Year Flashback: Watford Game Off!
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-Throughout the day, updates, comments and perspectives re QPR and football in general are posted and discussed on the QPR Report Messageboard...Also Follow: QPR REPORT ON TWITTER
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- QPR Report "Spot The Ball"
- Claim that Chelsea are interested in Adel Taarabt
- Four Year Flashback: Statement by QPR Life President Harold Winton (RIP)
- Decade Flashback: Ten Years ago Today - Gerry Francis Announces His Resignation as QPR Manager (and then stayed on for a while!)
- Leighton James Turns 58
- 40+Readers' Responses to Guardian piece "The Questions QPR Must Answer"
- Guardian Blog/Michael Hann: The questions QPR must answer
- "Football League Clubs Heading for the Precipice"
Mirror - QPR's Cook has three clubs drooling
- QPR midfielder Lee Cook has three clubs waiting to take him on loan.
- Cook has been out since May with a knee injury but Championship strugglers Preston and Scunthorpe, plus League One's Sheffield Wednesday, are after him.
- Boss Neil Warnock said: “He’ll be back, probably next week. For now, I can’t do without him.” Mirror
PFA's Give Me Football - QPR boss takes the GMF hot seat
Neil Warnock is enjoying management life more than ever
- QPR continue to set the pace at the top of the Npower Championship, with Neil Warnock’s Hoops five points clear of Cardiff with just 16 games of the campaign remaining following the 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest.
- The colourful Warnock had a brief spell in the Barclays Premier League with Sheffield United a few years ago and it would certainly be entertaining to see the outspoken 62-year-old back in the top-flight with Rangers next term.
Q: WE ARE NOW APPROACHING THE BUSINESS-END OF THE SEASON AND YOUR TEAM ARE STILL TOP OF THE TABLE?
A: It has been hard but it’s flown by, I’ve enjoyed it that much. We thought if we could be three or four points off the top two come January, these were our original thoughts, we’ve got a run-in that we think is as good as anybody’s.
Q: HOW GOOD A PLAYER IS ADEL TAARABT?
A: He’s as good a player as you will see in any league in the world. But he’s only a kid, still only 21. But he’s got that temperament and I never thought I would manage a player like him. He is going to blow hot and cold but we put up with that because the pluses far outweigh the minuses.
When I came here people talked about his negatives, he was bombed out by two or three managers, and quite rightly so, but he’s bought into our group and it’s worked for us.
Q: YOUR SIDE SEEMS TO HAVE A NICE BALANCE OF YOUTH AND EXPERIENCE?
A: Yes, we’ve got old heads with people who’ve got things to prove, a bit like myself. We’ve not got long left – I’m talking about players like Shaun Derry, Clint Hill and Paddy Kenny. Then we’ve got this vibrant three of four kids who are just starting out.
Q: DID YOU EVER CONSIDER QUITTING MANAGEMENT WHEN YOU LEFT SHEFFIELD UNITED AFTER THEIR RELEGATION FROM THE TOP FLIGHT A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO?
A: To get relegated by one goal on the final day was a real sickener. Every morning I woke up thinking about it and I was still thinking about it when I went to bed at night.
It went on probably until September but (Crystal Palace chairman) Simon Jordan kept pestering me and in the end I said I would come down, I think he’d just let Peter Taylor go, until the end of the season without a contract.
But I went there and loved London, the kids enjoyed it and that got my enthusiasm back - the fans at Palace were fantastic. Then I had the chance to come to QPR and I’ve never enjoyed myself as much in my life, it’s something I can’t explain.
Q: STEVE McCLAREN HAS SAID HE WOULD CONSIDER TAKING OVER AT A CHAMPIONSHIP CLUB, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE HIM?
A: It’s just a tough league. The advice I would give Steve or anybody else going into this league is to go to a club who have got a chance. When you look at the money that Sven (Goran-Eriksson) is spending at Leicester they have to be in with a chance.
We went for a couple of their players but couldn’t get anywhere near the money they were paying. It shows you the difference from one end of the table to the other." Give Me Football
QPR OFFICIAL SITE - SHITTU ON TARGET
- Dan Shittu opened the scoring this afternoon (Tuesday) as QPR Reserves beat Crystal Palace 4-1 at the Harlington training ground in a behind-closed-doors friendly.
- The R's defender - who re-joined the Club last month until the end of the season - smashed home an unstoppable drive to give the hosts the lead before our advantage was doubled by a trialist.
- Heidar Helguson, who has been sidelined recently with a groin injury, made it three before the same trialist added a fourth before half-time.
- After the break, the Eagles pulled a goal back but it proved little more than a consolation.
- Helguson came through 45 minutes unscathed and the R's were further boosted by midfielder Akos Buzsaky completing 60 minutes of action for Ronnie Jepson's men.QPR
Dave McIntyre/Kilburn Times: Trialist nets brace in QPR win
HARROW Borough striker Troy Hewitt scored twice for QPR’s reserve side in a behind-closed-doors match on Tuesday afternoon.
