 Friday, 10th Dec 2010 00:22 by Clive Whittingham The BBC cameras are at Loftus Road on Friday night as QPR return to action against Watford looking to open up a seven point gap at the top of the Championship. QPR (1st) v Watford (10th)Npower Championship >>> Friday, December 10, 2010 >>> Kick Off 7.45pm >>> Loftus Road, London, W12 >>> Live on BBC2 Writing QPR match previews at the moment is like sitting down to watch Roadrunner cartoons. Every Thursday night I settle myself down in this chair and wonder is this the week? Is this the week the Roadrunner gets caught out? Is this the week the Coyote finally tastes victory? Is this the week somebody finally finds a way to beat QPR? Some weeks it doesn’t seem very likely. Coyote places a large boulder on top of a cliff and waits for the Roadrunner to speed beneath it only to pull the rope too late and find the weapon falling his way instead as the bird whizzes past unharmed. The Scunthorpe United at home of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon series if you like. But then on other occasions it’s seemed absolutely certain that the time has come. I mean being two nil down in stoppage time at Derby is a tough position to be in, and taking up a high vantage point where you can see the Roadrunner from a distance through the sights of a semi automatic weapon would seem to be a decent plan. Who would have thought we’d escape, and the Coyote would wind up down at the base of the cliff with three large bits of rock on his head again? Let’s not torture this poor metaphor any further, it’s never done anything to us. Friday night football returns to W12 today with the visit of Watford – a team tipped for relegation by many (yes, alright, me) before the season started but one that started the campaign very brightly indeed and were knocking around the play off positions until a recent dip in form, arrested by last weekend’s victory against Leicester. It’s a home game against an inferior team to ours, but one that presents a number of potential stumbling blocks. Watford are a side with some good players, Danny Graham in particular, and a decent manager doing lots with not very much at all. The game is on television which has previously meant Adel Taarabt will try to show off and our team will play well beneath their true level. Our worst result and performance this season came in our only televised game so far at Bristol City, and playing Watford live on the box has never really agreed with QPR – 3-1, 3-0 and 3-0 defeats in the last six years, although all at Vicarage Road. Rangers have an incredibly difficult Christmas with away games at Leeds, Norwich and Coventry broken up only by a home match against third placed Swansea. This is almost the banker three points of the holiday period, a chance to open up a nice seven point gap on Cardiff giving us breathing space for a tough few weeks where the unbeaten record is almost sure to go somewhere and the inclement weather is likely to play a further part – they’re forecasting a new ice age in Leeds starting at the end of next week. An earlier kick off than usual gives us a chance to pressure Cardiff as they travel to Middlesbrough, not the walkover victory the league table may suggest without Jay Bothroyd, or give them encouragement should we lose. This time last season we went into a televised game with Watford nicely positioned in the league after a succession of high scoring victories. A 5-1 weekend defeat against Middlesbrough hinted at problems behind the scenes but things really exploded after a the 3-1 defeat at Vicarage Road and manager Jim Magilton was sacked for his violent reaction in the changing rooms afterwards. Could lightening strike twice against the Hornets? Could this be the week that the Acme patented bird trap finally springs successfully?
Five minutes on WatfordRecent History: Watford have been to the Premiership twice in recent times – on both occasions they stayed for a single season, and then paid for their reckless spending for several years afterwards. The boy with the golden ticket, and the one that cried wolf, with the memory of a goldfish prone to forgetting the lessons they learnt from previous mistakes all rolled into one. Their first visit came in the 1999/00 season. Graham Taylor had returned as manager, having previously worked above Kenny Jackett as director of football, two years prior to this with the club languishing in the Second Division. Taylor is to Watford what Gerry Francis is to QPR and his third spell as the club’s manager proved to be a roaring success as the club enjoyed back to back promotions – champions in the Second Division, play off victors against Bolton in this league. Taylor is a likeable and knowledgeable manager and pundit whose one big failure was