-
- Visit the "Boutique" QPR Report Messageboard: A board that aspires to be different: (as suggested by the Messageboard's Honorary Moderators) and with a focus solely on QPR and football. Beyond the discussions, the board also includes a daily smattering of ("Macmoish-style") posted articles of general football interest. Posted today re Football and Finances:
- World's Fifty Highest-Paid Footballers (None from QPR!)
- Why Few "Lower League" Players Bought by Premiership Clubs
- Clubs Letting in Children For Free
- 2009/2010 Season Ticket Prices at Other Clubs
- The New Billion Pound TV Deal
- Is Football Recession Proof?
- Norwich's Big Fan/Club Money-Maker: Almost 3 million pounds to the club over past 12 years
QPR AT NOTTINGHAM FOREST
QPR aiming for their third successive away victory today. (It's been a while, since they last did that: UPDATE: THE LAST TIME QPR WON THREE SUCCESSIVE AWAY GAMES.
- QPR have NEVER won at Nottingham Forest....!) Current stats for the two clubs: QPR stats.... Nottingham Forest Stats Players who've shared clubs: Stan Bowles, Dave Needham and of course Lee Camp on loan have gone from QPR to Forest. From Forest: Steve Hodge, Chris Woods, Steve Burke
Dave McIntyre/Ealing Gazette -
....Next Up NOTTINGHAM FOREST City Ground Saturday 3pm Championship
Manager: Billy Davies (above) Position last season: 2nd in League 1 Form Guide: There is a bit more optimism in the air following the appointment of Billy Davies in place of Colin Calderwood and back-to-back home wins over Plymouth Argyle (2-0) and Sheffield Wednesday (2-1) have eased the pressure on a Forest side who were in the bottom three not so long ago. Watford (3-2) and Barnsley (1-0) are the only other clubs to have left Forest emptyhanded, while there have been home defeats at the hands of six clubs - Burnley (1-2),Crystal Palace (0-2),Cardiff City (0-1), Norwich (1-2),Sheffield United (0-1) and Doncaster Rovers (2-4).
Players to look out for: Former Cardiff,West Brom,Norwich and Derby striker Rob Earnshaw has 11 goals this season. Has a good somersault goal celebration, which Rangers will hope not to see.
Most recent meetings: QPR 2-1 Nottm Forest (18 Oct 2008); QPR 2-1 Nottm Forest (30 Apr 2005) - Championship; QPR 0-3 Nottm Forest (8 Jan 2005) - FA Cup. Head-to-head record: NF Wins: 24 QPR Wins: 14 Draws: 15
Match Facts: Rangers lost 2-1 at the City Ground on their last visit in December 2004 - Georges Santos the unlikely scorer - and have never beaten Forest on their patch in 26 attempts. The Rs did escape with a point from a 1-1 draw in the season before that. There have been four 4-0 defeats during that time and one 5-2 loss in a League Cup tie 20 years ago.
Forecast: Rangers are proving hard to beat at the moment and should be buoyed by back-to-back away wins. But Forest appear to be reviving and a first ever success at the City Ground may just elude the Rs. We go for a draw.
Gazetteforecast success rate: 18 correct out of 35 (51%) Ealing Gazette
Nottingham Forest Official Site - QPR Preview
Nottingham Forest will look to shrug of the disappointment of their midweek FA Cup exit when they meet Queens Park Rangers at The City Ground tomorrow (kick-off 3pm).
Wednesday's 3-2 cup reserve at the hands of Derby represented Forest's second successive defeat following last weekend's Championship disappointment at the hands of Cardiff.
Boss Billy Davies is understandably keen to see his side return to winning ways - although with his resources severely depleted it promises to be another testing afternoon for his side.
Big-spending QPR will arrive on Trentside on the back of an eight-match unbeaten run in the league which has lifted them to seventh in the table.
They have won their last two away games - at Derby and Blackpool - and will be feeling fresh following the postponement of their mid-week game against Swansea.
Team news
The Reds will be without skipper James Perch after he was diagnosed as suffering from concussion following the blow to the head he took against Derby.
He joins Robert Earnshaw, Paul Anderson, Julian Bennett, Joel Lynch, Arron Davies and Guy Moussi on the sidelines.
But Billy Davies is able to welcome back striker Joe Garner after suspension and Brendan Moloney and Paddy Gamble, who were cup-tied in midweek.
Rangers, meanwhile, are expected to include goalkeeper Lee Camp in their line-up.
Camp, who had a spell on loan with Forest earlier this season during which time he made 15 appearances, has played in Rangers' last two games due to an injury to first choice Radek Cerny.
He played for both
Former England, QPR and Forest player Stan Bowles
Stan Bowles' spell at The City Ground lasted just eight months but during that time he helped Forest land the European Super Cup.
The maverick talent scored twice in 19 top flight appearances for The Reds following a £225,000 move from QPR in December 1979 but moved to Orient in July of the following year.
Bowles launched his career with Carlisle but shot to prominence with Rangers. He was a key figure as they won promotion from the old Second Division in 1973 and finished runners up in the league title race in 1976.
The England international scored 71 goals in 255 league appearances for QPR.
Head to head
QPR's 2-1 win at Loftus Road earlier this season was their 14th victory over Forest.
The Reds, however, have recorded 24 wins over the West London club and will be hoping to add another to their tally this weekend.
