Holloway Returns as Blackpool are First Up for QPR...

The fixtures for next season were released today and the R's kick off with a home game against Ian Holloway's, Blackpool. This is followed by two long trips to Exeter and Plymouth respectively. Although when you take a look, the fixtures computer has been reasonably kind to the QPR supporter this time around, especially the away followers amongst us, with all the midweek aways within reasonable distance and a rare home Boxing Day fixture. The only real disappointment is that the eagerly awaited trip to Newcastle is to take place on Wednesday 30th September.

As mentioned, other than that it has been pretty kind and the weekend's away to Blackpool(twice) and Newcastle, albeit when we take on Middlesbrough, are already being planned. Bring it on...

QPR, Coca Cola Championship 2009/10 fixture list

Sat Aug 8 Blackpool H
Wed Aug 12 Carling Cup 1
Sat Aug 15 Plymouth Argyle A
Tue Aug 18 Bristol City A
Sat Aug 22 Nottingham Forest H
Wed Aug 26 Carling Cup 2
Sat Aug 29 Scunthorpe United A

Sat Sep 12 Peterborough United H
Tue Sep 15 Crystal Palace H
Sat Sep 19 Cardiff City A
Wed Sep 23 Carling Cup 3
Sat Sep 26 Barnsley H
Wed Sep 30 Newcastle United A

Sat Oct 3 Swansea City A
Sat Oct 17 Preston North End H
Tue Oct 20 Reading H
Sat Oct 24 Derby County A
Wed Oct 28 Carling Cup 4
Sat Oct 31 Leicester City H

Sat Nov 7 Sheffield Wednesday A
Sat Nov 21 Doncaster Rovers A
Sat Nov 28 Coventry City H

Wed Dec 2 Carling Cup 5
Sat Dec 5 Middlesbrough H
Tue Dec 8 Watford A
Sat Dec 12 West Bromwich Albion A
Sat Dec 19 Sheffield United H
Sat Dec 26 Bristol City H
Mon Dec 28 Ipswich Town A

Sat Jan 2 F.A . Cup 3
Wed Jan 6 Carling Cup Semi-Final (1)
Sat Jan 9 Plymouth Argyle H
Sat Jan 16 Blackpool A
Wed Jan 20 Carling Cup Semi-Final (2)
Sat Jan 23 F.A. Cup 4
Tue Jan 26 Nottingham Forest A
Sat Jan 30 Scunthorpe United H

Sat Feb 6 Peterborough United A
Tue Feb 9 Ipswich Town H
Sat Feb 13 Coventry City A F.A. Cup 5
Tue Feb 16 Watford H
Sat Feb 20 Doncaster Rovers H
Sat Feb 27 Middlesbrough A
Sun Feb 28 Carling Cup Final

Sat Mar 6 West Bromwich Albion H F.A. Cup 6
Sat Mar 13 Sheffield United A
Tue Mar 16 Reading A
Sat Mar 20 Swansea City H
Tue Mar 23 Derby County H
Sat Mar 27 Preston North End A

Sat Apr 3 Sheffield Wednesday H
Mon Apr 5 Leicester City A
Sat Apr 10 Crystal Palace A F.A. Cup Semi-Final
Sat Apr 17 Cardiff City H
Sat Apr 24 Barnsley A

Sun May 2 Newcastle United H

QPR Welcome John Gorman and Face a Tricky Cup Trip to Exeter...

QPR yesterday appointed John Gorman as their no 2 to new Manager, Jim Magilton.



The very experienced, 59 year old coach has signed a 2 year deal with the club and yesterday, told the Official QPR Website;

'I am honoured at being given this exciting opportunity and I thank the Club's management for choosing me.

QPR has plenty of history and a big following. I know most of the players and have great respect for them. I rate them highly and look forward to working with such good players.

"The expectations are high and I will do my very best to meet them, assisting Jim and working hard to have our best shot at getting the Club promoted.'

GOOD LUCK JOHN and WELCOME to QPR!!!

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Carling Cup 1st Round Draw

QPR face a tricky opening round and will make the long trip down to League One, Exeter City in the first round of the Carling Cup.

The tie will be played in the week commencing August 10th 2009.

QPR Welcome Jim Magilton...

QPR have today confirmed the appointment of former Ipswich Town boss, Jim Magilton as their new manager on a two year contract.



Owner Flavio Briatore told the Official QPR Website of his 5th permanant Manager;

"We had an incredibly high number of applicants but Jim was the stand out candidate for the role. We sat down with him on four separate occasions over the last month to discuss our goals and ambitions and he has really impressed myself, Mr Ecclestone, Mr Mittal and Mr Bhatia with his knowledge, understanding and passion for football. He did a very good job at Ipswich Town playing some fine, attacking football and he has ambition to achieve in this next chapter of his career. We are all really looking forward to working with him"

On his appointment, Magilton himself added;

"I am really looking forward to the challenge of managing this great football club. The board are highly ambitious but they are realistic at the same time. I have huge ambitions to succeed as a manager though and our aim is to keep progressing year after year. There is a very strong group of players at the club and with one or two additions over the summer we can expect to be in a position to drastically improve upon the eleventh placed finish secured last season"

It is pleasing to hear that Magilton will retain Gareth Ainsworth as part of his coaching staff, but is rumoured to be keen on former Wycombe manager John Gorman as his assistant.

