QPR fans got back in the swing of things with a leisurely trip to Aldershot on Saturday for the first friendly of the summer. A 4-0 win on the pitch set the boys up nicely for their tour of Slovenia this week.

1 – The Match
Very much as you would expect for such an occasion. Aldershot had played two friendlies already but used teams made up of trialists in both so this was essentially the first summer game for both teams and so the fitness of the players and pace of the game left something to be desired at times – not helped by the very long grass on the pitch that made flowing football difficult, particularly when saturated by prolonged, unseasonal rain. Last season the teams finished more than two divisions apart with Aldershot in 15th in League Two and QPR 11th in the Championship – that gulf in class was clearly evident with Rangers rarely threatened and comfortable winners. The R’s fielded a different team for each half and both successfully saw off their hosts 2-0. Overall fairly standard pre-season stuff, although the decision to make all the charges at half time did at least stop the second half turning into a farcical substitution fest that these games can sometimes become. Not a bad way to spend a summer Saturday.
6/10

2 – QPR Performance
There were certainly more positives than negatives for QPR fans to take out of this one. Rangers scored some nice goals, particularly the first from Akos Buzsaky who really played well and caught the eye from wide on the left flank in the first half. Romone Rose, Matt Connolly, Gavin Mahon and Angelo Balanta impressed to varying degrees. The only real downsides were the performances of Fitz Hall, who looked poor once again, and Gary Borrowdale, who appeared very, very one paced meaning he was unable to overlap Buzsaky when required, or get back to his man when Aldershot counter attacked. He needs to improve if he is to be our first choice left back. David Connolly must do more than his mediocre first half efforts if he wants to stay at Loftus Road. A big positive after last season’s dire goal scoring record was that all three senior, signed up strikers used on the day got a goal with Helguson, Blackstock and Agyemang all notching.
6/10

3 – QPR Support
Apparently Aldershot were expecting 200 from W12, I certainly did not anticipate more than 400, in the end we got more than twice that. We arrived about 20 minutes before the kick off to find a queue of QPR fans snaking away from the turnstile and the home club was quickly forced into opening another gate for us all – by the time we got in the queue was twice as long behind us as it had been when we arrived. The majority of the seats for visitors in the side stand seemed to be taken and with the rain starting to fall we went for the covered terrace rather than the open one and that seemed reasonably full as well. Not too many chants although things livened up in the second half when Gareth Ainsworth came on down the QPR right directly in front of the visiting fans who certainly enjoyed the veteran’s cameo appearance. Good to see so many Rangers’ fans out in force, and so many familiar faces amongst them, and a further point gained for the bloke on the open terrace standing beneath a very fetching ladies umbrella with Welsh dragons on it.
7/10

4 – Atmosphere
Subdued and relaxed as is the norm for pre-season friendlies. Aldershot had a gang of noisy support off to the right of the QPR fans behind the goal and they taunted us with some chants about being Reading in disguise for a bit before quietening down as the QPR goals started to flow in. The Shots fans also launched into a couple of renditions of an old Western movie song hummed in a constant low note that I just could not put my finger on despite mumbling to myself all the way back to Sheffield afterwards. Any help on exactly what that song is would be welcome.
5/10

5 – The Ground
Stevenage Borough must curse their luck every time they see teams like Aldershot and Barnet playing in the Football League. Borough were denied promotion into the League despite winning the Conference in 1995/96 because of the state of their ground. Broadhall Way is now fit to host Championship football but having not won the Conference since, Stevenage have had to watch clubs like Aldershot take advantage of the newly relaxed rules and make their way into the professional leagues. Back in 1996 there is no way in the world the Recreation Ground would ever have been approved.

For a start the vast majority of fans whether arriving by car or train approach the ground from the town end which has a couple of trees and portacabins stacked on top of another to separate the goal from the main road. There is no stand and nowhere for supporters to stand. Away fans are not permitted to enter the turnstiles at that end of the ground and instead are signposted back under the railway, up a steep hill well past the ground, and then have to double back on themselves through a woodland area and down a gravel path to two turnstiles deep in the forest. It is a bizarre experience, and the hundred or so QPR fans forming the queue when we arrived seemed strangely bemused by it all. Four unsuspecting youths, one in a Leeds shirt would you believe, played tennis to our right as we stood and waited in the rain.

