Hoop Dreams - QPR FC

Rangers welcome Fitz Hall back to the fold so Jim Magilton has a full quota of centre-backs to call on. Kaspars Gorkss didn't have his best game in a blue and white shirt last weekend so the manager may choose to give Hall or Damion Stewart a try. He also chose loanee signing Tommy Williams over Gary Borrowdale at left-back last weekend though Borrowdale has been fairly consistent for the side all season so it's unclear who the manager currently prefers.

His options up front are less varied with Rowan Vine still out with a hernia problem and Angelo Balanta yet to fully recover from a groin injury. I'd expect Patrick Agyemang and Alessandro Pellicori to deputise for a front two of Jay Simpson and Wayne Routledge, by some distance the most successful striking partnership the Hoops have tried this season.

In midfield, Gavin Mahon and Martin Rowlands are of course long-term absentees so the manager will have to try and strike the balance between Ben Watson, Alejandro Faurlin and Steven Reid with Mikele Leigertwood also available to provide defensive cover. Lee Cook is stepping up his recovery from his knee injury but I wouldn't expect to see him in the first team for at least two or three weeks yet.


No new team news for Coventry since yesterday.


Take the form of this season and this game should be a walkover for QPR. Coventry are currently bottom of the league's form table with just two points from the last 18 and no win since they beat Watford on 29 September; form which has taken them to within three points of the relegation area. QPR, on the other hand, despite only one win in their last four games, have been in startling attacking form for most of the season and before their home defeat to Leicester, scored 13 goals in three home games.

Take the historical form though and it's much more in the Sky Blues favour. QPR showed last weekend that the prospect of a bogey team in Doncaster Rovers could have more of an effect than current form would have suggested and there is no bigger bogey (pardon the expression) for QPR than Coventry. They've beaten them just once in the last seven games at Loftus Road and have lost three of the last four. Coventry can also call on Clinton Morrison who has an unerring ability to find the net against QPR.


After predicting a comfortable win last weekend which turned into QPR's worst performance of the season, I am suitably chastened and this game has many of the omens which surrounded the Doncaster game which you ignore at your peril. That said, I still think Rangers have better options across the pitch than the visitors. Those loanee signings who didn't cover themselves in  glory last weekend may find the atmosphere in front of their own supporters more inviting. I think QPR should have enough to win this by a couple of goals.

HOME WIN

If you want a cathedral, they've got one to spare. The Sky Blue Army roll up in west London tomorrow. Below are the bare essentials on QPR's visitors.

Coventry City Team News

Coventry have a few problems at the back going into tomorrow's game. Centre-back Ben Turner is out with an ankle injury and left-back Marcus Hall misses out with a calf problem. Recent signing Sammy Clingan, a summer arrival from relegated Norwich, is also out with a broken toe. On a positive note for the away side, they can call on Isaac Osbourne who has recovered from a knee injury and Jordan Clarke returns following a ban.


How do you summarise Coventry City's history? That FA Cup win, countless last-day survival bids and Jimmy Hill would all be close to the fore of most people's minds.

City certainly started out as they meant to go in their first season of league football. In Division Two in 1919/20, they conspired to lose their opening game 5-0 at Tottenham, not win a game until Christmas and still stayed up on the last day of the season.

It took the arrival of the Golden Chin to elevate the club out of the lower divisions though. Much derided now as basically a bit of a prat, Hill was actually a bit of an innovator at Coventry. He changed the team's kit and nickname to 'The Sky Blues', came up with their anthem 'We All Sing Together' and most importantly, set about revolutionising the team on the pitch. He guided the club from Division Three to the top flight only to go and choose a career in television over management.

They managed just fine without him though and famously remained in the top division for the next 34 years, with numerous great escapes along the way. In the mid-80s, they beat the drop on the last day in three consecutive seasons before achieving their greatest accolade in 1987, a 3-2 FA Cup Final win over Spurs (more on that below).

After battling to remain in the Premiership ever since its inception, the club succumbed to the inevitable in 2001 though and dropped to their current home in the Championship. As with a number of clubs who were previously used to Premiership football, they haven't looked particularly close to returning there for some time.


A trawl through the available footage of Coventry back in the day unearthed the 1920s version of hard-core pornography. In a video in which British Pathe cast aspersions on the whole city of Coventry by branding them all 'Peeping Toms', a faintly depressed looking Lady Godiva stand-in called Muriel Mellerup parades through the city naked on the back of the horse. http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=17163 - click here for some hot black and white action.


FA Cup finals have rarely been captivating occaisions in recent years, but if Coventry do nothing else, they
will still have played their part in one of the most memorable Cup finals ever (it got the nod from John Motson and he's been to a few).



I didn't have to go too far to get the views of an away fan this week. Despite a love for the red half of North London which grows by the year, my brother has been a Coventry supporter ever since he first struck his eyes on the angelic face of Steve Ogrizovic. His words below sum up the experience of your average Sky Bluer:

Being a Coventry fan has cost me two things…money and pain. For what felt like eternity we proudly hung onto our Premier League status but ever since then have struggled badly. On the whole Cov fans are an extremely cynical bunch. With only one major honour in our history we are used to mediocrity, and expect little else. Since our relegation to the Championship these meagre expectations have fallen even further, with the prospect of administration and League One football rearing their ugly heads but still we survive.

