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Tuesday, July 23, 2013

QPR History: Karl Henry Rejects #QPR...Ron Springett Turns 78...On This Day Marc Nygaard Joins QPR... Who Beat Iran

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RON SPRINGETT TURNS 78
(A Great former QPR Star to have on Opening Day, as QPR Play Springett's other Club, Sheffield Wednesday)
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Flashback....Sunday Mercury

Survival more important than derby win says Wolves' skipper Karl Henry
Feb 20 2011 by Bill Howell, Sunday Mercury


BOYHOOD fan Karl Henry leads Wolves out at Albion today looking to end 15 years of hurt at The Hawthorns – but says survival beats bragging rights.

Though he cringes at the thought of it, Henry says even a defeat at Albion would be acceptable as long as Wolves stayed up.

“For me I want to stay in this league – most of the fans would say the same,” he insisted.

“It is more important to stay in this league than it is to beat West Bromwich Albion. However the two completely coincide and we need to beat them in order for us to kick on and stay up. The two go hand in hand I’m afraid.”

Henry says Second Season Syndrome has been alive and kicking for bottom club Wolves this season.

And beating the drop this time would beat last season’s heroic effort.

“I think it is so much bigger than last season,” he said.

“People talk about the Second Season Syndrome. I don’t think that we’ve taken our foot off the gas this season at all at any stage.

“Maybe teams show you a bit more respect because you are not a new boy any more. The teams we maybe turned over last year have made it more difficult.

“They have realised that we have got a bit more about us. Also the teams that have come up this year are better sides. Newcastle and West Brom are good sides.

“It is a tougher league than it was last season so staying up this year would be fantastic, having been in the position that we have been in all season as well.

“To stay up would be a great achievement.

“We’ve got a real good run in as well. We’re aware of that and we’re also aware that we haven’t really done well against the teams around us, we’ve not done well enough so far.

“We’ve got to put that right. We’ve got a great opportunity and everyone’s confident.”

Henry says Wolves go into the game in buoyant mood despite an away record that makes pretty grim reading.

“It’s going to be a huge game. We are desperate for points and I think it is going to be a great game for us,” said Henry.

“I’m sure they’ll be saying the same, having taken five points from ten games.

“I’m not afraid to say both teams are struggling at the moment. It’s a definite six-pointer.”

But Wolves have already gotten the better of Roy Hodgson at Anfield this season and Henry is convinced they can do it again.

“Why not? Liverpool are a good side and played a little bit differently under Roy Hodgson.

“It was a shock result that night – we pulled it out the bag and the lads did tremendously well but this will be a completely different game.

“West Brom are a good side, good going forward. Maybe they’ve leaked more goals than they’d have liked. It is set out for an attacking display from both teams. Hopefully there’ll be a lot of goals for our side and none for them! It will be a great game, everyone’s really looking forward to it.”

Had Mick McCarthy not made a late call over four years ago Henry would be more than likely have been preparing to face Ipswich at Loftus Road on Tuesday than revelling in the cauldron of a Black Country tussle.

The tough-tackling midfielder allowed his contract to run out at Stoke City in 2006 and had agreed to sign for Queens Park Rangers.

“I turned down an offer for 12 months at Stoke and could have gone to QPR where I had agreed a deal,” he said.

“That was in the pipeline but I ended up joining Wolves.”


Then came the news of his England provisional squad call up a fortnight ago.

“To come from not really playing at Stoke to playing every week here and being involved with England is a real achievement for myself and I’m absolutely delighted with it.

“More importantly, and I know it is a cliché, but I am so concerned with us at the moment and staying up. That is the only thing that is in the forefront of my mind – us staying in this league.”

Henry says today’s game beats even the 2007 play-off clash between to two for importance.

“The play off semi-finals were huge but this is bigger,” he said. “I think maybe we over achieved that season. We did so well and the gaffer had not long been in. We got to the play-offs and hadn’t got a huge squad at the time.

“We did fantastically well to get there. Now it is a different story. We are here on merit. We are two evenly matched sides and I think it will be a fantastic game. It’s one I’m really looking forward to.”

www.sundaymercury.net/midlands-sport/wolverhampton-wanderers-fc/wolverhampton-wanderers-news/2011/02/20/survival-more-important-than-derby-win-says-wolves-skipper-karl-henry-66331-28199879/



EIGHT YEARS AGO TODAY

QPR Official Site

NYGAARD SIGNS

Posted on: Mon 25 Jul 2005

QPR have completed the signing of Danish centre forward Marc Nygaard on a two year deal.

The 28 year old, who has represented his country at international level, put pen to paper on Friday afternoon at QPRs training ground in Harlington.

Nygaard has been training with the club this week before signing the deal and now he can't wait to be one of the Rangers family.

He said: "There is a great spirit here, it is like one big family, it is a lot different from Italy."

Nygaard joins the Rs from Italian side Brescia, but this is not his first taste of English football.

"The first game I ever attended was Arsenal v QPR at Highbury and I was standing by all the QPR fans so I followed the club when I was growing up.

"Many of my friends said I should play in England because it would suit my style. I am a very physical player and look forward to playing in the Championship."

Bill Power spoke of his delight on having signed the 6ft 5" centre forward, who signed on a free transfer.

He said: "Ollie has been looking for a top class centre forward for six months and Marc was always high on his list.

