United we win....

This Saturday the Rangers faithful took to the road for another long trip on the motorways, this time we headed up north to Scunthorpe. Lee Brown gives you details on how the day unfolded.

Today saw a depleted mob take to the road as unfortunately Lofty and PK couldn’t get their shifts covered, and after seeing Tuesday’s performance it wasn’t a trip I was particularly looking forward to either but I took to the road with Sam and Justin at about 10am and headed up to the first of the five motorways. Three long hours later and after having our little car blown in every direction possible by the strong prevailing winds along the M1 and M18 we finally arrived at Glanford Park and the first thing we noticed was the beautiful smell of fresh food which is so rare from a football ground. We then parked up and met up with Leeds mob member Paul and took the short walk through the turnstiles into the ground.
Inside the ground we chose to head straight to the refreshments kiosk for a nice bit of grub. I wanted to go for the Yorkshire wrap which has received rave reviews from Lofty and PK but unfortunately the young lad behind the counter didn’t know what one was despite them having a poster up stating that they were on sale there, after a few questions he found out that none were currently ready. I went straight in for a tasty Beef n Onion Pukka pie and my second choice which once again the kid who was serving me didn’t know what he was selling, luckily he received some help and I finally got my pie and drink. Justin had fewer troubles luckily but we were served by possibly the dumbest person we could’ve got, it did entertain us for 5minutes though.
We then meet up with Michael and friends and discussed a few bits whilst the players were going through their warm up right in front of us.



Jim Magilton made seven changes from Tuesday night’s dismal performance against Accrington Stanley. Cerny, Hall, Borrowdale, Routledge, Faurlin, Taarabt and debutant Jay Simpson came in for Heaton, Stewart, Gorkss, Buzsaky, Vine and Agyemang.
It looked as if we were going to start the game with a 4-4-1-1 formation with Simpson up front on his own and Taarabt just behind him in the free role.

Buoyed by the news of the league cup draw on the journey to Scunthorpe the 682 Rangers fans in attendance started the game in good voice and soon had some action to shout about.

Within 30seconds Rangers were on the breakaway, Simpson was played in down the right hand side and was clear of any defenders so Scunthorpe ‘keeper Joe Murphy rushed out of his area and took out Simpson. It was a reckless challenge but he wasn’t clear through on goal so the goalkeeper escaped with a yellow card for his actions.
With 3 minutes on the clock Taarabt picked the ball up just inside the half way line, took on two defenders and then played a neat one-two with Faurlin, bypassing two more defenders in the process before beating one final defender and poking the ball past the advancing Murphy in the Scunthorpe goal to make it 1-0 to the Rangers!
Rangers looked to be finding a groove and were playing some nice passing football and were keeping possession a lot better than in the previous fixture.
Rangers continued to create openings and when Leigertwood found himself in space just inside the 18yard box, after more good work from Faurlin, he saw his shot well saved by Murphy. Was a great opportunity to extend Rangers lead!
The hosts slowly began to creep into the game and a lot of their attacks came from Rangers left hand side and it was only a matter of time until Cerny got tested. Luckily for the Rangers ‘keeper efforts by Hayes and Woolford were pretty tame and gave him nothing to sweat about.
Back up at the other end Simpson was given two fantastic chances to open his Rangers account. Firstly a header from a Routledge cross fell just wide of the mark and the second effort came when he beautifully turned his marker and pulled his effort wide once again when it looked easier to hit the target.



Half time soon came along. Rangers looked comfortable enough and really should’ve been at least two or three goals to the good, if only it was for better finishing. Scunthorpe didn’t totally roll over and in fairness they did create a few chances themselves but the defence and Cerny held up well and didn’t have too much danger in clearing their lines. The biggest worry was that as Scunthorpe were getting more confident in their attacks it seemed as if a lot of what they were creating was coming from the left hand side of our team. Connolly did do a lot of covering out there, even Faurlin and Hogan helped out a fair bit down there and at times we looked nervy but we were dealing with things as we had to.

