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QPR v Preston North End Match Preview
QPR v Preston North End Match Preview
Friday, 4th Apr 2008 10:44

Two of the division's form sides meet at Loftus Road on Saturday as QPR host Preston North End.

Queens Park Rangers (14th) v Preston North End (15th)
Coca Cola Championship
Saturday April 5 2008
Loftus Road, Kick Off 3pm

The news that Rowan Vine has broken his leg in training on Thursday has cast a long shadow over an increasingly optimistic QPR camp. Vine follows in the hobble steps of Simon Walton and Martin Cranie who have both suffered leg breaks with QPR this season and we of course wish him a speedy recovery.

We'll miss him while he's out that's for sure. He may have his critics but for me he's been a terrific signing for us, particularly before Christmas when he played a big part in keeping a piss poor team in touch with the rest while waiting for the cavalry to arrive in the transfer window. He'll play a big part in where we're hoping to go next season and his threat from wide areas and down the middle will be noticeable by its absence in the remaining five games of the season. Six goals and eight assists from 31 starts is not easy to replace, and he makes so much happen around him when we get him running with the ball at his feet. Get well soon Rowan.

If there is a silver lining to this cloud for both player and club it's that we now have just five matches left until the end of the season, starting with this Saturday's visit from Preston North End. We should also be thankful that with 53 points and Colchester and Scunthorpe potentially leaving the league over the next seven days we are nice and safe in the midtable.

This fixture last year was the stand out game from the whole season for most fans - a tight and tense 1-0 victory sealed by a glorious long range volley from Dexter Blackstock and half an hour of resolute backs to the wall defending at the Loft End as Preston sent on one giant striker after another to try and force an equaliser. One of the unsuccessful visitors that night, Patrick Agyemang, will line up for QPR against his former club at the weekend.

It's a sign of changing times that none of the four forwards Preston chucked at us that night are still at Deepdale. Agyemang we know all about but Dave Nugent is now with Portsmouth reserves, Danny Dichio is playing in the MLS with Toronto and Michael Ricketts is continuing his descent to the British Gas Midlands League with alarming speed. It's the failure to replace this fire power this season that had Preston in serious trouble for so long after missing the play offs last season and only a fantastic run of form recently has lifted them clear of danger and prevented a total role reversal at Loftus Road on Saturday. This game is essentially a dead rubber between two teams safely positioned in the middle of the league but for so long it looked like being so much more for both sides.

Thank goodness we can all breathe a little easier now because with the season still a good month away from ending we're starting to pick up injuries and suspensions to key players.

Five minutes on Preston
Is there a clause in the rental agreement of Preston’s training ground that says they can only use it if they have a Scottish manager? Paul Simpson apart it’s been a steady stream of Jocks in the hot seat at Deepdale with Alan Irvine the latest incumbent, taking over from Simpson earlier this season.

Irvine will be a familiar face to regular watchers of the Premiership after assisting David Moyes, another former Preston manager from north of the border, at Everton before taking over at Deepdale. Irvine was a player in the early part of the Blackburn revolution of the early 1990s and cut his coaching teeth alongside Glenn Roeder in the prolific Newcastle United academy set up. This is his first managerial appointment and it looked for so long like he'd bitten off more than he could chew.

Preston have been the nearly men of this division for some time now. Losing out in the promotion play offs under Moyes and Billy Davies, another Scot, in 2001, 2005 and 2006 before just missing the top six last season under Paul Simpson. It was Davies' eye for a lower league bargain that reinvigorated the Lilywhites after a disappointing spell under former Scotland manager Craig Brown - David Nugent proved to be a tremendous acquisition for £100k from Bury and he led the line of Davies' Preston side to great effect.

Nugent earned an England cap as a Championship player, the first man to do so since Paul Merson, last year and scored a goal as well against Albania. Whether you can actually fairly describe it as Nugent's goal or not is open for debate as he smashed a goalbound shot from Jermaine Defoe over the line from all of half a yard out but the cap itself was a significant achievement and he was one of the league's hottest properties last summer.

Portsmouth were the club that took a chance on him, paying Preston £6m to secure his signature, and while Nugent has been off in the glamorous world of Premiership reserve team football and sending pictures of his button mushroom to the girls back home Preston have been struggling to replace him. The fact that Danny Dichio and Michael Ricketts, their other strikers from last season, also left in the summer didn't help and when Simpson's gamble on Carlisle hitman Karl Hawley didn't make good returns in goals this always looked like being a season of struggle. Neither Simpson, nor his mid season replacement Irvine, could find a starting position in the faltering team for Patrick Agyemang. The fact the Ghanaian then went to QPR in January and scored eight goals in his first six games, more than any Preston player has managed all season, only heightened their frustration.