"I've spoken to him and I can't wait to see him wearing the hoops."

The deal was completed too late for Nygaard to face Iran on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Simon Royce could miss the game against Iran with a back injury and that may give a chance to trialist shot stopper Wayne Henderson from Aston Villa.


Read more: http://qprreport.proboards.com/thread/5328/years-today-nygaard-joins-iran#ixzz2Zrv38ing


EightYears Ago QPR sign Nygaard BBC - July 23, 2005: Holloway lands giant Danish star
QPR boss Ian Holloway has signed giant Danish international striker Marc Nygaard on a two-year deal.
Nygaard, 28, joins for an undisclosed fee from Italian side Brecsia.
The 6ft 5in tall forward told the club website: "The first game I attended was Arsenal v QPR and I was standing by all the QPR fans so I followed the club.
"Many of my friends said England would suit my style. I am a very physical player and look forward to playing in the Championship."

                    
Eight years ago today, QPR crushed Iran at Loftus Road. Trialist, Wayne Henderson in goal for QPR. Scorers: Furlong, Ainsworth and Santos

July 23, 2005 - QPR 3 Iran 0 - Sunday Times Match Report - July 24, 2005
QPR 3 Iran 0: Iran go under in away day to forgetBrian Glanville at Loftus Road

WAS their journey really necessary? Was it really worth the Iranians bringing a reserve team all the way to Shepherd’s Bush while five of their stars were in pre-season training with their Bundesliga clubs? At full strength, Iran, who have already qualified for the 2006 World Cup finals, are thought to have their best team ever. ..
Half-time was approaching when Lee Cook took a corner from the left, Dan shiteetu knocked it back and Paul Furlong squeezed his back-header inside the right-hand post.
Earlier on the Iranians had looked the more likely to score. QPR’s trialist goalkeeper, Wayne Henderson, made a resilient double save from first Yahia Golmohammadi, then Arash Borhani. But Iran faded in the second half. Gareth Ainsworth headed in another corner by Cook and himself took the corner from which Georges Santos headed a third. Times -

Bump another Year

BBC

QPR 3-0 Iran

Paul Furlong opened the scoring for QPR on 41 minutes
Paul Furlong, Gareth Ainsworth and George Santos all scored headers as QPR enjoyed a 3-0 friendly win over Iran.
The Iranians, who have qualified for next year's World Cup, held QPR at bay until the 41st minute, when Furlong headed Dan shitetu's cross home.

Substitute Ainsworth doubled the home side's lead 14 minutes after half-time, as he headed Lee Cook's corner.

And Ainsworth turned provider after 71 minutes, taking the corner which Santos headed to complete the scoring.

Summer signing Tommy Doherty made his debut for Rangers, playing just over one hour before making way for Marcus Bean.

Aston Villa trialist Wayne Henderson made an appearance in goal, while Derby trialist Jamie Vincent also played.


PHOTOS
www.justinbrown.co.uk/qpr/iran/iran.html

Read more: http://qprreport.proboards.com/thread/5328/years-today-nygaard-joins-iran#ixzz2Zrv85sYZ
- Other QPR-Iran Match Reports
qprreport.blogspot.com/2006/07/one-year-ago-todayqpr-3-iran-0.html

Photos from Game
www.justinbrown.co.uk/qpr/iran/iran.html



SANDS END

Ron Springett-From William Parnell To Wembley
Ron Springett was born in Fulham in 1935 and was one of six children. He grew up in Sands End in William Parnell House- a block of flats housing many large and deprived families. He went on to play in goal for Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday and England. He was first choice goalkeeper in the 1962 World Cup in South America but lost his place to Gordon Banks in the victorious 1966 finals in England. Springett recently received a winner's medal following a public campaign for all 1966 squad members to be recognised.


Portrait of Ron Springett and in action at White Hart Lane against Spurs
I contacted Ron in 2007 via his daughter Terry, an administrator at QPR, and asked him about his childhood and how he became a professional footballer.

FC: What do you remember about William Parnell House?

RS: We lived in a in a three bedroom flat in a five storey block - parents, three boys and three girls. There were no lifts. We had open fires so the coalmen had to carry their sacks up the stairs. Milk was delivered by horse and cart. There were two large courtyards used by the kids for football and other games. There were many large families on the estate but there was no trouble between neighbours. Collections were made from each flat for funerals.

FC; What School did you go to and were you academic?

RS: I was evacuated during the War years but then went to Ackmar Road School near Eelbrook Common.I was not very academic at school and thought more about football. I played truant a few times when Chelsea were playing in the afternoon and got caned for it -six of the best!

FC: How were you 'discovered'?

RS: I left School to work at Shell Mex as a fitter's mate and played football during the lunch hour. My fitter always thought I looked good and wrote to Fulham and QPR asking them to give me a trial. Fulham rejected me as being too short but eventually after a couple of trial games QPR signed me.

FC: Did you have to take a part-time job in your early days as a professional footballer?

RS: No, we worked as ground staff at QPR, cleaning boots, dressing rooms and sweeping stands and terracing- all for a very small wage. I had to do two years National Service between the age of 18 and 20, including one year in Egypt during the Suez Crisis.

FC: What was your most memorable moment as as a professional footballer?

RS: Saving a penalty in my first England match. I was also part of the 1966 World Cup Squad.

FC: What was your last match as a Pro?