As the second half was taking shape neither team really had a strangle hold on the game.
Simpson continued his hard work from the first half and was chasing defenders down, putting them under pressure and managing to force a few errors from them. It would’ve been nice if he had a little bit more help up there as he did win a fair share of headers and held the ball up pretty ball before trying to release an on-coming R’s midfielder into the attack.
After a ten minute stalemate in the second half Magilton made the first change of the game, Taarabt coming off and being replaced by Vine. Vine looked to head straight up alongside Simpson and help out the young striker who after all his hard work began to look a little tired.
Shortly after the change Rangers had the first chance of the half.
A corner from the R’s left hand side was only partially cleared and the ball fell to Fitz Hall just outside the right edge of the six yard box, his effort with the outside of the right foot was tipped over by Murphy.
Again the half went into stalemate but Scunthorpe were looking as if they were coming more into the game and Rangers began to sit back a little more and tried counter attacking a lot more but with a lesser success rate.
Halfway into the half the hard working and tired Simpson made way for Helguson as Rangers looked to nick that all important second goal.
However it was Scunthorpe that created the more dangerous attacks. Thompson’s cross was intercepted well by Cerny after good work down the Scunny right hand side. Hayes also looked to have another effort saved by Cerny.
Rangers finally got the perfect counter attack with Hogan down the left hand side and fed Helguson the ball before he laid it off for Vine who was 12 yards out with the goal gaping and begging for him to slot the ball in the half empty net, unfortunately his effort went over when it was definitely easier to hit the target.
Scunthorpe continued to push as Rangers soaked up the pressure but were getting deeper and deeper into their own half.
In the final minutes of normal time Helguson fed in Routledge who was clean through and ran goal wards from the halfway line he got inside the 18yard box and was met by Murphy, Routledge tried slipping the ball past Murphy before running on and tapping into the empty net but has Routledge ran past Murphy it definitely looked like there was contact by the ‘keeper and the R’s would get a penalty and a change to seal the game finally.......... but no! The ref judged Routledge to have dived and booked the winger for this. Having seen the replay I still think contact was made and the decision was a joke! 30 seconds later a small nudge on a Scunthorpe player in our half was judged to be a foul and the already infuriated Magilton exploded and must’ve said a few strong words as the fourth official called over referee Graham Salisbury and he sent Magilton off to the stands.
Just as we were expecting two or three minutes added time to be shown the ref dropped another bombshell on us.............. FIVE MINUTES ADDED TIME!!!!
Where the hell he got this from is a mystery as the only real stoppages came from the six second half substitutions that were made.
After a few more nervy moments in those SIX minutes that were played the R’s secured the precious victory that we have been waiting for. It was far from easy and if Scunthorpe were better in the attacking third then we could really be looking at another drawn game, but it wasn’t and we got our 3 points.

Overall I think we shaded the game and really should’ve been further ahead at half time. We missed two great chances in the second half and of course we had the penalty shout waved away.
In fairness to the hosts though they did fight and scrap but they came up against two very good centre backs having a very good day. It’s a tough call but for me out of Fitz Hall and Matt Connolly I feel Connolly had the better game and therefore today’s Man of the Match is awarded to Matt Connolly.

Finally I do have to give a big mention to the squad of players after the game as all of them came over to the travelling support and all clapped us. Hall, Ramage, Leigertwood, Routledge, Hogan and Simpson all gave their shirts to various members of the crowd in appreciation of the support. Well done to the players for that, it just goes to show that we are united when we win, so let’s be united when we lose and draw also. Let’s get behind the boys and hope that together we can all kick forwards this season and achieve the best results we can through the good and bad performances.

Scunthorpe United: Murphy, Williams, Togwell (McCann 61), Byrne, Sparrow (Thompson 70), Hayes, Hooper, Mirfin, Woolford, O'Connor (Wright 61), Spence.

Subs not used: Lillis, Forte, Morris, Crosby.
Bookings: Murphy (1)

QPR: Cerny, Ramage, Hall, Leigertwood, Routledge, Connolly, Faurlin (Mahon 81), Simpson (Helguson 70), Ephraim, Borrowdale, Taarabt (Vine 56).
Subs not used: Heaton, Stewart, Buzsaky, Pellicori.

