Managerless QPR head for high flying Reading - full preview
Friday, 24th Oct 2008 19:26

A day after sacking Iain Dowie QPR have the somewhat difficult task of going to Reading and getting a result live on Sky Sports. Caretaker manager Gareth Ainsworth could not really have asked for a harder start.

Reading (3rd) v Queens Park Rangers (9th)
Coca Cola Championship
Saturday October 25, Kick Off 5.20pm
Madejski Stadium, Reading

Hello darkness my old friend. Another day another load of turmoil at Loftus Road, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time with third place Reading and top of the table Birmingham City to come over the next three days.

Iain Dowie was never everybody’s cup of tea. He was almost the polar opposite to the popular Luigi De Canio who he replaced and although things started well the performances recently have been poor and the first signs of what we feared when he was appointed – long ball football played by a team praying for a 0-0 draw away and a goal from a set piece at home – have started to shine through.

However Iain Dowie was not allowed to bring in his own players, Ben Watson for one, and has had to try and find room in his team for people like Daniel Parejo who board members brought to the club and want to see in the team. This can be achieved, but an early defeat at Sheff Utd convinced Dowie we couldn’t play without Mahon and Leigertwood which overloaded the midfield, made us too defensive and restricted his team selections.

In the end though a record of eight wins from 15 matches, last 16 of the Carling Cup after a win at Aston Villa and a team just one point off the play offs at the time of his departure make this look a harsh decision. Dowie is QPR’s third permanent manager in the last 12 months as well and that is certainly no recipe for success. Whoever the next man is needs to be given time, given a chance to build a team, and be allowed to bring in his own players in my opinion otherwise we will be in this same situation again in a few months time.

So it’s Gareth Ainsworth in charge for this Saturday’s live Sky game with Reading, although whether Gareth is choosing the starting eleven or not remains to be seen. Parejo’s role in it will provide the biggest clue. Reading are six from six at home and looking good for a return to the Premiership. It will need every ounce of Ainsworth’s trademark enthusiasm and commitment to even keep QPR in touch in this match. A long evening awaits.

Five minutes on Reading
Of the three relegated teams this season Reading are the ones that I called wrong pre-season. I thought Birmingham would finish in the top two and I thought Derby would be surprise strugglers but I couldn’t see much hope for Reading either but so far, with goals flying in and six wins from six home games, they have looked good for an immediate return.

I based my somewhat gloomy prediction for the Royals on their end to last season where they went from a team struggling, but not looking in any real danger, to a relegated team with an abysmal run of post Christmas form that saw them win just four of their last 22 games. One of those wins came on the final day of the season at whipping boys Derby but prior to that they hadn’t scored in six matches and were worthy candidates for the bottom three by the time the axe fell. Towards the end of the season rumours of a fall out between senior players and Coppell emerged over participation in a reserve match and it just looked to me like they were a club in trouble.

It’s often hard for a club to break out of such runs of form, losing becomes a habit, but Reading started with a draw and two wins and despite a heavy defeat at Charlton in week two have pushed on into the top three at the time of writing. They are the division’s top scorers with 28 goals scored, including a 6-0 hammering of Sheff Wed and four goals hauls against Swansea and Palaca at the Madejski Stadium, and having hung onto their top talent in Doyle and Hunt look well equipped for an immediate return.

Steve Coppell certainly knows what it takes. Often ridiculed for his apparently miserable and almost suicidal tone and manner and his ridiculously brief time at Man City, but clearly a very good football manager. Coppell has had a good eye for a player throughout his career, signing Ian Wright from non-league football in his first spell with Crystal Palace and plucking the likes of Kevin Doyle from the relative obscurity of the League of Ireland while at Reading.

His career is littered with promotions and play off finals with Palace, Brighton, Brentford and Reading. In 2005/06 he led the Royles to top spot in this league, scoring a hundred goals and picking up a hundred and six points on the way. They were the outstanding team in the league by a long way that season and with very few additions Coppell was able to keep them in the Premiership at the first time of asking, and consolidate a midtable position. Sadly for Reading fans the loss of star man Steve Sidwell without replacements proved too much for them to avoid second season syndrome.

