Following Saturday’s draw with Burnley, after which Neil Warnock was furious with the performance of the match officials, QPR have moved to sign winger Georgios Tofas on a free transfer.

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Rangers have been repeatedly linked with a move for Tofas, a former AEK Athens winger, this season and the 21-year-old has spent time on trial at Harlington prior to signing his deal today until the end of the season.

He told the club’s official website: “I'm so happy and excited. QPR is such a big club and I'm happy to be here. I'll give my best for the club. My first objective is to get into the team and then show the boss and the supporters what I am capable of."

Neil Warnock said: “Georgios is somebody was has excited me when I have watched him. He looks like our type of player - he can take men on, yet he knows he has to work hard for the rest of the team. He has got the right work ethic. The chance to bring him in until the end of the season was too good an opportunity for me to turn down."

The move represents further support for Warnock from the QPR board Amit Bhatia was briefly quoted in the Express at the weekend stating his ambitious aims for QPRF in the future. Bhatia reportedly said: “We have a target. We will make it happen no matter what it takes, within reason. The dream is to get into the Champions League and if we are promoted we will put our hands in our pockets. My father-in-law didn’t get where he is settling to finish fourth. We want to finish top.”

Tofas won’t be available for selection quite yet as he looks to shake off the effects of a hamstring injury, but those that are fit to play will need to find a win from somewhere when Reading come to town this weekend after a run of five draws in six games moved QPR off the top of the table for the first time since August at the weekend.

After the game Neil Warnock and his Burnley counterpart Brian Laws both criticised referee Iain Williamson who was awarded a mark of three out of ten in the LFW match report of the game.

Warnock told the official website: “It's very frustrating at the minute. I thought that was the best we've done in a long time though and we created plenty of chances to win the game. They only forced Paddy in to one great save apart from the penalty, so I was pleased with that. They got the rub of the green at the right time, because it was never a penalty. I don't know how he can give it, because there were four bodies between him and the offence, so he's guessing again. He had a bad day at the office today.

"We can't blame the referee for missing the chances though can we? Somehow we managed to miss them and it's disappointing. It's down to us to take our chances. Dave Jones it's better chasing, so let's hope he's right."

Laws told the Lancashire Telegraph: “The referee might have to take responsibility. I could question whether the game was too big for him because there were some horrendous decisions. In the end I have had to make a decision because of his decisions. I had to take Chris Eagles off because I think if I hadn’t he would probably have sent him off. That can’t be right because Chris is one of the least dirty players you could ever imagine. Chris is furious because he wants to play. Unfortunately I've got to make decisions for the team, and for the good of the team. If you want to win a game you've got to have 11 players on the park. For all that Chris can do, at the end of the day he was on borrowed time. I was even thinking about it before half-time, but I didn't want the crowd to win their little battle because they were certainly baying for it and hoping that he was just touch somebody.”

One of Mr Williamson’s more controversial decisions on the day was the one that allowed Burnley to equalise from the penalty spot in first half injury time after an innocuous collision between Dean Marney and Matt Connolly in the QPR box. Graham Alexander, Burnley’s captain, bounced back from a rare penalty miss earlier this season to convert past Paddy Kenny with ease.

He said: “Paddy has already saved one of my penalties before, a good few years ago. But I never think about the keeper anyway. I just concentrate on myself There are always nerves with any penalty, whatever run you are on. But I just concentrated on what I've done before, decided to go a certain way and stuck to it and thankfully for me it went in."

Loan watch

Despite sources close to the player stating that Rowan Vine was set to extend his loan with Hull City the Tigers have today announced that the player will be returning to QPR. Vine played his final game for the Tigers at Barnsley on Saturday evening but again failed to score taking his run without a goal to 24 matches and more than 12 months.

No such problems for Ramone Rose who scored a fine goal for Torquay United on Saturday as they beat Morecambe 3-1 at home in League Two. Rose’s 20 yarder made it 2-1 after ten man Morecambe had initially equalised but the game was well and truly up when Chris Shuker was then sent off for fouling Rose reducing the visitors to nine men. Rose’s impact all came from the bench having been introduced as a 52nd minute substitute. Joe Oastler started the game in defence and played the full 90 minutes. This brought to an end a run of 11 games without a win for the Gulls.

