After the disappointing set back against Derby on Saturday QPR will be looking for a return to form against Blackpool at Loftus Road on Tuesday night.

Queens Park Rangers (5th) v Blackpool (13th)
Coca Cola Championship
Tuesday September 30, Kick Off 8pm
Loftus Road, London, W12

I’m not sure even the alleged proposed name change mentioned in the papers at the weekend will ever stop QPR, QPC or whatever the hell they want to call it doing things like they did on Saturday. I remember in 1993 when we were on such terrific form a win at Swindon, bottom of the table by some distance, would have moved us up to second in the table. We lost of course, it wouldn’t have felt like QPR somehow had we won.

You don’t come through 106 years of history with only a League Cup to your name by being consistent and reliable. Even when QPR had the best team in the country they somehow found a way to lose at Norwich City and finish second in the table behind Liverpool. Can anybody remember what we did three days after winning 4-1 at Manchester United in 1992? That’s right; we missed a penalty and lost 2-0 at Southampton in the FA Cup. Just when you think things are really starting to go our way everything lows up in our face again. It’s what we do best.

The 2-0 home defeat against Derby on Saturday was disappointing for a number of reasons other than simply the result – the performance was disjointed, the team unbalanced and the opposition made to look far better than they really are. Yes we managed to hit the post twice and should have scored through Blackstock in the first half but this was a long way off the level of performance we’ve shown so far this season, even in defeat at Coventry we were far better than we were on Saturday. Passes went astray, shots flew into the stand, we couldn’t stand up for falling down. Had we taken a suicide pill to end the pain of it all it would have turned out to be a Trebor Mint. We just couldn’t do anything right.

I don’t think we can ever be sure whether it was tiredness after a tough run of fixtures, Derby had a full week to prepare for the match while we were winning at Villa, or complacency on our part but whatever it was we deserved to lose and will do so again this Tuesday night if we’re not very careful. Blackpool at home has the look of another typical QPR slip up – relegation favourites before the season started Simon Grayson has shrugged off the loss of Kaspars Gorkss and Wes Hoolahan during the summer to lift Blackpool into midtable early on and they already boast impressive away wins at Southampton and Birmingham.

They’re one of those nightmare teams for managers because despite clearly being quite useful and having a superb manager everybody expects them to do badly and most will turn up to Loftus Road tomorrow expecting to see QPR win. When that doesn’t happen immediately people get on the team’s back and that provokes further mistakes and the spiral continues. If we are to win this, we’ll need to play far better than we did on Saturday to do it that’s for sure.

Five minutes on Blackpool
Good players don’t always necessarily make good managers, and appointing your former charges to actually manage the side even if they were excellent on the pitch back in the day isn’t always the best idea as QPR can testify to more than most. However Blackpool hit the jackpot when they turned to former full back Simon Grayson to lead them out of trouble at the bottom of League One three years ago – he’s done so much more than that, following survival with promotion, survival and now they look well on the way to consolidation in the Championship in this their second season. Playing in the division’s worst stadium, in front of one of the league’s lowest average gates, and on something of a shoe string budget Grason has shrugged off the loss of two key players for peanuts in the summer and started the season with his team in decent form.

So how has this all come about. Well Blackpool rattled round the bottom two divisions for two decades following relegation from the second tier in the early 1980s. There were cup runs and play off triumphs along the way but they never made it, or looked like making it, beyond Division Two as was. Steve McMahon built a steady team at Bloomfield Road when we shared a division with them between 2001 and 2004 but they struggled to progress further than midtable and when that progress started to hint at decline and a relegation back to the bottom division again McMahon was waved on his way. Colin Hendry faired little better and in November 2005 he was sacked with the team staring the bottom four square in the face.

Pool turned to Grayson, captain and reserve team manager by this point, to take caretaker charge and even the most optimistic Bloomfield Road season ticket holder couldn’t have foreseen the transformation that Grayson created at the club. He first turned to the loan and free transfer market, brining in 12 temporary signings and another couple of permanent signings on top of that. Fourth bottom of the table with 22 points from 22 games in mid December Blackpool rallied after the extensive transfer window activity winning eight and drawing seven of their remaining 25 matches to survive by three points and two places. Grayson had done enough, and was given the job permanently.

