Queens Park Rangers v Ipswich Town 
Saturday 9th September 2017 – 15:00
Loftus Road
Pre Match Thoughts - Mike
So the opening month of the season ended with disappointment as we tasted defeat for the first time, the elusive Fifth win was not to be as Fulham proved a step too far for a patched up Town team who have performed over and above what all Blue's fans expected, the chance for this group of players to create history has gone but it should not go unnoticed that despite the odds being heavily stacked against them the very fact they had even got themselves into that position at all was a great achievement considering the squad has been decimated with injury after injury. To be sitting in second place with a win ratio of 80% will do for me any day of the week and yes it is true to say that in a couple of games we had to ride our luck, but it is also true to say that in all the August games we showed guts, determination and a will to win when we had our backs to the wall and that is a great trait to have at any club. Going back to the Fulham game and you can point to as many factors as you like as to why we lost, wrong tactics/formation, a injury list as long as your arm, some players off colour etc but for me there does not always have to be an inquest, sometimes you are just beaten by a better side on the day and this was without doubt one of those instances, Fulham had not had the best of starts to the season where results were concerned but they had been playing OK and it was only a matter of time before they found their true form, unfortunately for us it came when we had to meet them, for the second season running we did not do ourselves justice against them and were deservedly beaten, I am in no doubt however that if we had our full strength side available it would have been more of an even contest, even if the result had turned out the same. Taking the month of August as a whole I would be marking it as an 8/10 performance when taking everything into consideration.
Us Town fans have got used to being underwhelmed by our activity on Transfer deadline days and this time was no exception either, every man and his dog was crying out for another CB to be signed until such time as our walking wounded could return, to see that we had Connor Goldson in the house early enough to get a deal done only to find that Brighton put the brakes on it until they sorted things out their end only adds to the frustration around Portman Road, at the time and in the heat of the moment I was of the opinion that it was more hot air "put out there" to appease an expectant fan base and all the time we were going to sign nobody, but on closer inspection that really makes no sense and cannot be the case, to have a player pass a medical and agree to join us must mean the intention was there, why else would the guy spend all day at Portman Road waiting to sign on the dotted line ? It has to be that once Brighton had got themselves sorted we were not given the Green light in time to complete the deal which I must admit seems odd but surely having gone so far down the road our intent must have been genuine. A lot of Town fans have been bemoaning the fact we put all our eggs in one basket, but that is incorrect, we didnt, Jack Hobbs, Martin Olsson and Jason Shackell were all in the mix but the latter appears to be on silly money and injury prone while the Two fomer players were told they weren't being allowed to leave their respective clubs so that is Four options we had on the go in some form or another, you can't do much more than that.
On a more positive note we did bring in young Callum Connolly from Everton to help bolster our defensive options, primarily a Right Back it appears young Connolly is versatile enough to also play at Centre Back, Centre Midfield and anywhere else you care to mention, for me I expect MM sees him as a Right Back option allowing Dominic Iorfa to move into the Centre of the defence which by all accounts is his preferred position too so either way it does give us One or Two more options to play with, it would seem he has good pedigree with appearances for England at U17, U18, U19 and U20 levels and was also part of the squad that won the U20 World Cup in South Korea this Summer, Big Joe Royle certainly likes the lad so fingers crossed we have a decent addition to the squad on our hands.
We kick off a tricky looking September with a trip to QPR, we were due to play Six games during the month but with the trip to Derby now postponed we follow up our visit to Shepherd's Bush with Three home games against Bolton, Sunderland & Bristol City with a very tough trip to Leeds sandwiched in between, my view is that all Three home games are winnable while this weeks game at QPR is not beyond us getting something so I would see a Nine point haul as more than acceptable, of course having some of the injured players back would go a long way to easing the pressure on the squad and thankfully this looks to be the case, Tom Adeyemi has played a couple of games for the U23 side while Luke Hyam has also been on the comeback trail, Danny Rowe & Bersant Celina look to finally be over this damn bug that has been causing so many problems within the squad, my understanding is that Luke Chambers is a week or Two away from returning which will be a big plus for us, that leaves longer term absentees Emyr Huws, Adam Webster, Tommy Smith & Andre Dozzell all of who will be some time from a return. QPR have had a reasonable start to the season and have won both their home League games against Reading & Hull, many so called experts see them as strugglers this season especially when you take into consideraion that their spending on transfers stands at a big fat ZERO, we know what that is like and it does make it very hard to compete, considering all my previous visits to Loftus Road have ended in defeat I would be more than happy to come back with a point on this occasion, it is not beyond us. COYB'S
The Opposition – Queens Park Rangers
The club was formed in 1886, when a team known as St Jude's (formed in 1884) merged with Christchurch Rangers (formed in 1882). The resulting team was called Queens Park Rangers, because most of the players came from the Queen's Park area of North-West London. QPR became a professional team in 1889 and played their home games in nearly 20 different stadia (a league record), before permanently settling at Loftus Road in 1917.