with England, and even then his treatment by the British media was a disgrace. He fitted well at Watford in two spells but Premiership survival was beyond even his ability. Watford’s team for their play off success was Alec Chamberalin, Darren Bazeley, Peter Kennedy, Robert Page, Steve Palmer, Paul Robinson, Michel Ngonge, Micah Hyde, Tommy Mooney, Richard Johnson and Nick Wright with Chris Day, Alon Hazan and Allen Smart on the bench. Not exactly household names and when seven of those players made the starting eleven for their first game in the top flight the writing really was on the wall. Wimbledon beat them 3-2 on day one and they ended the season relegated with a whimper. They won six games all season and one of them came on the final day in a dead rubber against Coventry – Heidar Hegluson got that goal and you’ll already have recognised four other QPR connections. In an attempt to make an immediate return to the top flight Watford handed their parachute payments to Gianluca Vialli who, ably assisted as always by Ray Wilkins (those connections keep coming) who knows a thing or two about blowing transfer funds on tat, bought people like Ramon vega and bankrupted the club while making the team worse. Fast forward to the end of 2005. Watford had steadied the ship on the field and consolidated their position in the second tier once more with Ray Lewington at the helm. In the boardroom they’d just about managed to survive Vialli’s reckless and hapless reign, and the collapse of ITV Digital. Lewington was replaced in March by Aidy Boothroyd – an unknown reserve team coach at Leeds United who confounded low expectations and prophecies of doom by winning promotion to the Premiership in his first full season in charge. Again they needed the play offs, this time Leeds were the beaten finalists bringing children out onto the streets up and down the land to celebrate the hilarity of it all. A few more QPR connections in their line up for an opening day defeat at Everton – Ben Foster, Lloyd Doyley, Addrian Mariappa, Danny Shittu, Chris Powell, James Chambers, Gavin Mahon, Damien Francis, Ashley Young, Marlon King and Darius Henderson with Jay Demerit, Hameur Bouazza and Tamas Priskin the used substitutes – but still a pretty lousy side by Premiership standards. Again they were relegated in bottom spot, this time hamstrung early by Marlon King’s ruptured knee ligaments and winning few friends with Boothroyd’s notoriously direct playing style, and again they were subsequently crippled financially. This time they won five games, again including a game so late in the season it hardly mattered when Gavin Mahon volleyed in from fully 35 yards (no, seriously) in a 4-2 home win against Portsmouth, but the contracts they gave out while there and were forced to extend by clauses in existing deals meant they were absolutely skint within a year of returning to this division. Watford had initially looked good value to return to the top flight at the first time of asking with ten wins and a draw from their first 12 matches back in the Championship but their dire second half of the season, a clear warning against QPR getting too carried away with their current position, saw them beaten comfortably in the play offs by Hull. Cue a fire sale, financial problems, flirts with relegation and Boothroyd’s departure in 2008. Watford stayed up in the 2008/09 season largely thanks to a creditable recovery under another rookie boss Brendan Rodgers. He had earned a good reputations coaching at Reading and Chelsea and having enjoyed success with an unknown before the Hornets overlooked Malky Mackay, a former player who had done a fine job as caretaker manager, and went for Rodgers instead. Not only did he keep them up with something to spare, he did it playing reasonably attractive football which was something of a relief from the Boothroyd days and actually made Tamas Priskin look like a player somebody might want to spend a seven figure sum on. The manager that did that was, to be fair, Roy Keane so don’t attach too much credit or weight to the signing but it was still an achievement on Rodgers’ part nonetheless. He was then immediately picked off by his former club Reading for the long term rebuilding process required at the Madejski Stadium, a process he was sacked less than six months into, and Watford were left to shuffle awkwardly back to Mackay and ask if he wouldn’t mind awfully taking the job this time. Mackay did, and showed canny use of the loan market last season with players like Henri Lansbury, Heidar Helguson and Tom Cleverley providing much needed guile and quality to the Hornets during yet another cash crisis that threatened to engulf the club around Christmas. They looked potential play off material in the end, but