RS: QPR v West Bromich Albion 26th December 1968.



Ron Springett Career Details

Signed by Queens Park Rangers in 1953. Sold to Sheffield Wednesday for £10,000 in 1958. He made 345 league appearances at Hillsborough. The Club allowed him to continue living in London. Trained with QPR.

England debut in 2-1 win over Northern Ireland at Wembley on 18th November 1959. He saved a penalty. Gained 33 England caps. Helped England to get to the quarter finals in the 1962 World Cup in Chile- the team losing out to eventual winners Brazil. His last England game was the 6-1 friendly defeat of Norway shortly before the 1966 World Cup Finals. Springett was a non playing squad member during the World Cup having lost his place to Gordon Banks. He recently learnt that all squad members of that victorious winning side were to receive medals.


Springett in Sheffield Wednesday colours (left) and on his England debut v Northern Ireland
Springett was sold back to QPR in 1967 in a part-exchange deal which took his younger brother Peter to Sheffield. He made 140 League and Cup appearances during his two spells at the West London Club.

I also reproduce an article written by Ron Springett and published in an old Charles Buchan Football Annual*, which my parents often used to buy their football crazy son for Christmas.


Now read more about the Springett family in the William Parnell House section of Where We Lived and what former W.P.H. resident John Warren has written about them.

All photographs on this page are used courtesy of IPC Specialist & Professional Press Ltd -publishers of Charles Buchan Football Publications.


http://www.sandsendrevisited.net/images/stories/Personalities/Ron_Springett/LARGE_RON%20SPRINGETT_5.jpg
www.sandsendrevisited.net/personalities/74-ron-springett-from-william-parnell-to-wembley/143-ron-springett-from-william-parnell-to-wembley

Read more: http://qprreport.proboards.com/thread/5292/qprs-england-goalkeeper-turns#ixzz2ZrvVUWRu

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Good Luck to #QPR Men at the #MaccabiGames..#WarrenFarm Builder....Flashback: Czerkas and Oliseh Join...Bernie Ecclestone Indictment


- Paul Lenchner @sirlench@QPRReport me and @nickastaire QPR boys representing Team GB at the maccabiah! pic.twitter.com/ZH4ZGh21KB
View image on Twitter


And a QPR Coach as well:


-  QPR Academy Coach....
  Times of Israel - A soccer stalwart finds Jewish life pitch perfect
Before the Maccabiah, Scott Shulton was relatively uninvolved in London’s community. Now he’s a coach and mentor to hundreds of Jewish students

By AARON KALMAN July 15, 2013, 11:16

Four years ago, after weeks of pleas, Scott Shulton succumbed to pressure from a number of friends and agreed to join England’s soccer team at the Maccabiah Games, a mere 11 days before the event started. That decision, he recalls, “changed my life.”

Participation in the Maccabiah marked the start of a special Jewish journey, in which Shulton went from being a relatively uninvolved member of London’s Jewish community to heading the school soccer program for Maccabi Great Britain and coaching hundreds of Jewish schoolchildren per week. In July he’ll participate in his second Maccabiah, this time as manager of England’s junior team.


The 23-year-old Shulton grew up in London’s Jewish schools, but dedicated his life to becoming a professional ball player. As a result, he told The Times of Israel in a recent interview, he “was never involved in the Jewish stuff outside of school. I had four or five practices a week. I didn’t go on tour [to Israel], because I couldn’t miss practice.” First in Watford FC’s children’s department and later, as a member of Wycombe Wanderers’ youth squad, “I was always training.”

Before the 2009 Games, he was in the midst of contract talks with a number of professional teams, and refused initial requests to join the Jewish team from Great Britain. However, when one of the squad’s members injured himself weeks before the tournament, “I ended up saying ‘Yes’ to something I never imagined happening.”

The Maccabiah “changed my life on its Jewish side,” he says. “To be able to go to Israel for a football tournament couldn’t have been more perfect.”

During the tournament, “I was so focused on what I needed as a player, I didn’t really have time for much else. I enjoyed the trips and sights, but to me it was all about the next match,” Shulton recalls his experience, and is still frustrated that the team ended up losing the finals to Argentina, in penalties. The plan for his upcoming trip to Israel, he says, is “to take a step back and enjoy being in Israel. Admire the country.”

Four years after that first Israel and Maccabiah experience, Shulton still enjoys playing the game, but dedicates most of his time to teaching it. Not long ago he joined the coaching staff of Queens Park Rangers (QPR), one of London’s oldest and most prestigious clubsIn addition, he’s been coaching England’s junior Maccabiah team — which he led to the gold in Vienna, at the 2011 European Maccabi Games.

“Maccabi GB contacted me about working with them. Two-and-a-half years on, I’m still there,” he describes how he moved from being a professional athlete to a professional Jewish educator, coach, and mentor. “Four years ago, I would have said ‘No, no chance.’ But since that call, I’ve worked in four schools … teaching almost 600 kids a week about skills, coordination, game planning.”

Shulton says that even when he was less involved, being part of the Jewish community in London was a given. “Being able to give back to the community is great.”

On Sunday, a plane with dozens of British-Jewish athletes, including Shulton’s team, landed at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport. He has high expectations of the 2013 Maccabiah, both on and off the pitch.

