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Friday, October 21, 2011

The QPR Report Interview: Chelsea Behind the Scenes - On and Off the Field and Views about QPR

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Picture by Haqpr1963

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- Throughout the day, the QPR Report Messageboard has news updates, comments and perspectives - even links to other board comments of interest re QPR matters (on and off the field) along with football (and ONLY football) topics in general....Also Follow: QPR REPORT ON TWITTER
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- Chelsea - QPR Shared Players


A CHELSEA PERSPECTIVE

Many thanks to Maudesfishnchips for conducting another great interview. And many thanks to Chelsea fan, Martin Rowe of CFCNet for providing us with this interview and offering us with his perspective.


Many thanks to Martin Rowe, associate editor of CFCnet.co.uk. enjoy


How long have you supported Chelsea?

Well, I’m in my mid 40’s now so I guess that’s nearly half a century of supporting Chelsea! Put it this way, I’ve stood in the Shed and seen us get relegated. That was a long time ago but it’s seared into my memory as if it was yesterday.

There is only one team in west London and they play in hoops, why Chelsea!?

Not sure what you mean by that question.

Who's Chelsea’s biggest Rival (or Rivals)?

Traditionally it’s been Fulham and Spurs, but more recently it’s been teams like Barcelona and Man Utd. To be honest, the team we love to beat these days is Liverpool. 20 years and counting to win the league is a long time and we’re happy to play our part in extending this. Listening to Scousers talk you’d have thought they’d invented football but what people don’t realise is that Chelsea won their first European trophy before Liverpool and we were the first UK team to be invited to play in the newly formed European Cup in the 50’s.

Are you happy with your team and how things are to date? – What are your opinions on your manager AVB? His spending/selling this summer?

We’re happy with the style of football AVB is trying to instil at the Bridge and the dynamic pass-and-move nature of the team is winning people over. The board of Chelsea are also fully committed to him so at the moment everything seems to be going well. The big test will be when the difficult periods arrive – as they will – and whether the board will continue to back him. We’re all a bit tired with the constant chopping and changing of managers and would prefer some stability.

What do you think of your current Owner? WHY is he involved? What do you expect from him?

Roman’s been magnificent, absolutely first class. Yes, he’s been a bit trigger happy at times and interfered with managers like Mourinho etc, but overall 3 Premierships, 3 FA Cups and 2 Carling Cups tell their own story. We’ve had a wild time.

How do you think Chelsea treats its fans? Appreciates them? Listens to them? Screws them?

How long have you got? When Peter Kenyon ran the Fans Forum a lot of changes were made at the instigation of the fans and the relationship between the Club and many fans groups was pretty good. However, over time, the Club has become increasingly reluctant to engage with us and is starting to flex its muscles in a dictatorial fashion. Trust is beginning to break down if I’m perfectly honest.

Who are you Dangermen/Most valued/most overrated/most underrated players?

This is a hotly debated topic that could leave me open to widespread abuse when I next visit the Bridge! Everybody’s opinion is different so if you’d ask 1,000 fans you’d get 1,000 answers. However, I think you’d be stretched to find a fan who thinks Salomon Kalou should be a first team regular. Malouda’s form is also too erratic. Overall, though, we have a fantastic squad. Underrated? The media focus on Torres is obscene yet he is looking deadly at the moment – when lady luck turns his way he could have a blistering season.

Are you happy with your youth set up? Is your club doing enough to bring young/local talent through the ranks?

We have a great youth set-up and are doing everything we can to bring young players through. The facilities at Cobham are exceptional and the whole set-up is geared towards sustained long term success. The only criticism is Michael Emanelo’s appointment as technical director. I’m not sure what he brings to the table although Frank Arnesen hardly set the world on fire and he had a stellar reputation before he arrived.

Who would you say was the greatest Chelsea player that you yourself personally saw? And past player? (You can name more than one if it's that close!)

Ruud Gullit was the best player I have ever seen in a Chelsea shirt. He was a one man team and his presence at Chelsea was one of the building blocks of our rise since the early 90’s. He had awesome skill, power, athleticism, intelligence and leadership. Whilst many people would vote for Franco Zola (good as he was), as a complete football player Gullit gets my vote.

What is your prediction for Chelsea this season?

Top 2. Hopefully first. It depends on whether we can get the team to click on a consistent basis. Man Utd have already beaten us but they were slightly lucky in that match and the return fixture should be interesting. Man City are also rivals but they have a self-destruct button lurking in the background.

Are you aware of any player or manager links between our two clubs past and present?

