On paper Rangers could be facing few better teams than Coventry as they look to get back to winning ways following the Doncaster defeat - however the Sky Blues have been a bogey side for the R's in recent times.

Queens Park Rangers (6th) v Coventry City (18th)
Coca Cola Championship
Saturday August 8, Kick Off 3pm
Loftus Road, London, W12

If ever there was a fixture that hammered home just how entrenched you are in the Championship it is Coventry City at home in November. Relegated from the Premiership as recently as 2001 but now very firmly part of the furniture in this division and not looking like leaving it any time soon. Every year they flirt a bit with the bottom three, do just about enough to stay up, remove a manager every now and again and bore the tits off everybody else.

Just as we never get sent to Blackpool on roasting August Saturdays (last three fixtures there in January or December) we always seem to play City just as the weather turns really, really horrible. Just as we always seem to beat Barnsley regardless of circumstance we never seem to beat City any more. Just as Jamie Cureton used to score against them as if his religion demanded it now they have signed Clinton Morrison who has more goals against QPR to his name than June Brown has lighters.

Once upon a time home games against Coventry meant goals - who could forget Bobby Gould resigning in the Loftus Road tunnel after his Sky Blues had been systematically destroyed by Les Ferdinand and co? But since we made the terribly short sighted decision to release Jamie Cureton (short sighted because it turned a guaranteed six points from two games against Coventry every season into one or often none at all) it’s been one dirge after another. Games against Coventry City in recent times have been nasty, dull, lifeless, boring affairs littered with injuries to our better players and narrow defeats. Just to really put the tin hat on it last season this fixture was played in temperatures so low the polar bears at London Zoo were mugging punters for their coats.

That finished 1-1 which was to be expected really as we drew a lot of our games last season, but when you consider that that was the seventh time in eight matches Rangers had faced the Sky Blues without winning, and some of our games against them since Georges Santos bagged a last minute winner at Highfield Road in 2005 have been examples of the worst football matches ever played, a pattern starts to emerge. I would rather sit amongst the glory hunting, one game a season, thick as pig shit, smug, smarmy bastards of the Stretford End every week for an entire season than watch one recording of Coventry 0 QPR 0 from the 2007/08 season - easily one of the most dire matches I’ve ever seen in my entire life.

If could pick just one fixture for Taarabt, Buzsaky, Routledge and co to turn it on for an afternoon it may well be this one - not just to shake the dire performance at Doncaster out of our systems but just to break this monotonous run of games against a mediocre Coventry side during which time we’ve made such luminaries as Dele Adebola look like potential stars of this summer’s World Cup.

Five minutes on Coventry City
Recent History: So just where is this Coventry side that bores us so rigidly and takes points from us twice a season actually going in the grand scheme of things? It is always difficult to say with any authority as an outsider looking in, and I’m always very careful to point out that that is exactly the perspective these match previews are written from, but hopefully their supporters may forgive me for saying ‘nowhere fast.’

For a start Coventry play in the brand new out of town Ricoh Arena - the most depressing and soulless waste of steel of all the new grounds inflicted upon the football league over the past 20 years. They do not fill it, in fact they barely half fill it, and vast banks of seats are fenced off semi permanently. The dull murmur and silence of match days is interrupted only very occasionally by what could be a large air horn but sounds like a cross between the noise my bathroom door makes when it sticks to the frame and an elephant breaking wind - perhaps it’s their mascot? Think of all the intimidating grounds you’ve been in - think of Roker Park on a Tuesday night, think of the Baseball Ground packed to the rafters, think of the baying mobs of the Old Den - and then think of the Ikea distribution centre at Doncaster just off junction four of the M18 and you’re a lot closer to the atmosphere Coventry City’s players have to fire them up on a Saturday afternoon. They’ve been here since 2005 and it gets worse every time we visit it. If QPR moved to a place like that I’d stop going.

Coventry don’t own their stadium, they pay rent to play there and barely break even (that’s my kind way of saying they don’t break even), on the crowds they get there. Consequently despite finally being taken over by former Man City defender Ray Ranson last year they are still having to sell their best players whenever offers come along. Scott Dann and Dan Fox impressed all and sundry last year and proved that Iain Dowie does have a good eye for a player every now and again but one was sold to Birmingham in the summer and the other to Celtic and Chris Coleman has seen very little of the money raised. Leon Best is now being linked with a move away.