ultimately only just stayed in the league and were fortunate to do that with unwanted distractions behind the scenes. With the loanees returning and a quiet summer in the transfer market Watford were the LFW tip for the drop this season but opened up with a 3-2 win at Norwich and muscled in among the early pace setters. QPR connections, financial peril and ill-fated trips to the big time have been recurring themes so far – good starts to seasons that fall away into despair is another and Watford, with only one win from their last eight games, must beware a repeat this term. The Manager: Mackay the player was a man who knew his limitations, or more likely was made acutely aware of them by his managers. An uncompromising centre half picked up from St Mirren by Celtic in 1993 Mackay moved south in 1998 and thereafter enjoyed winning promotion from this league three times with three different clubs – all of whom immediately moved him on once they reached the higher level. First there was Norwich under Nigel Worthington, then West Ham with Alan Pardew and finally Watford under Aidy Boothroyd. They all knew what he could bring – organisation, leadership, experience and gratuitous violence at the heart of the defence – but they all knew that he had the turning circle of a cruise liner and the pace of a piece of street furniture. Embarrassing exposure beckoned at the hands of Theirry Henry and company upstairs so he was shuffled aside with a firm handshake of thanks, but no thanks. Mackay, being Scottish and hard, was clear and obvious management material and can probably count himself unfortunate not to have got the Watford job following Boothroyd’s departure in 2008 when he did a very decent job indeed as caretaker manager of a stricken side – picking up a League Cup win at Swansea and the now annual mauling of QPR at Vicarage Road. Brendan Rodgers did a very good job having been appointed ahead of Mackay but the Scot has shown since taking charge permanently in the summer of 2009 that he’s more than capable of keeping Watford in this league, which is all they can really hope for in their current financial position. Mackay made sound use of the loan market last season, and has possibly benefited from the element of surprise this term. Recent results suggest the going is about to get very tough indeed. Three to watch: Having tipped Watford for a relegation struggle and Norwich for a second consecutive promotion push the opening night win by Mackay’s men at Carrow Road live on Sky left me somewhat dumbfounded. I maintain those two predictions will stand up come the end of the season because Norwich have since settled down and started to play while Watford have drifted away from their excellent start in recent weeks. Mind you they showed that night, and throughout the first two months of the season, that there is enough quality in this Hornets team to compete at this level despite what the pundits said in the summer. Danny Graham is the main man – a line leading striker bred in Middlesbrough’s excellent academy and hardened by a spell in League One with Carlisle and loan spells with five different clubs across three divisions. He has ten goals so far this season, including two in that first day win at Norwich and a late winner last time out against Leicester. He’s a confident, awkward lad to play against but Watford are vulnerable to cash offers for such players and may well find vultures flapping around him in January. The way QPR set up with Taarabt flitting around the feet of a main striker makes me think Graham would actually be an ideal signing for us, although with Rob Hulse currently fulfilling the role and Heidar Helguson playing out of his skin prior to his injury perhaps I’m being greedy there. The plaudits last season mostly went the way of Manchester United loanee Tom Cleverley, who scored against QPR at Vicarage Road and caught the eye sufficiently to get a Premiership deal with Wigan this season. Another goalscorer that fateful night a year ago was slightly more unlikely - Lloyd Doyley flung himself full length at a Don Cowie cross to head home his one and only Watford goal in 314 appearances. I think the anniversary of the goal has been declared a public holiday in this part of the world. Doyley is a hard working but limited right full back with a long throw, linked with a move to QPR a couple of seasons back when Gianni Paladini was busy hovering up Base Soccer’s client list with the pots of money that were suddenly pouring into Rangers. Doyley stayed put, and followed John Jensen and others into the annuls of player who score rare goals against QPR. We’re good to players like this, and could easily let Doyley score again on Friday knowing our luck. And while we’re on the subject of players we almost