Dropping down another division is viewed as the potential death of the club, but the manner in which bitter rivals Leicester (who have usurped Villa as our most hated team because we never play Villa anymore) have bounced back makes us wonder. Chris Coleman still has the backing of the fans, but with players struggling for form and Keiren Westwood, our star goalkeeper, allegedly leaving in January, Coleman has a tough job getting anything from a season that seems to be slipping through our fingers


As mentioned above, if you're going to spend a lot of your time scrapping about at the bottom end of the Championship, you better have a decent goalie to lessen the burden. Now in his second season at the Ricoh Arena, Westwood has been close to ever-present since his arrival and is one of the few bright sparks in a team lacking in funds and genuine talents. At only 23 years of age, he's already been called up to the Republic of Ireland squad and is now supposedly fancied by a number of Premiership clubs. If he's on top form tomorrow, the Hoops will have to work extra hard for goals.

Jim Magilton is turning into the Harry Redknapp of the Championship with the amount of wheeler-dealering (?) he has done in the last three weeks. Most of the movement in and out of Loftus Road has been in the form of loans and short-term ones at that, so Rangers fans aren't seeing the green shots of an Abrahamovich-style splurge, but the deals could be of value to the club all the same.

The latest move is from Loftus Road to Elland as winger Hogan Ephraim, who has been missing for most of this season with an ankle injury, heads north to current League One toppers Leeds United. It's a one month deal and he can't play in the FA Cup for Leeds this weekend. Magilton commented on how much this can help Ephraim in allowing him enough competitive football to recover fully following his lay-off. Whilst it does demonstrate that the player wasn't in the manager's immediate first-team plans, to play in a successful team with a relatively high standard of players could be a massive boost for Ephraim and as the manager also said, he could provide much stronger competition for a starting place on his return.

Better that than playing in the very infrequent reserve matches. QPR had to organise a reserve friendly with Crystal Palace on Tuesday to make up for the lack of competitive fixtures until December. The side lost 5-3 with reserve manager Keith Ryan bemoaning the absence of professional linesmen. A number of potential first-teamers played. Defenders Peter Ramage, Damion Stewart and Fitz Hall all got a 65 minute run-out, Gary Borrowdale and Ephraim lasted 75 minutes and Matteo Alberti, Alessandro Pellicori and Patrick Agyemang played the whole game, with the 'Pelican' scoring twice (substitute Sam Bewick provided Ranger's other goal).

One player who may soon need a few reserve games is Lee Cook. Another tricky winger, Cook hasn't featured all season for QPR due to a serious knee injury and he has been slowly on the road to recovery. He is now stepping up his rehabilitation out of the gym and running with the first team and said this week that he is well on target for his scheduled return date of Christmas.

There has been further excitement in a number of papers at the prospect of youngster Raheem Sterling departing QPR. The favourites for his signature are constantly shifting, from Liverpool (he went to a game there) to Manchester City (they will buy anyone) to now Arsenal (he maybe met with Liam Brady). There could be some truth in it of course and Arsenal certainly have a better track record of developing young players, though they can't find first-team places for most of their current crop of kids. QPR would get £750,000 initially plus further incentives should he be successful with the Gunners according to the Sun: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/2744570/Sterling-effort-from-Gunners.html, so make of that what you will.

Marcus Hall won't play for Coventry in Saturday's game, he's out with a calf injury. More on Coventry and QPR's preparations to bounce back from defeat last weekend tomorrow. It could be a bumper weekend of football. After taking in what could be a surprisingly full Loftus Road on Saturday, Sunday, for those who look up a division, promises the Scouse derby and Arsenal-Chelsea, with El Classico later in the evening. Plus somewhere amongst that, there's the draw for the FA Cup third round on ITV. When Trevor Brooking or a stand-in is juggling balls in his hand, look out for number 31.

Flavio Briatore began the proceedings today which could see his ban from Formula One overturned and his future in English football settled. Well, his lawyers did anyway. Briatore himself wasn't present at a hearing of the Paris High Court today at which it was argued that the ruling, which expelled Briatore from F1 for his involvement in a race-fixing scandal, was 'illegal' and that the outcome had been decided prior to the hearing.

Briatore's legal challenge centred on three arguments. Firstly, it was felt the severity of Briatore's punishment was the result not of any misdeamenour but because of his strained relationship with the then FIA president Max Mosley. Secondly, Briatore's lawyers insisted that World Motor Sport Council did not have the authority to impose an indefinite penalty on Briatore. Thirdly, they argued that the whole procedure was flawed because it relied on the testimony of an anonymous witness.

Briatore's lawyer Phillipe Ouakrat said, "Briatore wants to recover his freedom and be able to do what he wants.

"When he decided to leave Renault, he took moral responsibility for the mistake, but he doesn't want to be penalised for something he is not responsible for."

Representatives for the FIA also spoke before the Court, arguing that the FIA had to ensure the security of its events and that Briatore had "put other people's security at risk."

The all-important decision for Briatore, with potential ramifications for his continued ownership of QPR, will not be made until Jan 5. The Football League previously said they would not make any decision on Briatore under the 'Fit and Proper Persons Test' until after the result of his appeal so QPR fans will have to wait until the New Year for any idea on whether Flavio is sticking around.