Manager Paul Buckle said: “What a wonderful strike from Ramone Rose, it got the crowd up, and we do need the supporters to get behind the team. If you've watched Torquay United over the past few weeks, we create chances, we have a right go and we deserved our win. We're back in a healthy position in the league and I'm proud of the players."

The latest QPR player heading out on loan is goalkeeper Niki Lee Bulmer who has joined his club mate Lee Brown on loan at Conference side Hayes and Yeading. Bulmer was on the bench and Brown in the starting eleven as the West London outfit crashed to a 1-0 home defeat against bottom club Altrincham on Saturday. The result leaves Hayes just one point and place clear of the relegation zone.

Rumours

Everton are the latest club being linked with a January move for QPR’s top scorer Jamie Mackie. David Moyes, according to The People, may pay as much as £3m for the player that Rangers picked up for less than £500k from Plymouth in the summer. Mackie has eight goals to his name so far this season but hasn’t scored in his last nine for club and country.

Former R’s

A three month spell without a club, and concession of a soft penalty at Ipswich on Saturday, hasn’t dampened Danny Shittu’s self confidence at all. The big Nigerian centre half signed a three month contract with Millwall in October after being without a club since a difficult World Cup with Nigeria but he told Sky Sports: “I know know Millwall fans will be upset for me to say I know I'm a Premier League player. I've played in the World Cup, I've played against top quality players. If you ask Premier League strikers who they fear the most, they would mention me. I know I'm one of the best defenders. I've got a lot to prove and I've got many years to go - I'm fit, fast and dominant. I know there will be people coming to watch but that's not the main thing - I'm here to play for Millwall and give 100 per cent.

"It would be great to stay longer but initially it's just a three-month contract and we'll wait and see what happens in the future. I'm a defender but I like to go forward and score goals.”

Incidentally the penalty at Portman Road on Saturday, the second of Ipswich’s two goals in a comfortable win, came for a foul by Shittu on Tamas Priskin.

Championship Shorts

- Cardiff boss Dave Jones has stated that he will improve his team in January despite climbing to the top of the table for the first time this season on Saturday. Jones, who rather cheekily overlooked his numerous high profile loans by claiming last week City hadn’t bought a player for 18 months, said: “I am always looking to strengthen the squad, January will be no different. If we can do it we will, but it is not a bad squad here at the moment.”

- Cardiff face Swansea in a massive South Wales derby game this Saturday but both teams will be missing key men. Darren Pratley is ruled out for the Swans while top scorer Jay Bothroyd is suspended for Cardiff. Bothroyd said: “I'm gutted. I'm disappointed I can't play in the derby on the weekend but we have to deal with that now. Our squad this year is tremendous though, and the likes of Andy Keogh and Jason Koumas are there to come in."

- Another keenly fought derby game will take place at Scunthorpe this weekend when Hull City visit. The Iron hope to have keeper Joe Murphy back after a two game absence with a groin injury. Scunny conceded four goals at home to Leeds on Saturday in his absence.

- New Middlesbrough manager Tony Mowbray took positives from his first game in charge, despite a 2-1 home defeat by bottom of the table Bristol City. Mowbray said: “We controlled the game for long spells, we pinned them down and we created a lot of chances, and not half-chances but really good opportunities of the sort that Kris Boyd and Scott McDonald have made a career out of putting away. I think the shot count was 24 to five in our favour and we created five or six good goal-scoring opportunities. If we can maintain that kind of work-rate and keep creating chances like that then we will not lose too many games. But the only statistic that counts is that we lost 2-1." Mowbray will not allow Marvin Emnes to extend his current loan with Swansea as he wants to assess his whole squad.

- Bristol City have allowed defender Lewin Nyatanga to rejoin former boss Gary Johnson on loan at Peterborough.

Photo: Action Images

French_Hoops added 00:44 - Nov 2 I like Bhatia's ambitious & reasonable mentality! Although it pains me (and probably others) to admit it, without Briatore & Ecclestone we wouldn't have had Mittal & Bhatia in the first place... Does anyone know a bit more about Tofas? Is he left or right footed (i.e. could he be a possible substitute for Ephraim or for Mackie)?
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