Again to an outsider looking in there doesn’t seem to be a lot of long term planning going on at Coventry, more a hand to mouth, season to season existence. Far be it for me as a fan of QPR to point a finger at manager turnover but since Gordon Strachan left in 2001 seven others have had a bash at this job, none of them lasting more than two years. Eric Black seemed to be getting somewhere in 2004 but was sacked after a 5-2 win against Gillingham for “being inconsistent” which is Coventry’s nice way of saying they wanted a big name and Peter Reid was available. Reid was, predictably, a disaster at Coventry with the days of getting results by screaming at players and playing murder ball in the boot room long since passed. Who can forget the shambolic team they brought to Loftus Road in 2004/05 and lost 4-1? It wasn’t a surprise to find Mickey Adams in charge by the time we won the return fixture but his typical blood and thunder approach got them nowhere either. Iain Dowie impressed initially and won at Man Utd in the League Cup but was then sacked and now Chris Coleman is the man in charge.

Sigh, what is there to say? Ranson doesn’t have the money to bankroll a loss making club into the play offs as our owners seem to be doing, there doesn’t seem to be an influx of splendid young talent coming through the City ranks and that only really leaves them the option of getting hold of a manager who pulls off six or seven transfer market miracles but then Dowie did that with Dann and Fox and they had to be sold rather than kept and a team built around them. Coventry are, it seems to me, a million miles away from ever returning to the top flight while only being one player sale too many or a bad run of injuries away from dropping into the division below. And before you say that’ll never happen allow me to play my Charlton, Norwich, Southampton, Leeds, Leicester and Forest cards one more time. The Sky Blues, without a win in seven matches coming into this game, look much more like the next former Premiership disaster story than they do potential Championship play off contenders.

They survived by the skin of their teeth in 2007/08 when a goal for Leicester at Stoke on the last day would have had Coventry and several other sides sweating and messing about with calculators and then last year in Coleman’s first full season in charge they finished 17th. They’re 18th now, three points above the drop zone and playing poorly with just two home wins from nine games played.

Coleman is a very good manager in my books, who did a wonderful job with Fulham bettered only recently by Roy Hodgson and almost completely ruined by Lawrie Sanchez. But unless I’m missing something here, and I’m sure any passing Coventry fans will be quick to pick me up on it if I am, City are a club treading water at best and they should probably be grateful to even be doing that.

The Manager: The Premiership’s youngest manager when he was entrusted with the post at Fulham following Jean Tigana’s departure, Coleman has proved himself to be a solid, safe pair of hands. He was a classy centre half in his day with Blackburn, Palace, Fulham and others but his career was cut short by a nasty car accident. At Fulham ultimately I felt he was harshly treated as he maintained their Premiership status despite being forced to sell his best players season after season – during his spell Fulham sold £26m worth of players and lose Van Der Sar for nothing while Coleman spent little more than £10m on replacements. The subsequent mess Lawrie Sanchez made of things after replacing him, a mess only retrieved by a world class coach as good as Roy Hodgson, should tell you everything about how well Coleman did to keep that club where he did.

While Sanchez was running a wrecking ball through his hard work Coleman went to Real Sociedad on the recommendation of John Toshack following their relegation from La Liga but struggled to settle and get his message across to the Spanish players and returned to England with Coventry coming up to two years ago succeeding Iain Dowie. Coventry have made little progress on the league table since then and really it is hard to see just where they can go other than where they are now or lower. Coleman was linked with Swansea and QPR this summer and is certainly a good manager but with his best players sold and few replacements coming in it is looking like he may have to look elsewhere to go further than the bottom end of the Championship.

Three to Watch: The obvious threat to Rangers this weekend is City’s top scorer Clinton Morrison. The former Palace man has six to his name this season, but none in his last eight, and has scored five goals in his last eight appearances against QPR and seven in total across his career. For some reason he has always thoroughly enjoyed playing against us. Morrison is, rather farcically, an Irish international although he has not been selected since Giovanni Trapattoni took charge. He’s a character, constantly grinning and winding up opposing players and fans. he works very hard for his team and will always be loitering around the penalty box trying to take advantage of some slack marking or poor defending and the way the QPR defence played at Doncaster in the second half last week he might not have to wait too long for either on Saturday.

