QPR return to action for the first time since sealing the Championship title with two friendly games against local non-league opposition this weekend.

After the British Golf Open is over and done with this weekend we enter that awkward little bit of the summer sport wise. Rangers have been off the menu for a while, Wimbledon is mercifully done and over with for another year and by Sunday night my favourite summer event, down at Sandwich this year, will be too. All that’s really left is for Hull FC to turn their promising league form and home cup draw into another season of missed opportunities and a couple of exciting looking test matches with India to drown in a sea of meaningless and boring one dayers and Twenty20 fixtures. Football gets some justifiable stick but it is our national sport for a reason – everything else is a bit shit really.

Everybody knows this deep down. Sky are doing their best to plug their cricket and rugby league coverage, the BBC have just rammed tennis down our throats for two weeks and are now doing the same with the golf but they know as well as us that football is what it’s all about. They admit as much themselves; the Beeb’s Wimbledon coverage had an omnipresent red button in the top right of the evening coverage that simply said “Live Football.” It was women’s football granted, but it was football all the same. Five minutes of the needless, mindless, pointless, unsporting and thoroughly irritating screeching from the female half of the Wimbledon draw and not only was I watching women’s football instead, I actually found myself heading off down to the park to see if High Barnet Under 8s were holding a training session I could watch. They were as it turned out, but apparently going down to the park to watch young boys running around is behaviour that can attract the attention of the Metropolitan Police. Who knew?

Anyway to fill the void we have pre-season friendlies which are, well, awful really. I shall indulge at the beginning of August at Crawley, but my trips to the golf this weekend prohibit me from sampling the delights of the first team match at Harrow on Friday night and the second string trip to Hampton on Saturday. A shame, I would like to have returned to the area I grew up in for the second game – although those who went to the oddly named Beveree Stadium last year were treated to ten kids and Rowan Vine throwing a strop so maybe I’m not missing much. Rangers fans will no doubt be keen to see Jay Bothroyd and Kieron Dyer for the first time, but all we really know at the moment is Danny Webber will definitely play at Harrow as part of his trial.

Pre-season friendlies are hateful things. Used as a fitness exercise by the players, but attended by stupid numbers of fans looking for their fix. Mediocre, pedestrian paced first halves give way to substitution riddled second periods with only the fear of Taarabt, Faurlin or another getting horribly hacked down and ruled out for six months to keep you remotely interested in proceedings. Some Premiership teams use them to make money – Arsenal for example are currently on a shirt selling exercise in China and Malaysia, a trip so important they’ve taken Jack Wilshere with them despite withdrawing him from the England Under 21 tournament (that actually mattered and served a purpose) just three weeks ago because of fears that he may burn out. Such is modern football.

Such concerns seem to come from a different world to the one our humble team occupies. Although, scarily, no longer a different league.

Five Minutes on Harrow

Earlsmead Stadium, Carlyon Avenue, South Harrow, HA2 8SS >>> Friday, July 15 >>> Kick Off 7.15pm

Overview: The Harrow fixture has become something of a tradition for QPR in recent times, and usually at this point I hand the whole preview over to their manager Dave Howell, himself a keen Rangers fan. However this year I shall be forced to plough on alone because Harrow, like our Saturday opponents Hampton, have undergone a change of manager this summer.

Both clubs, Hampton and Harrow, had enjoyed recent periods of relative success under the steady influence of a long term manager. In Harrow’s case Howell did a remarkable job to keep the club so competitive on such a shoestring budget. His annual interviews with LFW were designed to get as many Rangers fans through the gates at Earlsmead, both for the friendly game and then during the regular season at Harrow, as possible because fixtures like this really help clubs like Harrow get through the season.