Okay, so maybe a surprise choice for many and not the big name we all had hoped for? But be honest, who else would want to come to QPR at the moment?? And for that, I will give my full support and I wish Jim Magilton all the VERY best of luck, your gonna need it!!

GOOD LUCK JIM and WELCOME to QPR!!!

Glad It's All Over...

Preston 2-1 QPR

Preston sneaked into the play-offs on the last day of the season with a 2-1 win over QPR at Deepdale on Sunday, but only just...



My sincere apologies for the lateness of this report, but as mentioned, what with it being the last game and all, the gang and I thought we would make a long weekend of it and descended on Blackpool. Little did we know at the time of booking, that we would be in a Bed and Breakfast in the gay area and was welcomed on arrival by a Paul O'Grady look and soundalike, but that's another thing. Sadly, PK was unable to join us at the last minute due to an ankle injury, hope you feel better soon mate!

Anyways, moving swiftly on and we made the short trip over to Deepdale for the lunchtime kick off and arrived in good time for a much needed hair of the dog in a local pub. As you know, Preston needed to win, which normally means an inevitable defeat for the QPR. But this was far from an easy ride for the home side as the R's put in a very decent performance.

Albeit watched through glazed eyes, Preston took the lead on 37 minutes through an uncharacteritic mistake from Kaspars Gorkss, who received a goal kick from Cerny, underhit it back to his keeper and Jon Parkin nipped in to take the ball, round Cerny and fire into the net. The expected Preston onslaught/QPR surrender did not happen and Rangers drew level on 57 minutes - Vine played a through ball to Agyemang and he beat Youl Mawene to slide the ball past the keeper to level the scores.



Shortly after, Deepdale lifted with news of Cardiff's demise at Sheffield Wednesday and they re-took the lead on 74 minutes - when a Parkin long throw was flicked on by substitute Chris Brown and St Ledger headed home from inside the six-yard box, depsite Connolly's desperate attempts to clear off the line. I was particularly disappointed that it was Sean St Ledger that got the eventual winner, as my memories of him are that of a spoilt brat whingeing,moaning,sulking and generally throwing his toys out of the pram in the corner, all because he was asked to play right back in training. This was during his time at Peterborough of course and the Big Ron Manager documentary.

QPR pushed on and made it a nervous end for the home supporters, with Ephraim having a deflected effort saved and then, right at the end, Carter cleared off the line from Matthew Connolly in stoppage time to the relief of a nervy Deepdale. The final whistle went soon after, the home fans poured onto the pitch in celebration and the R's travelling support had to once agan, politely acknowledge their opponents successes. Well Done Preston and Good Luck in the Play-Offs.

QPR: Cerny, Mahon (Balanta, 82), Delaney, Vine, Gorkss, Leigertwood, Connolly, Routledge, Ramage, Agyemang (German, 75), Ephraim. Subs Not Used: Hall, Cole, Alberti

Lofty's Man of the Match - Hogan Ephraim

So, despite the good performance, it was another disappointing end to what has been a very trying season. The end of the football season is something I have always dreaded, but to be honest, I am welcoming this one with open arms and am looking forward to the Summer break immensely.

Yes, I will be renewing my Season Ticket and yes, I will be travelling up and down the country next season and yes, I will be returning for the friendlies. But for now, all that remains for me to do is thank Lee for his excellent additions to these pages and to each and everyone of you for your continued support of this site. It isn't always easy to write and remain upbeat, but your support and comments certainly help me through the not so good times.

Thank You All and Come On You R'sssssssss!!!!

Delayed...

Preston 2-1 QPR

Due to myself and the gang seeing the season off in style, with a weekend in Blackpool, the report will be slightly delayed due to tiredness and over indulgence...

I thank you...

Same Old Rangers...

QPR 0-0 Plymouth

Plymouth came for a point, QPR weren't up for it, what do you get? One of the worst games ever seen at Loftus Road.



My apologies for the lateness of this report, but myself and the gang attended the QPR Player of the Year Dinner Dance at the Radisson Edwardian Hotel - more on that very shortly. But onto the game and you would really think that with everything that has gone on this season, the players would at least have put on a performance for the last home game of the season or better still, look half interested in doing so?

QPR: Cerny, Stewart, Mahon, Leigertwood, Routledge, Agyemang (German 66), Gorkss, Connolly, Cook (Balanta 56), Miller (Ramage 62), Helguson. Subs: Delaney, Hall.

