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RANGERS WELCOME SOUTHAMPTON
Saturday 13th September 2008
by Ron Norris & Simon Skinner

Having spent a couple of weeks cooling their heels during the international break Rangers are back in action for the first of six games before the end of the month as Southampton visit Loftus Road. The Sky cameras are also rolling into town for this one as Rangers hopefully get the chance to show their exciting brand of football to a wider audience.

 


Queens Park Rangers versus Southampton
The Championship
 Sunday 14th September 2008
Kick Off 16:00
 
 
TEAM NEWS

Emmanuel Ledesma sits this one out following his red card at Bristol City last time out. Dowie must decide who comes in for him; it might be a bit soon for Buzsaky to come back in so Rowlands is the likely candidate although Ephraim and Alberti could also be in contention. New Italian warhorse Damiano Tommasi is short on match fitness so expect Mahon and Leigertwood to be paired again in the torpedo room in front of the back four. Hall and Vine are still out injured and won’t be in contention for a few weeks so the rest of the team pretty much picks itself. 

Saints have been dealt a blow with the news that Swedish centre back Michael Svensson seems to have picked up another knee injury. This fella must be one of the most luckless in football having missed the thick end of two seasons through knee problems. Wayne Thomas is also unavailable to Jan Poortvliet as he also has knee knack. Czech playmaker Rudi Skacel is in contention after returning from an ankle injury and may force his way in.
 
RON & SIMON'S
SELECT XI		            
Blackstock
Cook Parejo Rowlands
Mahon Leigertwood
  Delaney   Stewart   Connolly   Ramage  
        Cerny        
A QUICK GUIDE TO OUR OPPONENTS
 
SAINTS IN BRIEF: You have to fear for Saints, nothing has gone their way since they tumbled out of the Premiership. They pumped a load of money at the team, as so many have done in the past, in a failed effort to get back up and now they find themselves brassic and having to shut bits of the ground on match days to save on costs. Players have been sold left, right and centre to bring money in and it has all gone into some bottomless pit. The appointment of Jan Poortvliet sounds like a cheap and cheerful option when compared to Nigel Pearson and they will need an enormous amount of luck if they want to avoid the relegation shake up this year. A sad state of affairs.
 

LAST FIVE GAMES
Date Versus Venue F A
30/08/08 Blackpool Home 0 1
26/08/08 Birmingham Home 2 0
23/08/08 Derby Away 1 0
16/08/08 Birmingham Home 1 2
12/08/08 Exeter Away 3 1
 
THE GREAT ... He gets the ball he takes the piss, or so the song says of Matthew Le Tissier. A one club man, he really shouldn’t have been, any of the top clubs in the country would have given their eye teeth to take him away from the south cost but he wasn’t having any of it. He scored spectacular goal after spectacular goal and anyone lucky enough to see him bag a superb hat-trick for England B at Loftus Road will testify to what a fine player he was.
 

TOP SCORERS
Name League Cups Total
David McGoldrick 2 2 4
Lee Holmes 0 2 2
Chris Perry 1 0 1
Adam Lallana 0 1 1
- - - -
 
... AND THE GAFFER: Jan Poortvliet spent the main part of his playing career as defender for PSV; he also represented Holland at the 1978 World Cup so as a player his pedigree is there. As a manager he hasn’t been granted the helm at a major club and seems to have built his career as lower league man with no cash to spend so you can see why Saints have brought him in. I also bet he is cheap.
 
RANGERS VERSUS .....
 

LAST TIME OUT: “The ball looked to have a little too much gas though and Davis and Wright should have mopped up the danger between them but no. As Davis came to the edge of his area to clear Wright inexplicably kneed the ball past him and Agyemang couldn’t believe his luck. He strolled onto the ball as it rolled toward goal and Davis and Wright bickered about whose fault it was. He then stopped the ball on the line and performed a cheeky drag back and flick to score his seventh in five games! Southampton 2 - 3 Queens Park Rangers, Saturday 9th February 2007
 
HEAD TO HEAD
Overall
Played QPR Saints Draws
72 25 27 20
At Home
Played QPR Saints Draws
36 15 12 9
 

OTHER MEETINGS: Just two wins split the Saints and Rangers in the league head to head with the south coast men winning twenty four games to twenty two. There have been a further eighteen draws. Last seasons game wasn’t really about the football and Saints routed Rangers 3-0. The last R’s win at Loftus Road came in January 2006 when Richard Langley’s penalty gave Rangers a 1-0 victory.
 

LEAGUE STANDINGS
Pos Team Pld GD Pts
9th QPR 4 0 7
22nd Southampton 4 -2 3
 

CLASH OF THE DAY: Dexter Blackstock v. Chris Perry. Blackstock has looked far more like his old self this season, working like a dog and knocking in the goals with three in his five starts so far. Is his new lone striker role he needs to make sure he dominates and he will be up against an old head in former Wimbledon and Spurs man Perry. Perry isn’t the biggest but he is a tenacious competitor who won’t give Dexter an easy ride.
 
GENERAL INFORMATION

THE REFEREE

Very few referees carry the reputation of being a homer quite as steadfastly at Kevin Friend. Subconsciously or not, he can’t help but keep the home fans smiling so let’s hope for more of that. His last Rangers game came when Andy Cole struck an excellent hat-trick in Burnley’s 4-2 win at HQ; his last Saints game was a 0-0 draw at St Mary’s against Sheffield Wednesday. So far this term he has booked fourteen in five games and not sent anyone off. Yet…
THE REF RECORD
Season Games Yellows Reds
2008-09 5 14 0
2007-08 41 100 11
2006-07 34 87 6
2005-06 21 45 2
2004-05 37 107 7
 

 
   

OPPONENTS ONLINE
Official Website SaintsFC.co.uk
Fans Website Up The Saints
Fans Website Saint Teds
Message Board The Ugly Inside

MATCH DAY ODDS
Bookie QPR Draw Saints
8/11 5/2 4/1
8/11 5/2 4/1
4/6 13/5 9/2
   
 
RON AND SIMON'S PREDICT-OFF
SIMON: Even without the burgeoning talents of Ledesma you have to think that Rangers will be far too strong for Southampton. The back four and keeper are working well as a unit now and the midfield will keep carving out chances if they are given half a chance. Southampton will have to find a way of stopping the movement of the three attacking midfielders if they are to have a chance. I can only see a home win for this one. 2-1 to Rangers.

RON: Back in action after the international break and the big question is can Rangers keep the momentum going, especially without the talismanic Ledesma? Personally I think so, Southampton look like they are set for a rare old struggle this season and whilst I doubt this will be easy I think we'll do enough to see it through. The Saints are struggling for goals having scored just three in the league so far this campaign and whilst they don't get thumped every week (they've only conceded five) the odd goal defeats are costing them dear. They are already in the bottom three and I think they'll still be there come Sunday evening. 2-0 to Rangers

Current score: Ron 9 Simon 7