QPR Transfer Rumours Update...Stewart: Now QPR Can Concentrate on League

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- West Ham vs Millwall Disturbances: Football Association Verdict: West Ham Guilty; Millwall Not Proven

- Briatore/Juventus "Update"
- Briatore Not Planning to Rush Back to F1
- Pellicori Close to Move

- Teamalk "Stat of the Day" - QPR have not won an FA Cup match in their last 13 games in the competition (since 2001) a dismal run that is longer than any other side in the Football League." Teamtalk


Dave McIntyre/BBC 606 - QPR Wait for Quashie
- Rangers’ signing of Nigel Quashie is being held up by uncertainty at West Ham, where a takeover could be imminent.
- Quashie is set to be released by the club but has been unable to reach a settlement with them because of the current situation there.
- It was hoped that would change on Wednesday, paving the way for Quashie to return to Loftus Road.
- But a deadline for prospective bidders to buy West Ham appears to have been scrapped, meaning the player may have to wait for his future to be resolved.
- Quashie has been training alone since completing a loan spell at MK Dons, who looked set to re-sign him before QPR declared an interest.
- He may not be on board in time for Saturday’s game at Blackpool, but at this stage it seems a question of when rather than if he will become a Rangers player again.
- Once he cuts his ties with West Ham, Quashie is set to sign a contract with Rangers for the rest of the season with a view to a longer deal in the summer.
- Another player Rangers virtually have in the bag is striker Daniel Cousin.
- The loan deal to sign him is all but done, and Cousin is expected to sign when he returns from the Africa Cup of Nations, where he is playing for Gabon.
- Cousin’s Hull team-mate Caleb Folan has been a perennial target for QPR sporting director Gianni Paladini and enquiries were made about him yet again.
- Folan is currently injured, but Hull made it clear that Cousin, who turns 33 next month, is available.
- Expect Rowan Vine to be sent out on loan when he recovers from a recent hernia operation.
- Vine was lined up for a move in the summer, but Jim Magilton resisted.
- With Magilton gone and Rangers – as always - on the lookout for strikers, Vine may well end up elsewhere in a bid to trim the squad.
- One striker I would have put money on joining QPR during the transfer window is Dave Kitson from Stoke City.
- Kitson has had a loan spell at Middlesbrough but his wife’s job in London means he wants to return south.
- He was touted for a move to West Ham but that came to nothing, while his former club Reading would struggle to get him back because of his wages, which would also seemingly rule out the likes of Watford and Crystal Palace.
- So it appeared Kitson might effectively fall into QPR’s lap – and be a very timely signing for an under-fire regime.
- Rangers did make an approach after learning that they could be able to land the player, but it seems wages are a stumbling block for them as well.
- QPR want to take Kitson on loan but are currently some distance from reaching an agreement over the payment of his wages, and no progress has been made this week.
- I wonder if a couple more bad results - and more unrest among the fans - might persuade Rangers to pay more. They usually do.
BBC


Kilburn Times/Ben Kosky - Rangers ready to launch new Kits
13 January 2010
- QPR are poised to strengthen their forward line by signing Stoke striker Dave Kitson on loan until the end of the season.
- Rangers have been seeking a frontman with aerial presence for some time and Kitson, who is keen to return to the south-east for family reasons, fits the bill.
- The 29-year-old recently returned to the Britannia Stadium after a six-week loan with Middlesbrough - during which he netted the first goal in Boro's 5-1 thrashing of the Rs at Loftus Road.
- But Kitson is resigned to leaving Stoke, where he faces an uphill task to dislodge the likes of Ricardo Fuller, Tuncay, James Beattie and Mamady Sidibe.
- West Ham's initial interest in Kitson has cooled, while Reading - the club he helped fire into the Premier League in 2006 - would struggle to meet his wage demands.
- Rangers are close to finalising a deal to sign another forward, Hull City's Daniel Cousin, who is currently at the Africa Cup of Nations with Gabon.
- Cousin's Hull team-mate Caleb Folan - who was also recently on loan at Middlesbrough - has been a long-term transfer target of QPR sporting director Gianni Paladini, but has struggled with injury of late.
- Kitson's Championship pedigree is impressive - he netted 46 goals in two and a half seasons with Reading after joining the Berkshire club from Cambridge United.
- He found the step up to the Premier League harder, but still hit double figures as the Royals were relegated in 2008 and signed for Stoke in a £5.5m deal that summer.
- More recently, the striker hit three goals in six appearances for Middlesbrough, but ruled out a permanent move to the Riverside due to his wife's work commitments in London.
- Rangers are currently reshuffling their pack of strikers, with Heidar Helguson returning to his old club Watford for a second loan until the end of the season.
- And unsurprisingly Alessandro Pellicori's QPR career has been cut short after just six months, 10 appearances (nine of them as substitute) and one goal, against Exeter in the Carling Cup.
- Representatives of Serie B side Mantova met Pellicori in London this week and are expected to confirm the 28-year-old's move back to Italy on a free transfer. Kilburn Times


Ealing Gazette/Jan 13 2010 By Jacob Murtagh
FA Cup was a distraction, says Stewart
- DAMION Stewart is glad QPR are out of the FA Cup – so they can concentrate on their stuttering league form instead.
- The Hoops fell at the first hurdle for the ninth year running against Sheffield United last night, who secured a fourth round clash with Bolton.
- But rather than feeling down in the dumps about missing out on a trip to the Reebok, Stewart is more bothered about lighting up Blackpool on Saturday instead.
- He said: "Maybe it's a blessing in disguise because we can concentrate on the league. It's always nice to have a cup run but we've got to focus on the task at hand, and that's to get into the play-offs and trying to get promoted.
- "If you look at the table we're just four points short of the play-off places, so if we work hard and try and convert our chances it's still possible."
- Stewart's header a minute from time was too little, too late for Paul Hart's men, who had fought back from 3-0 down before losing 3-2.
- But he reckons they should've been out of sight before the break.
- "It's always nice to get a goal but not when you end up on the losing side," he said.
- "We conceded two poor goals, and we were on the back foot from then.
- "But we could have been out of sight if we had taken our chances, but that's how football goes. If you don't take your chances you pay." Ealing Gazette