Akos Buzsaky played for an hour of the friendly against Crystal Palace’s second string as Rangers ran out 4-1 winners, with Heidar Helgsuson and Dan Shittu also scoring.
Buzsaky is working his way back to fitness after a knee injury and returned to action in a friendly against Tottenham last week, featuring for 45 minutes.
His latest appearance is another step towards a first-team comeback for the Hungarian, who has been sidelined since October.
Hewitt, who has banged in a total of 20 goals for Borough this season, came on as a second-half substitute against Spurs and was deployed on the right wing.
But this time the 20-year-old played the full 90 minutes in his preferred central position alongside Helguson, who is back in contention after a groin problem.
A very similar player to Blackpool’s DJ Campbell, Hewitt was being tracked by a number of clubs before QPR showed an interest.
Several Championship sides had been keeping tabs on the player, while League One promotion chasers Peterborough are also keen. Kilburn Times
Raheem Sterling
Live4Liverppol: FIVE Star Raheem is beginning to excite a lot of people - by David Tully
ShareA lot of plaudits have gone the way of 16 year old Raheem Sterling today after his five goals against Southend, and although the comparisons to John Barnes are way too premature, there are certain things about the Liverpool winger’s style of play that have really caught the eye and excited some people who don’t normally get sucked in by the tag of “A Star in the Making.” His performance in the 9-0 win in the FA Youth Cup has got many people chatting about what the future may hold for the player.
Liverpool did exceptionally well to fight off the interest of Manchester United, Man City, Fulham and Arsenal when they signed the player in February last year. In a sizeable £300,000 four year deal, the Reds hoped they had got one of the most exciting prospects in the country, and his display last night would have gone a long way in justifying the investment in him. The deal would have put a lot of pressure on the 15 year old but he is a man who seems to take most things in his stride. According to QPR head of development Steve Gallen, Sterling lives and breathes football:
“He’s not interested in all the stuff around him – whether it’s in the street, the car park or wherever; he just wants to play football all the time”
The former QPR player was born in Jamaica but has played in many of England’s youth teams. He joined Rangers at 10 years old, and at 15 some coaches said that Sterling was at the same level as Wayne Rooney was in his development at the same age, but more widely held comparisons have been made with Theo Walcott. A fast, pacey attacking midfield player who can “pass, shoot, head, score goals, tackle, defend” according to Steve Gallen, Sterling no doubt has tremendous prospects and it certainly shows that the policy of bringing in expensive young talent from other clubs is on the way to working.
It is definitely not the time to get ahead of ourselves though. The fifth round of the FA Youth Cup is the furthest that Southend have ever got in their history and the class of the Reds players shone through last night. The attributes that Sterling possesses though are what impresses many. He has incredible pace, great dribbling ability, he has an eye for a goal and has the ability to use his left as well as his right foot to keep opposition full backs guessing as to whether he will cut inside to shoot or go out wide to put a cross into the box. Such natural ability cannot be coached, and harnessed in the right way, Sterling really has a great chance of making it at the top level. Certainly with the experience of Rodolfo Borrell, the winger has more than a fighting chance.
His second and fourth goals (shown in the video below, thanks to MilanKakaBaros) demonstrate his devastating speed and directness. He ghost pasts two Southend defenders after cutting in from the left to finish with aplomb for his second while his fourth is similar, taking advantage of a tired defence to go past the opposition as if it they weren’t even there to slot home the team’s seventh of the game.
He is still probably a couple of years away from the first team. At 16, his body is yet to develop fully and his slight build is the only slight concern about him. His speed, step-overs, dribbling ability and shooting accuracy all point to an exciting future though and we will no doubt be hearing a lot more in the years to come. It could even be sooner than some imagine too as he has been given the ’31’ jersey indicating he his in the thoughts of manager Dalglish. Kenny, Damien Comolli, Steve Clarke and Sammy Lee were all at the match yesterday. Perhaps a spot on the bench for a future Europa League match this season? You never know, but this 16 year old is really one to watch." Live4Liverpool
- Earlier re Raheem Sterling Scoring Five Goals
- February 28 Deadline to Pay Antonio Caliendo 2 Million Pounds?
- Three Years Ago: The QPR squad was relaxing/training in Portugal
- Four Year Flashback: "The Crazy World of QPR"
- Messageboard Year Flashback: Advocating QPR Should Do More for Aging Ex-QPR Players (Remians just as true today)
- FA Statement on Players Use of Social Networking Sites (Twitter, etc)
- QPR's Season-by-Season Championship Points Total Since Premiership Relegation
- Ex-QPR Bertie Brayley Joins Harlow
- Old Videos
- A second book about Bernie Ecclestone
- The Logos/Crests of Other League and Premiership Clubs
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