Lofty's Man of the Match - is cancelled this week

There really isn't anymore I could add about the game so basically, I won't. But sadly, the players took their, what seemed to be, a couldn't give a toss attitude to the Player of the Year Dinner and Dance.

Before I go on, I just have to say that the gang and I had a great night out, it was just the QPR side of things that was the disappointment. It started well enough, the food was nice enough which was in between Rodney Marsh hosting proceedings - which included an auction, a raffle and of course, the awards, which were;

Supporters' Player of the Year - Damion Stewart

Supporters' Player of the Year Runner Up - Kaspars Gorkss

Daphne Biggs Supporters' Young Player of the Year - Matthew Connolly

Ray Jones Players' Player of the Year - Damion Stewart

Kiyan Prince Goal of the Season - Martin Rowlands v Wolves

Community Commitment Award - Gareth Ainsworth



Going back a step and the first disappointment of the night - one of the auction items was labelled as ' Lotto Merchandise', which turned out to be a Fiorentina shirt that once belonged to the disgraced, former Chelsea striker, Adrian Mutu! It goes without saying, that this auction didn't fetch an awful lot. But you seriously have to question whoever at QPR would auction a shirt from a former player of our biggest rivals?? Anyway, moving on...

After a welcoming speech from Amit Bhatia, the awards started and brought more disappointment. I can appreciate that many people would be terrified at the thought of public speaking, but for Damion Stewart, Kaspars Gorkss and Matthew Connolly, to not even say a 'THANK YOU' to the supporters that had voted for them, was a pretty poor show.

The poor show continued after the awards had finished as all but a couple of QPR players made a swift exit. This is disgraceful! The supporters pay their money to follow their team all over the country and with regards to last night's event, payed £70 to be there, not including those who stayed at the hotel at £70/£80 for the night and also paying the hotel's outrageous bar prices( and indeed, phone prices as our friend Lindsay was asked to pay £65 for the privelage of making a 20 minute, local phone call from her room!!)- and these players, can't even bother to to put aside ONE evening a year to chat with supporters, have photos, sign autographs etc etc

As mentioned, myself and the gang didn't let this spoil our evening, but there was plenty there that were extremely disappointed and angry with the attitude of the players and indeed, QPR in general. This was a chance at the very least for the players to give a little something back to the fans. They chose not to do so and it is becoming increasingly difficult to continue to support this club who in return, quite obviously, just don't care about the supporters any more.

To end on a positive, Gareth Ainsworth is an exception to the above and he epitomises what this Club used to be all about. Myself and some of the gang are privelaged to know Gaz personally and after catching a chat with him last night, he himself was keen to get away and back to his family and no more so, for his new three week old baby daughter. But in trying to do so, he never once refused an photo, autograph and chat with any supporter that approached him and he finally left at just after midnight. A absolute credit to Queens Park Rangers!!

QPR Fail to Keep the Wolves from the Premier League Door...

Wolves 1-0 QPR

QPR failed to put the promotion party on hold, as a goal from Sylvan Ebanks-Blake fired Wolves back into the Premier League.



Myself, PK and Special Guest for the day from White Hart Lane, Glenn, set off at around half past ten for a breeze of a journey and arrived at Molinuex just before 12.30. Due to the pubs around the ground recommended to be generally avoided, we took a pre match in the local Asda and a few cans in the car park, before going in to join the party.

Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be any jitters from Wolves who settled quickly and had much the better of the first half, but Rangers were dealing well with what ever was thrown at them and the sides went in level at half time. But just seconds into the second half, the home crowd erupted as Damion Stewart tried to usher the ball out of play, but was caught out by Andy Keogh. who squared into the path of Ebanks-Blake who had the simple task of side-footing the ball home from just six yards.



The R's continued to battle on and had two great chances of their own. After Rowan Vine saw his deflected effort strike the bar, the best chance fell to Helguson, who, went put clean through from Gavin Mahon, fired straight at Hennesey in the Wolves goal. Wolves then obvuously decided to shut up shop when Marlon Harewood replaced Ebanks-Blake and despite the calls from the PA Announcer to keep the pitch clear, thousands of Wolves fans charged on at the final whistle to celebrate and begin the party.

QPR: Cerny, Stewart, Mahon, Routledge, Vine (Taarabt 63), Gorkss, Ramage, Connolly, Cook (Ephraim 63), Lòpez (Leigertwood 85), Helguson. Subs: Delaney, Miller.

Lofty's Man of the Match - Matt Connolly, an outstanding performance at the back for the R's.

In summary, Rangers were always going to be on a bit of a hiding to nothing, as having little but pride to play for against a Wolves side driving for promotion and the Championship. But Ainsworth`s QPR side were certainly not disgraced. The result I suppose was a fair reflection, but it could have been very different had Rangers taken some very good chances. With the celebrations going on inside the Stadium, it meant a reasonably quick getaway and home at a much more reasonable hour to that of Burnley last week.

Finally, I would like to congratulate Wolves and their fans on a great season and GOOD LUCK next year in the Premier League!!