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QPR face Northampton demons - full match preview
QPR face Northampton demons - full match preview
Tuesday, 22nd Jul 2008 09:16

QPR are in action twice in the next two days as the second string take on Windsor and Eton while the first team tackles bogey side Northampton Town at the Sixfields.

Windsor and Eton v Queens Park Rangers XI
Sixfields Stadium, Northampton
Tuesday July 22, Kick Off 7.30pm
Pre-Season Friendly


Northampton Town v Queens Park Rangers
Sixfields Stadium, Northampton
Wednesday July 23, Kick Off 7.45pm
Pre-Season Friendly


Following Saturday’s ring rusty but nevertheless competent win against Stevenage the pre-season campaign really ramps up this midweek with the second string heading a few miles out of town to the west to face non-league Windsor and Eton while those with more of a chance of featuring in Iain Dowie’s starting eleven come August 9 have a slightly longer journey up the M1 to face League One outfit Northampton.

Having spent my weekend rattling backwards and forwards between Sheffield, Hull FC’s annihilation of the old enemy, Maidenhead, Slough, Derby and Sheffield again I have to say I envy the lads making the short trip to Windsor rather than those preparing to do battle with the Luton road works and their cursed, hell sent, needless, officious, scandalous, money grabbing sorry excuse for an average speed check at 50mph. Protecting our workforce they said. Who? Where? I didn’t see one of these mystical beings on any of my trips through that god forsaken set up all weekend. They could be winged beasts for all I know. But I still had to do 50 miles per hour under pain of £60. Even on the long stretches which are now, miraculously, finished and don’t have Polish road workers on them at all, even on the odd days they are working on the other bits. I bid you Rangers fans making the trip good fortune. Rather you than me.

Now no amount of new shirts, ground redevelopments or redesigned badges could launch the new era at Lofts Road quite as well as a win at Northampton Town. So many QPR teams with such variation of playing styles and quality have played so many different kinds of Northampton Town teams in varying stages of relegation battles in recent years and yet the results have remained stubbornly humiliating. We’ve led 2-0 against ten men on this ground before and blown it. We led a cup match here for 90 minutes and lost it in extra time. Just when we really were capable of wiping the floor with them Andy friggin Hall turned up.

Cruelly denied another pasting in the League Cup last season the club moved quickly to restore the annual fruitless trip to this part of the world in the form of a pre-season friendly and so on Wednesday night it’s a short hop through the Nazi run road works to the Sixfields. Like I say, I think I’d go to the Windsor game given the choice.

Five minutes on Northampton Town
The Cobblers continue to yo yo between the bottom two divisions of the Football League without ever threatening a season in the Championship or the Conference. Not even just for a change.

In the 1990s they only missed relegation from the league altogether because Kidderminster’s ground failed the standards test, then later they only missed promotion to the second tier because of a play off final defeat against Grimsby Town at the old Wembley.

Their most recent success saw them promoted from league Two back to One under the guidance of Colin Calderwood. Northampton was Calderwood’s first job in management and represented a gamble for the club who’d experimented with Kevin Wilson, Kevan Broadhurst, Martin Wilkinson and Terry Fenwick. All of them struggled to keep the Cobblers in League One, but they did all succeed in taking points from QPR.

In 2003 Calderwood, the former Spurs, Villa and Scotland centre half, moved into the mangers’ office at the Sixfields with the club languishing in the bottom division. They’d been to a play off final in the division above under Ian Atkins but had been in decline ever since and Calderwood was faced with a difficult baptism in management. Calderwood guided them to the play offs in his first two seasons but they were defeated by first Mansfield Town and then Southend United.

Wisely deciding that the summer knock out wasn’t for them they went up automatically in 2006/07 but the manager didn’t stick around long enough to guide them through the higher league – leaving to join Nottingham Forest. John Gorman followed Calderwood into the Sixfields and as he actually managed to lose to QPR thanks to a Loft End header from Ray Jones in the League Cup he was clearly not destined for any kind of success with the club. In the end personal circumstances dictated his removal half way through the season.