At the same time, manager Jim Magilton indicated that the continuing Briatore saga is firmly separate from the football team in his mind and will not impact on the team's form, even if he should be banned from the club. Magilton told the Evening Standard, "I have been assured it is business as usual whatever happens." He also said he is happy to continue in his job at QPR and contrary to rumours about the overbearing influence of the Board, he is left to get on with it.

One task he has, according to numerous sources, is to keep QPR youth star Raheem Sterling (pictured above) at the club. Sterling is a 14-year old striker who has appeared for Ranger's U18 team and England U16s. Despite his young age, a number of papers have been eager to talk up the boy's talent and his attractiveness to a number of Premiership clubs, including supposedly both Manchester clubs, Arsenal and Liverpool.

The Mirror went so far as to suggest Mark Hughes was prepared to offer QPR two fringe players (unnamed) and £1 million to secure the youngster: http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Manchester-City-to-swap-pair-of-stars-for-QPR-whizzkid-Raheem-Sterling-article216879.html. They then reported yesterday that the youngster has asked to leave Rangers: http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Manchester-City-set-to-swoop-for-QPR-wonderkid-Sterling-article230917.html.

Should it be the player's will, there are probably few who would deny a genuine talent his right to develop with one of the best teams in the country, though it could be questioned how much room there will be for him in future Manchester City squads. What is noticeably missing from most of the breathless reports about this 14-year old boy is what would be in his best interests. Hopefully the people around him have some idea about that.

Jim Magilton, unsurprisingly, wasn't an entirely happy man on Saturday evening after watching his side lose their fourth game of the season and fall behind pace-setters WBA and Newcastle (who have the opportunity to put further distance on the chasing pack when they play Preston North End tonight).

The manager said, "We fell asleep for the first goal, I was very disappointed with both goals - they were really, really poor.

"We were probably the architects of our downfall today, we didn't defend properly."

Whilst acknowledging that he wouldn't be too hard on the team as they have performed well for him for large chunks of this season, Magilton is refreshingly honest in the wake of a poor result or performance (take the win over Accrington Stanley in the Carling Cup after which he still publicly roasted his team). After this set-back, he was similarly forthright, admitting that the performance was lethargic and that the team played "like they'd had two weeks off." Most damningly, he said, " we looked like we had lads who had been reading nice things about themselves."

Amidst the cacophony of praise following their good run of results, it was clear that the expectations were getting ramped up as QPR, for the first time since Flavio Briatore's arrival, started to look like genuine promotion candidates. It must have been a new feeling for most of the side and the big challenge was how they would respond, how they would play on days when the world and his wife expected them to win. A few of those challenges, particularly on Saturday, have now not been met. The manager accepted as much by implying that some of his team assumed they were too good to lose.

Of course, he remained upbeat about the team's chances though, saying this week ahead would be a big one for the club and he anticipated that they would rise to the challenge of playing Coventry City on Saturday. Again, it's another "must-win, cannot fail" match and the fact that we're talking about the team needing to bounce back after such a good start to the season seems faintly ridiculous. That is the pressure that comes at the top-end of the table though and the manager and players will surely be pleased to accept it.

The less said about my prediction for this game the better. It looks like QPR's poor form at Doncaster counted for more than their recent rise up the table and they suffered a reality check yesterday to demonstrate just how hard it is to get out of the Championship.

Jim Magilton commendably added to his squad during the international break and two of his additions came straight into the team, Tommy Williams starting at left-back and Steven Reid drafted into the midfield. Matt Connolly also got the nod at centre-back and Adel Taarabt was rested with Alejandro Faurlin joining Reid and Ben Watson in the middle. Whether that was too many changes for the team to cope with is hard to say. The manager is clearly aiming for a degree of competition in the squad which though it didn't come through yesterday, could pay dividends later in the season.

Both teams, for any weaknesses, will always attempt to play attacking and passing football and so it proved in this game, though they both struggled to forge genuine goal-scoring opportunities at the same time. It took some less than focussed defending from Rangers to provide Doncaster with three points.

Rangers often suffer from a lack of concentration at set-pieces (the early goal for Derby County on an otherwise profitable day being a recent example) and so it proved here. From a corner, Doncaster quickly moved the ball to Billy Sharp in the six-yard box and as a mass of Rangers players belatedly tried to catch up to him, he turned the ball into the net.

It boosted Rovers for the final quarter of the game and they soon doubled their lead. Kaspars Gorkss is usually entirely reliable for QPR but his attempt to pass to new teammate Williams near the edge of his own area was woefully casual and it played in Dean Shiels who curled a smart effort past Radek Cerny.

QPR's away record doesn't look quite so rosy now though it still bears healthy comparison with last season's dismal form on the road. This was their third defeat away from Loftus Road and though that's not enough to set alarm bells ringing, it is a statistic the team will be keen not to add to lest it should derail their promotion push. After a two-week break, results can often become a lottery as certain players react badly to the break from their working schedule. There were certainly a few QPR players out there who weren't at the peak of their physical but more importantly mental powers yesterday. Jim Magilton will be very eager to use this result as a rallying call against complacency as the run of fixtures steps up towards Christmas.

