- QPR Youth Team of the early-1960s - WITHOUT Tony Currie (Released!)
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-For QPR and Football Updates throughout the day, also check the QPR Report Messageboard/quasi-blog. Join in or just read the various QPR and football-only discussions!
- An invitation to QPR Supporters across the globe! Whatever country. Whatever continent. Whatever age. Whatever Perspective: Come post on the growing, truly-International, QPR and football-only QPR Report Messageboard
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- Spurs's Ex-QPR Dean Parrett Joins Plymouth on Season-long Loan
- Chelsea Fight Ticket Touting: Official Statement
- Steve Coppell Resigns as Bristol City Manager
- Next: Sheffield United
- A few Warm Memories from an Ex-QPR Staffer
- The World Blind Football Championships Begin on Saturday
- In the "League Cup" (Carling Cup), Port Vale Conquerors or QPR, get to Play Fulham at Craven Cottage
- Jason Roberts on His Blackburn Non-Future
- Varney for QPR?
- On This Day Four Years Ago: Waddock's final Win as QPR Manager - as Dexter Blackstock Makes His QPR Debut
- On This Day, Ten Years Ago: QPR's Relegation Season Began with Kevin Gallen having just been freed by QPR
- On this Day, Thirty-Eight Years Ago: QPR's Promotion Season Under Gordon Jago Got Under Way
- New Blackpool Contract for Ian Holloway who signs several players - Including Marlon Harewood
- Beckham's England Comes to an Abrupt End
- Today's the Next Schedule Trial Hearing for Ex-QPR Director?
- The World Football Blind Championships Start Saturday
- London Football Teams and Twitter League?
- Footballers on Twitter
- VIDEOS: QPR with Francis and Marsh...Excerpts from recent London Masters Victory and others
- VIDEOS: Barnsley Highlights...Alan Shearer 1994 Hatrick vs QPR
QPR Official Site - FOCUSING ON THE FUTURE
Posted on: Thu 12 Aug 2010
Sporting Equals has substantial experience of setting up and running talent identification schemes in different sports, designed to bring youngsters and their local teams to the attention of mainstream clubs.
Now the organisation is working with QPR to build their connections with local communities, through a talent ID programme targeted at minority ethnic groups.
Youth Development Manager at QPR, Steve Gallen, sets out the aim: "The focus will be on Asian youngsters, who are currently 'under the radar' in football. We are also looking to widen our engagement with other minority groups in our neighbourhood."
In a culturally and ethnically diverse society, it might seem strange that it is still necessary to run targeted schemes like this.
Ishan Saksena, Chairman of QPR, explains: "It is naive of football clubs to assume that just because they run a youth programme, kids from all backgrounds will put themselves forward. There are many educational, social, economic and family barriers, and cultural assumptions on both sides that get in the way.
"As a business, we need to reach out specifically to under-represented groups, creating links that ensure we are not missing out on the real potential stars who live on our doorstep."
The scheme starts on Sunday August 15th, from 10 am to 3pm and will include three development sessions and a fourth session for players who have performed well throughout the programme.
Boys aged 8 - 11 are invited to take part, at the QPR training ground at Harlington, under the watchful eye of the QPR coaching team.
The format will be a fun but rigorous assessment involving small sided games and skills sessions, and any boys who meet the standard at the end of the scheme will be invited to join the QPR age group teams for training over a six week period.
For individuals who stand out during this programme, there is the chance of an Academy contract, the first step in a professional football career.
The QPR Community Team will also be present at the talent ID days, to talk about their well-established community programmes and how people can get involved. The hope is that the visiting players' coaches, club volunteers and families can get involved for the longer term, above and beyond this initial scheme.
For Sporting Equals, David Mbaziira explains: "Queens Park Rangers is already a beacon of inclusion in the football world, committed to building local support and opportunity and engaging with communities.
"They nonetheless recognise that there is more to do in terms of opening up their youth programmes to the whole community and looking beyond the 'usual suspects' when scouting for new talent."
