please log in to view this image QUEENS Park Rangers face the Championship's inform team on Saturday as table toppers Wolverhampton Wanderers visit Loftus Road. The Midland’s side have won their last three league games and, along with Hull City, have scored the most goals in the division (24). Rangers come into this game off the back of a strong second half performance against Bolton which should have seen us pick up all three points. We had to settle for one and Ollie will be hoping to get back to winning ways here, although he will know this will be a tough fixture. It’s fair to say a lot has changed for our opposition since our last meeting back on New Year’s Eve of last year. Wolves were in 16th position, having earlier in the season gone nine games without a win and the atmosphere surrounding the club was fairly pessimistic. They finished the season in 15th position with ex-manager Paul Lambert leaving the club in May. Lambert was the fifth of Wolves' past six first-team bosses to last less than a year at Molineux. The club chose to bring in Portuguese manager and ex-Porto First Team Coach Nuno Espirito Santo. Wolves brought 13 players in the summer including the much sought after midfielder Ruben Neves for a Championship record fee of £16 million. But 13 games into the season, the decisions the Wolves owners made in the summer seem to be greatly benefiting the club. They are top of the table and the new signings seem to have settled into life in the Championship very quickly. Their attractive, attacking style of play has rightly gained the visitors many plaudits. Perhaps the biggest indication that Wolves were a club that will be competing at the top end right until the end of the season was their performance against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night. Wolves took the Premier League leaders to 120 minutes – despite making multiple changes to their starting eleven - only losing on penalties – highlighting the strength of their squad. It’s easy to forget that Wolves are still one of the most successful clubs in England, having won three first division titles and four FA Cup's. Their last spell in the Premier League was only six years’ ago but since then they have dropped down to League One and have had two mid-table finishes in the last two campaigns. Rangers have performed well against the pre-season favourites in the division, with victories against Reading and Hull City and draws with Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland. please log in to view this image Last Time Out Wolves 1-2 QPR - 31st December 2016 The R’s ended a run of six defeats as they beat Wolves for the third straight time at Molineux with a late winner. Idrissa Sylla shot the Hoops ahead from Pawel Wszolek's 53rd-minute cross. Wolves’ midfielder Edwards levelled when he turned home a cross from Helder Costa on 61 minutes. But Wszolek then poked home a low left-footed shot into the bottom corner to earn Rangers a much needed three points. Stats Wolves have picked up 13 points away from home this season – more than anyone else in the division – joint with Cardiff and Norwich QPR have only failed to score in one home league game in 2017 (Burton Albion) Wolves have only been defeated once in their last five trips to Loftus Road Manager Viewpoints Ian Holloway: “Wolves have been more consistent than everybody else at getting the points that they need. Well done to them. I love the way that they try to do it, because it’s very different. They defend with five players, and also attack with five. And they very rarely have to change that. They drop into a 5-4-1, which is very difficult to break down, and they counter attack very quickly. They keep the ball and can move you around. That’s suiting their team and their players at the minute.” Team News QPR: Holloway will once again have to contend with a number of defensive injuries this weekend, with Nedum Onuoha (hamstring), James Perch (knee), Grant Hall (knee) and Jack Robinson (arm) all expected to be out. please log in to view this image Wolves: Ruben Neves, Romain Saiss, Diogo Jota, John Ruddy, Barry Douglas and Matt Doherty all look set to return after sitting out Wolves Carabao Cup defeat at Manchester City. Willy Boly (hamstring) missed out again against City after seven weeks out could finally make his return. please log in to view this image Referee Tony Harrington: His first time refereeing QPR this season please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image
My head is looking at a tonking but my heart is looking for a response on the pitch to the pressure we are under. Tx for the thread 9s. Enjoyed the video especially.
Ruth Badger, erstwhile Alan Sugar wannabe, suspiciously male looking man in a blouse, Wolverhamptonite and considered a rare black country beauty by her knuckle dragging neighbours. You know Badgers are vermin right? You can smack them in the face with a spade, but it looks as if we're too late with this one! please log in to view this image
Nice one Ninesy I just read on the BBC match page that we have the second highest amount of shots in home games this season. Clearly we are doing something right, we just need to be more clinical Let's hope today is the day we convert these chances
Looking forward to this one, and hopeful of getting something, but they are in good form, so I'd be very happy with a point.
