dunne is meant to be flying out to join up with the squad. he'll do his cruciate walking off the plane...
Well that's real riveting stuff..... QPRâs Head of Media & Communications Ian Taylor brings us the first of his tour blogs ⦠IâM SAT here writing this opening Austria tour blog to a breathtakingly beautiful backdrop. The region of Carinthia, if first impressions are anything to go by, will certainly provide a perfect base for the Râs second tour of their 2013/14 pre-season campaign. After an early start at Harlington, the squad arrived at Stansted in good time ahead of our 12.55pm flight to Ljubljana, all this despite one member of staff â who will remain nameless â leaving his passport at home earlier this morning. Beats By Dre headphones were the order of the day for the vast majority of the squad during the hour and 40 minute flight, while many others including Michael Harriman â who is one of four EDS players included in the touring party â took the opportunity to catch some sleep ahead of a gruelling six-day schedule. Temperatures were slightly cooler than back in West London, but the heat was still fairly unrelenting as the squad boarded the team coach to make their way to the luxurious Hotel Pulverer in Bad Kleinkirchheim. Myself and my two colleagues Adam (Multi-Media Officer) and David (Webmaster) whizzed ahead in a car to ensure we could get the all-important arrival shots, which can be viewed here. After checking into their rooms, the squad enjoyed a buffet-style dinner, before a team meeting and a walk around the local area to stretch their legs. Rest and relaxation took centre stage thereafter, as the focus began to switch to tomorrowâs double training session under the watchful eye of Messrs Bond, Jordan, McClaren and co. Weâll have full coverage from both those sessions and much, much more tomorrow on www.qpr.co.uk #AustriaTour Read more at http://www.qpr.co.uk/news/article/160713-tour-blog-i-919763.aspx#BoVd0Fa61oFfKoVw
What a misserable bunch of gits !! the only ones who could manage a smile were Jenas, SWP and Derry. F**K me you've just been flown out for a nice hol with a bit of footy thrown in & get filmed going into your posh hotel....what part of that stops you from smiling at/for the thousands of fans you know are gonna watch it. Its not exactly a 14 hour flight that would screw you up !! SMILE...... Thanks though Roller !!
Those are two pretty tough games, Besiktas are no mugs and Udinese have been around the Europa League places in Serie 'A' for a few years now, let's hope we don't get completely embarrassed here...
Queens, I'm sincerely hoping I'm wrong but maybe this whole thing about the squad being completely out of soughts with each other will prove to be our downfall. They have just come back from holidays, to now go on another holiday, in sheer f--king luxury. I tried to explain all this to my lovely wife but she just looked at me funny as if to say that ... "What is a holiday - me non conprendre" But seriously, if these players can't appreciate the efforts of the club, management, coaching staff, not to mention other players, then "we are up sh_it crap without a paddle". The next couple of matches will either confirm or deny this.
Lightening rhis thread slightly 1 "After an early start at Harlington, the squad arrived at Stansted in good time ahead of our 12.55pm flight to Ljubljana"..........obviously the squad have never had to get a 6.00am flight to Gran Canaria, having to leave from Oxford 2 SWP has definitely odd legs....bow=legged is an understatement..I now know why he can't shoot (exception v Chelski of course)
Spot on there Dubai_Pete76. I work at Heathrow and they used to get their own private plane leaving and arriving back here all the time for away games up north. And now they're on Sleazy jet. Joys of the Championship.
