retired_blondie_524

Wednesday 21st September 2005

Queens Park Rangers v Fulham
Carling Cup 2nd Round

Mauro Milanese returned after suspension and Evatt comes back into the side for the visit of the 20th placed Premiership team. Sturridge partners Jones up front, Ukah continued to deputise at right back but Kilgallon drops to the bench.
Rangers pressed their West London Rivals hard all through the first half but couldn't get the breakthrough. Both sides were fairly wayward with their shooting and the keepers weren't overworked.
The game was won with four minutes left when Papa Bouba Diop sent Gallen sprawling in the box. Kevin got up, dusted himself off and fired home the winner into the bottom corner. The crowd went wild and Ranger were headed for the third round.
QPR 1-0 Fulham
QPR scorers: Gallen 86 pen
Fulham scorers: none
Att: 19,130

Saturday 24th September 2005

Queens Park Rangers v Sheffield United
Coca-Cola Championship

Fresh from beating Premiership opposition, the R's field a side with only one change, Mahouvé replaced Evatt, against one of the divisions leading sides.
Sheffield had a lot of the early possession but Royce and his defense were equal to them. Slowly Rangers grew in confidence and took the lead with five minutes left of the first half. The visitors keeper took a free kick out near the touchline but unfortunately for him Bircham won the ball and headed it straight to Jones who fires from 35 yards into the unprotected net.
The visitors push hard for an equaliser at the start of the second half but fail to make an impression and against the run of play QPR add a second. Mahouvé passes the ball to Ciullo just over the halfway line, Ciullo looked up and moves forward as United back off him. Finally Ciullo unleashes a 30 yard shot that curls into the top corner. The visitors pull one back on 63 minutes when Royce fails to hold Kabba's shot and Shipperley reacts first to poke in the rebound. The R's defend deeper as United switch to 4-2-4 and Royce performs heroics to hold the scoreline. Rangers become the first side to beat Sheffield this season.
QPR 2-1 Sheff. Utd
QPR scorers: Jones 41, Ciullo 62
Sheff. scorers: Shipperley 63
Att: 19,129

Palace's 0-0 draw with Norwich puts them a point clear at the top and Wolves 4-1 win over Leicester leaves them third on goal difference ahead of Reading who won 1-0 at Hull. We lie four points behind them in 5th place.

The third round draw for the Carling Cup gives us a home tie against Championship London rivals Millwall.

retired_blondie_524

Sunday 25th September 2005

The reserves won 5-0 at Watford with Nygaard scoring a first half hat trick, Lomas and De Smet adding the other goals.

Tuesday 27th September 2005

Watford v Queens Park Rangers
Coca-Cola Championship

We took on the 14th placed side at Vicarage Road with an unchanged side.
Watford including former R's favourites Les Ferdinand and Clarke Carlisle had a dreadful day. Rangers drew first blood on 23 minutes when Carlisle was robbed by Jones who ran on and blasted it at Foster in the home nets. Foster parried it but it fell to Sturridge to sidefoot home. Six minutes later it was two, Jones' flick-on found Sturridge whose shot somehow beat Foster at the near post. Sturridge completed his hat trick a minute before halftime when Jones put a delightful ball ahead of him and he ran on to slide it under Foster.
Just before the hour Sturridge and Rangers had their fourth after he intercepted a poor pass to Carlisle before deking the keeper and coolly slotting into the empty net.
[b] Watford 0-4 QPR
Watford scorers: none
QPR scorers: Sturridge 24, 30, 44, 57
Att: 23,115 [/i]

Palace suffered their first defeat of the season losing 3-0 at Leicester while Sheffield Utd went down 0-2 at home to third place Wolves. Reading drew 1-1 with Millwall and we remained fifth as the whole of the top five closed up a bit.