HIGHS: Smart, passing football at least in the first half; an opportunity to draft in two new players who far from disgraced themselves.

LOWS: More lapses in concentration at the back; only one shot on target in the whole game; three points dropped at a side fighting against relegation.

Doncaster - Sullivan, O'Connor, Roberts, Chambers, Hird, Oster (Spicer 87), Fortune (Shackell 72), Shiels (Wilson 85), Coppinger, Gillett, Sharp.

Subs not used - Smith, Guy, Hayter, Heffernan.


Scorers - Sharp (53), Shiels (63).


QPR - Cerny, Gorkss, Connolly, Williams, Reid, Leigertwoodyellow card, Routledge, Buzsaky (Agyemang 63), Watson, Faurlin (Taarabt 46), Simpson (Pellicori 63).

Subs not used - McWeeney, Ramage, Stewart, Ephraim.


Bookings - Leigertwood.


Attendance - 10,821.

See yesterday's post on Doncaster for all their team news.


Compared to Doncaster, QPR definitely have a more competitive squad to handle any injury worries, particularly with the three recent loan signings discussed yesterday. Those worries remain though. Martin Rowlands and Gavin Mahon are long-term absentees in the middle of the park hence the arrival of Steven Reid and Lee Cook is still some way off first-team football. Fitz Hall has a back injury and Rowan Vine isn't fully recovered from a groin injury.

On the postive side, Gary Borrowdale returns and will battle new loan addition Tommy Williams for his left-back slot. QPR will soon have extra options up front as well with Angelo Balanta returning to light training and Alessandro Pellicori close to full fitness as well.


Polar opposites really. 'Donny' have won one in eleven and claimed only a point from their last three games whereas Rangers have just one defeat in six and 29 goals already. At the same time, they don't have a great record travelling to Doncaster and have won there only once, back in 1951. Rovers can point to five wins and a draw in their last 10 games against QPR.


No more sitting on the fence from me. No more hedging the bets. QPR will win today's game and win it comfortably. Rovers are missing a number of key players whilst QPR are a changed team away from home this season. The recent loan additions could either start tomorrow and push the team on or act as a barrier against complacency for Rangers' regular starters. Either way, I think all three additions were smart moves from Jim Magiltonn whilst QPR's key attacking players - Wayne Routledge, Adel Taarabt and Jay Simpson - should all have enough quality to claim three points.

AWAY WIN

Jim Magilton has shown a commendable unwillingness to rest on his laurels over the last couple of weeks with a number of loan additions to the squad and a player going in the opposite direction as well.

On the credit side, Magilton has quickly moved in the loan market to add Peterborough left-back Tommy Williams, Blackburn midfielder Steven Reid and young Chelsea goalkeeper Rhys Taylor.

The last of these was clearly out of necessity after Tom Heaton's loan deal expired and he returned to Manchester United (and now on loan again to Rochdale). Heaton is still the club's long-term target as an understudy to Radek Cerny but as an ambitious player himself, he has indicated that he will leave Old Trafford in the summer in search of first-team football, so Loftus Road might not be his ideal destination. In the meantime, Taylor (pictured left) will provide the necessary cover should Cerny get injured. He's only 19 and yet to play for Chelsea's first team but he is a Wales U21 international and a regular at reserve level. Magilton was certainly talking up the deal, saying Taylor has come 'highly recommended' and 'that he will push Radek all the way'. The current deal runs until January 4.

Looking at the other two additions, neither were quite as essential, though the club had no cover at left-back and diminished options in the middle of the park after the long-term injuries to Gavin Mahon and Martin Rowlands.

Tommy Williams (pictured right) is a former QPR player who had fallen slightly out of favour at Peterborough United and had also been struggling with an ankle injury. He's definitely got a wealth of experience including three spells at London Road, two spells at QPR and appearances for Barnsley, Gillingham, Swansea City and Wycombe. Gary Borrowdale missed QPR's last match, the 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday but is fit for the Doncaster game so it's far from certain who Magilton will pick in the left-back slot.

Finally, Steven Reid (pictured left) arrived from Blackburn Rovers on a month-long loan deal. The length of the deal suggests Rangers are definitely testing the player out or that they see him purely as a stop-gap, though both Mahon or Rowlands will be far from fit in four weeks time. Magilton got most excited about this signing though. He said, "He's a class act. He can pass; he can tackle; he can shoot, he's box-to-box - he's a very, very good player." It certainly makes his midfield options look a bit more attractive with Reid, Alejandro Faurlin and Ben Watson all in contention to start against Doncaster.

Moving out on loan is Gareth Ainsworth (pictured right) who has been finding it difficult to get a look-in this season. After helping the club through two dismal periods last season by stepping into the shoes of both Iain Dowie and Paulo Sousa following their unceremonious dismissals, Ainsworth indicated that he would put his desire to move into coaching on the back burner for now and concentrate on playing. Unfortunately, with QPR's attacking players firing on all cylinders, he's not really had a chance and now moves on a month's loan to try and help Wycombe get off the bottom of League One.

