mile in the name of the R's. If you know someone who fits the bill, e-mail julien@qpr.co.uk and they will be forwarded on to the judging panel.
Closing dates for all votes is Friday 16th April 2010.
Sponsorship packages are also available - so if you fancy sponsoring the event, contact Julie Newman in the Commercial Department on 020 8740 2588 or e-mail julien@qpr.co.uk
What's more, we are in the process of inviting ex-players and legends to the event. With the likes of Gordon Jago and Steve Wicks already confirmed, it really does promise to be an evening to remember.
To make the most of this special night, why not book a room and really enjoy what will be a special occasion for the Club and its fans.
For those wishing to stay overnight, QPR have negotiated a special room rate, priced £109 per double or single room, inclusive of VAT and breakfast.
Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to welcoming you on the night." QPR
Audio of JNETRadio Interview With Gianni Paladini
- Part 1) https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=batch_download&send_id=832589734&email=8bf225199db7217e4481c095af701ce3
- Part 2) https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=S1VDZEU1TlFveE1LSkE9PQ
- Part 3) https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=S1VDZEU0WlRCTW5IRGc9PQ
- QPR REPORT Available on TWITTER!
- Visit the growing QPR and football-only QPR Report Messageboard (and quasi-blog)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
- Tonight: Plymouth at Loftus Road - Stats and Past Results
- David Webb Back in Football
- Country Where the Most World Cup Tickets Have Been Sold
- Best Football League Programmes Shortlist
- FA Chairman Supports Fan-Run Clubs
- Football League's Shortlist for "Family Club" Awards
- Football in Israel
- Plymouth Finances
The Guardian Sports Blog/Louise Taylor
In praise of Neil Warnock: the Championship's Mr SmoothQPR's gain in signing one of the division's best managers is very much Crystal Palace's loss
Thought for the week
The Championship is lucky to have Neil Warnock
A few years ago I interviewed Neil Warnock at Sheffield United and, when the photographer complimented him on his near perfect skin, Warnock happily regaled us with details of a thorough moisturising routine. After experimenting with his wife's face creams he had become a fan of, if memory serves me right, Elizabeth Arden and was reaping the benefits.
It was an illuminating little chat that not only highlighted the importance of moisturising for anyone frequently working outdoors but revealed a wonderful lack of inhibition or self consciousness on Warnock's part. It is hard to imagine discussing male grooming and face creams of choice with too many leading managers but such types often lack the sort of left-field imagination the one-time chiropodist who led Scarborough into the Football League possesses in spades.
Make no mistake, Warnock, for all his ability to rub people up the wrong way, is a top manager. Crystal Palace's loss will surely be QPR's gain – although it will be interesting to see how the Loftus Road team's style evolves in the coming months. Under Jim Magilton at the start of the season QPR were playing some gloriously purist stuff but increased pragmatism is likely to now be on the agenda.
Whatever the tactics QPR's win percentage will surely increase – providing, of course, Warnock is given time to do his thing. Alarmingly he is the 12th manager, although some have been caretakers, to take charge in this corner of west London since John Gregory's dismissal in October 2007.
For the moment, at least, Warnock is very much on his honeymoon – which got off to the perfect start courtesy of Saturday's 3-1 home win against promotion chasing West Bromwich – and could not be happier if he were driving his beloved tractor down a Cornish country lane.
At 61 he is unlikely to devote the next decade to QPR but that did not stop the team's defender Kaspars Gorkss declaring: "I'd love to see Neil Warnock stay here for the next 20 years. He's very enthusiastic and a good motivator That helped us, that's what we've been lacking, along with consistency. The Gaffer has a long-term contract and it means we can adapt to his ideas and work with him. Hopefully he will bring us some stability."
And honesty too. After Saturday's win Warnock had the candour to confess he had been close to making a major gaffe before the first whistle blew. Indeed he was forced to alter his starting XI at the last minute after striker Marcus Bent, borrowed from Birmingham, spotted that QPR's squad contained more than the permitted five loanees. "Poor old Marcus said to me 'you've already got five in there, so you can't have me on the bench,'" said Warnock.