Cautious and respectful of the other teams, the coach believes his team will make it through the first stage and into the knockout rounds. As most of the players on the squad played together with him in Vienna, he states the goal is to “continue to win matches. We’ve proven we can do it.” However, he warns, in knockout stages with everything dependent on one game, “the best teams don’t necessarily win.”

Besides sports, Shulton says, the Maccabiah is about “feeling a connection that is worldwide” with other people. Getting to know other coaches and meeting new faces over a cold beer at the end of the day are on his to-do list for the Games.

At the last Maccabiah, he says, “I made good friends I’ve stayed in contact with — from the US, Israel, Australia and other places. I’m looking forward to seeing them and talking to them again.” Times of Israel


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 David McIntyre/West London Sport - Ferdinand and Young axed for Austria trip

Anton Ferdinand and Luke Young have been left out of QPR’s squad for their pre-season trip to Austria along with Adel Taarabt and Hogan Ephraim.
Ferdinand, sent on loan to Turkish club Burkaspor last season, is not in Rangers boss Harry Redknapp’s plans, while Young’s future has long been in doubt because of a hip condition.
Taarabt, who was sent home from the recent trip to Devon, is keen to leave the club before the new season starts, while Ephraim has been nursing an injury.
Jose Bosingwa, Joey Barton and Samba Diakite, whose Rangers careers are effectively finished, were also left out, as was keeper Julio Cesar – although QPR are still yet to receive a concrete offer for the Brazilian.
Ferdinand, Young and Bosingwa were instead named in the squad for an Under-21 match at Stevenage on Tuesday.
Striker Loic Remy, who has not featured during the pre- season campaign so far, did travel with the first-team squad to Austria, as did Esteban Granero despite the Spanish midfielder being likely to move before the start of the season.
Rangers are keen to sell Stephane Mbia, but he too made the trip.
Youngsters Michael Harriman, Max Ehmer, Frankie Sutherland and Mo Shariff are also with the senior squad.  West London Sport

McLaren beats rivals to £25m QPR training ground
www.constructionenquirer.com/2013/07/17/mclaren-beats-rivals-to-25m-qpr-training-ground/

Grant Prior | Wed 17th July | 7:24

McLaren Construction is believed to have won the race to build a new £25m training ground for Queens Park Rangers.

The Enquirer understands that McLaren was given the good news this week.

The club is hoping to start work shortly but is facing a legal challenge from local residents over the plans.

The Elite Training Facility and Community Sports Complex will be built on the Warren Farm site in Southall and is due to be ready ahead of the 2015/16 season.

The training centre will provide: grass pitches for the first team and academy, an indoor 3G pitch, an outdoor 3G artificial pitch, extensive gym, sports science and rehabilitation areas, Academy classrooms, a large number of changing rooms, media, catering and grounds maintenance facilities.

Populous is architect for the scheme.

McLaren’s win comes after its successful delivery of Tottenham Hotspur’s new £45m training ground in Enfield.

The contractor is also working on the first phase of Spurs’ stadium redevelopment plans.


- Les Ferdinand Favourite for Swindon Town Managerial Job

















Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Park-Ji Sung's Own #AirAsia Plane...#QPR Birthdays...Les Ferdinand to Swindon?...Flashback: Gerry Taggart to QPR (or Not!)

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-  QPR Academy Coach....
  Times of Israel - A soccer stalwart finds Jewish life pitch perfect

Before the Maccabiah, Scott Shulton was relatively uninvolved in London’s community. Now he’s a coach and mentor to hundreds of Jewish students

By AARON KALMAN July 15, 2013, 11:16

Four years ago, after weeks of pleas, Scott Shulton succumbed to pressure from a number of friends and agreed to join England’s soccer team at the Maccabiah Games, a mere 11 days before the event started. That decision, he recalls, “changed my life.”

Participation in the Maccabiah marked the start of a special Jewish journey, in which Shulton went from being a relatively uninvolved member of London’s Jewish community to heading the school soccer program for Maccabi Great Britain and coaching hundreds of Jewish schoolchildren per week. In July he’ll participate in his second Maccabiah, this time as manager of England’s junior team.


The 23-year-old Shulton grew up in London’s Jewish schools, but dedicated his life to becoming a professional ball player. As a result, he told The Times of Israel in a recent interview, he “was never involved in the Jewish stuff outside of school. I had four or five practices a week. I didn’t go on tour [to Israel], because I couldn’t miss practice.” First in Watford FC’s children’s department and later, as a member of Wycombe Wanderers’ youth squad, “I was always training.”

Before the 2009 Games, he was in the midst of contract talks with a number of professional teams, and refused initial requests to join the Jewish team from Great Britain. However, when one of the squad’s members injured himself weeks before the tournament, “I ended up saying ‘Yes’ to something I never imagined happening.”

The Maccabiah “changed my life on its Jewish side,” he says. “To be able to go to Israel for a football tournament couldn’t have been more perfect.”

During the tournament, “I was so focused on what I needed as a player, I didn’t really have time for much else. I enjoyed the trips and sights, but to me it was all about the next match,” Shulton recalls his experience, and is still frustrated that the team ended up losing the finals to Argentina, in penalties. The plan for his upcoming trip to Israel, he says, is “to take a step back and enjoy being in Israel. Admire the country.”