I recall the first time we spoke a couple of years back when he was raving about a kid called Albert Adomah who he had just sold into the Football League with Barnet. Howell was convinced Adomah could do as well as DJ Campbell and reach the Premiership, and sure enough he is now a fixture in the Bristol City team that we have left behind in the Championship. Howell’s ability to bring players through has been a real asset to Borough, and this game is only taking place at all again this year because Rangers picked off Troy Hewitt, another of Borough’s rising stars, midway through last season. Hewitt was actually a non-contract player at Earlsmead, but Rangers did the decent thing and agreed to a friendly after agreeing terms with the player. Rangers fans await his first appearance in Hoops with interest.

Howell left to join St Albans City this summer after a season which saw Borough finish fifth in the Ryman League Premier Division and reach the FA Cup first round where they lost to eventual League Two champions Chesterfield. They had knocked out Hampton and Richmond from one level above, and Eastbourne Borough from the Conference National on their way to that fixture with Troy Hewitt bagging a hat trick in the latter fixture to step up interest from the likes of Barnet, Swindon and QPR.

In Howell’s stead Harrow have gone for experience and appointed Dave Anderson as their boss. Anderson may be a familiar name to BBC LDN listeners as he is one of the presenters of their non-league show. Anderson was the second manager at AFC Wimbledon, coming in two years after their formation after Middlesex Cup success three years in a row with his previous club Hendon. He achieved one promotion for the Dons in three seasons in charge.

After his appointment at Harrow, where he has managed previously, Anderson said: “I am delighted to be back at Harrow Borough, the Club I can really call my home. When I was invited to apply for the vacant position I did not need to be asked twice. Following last season’s achievements this is an exciting and unexpected challenge for me and I am determined to take the club forward.”

A bizarre fact from Anderson’s Wikipedia profile is that he met his wife at our own Alan McDonald’s wedding. Isn’t the internet a wonderful thing?

Chairman Peter Rodgers said: “He understands how the club works from his previous spells with us and his vast knowledge of Ryman League football and of players at non league level in general will enable the progress made in recent seasons to be further developed. We understand that initially we need to steady the ship after the unexpected departure of our previous management team, but we are confident that under Dave’s charge the club will be able to push towards the upper echelons of the Division with the aim of once again becoming realistic play-off contenders.”

Amazingly veteran striker Rocky Baptiste, he of the miss of all time infamy was still part of the Harrow team that lost in the play offs to Tonbridge Angels last season and is expected to play on again this season aged 42. There was talk of our former hero Paul Furlong also playing in this fixture, although that seems to have died down a little. The next Harrow star to step into the league could be full back Ryan Watts who is currently on trial at Barnet under Lawrie Sanchez. Anderson’s first challenge will be to stop a mass exodus of his players up to St Albans - Tobi Jinadu and Danny Hart are tipped to follow Howell along with at least three of their team mates.

Unbelievably you can actually bet on this game. BWin currently have 12/1 Harrow, 7/1 the draw and QPR a stingy 1/10.

Directions:

Now as Harrow is a bit of a swine to get to, particularly for 7.15 on a Friday night, and I’ve never had the pleasure myself I’m going to cheat for once and copy and paste the directions from the Harrow Borough Official Website. There are plenty of LFW regulars in the area and there is a message board thread with tips on pubs and transport that’s worth having a look at as well.

The ground is near to South Harrow (Piccadilly Line), Rayners Lane (Piccadilly and Metropolitan lines), Northolt (Central Line) and Northolt Park (Mainline from Marylebone).

The closest station is Northolt Park, which is just five minutes walk from Earlsmead after a journey time of 15-20 minutes from Marylebone. After leaving the station, turn right under the railway bridge, and take the left hand fork into Alexandra Avenue and next right into Somervell Road. Bear right into Carlyon Avenue, and Earlsmead is the second on the left.

From South Harrow Station, it is approximately 20 minutes walk to the stadium, or bus routes 140 and 114 take you to within a few minutes walk of the ground (114 being the nearest).