That meant a return to management for Stuart Gray who had previously fallen into the Paul Sturrock, Steve Wigley open grave of management careers at Southampton and since returned to his seemingly preferred role of number two in the top division. Another risky appointment, but again he seems to have been a success. A radical overhaul of the first team squad, survival in League One in his first season, and then a ninth placed finish last season hints at more to come over the next 12 months and possibly even return to the heady promotion pushing days of Ian Atkins. Last season was their highest league finish for a decade.

Gray is a likeable guy and it’s good to see him making it in the hot seat somewhere after the St Mary’s experience which has come close to destroying more established managerial careers than his.

…and Windsor & Eton
Windsor come into this game on the back of a good 4-1 victory against Wealdstone at the weekend as they prepare for their British Gas Southern League opener against Gosport Borough. They finished eighth last season are are currently managed by 40 year old Keith Scott, former coach of Northwood and Chesham and a member of the Swindon Town team that was relegated from the Premiership completing one double all season. Guess who against? He also played for Wycombe, Norwich, Stoke and Reading. Three of their four goals at the weekend came in the final ten minutes of the match although the game was played in a bizarre set up of four periods of 30 minutes. Martin Williams, once of Reading, Luton and Stevenage, slid in his first goal of the summer. Jake Parsons, whose older brother Ryan plays in defence, also scored along with a trialist and an own goal.

Who to watch out for
Northampton face the coming campaign with a small squad, but with a good scattering of proven successful players at League One level and promising young talent. Up front Leon Constantine and Adebayo Akinfenwa probably need to be taken down to the public weigh bridge on the back of a low loader to get their weight stats for the club’s official website but they carry a genuine goal threat at League One level and a massive physical presence against anybody. Certainly if our centre halves are anticipating a gentle introduction back into action this summer they can think again playing against these two.

Akinfenwa, a London born Nigerian, started his career at FK Atlantas in Lithuania but soon returned to this country with Barry, Boston, Orient, Doncaster Rushden and then Torquay. It was only at Plainmore that he started to find the net regularly, 14 goals in 37 games, and that earned him a move to Swansea City where he matched that total in 59 games. It was while playing for the Welsh side that I got my first look at him in the flesh, in a game at Scunthorpe United, and frankly I was astonished to see somebody of this size playing professional football. If you haven’t seen him before he’ll certainly stand out at the Sixfields on Wednesday. You thought Sammy Koejoe’s shorts were large.

Constantine is slightly more athletic and after a failed spell with Leeds United he’ll be looking to rediscover the form that made him hot property at Port Vale between 2005 and 2007. Constantine and Sodje were a decent partnership in League One at Vale Park but while the latest Sodje brother has gone on to relative success in the Championship with Sheff Wed Constantine made the wrong move, to Elland Road. Four appearances, one goal and a loan spell with Oldham later and he’s now got to build his reputation all over again. Constantine has scored goals consistently for Southend, Torquay and Port Vale since coming into league football from a non-league background with Edgware Town. He’ll provide a threat if selected and represents a shrewd bit of summer transfer business on Stuart Gray’s part – don’t let his languid and lazy playing style fool you.

Further back Northampton have a few good, promising young players who will be worth watching both on Wednesday night and into the future. Goalkeeper Mark Bunn is very solid and could perform at a higher level while Giles Coke started in the QPR youth set up before making his name in the lower leagues with Mansfield Town. Danny Jackman may be 25 now but the diminutive full back or midfielder has a lovely passing game and Gillingham manager Mark Stimson lamented his predecessor’s decision to let him leave Priestfield when the two sides met last season. QPR fans may remember Jackman making a debut on loan at Stockport County against the R’s in 2003.

Past meetings
Incredibly QPR won the last meeting between these two sides – 3-2 at Loftus Road in the League Cup. After taking a two goal lead it seemed that the R’s were set for a comfortable progression into the next round under the guidance of Gary Waddock. Alas goals from Lee Cook and Kevin Gallen were swiftly cancelled out by Watt and Kirk in the second half. Ultimately though a flying header at he Loft end from the late Ray Jones sealed the win.