Gavin Peacock played for you after captaining us in the mid 90’s. He was a great player and if his shot had gone in rather than clip the bar in the ’94 FA Cup Final, he could have been an all-time legend. He’s a very genuine fellow, I have a lot of respect for him and I believe he is now in the US studying to be a preacher.

What is your view and the general Chelsea view of QPR (If we even feature in your consciousness) or of Neil Warnock and our owners?

I once read in a Chelsea fanzine that QPR was like an annoying little brother, half your age, who just irritates the hell out of you. That’s fairly accurate. As for Warnock, Ken Bates invited him to become manager of Chelsea in 1991 and he turned us down because he didn’t want to leave the North. That excuse looks a bit thin now!

Who (if any) is your most memorable/favourite QPR Player over the years?

I am old enough to remember your great 1970’s side and Gerry Francis was a truly inspirational player.

Did you attend home or away, any matches between our two clubs when we were last in the premiership? Any memorable matches between our two clubs that stand out for you? And the reasons why?

One of my favourite games in my whole life was in 1990 (I think) when you were 2-0 up and we equalised before Joe Allon scored an overhead kick in the dying minutes. The whole away end went ballistic. I’ve never forgotten that game, it’s one of my top ten games of all time, and believe me, I’ve seen many, many hundreds (if not thousands).

Your score prediction for QPR v Chelsea?

3-1 to Chelsea. We’re a good team, believe me.

What, realistically, do you think Chelsea are capable of achieving in the next five years?

The sky’s the limit. We’d obviously like to go one step further in Europe.

What are your and the general view of Chelsea supporters regarding the proposed new stadium? And the suggested site in white city if this was of interest to Abramovich ? The QPR support would not welcome such a move, would you ?

We’re very angry about the situation. Whilst most fans agree that we probably need to move, the Club aren’t giving us any guarantees where they want to move to. Now, given that 12,000 of us own the Stamford Bridge pitch, turnstiles and brand name Chelsea FC, we’re pissed off that the Club want us to hand these rights over for no guarantee. They must think we came down in the last shower. The vote on 27th October is monumental in the history of our Club.
White City? We’d prefer to move nearer Stamford Bridge, Earl’s Court being a particular favourite.


Martin Rowe
CFCnet

Monday, October 17, 2011

Play at Loftus Road: Football Aid 2012

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- Throughout the day, the QPR Report Messageboard has news updates, comments and perspectives - even links to other board comments of interest re QPR matters (on and off the field) along with football (and ONLY football) topics in general....Also Follow: QPR REPORT ON TWITTER
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Posted by Request
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Football Aid 2012 - Play at Loftus Road!


Queens Park Rangers FC have once again shown magnificent support and joined forces with Football Aid, allowing football fans the opportunity to grace the hallowed turf and play on their Field of Dreams at Loftus Road on Monday 14th May 2012, while at the same time raising funds for charity.

Our magical event allows Queens Park supporters to Live the Dream in an authentic match day experience. Players will gain exclusive access to the pitch and tunnel areas, pull on their own personalised shirt in the official changing rooms, walk down the tunnel to the sound of a cheering crowd and ultimately to step out on the hallowed turf and represent their club in a never to be forgotten 90 minutes of football.

The matches have also been supported by a host of QPR legends, with the likes of Clive Wilson, Marc Bircham, Danny Maddix, Stan Bowles and many more all lending their valuable support in recent years, by playing alongside or managing the supporters in the hugely enjoyable matches at Loftus Road.

Securing your position couldn’t be easier, just visit www.footballaid.com and choose your club, then you’ll have two ways to secure your Fixed Price position: Option 1: ‘Buy Now’ - Our quickest and most popular option, or Option 2: ‘Sponsored to Play’ - Pay a non-refundable £100 deposit to secure your position and then simply pay off the remaining balance anytime before 13th December.

So if you're keen to secure your place on your Field of Dreams this season, why not visit www.footballaid.com today to make sure you're part of the team! Alternatively if you’d like any additional information, you can call Football Aid on 0131 220 5999 or email info@footballaid.com.


Football Aid celebrated their 10th anniversary in 2010 and have allowed over 12,225 football fans the chance to Live the Dream in more than 460 matches. They are a groundbreaking organisation which generates funds annually by hosting charity football matches at iconic stadiums all over the UK. The unique concept was the brainchild of businessman and Football Aid Chairman Craig Paterson and funds raised from the event will benefit the work of a charitable project nominated by the club, as well as projects nominated by Football Aid’s parent charity Field of Dreams.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

A QPR Shandeh! The Club Has No Business Posting a Fan's Private Email

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- Throughout the day, the QPR Report Messageboard has news updates, comments and perspectives - even links to other board comments of interest re QPR matters (on and off the field) along with football (and ONLY football) topics in general....Also Follow: QPR REPORT ON TWITTER
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On Friday a poster on a QPR messageboard posted information about a player's injury and team selection against Blackburn. (Many fans on various QPR Boards (including on the QPR Report messageboard) derided the "In The Know" Information.)