Programme dates:
Sunday 15th August 10:00 - 12:00 and 13:00 - 15:00
Wednesday 18th August 10:00 - 13:00
Sunday 22nd August 10:00 - 12:00 and 13:00 - 15:00
Wednesday 25th August 10:00 - 13.00
To register visit www.setalentid.com or call Sporting Equals on 0121 777 1375 to register over the phone
[Posted Yesterday:] QPR Minority Outreach
Bangladesh Football Association - QPR FOOTBALL TRIALS
August 11th, 2010 by bfasl
.Dear friends and colleagues,
- Regarding my previous email on the QPR football trials, I would like to provide you with more information. Please find below, the details of the exciting partnership between Sporting Equals and Queens Park Rangers FC I earlier mentioned.
- It provides details on a talent identification and community initiative that is targeted at black and minority ethnic communities.
- Please can you disseminate to your networks and contacts to encourage people to register on to the programme.
Thank you,
Sandra
PRESS RELEASE
August 2010
Sporting Equals supports QPR on quest for local talent
Text:
Sporting Equals has substantial experience of setting up and running talent identification schemes in different sports, designed to bring youngsters and their local teams to the attention of mainstream clubs. Now the organisation is working with QPR to build their connections with local communities, through a talent ID programme targeted at minority ethnic groups.
Youth Development Manager at QPR, Steve Gallen, sets out the aim: “The focus will be on Asian youngsters, who are currently ‘under the radar’ in football. We are also looking to widen our engagement with other minority groups in our neighbourhood”.
In a culturally and ethnically diverse society, it might seem strange that it is still necessary to run targeted schemes like this. Ishan Saksena, Chairman of QPR explains. “It is naive of football clubs to assume that just because they run a youth programme, kids from all backgrounds will put themselves forward. There are many educational, social, economic and family barriers, and cultural assumptions on both sides that get in the way. As a business, we need to reach out specifically to under-represented groups, creating links that ensure we are not missing out on the real potential stars who live on our doorstep.”
The scheme starts on Sunday August 15th, from 10 am to 3pm and will include three development sessions and a fourth session for players who have performed well throughout the programme. Boys aged 8 – 11 are invited to take part, at the QPR training ground at Harlington, under the watchful eye of the QPR coaching team. The format will be a fun but rigorous assessment involving small sided games and skills sessions, and any boys who meet the standard at the end of the scheme will be invited to join the QPR age group teams for training over a six week period.
For individuals who stand out during this programme, there is the chance of an Academy contract, the first step in a professional football career.
The QPR Community Team will also be present at the talent id days, to talk about their well-established community programmes and how people can get involved. The hope is that the visiting player’s coaches, club volunteers and families can get involved for the longer term, above and beyond this initial scheme.
For Sporting Equals, David Mbaziira explains: “Queens Park Rangers is already a beacon of inclusion in the football world, committed to building local support and opportunity and engaging with communities. They nonetheless recognise that there is more to do in terms of opening up their youth programmes to the whole community and looking beyond the ‘usual suspects’ when scouting for new talent.”
Programme dates:
Sunday 15th August 10:00 – 12:00 and 13:00 – 15:00
Wednesday 18th August 10:00 – 13:00
Sunday 22nd August 10:00 – 12:00 and 13:00 – 15:00
Wednesday 25th August 10:00 – 13.00
- To register visit www.setalentid.com – for anyone without internet access, please call Sporting Equals on 0121 777 1375 to register over the phone.
Notes for Editors:
- Sporting Equals exists to actively promote greater participation by the British black and minority ethnic population in sport and a healthy lifestyle. It is a not-for profit organisation. We have a strong national network of delivery partners on the ground, at the heart of BME communities. We also have partnership agreements and affiliations with the leading sports governing bodies. Our job is to bring these two networks together in order to:
- open up a vast new pool of talent for UK sport
- offer opportunities for talented sportsmen and women
- increase the fan base (and grow the take at the turnstile)
- change outdated attitudes and assumptions
- enable BME communities to access sports and fitness facilities
- share the social, personal and health benefits of an active life more widely
For more information, please contact David Mbaziira, Head of Marketing & Communications on 0121 777 1375
For further information about Sporting Equals, please visit the website at www.sportingequals.org.uk
Dave McIntyre Blogs About Jason Roberts
David McIntyre - Being a twit on Twitter
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One of the reasons I thought a blog would be useful was that I’d be able to clarify things when I phrase something so badly people get the wrong end of the stick.