retired_blondie_524

Coca-Cola Championship table
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Crystal Palace | | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 7 | +15 | 26 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Sheff Utd | | 11 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 21 | 9 | +12 | 25 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Wolves | | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 7 | +15 | 24 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Reading | | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 8 | +5 | 22 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Q.P.R. | | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 10 | +9 | 20 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Southampton | | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 15 | 13 | +2 | 17 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Sheff Wed | | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 20 | 19 | +1 | 16 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Leicester | | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 16 | -3 | 16 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Hull | | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 20 | 13 | +7 | 15 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Ipswich | | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 15 | +2 | 15 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Norwich | | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 10 | +3 | 14 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Preston | | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 18 | 16 | +2 | 14 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Plymouth | | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 10 | +1 | 14 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Coventry | | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 12 | 13 | -1 | 14 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Brighton | | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 14 | -2 | 14 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Millwall | | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 16 | -3 | 14 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Cardiff | | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 13 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Derby | | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 14 | -7 | 13 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Watford | | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 24 | -10 | 12 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Crewe | | 11 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 15 | -5 | 11 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | | Luton | | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 18 | -7 | 11 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | | Burnley | | 11 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 25 | -12 | 8 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 23rd | | Stoke | | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 18 | -5 | 7 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 24th | | Leeds | | 11 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 29 | -16 | 5 | </pre>

retired_blondie_524

Wednesday 28th September 2005

Nygaard, Ainsworth and Robail all scored as the reserves continued their winning ways with a 3-0 win over Reading.

Saturday 1st October 2005

The September awards recognized the improvement we've made. I picked up the manager of the month award while Shittu is second in the player of the month and Kenwyne Jones is third in the young player award.

Queens Park Rangers v Plymouth Argyle
Coca-Cola Championship

13th placed Argyle pushed Rangers hard throughout the match but just couldn't find a way past the determined defense. Meanwhile the R's took the lead in the 26th minute when Ukah's curling cross was met by a stunning volley into the top corner by Jones. Rangers wrapped up the points with 11 minutes left when Roelandts broke down the wing and his deep cross found Jones wide open at the back post for a simple tap-in. There was still time for substitute Nygaard to score his first senior goal for the club in the 90th minute; Larrieu dwelt too long on a backpass and Nygaard stole it off his foot and poked it home.
QPR 3-0 Plymouth.
QPR scorers: Jones 26, 79, Nygaard 90
Plymouth scorers: none
Att: 18,550

Wolves’ 2-0 win over Watford takes them top as they were the only top three side to play while Reading retain 4th with a 3-2 win at Crewe. The R's hold 5th still from Leicester who win 3-2 at Brighton.

retired_blondie_524

Sunday 2nd October 2005

Bottom club Leeds became the first club to dispense with their manager as Kevin Blackwell is sacked.
In the TV game Sheffield United draw 2-2 at Crystal Palace.

Tuesday 4th October 2005

Roelandts, Larsson and Sturridge were all selected in the Championship team of the week.
Ugochukwu Ukah was been called up to the Nigerian U21 side for the first time.

Saturday 8th October 2005

Paul Furlong and Marc Nygaard scored two each as the reserves win 4-0 at Southend.
18 year old defender Pat Kanyuka, currently on loan at Oxford, has won his first U21 cap for Democratic Republic of Congo in their 2-0 defeat in South Africa.

Monday 10th October 2005

Leeds have put their faith in Claudio Ranieri to lead them away from the bottom places of the Championship.

Saturday 15th October 2005

Southampton v Queens Park Rangers
Coca-Cola Championship

Kenwyne Jones is still away on international duty so De Smet comes in for his first team debut for the visit to the 8th placed South Coast side. Nygaard has a gashed head so Paul Furlong takes his place on the bench. Also Matthew Rose is fit enough again to sit on the bench.
In the first half Rangers controlled the home sides attacks and peppered the Southampton net with shots.
The second half was a complete change. Oakley cracked in a 20-yard fre kick just six minutes into the half and on 66 minutes Higginbotham adds another 25-yard free kick into the top corner. The final straw came with 13 minutes left when Oakley hit the bar from 30-yards out and the defense stood and stared as Ormerod ran the rebound in unchallenged. A disappointing end to our unbeaten run.
Southampton 3-0 QPR
Soton scorers: Oakley 51, Higginbotham 66, Ormerod 77
QPR scorers: none
Att: 18,830

Southampton's victory lifts them up to sixth, two points behind us. Palace go back to the top on goal difference after a 1-1 draw at Watford. Reading's 1-0 win at Burnley takes them second while Wolves slump to third after their 2-1 defeat at Plymouth. Sheffield United's poor run continues as a 1-1 draw with Brighton means they are fourth, four points ahead of us.

retired_blondie_524

Tuesday 18th October 2005

There was almost a full Championship programme tonight. Reading went top with a 2-1 win over Cardiff while Wolves beat Southampton 2-1 to move second. Palace's 0-2 home defeat to Plymouth saw them slid to third while Sheffield Utd and Rangers didn't play.

