Football remains a big part of an important time of year and QPR have a chance to push themselves closer towards or further away from the play off picture with two games that could easily go either way against Bristol City and Ipswich Town.

Queens Park Rangers (10th) v Bristol City (9th)
Coca Cola Championship
Saturday December 25, Kick Off 1pm
Loftus Road, London, W12

Ipswich Town (21st) v Queens Park Rangers (10th)
Coca Cola Championship
Monday December 28, Kick Off 3pm
Portman Road, Ipswich

Turkey, presents, beer, trees, carnage on the roads, underwhelming QPR performances on Boxing Day – it’s Christmas again. This time last year we were preparing to go to Charlton on the back of a thrilling 3-2 home win against Preston , a game that inspired Paulo Sousa to make six changes to his team at The Valley and blow two relatively simple Championship points. It was probably the first nail in his coffin at QPR and made it seven consecutive Boxing Days without a win for the R’s

This year was meant to be all about Jim Magilton’s first return to former club Ipswich – although with hindsight, he was always going to be lucky to get that chance when the fixtures failed to pit us against the Tractor Boys within the first three months of the season. Monday therefore sees the clash of two sides managed by Magilton’s successors. Paul Hart is just starting out, the early signs are not good, Roy Keane has had half a season and, to be honest, made a complete pig’s ear of it. A squad that many felt should be challenging for the top six, battling to stay out of the bottom three.

In a tight league two wins in these tightly packed fixtures can propel you as far as two defeats can see you fall. Whether QPR are in the right frame of mind, and whether Paul Hart can actually pick a team good enough, to win both games this weekend is highly, highly doubtful. Going into the New Year another anti climax full of frustration looks the likely outcome for the second season running.

The way the fixtures and rail disruption has fallen means you LFW regulars may well have to wait for the usual after match features. A road trip that starts in Scunthorpe at 6am on Saturday morning and takes in Sheffield, London, Ipswich, Sheffield and Scunthorpe again in three days means I’m unsure when or if I will be able to update the site between the City and Ipswich games. We will see, I hope to at least get the player ratings and ‘have your say’ features up as your support over a difficult couple of months and taxing time of the year has been unwavering and very much appreciated..

Whether or not there will be a LoftforWords in the New Year remains to be seen. Club Fanzine currently makes QPR look like a soundly run establishment and whether I can stomach the broken promises and lack of communication to continue something that has increasingly become a chore rather than the enjoyable hobby it used to be remains to be seen. The fact that QPR have developed an uncanny knack of making me feel like something they scraped off the bottom of Flavio Briatore’s shoe and I feel a little bit less like returning after every home match at the moment doesn’t help. It would be nice to start picking and choosing my games to be honest, rather than spending money and time I don’t have getting to games I don’t want to go to because I feel I have a commitment to this site which then gives me nothing in return.

Ipswich Town on December 28 at £33 a ticket is an absolute fucking joke and not something I or anybody else should be supporting, and 1500 QPR fans in the driving rain in Doncaster will testify to just how little difference our presence makes to an increasingly over paid and mercenary squad of players that has shown it could quite happily rip this division apart if the poor loves could actually get themselves in the mood but currently don’t look very interested in doing so. In a week when Mikele Leigertwood, one of the most mediocre and inconsistent of our current crop, is said to have been offered a new three year contract at more than £10,000 a week you’d think the guilt of it all at a time when the rest of us struggle to scrape a living would override any feelings of animosity towards the manager or whatever else has been forcing them to play like complete morons over the past six weeks but apparently not.

That’s football and I’m not sure how much more of a part I want in that, at QPR at any rate. I can forgive a supremely talented Fernando Torres or Cesc Fabregas earning ridiculous money, it’s the frankly scandalous amounts paid to some of the average players and bums at our level that really gets me. Especially when, as I say, I’m paying £33 at Ipswich and £600 a season at Loftus Road so that Fitz Hall can be kept in bling for a return on the pitch so pathetically abject there really should be a public enquiry.