QPR: Cole 6, Bignot 7, Stewart 6 (Kanyuka 90), Rehman 7, Howell 7, Bailey 7, Bircham 6 (Ray Jones 84), Baidoo 7, Cook 8*, Gallen 6 (Oliseh 76, 6), Blackstock 7
Subs not used: Paul Jones, Donnelly.
Booked: Ray Jones
Goals: Cook 18, Gallen 47, Ray Jones 87

Northampton: Bunn 7, Crowe 5, Chambers 6, Kirk 7, Aiston 7, Jess 7, Burnell 6, Brett Johnson 6 (Bojic 68, 5), Dyche 6, Bradley Johnson 5 (Watt 46, 7), Quinn 6 (Gilligan 85)
Subs not used: Harper, Cross
Goals: Watt 54, Kirk 77

Match Report

Our last visit to the Sixfields didn’t go quite so well, although with Ugo Ukah in the side it was never likely to. One of Ian Holloway’s special team selections, just check out the starting eleven that follows, and the appointment of Andy Hall as referee sealed the R’s fate before the game had even kicked off. In the end salt was massaged into the wounds when in injury time Eric Sabin, one of our all time worst players, won and scored a penalty to make it 3-0.

Northampton: Bunn 7, Crowe 7, Chambers 7, Taylor 7, Kirk 9 (Dudfield 80, 7) McGliesh 9 (Sabin 72, 8) Low 8 (Gilligan 84, - ) Jess 8, Hunt 8, Dyche 9, Bojic 8
Subs not used: Harper Galbraith
Scorers: Kirk 29, McGliesh 63, Sabin (pen) 90 +1
Booked: You're joking right?

QPR: Royce 3, Ukah 2, Millanese 5, Shimmin 4, Evatt 6, Bircham 6, (Baidoo 58, 6) Bean 4 , Miller 3, Brown 4 (Bignot 46, 6) Gallen 6, Moore 6
Subs not used: Cole, Hislop, Bailey
Scorers: *tumbleweed drift by for the sixth successive away game
Booked: Miller, Bean, Moore, Ukah
Sent Off: Evatt

Match Report

Head to Head
Northampton wins – 30
Draws – 9
QPR wins – 26

Previous Northampton v QPR scores
2006/07 QPR 3 Northampton 2 (Cook, Gallen, Jones)
2005/06 Northampton 3 QPR 0
2002/03 Northampton 1 QPR 1 (Furlong)
2002/03 QPR 0 Northampton 1
2001/02 Northampton 2 QPR 2 (Connolly 2)
2001/02 QPR 0 Northampton 1
2001/01 Northampton 2 QPR 1 (Evatt og)
1962/63 QPR 1 Northampton 3
1962/63 Northampton 1 QPR 0

Team News
As on Saturday Rangers face a team much further into their pre season preparations match wise. Northampton have already drawn 0-0 with Brackley and Vihren Sandanski, beaten FC Kleve and hammered a UK army side during a pre-season tour of Germany. With Luton and West Brom still to come as well as ourselves they’re certainly leaving no stone unturned as they look to justify pre-season promotion odds of just 10/1. As ever very hard to pick out any pre-season team news and we’ll add more in if it becomes available but the only thing I’ve noticed so far is Akinfenwa and Constantine are yet to start up front together this summer.

For QPR Radek Cerny, Mikele Leigertwood and Daniel Nardiello all sat out the Stevenage game with varying injuries. Cerny has a hamstring issue, Leigertwood an Achilles problem and Daniel Nardiello picked up a knock while warming up at Broadhall Way. There’s no indication yet whether any of them will feature in either match. Expect to see the likes of Danny Maguire and the other youth teamers who signed pro deals this summer given their first team bows in the Windsor match.

Prediction
I said this was a pointless exercise at the weekend but I nearly got the score right all the same. Can’t see that continuing for long. Northampton are a little further along than us this summer and have a very good team so we may have to wait a little longer for a win at the Sixfields. As for Windsor it’s hard to know what kind of a team we’re putting out there so I’ll pluck a winning score out of the air and see how it goes.
Northampton 2 QPR 2
Windsor and Eton 0 QPR 4

Pre-season travel guide

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