signed, Martin ‘Tiny’ Taylor is likely to line up against us tomorrow night after rejecting a move to Loftus Road two years ago. Back then QPR signed Fitz Hall instead (groan) because Taylor, then with Birmingham, wasn’t convinced that he would not be dumped by Rangers as soon as they won promotion to the Premiership having met with Flavio Briatore. Since then Taylor has become public enemy number one for clumsily shattering Eduardo’s leg into three million pieces and been forced to drop down a level and sign for Watford, while QPR have been in the Championship all along. He probably would have been better off at Loftus Road, and he certainly wouldn’t have done any worse than Hall has done in W12. If there’s a criticism, it’s that he should score more from set pieces given his height. That’ll be Taylor for the first goal tonight then. Links >>> Official Website >>> Watford Message Board
HistoryRecent Meetings: Both fixtures between these two sides last season went the way of the home team, although the circumstances were markedly different. By the time the sides met in April QPR had just about secured their safety while Watford were still in some trouble towards the bottom end of the league – both teams had been in and around the play off zone when they met before Christmas. Bizarrely, because of the ash cloud covering Europe preventing travel, the country’s media pitched up to cover the game unable to reach the Champions League matches taking place that night and they were treated to a drab affair settled by Akos Buzsaky’s first half penalty. QPR: Cerny 7, Leigertwood 6, Ramage 7, Gorkss 7, Tosic 7, Ephraim 7, Buzsaky 6 (Oastler 6), Faurlin 5, Vine 4, Taarabt 3 (Cook 5), German 5 (Simpson 6) Subs not used: Putnins, Brown, Parker, Priskin Booked: Buzsaky (diving), Ephraim (foul), Cook (foul) Goals: Buzsaky 38 (penalty) Watford: Scott Loach 5, Adrian Mariappa 6, John Harley 6, Martin Taylor 7, Dale Bennett 5 (Lloyd Doyley 7), Lee Hodson 6, John Eustace 6, Ross Jenkins 7 (Micheal Bryan 6), Henri Lansbury 6, Stephen McGinn 5 (Marvin Sordell 7), Danny Graham 7 Subs not used: Lee, Oshodi, Hoskins, Henderson Booked: Eastace (foul), Mariappa (foul) Such was the dramatic nature of the post match events at Vicarage Road when these sides met in December last season the game itself actually gets overlooked. Coming into the match just 48 hours after a 5-1 home defeat by Middlesbrough the R’s took the lead when Faurlin fed a cute ball through to Agyemang who hammered it home from the edge of the area. It was clear all was not well within the camp though when Agyemang made a point of refusing to celebrate after scoring and sure enough before half time the Hornets drew level when Lloyd Doyley scored his first goal in three quarters of a million appearances with a spectacular diving header. The impressive Tom Cleverley set up Cowie for an eye catching second ten minutes after the break and then rounded the scoring off himself deep into injury time with Rangers pushing forwards looking for an equaliser. After the match the inquest in the visiting dressing room became heated and Akos Buzsaky was allegedly headbutted by manager Jim Magilton, and later found wandering around at the side of the pitch still in his full kit. The manager was sacked and replaced, disastrously, by Paul Hart. QPR were in the play off places at the start of play but by the end of February had worked their way through two more managers and sunk to twentieth. Watford: Loach 6, Hodson 6, Mariappa 7, Cathcart 6 (DeMerit 46, 7), Doyley 8, Cowie 8, Cleverley 8, Eustace 7, Harley 7 (Severin 82 -), Ellington 5 (Henderson 57, 6), Graham 5 Subs not used: Lee, Bennett, Sadler, Bryan Goals: Doyley 43 (assisted Cowie), Cowie 56 (assisted Cleverley), Cleverley 90+4 (assisted Henderson) QPR: Cerny 5, Ramage 6, Hall 5, Stewart 6, Borrowdale 6, Routledge 4 (Simpson 72, 5), Watson 4, Leigertwood 5 (Buzsaky 76, 4), Faurlin 7, Agyemang 6, Vine 3 (Taarabt 59, 4) Subs not used: Taylor, Gorkss, Williams, Pellicori Goals: Agyemang 33 (assisted Faurlin) Bookings: Stewart (foul), Hall (foul), Borrowdale (foul) Head to Head >>> QPR wins 47 >>> Draws 39 >>> Watford wins 31 Previous Results: 2009/10 QPR 1 Watford 0 (Buzsaky) 2009/10 Watford 3 QPR 1 (Agyemang) 2008/09 QPR 0 Watford 0 2008/09 Watford 3 QPR 0 2007/08 Watford 2 QPR 4 (Rowlands 2, Stewart, Buzsaky) 2007/08 QPR 1 Watford 1 (Moore) 2005/06 QPR 1 Watford 2 (Nygaard) 2005/06 Watford 3 QPR 1 (Shittu) 2004/05 QPR 3 Watford 1 (Gallen 2, Furlong) 2004/05 Watford 3 QPR 0 2000/01 QPR 1 Watford 1 (Ngonge) 2000/01 Watford 3 QPR 1 (Connolly) 1998/99 QPR 1 Watford 2 (Peacock) 1998/99 Watford 2 QPR 1 (Slade) Played for both clubs >>> Steve Palmer Watford – 1995 to 2001 >>> QPR – 2001 to 2004 The term ‘unsung hero’ was invented for