Four years after that first Israel and Maccabiah experience, Shulton still enjoys playing the game, but dedicates most of his time to teaching it. Not long ago he joined the coaching staff of Queens Park Rangers (QPR), one of London’s oldest and most prestigious clubsIn addition, he’s been coaching England’s junior Maccabiah team — which he led to the gold in Vienna, at the 2011 European Maccabi Games.

“Maccabi GB contacted me about working with them. Two-and-a-half years on, I’m still there,” he describes how he moved from being a professional athlete to a professional Jewish educator, coach, and mentor. “Four years ago, I would have said ‘No, no chance.’ But since that call, I’ve worked in four schools … teaching almost 600 kids a week about skills, coordination, game planning.”

Shulton says that even when he was less involved, being part of the Jewish community in London was a given. “Being able to give back to the community is great.”

On Sunday, a plane with dozens of British-Jewish athletes, including Shulton’s team, landed at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport. He has high expectations of the 2013 Maccabiah, both on and off the pitch.

Cautious and respectful of the other teams, the coach believes his team will make it through the first stage and into the knockout rounds. As most of the players on the squad played together with him in Vienna, he states the goal is to “continue to win matches. We’ve proven we can do it.” However, he warns, in knockout stages with everything dependent on one game, “the best teams don’t necessarily win.”

Besides sports, Shulton says, the Maccabiah is about “feeling a connection that is worldwide” with other people. Getting to know other coaches and meeting new faces over a cold beer at the end of the day are on his to-do list for the Games.

At the last Maccabiah, he says, “I made good friends I’ve stayed in contact with — from the US, Israel, Australia and other places. I’m looking forward to seeing them and talking to them again.”





Monday, July 15, 2013

Flashback: Foreign Investors Step in (Gianni!).... "#QPR as "one of London’s oldest and most Prestigious Clubs" ...#QPR Academy Coach....Ex-#QPR Director re Cisse and Wonga...Frank Clarke Turns 71

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- Frank Clarke Turns 71


- QPR REPORT MESSAGEBOARD

Follow QPR REPORT on TWITTER!



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Ex-QPR Director and Legal Counsel, Nick De Marco on Papiss Cisse and Wonga


- Ex-QPR Steve Yates Gets a Job at Bristol Rovers




- The Economist - A Villain's Guide to Football




Flashback - Nine Years Ago today...Here comes Gianni and co!


Mihir Bose -Daily Telegraph July 15, 2004 - Foreign investors step in to keep QPR in business


Queens Park Rangers are being rescued by a Monaco-based company of unnamed Italian and French investors who are putting in money to make sure the west London club survive.

In a series of dramatic recent developments at the club, who came out of administration only two years ago, the chairman, chief executive, and one other director have resigned and a new board have taken over.

The accounts for the season just concluded, in which QPR won promotion to the newly named Coca-Cola Championship, are not yet available. The club have only just finished preparing audited accounts for the year to May 2003, which covers the 2002-2003 season. However, these accounts have some information on the latest cash crisis. The Daily Telegraph has seen a copy and in it the directors confess that if new money is not made available the club would have to be wound up.

The directors' report says: "The directors have reviewed the group's budget for the current year and outline projections for the subsequent year including cash flows and forecasts of headroom available against current borrowing facilities, together with other likely sources of cash generation.

"Following this review, the directors have formed a judgment that, at the time of approval of the financial statements, the group does not have sufficient resources to continue operating in the foreseeable future without raising additional working capital. For this reason, the directors are actively seeking to raise further capital to meet the shortfall."

QPR were a casualty of the football recession even before the collapse of ITV Digital but their main problem is that they were never properly rescued. They went into administration with debts of £10 million and instead of coming out with no debts, as clubs that go into administration seek to do, came out with a long-term loan of £10 million. This is to a Panama-based company on which the club pay a crippling 10 per cent interest.

Since QPR came out of administration, the board have been seeking new money and all sorts of schemes have been floated, but none has worked.

QPR's ground-sharing with Fulham for two years was largely unsuccessful. Fulham paid £1 million a year as rent but QPR had to pick up the bill for all the extra match-day costs and made very little money. One source said: "It would have been much better if we had got [Mohamed] Fayed to pay us £15,000 a match to hire the ground and they met all the other bills."

Several people have been offering to find money. One of them, Tim Krause, an American who owns the United States team Milwaukee Wave, had various discussions with the club in the last few years. Bill Power, who is the new QPR chairman and provided £200,000 as a loan for the club, said: "In the end we found he was acting as an agent and it was not his own money he was investing. Why use an agent to find money when we can do it ourselves?"

It was a failure to find investors and disagreements about the way the club was run, leading to the horrendous cash situation, that forced the three directors to go: David Davies, the chief executive who was paid a salary of £135,000, Ross Jones, the chairman of the plc, and Nick Blackburn, the chairman of the football club.

The Monaco-based investors were introduced to the club by Gianni Paladini, the husband of Olga Paladini, who, through Moorbound Ltd, is a major shareholder with 22 per cent.

The new investors will buy new shares that QPR are issuing. This will give them 29.9 per cent of the club. Since they are buying new shares and not shares from another director, it will mean the £1.8 million they are investing will go directly into the club.

Chris Wright, the former owner with 14 million shares, and Moorbound with 18 million shares, will remain the other main shareholders.