Consecutive home league defeats against Scunthorpe and Cardiff followed by a 2-1 loss at Sheffield Wednesday had Preston firmly routed in the bottom three as Christmas approached and the problems were mounting. Out went Simpson and in came Irvine, immediately boosting his squad with the signing of Richard Chaplow who'd been great in this league for Burnley, Chris Brown who was up to that point more famous for his off the pitch antics than anything he achieved on the pitch, and Neal Trotman from Oldham Athletic.

Craig Beattie and Tamas Priskin arrived on loan as well and slowly but surely Irvine started to turn things around. Preston are currently six without defeat, and have won five of those including their last two. They're scoring goals as well - three against Sheff Utd, two against Burnley, Wolves, Charlton and Stoke and four at Premiership side Derby in the FA Cup. Their form over the past three months has been that of a team chasing the play offs with eight wins from 13 league games and although a proper replacement for Nugent still looks to be their Achilles heal they certainly look like a team on the up. Another Scottish inspired assault on the play offs looks possible next season.

Who to watch out for
Goals were Preston’s problem earlier in the season, we know to our benefit just how toothless they were before Christmas. Irvine has sought to cure those problems by bringing in Chris Brown to lead the line. Brown is probably more known for his role in the lovely Sunderland roasting video where he sort of stood at the side and watched, or his propensity to fire paintball guns at passing pedestrians. Needless to say Roy Keane wasn’t overly impressed with that and, along with the other stars of that video, Brown found himself out of the Stadium of Light before his feet could touch the floor. One goal in 13 appearances for Hull on loan hardly caught the eye and another single strike in 24 appearances for Norwich after a £325k move to Carrow Road in the summer certainly didn’t do anything to suggest he could cut it at this level.

After a January move to Preston though things seem to be turning round. His winning goal against Burnley last week was his fourth so far for Irvine’s men and third in his last five matches. Neil Mellor, there when Irvine arrived, bagged a couple against Sheff Utd last week although he still looks to be carrying a spare tyre or two. Tamas Priskin on loan from Watford adds much needed options to the attack. Karl Hawley, the one Paul Simpson put his faith in to replace the goals he lost last summer, is out of the team at the moment after five goals in 27 appearances. He’s found the step up tough.

Further back the midfield has a nicer balance to it as well. Mr Preston North End Paul McKenna is nearing his 350th league appearance for the club and has always looked very impressive at the heart of the midfield against QPR. He’s now got Richard Chaplow alongside him who looked like a very good player when he was at Burnley before moving to West Brom where he sort of got buried in amongst all the other quality Championship midfielders and rarely got a chance to play in the first team. With two goals from four starts and five sub appearances I’d be happy to see him on the bench this weekend as he was for their 3-1 win against Sheff Utd last week because I really rate him. Former Birmingham man Darren Carter got the nod ahead of him last week.

In Simon Whaley they have another promising player from Bury on their hands. He has six goals to his name from wide areas this season and will provide a real threat to us. Less so Chris Sedgwick who impressed in this league for Rotherham before moving to Deepdale but lacks the real blistering pace needed to make a go of things on the wing in the higher divisions.

At the heart of the defence Youl Mawene provides the physical aspect to the back four, he has a last minute equaliser against QPR to his name in recent years. He was Derby County’s player of the season before moving across to Deepdale. Alongside him Sean St Ledger may be more familiar to you as the moody one on Big Ron Manager but he’s comfortably made the step up to Championship level from Peterborough United.

Past Meetings
These two have already met once this season, sharing the spoils in a 0-0 draw at Deepdale before Christmas. The game was dominated by a dreadful refereeing display from our old friend Trevor Kettle and never really got going as a result of his fussiness and incompetence. QPR were grateful to Lee Camp for winning them a point with a string of fine saves, including one to deny Paul Gallagher from the penalty spot after a very harsh handball decision had been made by the linesman.

Preston: Lonergan 4, Jones 8, St. Ledger 7, Mawene 7, Hill 8, Sedgwick 5 (Mellor 82, -), Davidson 6, Nicholls 7,Gallagher 5 (Whaley 67, 7), Hawley 6 (Ormerod 69, 6), Agyemang 6
Subs Not Used: Chris Neal, McKenna
Booked: Davidson (foul), Mawene (foul)

QPR: Camp 9, Mancienne 7, Stewart 7, Cranie 8, Barker 7, Ainsworth 5 (Nygaard 57, 7) Bolder 4, Leigertwood 7, Rowlands 5, Ephraim 6, Vine 6
Subs Not Used: Cole, Bignot, Moore, Sahar
Booked: Mancienne (foul) Bolder (dissent) Vine (dissent) Rowlands (dissent) Stewart (tackle from behind)

Match Report

The meeting between these two sides at Loftus Road last season was a real cliff hanger, culminating in a narrow and crucial win for struggling QPR. That set them on an unlikely path to Championship survival and is, unsurprisingly, the featured match in this week’s ‘Memories’ section. Click here for a full run down and memories from supporters of that great night at Loftus Road.