Wednesday 19th October 2005

Sheffield United drew 3-3 at Ipswich to remain fourth.
Reserve midfielder Adam Miller has broken his arm and will miss up to two months.

Saturday 22nd October 2005

Queens Park Rangers v Crewe Alexandra
Coca-Cola Championship

Rose returned to the starting line-up as right back, Ukah dropped to bench. Jones returned to partner De Smet as Sturridge has suffered a chest injury in weight training.
The R's were never in real danger but lapses in concentration meant the scoreline was close. We took the lead after 25 minutes when Milanese's cross found Larsson in the box, he was tackled but it broke to De Smet who lashed in his first goal for the club. Straight away through the defense went to sleep and Rose gave the ball away. Crewe ghosted past the defense and Varney fired home. Rangers suffered a blow on 39 minutes when Shittu limped off and was replaced by Ukah.
Rangers finally broke down Crewe's packed defense on the hour as Jones slipped in De Smet and he curled his shot round the keeper. Substitute Furlong added his first of the season with 15 minutes left when he rose above everyone to head home Roelandts cross. Crewe got an injury time consolation goal.
QPR 3-2 Crewe
QPR scorers: De Smet 24, 58, Furlong 75
Crewe scorers: Varney 27, 92
Att: 16,473

We were the only side in the top five to win, Wolves lost but everyone else drew. In a major blow through Dan Shittu has torn a calf muscle and will miss most of the season.

Diary of Sam Smith - Sunday 23rd October 2005

The loss of defensive leader Shittu is a huge loss. We will be looking for Marcel Mahouvé to step up now and really marshal the defense, Ukah has made a big impression but he's only 21 with six games experience. I think we'll have to look for a veteran defender on loan to help Marcel.

retired_oyse2

Bad news about Shittu, Mavericktango. Hopefully you be able to manage until january and pick up a bargain or any out of contract Swed before hand. Good luck, enjoying your story.

retired_blondie_524

Thanks a lot Bradley

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Tuesday 25th October 2005

The reserves lose their first of the season as they go down 3-2 at Bristol City. Nygaard and De Smet scoring the goals for Rangers.

Wednesday 26th October 2005

Queens Park Rangers v Millwall
Carling Cup 3rd Round

Ian Evatt takes Shittu's place while Ukah returned to the right back spot. Jake Cole gets a rare start, Ainsworth and Langley replaced Larsson and Roelandts in midfield. Fulong partners Jones up front.
Millwall got a fantastic start when inside the first minute Trevor Robinson floated in a deep ball and Snodgrass stole a yard on Evatt which was enough to volley home a 30-yard scorcher. Rangers woke up and pushed the visitors back and got their reward on 22 minutes when Bircham's 25-yarder was too hot to hold and Jones gleefully fired in the rebound. The R's finished the half with 54% of the possession.
The R's should have really wrapped it up in the second half but wayward finishing sent it to extra time and finally penalties.
Jake Cole saved three penalties as Rangers went through 4-3 after six penalties each.
QPR 1-1 Millwall AET
(QPR win 4-3 on penalties)
QPR scorers: Jones 22
Millwall scorers: Snodgrass 1
Att: 18,264

retired_blondie_524

Saturday 29th October 2005

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Queens Park Rangers
Coca-Cola Championship

Kilgallon partners Mahouvé in defense while De Smet and Jones are the strike force for the visit to second placed Wolves.
QPR had good chances early on but wasted them especially a gilt edged chance from De Smet. Wolves made them pay after 17 minutes when after Kilgallon's tackle on Cort the ball broke to Rohan Ricketts on the edge of the area and he lashed it in. The R's then had somewhat the better of the match after that but no-one could find the killer shot that would get past Oakes. Wolves finally sealed the points with 8 minutes left after Ukah cleared a long throw from the box. The ball fell to Lee Naylor who hit a 30 yard curler into the far corner of the net.
Wolves 2-0 QPR
Wolves scorers: Ricketts 18, Naylor 83
QPR scorers: none
Att: 29,090

The win takes Wolves top while Leicester's 2-0 win at Luton enables them to jump into fifth above us. Palace returned to form with a 4-0 win over Stoke while Sheffield Utd won 3-1 in the Sheffield derby.