However as became evident, it turned out that this fan indeed had "In The Know" information.

After the Blackburn match which resulted in a 1-1 draw, QPR manager Neil Warnock berated the QPR Fan and showed a piece of paper with the fan's email address. Taking it a step further, the QPR Official Site then posted under Warnock's comments, this fan's email address.
As posted on the QPR Official Site re Warnock's Post-Match Comments "...The QPR boss was also keen to have his say on a leak that appeared on an internet fans forum on Friday, which revealed intimate details regarding his team selection.
Showing a piece of paper with an e-mail address which read *******@**** [Email address deleted by QPR Report], he said: "It's disappointing that a 'so-called' QPR fan leaks confidential information about the team the day before a big match. "I can't get my head around things like this. As a QPR fan, he certainly didn't do me any favours." QPR Official Site

The QPR Report perspective:

- The club has a leaker...The club should deal with him (or her).

- The Club Posted a fan's email on their official site...Bad enough for Warnock to show a piece of paper with the email...Wrong. Very wrong. But that might be viewed as heat of the moment. (Bad enough to even name him, which I think Holloway did once with another QPR . But this is worse). Even worse is the Club Official Site posting the Email...as part of Warnock's comments (As if the club always posts everything said by the manager!)

- Now many messageboard posters, including the named fan himself, are speculating as to how the club obtained this fan's private email address: If it should turn out to have been passed on to the club by someone running that messageboard, that would be, to put it mildly, rather unfortunate!

- As for the actual poster who posted his "In the Know" Information: Should he have done it? Well sometimes one does something without fully thinking it through. Or not considering possible negatives.

- But the fan says he heard from the club...And then he requested directly to the owner of the messageboard to remove the post. It was. And then was put back on by the owner supposedly at the request of the club. (That of course makes manager Warnock's outburst a little harder to fathom - assuming he knew all the ins and outs.)

- It also raises questions of how the club should interact with fans messageboards (and the rest of Social media). And how messageboards should interact with the club.

- But the bottom line and the central issue. The club should never have listed that poster's contact details. Doesn't matter the ins and out of what that poster might have done. The club went a "Bridge too far" and if they haven't done so yet, they should blank out the name and email (as the mainstream media did.)

Thursday, October 13, 2011

QPR Report Q&A: A Blackburn Perspective of Blackburn On and Off The Field and Views About QPR

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- Throughout the day, the QPR Report Messageboard has news updates, comments and perspectives - even links to other board comments of interest re QPR matters (on and off the field) along with football (and ONLY football) topics in general....Also Follow: QPR REPORT ON TWITTER
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- Next: Blackburn - Stats/Players who played for both clubs

MAUDESFISHNCHIPS' QPR REPORT Q&A WITH BLACKBURN FAN, JOE AINSCOUGH

- Many thanks to Joe Ainscough who is a site journalist for http://www.blackburn.vitalfootball.co.uk/nice to hear from a younger perspective too


How long have you supported Blackburn ?
I have been a Rovers fan for 15 years since I was 4 years old in 1996, so not the longest serving fan, but I couldn’t have done much more really!

Who's Blackburn ’s biggest Rival (or Rivals)?
It has to be Burnley . The rivalry between the two towns often goes under the radar, but it has to be one of the best rivalries in England . (We even had to have a police escorted coach to get to their ground!) They haven’t beaten us in 32 years though, so there isn’t much competition

Are you happy with your team and how things are to date? – What are your opinions on your manager Steve Kean? His spending/selling this summer?
In a nutshell – no. Since the takeover by Venkys our club has gone downhill rapidly due to the fact they seem to know very little about football. The replacement of Big Sam with our current inept and useless manager has to go down as one of the worst decisions in the history of our club. He needs to get sacked sooner rather than later if we want to stay in this league. The only plus points to his reign here are the signings such as Ruben Rochina and Scott Dann, but when you look at the players Sam signed at West Ham in the championship, you just wonder what he could have done with £20 million to spend here.

