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Wednesday, February 11, 2009

QPR Win Youth Game...Camp Set for Nott Forest...Mahon: Need to Kill Teams Off...Ainsworth on Alberti and Sousa' Training...Richard Langley, Columnist

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- For a combination of cutting-edge QPR and general-interest football articles - (Today: Premier League Agreeing to Home Grown Quota......Corporate Chelsea Sack Scolari.....Newcastle's Former Owners Made almost £150 million from Newcastle....Birmingham Karren Brady re-arrested and Birmingham's Chairman Responds.....QPR Nostalgia): Visit the rather-different QPR Report Messageboard and judge for yourself! Added: Ex-QPR Terry Mancini Today


Update: QPR won today's Italian youth tournament game 3-0against A.P.I.A. LEICHHARDT


Kilburn Times/Ben Kosky - Banned Camp saga almost over
- LEE Camp is set to rejoin Nottingham Forest on loan until the end of the season after patching up his differences with Billy Davies.
-Camp has reclaimed the QPR goalkeeper's jersey in recent weeks following Radek Cerny's hamstring injury and played against Forest in last Saturday's 2-2 draw.
- But that is likely to have been the keeper's last game for Rangers, with Cerny expected to return in time for their next fixture, at home to Ipswich a week on Saturday.
- Camp spent a successful three-month loan spell at the City Ground earlier in the season, but his hopes of a permanent move there seemed to have been scuppered when Colin Calderwood was sacked and replaced by Davies.
- The Scotsman offloaded Camp during their time together at Derby, allowing him to join QPR on loan and then accepting a £300,000 offer for him once the Rams had gained promotion.
- "There is no problem between us and I would have no problems working with him again," Camp insisted. "Some people like to make out a problem exists, but we know it doesn't.
- "If Forest want to do something, fantastic. I'm under the impression that they know what to do. It would certainly interest me, but the ball is in Forest's court."
- The window for loan transfers reopened earlier this week and Rangers will allow Camp to move on the understanding that Forest buy him at the end of the season.
- It brings an end to a baffling saga in which Camp - a consistent performer and popular figure with the Loftus Road crowd throughout his three spells at the club - was frozen out on the orders of co-owner Flavio Briatore.
- Briatore instructed sporting director Gianni Paladini to ship Camp out last autumn, even though former manager Iain Dowie stated that he wanted the keeper to challenge Cerny for his place between the posts.
It was made clear to Camp that he would only play for Rangers again in an emergency - and that proved to be the case when the Czech number one strained his hamstring at the end of last month.
Camp politely declined to speak to the local media after his return to the QPR team, fuelling suspicions that the club may have banned him from discussing the circumstances of his fall from grace.
- The Rs are themselves in the market for a loan signing to act as back-up to Cerny, with understudy Jake Cole currently injured and Reece Crowther yet to feature in the first team.
- FORMER QPR midfielder Damiano Tommasi has joined Chinese side Tianjin Teda following his brief stay at Loftus Road earlier in the season. Kilburn Times


Kilburn Times/Ian Cooper - Mahon: we must find ruthless streak
- GAVIN Mahon insists QPR have the firepower to mount an assault on the play-off spots this season after another stirring attacking display at Nottingham Forest.
- Classy performances from the Rs' frontmen - in particular Wayne Routledge and Samuel Di Carmine - helped Rangers to another valuable away point at the City Ground on Saturday.
- With just one defeat in their last 13 Championship games, Rangers sit on the cusp of the play-offs, and Mahon believes they have the cut and thrust to make the top six.
- "We've got attacking players who can hurt teams, and when sides attack us it helps the way we play," said Mahon.
- "We hit teams on the break, we've got players who can excite and get at teams and cause them problems. We've also got men in the box who can pop up and score goals.
- "It's been coming, and I've always said that. We're not far from becoming a successful team and we've showed that over the last three or four weeks.
- "But if we're pushing for the top six we need to be killing teams off, and we need to make up for the points we dropped today [against Forest].
-"We're strong at home and improving away, and if we continue to play like this we'll win more games than we lose."
- Mahon knows what it takes to get to England's top flight, the 30-year-old having captained Watford to the Premier League three years ago.
- His experience will be called upon again in the coming weeks, as the Hoops' improving away form will be tested once more with tough trips to Cardiff City - rearranged from its original date next weekend - and Barnsley.
- And while Mahon is taking nothing for granted, he believes the current crop of players have the ability - and the belief - to overhaul the teams ahead of them as the business end of the season approaches.
- He added: "The next few weeks are massive for us. We've got some big games coming up but we've played all the top teams and done well against them, so there's no reason why we can't get a run together and push on for the last third of the season."
- "We know now we can get results away from home.
- "At times this season we've played okay in games and not really had the belief in front of goal, but at the moment we're causing teams problems.
- "Defensively we're outstanding, and if we can keep this solid base and create chances for the strikers we'll get goals, and we'll pick up points. Kilburn Times


London Informer/Paul Warburton - QPR's Matteo Alberti has 'a lot to learn'
- Matteo Alberti has a lot to learn according to QPR coach Gareth Ainsworth.
- Ainsworth, who's had most to do with the 19-year-old since his arrival from Chievo last summer, is pretty sure Alberti knows it too.
- He said: "Matti will keep his feet on the ground, despite the goals. But everyone was just so pleased to see his beaming face as he celebrated, it says a lot.
-"He's got a lot to learn, but like all of us under Paulo Sousa, we're making excellent strides. This is the most intense training of my career."
- Ainsworth, who has all but retired from playing, revealed the Rangers training set-up under Sousa is a 'different class' from anything he's known in his near six years at Loftus Road.
- He said: "I wished I could tell you some of the things we do - they're magic
. But obviously, we've got things other clubs haven't - and we need to keep it that way." London Informer


Kilburn Times- Richard Langley joins the Times team
- WHEN I was offered the opportunity to write for the Times I grabbed it - and from now until the end of the season, I hope to give the readers my objective opinion on the latest news at QPR, ranging from performances to tactics and football issues in general.
- First off, I would like to say how happy I am that QPR seem to be on the rise. The recent financial backing of the team seems to have given them a boost.
- With an impressive home record, the only thing missing is points on the road but, with 17 games to go, the Hoops are in a good position to push for the play-offs.
- Downsides so far would have to be the long-term injuries to Akos Buzsaky and Martin Rowlands - who, by all accounts, was playing some of the best football of his career. Many other players I have spoken to describe him as one of the best midfielders in the Championship.
- With the recruitment of many new players over the past 12 months, the all-important time needed to gel could be against the Rs, who require more consistency away from home to mount a final assault on all the play-off hopefuls.
- There are obstacles in place but, as a QPR supporter, I sincerely hope we can glide smoothly over them and give the faithful fans a long-awaited return to the Premier League.
- On the bright side, the return of Rowan Vine could be ideal to give the front line more strength in depth as they prepare for the final push. I spoke to Rowan this week and he seems to be a few weeks away from a full recovery - which will be music to the ears of all the Loftus Road faithful.
- This is coupled with the fact that Paulo Sousa, who was a fantastic player in his day - and a player I looked up to - seems to be imposing his theories on the way football should be played.
- I know that this will be appreciated by the fans, who over the years have been spoilt with the likes of Ray Wilkins, Gerry Francis and Stan Bowles.
- The next few weeks are crucial to the campaign and I sincerely hope the Rs can secure a top six finish.
- Come on you Rs! Kilburn Times