I think Morrison is often under rated by fans. Last summer when it looked like Iain Dowie was going to bring him in on a free transfer from Crystal Palace, the reaction was mixed at best and yet I would have said that as it transpired with us failing to score 23 times last season he was exactly the kind of player we should have been looking at. Morrison, lets not forget, went to Birmingham City after their first promotion to the Premiership for £4m plus Andy Johnson and while Palace clearly got the better end of that deal it reinforces my point that he has been, and probably still is, a very decent player and big threat to us on Saturday. He eventually moved back to Palace for £2m to play with Johnson after three mediocre seasons in the premiership at St Andrews. Incidentally, and this is only according to his Wikipedia profile so may be rubbish, his middle name is Hubert.

The headline grabber at City this season is Leon Best. Now Best is often brought up by QPR fans as an example of one of Holloway’s terrible loan signings but I’ve always felt that was a little harsh. His month at Loftus Road came over Christmas 2004. Rangers were riding high in the Championship after the memorable seven game winning run following promotion but suffered a dip in form around that time and Best, as a kid fresh out of the system at Southampton with little first team experience, did struggle to adapt. However I thought, particularly in an away defeat at Plymouth, he showed a good turn of pace and raw ability that is now starting to turn into something tangible to Coventry’s benefit. Best is now an unlikely Republic of Ireland international as well and has scored eight times for Coventry this year after almost joining Nottingham Forest last season. He is likely to be the next big money departure from City if the newspaper gossip is to be believed - whether he is a mediocre player on form or a promising player finally realising his potential will only be known in time.

Had things worked out differently in the summer transfer window then Patrick van Aarnholt may have been lining up for Rangers at left back on Saturday. The Chelsea youngster visited the Harlington training ground and looked all set for a loan deal before QPR went for, and failed to attract, Lucas Licht from Getafe instead. The young Dutchman went to Coventry instead and when I saw them against Ipswich earlier this season he looked very quick, and very dangerous going forward but quite weak defensively. Rangers have since played former City man Gary Borrowdale at left back to reasonable affect but are expected to start with Tommy Williams there this Saturday who, like van Aarnholt, could be said to be better at the attacking elements of left back play than he is the defensive.

Links >>> Coventry Official Website >>> Coventry Message Board

History
Recent Meetings:
In the depths of a fierce winter storm QPR and Coventry shared the spoils at Loftus Road in January. The Sky Blues had looked set to take all three points from a thoroughly dreadful match when Dan Fox caught Radek Cerny napping with a long range free kick that the Czech goalkeeper had expected to be crossed but was actually whipped into the net at the near post before he could get across to it. QPR salvaged a scarcely deserved point after City had been reduced to ten men in the final ten minutes when Dexter Blackstock bravely put his head on a through ball ahead of the advancing Westwood and nodded in his last ever goal for QPR.

QPR: Cerny 5, Delaney 6 (Ledesma 73, 5) Connolly 6, Stewart 7, Gorkss 7, Ephraim 5 (Hall 89, -), Leigertwood 7 (Di Carmine 81, 6), Routledge 6, Rowlands 5, Blackstock 5, Helguson 4
Subs Not Used: Mahon, Alberti
Booked: Routledge (off the ball incident), Helguson (foul)
Goals: Blackstock 87 (assisted Di Carmine)

Coventry: Westwood 7, Wright 3, Turner 6, Fox 7, Gunnarsson 7, Beuzelin 6, Doyle 6, Tabb 8, Mifsud 7 (Eastwood 84, -), Morrison 7, Best 6 (McKenzie 66, 5)
Subs Not Used: Marshall, Thornton, Wynter
Sent Off: Wright (dangerous foul play)
Booked: Wright (foul), Fox (dissent), Gunnarsson (foul), Westwood (time wasting)
Goals: Fox 73 (free kick)

QPR came away from the Ricoh Atena in September last season wondering just how they had contrived to lose the game. The home team too the lead after a quarter of an hour when Jay Tabb beat Mikele Leigertwood to a Fredy Eastwood through ball in the penalty area and then hit the deck under a heavy challenge. It was a blatant penalty but Radek Cerny almost came to Leigertwood’s rescue – in the end Ward’s spot kick carried just too much power for the Czech keeper to save it. After half time though it was all Rangers with Blackstock and Ledesma both missing several chances. Rangers were very good value for three points but ended up with nothing.

