The Pre-Match Warm Up
Friday 6th April 2007
by Ron Norris & Simon Skinner
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THE
BIG DOUBLE EASTER WARM UP
Easter might be a poor mans Christmas
but it is a rich time indeed for anyone following a football club. This
is the time of the year when dreams are made or shattered, when a years
work starts to pay off or goes up in smoke and by Easter Monday maybe
Rangers' season would have been resurrected. |
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Match Preview |
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Coventry City v Queens Park Rangers
The Championship
Saturday 7th April 2007
Kick Off 15:00 |
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Queens
Park Rangers v Luton Town
The Championship
Monday 9th April 2007
Kick Off 15:00 |
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TEAM NEWS |
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QPR - John Gregory will be sweating
over the fitness of both Lee Cook and Michael Mancienne after they were
forced off at half time on Tuesday night. It may be the case that he rests
them for the Coventry game and plays them in the massive relegation ding
donger against Luton on Monday. Idiakez and Rowlands are still nursing sore
hamstrings so their participation in either game is a doubt.
Coventry – Iain Dowie will be able to
select Kevin Kyle after the Scottish striker managed to avoid getting a bit
of bird for clumping some fella. Senegalese midfielder Khalilou Fadiga may
get a run out so St Johns will need to be on red alert with their
defribulator! Other than that it is full steam ahead at Cov as they look to
get back to winning ways.
Luton – The Hatters are of course
missing all of their best players after the chairman flogged them! From what
is left Kevin Blackwell will be without hamstring victim Leon Barnett and
Clarke Carlisle who has returned to Watford. Ahmet Brkovic might be back
over Easter after recovering from the ankle injury inflicted by Stefan
Bailey in the FA Cup replay. |
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A QUICK GUIDE TO OUR OPPONENTS |
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COVENTRY IN
BRIEF |
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The Sky Blues have had something
of an upturn in fortunes since Mr Charisma Mickey Adams was
sacked back in January. Since Dowie arrived in February they
have won all four of their home games and moved near the top of
the divisions form guide. Dowie will doubtless be instilling
confidence in his men by using a host of long words to back up
the fact that he has been to university. |
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TOP SCORERS |
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Name |
FLC |
FAC |
LC |
Total |
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Dele Adebola |
8 |
0 |
1 |
9 |
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Leon McKenzie |
6 |
1 |
0 |
7 |
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Elliot Ward |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
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Michael Doyle |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
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Colin Cameron |
2 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
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LAST FIVE
GAMES |
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Date |
Versus |
Venue |
F |
A |
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01/04/07 |
Birmingham |
Away |
0 |
3 |
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17/03/07 |
Barnsley |
Home |
4 |
1 |
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13/03/07 |
Wolves |
Home |
2 |
1 |
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10/03/07 |
Colchester |
Away |
0 |
0 |
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03/03/07 |
Hull |
Home |
2 |
0 |
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CLASH OF THE
DAY |
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Dele Adebola v. Danny Cullip.
Adebola is an absolute brute who runs like Shergar so he will
take some stopping. He always turns in a good display against
Rangers and bagged the winner at Loftus Road earlier in the
season. Danny Cullip will need to produce a display every bit as
good as the one he produced against Preston to keep the man
mountain under wraps. |
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LUTON IN
BRIEF |
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The editor of the Luton/Kabul
Tribune must be cursing now that Mike Newell’s smart mouth has
finally talked him out of his job. Brian Stein took over for a
couple of weeks before Luton born Kevin Blackwell took up the
reigns permanently. A goalless draw at Burnley in his first game
will have shown him that they can battle a bit but he has the
devils own job to haul them out of the decline their board has
sent them into (if Mike is to be believed anyway). |
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TOP SCORERS |
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Name |
FLC |
FAC |
LC |
Total |
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Dean Morgan |
4 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
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Drew Talbot |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
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Ahmet Brkovic |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
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Leon Barnett |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
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David Bell |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
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LAST FIVE
GAMES |
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Date |
Versus |
Venue |
F |
A |
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31/03/07 |
Burnley |
Away |
0 |
0 |
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17/03/07 |
Ipswich |
Home |
0 |
2 |
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13/03/07 |
Hull |
Home |
1 |
2 |
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10/03/07 |
Leeds |
Away |
0 |
1 |
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03/03/07 |
Wolves |
Home |
2 |
3 |
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CLASH OF THE
DAY |
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Dexter Blackstock v. Markus
Heikkinen. Dexter has hit a nice run of goals in the last couple
of games but he will be up against a tough customer in Heikkinen.
The Finnish centre back is a tough tackler who has been a
shining light in a season of abject mediocrity for The Hatters.