Got the makings of a cracking game, both teams look to get forward and score or at least try to score and not always succeed on our part........ Fancy us for at least a point....... Up the R's
Win? Points even? There goes that hope again as reality hides around the corner with a wet fish to slap you in the face. Feels like the tonking that RTID mentioned is more likely to be on the menu today. That said... I'm all ready to eat humble pie come 5pm if you guys want to carry out your own version of football "Bake Off".
Clive's preview from LFW....... Not to sound too much like our strong and stable prime minister, but nothing has changed. A week ago Queens Park Rangers were a club embroiled in a legal battle against an enormous Financial Fair Play (FFP) fine, and they’re still a club embroiled in a legal battle against an enormous FFP fine today. While Wednesday’s news from the arbitration hearing was certainly very, very bad, it hasn’t changed the situation in the short or medium term. This will drag on a while yet. QPR’s ability to pay such a fine remains the same as well. Despite ongoing cost cutting the club needs handouts from its owners just to exist from week to week and season to season as it is, so any fine of any amount (never mind the £40m mooted) would have to be met by them as well. QPR cannot generate £40m for themselves without a promotion so either a legal victory is achieved, a more realistic agreement is reached with the league, the owners bail out and sell the club to a buyer for the cost of the fine, or the club goes bust. That, too, was the case before and remains the case now. Doomsday may come, but it didn’t come on Tuesday, so it’s eyes back on the pitch this Saturday for the ironically timed visit of big-spending league leaders Wolves. Read the rest here.........https://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/football/queensparkrangers/news/46826/all-in-the-timing--preview
Thanks 999s and Tramore... Anyone notice, there has been another heads-up warning notice on Grant "sicknote" Hall....another setback. A few more weeks out. I think Ned and Perch will be back before then To the match..... my first of 3 QPR matches in 8 days (anything more than 3 points and I will be in heaven......but fear it could be 0). I have stupidly good faith in Baptiste and Robinson....but so little faith in Lynch I cannot see anything but a Wolves goalfest with Neves and Jota just heading towards and round him at ease. Scowen is going to have to play like Beckenbauer and Sylla like Gerd Muller today. Fingers crossed...off to the train then...
Great write up as usual. I like your team selection and would like to see it as the starting eleven. However, I would not be surprised if Ollie does not initially play Washington or Mackie instead of Sylla in order to press their defense, and later introduce the big men and finish the match with Sylla and Smith upfront. Whatever the team. COYR's!!!
Leaving home in 10 minutes. Really hoping for a convincing display today. Not necessarily a win, but a hard fought draw and I'll be happy. We have to bear in mind that our defence is and has been shot for a number of weeks and much as Ned can be a liability in some games, it seems to me that we are better with him than without. Disappointing run will end when he is back and match fit IMO. COYRs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not sure where to post this as it relates to diving, something that we have talked about on other threads, but maybe here is appropriate as we'll be on here most of the afternoon..... Have to say the more I listen to Sean Dyche the more I like him, he speaks for the common person and talks a lot of sense. It's a pity the same can't be said for some of the other managers who seem to want to deflect discussion away from the diving subject and appear to actively condone it..... Burnley manager Sean Dyche says "no-one cares" about trying to eradicate diving from English football and that laws designed to do so are "very weak". The Turf Moor side conceded a penalty against Manchester City last weekend when Bernardo Silva went down under the challenge of goalkeeper Nick Pope. A new Football Association rule permits retrospective punishment for simulation but no action was taken against Silva. "I can't find anyone who's that bothered about diving," Dyche said. Read the rest here.......http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/41783564
Mmm............who know what Ollie will do with regards to selection and tactics as they change every 5 mins, including during the game.
I’ll be watching England win the World Cup (U17) live on BBC2 kick off 15.30. And looking on here in the hope of being surprised.
Team Smithies Baptise Robinson lynch Cousins scowen loungo freeman Bidwell Washington Sylla Mmm different & no mackie but cousins