Forest's fate was effectively sealed by two goals in the space of 15 minutes at the start of the second half when they visited the capital earlier in October.
Lewis McGugan grabbed an 84th minute goal but the damage had already been done by that stage, courtesy of Angelo Balanta's opener and Akos Bazsaki's goal on the hour mark.
But there had been much to admire about Forest's play in the first half with Paul Anderson, making an early-awaited debut, and Garath McCleary causing a host of problems for the Rangers defence.
Nathan Tyson went close to opening the scoring early on, while Rangers goalkeeper Radek Cerny made a string of outstanding saves.
But all the good work of the first half counted for little once Rangers had established a 2-0 lead.
McGugan did give Forest something to show for their efforts but his superb 25-yard free-kick was too little too late.
Forest: Smith, Chambers, Morgan, Wilson, Bennett (Lynch 45), Fletcher (McGugan 73), Cohen, McCleary, Cole, Anderson (Davies 73), Tyson. Subs not used: Lynch, Breckin.
QPR: Cerny, Delaney, Stewart, Hall (Connolly 64), Leigertwood, Ramage, Buzsaky (Mahon 90), Rowlands, Cook, Balanta (Di Carmine 77), Blackstock. Subs not used: Camp, Ledesma.
Where they currently stand:
Forest - 17th
QPR - 7th
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Evening Post - Spotlight on Forest v QPR
Saturday, February 07, 2009, 07:30Comment on this story
TEAM NEWS: Forest are again depleted by injuries with skipper James Perch ruled out with concussion.
Striker Robert Earnshaw still not fit but Joe Garner returns from suspension and might start while Brendan Moloney is available after being cup tied in midweek.
Paul Anderson, Julian Bennett, Guy Moussi, Joel Lynch and Arron Davies are all out injured.
QPR are on a fine run of form and have not lost in the league since early December. With Radek Cerny struggling with a hamstring injury, former Forest loanee Lee Camp is expected to start in goal. And one time Reds target Heidar Helguson will continue to lead the line.
FOREST (4-4-2): GK Smith; RB Chambers, LB Wilson, CB Morgan, CB Breckin; RM Thornhill, LM McCleary, CM Cohen, CM McGugan; ST Tyson, ST Garner
QPR (4-4-1-1): GK Camp; RB Connolly, LB Delaney, CB Stewart, CB Gorkss; RM Routledge, LM Cook, CM Mahon, CM Leigertwood; AM Miller; ST Helguson
DANGER MAN: Heidar Helguson. The former Bolton man puts himself about up front and is strong in the air. Has scored five goals since joining QPR back in November, including two in the recent 3-0 win at Blackpool. A real threat.
KEY BATTLE: Kelvin Wilson v Wayne Routledge. Former Crystal Palace winger Routledge never kicked on like expected when he performed in the Premiership for Tottenham and Aston Villa. But after moving back to the Championship with QPR, he has found his form and makeshift left back Wilson will have a job on his hands to control the winger's pace and skill.
MANAGER: Paulo Sousa. The former Portugal international took over in November and has led his men to the brink of the play-offs, just being pipped to the manager of the month title for January. A former midfelder, he played for Benfica, Juventus and Inter Milan.
Before taking over at Loftus Road, he has been assistant to the Portugal national team but this is his first challenge in club football.
TICKETS: It is Kids for A Quid day today where under-16s accompanied by an adult enter for £1. Otherwise adult tickets are £27, seniors £21, full time students and under-18s £12. Cheaper tickets are available in the Family Stand. Nottingham Evening Post
Nottingham Evening Post - Camp to make Forest return
It will certainly be a strange afternoon for Lee Camp today when he returns to the City Ground with QPR.
After making himself a hero among fans at Loftus Road last season, he was restricted to the bench during the early stages of this campaign following the arrival of Radek Cerny.
But Forest offered him first team action and in October he arrived on loan, knowing he had it all to do to win over the fans being an ex-Ram and Derby born and bred.
But in no time he became an instant hit with a string of fine displays, superb saves and commanding performances, helping the Reds to crucial points.
His biggest moment came in his fourth game, back at Pride Park, when he saved a last-minute penalty against his former club before pulling off a stunning save to ensure Forest drew 1-1.
From there, the chants of "Lee Camp is a Forest fan" rang out home and away while he wore the Tricky Tree on his shirt.
And he delivered again, saving a last-minute penalty at Bristol City to earn another draw rather than suffering defeat.
The last of his 15 appearances came in the 3-2 win at Norwich after Christmas, ending with him running the length of the pitch to celebrate with the Forest fans.
But his loan deal ended, he went back to London and expected to be in the wilderness with Cerny still number one.
Forest are still understood to be trying to bring Camp back on a permanent deal but a fee is believed to have been a stumbling block during the transfer window.
So today he returns for QPR and, ironically, he is set to start in goal after Cerny suffered a hamstring injury in training.
It has afforded Camp an opportunity and he has responded with two clean sheets against Blackpool and then Reading.
So today, he returns on the opposite side.
However, after his displays helped Forest out of the relegation zone before he exited, the Reds fans are sure to show their appreciation.
They will just hope today proves to be an off day for the keeper they took to heart during his three-month stint on the banks of the Trent. This is Nottingham
Also:
- QPR Official Site Preview
- Clive Whittingham/LoftforWords - Forest Preview