What do you think of your current Owners? WHY are they involved? What do you expect? Could they realistically have done more to boost your chances?
I don’t like them to be honest. They took us from a top 14 team safe from relegation to being back in the dog fight. They are full of broken promises and give us fans a lot of false hope. They are aiming for the Champions League in 3 to 4 years, yet we can’t even get out of the relegation zone at present! They have turned us into the laughing stock of the Premier League. Their unrealistic pursuits of players such as Ronaldinho and Beckham proved they knew nothing, and yet they continue to baffle with their comments such as Steve Kean is a “brilliant” manager. If they had left things the way they were and left our old chairman John Williams in charge, then we wouldn’t be in this mess.

What are the general Rovers fans views on your teams trip to india ? Do you feel there is something to be gained from it long term? Or do you see it as an immediate disruption?
There is obviously an untapped market out there in India , with a population of over 1 Billion, it makes sense to pursue marketing out there, but not at this current time, and it should have been left until the end of the season.

How do you think Blackburn treats its fans? Appreciates them? Listens to them? Screws them?
We certainly don’t get listened to or appreciated it seems. The majority of fans want our current manager gone, and yet the owners make stupid comments about it being only a few people!? There is nobody who fans can contact at the club to discuss our concerns which is a major issue. Our owners need to learn fast, because if they don’t they will have a lot of fans on their backs.

Who are you Dangermen/Most valued/most overrated/most underrated players?
Our danger men have to be Junior Hoilett, Martin Olsson and Ruben Rochina. They are young flair players, who bring that bit of magic and pace to our side. Most overrated has to be Gamst Pedersen. His set pieces gave him a name in the English game, but for the past few years he has been mediocre. Underrated has to be our danger men, they don’t get enough credit, as seems to be a common trend between the “lesser” clubs in the Premier League.

Are you happy with your youth set up? Is your club doing enough to bring young/local talent through the ranks?
Without being too biased, I think our youth set up is one of the best in the country. Many of our first team came up through the youth team and we have produced players such as Phil Jones and Junior Hoilett over the last couple of seasons. In our current first team squad we have Martin Olsson, Junior Hoilett, Jason Lowe, Grant Hanley, Josh Morris and David Dunn who have all come up through our youth system, and many more to follow if we are to believe what we are being told.

Who would you say was the greatest Blackburn player that you yourself personally seen? And past player? (You can name more than one if it's that close!)
Personally the best player I have seen over the last 15 years has been Tugay. He played for us until he was 38, and he still had his class at that age. As for greatest ever, well I am only 19 so it’s hard for me to say, so I will go for Shearer. Without him we wouldn’t have won the league in 95.

What is your prediction for Rovers this season?
We will finish 16th after changing our manager.

Are you aware of any player or manager links between our two clubs past and present?
I know you took Pascal Chimbonda off our hands last season! Cheers for that! Haha!



What is your view and the general Blackburn view of QPR (If we even feature in your consciousness) or of Neil Warnock and our owners?
I think generally the feel is you will be in the dog fight along with us, but will manage to stay up due to buying well. Neil Warnock is not liked by many up here I have to admit. As for your owner, I am not really aware of any opinion one way or another, apart from many of us would swap!



Who(if any) is your most memorable/favourite QPR Player over the years?
I’d have to go with a recent one and go for Adel Taarabt. He seems a very very good player, even if he is a bit controversial!

Did you get to see any matches between our two clubs when we were last in the premiership?
Not that I can think of, but I was at our cup game last season!

Your view on el hadji diouf please!!?
There is always a split divide when it comes to this guy. Personally I think he is a good player, who gives 100% all the time, and has a bit of fight in him. I was sorry to see him leave.

Your score prediction for QPR v Blackburn Rovers?
Random but I predict 4-2 to you guys!

What, realistically, do you think Blackburn are capable of achieving in the next five years?
5 years is a long time and a lot can happen in that time. I will say top 10 finishes, pushing for a place in Europe , and maybe pushing for a cup win!

Thanks again to Joe Ainscough of Vital Blackburn. And thanks again to QPR Report Correspondent, Maudesfishnchips

Sunday, October 2, 2011

QPR "Factoid" - Club's Worst-Ever League Defeat to a London Club

- Throughout the day, the QPR Report Messageboard has news updates, comments and perspectives - even links to other board comments of interest re QPR matters (on and off the field) along with football (and ONLY football) topics in general....Also Follow: QPR REPORT ON TWITTER
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Club "Factoid" for those interested in such stats: (Subject to correction): Worst-Ever League Defeat Against a London Neighbour


Today's result at Fulham was the club's worst league defeat against another London Club. Certainly in the Premiership (or the Old Division One). But think ever. (Obviously in the Cup, we had that "unfortunate" defeat at home to Arsenal under Gerry Francis.) And had a 6-1 defeat against Brentford back in the 1960s.