Although the latest available accounts are a year out of date, they give an indication of QPR's predicament. The accounts show that in the 2002-03 season, while income rose from £5.6 million to £7.3 million, the loss increased 10 times from £413,000 to £4.3 million.

The accounts for the season just gone are expected to be much worse. But by the time they are revealed to the world the Monaco-based Italian-French alliance will be on board. The deal is expected to be done in the next few days.

Power would not disclose who they are but said: "They are football fans."


-  Times of Israel - A soccer stalwart finds Jewish life pitch perfect

Before the Maccabiah, Scott Shulton was relatively uninvolved in London’s community. Now he’s a coach and mentor to hundreds of Jewish students

By AARON KALMAN July 15, 2013, 11:16

Four years ago, after weeks of pleas, Scott Shulton succumbed to pressure from a number of friends and agreed to join England’s soccer team at the Maccabiah Games, a mere 11 days before the event started. That decision, he recalls, “changed my life.”

Participation in the Maccabiah marked the start of a special Jewish journey, in which Shulton went from being a relatively uninvolved member of London’s Jewish community to heading the school soccer program for Maccabi Great Britain and coaching hundreds of Jewish schoolchildren per week. In July he’ll participate in his second Maccabiah, this time as manager of England’s junior team.


The 23-year-old Shulton grew up in London’s Jewish schools, but dedicated his life to becoming a professional ball player. As a result, he told The Times of Israel in a recent interview, he “was never involved in the Jewish stuff outside of school. I had four or five practices a week. I didn’t go on tour [to Israel], because I couldn’t miss practice.” First in Watford FC’s children’s department and later, as a member of Wycombe Wanderers’ youth squad, “I was always training.”

Before the 2009 Games, he was in the midst of contract talks with a number of professional teams, and refused initial requests to join the Jewish team from Great Britain. However, when one of the squad’s members injured himself weeks before the tournament, “I ended up saying ‘Yes’ to something I never imagined happening.”

The Maccabiah “changed my life on its Jewish side,” he says. “To be able to go to Israel for a football tournament couldn’t have been more perfect.”

During the tournament, “I was so focused on what I needed as a player, I didn’t really have time for much else. I enjoyed the trips and sights, but to me it was all about the next match,” Shulton recalls his experience, and is still frustrated that the team ended up losing the finals to Argentina, in penalties. The plan for his upcoming trip to Israel, he says, is “to take a step back and enjoy being in Israel. Admire the country.”

Four years after that first Israel and Maccabiah experience, Shulton still enjoys playing the game, but dedicates most of his time to teaching it. Not long ago he joined the coaching staff of Queens Park Rangers (QPR), one of London’s oldest and most prestigious clubs. In addition, he’s been coaching England’s junior Maccabiah team — which he led to the gold in Vienna, at the 2011 European Maccabi Games.

“Maccabi GB contacted me about working with them. Two-and-a-half years on, I’m still there,” he describes how he moved from being a professional athlete to a professional Jewish educator, coach, and mentor. “Four years ago, I would have said ‘No, no chance.’ But since that call, I’ve worked in four schools … teaching almost 600 kids a week about skills, coordination, game planning.”

Shulton says that even when he was less involved, being part of the Jewish community in London was a given. “Being able to give back to the community is great.”

On Sunday, a plane with dozens of British-Jewish athletes, including Shulton’s team, landed at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport. He has high expectations of the 2013 Maccabiah, both on and off the pitch.

Cautious and respectful of the other teams, the coach believes his team will make it through the first stage and into the knockout rounds. As most of the players on the squad played together with him in Vienna, he states the goal is to “continue to win matches. We’ve proven we can do it.” However, he warns, in knockout stages with everything dependent on one game, “the best teams don’t necessarily win.”

Besides sports, Shulton says, the Maccabiah is about “feeling a connection that is worldwide” with other people. Getting to know other coaches and meeting new faces over a cold beer at the end of the day are on his to-do list for the Games.

At the last Maccabiah, he says, “I made good friends I’ve stayed in contact with — from the US, Israel, Australia and other places. I’m looking forward to seeing them and talking to them again.”
www.timesofisrael.com/a-soccer-stalwart-finds-jewish-life-pitch-perfect/




Shaun Wright-Phillips...Surrey Today - Former Chelsea and England footballer to appear at court today

Monday, July 15, 2013
Former Chelsea and England footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips is due to appear at Redhill Magistrates' Court today.

The 31-year-old Queens Park Rangers star, who lives in Shere Road, West Horsley, Leatherhead, faces one charge of keeping a motor vehicle which does not meet insurance requirements.
Wright-Phillips, who is the adopted son of former England international and Arsenal legend Ian Wright and half brother of fellow professional footballer Bradley Wright-Phillips, is alleged to have been the person in whose name a vehicle was registered under the Vehicle Excise and
Registration Act 1994 when it did not meet the insurance requirements of section 144A of the Road Traffic Act 1988.


It is alleged to have happened in Leatherhead on February 2 this year.
Born in Greenwich, Wright-Phillips made 153 appearances for Manchester City between 1999 and 2005, scoring 26 goals.
The winger moved to Chelsea for £21million where he scored 4 goals in 81 games. In 2008 he rejoined Manchester City and scored 9 goals in 64 appearances.
He is now playing at Queens Park Rangers and since 2011 has scored once in 52 games.