The 140 should be taken in the direction of Heathrow and Hayes, leaving the bus at Alexandra Avenue. The 114 should be taken in the direction of Ruislip, leaving the bus just after passing Rooks Heath school on the right hand side. It is then a 5-minute walk to the stadium. Regular buses from Rayners Lane Station (H10 direction South Harrow Station), run as far as the junction of Eastcote Lane and Carlyon Avenue. From Northolt Station, route 282 runs to the end of Somervell Road. Route 140 (direction Harrow) takes you as far as the junction of Alexandra Avenue and Northolt Road.

By car from the South / West:

From the M25 junction 16, take the M40 East towards Uxbridge and London. Continue onto A40, passing Northolt Aerodrome on the left hand side. At the Target Roundabout junction (A312) turn left towards Northolt. Just after passing Northolt Underground Station on the left hand side, turn left at the next set of traffic lights, onto Eastcote Lane, becoming Field End Road. At next roundabout, turn right onto Eastcote Lane. At a small parade of shops, take the turning on the right into Carlyon Avenue. Earlsmead is the second turning on the right.

From the North / East

From the M25 (junction 23) take the A1 south towards London. At the first roundabout you reach (petrol station on left), turn right onto Barnet Lane (A411), towards Elstree. A short distance along this road, turn left at the roundabout (still Barnet Lane towards Elstree). The road winds for about two miles, you’ll come to a crossroads with traffic lights at Elstree. Go straight over onto Watford Road. This road also winds for about a mile, and you’ll pass a pub and a small industrial park on the left. At the next roundabout (A41), go straight over (second exit) towards Harrow. You will pass immediately under a bridge, then about a quarter of a mile up this road, at the mini-roundabout, turn left into Heathbourne Road (A409).

About half a mile along this road, you will pass a BUPA (Bushey) Hospital on your right. Soon after, at the mini-roundabout, take the right hand fork into Magpie Hall Road. At the next set of traffic lights (Alpine Restaurant on opposite right corner), go straight ahead. After less than a mile, you’ll come to another set of traffic lights (Cream coloured pub, Blubeckers on opposite right corner). Go straight over into Brookshill (still A409). After about a mile, passing Weald College on your left, you reach a roundabout. Turn right onto A410 Uxbridge Road. This shortly becomes dual carriageway.

At the next roundabout – turn left into Courtenay Avenue. Go straight over roundabout, and continue down a short dual carriageway (passing Kodak on your left - road becomes Harrow View), to the next set of traffic lights. Turn right, into Headstone Gardens. Continue to next set of traffic lights at North Harrow. Go straight ahead (A4090 Station Road, becoming Imperial Drive), signposted to Rayners Lane / South Harrow, passing North Harrow underground station on your right hand side. Continue straight over at two sets of lights, then into Rayners Lane (passing Rayners Lane underground station on your right hand side) , continuing on A4090, Alexandra Avenue)

After approximately a mile and a half, at the next major set of traffic lights, turn right into Eastcote Lane (a large pub called The Matrix is on the right hand side at this junction). Take the next left into Carlyon Avenue, then Earlsmead is second on the right.

Five Minutes on Hampton

Beveree Stadium, Station Road, Hampton, TW12 2BX >>> Saturday, July 16 >>> Kick Off 3pm

Overview: I grew up a ten minute walk away from Hampton’s Beveree Stadium, behind the church on Old Farm Road. At the time that road was an un-adopted dirt track and our house was one of two new builds next to what once was the old farm house, since turned into two houses itself. It was an odd place, like living in the middle of the countryside despite being in the middle of suburbia. The Dillons family newsagent and greengrocer two minutes walk away added to the peaceful village feel of the place and I absolutely loved growing up there.

