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QPR Official Site - FAURLIN STARTS IN CELJE
"R's new signing Alejandro Faurlin will make his full QPR debut in Slovenia tonight....trialist Ivan Gvozdenovic.....QPR: Cerny, Ramage, Gvozdenovic, Connolly, Gorkss, Leigertwood, Routledge, Balanta, Helguson, Faurlin, Agyemang. Subs: Oastler, Putnins, Brown, Borrowdale, Mahon, Alberti, Ainsworth. QPR
- Eckersley signs for Burnley. Explains Why Chose Burnley over QPR
"...[QPR] are a big club. But it was a no-brainer when Burnley came, because I want to perform in the Premier League..."
- Pellicori Speaking re Signing for QPR
- Mail/Ashley Gray - Briatore put the brakes on Ecclestone's plot to buy Roma and chose QPR, says FIFA agent
- There was always a surreal quality to Briatore turning up at Loftus Road with billionaire F1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone and Indian industrial tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, the world's eighth richest man.
- And it seems the middling Championship club were in fact their second choice.
- Argentine FIFA agent Luis Ruzzi has revealed he was brokering a deal for Briatore and Ecclestone to buy cash-strapped Serie A giants Roma until negotiations became complicated and they took their billions off to west London.
- 'I am very close to Bernie Ecclestone,' said Ruzzi.
- 'We have been friends since I used to organise the Argentine Grand Prix.'
Ruzzi explained how 78-year-old Ecclestone had wanted to buy Roma from the Sensi family.
-'He was concerned,' said Ruzzi. 'So me and the representative of the Sensi familiy, Gianroberto De Giovanni, went to lunch in London with Ecclestone and Briatore, who was to be the chairman.
- 'Ecclestone wanted to buy the club, but Briatore wanted to think it over. The operation was too complicated. A few weeks later the two men bought QPR.' Mail
Ben Kosky/Kilburn Times No move to clear the Dex
- QPR have not yet received any bids for Dexter Blackstock - and manager Jim Magilton is keen to keep the striker at Loftus Road.
- Blackstock's Rangers career appeared to be over when he was shunted out of the door and loaned to Nottingham Forest in March at the behest of co-owner Flavio Briatore.
- But, after Blackstock had helped them stave off relegation to League One, Forest failed to follow up their initial interest in the player and have since signed Dele Adebola and David McGoldrick.
- Now the 23-year-old is back in Shepherd's Bush and Magilton told the Times: "As I see it, Dexter's a QPR player and you haven't heard anything from me to reverse that situation.
- "I'm sure if an offer came in for any player at any club the length and breadth of the country, the board would always consider it. But at the moment there hasn't been any offer.
- "Dexter's applied himself terrifically well. I've absolutely no problem with him or any of the other players being here and, as long as they keep applying themselves in the same manner, there won't be any problem."
- Blackstock, who has been QPR's top scorer in two of the three years since he joined the club in a £500,000 switch from Southampton, is under contract to the club until next summer.
- He played the second half of Rangers' opening pre-season friendly at Aldershot Town last weekend, scoring their fourth goal, and could feature again on Wednesday against Slovenian side NK Celje.
- Blackstock stated: "As it stands, I've got a year left and, until circumstances change or QPR accept a bid for me, I don't have a decision to make.
- "There may have been some talk between agents and chairmen, but I'm just concentrating on getting fit for the start of the season and I think the manager wants me in his plans.
- "The way he wants us to play football is the right one and I think he's got the players' respect straight away, which is hard to get sometimes these days.
- "As long as I'm still at QPR, I'll give my all. I can't let the fans down because they've been good to me - they responded to me again well at Aldershot and it was nice to get a goal and send them home happy."
- Meanwhile, former Republic of Ireland striker David Connolly, who also featured for the Rs at Aldershot, has travelled with the squad to Slovenia as Magilton muses whether or not to offer him a contract.
- Connolly, 32, has an impressive pedigree at Championship level with Watford, Wolves, Wimbledon, West Ham and Leicester, but missed last season through injury and was released by Sunderland this summer.
- Magilton added: "David's had 16 or 17 months where he hasn't played a lot of football, so 45 minutes at Aldershot isn't going to make my mind up just yet. There's a long way to go."
- Captain Martin Rowlands has accompanied the squad after recovering from his cruciate ligament tear, but is not expected to feature either on Wednesday or in Sunday's clash with Croatian side NK Karlovac.
- Injured winger Lee Cook and club record signing Alejandro Faurlin - who is still waiting to receive international clearance after his £3.5m move to Loftus Road - were both omitted from the squad Kilburn Times
Ben Kosky/Kilburn Times - No rest for Radek just yet
- RADEK Cerny will continue to play every minute of every friendly until QPR tie up a deal for a new goalkeeper.
- Cerny, who was the sole Rangers player to complete 90 minutes at Aldershot on Saturday, is now the only senior keeper at the club following the summer departures of Lee Camp to Nottingham Forest and Jake Cole to Barnet.
- The Rs failed to agree a deal with Manchester United's Tom Heaton, and flew to Slovenia on Monday with only youth team keeper Elvijs Putnins and triallist Martin Lejsal as back-up to Cerny.
- "Radek will play every game until we get another one in," confirmed boss Jim Magilton. "We've got a few irons in the fire and if we can find one who will bring competition into the club, then I'll be looking to sign him.
- "Competition's very important - it keeps everyone on their toes. Radek's 35 now, he's an outstanding keeper, and he needs that sort of pressure week in week out."
- Magilton handed Gary Borrowdale his long-awaited first-team debut against the Shots, but is also on the lookout for another left-back to replace Damien Delaney after his £700,000 move to Ipswich earlier this month.
- But Moritz Volz, who played for Magilton during a loan spell at Ipswich last season, is not on the new QPR manager's radar despite his recent release by Fulham.
- "It's probably helpful to have lads who know the division and know what sort of standard they're getting themselves into," Magilton added.
- "I think when good players come along, we will certainly be in the market. But it's important that whoever comes in is better than what we have, that's the bottom line." Kilburn Times
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