Appears that a good day was had by all in all that fresh mountain air - training field location looks like they are right out in the sticks - definitely Dunne and dusted! http://www.qpr.co.uk/news/article/170713-austria-tour-in-pictures-925147.aspx Head of Media & Communications Ian Taylor blogs direct from Austria … DAY TWO on tour and you sensed pre-season training went up a notch or two today. An early 8am walk around the idyllic local area was followed by breakfast, before the players took time out to prepare themselves for the first session of the day in the searing late morning sun. Kit-man Gary Doyle, who is thorough to the extreme in his planning, had all the players boots laid out as the lads arrived, whilst Head of Fitness Carl Serrant, along with Messrs Bond, Jordan, McClaren and co., ensured training started exactly on time with each and every drill set up meticulously. Training lasted just shy of two hours, with the final drill in particular catching the eyes of the media team, as well as a few locals who had by now gathered to watch. In short, every player lined up on the edge of the box, with Rob Green and Brian Murphy taking turns to field shots at goal. It was simple – score and your session is over, miss and your session continues. However, there was a twist. The last player left standing gets the teas and coffees in for the backroom staff. As the shots flew in from all angles, it came down to a head-to-head between Esteban Granero and Max Ehmer. Cries of ‘two sugars please lads’ and ‘make sure you remember the milk’ added to the drama – and it was Granero who was left licking his wounds … although he was adamant it was all a tactic! “I wanted to keep practicing, which is why I kept missing on purpose!” joked the Spaniard. “I knew I could score but I gave everyone else a chance and in the end I lost! “I will find a way not to do it, I promise you!” It’s still not clear whether the former Real Madrid man made the teas and coffees for the staff, but one thing that is for sure is that the team-spirit that exists within this group on tour is second to none, with plenty of laughs and banter going back and forth throughout the drill. Lunch followed, before the players retired to their rooms to recharge their batteries ahead of the afternoon session. Max Ehmer, who along with the other EDS players on tour has settled in remarkably quick, text me soon after asking if I had any ‘sexy’ photos of him in training. I won’t tell you what my exact reply was – but suffice to say it involved the words ‘ugly’ and ‘egotistical!’ The squad returned to the training ground at just after 4pm for the second session of the day, with the opening 20 minutes streamed live for QPR fans via ustream – a first for us this season. A keep-ball session saw the usual vocal lads having their say, with Zamora, Mackie, Hill and Faurlin getting particularly excited and competitive as the drill reached its finale. The 90 minute session concluded with a lengthy warm-down, before we were back on the bus to the hotel … well, not all of us. For the second time today, Kevin Bond and Steve McClaren opted to run the 2km journey back to the hotel, in perfect time for dinner at 6.30pm. Besiktas lie in wait tomorrow, so it’s more rest and relaxation this evening, before game three of pre-season in less than 24 hours’ time. Whether Loic Remy, Richard Dunne and Stephane Mbia are fit enough to play against the Turkish giants remains to be seen, with the former and the latter nursing knocks, and Dunne being given a little additional time to work on his fitness having only joined the R’s on Monday. Read more at http://www.qpr.co.uk/news/article/170713-austriatour-blog-ii-925843.aspx#CWrjal3ZKHlbcFsA.99 Nice digs - bet they all have fun in the pool! please log in to view this image
I just can't believe you're not in Belfast for the game of the century. We'll throw a riot in for nothing. Sex, drugs and rock'n'roll. You people don't appreciate culture.
Lol. Who are Antrim playing???? Watching it on BBC NI. Did you hear them give us a mention when talking about Gary Hooper. Did you see Jim Magilton commentating? I seen all the culture I wanted on the tele last Friday. There's only so much culture a man can take.
I'm not listening, I couldn't take listening to the sheer nonsense, I'm watching. You can never have enough culture in Belfast. You shoulda been up here and I cud have shown you culture, real culture, make ya proud all this culture, really would. More culture, every day in every way. I'm just so proud.
Not looking optimistic at this end. I respect the reason for the get together. Nice guy, the world needs more. Other factors getting in the way at present. I promise, I will try very hard. And don't forget, culture. As you sleep soundly in your bed never forget we have been able to preserve this culture so that you too can appreciate it. It was a struggle but we got there.
I notice Ian Taylor in the latest blog makes a point of mentioning the atmosphere between the group and how well they are all getting on. Seems a bit of a false statement to me, trying to make sure the fans think there is a good bond between the group. On evidence of the friendlies it doesn't appear the way that is being portrayed by the club.
Once they all chum up together in the hot tub, they'll be as happy as sand boys. please log in to view this image