Questions will remain about what QPR will do when all these players depart, with Ben Watson, Jay Simpson and Adel Taarabt also only at the club on a temporary basis, though the latter two are there until the end of the season (and the club will hope to keep Watson for as long as well). By the time they depart, the club could be in the Premiership though when the degree of investment from the club's wealthy backers could sky-rocket. In the meantime, the club has back-up in all positions and competition for places, which few teams in the Championship can boast of.

After two disappointing recent results at home, QPR demonstrated they are a vastly improved side on the road this season with their fourth away victory so far. In comparison, that's one more than in the whole of last season. It's also set them up for the international break in fourth position in the league with a small amount of breathing space now to nurse some players back to fitness.

As with most weeks, Adel Taaarabt continues to be the most talked about player in the QPR side, both positively and negatively. Once more, he showed both sides to his game in this encounter, threading an absolutely exquisite pass to Jay Simpson to open the scoring but also carelessly losing possession in midfield to play in Jermaine Johnson for the equaliser. The positive outweighs the negative for me at the moment though and he has become the most important attacking player for QPR over the last month.

Cometh the hour, cometh Kaspars Gorkss to give Rangers a vital three points. In an end-to-end game in which both sides hit the woodwork, it was unclear as the match progressed if either side had enough in reserve to actually win the game. With eight minutes to go, centre-back Gorkss was quickest to a whipped corner from Alejandro Faurlin and his bullet-header nestled in the net. It was his first goal for the club which may say something about the usual standard of dead-ball delivery but he couldn't have picked a better time to open his account. And why is it that when Gorkss gets the winner, everyone talks about QPR winning 'ugly'? Very unfair.

Jim Magilton was very pleased with his side's performance and though words like 'character' get banded about very easily in football, this game did demonstrate that his current team can grind out a result when called upon and also that they will strive until the end of the game for three points. Recent incarnations of the Rangers side may well have been content with a draw in this match.

HIGHS: Winning ugly, whatever that really means; Adel Taarabt's genius pass to Simpson for the opener; a deserved first goal for Gorkss.

LOWS: Very few - a silly mistake from Taarabt and moments of defensive shakiness apart.

Sheff Wed - Grant, Spurr, Buxton, Hinds, Simek (Wood 72), Miller (McAllister 72), Potter, O'Connor, Johnson (Clarke 76), Tudgay, Varney.

Subs not used - O'Donnell, Beevers, Esajas,Sodje.

Scorers - Johnson (13).

QPR - Cerny, Ramage, Hall (Connolly 27), Leigertwood, Gorkss, Mahon, Routledge, Buzsaky (Faurlin 68), Watson, Simpson, Taarabt (Vine 88).

Subs not used - Heaton, Alberti, Ephraim, Agyemang.

Scorers - Simpson (10), Gorkss (82).

Attendance - 19,491

Referee - Mr N Miller

Sheff Wed Team News

See yesterday's post for news on Wednesday's options for today's game.

QPR Team News

The Hoops had some reassuring news about Matt Connolly and Lee Cook in midweek - the former could be back after the forthcoming international break, the latter potentially by Christmas. Apart from that, Gavin Mahon has recovered from a groin injury and after being a boo-boy last season, his form since Martin Rowlands injury means he could be picked today to partner one of Alejandro Faurlin or Ben Watson. Damion Stewart is also fit again so he could return alongside Kaspars Gorkss at the back.

Form

Hillsborough has been a relatively happy home for Wednesday this season with only two home defeats so far and recent results in this fixture favour the Sheffield side - they've beaten Rangers on their last three visits. QPR are much improved on the road though with three wins in their last five and battling performances at Newcastle and Chelsea to point to as well.

The disciplinary records for both teams up until now are less than commendable though so the cards could be flying. No teams have committed as many fouls as Wednesday up until now whereas only Cardiff can equal QPR's red card haul (Ben Watson with two already, though the last against Reading was particularly laughable).

Prediction

There could be something in those disciplinary stats and QPR can expect another tough fixture following the battle against Crystal Palace on Tuesday night. Whilst the creativity remains in the QPR team's, the goals have slightly dried up in the last two games (in comparison with the rampant form prior to that). It's always hard to shake the memories of QPR's away form last season though. Another draw would be far from a disgraceful result here so for the third successive game, I'm sitting firmly on the fence.

SCORE DRAW

A brief look at QPR's opponents this weekend - Sheffield Wednesday.

Sheff Wed Team News

The Owls were hit with a virus just last week so they fielded a weakened side against Bristol City and still came away with a respectable 1-1 draw. They can now welcome back Darren Purse, Mark Beevers, Sean McAllister, Akpo Sodje and Etienne Esajas. Michael Gray is still recovering from a hamstring strain and won’t feature.

Sheff Wed – A Potted History

Wednesday have a longer history than most clubs so excuse any massive omissions - their first competitive match was in 1868 and they turned professional in 1887.

Many supporters ‘live in the past’ so to speak, but you’d have to be a very ancient Wednesday fan to remember the glory days. Their head-start in being around at professional football’s inception gave them a decent trophy haul in football’s early years. They’d won the FA Cup before the end of the 19th century and in the first decade of the next, they won it again and two league titles. Cue a big gap until the late 1920s when they build another double-Championship winning side and another FA Cup in 1934/5. And that’s it, barring a League Cup win we’ll get to later. ‘Sleeping giant’ would be another fair description – despite being the fifth-biggest city in the UK, Sheffield hasn't seen a great deal of trophies over the last 100 years.