His return, on Saturday, to Bramall Lane should be a cracker… Guardian
Liverpool Official Site - Raheem Sterling
Sterling on the mark in mini derby
- Raheem Sterling scored on his debut as Liverpool Under-18s produced a stunning second-half fightback to beat 10-man Everton 4-3 on Tuesday afternoon.
- The Reds recovered from a 2-0 deficit to see off their Blue rivals, with the former QPR teenager enjoying a dream start for the club.
- Michael Roberts (penalty) , Krisztian Adorjan and Craig Roddan (penalty) were the other scorers as the away side made their numerical advantage count, following the 46th minute sending off of Toffees defender Shane Duffy.
It was an afternoon to savour for boss Rodolfo Borrell, who dedicated the victory to first-team manager Rafael Benitez.
"It is a nice victory for me, but especially for the fans and the club," he told Liverpoolfc.tv.
"I am also happy for Rafael Benitez, as he invests a lot of time in the club and the Academy.
"He made a bold move to bring me and the rest of my staff to Liverpool, so it's nice to be able to win this sort of match for him."
Reflecting on a rollercoaster 90 minutes, Borrell admitted his side were almost made to pay for some poor defending.
"We cannot concede such sloppy goals," he said. "If you concede so easily then normally you lose the match."
The Reds coach also had some words of encouragement for debutant Sterling, but was keen to stress that it was a team performance that saw Liverpool come away with the three points.
"I was pleased with Raheem's contribution and that he scored on his debut. He is quick and skilful but still only young. He can improve tactically and has a long way to go, but he is a great signing for this football club.
"He was one of a number of good individual peformances, but the main thing was how well the team did as a whole. That is what matters most and they all contributed to a deserved triumph."
Liverpool under-18s: Oldfield, Flanagan, Robinson, Wisdom, Sama, Coady, Sterling, Roberts (Roddan 74), Ngoo (Emilsson 76), Adorjan (Alex Cooper 90), Ince. Unused subs: Matty McGiveron, Deale Chamberlain.
Author: Paul Hassall at Finch Farm Liverpool Official Site
MIRROR By David Maddock - Liverpool's signing of Raheem Sterling shows they are finally ready to challenge for the top British youngsters
It went largely unheralded last week, but Liverpool made a significant signing in the transfer market that could have massive implications for their future.
On the surface, the capture of a 15 year old kid who has yet to play a senior game of football is hardly earth-shattering, but the arrival of Raheem Sterling at Anfield is big news, believe me.
10 things you need to know about Raheem Sterling
What it shows is that the club is finally prepared to take on the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal in the competition to sign the best young English kids in the game, an area in which they have previously been reluctant to compete.
It is a new policy implemented by their forward-thinking MD Christian Purslow, and it is a refreshing new approach, because for too long Liverpool have been second best when it comes to developing English talent.
Sterling is an England U-16 international who first played at that level when he was 14 years of age, and he is widely regarded as possessing the potential to become the next Theo Walcott, Jack Rodwell or even Wayne Rooney.
Liverpool’s policy in the past was depressing. It was set by Gerard Houllier and made little sense, because he was prepared to ignore any and all young British players to focus instead on signing obscure foreign talent that mostly proved to be journeymen.
It was a disastrous approach which almost destroyed the club’s youth system, and left them a million miles behind Arsenal, with their much-vaunted accent on youth that has paid such handsome dividends.
Even in recent years, there was a real reluctance from the Anfield hierarchy to compete at the big money level to sign the likes of Walcott or Aaron Ramsey, who both went to the Gunners instead, and will both prove fantastic value despite the high level of their initial fee.
Not any more though. Purslow wants to give Liverpool’s youth system fresh impetus, and he wants to place the emphasis back on developing British talent, whether already on the books or bought in.