The draw for the fourth round of the Carling Cup has given us a plum home tie against Premiership side Liverpool.

retired_blondie_524

Sunday 30th October 2005

Donnelly and Nygaard score as the reserves win 2-0 at Swindon. Dominic Shimmin win the M.o.M. for a commanding performance but Nygaard has damaged his foot and will be out for two to three weeks.

Tuesday 1st November 2005

Kenwyne Jones takes the October Young Player of the month award.
The boys back in La Casa Del Inglese are delighted with my performance except Dave of course. We made a profit of £117,000 last month and the fans now in full support of my management.

Queens Park Rangers v Crystal Palace
Coca-Cola Championship

The only change to the squad to face third placed Palace was Stefan Moore replaced Furlong on the bench.
Palace got the perfect start when Mahouvé deflected a shot right to Andy Johnson who fired home. The R's recovered from that and despite the visitors dominating possession and shots on goal they had two good chances. Both fell to De Smet, on 36 minutes he fired just wide on the post and in first half injury time he flicked a cross onto the bar. Rangers were rocked when Palace swept right up the field from that and Clinton Morrison stole a march on the defense to head home a deep cross.
Ranger's fate was sealed minutes after the restart when a 20-yard shot from Johnson deceived everyone and curled into the net. It degenerated into a poor loss as we failed to register a single shot on target and Palace cruised to victory.
QPR 0-3 Palace
QPR scorers:
Palace scorers: Johnson 1, 49, Morrison 45
Att: 19,116

Another loss to a top five side sees us clinging on to the final playoff spot on goal difference. Wolves 2-1 win over Crewe kept them top while Palace move second and Sheffield Utd are third following their 3-0 home win over Luton. Leeds recorded only their second win of the season when they beat Cardiff 2-0 at Elland Road.

Thursday 3rd November 2005

QPR agree terms with 22-year old Icelandic midfielder Viktor Bjaki Arnarsson. He will join the R's once his current contract with Vikingur expires on 31st December.

Saturday 5th November 2005

Brighton & Hove Albion v Queens Park Rangers
Coca-Cola Championship

In a move that shocks the fans I restored Paul Lancaster to the nets and drop Royce to the bench. Evatt and Robail come in for Kilgallon and Roelandts. Gallen partners Jones up front for the trip to the 14th placed South Coast club.
This comedy of errors rained goals in the first half. Gallen opened the scoring after two minutes when Jones flicked header found Bircham who burst through the defense and his shot was parried straight to the Ranger's forward. Jones' 13th minute pass was intercepted by Phil Babb but under pressure from Gallen his pass back was driven low into the bottom corner. There was a brief respite as the R's left Jason Dodd all alone on the far side of the box to head the ball back across into the far corner but it was three just before the half hour after a howler by Albion keeper Kuipers. Robail's pass had Kuipers scrambling out to grab it but Jones reached it first and rounded Kuipers to slot home into the empty net from 18 yards. Three minutes later Larsson's long ball out of defense set Jones away down the wing and his cross was turned in for Gallen's 100th career league goal. With 10 minutes of the half left Gallen wrapped up a sublime half when Ciullo found him on the edge of the box and his hat trick goal put R's 5-1 up.
The second half quieted down but Gallen did add his fourth goal. Five minutes into the half Gallen sent the away following into raptures with a 20-yard free kick that rocketed into the top corner.
Brighton 1-6 QPR
Brighton scorers: Dodd 15
QPR scorers: Gallen 2, 31, 35, 50, Babb OG 13, Jones 28
Att: 7,044

Wolves continue at the top with a 3-1 win at Palace while Sheffield United win 2-1 at Hull. Fourth placed Reading lose 0-1 at home to Norwich while Leicester win 3-0 at Millwall. Our win keeps us two points behind them but we have a game against 23rd placed Stoke in hand.