They’ve had a good record of being in the top-flight though, until the last decade at least. Despite being on the verge of entering the Fourth Division in the mid-70s, from 1984-5 to 1999-0, the club graced the First Division and Premiership, barring one brief excursion to the second division in 1990-91. That also happens to be the season in which Wednesday last won a major trophy – the League Cup, a John Sheridan goal enough for ex-United manager Ron Atkinson to beat Alex Ferguson’s side (more on that below).

Two seasons later, they reached both cup finals only to lose to Arsenal on both occasions, Steve Morrow inspiring the Gunners to their League Cup win:



This decade has been less kind to Wednesday though including a spell in the third division. Now in their sixth successive season in the Championship, a return to top-flight football still looks some way off.

British Pathe Golden Moment

It's a compare and contrast job here. First there is the post-match interviews following Wednesday's 1935 FA Cup win over West Bromwich Albion and the remarkably sporting reaction of Albion captain Tom Glidden: http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=5928. Contains the famous footballing expression 'we've tasted the sweets and now tasted the bitters.' Compare with Didier Drogba's reaction to losing last season's Champions League semi-final which introduced the equally famous expression, 'it's a fucking disgrace': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1rwPCfcykA&feature=related. Has this taught you anything about Sheffield Wednesday? Not remotely.

Highest Point

Much as QPR's last opponents Crystal Palace, Wednesday's greatest moment (in my highly subjective and haphazard opinion) came in facing Man United in a cup final, though Wednesday went one better than Palace and actually beat Fergie's Reds. Just one season after beating Palace in the two-game FA Cup Final, Alex Ferguson was closing in on further silverware when he took his team to the League Cup Final to face Second Division Wednesday.

With a side containing many of the players who won the inaugural Premiership just two seasons later (including Steve Bruce, Denis Irwin, Paul Ince and Mark Hughes), United lined up against a Wednesday side not lacking in talent and experience with Roland Nilsson, goal-scorer John Sheridan and star striker David Hirst to call on (and soon-to-be player manager Trevor Francis on the bench). A rocket from Sheridan separated the sides, marking the last time a team outside the top flight has won a major trophy in England. Cut to 0,12 below for some slightly shaky footage of the magical goal:



Promoted that same season, within a year Francis would lead them to third in the first division and UEFA Cup qualification. They haven’t reached such heights since.

Worst of all, any Wednesday fans watching at home couldn’t fully share in their team’s unexpected win. Rather than show the post-match celebrations, Yorkshire TV decided to show War of the Monster Trucks leading to years of conspiracy theories about the channel's Leeds bias and even a fanzine titled after that long-forgotten programme (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2001/nov/20/footballfanzines.sport4).
To relive the experience of Wednesday fans following their team’s shock win, please watch the below video:




The Grass Is Always Greener – Life as a Wednesday Supporter

The opinions of the patrons of Owls Talk (http://www.owlstalk.co.uk/forums/index.php?) indicate a quite familiar story for a lot of Championship clubs – a frustration at the restricted budgets the club has to operate under. Of clear importance to Wednesday fans is prominence over their Steel City neighbours with the main bragging point being that they survive on siginificantly lower funds than United (their words, not mine). Whilst saying that things can’t get as bad as during the last 10 years in which the club has suffered from crippling debts and rumours of takeovers, some of their fans did still admit that they are ‘moaning gits’ and ‘sarcastic, negative fuck-wits’.

Star Man

Easiest to go with the top scorer, though Wednesday would definitely be in a worst postion in the league without Marcus Tudgay’s contributions this season. His six league goals have helped prop Wednesday up in the middle of the table. Now in his fourth season with the Owls following a move from Derby County, he poses the team’s greatest goal threat particularly in the air. Good on the ball as well and brings other attacking players into the game.

For the second successive game QPR dropped points at home after a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace, both sides scoring what looked to be fairly-awarded penalties. This was still enough to place QPR in the play-off spots though and unlike the Leicester defeat, this was a game Rangers could and probably should have won.

Before briefly discussing the match events, a quick news update for the team. The London Informer website has a story on Adel Taarabt and his increasing understanding with Wayne Routledge: http://www.londoninformer.co.uk/london-sport/london-football/london-qpr/2009/11/05/being-in-wayne-s-world-keeps-taarabt-in-the-uk-113489-25093125/. Both have been two of the brightest features about QPR's attacking play this season and one of the reasons the club are scoring far more goals this season than last. The article also suggests Taarabt has a get-out clause in his current contract with Spurs if a Premiership club should come in for him (or a top European team). I don't think he's quite there yet and would be best placed to focus on making the most out of his loan move instead. Suffice to say, if Rangers don't get promoted, I don't think he will be with the club after May.

Teamtalk and Eurosport both indicate that Matt Connolly, one of QPR's best players last season, could soon be back in the side following his lengthy spell out with glandular fever: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/05112009/63/connolly-set-return.html. Club physio Paul Hunter said Connolly has started training again and could be back in the team after the international break, so in time for the game at Doncaster on November 21.

Lee Cook on the other hand won't return until Christmas at the earliest but he has finally started running again and the club will now look to step up his training. If he is fully-fit and injury-free for the second half of next season, he could be a very valuable option for Jim Magilton in the push for the play-offs.