Anyway I’m talking myself out of it here, and I’m really not sure. At the moment it’s only you, the readers, that are keeping me going so thank you for your support once again, Merry Christmas to you and yours and a happy New Year.

Five minutes on Bristol City
Story so far: After years of agonising disappointment in the division below this when they had to put up with the likes of Plymouth, QPR and Brighton being promoted ahead of them City took this division by storm in 2007/08 following promotion under Gary Johnson.

The Robins beat Crystal Palace in the play off semi final before losing narrowly to Hull City at Wembley. Last season was not quite as successful and by the end of the campaign City, particularly in a 2-1 defeat at Loftus Road, looked like a team in need of freshening up. Johnson attempted to do that in the summer by adding the experienced Paul Hartley to his midfield along with a couple of young players who had failed to live up to their potential elsewhere – Lewin Nyatanga and Danny Haynes. Bad egg Michael McIndoe was shifted on by City, as he has been fairly quickly by every club he has ever played for.

The season started very well with City losing just two of their first 16 league games. I saw them beaten heavily, 3-0, at Cardiff when they were simply all over the place and unable to cope and they were somewhat fortunate to beat us at Ashton Gate in a game where we missed countless chances and Palace a few days before who had the infamous Freddy Sears ‘ghost goal’ missed by all the officials. As with previous seasons since promotion too many draws was a problem – Preston, Coventry, Swansea, Scunthorpe, Peterborough, Sheff Wed, Newcastle and Forest all shared the spoils in the first few months of the season. Some of those results will have pleased City, others will not.

Still they appeared a much more confident secure and threatening outfit than last season, mainly because Nicky Maynard was finally starting to live up to his big price tag with ten goals by the end of October compared to 11 in the whole of last season. However more recently Maynard has stopped scoring, and City have stopped winning with just one success in their last eight outings moving them down into midtable from the play off picture. Despite all our own recent trials and tribulations we can actually go above them with a win this weekend.

City assistant boss Keith Millen has this week been bemoaning QPR’s perceived advantage in the loan market with a London location making us more attractive for the likes of Taylor, Taarabt and Simpson from Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal. Whether that’s the case or not it’s not exactly confident, bullish, talk from an opponent coming into a fixture and another score draw looks likely here, as does another upper midtable finish at best for City.

The Manager: Gary Johnson is a much admired lower league manager in this country and abroad who gets his side playing an attractive brand of football – he hasn’t been without his critics among the Bristol City support though as three seasons of progress came to a bit of a stagnation in midtable last season. Johnson started coaching at Cambridge United with John Beck but after a successful time as national coach of the Latvia team he has returned to England playing a style of football a long way from Beck’s preferred hoof and hope tactics currently being shown at Conference side Histon. Johnson took Yeovil out of the Conference and into League One for the first time in their history, then moved to Ashton Gate. He made an inauspicious start with an nine game losing run, including hammerings like 4-2 at home to Chesterfield and 3-0 at home to Southend, plunging them deep into relegation trouble. It has been near constant improvement since then though with relegation avoided, promotion achieved, and the Championship play offs reached prior to last season’s mid-table finish. At Loftus Road last season the City side looked like one that needed freshening up; Johnson was given that opportunity during the summer and with Nicky Maynard, an expensive flop last season, firing properly this campaign City initially looked loike a good play off bet before they slipped back into the pack recently.

Three to Watch: Prior to the meeting between these two sides in August I spoke about the pressure building on striker Nicky Marnard to start performing at this level. Gary Johnson has shown a willingness with Maynard and Lee Trundle to go into the lower divisions and give goal scorers a chance at a higher level but he had enjoyed little success with either prior to this season. Maynard scored just 11 times last season following a £2m move to Ashton Gate and struggled to adapt and bring his prolific form from Crewe, where he bagged 35 in 67 appearances. Maynard scored against Rangers at Ashton Gate, already his third goal of the season by that stage, and his form was pretty sensational in the early part of this season. It took him until the end of September to get into double figures for the season with a goal against Sheff Wed at Ashton Gate but he hasn’t scored since, a run of seven games during which time City have only won once. Having looked like he was really starting to get to grips with the level the jury is probably back out again now – I would say he is yet to justify the money spent on him but did look very good against us in August.