He got his first England cap as a substitute in 2004 against Ukraine and went on to represent England a further 35 times, scoring 6 goals.
www.dorkingandleatherheadadvertiser.co.uk/Chelsea-England-footballer-appear-court-today/story-19513840-detail/story.html#ixzz2Z5uup6Ii





Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Knee Surgery for #QPR Manager Redknapp...Taarabt Sent Home...Cotterill on QPR Time

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_______________________________________________

- Al Fayed Selling Fulham?


- 36 Years Ago Yesterday: Dave Sexton Left QPR  

                          


-
STANDARD/Simon Johnson re Taarabt & Redknapp Operation

Adel Taarabt could be on his way this time after he’s sent home
Rangers are determined to sell star after his latest misdemeanour on club’s pre-season training camp
Stalemate: QPR have struggled to find a buyer for Adel Taarabt

Adel Taarabt’s career at Queens Park Rangers look in trouble after he was sent home from the club’s pre-season training camp in Devon.

Standard Sport understands Taarabt was ordered to leave after failing to turn up for a training session on time.

QPR travelled to Woodbury on Sunday ahead of their first friendly of the summer against Exeter tomorrow.

However, Taarabt’s time there was over in less than 48 hours after falling foul of the coaching staff and he is already back in London. QPR today refused to comment on the incident.

It is not the first time the Morocco international has got in trouble as he was believed to have been fined £60,000 at the back end of last season for several breaches of discipline.

There has been a growing concern over his physical condition and a lack of work rate compared to the other players during training sessions. It is understood the club are determined to sell the 24-year-old this summer, although no bids have been received as yet.

Taarabt has enjoyed a long association with the club since he joined them on loan from Tottenham for the first time in March 2009. He secured a permanent switch from White Hart Lane in the summer of 2010 and went on to play a major role in them winning promotion to the Premier League that season.

French club Paris St-Germain wanted to sign him in 2011 but they could not agree a fee with Rangers. Significantly, he was only used as a fringe member of the squad near the end of the last campaign as the club slumped to the bottom of the League.

Rangers still regard him as one of the most technically gifted players in their squad but feel the time has come for him to move on. The club are hoping to make a number of changes to their squad this summer and have already sold Chris Samba back to Anzhi Makhachkala for £12m.

Manager Harry Redknapp wants to reinvest that money but it is understood hopes to sign Tottenham midfielder Scott Parker have faded.

Parker is available for transfer at Spurs as he is unlikely to get much first-team football next season following the arrival of Paulinho from Corinthians.

Hopes: QPR's bid to sign Tottenham’s Scott Parker has faded The England international will also have Mousa Dembele and Sandro to compete with for a first-team berth and Redknapp was hoping to capitalise on the situation. However, it is believed QPR are struggling to secure the deal, with Spurs asking for around £5m for his signature, while his wages are also an issue. It is also why any hope to sign Stoke striker Peter Crouch is not going to happen.

Meanwhile, QPR’s pre-season plans have suffered a blow with the news that Redknapp has had to undergo an operation on a knee injury.

The 66-year-old had to leave the club’s training base yesterday to have surgery on the problem which has been troubling him for several months.

Speaking today about the impact it could have, he said: “I have to spend at least six weeks on crutches, which is going to be a nightmare but I had no choice. It’s going to be a problem taking training but I have good staff — Kevin Bond, Joe Jordan and Steve McClaren.” Standard



Gloucestershire Echo

Cheltenham Town: I will still manage in the Premier League vows Cotterill


STEVE Cotterill is hungrier than ever to manage in the Premier League.

With his 49th birthday approaching later this month, the man who transformed Cheltenham Town from a semi-professional non-League team into an established, full-time Football League club is ready to return to the management hot-seat.

Cotterill spent the second half of last season coaching for Harry Redknapp at Queens Park Rangers.

He was invited back, but politely declined Redknapp's offer.


Cotterill described his experience at Loftus Road as valuable, but he is looking forward to being a number one again.

"It was a different experience, not being the manager, and there was a certain amount of frustration when you've been a manager for a long time," Cotterill said.

"There are already a couple of coaches and an assistant manager Harry has had with him for years really in Kevin Bond and Joe Jordan.

"It was probably good for me because it taught me to be a little more diplomatic, which you have to be in that type of environment.

"He's had those guys with him for a long time, so it was about me trying to fit into it and it was interesting and a good learning curve."

Cotterill left Cheltenham in 2002 after five years of unparalleled success, taking the top job at Stoke City.

He has since been number two at Sunderland as well as managing Burnley, Notts County, Portsmouth and, most recently, Nottingham Forest.

He was sacked for the first time in his career at Championship club Forest, something he said was hard to take after working so hard to turn around the former European champions' ailing fortunes.

"I want a managerial job and my ambition is still to manage in the Premier League and I am determined to fulfil that," Cotterill said. "With my last job at Forest, I walked into carnage really because they were all over the place.

"At that stage of my career, it was the right size club and challenge, but turning it around ranks as one of my biggest achievements."

Cotterill was dismissed by Forest's new owners from Kuwait, the Al-Hasawi family, before he had even met them.

"Sometimes circumstances don't allow you to carry on your progression and you almost have to choose the chairman before the club now," he said.

"Nigel Doughty was the chairman when I went in and he was one of the best in the Championship.

"For the money he put in, he deserved to be a Premier League chairman, but what can you do about someone dying at 54 of a heart attack?