Goals: Taarabt (3)
Bookings: Routledge (87)

Attendance: 5, 866 (682)

LOVE IT!!!!!!

QPR have been rewarded for their narrow victory over Accrington Stanley last week, with a trip to Stamford Bridge to take on rivals, Chelsea in Round 3.



The tie is scheduled to be played on Tuesday 22nd September. BRING IT ON!!!!

QPR Sign Striker Shock...

QPR have today signed young Arsenal striker, Jay Simpson on a season-long loan deal.



The 20-year-old, who previously has had loan spells at Millwall and West Brom, is expected to go straight into the squad for Saturday's trip to Scunthorpe.

R's Gaffer told the Official QPR Website of his new signing;

'Jay will prove to be a quality addition to the squad. We're delighted to have been given the opportunity to provide him with a platform to showcase his ability. He's already shown glimpses of his quality at Arsenal and during loan spells elsewhere, and we'll be looking for him to continue his progression under our guidance.'

GOOD LUCK JAY and WELCOME to QPR!!!

QPR Scrape Past Stanley...

QPR 2-1 Accrington Stanley

Second half goals from Hogan Eprhaim and Wayne Routledge ensured progress in the Carling Cup, as Rangers literally scraped through against brave, Accrington Stanley.



Well, I am sure we have all seen the milk advert years ago and there have been many quotes of 'who are they?... exactly!!!', since the draw was made, but Stanley completely out fought and out played Rangers in the first half and would have had their reward had it not been for debutant, Tom Heaton in the R's goal. The R's fans showed their frustrations at half time as the players left the pitch to a chorus of booing!

After the break, two substitutions saw the R's improve slightly in the second half with Adel Taarabt having a real go and almost single handedly attacked the Stanley back line. Rowan Vine and Damion Stewart both missed good chances for Rangers within minutes of the restart as Taarabt's pace and trickery lifted the home supporters.

The deadlock was finally broken on 68 minutes when Ephraim received the ball just inside the box, let it bounce before calmly placing it past keeper Alan Martin. In the dying minutes, Rangers made the game safe, following a corner which went almost all the way back before coming forward again and ended with substitute, Wayne Routledge crashing his shot off the crossbar.

Symes pulled one back for Stanley with just seconds left and it was no more than they deserved on the night - firing low and hard into the net to the delight of the excellent 150 odd Stanley fans, who sang their hearts out from the moment the game kicked off. They seriously, did not shut up throughout the night and are probably still singing now during their long journey home!! Well done to all of them!!

QPR: Heaton, Ramage, Stewart, Mahon (Routledge 68), Leigertwood, Vine, Buzsaky, Agyemang (Taarabt 46), Gorkss (Borrowdale 46), Connolly, Ephraim. Subs: Helguson, Pellicori, Balanta, Cerny.

Lofty's Man of the Match - Adel Taarabt for QPR but the award must go to Accrington Stanley to a man, for an excellent display on the night. Credit also to Peter Ramage once more, who yet again, was the ONLY QPR player to acknowledge the supporters at the final whistle. I will continue to mention this as I am finding this more and more upsetting as a lot of the R's players are quickly turning into prima donnas, or maybe they are just sulking at being booed...

In summary, I mentioned that Saturday's draw with Forest was our worst performance of the season so far, I stand corrected. With so many negatives, I will end with tonight's positives - QPR are in the next round of the Carling Cup - the performance of Accrington Stanley and their supporters - and finally, myself and PK got in for nothing as a reward for last season's loyalty points. Strange though, as I still feel rather cheated...

Four Games, Three Points...

QPR 1-1 Forest

A spectacular first half strike from Mikele Leigertwood was not enough for Rangers to register their first laegue victory of the season, in what was the poorest performance of the season so far.



Despite the midweek defeat at Bristol City, those that were there continued to give positive feedback as far as the R's performance was concerned, but again, the lack of a striker was still much the topic of conversation amongst another full gang quota before the game.