QPR were promoted as champions of Division 3 South in the 1947–48 season and enjoyed four seasons in the Second Division, before being relegated in 1951–52.
In 1966–67, QPR won the Division Three championship and became the first Third Division club to win the League Cup, on Saturday 4 March 1967. After winning promotion in 1968 to the top flight for the first time in their history, Rangers were relegated after just one season and spent the next four years in Division 2.
In 1974, Dave Sexton joined as manager and, in 1975–76, led QPR to the runners-up spot in the First Division, missing out on the Championship by a single point with a squad containing seven England internationals as well as internationals from the home nations.
The late 1970s also saw some cup success, with Rangers reaching the semi-finals of the League Cup and, in their first entry into European football, reaching the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup, losing to AEK Athens on penalties. Following Sexton's departure in 1977, the club eventually slipped into the Second Division in 1979.
In 1980, Terry Venables took over as manager and the club installed a 'plastic pitch'. In 1982, QPR, still playing in the Second Division, reached the FA Cup final for the only time in the club's history, but lost to Tottenham 1-0 in the replay.
The following season, 1982–83, QPR went on to win the Second Division championship and returned to English football's top division. In their first season back, they recorded a respectable fifth place finish, gaining UEFA Cup qualification. Over the next seven years, various managers came and went from Loftus Road and the club spent many seasons finishing in mid-table but avoided relegation. The most successful season during this period was the 1987–88 season, in which QPR finished fifth, missing out on a UEFA Cup campaign due to the ban on English clubs in European competition as a result of the Heysel Stadium disaster.
Gerry Francis was appointed manager in the summer of 1991. In the 1991–92 First Division campaign, they finished mid-table in the league and were founder members of the new Premier League, finishing 5th, as the top London club, in the 1992–93 inaugural season. Midway through the 1994–95 season, Francis resigned and Ray Wilkins was installed as player-manager. Wilkins led QPR to an eighth place finish in the Premiership
QPR struggled throughout the following season and were relegated at the end of the 1995–96 season. QPR then competed in Division 1 until 2001 under a succession of managers. Gerry Francis returned in 1998. However, the 2000–2001 season proved to be a disaster, and Francis resigned in early 2001.
Charismatic former player Ian Holloway became manager but was unable to stop Rangers from being relegated to England's third tier for the first time in more than thirty years.
Following the 2003–2004 season, QPR returned to Division 1 and struggled for consistent form over the next two campaigns before Holloway was suspended amidst rumours of his departure for Leicester City
During this same period, QPR became embroiled in financial and boardroom controversy. Although the club had floated on the Alternative Investment Market in 1991, in 2001 it entered administration (receivership). A period of financial hardship followed and the club left administration after receiving a £10m high-interest emergency loan, which continued to burden the club. Scandals involving the directors, shareholders and others emerged in the 2005–06 season and included allegations of blackmail and threats of violence against the club's chairman Gianni Paladini.
Following this low point in the club's history as Rangers also faced mounting financial pressure, in the same month it was announced that the club had been bought by wealthy Formula One businessmen Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone. During the 2007–08 season, Rangers competed in the Football League Championship. Further investment followed in early 2008 as the club looked to push for promotion to the Premier League within four years, on the back of greater financial stability. On 14 May 2008, Iain Dowie was announced as the manager to begin the campaign to return Rangers to the top flight. However, on 24 October 2008, Dowie was sacked after just fifteen games in charge of the club.
