Helguson Today?...Sousa Snippets...Flashback: "The Fall and Fall of QPR"...Recalling Leeds 6 QPR 1...Two Ex-QPR Birthdays

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Mirror - Bolton striker Heidar Helguson to join QPR on loan
Bolton striker Heidar Helguson will sign for QPR today in a loan that could lead to a £1million switch.
The Icelandic hitman's on-off move to London was officially sorted out last night and he is joining until January in an attempt to prove he is free of injury worries.
Helguson's arrival will alert Championship rivals Wolves, who are willing to pay £1.5m for Rangers' top scorer Dexter Blackstock." Mirror


From BBC Gossip
- QPR are set to sign Bolton striker Heidar Helguson in a loan move that could lead to a permanent £1m switch. (Daily Mirror)
- QPR owner Flavio Briatore will continue to have a hands-on approach to picking the team after appointing Paulo Sousa as first team coach. (Daily Mirror)
- Former Portugal international Sousa has been told he will have money to spend in the January transfer window, and that he is in sole charge of first team affairs. (The Times)
- Sousa was recommended to QPR by Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari, and he also took advice from the Brazilian before accepting the Loftus Road job. (The Times)
- Briatore wanted to give the QPR job to caretaker boss Gareth Ainsworth but co-owner Bernie Ecclestone, vice-chairman Amit Bhatia and sporting director Gianni Paldini convinced him that Ainsworth was too big a gamble. (The Times)
- Former Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini, who is learning English in London, turned down the QPR job because he did not want to work in the Championship. (The Times) BBC Gossip


Two ex-QPR Birthdays today:
Karl Elsey, who turns 50 today. He played a few games under Tommy Docherty (profile). Gary Cooper (Born November 20, 1965). Former QPR England Youth Player under Terry Venables.


Seven Year Flashback: From the BBC
BBC - November 20, 2001 - The fall and fall of QPR
QPR fan Ian Pyke reveals the heartache of watching his beloved club plummet towards obscurty.
- QPR's season of suffering hit its lowest point with the 4-0 FA Cup first round exit at Swansea City.
- It meant support for the team from long-suffering supporters came in the shape of barracking for players and some club officials at every opportunity.
- This may seem an unusual method of backing - but it is an understandable reaction from fans who have suffered three cup exits and a series of poor performances in recent weeks.
- It was a season of high expectations at Loftus Road under manager Ian Holloway, despite relegation in the previous campaign.
- A home victory against Stoke on the opening day of the season seemed to support the optimism, especially as it was followed by an away win at Bury.
-If you've followed QPR over recent years, you will know an away win is rarer than an Englishman playing for Chelsea.
-Obviously the league table and the number of free Saturdays until the end of the season show the picture has changed.
- If you allow me to reminisce, it was only eight years ago QPR finished as top London club.
- And although no one expected us to remain in this position forever, we didn't expect to now have only Leyton Orient below us.
- QPR was regarded by as many as a model of how to run a relatively small club.
- Alan Curbishley was once quoted as saying "I want Charlton to be the new QPR" when they were restructuring their club and looking to return to The Valley.
- Charlton announced a profit this week, and look to have established themselves as a Premiership club.
- So QPR now aspire to be like Charlton.
- The fall and fall of QPR can mainly be attributed to the previous club owners and their lack of foresight.
- When we parted company with the Premiership, we had a wage bill that was unsustainable in the First Division.
- Not only did we fail to reduce this, we went on to sign players with limited ability on relatively big contracts.
Although some may say we gambled to get back into the top flight, I would argue the real gamble should have taken place a year earlier when were still there.
- Last summer saw almost 30 players leave the club and QPR go into admistration - and yet this summer the sales of season tickets increased.
- I have on three occasions had to queue at 7am to get tickets for away games. This is a measure of QPR's fan base and the club's potential.
- So my final word is about the fans.
Yes we have voiced our opinions against individuals recently, but after two relegations and being dumped out of the FA Cup in the first round for the first time in almost 50 years, we have had cause to complain.
OK enough moaning - a home win against Swindon at Loftus Road on Wednesday and a win at Brentford will make things look better.
I can dream. And this is why we still have a healthy home attendance and we queue for tickets for away games.
We all dream of better times.
Sadly, at the moment we are not too fond of reality. BBC


Meanwhile, four Years Ago, November 20, 2004: Leeds 6 QPR 1 (the match when a famously-ill Ian Holloway was "forced" to attend the game and then ended up in the hospital
QPR's Team that day: Day, Bignot, Shittu, Santos, Rose (Padula 11), Ainsworth, Bircham, Gallen, McLeod (Cook 45), Furlong, Cureton (Bean 45). Subs Not Used: Branco, Miller. Match Report

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