FIRST TEAM

 
QPRnet.com
 

Have your say on our message board
 

Upload your QPR pictures to our photo gallery
 

Read a range of opinions on our regular blogs
 

Check your team's progress in Fantasy Rangers
 

Stay in touch on the move with QPRnet Mobile
 
 
 

RANGERS TRAVEL TO IPSWICH
Friday 28th March 2008
by Ron Norris & Simon Skinner

Rangers are on the road for a second successive Saturday as they face a trip to Portman Road to face play off contenders Ipswich Town. On paper this looks like a great opportunity to a – put a real fly in the Horses ointment or; b – stroll about as we are now safe and get belted out of sight (delete as applicable).

 

Ipswich Town v Queens Park Rangers
The Championship
 Saturday 29th March 2008
Kick Off 15:00

 
TEAM NEWS

Rangers will definitely be without the services of the rampaging Damien Delaney as he starts a two game ban for racking up ten bookings. It always strikes me as a bit unfair that players carry their yellow cards from one club to another; it’s hardly our fault he got booked six times at Hull! Chris Barker seems likely to replace him. Hogan Ephraim has served his own three game ban and is back in contention. Matthew Connolly should recover from the injury that forced him off against Wolves (is it me or do we seem to have two of the most fragile centre backs in the league?) Martin Rowlands will also return, a neck injury forced him off at Wolves, the injury must have been severe as it apparently required some serious lubrication later that evening!  

Jim Magilton had spent the last knockings of the loan deadline day trying to bolster an attack that has been decimated. Jon Walters is out with a bad knee injury, Pablo Counago is suspended after unloading a mouthful of phlegm into the face of a Scunthorpe defender last weekend and Shefki Kuqi’s hamstring went twang a couple of weeks ago. Kuqi may be fit enough for this one but he certainly wont be at full tilt. Needless to say, Magilton didn’t have much luck so it is anyone’s guess who will be alongside the pointy elbowed Alan Lee. David Norris and Richard Naylor will also miss out but reserve goal scoring machine Jordan Rhodes could feature.
RON & SIMON'S
SELECT XI		          
Blackstock Agyemang
Vine Leigertwood Rowlands Buzsaky
  Barker   Hall   Connolly   Mancienne  
        Camp        
A QUICK GUIDE TO OUR OPPONENTS
 
IPSWICH IN BRIEF: Ipswich Town are a classic case of a Jekyll and Hyde side. At Portman Road they have managed to rattle up an incredible thirteen wins from nineteen games with just one defeat. Compare that to their away record of three wins and eleven defeats from twenty games and you can see why they aren’t romping away at the top of this division. That Jim Magilton doesn’t quite seem to know how to remedy this suggests that he is still learning as a gaffer, and why wouldn’t he be, it’s his first job after all! I don’t think they will go up this season but with their new found investment and some tinkering to their away mentality they could be a force for next season.
 

LAST FIVE GAMES
Date Versus Venue F A
22/03/08 Scunthorpe Away 2 1
15/03/08 Charlton Home 2 0
11/03/08 Barnsley Away 1 4
04/03/08 Sheff Utd Home 1 1
01/03/08 Southampton Away 1 1

TOP SCORERS
Name League Cups Total
J. Walters 12 0 12
P. Counago 12 0 12
A. Lee 10 1 11
D. Haynes 6 0 6
T. Miller 3 0 3
 

CLASH OF THE DAY: Danny Haynes v Chris Barker. With Norris out of the frame through injury speedster Danny Haynes has been playing on the right flank. If he comes up against Barker then there is every chance the Rangers back up left back could get torn a new arse! He will need to play smart and rely on some help from whoever plays in front of him as there is no way he can match up speed wise.
 
RANGERS VERSUS .....
 

LAST TIME OUT: “A ball was played into the feet of Vine and for once his touch let him down and the ball seemed to squirm straight through him. This seemed to wrong foot the Ipswich defence and Nygaard came charging into the box and produced a fine right footed finish past the exposed Alexander.” Queens Park Rangers 1-1 Ipswich, Saturday 20th October 2007.
 
HEAD TO HEAD
Overall
Played QPR Ipswich Draws
62 21 24 17
At Ipswich
Played QPR Ipswich Draws
31 7 15 9
 

OTHER MEETINGS: The league head to head between the sides is pretty tight with Ipswich just three wins ahead, twenty two to nineteen. There have been a further sixteen draws. Rangers’ last win at Portman Road came in February 2005 when goals from Furlong and Shittu secured a 2-0 win. Last season a late Furlong goal wasn’t enough to prevent Ipswich winning 2-1 thanks to strikes from Lee and Walters.
 

LEAGUE STANDINGS
Pos Team P GD Pts
7th Ipswich 39 9 59
14th QPR 40 -2 52
 
GENERAL INFORMATION

THE REFEREE

Paul Armstrong is in charge for this game and he should be fresh at least, he has only managed twelve games all season! He didn’t turn a wheel until the end of November so I can only assume he was crocked. In those games he has booked just twenty one and sent one off. Sounds pretty decent to me, expect carnage!

THE REF RECORD
Season Games Yellows Reds
2007-08 12 21 1
2006-07 30 78 5
2005-06 32 68 3
2004-05 34 72 8
2003-04 30 89 6
 

 
   

OPPONENTS LINKS
Official Website ITFC.co.uk
Fans Website Singing The Blues
Message Board TWTD
Travel Info Football Ground Guide

MATCH DAY ODDS
Bookie Ipswich Draw QPR
evens 11/5 11/5
5/6 11/5 11/4
10/11 9/4 5/2
   
 

SIX DEGREES OF SEP-R-ATION: David Norris to Patrick Agyemang. Norris left Plymouth for Ipswich Town under something of a cloud and he made his Town debut against Sheffield Wednesday. Marcus Tudgay scored in that game for The Owls. Tudgay started his career at Derby County and scored his first goal for them in a 3-1 win over what used to be Wimbledon. Nigel Reo-Coker grabbed The Dons’ goal that day and he is now at Aston Villa. Reo-Coker was dismissed against Manchester United by the idiot Rob Styles. He has sent off an incredible fourteen players this season, the last of which was James Perch of Nottingham Forest. Perch played in a 2-0 win for Forest over Preston, a game in which Patrick Agyemang was a second half sub.

 
RON AND SIMON'S PREDICT-OFF
SIMON: Ipswich are nothing short of superb at home. They attack as if their lives depended on it and by staying on the front foot they force the opposition into their shells. Rangers will need to be every bit as attacking if they want to get anything from this. The home side are missing a raft of strikers but I still think they might pinch what I reckon will be a tight but entertaining affair. 2-1 to Ipswich.

RON: Another tough looking away tie for Rangers this weekend, much like last week I think this one will be a right old struggle. That said Ipswich's fantastic home form has slipped a little of late. They've only won two of the last six at Portman Road, dropping points against Plymouth, Sheffield United and Stoke and losing to Watford. They are there to be got at but surely any team will know if you expose our soft underbelly so are we. 1-1 draw.


Current score: Ron 18 Simon 18