In the last meeting between these two sides Danny Haynes was in lively form – troubling QPR with his blistering pace. Since bursting onto the scene at Ipswich, where his habit of scoring against Norwich made him very popular with the locals, he has always looked like a very exciting prospect. The problem appears to be that he’s not very bright – easily the quickest player in the league but almost constantly offside for reasons known only to himself – and with all the composure in front of goal as a breeze block. When faced with a presentable chance in front of goal he tends to just thrash at it and hope for the best. If he could somehow have it beaten into him that he could give most defenders in this league a five yard head start and still beat them for speed therefore he has no need to be offside all the time and be taught to finish he would be a Premiership player. Instead, he now finds himself on the City bench behind Scottish striker David Clarkson.

Another Scot playing a key role in the City side is Paul Hartley. The 33 year old signed on a free from Celtic in the summer to secure the City midfield and he scored last time out against Reading. Don’t expect to like Hartley by the end of Saturday, he will niggle and moan and chip away at the referee and generally be a pain in the arse all afternoon, but he’s very effective for City and a key part of the way they play. For all the nice football Johnson likes his team to play you need a bit of grit in the middle and Hartley provides that, while being able to play a bit himself.

Five minutes on Ipswich Town
Recent History: Ipswich are yet another example of a club languishing in the Championship after over stretching themselves in the Premiership. They dubbed themselves ‘the family club in the Premier League’ after finally overcoming their play off hoo doo and winning promotion into the big league in 2000 via a play off final victory against Barnsley – the last Division One play off held at the old Wembley Stadium. That ‘family club’ tag seems a little hollow now as we prepare for a game where tickets will cost visiting fans up to £41.50 and £27.50 for pensioners but at the time Ipswich, under George Burley, were everybody’s second favourite team as they took the top flight by storm and qualified for Europe in their first season.

Sadly that led to overstretching to sign the likes of Finidi George who turned out to be one of numerous expensive flops and although they made it into the UEFA Cup again, via the Fair Play league of all things, they played their European matches as a Championship side after relegation. A poor start to the following season culminating in a 3-0 defeat on a cold Tuesday night at Grimsby where Steve Kabba and Darren Mansaram (remember them?) tore them apart cost Burley his job.

Although Town fans were initially dead set against the idea of replacing Burley with Joe Royle, whose famed ‘dogs of war’ approach with Everton was a complete departure from the passing football Burley, Lyke, Robson, Ramsey and others had championed at Portman Road. Royle though showed another string to his bow in the job, rebuilding the side despite administration and creating what many believed to be the division’s best and most attractive side in 2004/05 when the likes of Kuqi, Bent, Currie and Magilton made them a free scoring, attractive team to watch. They looked like running away with the league at one stage but a bad run of form that included two defeats at Portman Road in one Spring week against Watford and QPR meant they had to settle for the play offs where West Ham beat them to signal the start of a fire sale of players.

Nine months later Town were languishing fifteenth in the league and won only one of their last ten games – a run that included humiliating home defeats against Stoke (4-1) and eventually relegated Brighton (2-1). Few tears were shed when Royle parted company with Ipswich that summer although in fairness to the former Everton boss he really should have been leading them into the Premiership. He was unfortunate to find himself in a high quality Championship that year with the likes of Wigan, West Ham and Sunderland all also battling for promotion.

Ipswich then looked to over achieving Luton boss Mike Newell (how his stock has fallen since) and Preston manager Billy Davies but both turned the job down. Davies went to Derby and won promotion at the first time of asking. When the club turned to experienced midfielder Jim Magilton to lead them it appeared the act of a chairman increasingly aware that time and options were running out. Matt Le Tissier often speaks of Magilton as a ‘class clown’ figure during their time together Southampton and certainly not potential manager material so the appointment was a risky one but initially Magilton did well. He rebuilt an ageing and mediocre squad over the course of 18 months finishing first fourteenth and then eighth two seasons ago when only dire away form cost them a place in the play offs.