Coventry: Westwood 7, Osbourne 7, Ward 8, Dann 8, Fox 8, Tabb 7 (Beuzelin 85, -), Gunnarsson 5, Doyle 5, Morrison 6, Eastwood 6 (Best 76, 5), McKenzie 5 (Mifsud 80, -)
Subs Not Used: Marshall, Hall
Booked: Tabb (foul), Doyle (handball), Ward (foul), Osbourne (foul)
Goals: Ward 15 pen (assisted Tabb)

QPR: Cerny 6, Ramage 5 (Parejo 56, 6), Gorkss 7, Stewart 7, Delaney 6, Mahon 5, Leigertwood 6, Ledesma 6 (Buzsaky 53, 7), Rowlands 8, Cook 7, Blackstock 5 (Agyemang 77, 6)
Subs Not Used: Camp, Hall
Booked: Mahon (foul)

Head to Head:
QPR wins - 34
Draws - 27
Coventry wins - 43

Previous Results:
2008/09 QPR 1 Coventry 1 (Blackstock)
2008/09 Coventry 1 QPR 0
2007/08 Coventry 0 QPR 0
2007/08 QPR 1 Coventry 2 (Buzsaky)
2006/07 Coventry 0 QPR 1 (Smith)
2006/07 QPR 0 Coventry 1
2005/06 QPR 0 Coventry 1
2005/06 Coventry 3 QPR 0
2004/05 Coventry 1 QPR 2 (Cureton, Santos)
2004/05 QPR 4 Coventry 1 (Cureton 3, Furlong)
1995/96 Coventry 1 QPR 0
1995/96 QPR 1 Coventry 1 (Barker)
1994/95 Coventry 0 QPR 1 (Sinclair)
1994/95 QPR 2 Coventry 2 (Penrice)
1993/94 Coventry 0 QPR 1 (White)
1993/94 QPR 5 Coventry 1 (Allen 2, Barker, Ferdinand, Impey)
1992/93 QPR 2 Coventry 0 (Peacock, Pearce og)
1992/93 Coventry 0 QPR 1 (Impey)

Played for both clubs:
Roy Wegerle
QPR 1990-92
Coventry 1992-95
Although born in Pretoria South Africa, it was in the US where Roy began his footballing career at the University of South Florida. His goal scoring exploits at that level-where he still holds the record for goals scored in one season, were soon noticed by teams in the NASL and was drafted by Tampa Bay Rowdies. He scored nine goals and made seventeen assists that season but it was to be the last for Tampa Bay as the leagued folded. Luckily for Roy his talents were noticed by Tampa coach Rodney Marsh who used his contacts to get him trails in England, proclaiming him to be a future superstar.

QPR actually declined to take Wegerle and it was eventually rivals Chelsea who singed the striker in 1986. Things never really got going at Stamford Bridge though and after a brief loan stint at Swindon, Wegerle signed for Luton Town. It took time for him to settle at Kenilworth Road but his wonderful skill and clever eye for goal soon turned them round and finished as their top scorer. Soon First Division scouts were hovering and with Luton needing the money it was Queens Park Rangers who splashed out a record £1million to bring him to W12. It wasn’t before long the R’s sensed they had a star on their hands, with Ray Wilkins pulling the strings in midfield, Roy had the freedom to express himself and although the goals struggled to come at first his overall play was getting fans off their seats.

The 1990-91 season, his first full campaign with the R’s, belonged to Roy Wegerle. It started with a goal on the opening day against Nottingham Forest and he would go on to finish as Rangers’ Player of the Season.

There are so many moments you can pick out from that season but the one that I can still watch and get excited about was the goal that won ITV’s goal of the season that year. Rangers were struggling again and in the middle of an awful injury crisis. We travelled to Leeds with new keeper Jan Stejskal making his debut and were soon 2-0 down and set for another defeat. Most of the QPR fans in the stadium were resigned to their fate and a few of the players looked like they had given up as well. Ray Wilkins got us back in the game before half time and then the moment came. Wegerle got the ball out on the right wing and with very little support the danger was zero. Wegerle got the ball under control with a nice shimmy left the first two players looking stupid and then slipped the ball between David Batty's legs, strolled past two more challenges then slipped the ball onto his right foot and majestically placed it into the bottom corner. It’s a goal I’ve watched hundreds of times and it gets better every time, just watch it again…link.