Head to Head
QPR wins – 7
Draws – 11
Preston wins – 10

Previous QPR v Preston results:
2007/08 Preston 0 QPR 0
2006/07 QPR 1 Preston 0 (Blackstock)
2006/07 Preston 1 QPR 1 (Ainsworth)
2005/06 QPR 0 Preston 2
2005/06 Preston 1 QPR 1 (Shittu)
2004/05 QPR 1 Preston 2 (Furlong)
2004/05 Preston 2 QPR 1 (Santos)
2000/01 Preston 5 QPR 0
2000/01 QPR 0 Preston 0
1980/81 QPR 1 Preston 1
1980/81 Preston 3 QPR 2

Team News
Obviously Rowan Vine is the big news this week, his broken leg is said to be a "clean" snap rather than those messy bone protruding efforts that are all the rage these days and the initial estimate is said to be six months. That ends his season and adds to a growing list of problems among the QPR ranks. Damien Delaney is suspended again this weekend so I'd expect the same defence that kept a clean sheet at Ipswich to start again with Matt Connolly the makeshift left back. In midfield Martin Rowlands is back to full fitness after leaving the Wolves game early and subsequently arriving into the Ipswich one late. It's touch and go for Akos Buzsaky though who aggravated an ankle injury playing for Hungary against Slovenia ten days ago and was withdrawn at half time. He missed the trip to Portman Road and is no better than 50/50 for this one. If I was a betting man I'd bet against him making this match, we have no need to risk him after all. With Vine dropping out as well that could open the door for either Angelo Balanta or Keiran Lee who have both impressed in cameo appearances lately.

Callum Davidson and Simon Whaley have both recovered from knocks picked up against Sheff Utd and are fit to start. This is Tamas Priskin's last match of his loan spell before returning to Watford.

Injury List

Referee
Clive Penton from Sussex is our official this weekend, the first time he has refereed QPR or Preston this season. Last term he was at Loftus Road twice – a 1-0 defeat by Coventry and a 3-2 victory against Luton Town. Contrasting games and results, but not a particularly impressive refereeing performance in either of them. He did award us a penalty in the Luton game though, and that set us up for the memorable Paul Furlong winner.
Details

What’s happening elsewhere?
It’s Scunthorpe United’s round in the Last Chance Saloon and with fellow relegation strugglers Sheffield Wednesday visiting Glanford Park this weekend that’s one of the stand our fixtures for me – kick off is high noon on Saturday. Colchester v Ipswich is a derby between two sides with aspirations at opposite ends of the table, the U’s could be relegated if they lose this match. Elsewhere Watford have a chance to make a big move at the top with a home game against Coventry – their fellow promotion rivals are either not playing or, in Bristol City’s case, playing away from home.
Tony’s Championship Preview

Form
Fourteenth v fifteenth this may be but on the form table it’s first v eighth. Preston have taken sixteen points from their last six games – the only two dropped came in a goalless derby day draw at Blackpool. Irvine’s men are unbeaten in their last four away games with draws at Blackpool and Watford and victories at Charlton and Leicester. Their last home defeat was a 2-1 set back at Colchester in February. Overall this season they have four wins, four draws and 12 defeats but, like QPR, it’s been a season of two halves for PNE and you can’t really pay much attention to what happened before Christmas as it’s a totally different Preston team taking the field now.

Rangers have two wins and three draws in their last six matches. They have lost only one of their last nine matches and have won their last three home games scoring three goals in each. Rangers have lost just one of their last nine home games and won seven of those. Rangers have nine wins five draws and six defeats from their home games this season but again the majority of the poor results, five of the defeats and three of the draws, came before Christmas.

With just one defeat between them in 15 matches this promises to be a match of unusually high quality for two teams so low in the actual table.
Form Table

Prediction
I’m expecting this to a be a really tough game. Preston are in excellent form and with Vine and Delaney definitely missing and Buzsaky possibly joining them that’s three very effective attacking players potentially missing from our line up. It will be tough and while I’m tempted to tip a draw again I’ve become very confident with our team when it’s at home so I’m going for a, wait for it, victory. Only a narrow one though.
QPR 2 Preston 1
Prediction League

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