To the game and the highlights and a match report are currently on the BBC website - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/8328083.stm. - I don't know how long they keep the highlights up on there. It looked like the two sides of Taarabt were on display in this game - a tricky run to fairly win the penalty and a killer pass to Wayne Routledge whichthe latter should have done a lot better with. On the other hand, his decision-making remains questionable and it is hard to see why he didn't tee up Ben Watson in the second half for a golden opportunity. The issue of his selfishness on the ball is getting a bit tired and his goals and assists this season show his value to the team, but the frustrations will remain if QPR consistently drop points at home.

Magilton was rightly happy with the number of chances his side created and the fact that opposing manager Neil Warnock so highly praised his own keeper shows the vital role he played in earning a point for the away side. Warnock went as far as saying he doesn't believe any keepers in the Premiership are playing as well as Julian Speroni at the moment. Without seeing him week in, week out I can't judge but he pulled off some fantastic saves in this game.

I'll have more on the Sheffield Wednesday game tomorrow which the club will desperately want to get some kind of result in to keep up the pressure on the top-placed teams and hold off any winter blip in their form. After that it will be the international break which will most likely be welcomed at Loftus Road to get some players back to fitness. Till then...

QPR Team News

It is very much as you were for Rangers as they play their second game in five days with a whole string of mid to long-term absentees. Hogan Ephraim will be out until at least mid-November and Angelo Balanta should be approaching availability but there is little or no news on the return of Lee Cook and Matt Connolly. Martin Rowlands is of course out for the rest of the season though he has rubbished reports that this latest injury is going to force him to retire.

QPR also picked up two further injuries before or during the Leicester game - Gavin Mahon and Damion Stewart. Luckily two ready-made alternatives are now available. Ben Watson will come into the centre of midfield against his former club following his suspension and Fitz Hall, who looked in fine shape against Leicester and coped pretty admirably when brought on can fill in for Stewart's absence.

Form

QPR's form was of course excellent until what they will hope was only a temporary blip against Leicester. It's still only three defeats this season though which compares well with any other team in the division and a win would lift the club to fifth so Jim Magilton is still performing above expectations so far. QPR were the best performing side in the London derbies last season with 6 points from 12 but they have a less than impressive record against Palace, having lost six and won only one of their last 11 meetings. The less said about both fixtures last season the better - they were very uninspiring nil-nil draws.

Palace's form has been the almost mirror opposite of Rangers which is why the home team must be favourites for this game. They are looking for their first win in five games and they currently average only a goal a game so don't go to this one expecting pretty football. Despite the need for a win as soon as possible, Neil Warnock would surely be happy with a point at Loftus Road and he may just set up his team to go for this.

Prediction

It's the Championship. You can't honestly expect accurate predictions for any games in this league. Anyone who successfully bets on Championship games is much smarter than me. I had Rangers to draw with Leicester and they promptly lost but I did have a feeling that the free-flowing football of the previous three games couldn't last forever. With the greatest respect to Palace, this current QPR side is better than theirs with a limited number of decent options in reserve as well so they should bounce back in this game. Like they should have beaten Leicester. So I'll go for a draw. There is no logic to this.

SCORE DRAW

Well, maybe not all you ever need to know but in today's time-hungry world, this is a good start. Never need you be embarrassed in a conversation about what year Crystal Palace were formed ever again and you know they come up pretty regularly.

After the blow of their first home defeat, QPR have the chance to get back on their feet against fellow Londoners Palace in a game which was re-arranged from earlier in the season because of torrential rain. A look at the window suggests they'll be okay tonight.

Palace Team News

Palace have a relatively unclogged injury table. The one known absentee at the moment is defender Paddy McCarthy who suffered a recurrence of a shoulder injury in training last Friday.

Palace Potted History

Palace form in 1905 making them one of the younger clubs in London – QPR have 23 years on them for example. Funnily enough they are formed by workers at the Crystal Palace, the nickname for the now defunct Great Exhibition Hall (pictured left). Palace must be in the unique position of having their football ground taken off them by the military which occurred at the outbreak of the First World War and they eventually wound up at today’s Selhurst Park home in 1924.

World War II put a further blip on their progress and it's not until the 1960s and a sucession of promotions that the club reach the top flight in 1969 where, contrary to more recent habits, they actually remain for four years. They don’t return there until the end of the 1970s under the guidance of Terry Venables but once there he decides to drop a division to manage QPR and do the same thing all over again (Palace stay up for two seasons this time).

The future of English light entertainment and football punditry is sealed when Ian Wright and Mark Bright combine as a deadly strike force in the late 80s firing Palace once again to the First Division and then the promised fortunes of the Premier League. Unfortunately they only stay for its first season. Before that, there was an FA Cup Final in which spoilsports Man United defeat the Eagles in a replay and Ian Wright defects to Arsenal as well. They yo-yo between the leagues twice in the 90s, Simon Jordan of Fortune: Million Pound Giveaway Fame (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortune:_Million_Pound_Giveaway) saves the club from administration, another future QPR manager (well, for a few weeks anyway) gets the club promoted and relegated again and Neil Warnock goes mental when a clear goal is disallowed. To the present day…

British Pathe Golden Moment

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=40883 Palace lose an FA Cup quarter final to Leeds United in 1965 but it's okay – ‘they’re two-nil down but not down-hearted.’