Onto the game and Forest had started well and would have taken an early lead had Rangers keeper Radek Cerny not produced a fine double save. Further chances for Forest followed ebfore Rangers finally woke up tp create some chances of their own - Adel Taarabt hurriedly shot wide after being found in acres of space by Heidar Helguson and Gary Borrowdale also missed a chance to put the R's ahead by blazing over, following Wayne Routledge's cross. But in Rangers' next attack, Leigertwood found the net on 26 minutes with a left-footed shot from 30 yards that flew past former QPR goalkeeper Lee Camp and into the corner of the net.

But despite all this, Forest equalised 12 minutes into the second half. Camp's long kick was flicked on by Dele Adebola and McGoldrick sneaked between defenders Borrowdale and Kaspars Gorkss to fire home. In truth, from here on in, it looked as though if anyone was going to win, it would be the visitors and former R's striker, Dexter Blackstock saw his parried shot, cleared off the line b7 Peter Ramage late on. But the best chance to win the game came in the dying seconds, when Helguson headed over from Buzsaky's right-wing cross.

QPR; Cerny, Ramage, Stewart (Gorkss,46), Borrowdale, Leigertwood, Routledge, Pellicori (Vine,61), Faurlin, Helguson, Taarabt (Buzsaky,66). Subs not used; Heaton, Connolly, Mahon, Agyemang

Lofty's Man of the Match - two this week - Alejandro Faurlin for an excellent home debut and Peter Ramage, for being the ONLY R's player to be bothered to come over and acknowledge the supporters at full time!!!

In summary, I personally think that Forest will feel the more disappointed not to have won the game as they looked the more urgent of the two sides in the second half. All of us R's fans are hoping dearly that a new striker will arrive soon, but today, it was poor defending that cost us dearly.

Finally, I must just mention the catering once again as PK decided to try the much recommended, Beef Yorkshire wrap at half time, to which he definitely gave a big thumbs up!!

Brizzle drizzle on our parade

As Rangers made their 3rd away trip to the west country in a week, having previously won 5-0 and drawing 1-1, this time Lofty Heights took the trip to Ashton Gate for tonight’s game against Bristol City. Lee Brown brings you a round-up of the night’s action.



We decided to leave early for the trip down to Bristol and this time we had a new driver with us, Mark, who was making his first trip to Ashton Gate see what he has been missing out on. Sam and Justin were also in attendance.
The journey was a smooth one for the four mob members and all of us were in a confident mood. I predicted a 0-0, Sam 1-1, Mark 2-2 and Justin just predicted a loss. After an hour and a bit down the M4 we arrived at our destination with nearly two hours to kill before the big kick off. There is not much you can do when you arrive to the ground as there is nothing around it apart from a retail park and nothing entertainment wise around the ground so we took the one option we had in front of us...... KFC! Once we finished wiping the grease from our chins we had a quick bet and made our way into the ground. As the facilities aren’t the best in the world at Ashton gate we decided to grab ourselves a few cokes and make our way to the stand and pick out a premium view, if we could find one, but instead settled for getting a place where we could just see both goals and be done with it.

Jim Magilton made three changes from Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Plymouth. Damion Stewart, Mikele Leigertwood and debutant Alejandro Faurlin came in for Kaspers Gorkss, Gavin Mahon and Heidar Helguson; all three were named on the Rangers bench.

As the game started it looked as if Rangers were flirting with a new 4-2-3-1 formation. Leigertwood and Faurlin being the two holding midfielders and Routledge, Taarabt and Buzsaky playing just behind and supporting Agyemang up front.