Now my memory may have dulled and it may never have been quite as good as I remember it, but whenever I make an effort to spend an afternoon back in that neck of the woods I’m always disappointed. It looks so much more run down. The Gardener’s Pub on the way to Hampton Hill is now an apartment block, the huge old Vicarage next to the church has been demolished and replaced with a stupid number of houses on a tiny plot, the old rutted farm track has been surfaced and turned into a cut through, the news agent and green grocers have gone to be replaced by a tatty laundrette and, soul destroyingly, a Costcutter. Hampton used to be a friendly place, now it feels as impersonal as the rest of the city. Joe’s Mexican Bar and Grill on Hampton Hill High Street is no more, and that is an absolute tragedy. I used to be in that place three times a week. I watched USA 94 in there, supporting Mexico naturally.

Hampton and Richmond Borough have come the other way. When I lived there they were seriously small time, knocking around in the deep, deep depths of the non-league pyramid. I remember a summer around 1994 when Arsenal agreed to play a pre-season game there and the whole area went absolutely crazy. Hampton Hill Junior School, where I was one of two QPR fans, had Arsenal posters up for weeks in advance of the fixture – Paul Merson, Tony Adams, Ian Wright, all coming to Hampton. In reality the Arsenal team that turned up wasn’t the firsts, or the reserves, or even the first youth team. A gang of pimply faced 15 year olds in Arsenal shirts interspersed with trialists and Ian Selley comfortably disposed of their awestruck hosts.

Hampton have come a long way since then, mainly thanks to the long term planning and astute management of former West Ham player Alan Devonshire. He ended an eight year spell at the helm of the club this summer, leaving them as an established team in the Conference South – just two levels below the Football League. I remember the Beveree Stadium with a stand on one side and a sloping plastic pitch (apologies if my mind is playing tricks on me and that’s not right) when I was a kid – it’s improved substantially since then.

QPR have even picked up a player from this part of the world during Devonshire’s tenure – Leroy Griffiths, whose finest hour sadly came in a pre-season friendly game where he annihilated Marcel Dessaily and Chelsea in a shock 3-1 win for the then-Second-Division R’s. QPR played a friendly at Hampton in return for Griffiths’ signature, and gave a trial that day to Dou Dou who subsequently did enough to earn a deal and became, briefly, a cult hero in W12.

The Beveree has now become a destination of choice for bigger clubs at this time of year. Chelsea and Brentford are also sending sides to TW12 this summer. But they will face a Hampton side under new management for the first time in eight years. Devonshire has been picked up this summer by Conference National newcomers Braintree, leaving his former assistant and reserve team manager Alan Harper in charge at Hampton, a club he played for in the 1980s.

Club chairman Steve McPherson said: “I see Mark Harper as the man to make this position his own and build on the past two years he has already spent at Hampton. I am confident that Mark will utilise his vast playing experience of non-league football to ensure that our club will be in safe hands; he is Hampton through and through and also understands the challenges that we face as a Blue Square Conference South club. Mark has already moved quickly to develop some key areas in the club including the establishment of his backroom staff as Hampton look to usher in a new era of change.”

There’s a touch of the Waddock and Holloway situation that we experienced at Loftus Road back in 2006 about all of this. Devonshire had been with Hampton a long time, and enjoyed decent success, but there seems to be a feeling among the Hampton faithful that he had gone rather stale in the role. Too much long ball football seemed to be a common complaint last season while Harper’s reserve side played a more attractive style. Gary Waddock was very keen to get Rangers playing football on the deck and distance himself from the perceived long ball game that Holloway employed at Loftus Road. Waddock’s tenure at Loftus Road didn’t work out, Harper will hope for better results down in Middlesex.

While praising Devonshire’s impact at the club chairman McPherson made veiled reference to the switch in styles when he spoke to the Richmond and Twickenham Times earlier this week. He said: “Dev did so well here and enjoyed so much success. He just felt he needed a new challenge. Mark is going to be compared to him and it is going to be hard to live up to that expectation. But I like the way he wants the team to play. He’s going to use a different formation and has a different team. A lot of players have commented how training is almost like being at a professional club.”