That summer he set about rebuilding the Pool side. Proven League One players like Adrian Forbes, Rhys Evans and Michael Jackson (shamone), Andy Morrell and Big Ben Burgess were added to the side and quickly supplemented with further useful loans like our own Ian Evatt and Livingstone’s Wes Hoolahan. For such an inexperienced manager Grayson certainly knew his transfer market but the positive signs weren’t immediately apparent as Pool won only once in the first 12 matches. That victory came at Bristol City which showed they did have it in them to be successful at this level, still with them lying fourth bottom with eight points from 11 games at the end of September there was little clue as to what was about to happen.

A 3-0 home win against Leyton Orient began a magnificent run of form that hasn’t really stopped even now two years later. Three defeats in 22 matches had Pool in the play off hunt coming out of February and when they won all but one of their last fourteen matches, including a two legged semi final with Oldham and Wembley showpiece against Yeovil the turnaround was complete and they were back in the second tier at long last.

Grayson continued to add intelligently to the squad with Kaspars Gorkss, Wes Hoolahan, Steve McPhee and Paul Dickov all eye catching additions. Many people looked at the ground, the pedigree and an inexperienced manager and wrote them off but that did them a terrible disservice and although in the end they only survived by a couple of places and points and were sweating for a little while in the final two matches that was a situation they’d come into with a late run of poor form rather than one they’d struggled against all season – in mid March they were 12th.

This season many people, this website included, wrote them off again before the kick off. Second season syndrome was mentioned and Colchester flagged up as a worrying precedent. Thanks to some incredibly low release clauses in players’ contracts Wes Hoolahan and Kaspars Gorkss left, two of the star performers from the year before. The club said the clauses were necessary to persuade them to sign in the first place but it didn’t make the pill any easier to swallow.

Additions were plentiful, but apart from David Vaughan from Sociedad (once of Crewe) few struck me as particularly good ideas. We can testify all too well to the faults and short comings of Daniel Nardiello and Zesh Rehman who both moved to Bloomfield Road in the summer. Grayson though is developing a Martin O’Neill like reputation for getting fantastic performances from a team of players seemingly with limitations to spare. Pre season was shocking and they started with three defeats and a draw, including a cup set back at Macclesfield, but with three wins and a draw from their last five games, including a famous 1-0 success at Birmingham City, there are few signs that they are in for the season of struggle many predicted. The real battle may be keeping Grayson when supposedly bigger clubs start wielding the axe.

Men to watch
It’s normally the case that fans dread the return of their former charges in new colours for fear of them coming back to haunt them – I dare say that most Rangers fans would actually quite like to see Daniel Nardiello and Zesh Rehman turn out at Loftus Road on Tuesday night such was the paucity of quality in their time with the R’s. Nardiello is, wait for it, injured and unlikely to feature while Rehman is only on loan which means firstly he could be back with us in January and secondly he’s unlikely to be allowed to play tomorrow night under the terms of the agreement. Personally I’d force them to pick him but then I never did rate him very highly.

The main goal threat from the visitors is provided by Big Ben Burgess. He’s one of those footballers who seems to possess absolutely no ability to play the game whatsoever, and you’ve got to wonder just what kind of a level he’d be playing at if he was 5ft 6ins tall and weighed 11 stone. He’s not though, he’s absolutely bloody huge, and he used to enjoy some ding dong battles with Danny Shittu when we were in League One and Burgess was starting his league career with loan spells from Blackburn to the likes of Brentford, Stockport and Oldham. Hull City thought he could make a Championship striker but quickly gave up on the idea and he dropped back down a league to join Pool for £25k at the start of their promotion season. As said earlier Grayson seems to have a terrific ability to get a bit extra out of seemingly limited players and Burgess, who scored twice against QPR last season, already has three to his name from eight starts. Stewart will need to continue his recent imperious form to keep the beast at bay.

Burgess is partnered in attack by Steve Kabba and I’m not sure whether he’s a lesson in not listening to a word I say or not. Kabba started life at Crystal Palace but first came to attention in a loan spell up at Grimsby Town who were struggling against relegation from the First Division (now Championship) at the time. It was at Blundell park that I first saw him play and my God he looked useful – quick, powerful and with a good eye for goal. He struck up a great partnership with youngster Darren Mansaram on the banks of the Humber bagging six goals in 13 starts. As is always the case with Grimsby though whenever they hit upon a hidden gem like that the money suddenly dries up and a bigger club, in this case Sheff Utd, are able to put a deal together that appeals more to the player. Grimsby, and Mansaram, have never quite recovered from the loss.