Rangers were the team that got off to the brighter start. Agyemang and Buzsaky both had efforts flying over the bar. Faurlin made a promising start and looks to be a battling midfielder who isn’t afraid to put a foot in where needed. He also looks to read the game pretty well. I must admit that at times it looked as if he struggled with the pace of the game but as he gains more experience in this league he will become an important part of the team.
After a good 15 minutes of pressure Bristol City started to come back into the game and it was Rangers who had to ride the waves and at times ride their luck.
It seemed as if the QPR left hand side was being targeted and with Danny Haynes’ pace giving Borrowdale a lot to think about it was from here that the hosts had their first real chance. Borrowdale fouled Haynes just outside the 18 yard box. From the free kick Maynard had a glorious chance saved by Cerny. Soon after a Bristol City corner flew into the box and was met by Lewin Nyatanga’s head, it looked as if this was going to go in at the far post but Buzsaky was on the line to head clear and Rangers lived to save another day.
City were soon on the attack once again. Haynes slid Maynard in and was one on one with Cerny; Maynard’s shot beat Cerny and was heading towards the far post....... Rangers fans soon breathed a sigh of relief as we saw the effort roll just past the post. Major let off!!
Rangers were struggling to take a stranglehold on the game and after a wildly late challenge from Faurlin, he picked up his first booking his career in English football. Bristol City were also forced into their 1st substitution of the game soon after due to an injury.

Rangers managed to see the half out and it was a relief to get into half time still at 0-0.

At half time I went down to see Gobi and we got straight into the tactical talk. We figured out that Rangers were playing a new style formation but failed to understand why Taarabt was moved into the central strikers role and have Agyemang drop in at left wing. We were also scratching our heads at the fact that we had our best two defenders, Gorkss and Connolly, on the bench. It just doesn’t seem to make any sense. I’m sure Connolly is as baffled as we are! After a good natter deliberating what could happen I resumed my place in my back, which had no back to it, and the second half got under way.

Rangers again started brightly and it seemed as if Magilton had given them a good talking to during the interval.

After good play between Faurlin and Buzsaky, Buzsaky played a lovely pass to Routledge whose shot at the neat post was saved comfortable by the keeper.
Rangers started to knock the ball around quite nicely and Buzsaky, Taarabt, Faurlin and Routledge were at the heart of most of Rangers attacking play.
Rangers best chance soon came. Routledge played a fantastic ball in the box which caused problems in the City defence and evaded everyone until Taarabt met the ball at the far post and, with the goal seemingly being empty from our angle, he managed to poke the ball goal wards but it agonizingly hit the post and come out. How this was missed was simply unbelievable! I still don’t know how he didn’t score.
Bristol City made their 2nd change of the game and this was soon followed by a double Rangers substitution. Pellicori and Vine came on for Taarabt and Agyemang.
Soon after the substitution Rangers were back on the attack. A cross came in from the right and Pellicori rose above everyone and spotted Vine coming into the box unmarked, he nodded down but a City defender just got in front of Vine and cleared the danger.
City were forced into their 3rd substitution of the night, new boy Velicka who had only signed on loan from Glasgow Rangers 24 hours previously looked to take a heavy fall and was stretched off only 18minutes after coming on as a sub.
In what looked a cruel injury this seemed to turn the game in City’s favour as they pressed Rangers back. And it was five minutes later were the damage was done.
After some neat work and opening up the Rangers defence and midfield down the left hand side the ball made its way to Maynard just outside the box, he dropped his shoulder to turn past Hall (I think) and unleash an unstoppable drive past Cerny. Was a very well taken goal!

City continued to press Rangers and two minutes later Maynard nearly got his second. His shot again beat Cerny but once again the effort went just past the far post.
In the last desperation act Faurlin came off after a decent 85 minutes and was replaced by Helguson. Rangers pushed for the last minute equaliser that they deserved for the second half performance. The first glorious chance came when a fantastic came in from the right and was destined for Helguson’s head but for some unknown reason he didn’t throw his head at it and just watched the ball skim past his forehead. All he had to do was make contact and hit the target and it had goal written all over it. Just as it seemed the game was over there was one final chance. After some neat passing Leigertwood found himself in the box, took on 2defenders, got free, all he had to do was blast it, instead he took 3 touches and when he tried to lift the ball over the keeper he was too close and the effort was clawed away and the best effort had gone.

A frustrating end to a deeply frustrating game!

Just to top it off I thought the Ref and Linesmen had shocking games. The linesman in the 2nd half didn’t seem to have a clue what offside meant and raised his flag at near enough any opportunity he could.