His first signing is former Woking centre half Mark Ruby. The 25-year-old was meant to move to Hampton six months ago but dislocated a knee cap while he was commuting 100 miles four times a week to play for Havant and Waterlooville. Ruby was also part of the Hayes and Yeading side which beat Hampton in the 2009 Conference South play off final to secure promotion to the top flight of non league football.

Ashford Town captain Billy Jefferys and Histon defender Callum Stewart have also been added to the Hampton ranks already this summer. Looking further down the squad list, the name of 18-year-old Brazilian Gustavo Sousa Mota stands out like a sore thumb as does, for QPR boardroom related reasons, striker Pietro… Palladino. Deep breaths.

Directions:

This one is easiest by train, with a half hourly service serving Hampton on the Sheperton line from Waterloo. Trains leave Waterloo at 12 and 42 minutes past the hour, coming back from Hampton at 21 and 51 minutes past. An £8 travel card will get you there and back and cover your tube in town as well. The ground is a short five minute walk away from the station, simply get off the train from London and come out of the station on that side of the tracks, turn left onto Station Road and follow it down to the ground. There are a number of decent pubs in this vicinity as well.

By bus the 111 from Kingston to Heathrow and the 216 from Kingston to Staines both stop outside the ground.

If you must drive then from the north or west come off the M3 at junction 1 before it becomes the A316 and then follow the A308 towards Kingston, past Kempton Park on your left and then turn left onto Percy Road once you reach Hampton. As you approach the railway crossing turn right onto Station Road and follow that down to the ground.

If you’re going to either game and fancy reporting back for LFW, then get in touch at loftforwords@yahoo.co.uk or on Twitter @loftforwords.

Photo: Action Images

Rs4life added 05:47 - Jul 15 I guess thats one of the advantages of living in Sydney - we've got proper Rugby League going on at the moment which is always great to watch. Great for the season to be getting underway again though.
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HarrowR added 08:23 - Jul 15 For anyone following the directions above to Harrow Borough, the pub mentioned at the end (The Matrix) has burnt down and is now just a burnt out building with a hoarding around it.
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Monahoop added 14:25 - Jul 15 A great and interesting insight into non league football Clive. I used to live in the neighbouring borough of Kingston and know the Beveree quite well. Despite being neighbouring boroughs there was never any real footballing rivalry between Hampton and Kingstonian, who I used to watch quite often. It was always Kingstonian and Sutton Utd. Hampton were for a long time languishing in the lower divisions of the Ryman League and Kingstonian rose to the lofty heights of the Conference for 3 seasons, then the money ran out. Relegation, administration, near liquidation and a drop into Ryman Div 1 suddenly saw Kingstonian become the poor neighbours to Hampton whose rise seemed to coincide with their fall. Hampton have had their fare share of gripes recently. I remember there was alot of opposition when the club was renamed Hampton & Richmond Borough. Richmond was a rugby union borough and the thought of it being asssociated with Association Football caused many of its snobby residents to baulk at such an idea. Also I believe the comedy playwriters Galton and Simpson [ of Steptoe fame ], were part of the Hampton board.

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Lofthope added 17:01 - Jul 15 A drop in your usual standard of writing I'm afraid Mr Whittingham. There is, at least, one more week of top quality sport to go as the Tour de France is still on. Indeed, a Brit could even win the Green Jersey to add interest. Harrow Borough is walkable from my house but the game clashes with the TDF highlights on TV this evening. Looks like the sofa for me.
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Northernr added 17:06 - Jul 15 Cycling? Purlease. Is that a barrel I can hear being scraped?
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R_in_Sweden added 17:23 - Jul 16 Tour de France or a match involving the swashbuckling Coventry side as referred to in previous LFW articles? I know which one I'd take given the choice. Don't knock cycling until you've tried it, it's a great way to work up a thirst. Speaking of France, anyone know where Taarabt is at the moment?
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