Kabba spent five years at Bramall Lane but was used mostly from the bench and his positive effects on the team waned culminating in a move to Watford that succeeded only in stagnating his career further. A loan spell in the Championship at Blackpool gives him a chance to rebuild a reputation, and re-convince me that I did see a quality player in there somewhere back in the day. Two goals from five starts so far, one them a humdinger against Barnsley, hints at him getting back to his best.

I’ve already mentioned David Vaughan, a product of the Crewe academy and regularly linked with Liverpool before moving to Sociedad with Chris Coleman in 2007. He struck me as an excellent signing in the summer, can play left wing or left back and is a very tidy footballer as you’d expect from somebody who grew up under the watchful eye of Dario Gradi. Adam Hammil on loan from Liverpool impressed at Southampton at the back end of last season and likewise looked like a shrewd piece of summer business on Pool’s part, as did Alan Gow although he’s finding the switch from Scottish football difficult at the moment with only two sub appearances so far.

At the back Ian Evatt needs no introduction. The powerful centre half enjoyed a terrific time with Chesterfield after leaving Derby and when a move for Scunthorpe’s Andy Butler came to nothing Ian Holloway spent £200,000 bringing him to Loftus Road. Holloway seemed to fall quickly out of love with Evatt, despite his replacements doing a worse job, and his ‘gardening leave’ episode seemed to benefit the player when replacement Gary Waddock immediately reinstated him. In the end though Waddock too decided to transfer list the player and he ended up at Blackpool. Evatt is what he is, big, uncompromising, good in the air, square arsed and slow. There are super tankers with a smaller turning circle than him and when required to do a full 180 and chase after a player he’d often just about finished the manoeuvre when he ball was heading back the other way on the counter attack. Still I always thought he was harshly treated by fans and managers at QPR and bearing in mind some of the people Ian Holloway gave second, third, fourth and fifth chances to despite abysmal performances I think Evatt can consider himself unlucky to have been turfed out so quickly.

Former Burnley left back Mo Camara plays on one side of Evo with former Wolves mainstay Rob Edwards keeping Pakistan international captain Rehman out of the back four. Paul Rachubka, who has carved out a steady career for himself since leaving Man Utd as a kid, is the keeper.

Previous Meetings
At Loftus Road in March QPR made heavy going of beating an out of form Blackpool side after initially surging into a three goal lead. The club’s goal of the season from Akos Buzsaky, he still insists he meant it, and a fine individual goal from Rowan Vine gave the R’s a two goal half time cushion that was quickly extended to three by Martin Rowlands after good work at the near post by Patrick Agyemang. However Ben Burgess scored his second of the season against Rangers on the hour and when Kaspars Gorkss diverted Stephen McPhee’s header into the net a needlessly nervy last 15 minutes ensued before QPR were left to claim the points.

QPR: Camp 6, Mancienne 6, Connolly 8, Hall 7, Delaney 6, Buzsaky 8 (Lee 85, -), Leigertwood 6, Rowlands 8 (Rehman 90, -), Vine 7, Blackstock 6, Agyemang 6 (Mahon 66, 7)
Subs Not Used: Pickens, Balanta
Goals: Buzsaky 11 (assisted Agyemang), Vine 40 (unassisted), Rowlands 47 (assisted Agyemang)

Blackpool: Rachubka 7, Barker 5, Evatt 5, Gorkss 6, Crainey 6, Taylor-Fletcher 6 (Parker 71, 6) Southern 5 (Fox 53, 7), Flynn 6, Hoolahan 8, Morrell 6 (Burgess 54, 8), McPhee 7
Subs Not Used: Coid, Welsh
Booked: Taylor-Fletcher (foul), Hoolahan (foul)
Goals: Burgess 60 (unassisted), Gorkss 73 (assisted McPhee)

Match Report

In appalling weather at Bloomfield Road in December QPR were beaten in cruel circumstances by a Ben Burgess header in injury time. Akos Buzsaky went close in the first half but Blackpool, with a gale at their backs took over the second half and completely dominated. It looked like Rangers had hung on for a goalless draw as the game entered stoppage time but a mistake by Damion Stewart under a high ball gave Burgess a chance to nod past Camp and win the game.