On 19 November 2008, QPR named former Portugal midfielder Paulo Sousa as their new First Team coach. However, on 9 April 2009, his contract was terminated. In June 2009, Jim Magilton was named as the new manager of QPR. Despite leading them to a good start to the 2009–10 season, a loss of form meant he left the club by mutual consent on 16 December 2009. He was replaced by Paul Hart on the next day. Less than a month and only 5 games after becoming manager at QPR, Paul Hart parted with the club on 14 January 2010.
On 30 April 2011, QPR secured promotion to the Premier League by winning the Championship. A subsequent FA investigation involving the club’s acquisition of Alejandro Faurlín threatened to deduct points from the side and put their promotion in jeopardy. The investigation concluded on 7 May 2011, with QPR found to be at fault in two of the seven charges, and receiving a £875,000 fine. However, there were no points deducted by the FA, and QPR's promotion to the Premier League was secured.
In January 2012, club chairman Tony Fernandes appointed Mark Hughes as team manager 36 hours after the previous incumbent Neil Warnock had been sacked. QPR escaped relegation on the last day of the season.
On 23 November 2012, Mark Hughes was sacked on the back of a poor start to the 2012–13 season, with the club languishing at the bottom of the Premier League despite significant financial investment in new players. A day later, Harry Redknapp was confirmed as the new manager. On 28 April 2013, with 3 games of the season to play, QPR were relegated from the Premier League down to the Championship after two seasons in the top flight.
During the 2013–14 season, QPR finished 4th in the Championship, and qualified for the play-offs, defeating Wigan Athletic in the semi-finals. In the final against favourites Derby County on 24 May 2014, QPR won 1–0 with a goal in the 90th minute to return to the Premier League.
The return to the top flight was a brief one, however, with QPR being relegated from the Premier League in last place at the conclusion of the 2014/15 season.
After a poor start to the Championship, Chris Ramsey was sacked in November 2015. Former manager Neil Warnock returned to the hot seat in interim charge. On 4 December 2015, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was appointed the club's new manager on a rolling contract.
Hasselbaink was sacked on 5 November 2016, just 11 months after arriving. Six days later, QPR re-appointed Ian Holloway, who had previously been in charge 10 years previously.
QPR finished the in 18th place on 53 points last season.
The Gaffer – Ian Holloway
Past Match - Video Highlights - Trev
Media Watch - K L Blue
free agent XI
http://www.blackburn.vitalfootball.co.u ... p?a=503364
Loan Watch
https://www.twtd.co.uk/ipswich-town-news/32218
Form Guide
QPR Last 5 Matches - Currently in 10th place with 7 points
Cardiff City 2-1 QPR
QPR 1-4 Brentford FC
QPR 2-1 Hull City
Norwich City 2-0 QPR
Sheffield Wed 1-1 QPR
Ipswich Last 5 Matches - Currently in 2nd place with 12 points
Ipswich Town 0-2 Fulham FC
Crystal Palace 2-1 Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town 2-0 Brentford FC
Millwall FC 3-4 Ipswich Town
Barnsley 1-2 Ipswich Town
Fixtures of Interest
FULHAM VS CARDIFF CITY
LEEDS UTD VS BURTON ALBION
WOLVES VS MILLWALL
SUNDERLAND VS SHEFFIELD UTD
SHEFFIELD WED. VS NOTT. FOREST
Marko’s Caption Contest – THE DON CUP
Fulham scores:
Nicscreamer 5pts
Bluemike 4pts
Frosty 3pts
Ando & Shed on Tour 2pts
LEAGUE TABLE
NICSCREAMER 15
SHED ON TOUR 14
BLUEMIKE 12
HERFORDER 11
TANGFASTIC 11
FROSTY 11
OHIOTRACTORBOY 10
BARMY BILLY 7
IPSWICHTOWNNO1 7
BLUEPETER 6
BLUEBLOOD 6
DERICKIPSW 6
ANDO 6
JAMMA123 4
NUMBER9 4
QUASAR 4
WATERSHIP DOWN 4
AYLESBURY BLUE 2
LOUDnPROUD 1
PATTHEGIMP 1
QPR caption:
Match Referee – TBA
QUEENS PARK RANGERS 1 IPSWICH TOWN 1
Superb!