The club has a history or producing brilliant local players like Robbie Fowler, but it also has a fine tradition of signing fine young prospects and turning them into superstars, with Ian Rush springing instantly to mind.
Sterling is of a similar vein. Signed from QPR, his fee will rise to at least £2million and could even go beyond the £5million mark should he enjoy the success everyone believes him to be capable of. But that will be a small price to pay if he does come through like Rush did before him, or Jamie Redknapp, or Rob Jones.
Because of Houllier’s short-sighted ignorance, Liverpool haven’t produced a kid through their own youth system for 10 years, and something drastic was required to address that. Quite clearly, one of the avenues has to be to challenge Arsenal, United and Chelsea for the best talent, and it’s finally happened.
Sterling – genuinely – was courted by all three of those clubs as well as Spurs and Fulham, but the Merseyside club stole a march on them all, to herald what is to be hoped a new era, and a new direction that couldn’t come a moment too soon. Mirror
QPR Official Site - PLAYER OF THE YEAR EVENT 2009/10
Posted on: Tue 09 Mar 2010
The Club is delighted to announce details of this year's annual Player of the Year Dinner & Dance, in this, the 50th successive year of the famous Blue and White Hoops.
The event will take place on Sunday 2nd May 2010 at the Novotel London West, Hammersmith, following our Championship fixture against Newcastle United on the final day of the 2009/10 campaign.
Prices are £69.00 per person, maximum 10 to a table. This includes sparkling wine on arrival; a three course set meal; half a bottle of wine per person; and disco until 2.00am.
The earlier you book, the better choice of table you'll have, and as always, we expect this event to sell out.
The drinks reception will be held from 7.00pm in the Champagne Suite, where you will get to mix with the players and coaching staff. Guests will then be asked to proceed to their tables at 7.30pm for dinner.
Once the meal has been served, we will be holding an Auction and Raffle with top prizes. The Awards Ceremony will then take place and after this you can dance the night away until 2.00am.
To book your seat at this showcase event, call the QPR Box Office on 08444 777 007 now!
During the night, the winners of the coveted Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year Awards will be revealed. Damion Stewart has his name on the main trophy at present, but will he make it two years in a row? You - the fans - will decide.
So, if you want to see Stew-Peas crowned again, or you think someone else has stood out this season, please send in your votes for your Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year to Julie Newman, Loftus Road Stadium, South Africa Road, London, W12 7PJ.
You can also vote via e-mail - julien@qpr.co.uk
Please note, only players who were under the age of 21 on the first day of the 2009/10 campaign will qualify for the Young Player of the Year award. The shortlist is as follows: Angelo Balanta, Jay Simpson, Antonio German and Adel Taarabt.
Also up for grabs will be the prestigious Supporter of the Year accolade. This award is for those amongst you who go that extra mile in the name of the R's. If you know someone who fits the bill, e-mail julien@qpr.co.uk and they will be forwarded on to the judging panel.
Closing dates for all votes is Friday 16th April 2010.
Sponsorship packages are also available - so if you fancy sponsoring the event, contact Julie Newman in the Commercial Department on 020 8740 2588 or e-mail julien@qpr.co.uk
What's more, we are in the process of inviting ex-players and legends to the event. With the likes of Gordon Jago and Steve Wicks already confirmed, it really does promise to be an evening to remember.
To make the most of this special night, why not book a room and really enjoy what will be a special occasion for the Club and its fans.
For those wishing to stay overnight, QPR have negotiated a special room rate, priced £109 per double or single room, inclusive of VAT and breakfast.
Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to welcoming you on the night." QPR
Audio of JNETRadio Interview With Gianni Paladini
- Part 1) https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=batch_download&send_id=832589734&email=8bf225199db7217e4481c095af701ce3
- Part 2) https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=S1VDZEU1TlFveE1LSkE9PQ
- Part 3) https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=S1VDZEU0WlRCTW5IRGc9PQ
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