people like Steve Palmer. Ian Holloway once memorably pointed out that at a concert you cannot have everybody playing the piano, you have to have somebody to carry the instrument onto the stage in the first place and in the nicest possible way Palmer was that piano carrier for QPR. Palmer started his career at Ipswich Town in the late 1980s after graduating from Cambridge University with a degree in software engineering. He played mostly as a steady holding midfield player, getting and giving, winning and passing – an intelligent man on and off the pitch and very useful to Ipswich as they attempted to keep pace with the ever changing face of football around the dawn of the Premiership. Watford, a team he had once scored an own goal against for Ipswich, paid £135,000 for him in 1995 when Glenn Roeder was the manager. The Hornets were struggling in the third tier at this stage but Palmer earned plenty of plaudits for his central midfield performances. In 1997 when Graham Taylor returned for one of his 137 spells in charge of Watford he found himself out of the team with Richard Johnson and Micah Hyde occupying the midfield roles but he acted as cover in a variety of positions and, when he started the final game of the season in goal, he set a unique record of starting in every shirt from 1 to 14 during the campaign. Palmer later went close to playing in goal for QPR in a game at Hartlepool before the last second signing of Lee Camp got us out of jail. When promoted into the First Division for the 1997/98 season Palmer moved to centre half alongside Robert Page and formed a solid base for the Hornets. Palmer was voted the club’s Player of the Year and got a play off winner’s medal to go along with that after their Wembley success against Bolton took them into the Premiership. Palmer was ever present in the top flight but Watford were comfortably relegated and when Gianluca Vialli took over 12 months later, bringing the likes of Ramon Vega with him, Palmer was first sidelined and then transfer listed. QPR meanwhile had seen their squad decimated by administration to such an extent that new manager Ian Holloway had just seven professionals signed up to start pre-season ahead of the 2001/02 season, and two of those players Richard Langley and Clarke Carlisle were out for many months to come with ruptured knee ligaments. Holloway embarked on a recruitment mission the likes of which has rarely been seen and, aided and abetted by assistant manager Kenny Jackett, Watford became something of a local convenience store for the R’s. Chris Day and Alex Bonnot joined Palmer in making free transfer moves to W12 and the veteran proved to be exactly what QPR needed. A mercilessly consistent performer and wonderful captain for a team that often had to be introduced to each other in the dressing room before matches. He was superb in his first season – ever present and captain at centre half - but over the coming two campaigns his age and chronic lack of pace increasingly caught him out. At centre half there were few better performers in the Second Division however he was definitely a ‘manager’s player’ in that Ian Holloway would select him whenever he was fit enough to get out of bed when often supporters would have preferred to see somebody like Aziz Ben Askar given a run in the side. Holloway’s infuriating insistence that a 36 year old Palmer could still play in the centre of midfield in his last season with the club when all facts said otherwise meant that many QPR fans do not remember Palmer as fondly as they should. He was a terrific signing at just the right time at QPR and did a wonderful job with us in a difficult period. He was offered a coaching role at the end of the 2003/04 promotion season but he turned it down to continue playing at MK Dons for a further 12 months before finally retiring. An incredibly likeable fellow and terrific pro he is now working in Tottenham’s academy set up. Links >>> QPR 1 Watford 0 Match Report >>> Watford 3 QPR 1 Match Report >>> Connections and Memories >>> Betting Preview
This FridayTeam News: Tommy Smith is set to face his former club for the first time since leaving for Portsmouth 18 months ago, but Heidar Helguson is likely to have to make do with a place on the bench against the side he has played for twice previously including last season on loan. Rangers have Lee Cook (another former Hornet) and Peter Ramage on the long term injured list, Akos Buzsaky is still a couple of weeks away from fitness and Martin Rowlands is out of favour with management. All in all the R’s are highly likely to be unchanged from the 2-1 win against Cardiff a fortnight ago. Watford have Michael Bryan back after an ankle injury ruled him out of their 3-2 win against Leicester. Promising youth teamer