Highest Point and Lowest Ebb

I’ll cheat with this one. Recent promotions to the Premiership particularly in 2003-4 when the club spent the first half of the season in the relegation zone rank pretty highly in their achievements but in 1990 Palace reached their one and only major final under the guidance of Steve Coppell.

Their attacking side, which boasted the strike partnership of Wright and Bright and a solid midfield including Alan Pardew, Geoff Thomas and John Salako were within ten minutes of a famous 3-2 win before Mark Hughes equalised deep into extra-time. A less memorable replay was won by a Lee Martin goal but United keeper Les Sealey was forced to make a number of saves to allow Alex Ferguson his first major trophy as United manager. So if Palace had won, the whole history of English football could have been different. Ian Wright might have stayed with the club and fired them onto further trophies and Alex Ferguson could have been sacked leading to the terminal decline of one of England’s biggest clubs. Then again, maybe not.

The real high point though has to be the appearance below on ‘Jameson Tonight’ (I've never heard of it myself) – if only footballers still did this:



Grass Is Always Greener - Life as a Palace Supporter

I turned to the members of the Palace supporters' website http://www.holmesdale.net/ for an insight into life following the Eagles. Not massively optimistic is the main mood despite the club reaching the play-offs just two seasons ago - a feat that few supporters believe could be repeated this season. One supporter felt all the club needed was a new owner, manager, ground and fan base for everything to be alright, which isn't an unreasonable request.

Star Man

The current star man at Selhurst Park has to be Darren Ambrose, a shrewd summer signing for Neil Warnock. He arrived on a free transfer from Charlton Athletic and in a Palace team which has struggled since the start of this season, he has been one of few bright points, already contributing six league goals from midfield – an all the more surprising statistic because he has never been a regular goalscorer at previous clubs. Could be considered one of Warnock’s best signings for the club if he keeps up this form.

I'm starting to realise with each week why QPR seem to attract what could be termed a 'healthy cynicism' from some of their supporters. After a blistering run of form which took them to the edge of the play-offs, QPR waited for a record crowd, the Sky cameras and the attendance of the England manager to eschew their attacking football and replace it with decidedly dodgy defending leading to their first home defeat of the season (Scroll to the bottom for the BBC highlights - they're only available until November 7th though).

That's not to over-react about this defeat though which whilst disappointing for the club is far from catastrophic and was also the result of excellent football from Leicester. A win in their game in hand and Rangers go into the play-off positions.

Mikele Leigertwood returned to the side following a bout of swine flu to partner Alejandro Faurlin in the middle of the pitch but apart from that QPR were unchanged. From the off, their opponents made it clear they would no push-over as respectfully some sides QPR recently faced have been. That was largely due to the tireless work of their main front man Matt Fryatt (pictured right) and the vital support he recieved from Dany N'Guessan and Martyn Waghorn. Waghorn had a goal disallowed on 15 minutes for a very tight offside decision but Rangers were also finding their way into the game.

First Faurlin curled a free-kick towards the top corner which Chris Weale had to tip over and then Adel Taarabt found space in the box before running aground when a pass to Akos Buzsaky looked the better option. Again the Moroccan demonstrated why the home crowd need to accept his ball-greedy nature though because just before the half-hour mark, he picked up a lucky deflection on the edge of the area and precisely passed a shot into the net.

The real disappointment for Rangers and their manager would be their lack of application after going a goal ahead because ten minutes later, Leicester were level. Peter Ramage afforded N'Guessan far too much space on the wing and he whipped in a fierce cross which Fryatt expertly glanced past Radek Cerny.

The Leicester winner was the result of an even greater defensive lapse, this time on the part of Radek Cerny. He attempted an incredibly risky cross-field goal-kick to Ramage and instead played in the hovering Fryatt, who ran at goal and then placed his shot to the far corner. It was truly a howler but one which shouldn't be dwelt on excessively because Cerny remains one of the best keepers in this league.

Not over-reacting across the board will be Jim Magilton's central message to his players following this defeat. Just as they didn't become world-beaters because of their recent run, nor are they now a poor side because of one defeat. They remain genuine contenders for promotion, with a first-team and squad to realise that. It's just that every now and then, they seem to forget it.

QPR - Cerny, Ramage (Vine 67), Stewart (Hall 54), Gorkss, Borrowdale, Leigertwood, Routledge, Buzsaky, Faurlin, Taarabt (Agyemang 86), Simpson. 

Subs not used - Heaton, Alberti, Ainsworth, Parker. 

Goals - Taarabt (33) 

Leicester City - Weale, Neilson, Brown, Berner, Hobbs, Oakley, King, Wellens, Fryatt (Gallagher 75), N'Guessan, Waghorn (McGivern 90). 

Subs not used - Logan, Morrison, Dyer, Howard, Kermorgant.  

Goals - Fryatt (37, 64). 

Bookings - Neilson, Oakley, N'Guessan.  

Referee - J Moss 

Attendance - 17082 

Click to 16 minutes on the programme below for the QPR highlights (only available until November 7th though).