That summer Gerry Francis replaced Don Howe as manager and despite glimpses of his magic, Wegerle struggled to fit into Francis’ workmanlike style of play and with the emergence of Les Ferdinand was sold to Blackburn Rovers in March 1992. He didn’t last long at Ewood Park though and joined Coventry City just six months later. And although he was back among the goals, his three year spell with the Sky Blues was blighted by injuries and was never quite the same player we’d seen at Loftus Road. Soon after Roy went back to America to play in the MLS with Colorado Rapids and DC United before retiring in 1998. He has since tried his hand at another sport, golf and been seen as a pundit on US TV. -AR

Links >>> QPR 1 Coventry 1 Match Report >>> Coventry 1 QPR 0 Match Report >>> Match Report Archive >>> Connections and Memories

This Saturday
Team News:
QPR are without long term absentees Gavin Mahon, Martin Rowlands and Lee Cook (all knee) but Fitz Hall came through an hour of reserve team football during the week and is available. Adel Taarabt was left out of the starting eleven last week, apparently after missing the team bus to Doncaster, but should return on Saturday. Jim Magilton has headaches at left back and central midfield with several equally matched players vying for a place in the team.

Coventry had hoped to have Northern Ireland international Sammy Clingan back for this game after a toe injury but it is still 50/50 as to whether he will make it. Defenders ben Turner and Marcus Hall are both sidelined but new signing Richard Wood, who was linked with a move to QPR prior to joining Coventry although most of the speculation smacked of an agent driving the price up, is available for selection. Jordan Clarke is back after a ban and Isaac Osbourne returns after a knee injury. Goalkeeper Keiran Westwood, selected in the division’s team of the year last season ahead of Burnley’s Brian Jensen, has shaken off a back injury and will start.

Elsewhere: Firstly I apologise for saying in this section last week that Swansea v Derby was on the television on Friday night when it wasn’t. There can be few disappointments in the world like sitting down to watch football with a cold beer and curry only to find Rugby chuffin Union on instead which shouldn’t even be on Sky Sports as it isn’t a sport. Anyway I’ll attempt to get it right this week. The pick of the games looks to be league leaders Newcastle hosting fourth placed Swansea, while live on Sky (definitely this time) on Monday there’s the always tasty derby game between Blackpool and Preston. Bristol City v Sheff Utd also catches the eye from the Saturday list while Cardiff and Ipswich play on Sunday for some reason.

Referee: Controversial premiership referee Mike Jones is the man in the middle this Saturday, the second time QPR have had the Chester based official this season following the League Cup defeat at Chelsea. It has been a tough season for Jones who missed a blatant foul on Wayne Routledge in the build up to Chelsea’s winner at Stamford Bridge. First he was dropped from the elite list after allowing Sunderland’s winner against Liverpool to stand despite deflecting in off a beach ball when a drop ball should have been awarded instead, then on his return he made a shambolic mess of Burnley v Hull and was dropped down to League One last week. More details at the link below.

Links >>> Dean Sturridge Memorial Injury List >>> Arthur Gnohere Discipline Counter >>> Jones in charge >>> Referee League

Form
QPR: After flying through October scoring goals for fun and winning games comfortably Rangers’ form has been a little more erratic during November. A poor performance and 2-0 defeat at Doncaster followed a narrow win against Sheffield Wednesday and fine performance that would have yielded a victory against any other goalkeeper against Crystal Palace. Rangers are currently sixth but have only won three of eight home games this season, four one one draws that could easily have been two wins and two defeats mean it’s the four away wins this season that have Rangers well advanced on the league table. Leicester City are the only side to win at Loftus Road this season, QPR’s only home defeat in 14 matches in W12 stretching back to last season. Rangers have failed to win six of the last seven games against Coventry and only scored three goals in those games.

Coventry: The Sky Blues are without a win in seven and Clinton Morrison without a goal in eight - I think we can all see where this is going. The injury to sammy Clingan has clearly had a big effect - his last game was a 1-1 draw with Leicester at the start of October following a 3-2 win against Watford and City haven’t won since then - losing four and drawing three. Defeats against poor Derby and Reading sides in their last three matches should be sounding warning bells but they did get decent draws from games with West Brom and Palace either side of those. Away from home this season City have won at Watford and Barnsley and drawn at Doncaster but lost five others.

Prediction: If Clingan isn’t fit to play QPR should have a great chance of winning here. I’ve never really rated the Northern irishman personally but you only have to look at the results since he was ruled out injured to see how important he is to Coventry. Their lack of wins, and Clinton Morrison’s lack of goals, recently terrifies me so I’ll go for a draw, hope for more, and pray that this isn’t yet another dire defeat at the hands of Coventry who do seem to have the Indian sign over us at the moment.
Score draw

Links >>> Championship Table >>> Total Form >>> Home Form >>> Away Form >>> Prediction League >>> Fantasy League

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