QPRnet.com :: The Pre-Match Warm Up

The Pre-Match Warm Up
Monday 30th October 2006
by Ron Norris & Simon Skinner

RANGERS TRAVEL TO THE HAWTHORNS

After bouncing back against Leicester on Saturday Rangers are back in action on Tuesday evening as we travel to face West Bromwich Albion. Can the boys bring anything back from one of the toughest looking trips of the season?

Match Preview

TEAM NEWS

The fitness of Pat Kanyuka will be a concern after he seemed to injure his hamstring again on Saturday. There were no other knocks to speak of but Rangers are still likely to be without Marc Bircham after he too injured his hamstring, this time against Sheffield Wednesday. Hopefully Ray Jones will be back in the line up and Marc Nygaard can return to the bench, or ideally watch the game on teletext. Furlong and Shimmin will also miss out as their quest for match fitness is being hindered by the worst reserve league imaginable.

John Hartson busted his wrist on Saturday and if the plaster he was sporting on Super Sunday is anything to go by, he won’t be involved. Kevin Phillips is likely to come back in having missed the last four with a calf problem. Paul Robinson starts a three match ban after his disgraceful assault on Damien Johnson on Saturday and Darren Carter, Neil Clement and Thomas Gaardsoe are all out through injury.

RON & SIMON'S SELECT XI
		Blackstock	Jones


	Cook	Smith	Lomas	Rowlands


	Bignot	Rehman	Stewart	Mancienne


		Royce

A QUICK GUIDE TO OUR OPPONENTS

BAGGIES IN BRIEF

Having been relegated from The Premiership West Brom probably thought they would be romping the division by now. Jeremy Peace certainly had that in mind and when they weren’t out of sight by mid September Bryan Robson paid for it with his job. After a few games under Nigel Pearson, the last of which was a resounding win at Ipswich, The Baggies finally hired Hibs manager Tony Mowbray.

TOP SCORERS

Name	FLC	FAC	LC	Total
Diomansy Kamara	6	0	0	6
Kevin Phillips	5	0	0	5
Zoltan Gera	3	0	0	3
John Hartson	3	0	0	3
Nathan Ellington	2	0	1	3


LAST FIVE GAMES
Date	Versus	Venue	F	A
28/10/06	Birmingham	Away	0	2
24/10/06	Arsenal	Home	0	2
22/10/06	Wolves	Home	3	0
17/10/06	Crystal Palace	Away	2	0
14/10/06	Ipswich	Away	5	1

CLASH OF THE DAY

Curtis Davies v. Dexter Blackstock. Curtis Davies is a classy centre half who has attracted plenty of Premiership attention. You could tell he was going to be class when he played against Rangers for Luton in only his fourth pro game. West Brom took a punt on him for £3m and a host of peerless displays saw him linked with Arsenal in the summer. Blackstock is playing well but he will have to crank it up a notch if he is to get anything out of The Baggies skipper.

RANGERS VERSUS .....

LAST TIME OUT

Queens Park Rangers 2 - 0 West Bromwich Albion
Saturday 13th January 2001

Due to the differing fortunes of the two clubs in recent times Rangers and West Brom haven’t met since this site has been up and running. The last fixture though was a victory at Loftus Road for Rangers. Chris Plummer and Sammy Two-Bums secured a 2-0 win.

HEAD TO HEAD
Overall
Played	QPR	West Brom	Draws
30	10	10	6
At The Hawthorns
Played	QPR	West Brom	Draws
15	3	8	4


LEAGUE STANDINGS
Pos	Team	P	GD	Pts
3rd	West Brom	14	+11	25
19th	QPR	14	-4	14

OTHER MEETINGS

The head to head between the two sides is a dead heat in the league with ten wins apiece and six draws. Last time Rangers played at The Hawthorns goals from Jason Van Blerk and Lee Hughes cancelled out a first half strike from Chris Kiwomya. The last R’s win in the West Bromwich came in October 1999 when Stuart Wardley bagged the only goal.

GENERAL INFORMATION

THE REFEREE

Lee Mason is in the hot seat for the second Rangers game this season. He took charge of the home defeat by Ipswich Town in late August and the game passed without him getting his pencil out. He did though manage to give Ipswich a penalty for a blatant dive which you could argue, turned the game. He has only booked twenty six in eleven games this season and has shown only one red card.

THE REF RECORD
Season	Games	Yellows	Reds
2006-07	11	26	1
2005-06	37	90	3
2004-05	36	108	3
2003-04	30	118	6


OPPONENTS LINKS
Official Website	WBA.co.uk
Fans Website	WestBrom.com
Travel Information	Football Ground Guide


MATCH DAY ODDS
Bookie	West Brom	Draw	QPR
	1/2	12/5	5/1
	4/9	13/5	11/2
	4/7	12/5	9/2

QPR CONNECTIONS

Last season Rangers were struggling for a left back so Olly asked Timmy to hand him his list and he got on the blower to Robson. Lloyd Dyer was duly dispatched to solve the problem, only he didn’t, because he was a left winger!

He played fifteen times for Rangers in a three month spell between September and December without ever setting the world alight. He has since moved on to MK Dons and plays on the wing. Madness!

RON AND SIMON'S PREDICT-OFF

RON: The West Brom fans are confident about this one and perhaps with good reason, after the defeat to Birmingham they will expect their side to bounce back against us and I don't see anything to suggest they won't. With our defence looking softer than a heavily beaten egg white and a host of strikers to choose from hopes will be high at the Hawthorns of a good result. We're certainly no mugs and I think the Baggies faithful might be surprised at how much determination we show but I can't see further than a home win. 2-1 to West Brom.

SIMON: This is a tough game for anyone. West Brom are third in the table and will be looking to bounce back after a weekend defeat against Birmingham. Our defensive frailties might bite us on the bum and with the home side having conceded just four goals at home this season I can’t see anything other than a comfortable home win. 2-0 West Brom.

Current score: Ron 7 Simon 10

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	West Bromwich Albion v Queens Park Rangers The Championship Tuesday 31st October 2006 Kick Off 19:45