After relegation and the previously mentioned fall out with key players I felt sure that Coppell’s “I will consider my future” line was his way of walking away from the job. However he has stayed and a 3-0 win at Wolves along with six wins from six home games makes that look like a terrific decision for the Royles. Look a good bet for an immediate return at this point in time.

Men to watch
Reading have managed to keep hold of a good portion of their Premiership team despite relegation last season. Chief amongst that squad is Irish international striker Kevin Doyle who already has nine goals from 12 starts to his name in all competitions this season. Doyle was initially picked up from Cork City for £75k by Steve Coppell before Reading were promoted last time and after scoring 23 goals in two Premiership season with the Royals plenty of teams were keen to sign him this summer after Reading’s relegation.

Likewise winger Stephen Hunt who has five goals in 12 starts from wide midfield after spending the whole summer being linked with moves elsewhere. QPR fans, and Martin Rowlands in particular, will remember Hunt from his Brentford days where he and Rowly were initially team mates only to fall out after his move to QPR. Their fractious relationship came to a head in a game at Loftus Road when Hunt raked his studs down the back of Rowlands’ legs and was lucky to escape without a red card. Still he’s come on in leaps and bounds since then and is now a player worthy of a lower end Premiership side – expect scouts to have the names of Hunt and Doyle near the top of their January shopping lists, it remains to be seen whether Reading can hang on through another window.

Doyle and Hunt certainly aren’t the only Irish representatives in the Reading squad – the other Hunt brother Noel and Shane Long also provide attacking options. Hunt has four goals in seven starts in his first season in English football following a £600k summer move from Dundee United, Long has one to his name but is mostly used form the bench by Coppell.

In midfield Jimmy Kebe continues to impress and youngster Jem Karacan is currently keeping James Harper out of the team – Harper was another linked with summer moves away form the Madejski and he will now be wishing he had gone elsewhere with a place on the bench likely to be the best he can hope for against QPR. With former Fulham man Liam Rosenior also available for selection in wide areas it’s easy to see why Reading are doing so well, and why American winger Bobby Convey is struggling to get a game.

Reading lost Steven Sidwell from their midfield last summer and Ibrahima Sonko and Michael Duberry have also left for pastures new recently leaving Reading short at the back. However in Ivar Ingimarsson they have one of the league’s outstanding defenders and with Bikey around to provide the Sonko style muscle they have more than enough to cope with most teams in this league. Marcus Hahnemann is normally a sound goalkeeper although he looked very shakey in defeat at Preston last week – both goals for the home team could be attributed to goalkeeping errors.

Previous Meetings
QPR were the unfortunate team that had to travel to the Mad Stad for Reading’s promotion party at the end of the 2005/06 season. The Royals had 100 goals and 100 points and all of that jazz, the only player in their team that hadn’t scored during the course of the season was Graeme Murty so not surprisingly they were treated to a penalty winner courtesy of their skipper nine minutes before full time. Dave Kitson had put the home team ahead before the break but Gary Waddock’s side, without a win in three months going into the game, bagged a surprise equaliser through Paul Furlong 20 minutes before time.

Reading: Hahnemann, Murty, Shorey, Sidwell, Sonko, Oster (Hunt), Kitson Harper, Ingimarsson, Convey (Gunarsson), Doyle (Long)
Subs Not Used: Stack, Makin
Goals: Kitson 41, Murty 81 pen

QPR: Paul Jones 7 (Cole 8), Bignot 5 , Shittu 7, Santos 8*, Milanese 7, Langley 7, Ainsworth 6, Bailey 6 (Ray Jones 7) , Donnelly 6, Cook 7, Furlong 7
Subs Not Used: Evatt, Howell, Munday
Goals: Furlong 73

Attendance: 23156

Match Report

Reading also won 2-1 at Loftus Road that season thanks to a headed goal from centre half Ivar Ingimarsson. James Harper gave the Royals the lead after just ten minutes and the visitors, streaking away at the top of the table by this stage of the season, were expected to go on and win at a canter. However just after half time Lee Cook strode through to equalise before Ingimarsson struck.