Once inside the refreshment facilities consisted of a mobile catering van to the left, the toilets came in the form of a portable trailer with two stalls and two urinals inside – grossly inadequate for an away section capable of holding a thousand people with seats and terrace all taken into account. From there we entered the ground through the back of the covered stand behind the goal – an unnecessarily large barrel shaped roof held up by three quarters of a million supporting pillars obstructing every possible view from anywhere on that terrace. Due to the weather, we decided to perch on the steel railing at the back and try to take in what we could see of the game from there. Other QPR fans braved the elements on a small section of uncovered terrace by the corner flag while 150 or so were able to get seats in a tiny grand stand that backed onto the railway stand to out left. The other stand, a low structure backed by a tower block, was half seating and half standing for Aldershot fans and seemed to be fronted, rather quaintly, by a dry stone wall.

All in all very picturesque, leafy and with a real non-league feel to it all.
4/10

6 – The Journey
Owain and myself made the journey down from Sheffield for this one. We booked early on the 0727 train, which Owain arrived in the station at 0725 for and still found time to purchase a paper and step onto the platform as the train arrived. Time keeping not a strong point of his. We changed in London, as usual taking the opportunity to enjoy the spectacular fried breakfast served up by Scott’s in Covent Garden on the way to Waterloo. An advanced text warning about broken ticket machines and long queues at Waterloo enabled us to purchase tickets for the rest of the journey from Charing Cross and then it was out to Aldershot on the 1123 having been joined by this point by Colin, Phil and his lovely other half Joanna. The train out to Aldershot took the best part of an hour.

Coming back we had intended to catch the half five service back into London but the match referee seemed to be on a bit of a promise, cutting both halves short with no stoppage time, and that meant despite the walk back through the woods and round the houses we were back at the station in plenty of time for the train just after five. That, due to us trying to find the cheapest tickets and ending up booked on the 2055 back to Sheffield, left us three hours to kill in London and thanks to Owain’s knowledge of Far Eastern cuisine and the Japanese idea that if you see a queue you should join it, even if you’re not quite sure what you’re queuing for, we ended up in a strange little restaurant in China Town that didn’t look much from the outside but was heaving and served excellent food washed down with Sapporo lager. I think I managed to escape with some form of deep fried prawn dish, Owain had dog broth. Possibly.

I feared for my stomach at that point to be honest but despite further alcoholic refreshment in Mabel’s Tavern and then bottles of Ethiopian Lager on the train back to Sheffield it held up well. The night ended outside Sheffield train station in the pouring rain when my attempt, through the medium of beer, to put on a coat, text Mrs Clive to say I was back in the Steel City and hold onto three bottles of Becks all at the same time ended with a spectacular soaking of match programme and shoes. Broken glass cleared up I arrived home, bizarrely and inexplicably wearing a Tommy Cooper style Fez, at a couple of minutes to midnight.
7/10

7 – Pre Match
Aldershot is one of those many towns out to the west of London that all look the same. To a northerner heading south you take one look at the proximity to London, a second look at the price of the property, and third look at the trees surrounding the football ground whenever you have seen the Shots on TV before and you assume you’re going to be walking into a Richmond Upon Thames sort of a place. Not so. Aldershot is a squaddie town and to go with the rows of 1960’s inspired solid blocks of concrete there’s a dirty, grimy, not particularly pleasant feeling to the whole place. We set ourselves a target of not ending up in a Wetherspoons and failed dismally – lured into The Goose by some hanging baskets that seemed to suggest this was a slightly better kept pub than the others we passed and we might be able to enjoy a pint without getting our faces ripped off. There was also a lack of signage saying it was a Wetherspoons - dastardly plan.

As we had already eaten we did not have to suffer the disgraceful standard of food in those places, although Colin did brave a burger at one point, but we did however lose layers of skin, clothing, newspapers and magazine to that wonderful table spray Wetherspoons religiously send out to all outlets – some of you may know it from its more common name of ‘glue’. The service in The Goose was speedy but rude beyond all comprehension, three of the grumpiest girls I have ever had dealings with in my life treating each new punter with more contempt than the last. Overall fairly standard Wetherspoons fair – crap food, crap atmosphere, filthy pub, rude staff, food fit for a dog, dirt cheap drinks.
5/10

8 – Police and Stewards
Very few of either in evidence at this pre-season game. A couple guarded an exit tunnel straight back into the town that would have been very convenient after the match and saved us a big walk around the houses but I suppose they were only following orders.
7/10
Total 47/80

LoftforWords is keen to hear from supporters planning on attendingg the pre-season friendly games at Forest Green, Wycombe, Oxford and at home to Southampton who would be willing ot provide match reports or Awayday Reviews. Please e-mail loftforwords@yahoo.co.uk

Photo: Action Images

Leeds United Polls