The Pre-Match Warm Up
Saturday 5th May 2007
by Ron Norris & Simon Skinner |
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IT'S
THE LAST GAME OF THE SEASON
The Championship season comes to a
close on Sunday afternoon when QPR face Stoke City at Loftus Road,
there's nothing much left to play for, apart from possibly buggering up
The Potters promotion dreams. |
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Match Preview |
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Queens
Park Rangers v Stoke City
The Championship
Saturday 6th May 2007
Kick Off 13:00 |
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TEAM NEWS |
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John Gregory is hoping
to welcome back three massive players for the game against play off chasing
Stoke. Cook and Blackstock both sat out the Wolves game having picked up
knee and ankle knock respectively against Cardiff. Cullip tweaked his
hamstring against Sunderland a couple of weeks ago but should be fit to come
back in. Bircham is back in the squad and will be hoping to get on to say an
emotional farewell to the club following the decision to release him in the
summer. Two players definitely absent though are Mancienne and Kanyuka. The
two young defenders will sit this one out, the former still suffering
following his head injury against Preston and the latter with a pulled thigh
gained in hot pursuit of Michael Kightly last week.
Tony Pulis will have
to do without roaster Liam Lawrence after the former Mansfield and
Sunderland man after he tore a knee tendon in training. Griffin and Sidibe
face fitness tests if they are to play any part. Three players definitely
out are Clint Hill, Marlon Broomes and Rory Delap, all of whom are on the
long term missing list. |
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A QUICK GUIDE TO OUR OPPONENTS |
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STOKE IN
BRIEF |
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If there
is a club that has shown the value of the loan market then Stoke
are surely it. Several big money loans, including Lee Hendrie,
Patrick Berger and Andy Griffin have galvanised a consistent
season for The Potters. They have been there or thereabouts in
terms of a play off spot all season and they will be
disappointed that they have left it to the last day of the
season without nailing down on of the four places. |
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TOP SCORERS |
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Name |
FLC |
FAC |
LC |
Total |
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Ricardo Fuller |
10 |
1 |
0 |
11 |
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Mamady Sidibe |
8 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
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Darel Russell |
7 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
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Danny Higginbotham |
7 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
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Liam Lawrence |
5 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
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LAST FIVE
GAMES |
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Date |
Versus |
Venue |
F |
A |
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28/04/07 |
Colchester |
Home |
3 |
1 |
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21/04/07 |
Hull |
Home |
1 |
1 |
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14/04/07 |
Cardiff |
Away |
1 |
1 |
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09/04/07 |
Palace |
Home |
2 |
1 |
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07/04/07 |
West Brom |
Away |
1 |
3 |
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CLASH OF THE
DAY |
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Adam
Bolder v Lee Hendrie. The key to beating Stoke could well be to
stop Hendrie getting any time on the ball. There is nobody
better at the club to rattle into the odious little fellow than
Adam Bolder who will not think twice about dumping him on his
backside. If they can get a rise out of the firebrand midfielder
then he there is every chance he might do something daft! |
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RANGERS VERSUS ..... |
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LAST TIME OUT |
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Cardiff City 0 - 1 Queens Park
Rangers
Friday 17th November 2006 |
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“A ball
over the top of Milanese led to a footrace between the Italian
and Ricardo Fuller. There was only going to be one winner and
Milanese had hold of the Jamaican as they entered the box and
Fuller inevitably went down. Danny Higginbotham stepped up and
blasted his pen down the middle and in via Royce’s foot.” |
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HEAD TO HEAD |
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Overall |
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Played |
QPR |
Stoke |
Draws |
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26 |
14 |
7 |
5 |
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At Loftus Road |
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Played |
QPR |
Stoke |
Draws |
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13 |
8 |
2 |
3 |
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LEAGUE
STANDINGS |
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Pos |
Team |
P |
GD |
Pts |
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7th |
Stoke |
45 |
21 |
72 |
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19th |
QPR |
45 |
-14 |
52 |
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OTHER MEETINGS |
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Rangers
are streets ahead in the league head to head with thirteen wins
to Stoke’s seven. Stoke won at Loftus Road last season when the
R’s were in the pits of despair, the last R’s victory came the
season before that when a solitary Lee Cook strike in front of
the Sky cameras wrapped up a 1-0 win. |
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GENERAL INFORMATION |
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THE REFEREE |
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For the
third time in recent weeks we have been slated to have Uriah
Rennie for this one and for the third time he has been pulled! I
wonder whether the showering of bottles he got against
Sunderland has upset him? Here’s hoping! Instead we have Clive
Penton who did the massive Luton game a couple of weeks back. He
gave two pens that day and has so far dished out 101 yellows in
28 games with a further 4 reds. |
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THE REF RECORD |
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Season |
Games |
Yellows |
Reds |
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2006-07 |
28 |
101 |
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 |
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Mamady Sidibe came to Rangers for a trial in the summer of
2002 following his departure from Swansea City. Many remembered
him from the kicking he gave us in a 4-0 FA Cup drubbing at The
Vetch.
He didn’t turn out to be all that despite a couple of pre
season goals and Gillingham eventually took him. From there he
moved to Stoke in June 2005 and has contributed fifteen goals in
just shy of one hundred games. |
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RON AND SIMON'S PREDICT-OFF |
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SIMON:
This is another odd one for Rangers, just as the game at
Wolves was last week. Playing against a team that has something to aim for
is often tough for a team that has nothing to play for. But, this being the
last game for the R’s for many of the squad, I am hoping for a real blood
and thunder display. I will be happy with any result that stops Stoke making
the play offs! 1-1.
RON:
John Gregory wants the final game of the season to have a party atmosphere,
with nothing to play for and farewells to say to Paul Furlong and Marc
Bircham this could take away from the actual action on the pitch. Stoke's
away form has been shaky, they've only won one in the last five away from
The Brit and the pressure will be on them tomorrow to take all three points.
I reckon we might nick this one though and wouldn't it be great to see
Furlong sign off his Rangers career with one more winner? 1-0 to the R's.
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Current score: Ron 31 Simon 29 |
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