QPR: Royce 7, Bignot 7, Shittu 7, Evatt 7, Dyer 7, Langley 7, Doherty 7*, Santos 7, Cook 6, Sturridge 5 (Ainsworth 44, 6), Gallen 7
Subs Not Used: Cole, Milanese, Moore, Shimmin
Booked: Gallen
Goal: Cook 47

Reading: Hahnemann, Murty, Sonko, Ingimarsson, Shorey, Little (Oster 63), Harper, Sidwell, Convey (Hunt 71), Kitson, Doyle
Subs Not Used: Stack, Makin, Obinna
Booked: Little, Kitson
Goals: Harper 10, Ingimarsson 66

Attendance: 15,347

LFW Match Report

Head to Head:
Reading wins - 35
Draws - 15
QPR wins - 24

Previous Reading v QPR results:
2005/06 Reading 2 QPR 1 (Furlong)
2005/06 QPR 1 Reading 2 (Cook)
2004/05 QPR 0 Reading 0
2004/05 Reading 1 QPR 0
2001/02 Reading 1 QPR 0
2001/02 QPR 0 Reading 0
1997/98 QPR 1 Reading 1 (Spencer)
1997/98 Reading 1 QPR 2 (Spencer, Swales og)
1996/97 QPR 0 Reading 2
1996/97 Reading 2 QPR 1 (Spencer)

QPR’s 2-1 win at Elm Park in the late 1990s is the featured match in Ash’s Connections and Memories column - click here for more details.

Team News
QPR are still without Rowan Vine and with Dowie gone I’d expect to see changes throughout the team. Leigertwood and Connolly are lined up for the two full back positions with Di Carmine and Parejo set to form a new look strike force. Quite who is picking tomorrow’s starting eleven is unclear - Gareth Ainsworth has been named as caretaker manager but his role may be limited to simply revving the boys up before the kick off.

Steve Coppell is likely to stick with the side that beat Doncaster on this ground last week. That means young midfielder Kim Karacan will keep his place ahead of the much sought after James Harper who scored against QPR at Loftus Road the last time Reading were there and has been linked with a move to Middlesbrough this season. He is fit again but being kept out of the side by Karacan. Graeme Murty is still out with a calf injury while Marek Matejovsky and Michael Duberry have played for the reserves but are not ready for a first team return.
Injury List

Referee
Premiership official Chris Foy is in charge for this one – the last time he refereed Reading they lost 2-0 at home to Fulham and his last QPR fixture was the 4-2 away win at Watford so at least the referee appointment bodes well for QPR even if nothing else does.
Details

Elsewhere
With Charlton and Ipswich both languishing at the wrong end of the table Alan Pardew and Jim Magilton are starting to feel the heat a little bit. Charlton will fancy their game at home to Burnley this weekend a lot more than Ipswich will their trip down to Plymouth. I believe the Ipswich supporters’ coaches set off on Wednesday for that one! Birmingham v Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United v Preston look to be the pick of the other matches.
Tony’s Championship Preview

Form
We start the form section this week with a piece of research from message boarder QPRCambs who seems to be putting himself forward as some sort of resident statistician for LFW this season. QPR have scored 13 league goals this season, only two away from home, and of those only three have come from open play and two of those came against ten men. Our last league goal from open play against eleven men was on August 30 against Bristol City some eight games ago. The win against Nottingham Forest last weekend is Rangers’ only success in six league games and the dire draw at Swansea on Tuesday night made it three and a half games on the road without scoring.

Depressing stuff, and as we prepare to face the team lying third in the league somewhat concerning as well. Reading have scored 29 goals this season, more than twice as many as QPR, and 21 of those have come at the Madejski Stadium where their record is played six won six. They are the league’s top scorers ahead of Wolves by one.
Form Guide

Prediction
A serious whacking in store here I’m afraid. Reading are one the league’s best teams and have a super home record, QPR have been plunged back into turmoil and weren’t much cop on Tuesday night when they had a manager. I really feel for Gareth Ainsworth but I fear he’s on a hiding to nothing here.
Reading 3 QPR 0

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