If Luton are to take anything from the game stopping Dexter is
key and Heikkinen is probably their best option to do so. |
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RANGERS VERSUS ..... |
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LAST TIME OUT
v COVENTRY |
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Queens Park Rangers 0 - 1 Coventry
City
Saturday 25th November 2006 |
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“Rehman headed the ball clear but
it came straight back to Adebola and Rehman was once again right
up the back of him. Adebola turned away and powered toward goal
before firing left footed past the exposed Royce. It was awful
defending again from a man that seems to have made it his
trademark since he arrived from Fulham.” |
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LAST TIME OUT
v LUTON |
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Luton Town 1 - 0 Queens Park
Rangers
Tuesday 23rd January 2007 |
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“Bailey had been down minutes
before and endured the taunts of two bob stroller Langley whilst
on the deck. It had clearly gotten to the youngster and when he
saw Brkovic dally on the ball in front of him he absolutely
hammered him! The challenge was two footed but Bailey won the
ball with at least one of them!” |
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LEAGUE
STANDINGS |
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Pos |
Team |
P |
GD |
Pts |
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15th |
Coventry |
40 |
-9 |
52 |
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20th |
QPR |
40 |
-14 |
43 |
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24th |
Luton |
40 |
-20 |
37 |
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HEAD TO HEAD |
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Played |
QPR |
Coventry |
Draws |
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99 |
33 |
41 |
25 |
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Played |
QPR |
Luton |
Draws |
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95 |
36 |
31 |
28 |
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OTHER
MEETINGS v COVENTRY |
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Coventry have the edge in the
league head to head between the sides with thirty nine wins to
Rangers thirty two. Rangers got a right hammering in the first
ever game at The Ricoh Arena last season but were victorious in
the last ever game at Highfield Road. Goals from Jamie Cureton
and a last minute winner from Georges Santos were enough that
day. |
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OTHER
MEETINGS v LUTON |
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Rangers have their noses in front
in this fixture with thirty two wins to twenty nine. The Hatters
haven’t won at Loftus Road since October 1984 whilst Rangers ran
out 1-0 winners last season thanks to a Lee Cook freekick. |
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GENERAL INFORMATION |
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THE REFEREE v
COVENTRY |
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Uriah
Rennie is in charge for this so expect a good deal more
thrusting than is really appropriate on a football pitch as he
waves his nudger at all and sundry. The only ref who wears a
puffer jacket under his shirt, Rennie has angered several
managers this season already with his comical decision making
and I expect there to be at least one more added to that list on
Saturday. He has booked 117 in 36 with 5 reds being flashed
also. His only Rangers game this season was the home defeat to
Sunderland. |
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THE REFEREE v
LUTON |
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Former QPRnet.com interviewee
Clive Penton is on the whistle for this and people will be
hoping for a better showing than his crass incompetence in the
Coventry game this season when he allowed Lee Cook to be kicked
into a bloody pulp and then had the gall to warn him for going
down too often! He has booked 92 in his 24 games and sent off
another 4. |
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THE REF RECORD |
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Season |
Games |
Yellows |
Reds |
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2006-07 |
36 |
117 |
5 |
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2005-06 |
44 |
94 |
5 |
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2004-05 |
31 |
64 |
2 |
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2003-04 |
24 |
79 |
1 |
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THE REF RECORD |
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Season |
Games |
Yellows |
Reds |
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2006-07 |
24 |
92 |
4 |
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2005-06 |
39 |
125 |
9 |
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2004-05 |
35 |
99 |
6 |
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2003-04 |
28 |
96 |
14 |
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QPR CONNECTIONS
- COVENTRY |
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Alan Brazil joined Rangers from
Coventry City in July 1986 for £130k but only went on to make
two starts and another four substitute appearances. He now
spends his time unwittingly insulting people on Talk Sport after
having a stint as a Sky pundit and slagging Rangers off as often
as his breath would allow. |
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QPR CONNECTIONS
- LUTON |
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Mike Keen was the skipper of the
1967 League Cup winning side and went on to play in excess of
400 appearances in the blue and white hoops. After a little
under a decade at Rangers he moved on to Luton Town for £18,500
where he made almost 150 appearances before a spell at Watford. |
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RON AND SIMON'S PREDICT-OFF |
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RON -
COVENTRY |
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We are playing
with so much determination at the moment that we should really
fear no one, we are finally starting to look like the side we
should be and Coventry may well underestimate. Dowie certainly
seems to have shook things up there since his arrival and his
home record is impressive so to bring a point home will be a
good result for us right now. 0-0 draw. |
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SIMON -
COVENTRY |
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After the great midweek win over
Preston confidence will be high but Coventry are a team the
players need to be wary of. Four consecutive home wins under
Dowie will mean they view this as an eminently winnable match
but I think they might be surprised if they expect this to be an
easy affair. I reckon we might just squeak a point. 1-1. |
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RON -
LUTON |
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I'm not sure
what the opposite of 'on the crest of a wave' is, but whatever
it is, that's what Luton are on. They look like a side resigned
to relegation, all their players have gone, their manager has
been sacked and their form has collapsed. Hopefully they'll keep
it up until next Monday! It's a game I think we'll win and one
that could go a long way to keeping us up. 2-0 to Rangers.
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SIMON -
LUTON |
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By the time Easter Monday’s game
rolls around Luton could have been dealt a morale sapping
beating at the hands of Southampton or turned a mini corner with
an unexpected win. Either way I don’t see the visitors leaving
Loftus Road with anything and I fully expect Rangers to go on to
wrack up another three points in the quest for survival. 2-1
Rangers. |
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Current score: Ron 27 Simon 24 |
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