Preview - Queens Park Rangers v Derby County Tuesday, 23rd Mar 2010 09:29
A midweek trip to London - can Nigel Clough's men overcome their dire away form to ease fears of relegation?
Queens Park Rangers v Derby County Coca Cola Championship Loftus Road, Hammersmith, London Tuesday 23rd March 2010 - 8:00pm
QPR:
Current League Position: 17/24
Leading scorer: Jay Simpson 12lg 1cp
Manager: Neil Warnock
Kit home: Blue & White hoops/white shorts
Kit away: Red & Black Hoops/Re Shorts
Last Game: QPR 1-1 Swansea
Quotes from the manager: Warnock ribbing opposition manager Paulo Sousa on the BBC:
"I did tell the players not to tackle today so as not to upset Paulo."
"I told them it would be a horrible game, as Swansea don't give anything away, and that they would have to be patient."
"It was an enjoyable second half, Antonio took his goal well and it was a good fightback."
"It was interesting to see them under some pressure because they had been so composed - it was nice to ruffle a few feathers."
Current QPR Squad: No. Position. Player.
2 Defender Peter Ramage 3 Defender Damion Stewart 4 Midfield Gavin Mahon (vice-captain) 6 Midfield Mikele Leigertwood 7 Striker Marcus Bent (on loan from Birmingham City) 8 Striker Rowan Vine 10 Midfield Ákos Buzsáky 13 Defender Kaspars Gorkšs 14 Midfield Martin Rowlands (captain) 15 Midfield Nigel Quashie 16 Defender Matthew Connolly 17 Midfield Lee Cook 18 Midfield Alejandro Faurlín 19 Striker Angelo Balanta 20 Defender Matt Hill (on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers) 21 Midfield Matteo Alberti 22 Keeper Carl Ikeme (on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers) 23 Striker Jay Simpson (on loan from Arsenal) 24 Keeper Radek Cerný 25 Midfield Hogan Ephraim 27 Defender Lee Brown 28 Defender Joe Oastler 30 Midfield Romone Rose 32 Keeper Elvijs Putnins 33 Striker Antonio German 35 Defender Josh Parker 36 Striker Tamás Priskin (on loan from Ipswich Town) 37 Keeper Shane McWeeney 39 Midfield Adel Taarabt (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur)
The Rams:
Quotes from the manager:
Nigel Clough talking to BBC Radio Derby after the Wednesday game: "I'm delighted - we haven't kept too many clean sheets recently, especially away from home."
"I'm delighted we saw the game through because we've been conceding some late goals, home and away of late."
"It's another point on the board towards the 50, 51, 52 - whatever we are going to need to stay up."
Current Rams Squad
No. Position. Player.
1 Keeper Stephen Bywater 2 Defender Paul Connolly 3 Defender James McEveley 4 Midfield Paul Green 5 Defender Miles Addison (vice-captain) 6 Defender Dean Leacock 7 Midfield Lee Croft 8 Midfield Robbie Savage (captain) 9 Striker Rob Hulse 10 Midfield Kris Commons 11 Midfield Gary Teale 12 Striker Chris Porter 13 Keeper Saul Deeney 14 Defender Shaun Barker 16 Midfield Stephen Pearson 17 Defender Jake Buxton 18 Midfield Ben Pringle 19 Midfield Michael Tonge (on loan from Stoke City F.C.) 20 Striker Steve Davies 21 Defender Dean Moxey 22 Midfield Arnaud Mendy 23 Defender Mark O'Brien 24 Defender Nicky Hunt (on loan from Bolton Wanderers F.C.) 25 David Martin (on loan from Millwall F.C) 26 Midfield Lee Hendrie 27 Defender Russell Anderson 28 Defender Mitchell Hanson 31 Defender Javan Vidal (on loan from Manchester City F.C.) 32 Striker Gilles Sunu (on loan from Arsenal F.C.) 33 Defender Mark Dudley 35 Striker Callum Ball 30 Keeper David Martin (on loan from Liverpool) 32 Striker Gilles Sunu (on loan from Arsenal) 33 Defender Mark Dudley 35 Striker Callum Ball 36 Midfield Ryan Connolly 37 Keeper James Severn
What the Bookies think:
Home Win: 8/11 Draw: 9/4 Away win: 16/5 First Scorer: Jay Simpson 9/2, Rob Hulse, Chris Porter 7/1.
Information for travelling fans: Driving: It's 130 miles to Loftus Rd. Take the M1 south to J1 and then take the North Circular. Cross two roundabouts and on the third take the Western Avenue exit. This is the A40 - follow it towards White City/Shepherds Bush. Turn right into Wood Lane and right again into South Africa Road for the ground.
Parking: Footballgroundguide.Com recommends parking opposite the BBC centre at Ariel Way Industrial however it is £7! There is street parking to be had in the area however you need to get there early.
A better way is to park in a tube station with a car park on the edge of London and then take the tube or the Train there. The nearest Tube is Shepherds Bush on the Hammersmith & City line. Footballgroundguide.com recommends using White City tube as it is less busy.
The nearest mainline station is Kensington Olympia. They also point out that Queens Park station is nowhere near Loftus Rd!
Drinking: The Springbok Pub near the ground is now for home fans only. Apparently the bouncers on the door check tickets.
There are plenty of pubs in the Shepherds Bush area including a Weatherspoons, O'Neills and Walkabout. There is no drink available in the away end at Loftus Rd.
Mick’s Preview: Okay it wasn't a victory - but a point and a clean sheet are important given our away form and the way we have been shipping goals. Given our recent form against the Wendies, some were expecting the win but Nigel Clough would probably always have been happy with the draw.
It is about managing expectations and many Derby fans have high expectations of the club.
You only have to be in your mid to late 40's to remember Clough & Mackay's League Championship winning sides, in your 30's to remember Davison & Gee, Saunders & Goddard, Super Ted McMinn and in your twenties to remember Stimac, Eranio, Baiano - those guys raise expectations and put simply the current line up don't.
Peter Gadsby is a fan who clearly thinks he could manage the expectations of the crowd in a better way than the current board. Whether he could or not is a moot point as many fans are starting to ask if we are going to see any significant investment in the squad over the summer?
We may be the best fans in the world but our patience in not inexhaustible. We need answers - and preferably before the early bird renewal runs out.
Tonight's game is unlikely to be a classic - but again we need to keep it tight in midfield and at the back.
Dropping Robbie Savage proved to be the right thing to do on Saturday - and it may be the right thing to do again tonight.
Reports suggest that Michael Tonge got very tired in his midfield role and that's only to be expected given the dearth of games he has played before coming to Derby.
Clough may revert to the five-man midfield if a point is all he is after.
Mick's Team:
Bywater, Hunt, Barker, Anderson, McEveley, Green, Tonge, Pearson, Sunu, Porter, Hulse.
Subs: Martin, Pringle, Leacock, Buxton, Porter, Martin, Savage
Mick's Prediction:
QPR 1-1 Derby
Photo: Action Images
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