Take a post on Twitter yesterday about Jason Roberts. A sure sign that I’ve worded something stupidly is my best mate ringing me up asking if Roberts is going to accept his offer from QPR of a three-year deal with a 50% pay cut, and others are asking the same question.
Apologies for any misunderstanding. I didn’t mean to suggest he’d been made that offer. I just meant that there’d been some references to Roberts’ big wages at Blackburn, but this needn’t be such an obstacle to signing a player like him.
My comment was that for a 32-year-old on his kind of wages, a three-year deal even with a 50% pay cut would be a great deal financially and mean that, at 35, he’d be getting more money than most ex-England players.
Whether Rangers sign him remains to be seen. I think they’ve got a fair chance, although that may have to offer him if not three years then two with the option of a third year if he makes enough appearances.
My point was really a hypothetical one. Just because Roberts is on a vast amount at Blackburn, it doesn’t mean a club would need to match it or even come close to matching it in order to sign him.
Even if - purely for argument’s sake - he’d move with a pay drop of as much as 50% (and it almost certainly wouldn‘t be that much), he’d still be guaranteeing himself a big wage up until the age of 35, were he to get a three-year deal. That’s rare for any player, and an excellent financial offer.
An example of this is Gavin Peacock when he signed a new contract during his time at Rangers. It involved a substantial wage cut, and Peacock’s decision to re-sign was trumpeted at the time as a major act of loyalty.
Don’t get me wrong, Peacock was a model professional with a genuine feeling for QPR. But the reality was that even though he was accepting a salary drop, the length of contract at that stage of his career meant he was still in line for more money around the age of 35 than many players who'd been at the very top.
Sure enough, a couple of years later the perception of Peacock had changed and that contract, having once been portrayed as an example of his loyalty and the club’s prudence, was seen as a huge financial burden Rangers were keen to get rid of. It was still a big wage for a player of that age to be getting at a second-tier club.
Not that Roberts wouldn’t be a brilliant signing. The number of players QPR chase that I think would be good acquisitions you could count on the fingers of one hand. And the number of ageing Premier League players on big money I think would be good signings you could count on the fingers of half a hand.
But I reckon Roberts would be great for Rangers, both on and off the pitch. He’s a good enough player and, more importantly, a good enough pro to command a big wage packet without it taking the edge off him - unlike others I could mention.
Injuries are a different matter. These are hard to forsee, although harder with some players than others. I'm not sure hoping Jason Roberts will stay fit in his 30s is less ambitious than hoping the likes of Patrick Agyemang would be worth their contract at any age.
For me somone is only worth spending significant money on if they’ve got definite Premier League/sell-on potential, or if they can help more than any other player with a short-term goal like getting out of the Championship.
Roberts I think ticks the second box. He’d be brilliant this season and lead from the front - literally. Plus, he’s still good enough to do a job in the Premier League next season were Rangers to get there. Unlike the massively overpriced Michael Chopra, who should be avoided.
Roberts would give Rangers vast experience and a presence up front that they currently lack. They certainly lacked it on Tuesday night.
Before that game I compared QPR to Audley Harrison. Never mind Audley, against Port Vale they looked like the kind of no-hopers fed to Frank Bruno back in the 80s.
Mikele Leigertwood, a player I like a lot, certainly looked like a washed up journeyman. At one point in the second half I realised I’d forgotten he was even playing.
But that's the Carling Cup for you. He'll play much better this season and so will Rangers - with or without Jason Roberts. Dave McIntyre Blog
-The New NPower Football Leage Trophy (which QPR will be collecting in Nine Months time!)