Gavin Massey, linked with Liverpool in recent weeks, did not travel for Watford’s FA Youth Cup tie against Swindon on Thursday evening as he is in the travelling party for the Loftus Road fixture. Manager Malky Mackay told the Watford Observer: “Gavin’s going to be involved with the first team squad. He came on at the weekend for five minutes or so to get that bit of experience. He’s been doing very well with the Youth and Reserve teams lately and I just felt it was time for him to be involved with us. We’re very short of numbers at the moment and he’s another youngster that’s doing well. It shows there are youngsters at Harefield coming through our Academy and coming into our youth set up. There is potential but you have to go out and do it and at the moment Gavin’s doing well for us in the Reserves.” Elsewhere: Last week Cardiff failed to capitalise on our lack of a game when they could only draw with bottom of the table Preston, this week it’s their turn to sit and watch as Rangers and Swansea play a day earlier. Win and Rangers will be seven points clear as Cardiff travel to Middlesbrough on Saturday, lose and not only do Cardiff have renewed hope but Swansea can move to within two points if they beat Millwall at home on Friday evening. Regardless of our result, Swansea will go second with a win there. Gaps are starting to open up down the league table with seven points now between the last play off spot and Portsmouth and Leicester who are being tipped for a storming second half charge up the table. However there is still just four points between sixteenth and eighth and a recent trend of the chasing pack playing each other continues this weekend when Leeds go to Burnley before welcoming QPR to Elland Road next weekend and Coventry play Reading. At the bottom Preston won’t have many better chances to nail that elusive win than this weekend when Ipswich visit on the back of five straight defeats and with pressure building on Roy Keane. Hull in nineteenth take on Palace, two points and three places worse off, at the KC Stadium. Bristol City boss Keith Millen pipped Neil Warnock to the Manager of the Month award this week and his team meet Derby this weekend in a clash between two in form sides. Referee: Darren Deadman takes charge of this fixture, his first QPR game since the final day of last season when he sent off Peter Ramage in our 1-0 defeat by Champions Newcastle. This season it’s QPR who hope to be celebrating on the Loftus Road pitch after the final final whistle of the season, and on Friday they can take another step towards that if Deadman can resist furthering his chequered history with QPR which you can read about by clicking here.
FormQPR: Another club record looms large on the horizon – 20 matches unbeaten would equal an achievement set by Alec Stock’s all conquering double winners of 1966/67 and then subsequently equalled over two seasons by Gordan Jago’s team in 1972. Hull City brought an end to the latter run, but Rangers dodged that bullet with a postponement at the KC Stadium last week. The R’s have won 11 and drawn eight of their 19 matches so far, at home they have won seven and drawn three conceding just four goals and scoring 21. BBC “pundit” Steve Claridge said this week that he’s not convinced by the Rangers defence – the R’s have conceded nine goals in the entire campaign, the next best record is Swansea and Forest who have shipped 17. Watford: The Hornets ended a run of seven games without a win with a 3-2 success against Leicester last weekend and have picked up 14 points on the road this season compared to 13 at home. Watford and Cardiff are the only teams who can match QPR’s scoring record this season, all three teams have 35 goals to their names so far. On the road this season they have won at Norwich (2-3), Bristol City (0-2), Millwall (1-6!) and Sheff Utd (0-1). It’s an impressive record but one that has come by meeting teams at a good time in my opinion – more recently they’ve been beaten at Derby, Palace, Burnley and Portsmouth in four of their last five trips so they’re not as formidable on the road as their early results may suggest. Prediction: An awkward one because you just never know which QPR will turn up when the television cameras are in town, and Watford have revelled this season in an underdog status. Nobody gave them a prayer in a Friday night TV game at Norwich on day one and they won there, and can win here as well. That said it’s hard to back against QPR at the moment, although that isn’t stopping Steve Claridge and that turnip from the Betting Zone doing exactly that every Friday, and I’m going to go for a win myself. QPR 2-0, 8/1 with Paddy Power Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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