Today’s Man of the Match goes to .... Fitz Hall. He followed up a good performance at Plymouth on Saturday with another decent performance here.

QPR: Cerny, Ramage, Stewart, Hall, Leigertwood, Routledge, Buzsaky, Agyemang (Pellicori 67), Faurlin (Helguson 85), Borrowdale, Taarabt (Vine 66).

Subs: Mahon, Gorkss, Connolly, Heaton.

Goal: Maynard (77)

R's on The Road.......... To Bristol City

On this coming Tuesday night QPR supporters once again find themselves on the road to the west country for the third time in a week. This time it’s a shorter trip down the M4 to Bristol City as Rangers look to overcome the disappointment from Saturday’s game down in Plymouth. Lee Brown gives you a few hints and tips for the journey.


The Stadium.

Ashton Gate. Current Capacity - 21,479



Bristol South End was the original name of the club until they turned professional and founded the club under the new name of Bristol City. In 1900 the club merged with local rivals Bedminster, who themselves were founded in 1887 under the name of Southville. Bedminster’s home was Ashton Gate but when the two teams merged together under the name Bristol City, they played very few games at Ashton Gate and it wasn’t until 1904 that this ground was made the permanent home for the club.
In 1934 Bristol City won the Welsh Cup, despite being an English team.
In 1994 the Blackthorn Atyeo Stand (named after the clubs highest goal scorer John Atyeo) was transformed from an open terrace into an all seater stand. This is behind the goal at one end of the ground.
In 1995 the Dolman Stand had the lower tier of the Stand added. This is also has the Evening Post Dolman Exhibition Hall, home to the Supporters Club.
Opposite the Dolman Stand is the Prime Time Williams Stand. This is a very old looking stand and still has wooden seats for fans in this area. The directors box and press are accommodated here.
Then behind the other goal is the Micra Wedlock Stand, this is where the visiting support will be housed for this fixture. Again this is an old stand and is all seated but the chairs don’t have backs on them so be very careful if you do decide to sit down. The view is restricted slightly by pillars in various positions in the stand.

The History between the teams.

At Bristol City (37)

Bristol City 17
QPR 9
Draw 11

Rangers haven’t won at Ashton Gate since the 2002/2003 season. It was the 21st September and a 3-1 victory courtesy of goals from Karl Connolly (2) and a certain Kevin Gallen.
The last two fixtures at Bristol City have ended in draws. Last season was a 1-1 draw with Blackstock getting the goal. The most memorable game was the opening fixture of the 2007/2008 season and a 2-2 draw in an exciting encounter between the two teams. Bristol City seemed to of nicked a win at the death with a late goal from Scott Murray and it was a superb strike which was worthy of winning any game. Rangers didn’t give up on the game and equalised almost instantly via a Damion Stewart header right at the death when it seemed the game had been lost for the visitors.



How to get there.

By Car:- For those with the benefit of sat nav the post code you require is BS3 2EJ.
There are two ways you can attack the journey into Bristol. One way is to come off the M4 at junction 20 and drive down the M32 which leads into the City Centre, from here you will see signposts for the ground and is relatively easy to find.
The easiest route is to come off the M4 onto the M5 and come off the M5 at junction 18. From here travel down the A4 along Portway and follow the signs for Bristol Airport/Taunton (A38). Go over Brunel Way Bridge and branch to the left hand side onto Winterstoke Road and you will see the ground on your left hand side.
In regards to parking there is a car park on Ashton Vale Road which is just off the Winterstoke Road on the right hand side.

By Train:- You are most likely to arrive at Bristol Temple Meads station which is a good two miles or so away from the ground. You can get a taxi to the ground from here and will cost you roughly £6 for the trip. I wouldn’t advise walking to the ground as it is a fair trek .

Pubs 'n' Grub.

There are no pubs near the ground that would be advised to be used by the travelling support so if you feel like a beer then I would point you in the direction of the City Centre and enjoy a tipple there.
No alcohol is sold inside the away stand.
Food is available outside the ground in the form of KFC, otherwise most of the food options would have to be relied on the in ground catering or once again the City Centre for all your favourite food retailers.