Hoop Dreams - QPR FC

Less than two weeks to go. As the opening day of the Championship season draws ever closer, QPR continued their 100% record in pre-season games with a 2-1 win over Ravenna Calcio in Italy last night, their second and final game of their tour there. Back at home, the club are also reported to be on the verge of signing Bradley Orr from Bristol City - a move which would add an extra layer of protection to what is already looking like a far more competitive defence for the upcoming campaign.

First to the game against the Serie C opposition, which going by the match report on the club's website, provided the toughest challenge yet in the games which Rangers lined up as part of their summer preparations.

The art of arranging pre-season friendlies is rarely given too much inspection. Many will argue that the games have almost no bearing on the season ahead, but they can't simply be about developing fitness. They also have to provide an opportunity to gel in new players, which Rangers have enough of and to restore the necessary match skills and ways of thinking which must grow rusty during the holiday break. More than that, there is surely a case for pre-season friendlies as exercises in building confidence and team spirit and turning again to the tour blogs on the QPR website, that appears to have been the case.

A part of building that confidence requires a level of opposition demanding enough to provide a realistic test while not so advanced as to crush the early optimism of the squad. It could be argued that the first two warm-up games which Rangers undertook, against Tavistock AFC and Bodmin Town were firmly in that category, leading to healthy winning margins but little in the way of testing occasions. But the last two matches, both on the Italian tour, have raised the bar, drawing from a pool of ex-Serie A and lower-league players who are much closer to Rangers' natural level. It could be that if this good form can be extended, the club will have pitched their pre-season just right.

The test posed by Ravenna didn't derive purely from their higher league position when compared to Tavistock for example, but also from their playing style. Again I can only go on the QPR website match report, but it sounds like last night's oppositon were more than happy to engage in heavy challenges (described by QPR as 'x-rated') and direct physical confrontation despite the game being a friendly. In fact, matters reached such a head that the returning Fitz Hall and a member of the Ravenna team were told to leave the pitch before tempers truly boiled over.

Before that, Ravenna took the lead through Piovaccari before strikes from Hogan Ephraim (again - his seventh of the summer) and new striker Jamie Mackie either side of half-time ensured the win. What I also took from the match report was the formation employed by Warnock - again a 4-3-3 though with slightly changed personnel, Ephraim pushed back into a roving midfield position and Mackie partnered by Heidar Helguson and Leon Clarke up front. It may be sad to get excited by formations but I would feel some twinge of excitement if Rangers went into the first games of the season offering such a confident set-up. Maybe that's just me. The manager is nothing if not a realist and wants to make the team as hard to beat as possible, which his signings confirm, but he has also spoken of his intention to entertain the crowd this season. I can't help but feel many supporters would welcome such an ambition. 

Adding Orr to the squad fits firmly back into the 'tough-to-beat', realistic way of thinking but as with all the summer signings so far, the logic to me seems pretty spot-on. Still only 27 and with 229 appearances under his belt, he has often been touted as one of the best right-backs in the division and should ensure that the club no longer needs to place players out of position on the right-flank.

I really think the defence could be in a lot better shape over this campaign - both in terms of how they are likely to perform and also in reference to the depth of personnel. Peter Ramage's performances at the tail-end of the last campaign showed that the manager, as so many say, is adept at pushing tried-and-tested squad members to new heights, while the fact that Damion Stewart is only now returning to match fitness shows that Warnock will also have plenty of options.

Three more fixtures to come before the first competitive test of this gradually growing squad - they face Blue Square Premier side Crawley Town on Wednesday. On this site as well, there is still plenty to come before the big kick-off, including interviews with a QPR legend and a man who could still become one, barring any further injury problems. And of course a season preview and some potentially laughable predictions. Get ready to head straight for the bookies.