However expectations changed when Town were taken over by local billionaire Marcus Evans who made his fortune in corporate hospitality. He insisted on remaining in the background but paid off the club’s debt and made money available for transfer. Far from a shoe string budget that many assumed him to be working on Magilton spent millions on his team, certainly at least as much in transfer fees as so called “big spending” QPR, but Ipswich remained steadfastly in midtable. Magilton was said to have fallen out with many of his players, and he certainly alienated a section of the fan base and local media. Mistakes he has since repeated with renewed vigour at QPR.

The appointment of a new Chief Executive, Simon Clegg, towards the end of last year brought an end to Magilton’s three year reign and Town went for a big name to replace him – Roy Keane. This, too, was a risky appointment because although Keane had done superbly in his first season at this level with Sunderland he had endured something of a meltdown when the going got tough in the Premiership. Wins against Cardiff and Coventry in the last two matches of last year hinted at better to come but Ipswich have been rank for most of this season, only recently putting together anything like a decent run of performances, and they currently sit fourth from bottom.

Jim Magilton and administration after Premiership relegation is not the only thing these sides have in common – Town, like ourselves, are clearly beset with a squad of handsomely paid players on long contracts with limited ability and next to no work ethic whatsoever. It’s a lethal concoction and one that is likely to ensure that this is a Championship fixture at best next season, and for many years still to come.

The Manager: Fears about just what kind of a manager Roy Keane would be when he retired seemed to have been laid to rest by his first season at Sunderland but are starting to re-emerge now he has resurfaced in Suffolk. After a glittering but controversial playing career with Nottingham Forest, Man Utd and Celtic Keane marched into a Sunderland club still settling down after a takeover by Niall Quinn’s consortium, and having endured a disastrous start to the season in the Championship after relegation from the Premiership. They lost their first five matches of the season under Quinn’s own caretaker charge, including a 3-0 defeat to Southend and League Cup loss at Bury, but Keane calmly turned the whole thing around and won the league with something to spare by the end of the season. It seemed the man could do no wrong. The Premiership proved to be a tougher mistress. Keane spent an astronomical amount of money assembling a distinctly average top flight squad at the Stadium of Light - £43m in his first year when they were nearly relegated anyway, and another £15m last summer with little improvement.

Keane has never had to be used to losing during his career and as the beard grew longer, the mood grew darker and the morale of his team worsened it didn’t seem he was taking to it very well. Stories of the players being afraid of him, morale being rock bottom, days when he wouldn’t even speak to his staff and so on started to pour forth and it was left to Ricky Sbragia to be the reluctant caretaker through to the end of a season they were lucky to survive. Keane made an immediate impression at Sunderland, and seemed to do so again at Ipswich with two wins from two games at the end of last season but his time on Wearside quickly soured and this season has been a disaster at Portman Road. While he has seen fit to lambast members of the media for daring to have their mobile phones on in press conferences or asking him if his position is under threat he has done his own job abysmally, taking a squad of players that should be challenging for the top six and leading them into a relegation battle. Very, very fortunate not to have been sacked already.

Three to Watch:
If selected I would venture to suggest that most QPR eyes will be drawn to Owen Garvan and Damien Delaney on Monday for different reasons.

Garvan, a product of Ipswich’s youth system and one of a clutch of Irish players that have enjoyed success at Portman Road in recent years, was left out of Town’s side at the start of this season by new boss Roy Keane. This puzzled many Ipswich supporters who hold Garvan close to their hearts because of his home grown history and excellent box to box work ethic but while acknowledging that he was a fans’ favourite Keane insisted Garvan was not doing enough to get into his team and Jim Magilton was said to be keen to bring the player to Loftus Road this January. That looks unlikely now with Magilton gone and Garvan back in the Ipswich side – while you’ve more chance of flying to the moon on the carcass of your Christmas turkey than getting Keane to actually admit he might have been wrong about something the improvement in Town’s form since Garvan was reinstated is clear and obvious.

