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RANGERS FACE PRESTON
Friday 4th April 2008
by Ron Norris & Simon Skinner

A battle between two sides that have done enough to guarantee Championship football awaits as Preston North End make the trip to Loftus Road. This promises to be a decent and even encounter by two sides separated only by Rangers’ superior goal scoring record.
 

Queens Park Rangers v Preston North End
The Championship
 Saturday 5th April 2008
Kick Off 15:00

 
TEAM NEWS

Rangers are without the services of Rowan Vine after he suffered a broken leg in training during the week. He has had an op today and we of course wish him a speedy recovery. Damien Delaney serves the second match of his two match ban so Matt Connolly should keep his place at left back in an unchanged back four. Akos Buzsaky aggravated an ankle knock that he has carried for months whilst on international duty with Hungary. I see little point in risking him so Kieron Lee or Angelo Balanta will likely come in for him. Martin Rowlands is fit to start following an injury to his Gregory. Agyemang and Blackstock will continue up front with the former hoping to show the PNE fans what they wish they had gotten from him in his time there. 

Alan Irvine will be hoping that Callum Davidson and Simon Whaley recover from knocks sustained last weekend in order to play. As they are in the same boat as ourselves though I wouldn’t expect either to be risked if they are touch and go. Kevin Nicholls and Liam Chilvers are out with long term injuries and will miss the remainder of the season.
RON & SIMON'S
SELECT XI		          
Blackstock Agyemang
Balanta Mahon Rowlands Ephraim
  Connolly   Hall   Stewart   Mancienne  
        Camp        
A QUICK GUIDE TO OUR OPPONENTS
 
PRESTON IN BRIEF: This season was always going to be about how they coped with the loss of David Nugent and for much of the season they simply didn’t. Paul Simpson paid for Preston’s poor start with his job and Everton assistant Alan Irvine moved into the hot seat. A lack of goals in the early part of the season has been rectified by the good recent form of Chris Brown and Neil Mellor who have played a major role in their surge to safety.
 

LAST FIVE GAMES
Date Versus Venue F A
29/03/08 Sheff Utd Home 3 1
22/03/08 Burnley Home 2 1
15/03/08 Blackpool Away 0 0
11/03/08 Wolves Home 2 1
08/03/08 Charlton Away 2 1

TOP SCORERS
Name League Cups Total
N. Mellor 6 1 7
S. Whaley 4 2 6
K. Hawley 3 2 5
C. Davidson 4 0 4
D. Carter 4 0 4
 

CLASH OF THE DAY: Matt Connolly v. Simon Whaley. Connolly turned in a sterling shift at Ipswich last weekend when pressed into service in an unfamiliar left back role. He is likely to stay in that position for this one and may find himself up against Whaley if he makes it. The former Bury man has good pace and is a decent finisher so Connolly will have to make sure he doesn’t allow him a sight at goal anywhere from twenty five yards and in.
 
RANGERS VERSUS .....
 

LAST TIME OUT: “On about the half hour mark a fairly innocuous cross from the R's right looked to have been cleared by Cranie. Play, and the referee, who had been looking straight at the clearance, had already moved up the pitch until Mr Kettle took notice of his assistant on the line waving his flag like a five year old at the Changing of the Guard.” Preston North End 0-0 Queens Park Rangers, Tuesday 23rd October 2007.
 
HEAD TO HEAD
Overall
Played QPR Preston Draws
28 7 10 11
At QPR
Played QPR Preston Draws
14 4 5 5
 

OTHER MEETINGS: Preston have the edge in a pretty sparse league head to head with eight wins to Rangers’ six, there have been another eleven draws. Rangers won this fixture last season thanks to a Blackstock stunner. The last Preston win came in November 2005 thanks to strikes from Nugent and Davidson.
 

LEAGUE STANDINGS
Pos Team P GD Pts
14th QPR 41 -2 53
15th Preston 41 -2 53
 
GENERAL INFORMATION

THE REFEREE

Clive Penton is in charge for this one and he is one of those where you never know what mood he might be in. Last season he stood idly by as Lee Cook was kicked to smithereens by Coventry and then later that same season he gave Rangers a crucial penalty against Luton. So far this season he has booked eighty and sent two off twenty six games.
THE REF RECORD
Season Games Yellows Reds
2007-08 26 80 2
2006-07 29 105 4
2005-06 39 125 9
2004-05 35 99 6
2003-04 28 96 14
 

 
   

OPPONENTS LINKS
Official Website PNEFC.net
Fans Website PNEfans.net
Fans Website Who's That ....
Message Board PNE Online

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

SIX DEGREES OF SEP-R-ATION: Lee Camp to Andy Lonergan. Lee Camp’s league debut came about for Derby when he replaced Lee Grant at half time during a 3-2 defeat at Walsall. Grant is now at Sheffield Wednesday and conceded his first goals for them in a 4-1 defeat at Ipswich on the opening day of the season. Scoring twice that day was Alan Lee. Lee joined The Horses from Cardiff in January 2006, his last Bluebirds goal came in a 1-1 draw with Brighton in November 2005. Scoring the Brighton goal that day was Colin Kazim-Richards. The Coca-Cola kid hit the headlines this week when he scored for Fenerbahce as they beat Chelsea 2-1 in the Champions League quarter final but before signing for the Turkish side he was picked up for Sheffield United by Neil Warnock. Warnock is now managing at Crystal Palace, he took the reigns at Selhurst in October but it took him eight games before he registered his first win, a 2-1 victory over Preston who had Andy Lonergan in goal.  
 
RON AND SIMON'S PREDICT-OFF
SIMON: Rangers are likely to go into this one missing their two first choice wide men if Akos doesn’t make it. That will stunt our attacking play a touch I feel but we will still have enough to pose a threat. Preston have been in good form themselves with two in form strikers so I think this has the feel of a score draw about it. 2-2.

RON: Preston are the divisions form side with one defeat in the last eight, they've done bloody well to haul themselves away from danger and will pose a real threat on Saturday. That said we're not such a bad outfit ourselves and whilst the losses of Vine and (possibly) Buzsaky won't help us I'd like to think we've got enough in the squad to give anyone a game at Loftus Road. 2-1 to Rangers.

Current score: Ron 19 Simon 18