Blackpool: Rachubka 7, Barker 7, Jackson 7, Gorkss 7, Crainey 7, Welsh 6 (Taylor-Fletcher 59, 6), Southern - (Fox 12, 6), Jorgensen 6, Hoolahan 8, Burgess 8, Slusarski 6 (Morrell 54, 7)
Subs Not Used: Evatt, Parker
Goals: Burgess 90 (assisted Crainey)

QPR: Camp 8, Malcolm 6, Stewart 7, Leigertwood 7, Barker 6, Rowlands 6, Buzsaky 6 (Moore 75, 5), Bolder 5, Sinclair 6, Vine 7 (Ainsworth 68, 5),Sahar 4 (Nygaard 46, 4)
Subs Not Used: Goodchild, Bailey
Booked: Buzsaky (deliberate handball), Rowlands (foul)

Match Report

Head to Head:
QPR wins – 12
Draws – 6
Blackpool wins – 3

Past QPR v Blackpool results:
2007/08 QPR 3 Blackpool 2 (Buzsaky, Vine, Rowlands)
2007/08 Blackpool 1 QPR 0
2003/04 Blackpool 0 QPR 1 (Rowlands)
2003/04 QPR 5 Blackpool 0 (Ainsworth 2, Langley, Gallen, Palmer)
2002/03 Blackpool 1 QPR 3 (Langley 3)
2002/03 QPR 2 Blackpool 1 (Langley, Clarke og)
2001/02 QPR 2 Blackpool 0 (Langley, Gallen)
2001/02 Blackpool 2 QPR 2 (Griffiths 2)

Not surprisingly QPR’s 5-0 win against Blackpool at Loftus Road in 2003 is the featured game in the Connections and Memories column this week – click here for more details.

Team News
Iain Dowie must decide whether to give the same team a second chance after a below par display against Derby or make changes. If he decides on the latter Lee Cook looks prime for a recall with any one of the five midfielders that played on Saturday potentially being dropped with little scope to complain. Kaspars Gorkss, who QPR spent most of the summer arguing with Blackpool about, seems likely to only make the bench at best with Hall and Stewart both performing well at centre half. Rowan Vine is the only injury.

For Blackpool Daniel Nardiello looks set to miss out as his bad run with injuries continues, Zesh Rehman is also denied a chance to show the W12 crowd just what they’re missing with the terms of his loan forbidding his participation.
Injury List

Referee
Grant Hegley from Hertfordshire is in the middle for this one, he tends to be a pretty lenient official and was last in charge of QPR in a 2-2 draw at Scunthorpe last season. Meanwhile there’s pretty bad news about the appointment for Saturday’s match at Birmingham City.
Details

Elsewhere
Another full programme of fixtures in the Championship this Tuesday night with Birmingham’s trip to Derby and a Yorkshire derby between Doncaster and Sheffield United standing out. The game of the evening though is undoubtedly Wolves v Reading – top versus third and two free scoring sides, something has to give at Molineux, unless they draw 4-4 of course. Nottingham Forest slipped to the bottom of the table at the weekend and they face Sheff Wed away looking to turn their fortunes around.
Tony's Championship Round Up

Form
For those that were worried, rightly as it turned out, about QPR’s inability to beat Derby County regardless of circumstance prior to Saturday’s game rejoice because tonight we face a team we always seem to find a way of beating, especially at home. Admittedly it will be tough without Richard Langley who seemed to love playing the Tangerines but we managed it last season and are now unbeaten against Pool at home since 1972 – eight games, seven wins and a draw.

Saturday’s defeat brought to an end a run of four straight home victories but was our second consecutive set back in the league, a fact masked somewhat by the brilliant win at Aston Villa in between the Coventry and Derby games which we lost without scoring a goal. In fact we haven’t scored a league goal in two and a half matches now. Despite this QPR remain fifth and can rise to third with a win on Tuesday.

Blackpool, after a torrid pre-season, started badly with three defeats and a draw including a cup set back at Macclesfield who have since run their own goal of the month competition at the wrong end down in League Two. However things have picked up recently and they come into this one with three wins and a draw in their last five matches. They have won two of their last three away games, both 1-0 a Southampton and Birmingham, but were beaten 2-0 by Burnley in between those wins. They drew at Norwich in their other away league game.
Form Guide

Prediction
Bloody predictions, just sets me up for lots of people telling me defeats are all my fault after the match. I am going to predict a win *groan* but not with a great deal of confidence because Blackpool are a good side and if we play as badly as we did at the weekend we’ve not go much chance of anything. Probably the best value betting wise could be found in a draw, nevertheless… QPR 1 Blackpool 0

Remember to log your predictions in the LoftforWords Prediction League to stay in with a chance of winning one of those oh so expensive QPR season tickets for next year.

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