"That was a huge kick in the teeth for everyone at Forest because he was a really wonderful man.

"The minute Forest lost Nigel, there was always going to be a rocky road and I ended up getting the sack from someone I'd never met!

"That's the way football is, but it doesn't make it any easier when it happens like that.

"I am more ambitious than ever now, but when you are older, you learn to keep it in check a little bit because sometimes your burning desire can go against you.

"I think I am far better and far wiser and I have had the benefit of travelling abroad and watching a lot of different styles of football, which I think all stands me in good stead."

Before taking the job at Forest, Cotterill had to deal with Portsmouth's deepening financial crisis, suffering the uncertainty of two periods of administration at Fratton Park.

"I was happy at Portsmouth because I loved the club and the fans are something special there, so to leave was very upsetting for me," Cotterill said.

"I think I've been pretty lucky in my life, but maybe I am due a lucky break now.

"In my last two jobs I had two owners at Forest and three at Portsmouth with two administrations, so hopefully there is better fortune around the corner."

Cotterill is known for his extensive knowledge of players and attention to detail, particularly with tactics.

He has embraced the new technology available to managers and believes his passion for the game makes him ready to hit the ground running, wherever his next job turns out to be.

"One of the reasons I left QPR is because I don't want to be seen as a coach who can manage, I am a manager who can coach," Cotterill said.

"I need to lead a team and I like the tactics and preparing a team for a Saturday.

"You can only do that when you are a manager.

"The next job has to be the right type of job, but I am constantly preparing for it.

"When I am in a job, I am in my office at 6.50am every morning and unless I am going to a game I wouldn't be leaving before 7pm – those are the hours I've kept wherever I've been.

"When I am out of work, I am constantly driving to games at my own expense because I am a football nut.

"I love football, that's the bottom line. I would cross the road to watch a game of football.

"Not everyone is like that, but I always have loved the game and I always will do.

"It hurts sometimes when you are not involved and it's difficult for me to not be involved in football at this moment in time.

"I need to get back in, lead from the front and make decisions – that's what I do."

Cotterill is confident his top-flight experience with QPR will be hugely beneficial.

"I have known Harry a long time and I appreciated him taking me in," Cotterill said.

"It was was good to work with the higher-profile players like Júlio César, the Brazil goalkeeper, José Bosingwa, who won the Champions League the year before with Chelsea, and I had good relationship with the players.

"Experiencing Adel Taarabt was also good because people might think he's difficult to manage, but he's a fantastic boy."

■ For part two of our interview with Steve Cotterill, looking back on his remarkable success at Cheltenham Town, see tomorrow's Echo.

www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/Cheltenham-Town-manage-Premier-League-vows/story-19499191-detail/story.html#axzz2YdLgRmXL



Exeter Official Site

Perryman: “It’ll be a great occasion”

16:00 9th July 2013

Steve looking forward to Rangers visit

It will be great for kids to be able to come and see their club playing against players that they’ve only ever seen on Match of the Day."

Steve Perryman

Exeter City’s director of football Steve Perryman is looking forward to the pre-season friendly against Championship outfit Queens Park Rangers on Thursday (11th July), and hopes that local youngsters will take advantage of the cheap entry to come along and see the Grecians take on the Hoops.

Tickets are just £2 anywhere in the stadium for under-18s and students with valid ID, and Steve feels that it is a good opportunity for fans to see international calibre players on the St James Park pitch.

And should he play, it would also allow fans to welcome back Jamie Mackie to the Park too.

“Kids watch plenty of football on TV and they’ll be very aware of the QPR players over the last couple of years in their ups and downs,” said Perryman. “It will be great for kids to be able to come and see their club from their local area playing against players that they’ve only ever seen on Match of the Day.

“Jamie Mackie should be a big draw too – it’s great to see ex-players back at the Park. We’ve had Dean Moxey back [with Crystal Palace], and now hopefully Mackie will be here too.”

“It’s always good to host Premiership or Championship clubs – and that’s with no disrespect to anyone else, as we’re not either of those two things. But you get to pit your skills against better players, albeit in pre-season when everyone’s getting their playing legs on again. It’ll be a great occasion for everyone.”

And Steve knows as much as most about the Hoops – as he was a frequent visitor to Loftus Road when he was a youngster himself. He also feels that the side will be a force in the Championship in the forthcoming season and will be looking to bounce back to the top-tier at the first attempt.

“I know all about the club, as I was a QPR fan – as a kid I used to watch them one weekend, and Brentford the next,” he continued.

“They were in the Third Division in those days, and previous to that in the Third Division South. Over the years they’ve come up to reach the Premiership, and even in my latter years as a player they were a force in Division One – so much so that I was the captain of the Spurs team that beat them in the FA Cup final in 1982, when Terry Venables was their manager.


“QPR are a very decent club – and Harry Redknapp likes it in Devon and likes the training facilities and the things we can offer here. Knowing Harry he’ll make them into a force to go straight back up to the top flight.”


The match kicks off at 7.30pm on Thursday 11th July. Tickets begin from £2 for under-18s and students and all tickets should be bought on the evening of the game. Click here for the full list of prices
www.exetercityfc.co.uk/news/article/perryman-itll-be-a-great-occasion-904196.aspx




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Five Year Flashback: Chairman Briatore Talking about Patience-



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