Delaney has already played for QPR of course. He was signed for £600k from Hull when Luigi De Canio was in charge in January 2008 and initially enjoyed great success at Loftus Road. While our old friends among the Hull City support mocked us for even looking twice at the player, never mind paying that sort of money for him, Delaney won many friends at Loftus Road with a wholehearted approach to the game and penchant for barnstorming runs down the left flank. Sold as a converted centre back and second choice to Sheff Wed’s Tommy Spurr it seemed that we had pulled off a master stroke.

Sadly when De Canio and his open, all out attack style of play departed W12 to be replaced by a more regimented approach under first Iain Dowie and then Paulo Sousa Delaney’s flaws shone through. He was terrible for the vast majority of last season, and whereas before his attacking runs covered a multitude of sins when he had to stick to the left back role more rigidly he looked distinctly average at times and a bloody liability at others. QPR snapped Ipswich’s hands off when the Suffolk club bizarrely made an offer that represented a small profit this summer. It’s easy to like Delaney and forgive his many failings because of his refreshing attitude off the pitch and constant hard graft on it but really the fact that he commands the transfer fees he has and earns the money he does is just another sad indictment of the modern game.

The man that did the damage to us in both fixtures last season was striker Jon Stead who climbed off the bench at Portman Road to head in two second half goals in a 2-0 defeat for Rangers before Christmas and then equalised to set Town on the way to a 3-1 Loftus Road win in February. Stead burst onto the scene when Blackburn paid £1m to take him to the Premiership from League Two side Huddersfield but his career has stagnated somewhat since an initially flurry of goals at Ewood Park and his move to Ipswich last season was the latest attempt to kick start it. Stead suffers from being average in too many areas. His work rate is second to none but he is not particularly tall, or well built, or quick or prolific in front of goal. Derby got some joy using him as a winger but 17 goals in 57 appearances so far for Town can at best be described as reasonable. A decent Championship player but little more than that.

Links >>> Bristol City Official Website >>> Bristol City Message Board >>> Ipswich Town Official Website >>> Ipswich Town Message Board >>> Ipswich Travel Guide

History
Recent Meetings:
QPR last met Bristol City at Loftus Road in March. QPR had been on a dire run of nine matches without a win prior to a scrappy midweek victory at Loftus Road against Swansea City. That, and the introduction of Spurs loanee Adel Taarabt, seemed to lift a weight from the shoulders of the QPR players and they were in very decent touch against Gary Johnson’s men. Jordi Lopez’s superb 25 yard free kick, taken just moments after he had scuffed an identical effort into the wall, gave the R’s the lead before City equalised against the run of play through Michael McIndoe. Just as it looked like QPR were going to be held to yet another draw a storming run and cross from the left flank by Damien Delaney set up Adel Taarabt for a close range finish, his first goal for the club, and a match winner.

QPR: Cerny 7, Ramage 7, Connolly 7 (Helguson 61, 6), Gorkss 7, Delaney 7, Alberti 5 (Routledge 46, 5), Leigertwood 7, Lopez 8, Ephraim 7, Taarabt 8, Di Carmine 6 (Cook 73, 5)
Subs Not Used: Mahon, Vine
Booked: Taarabt (diving)
Goals: Lopez 65 (unassisted), Taarabt 81 (assisted Delaney)

Bristol City: Basso 7, Orr 6, McAllister 6, Fontaine 6, McCombe 4, McIndoe 7, Skuse 6, Sproule 7 (Styvar 86, -), Johnson 6 (Elliott 86, -), Adebola 7, Maynard 6
Subs Not Used: Henderson, James Wilson, John
Booked: Adebola (diving), Basso (dissent)
Goals: McIndoe 77 (assisted Sproule)

Rangers were unfortunate to lose at Ashton Gate in the opening week of this season. In a challenging start to the season QPR had to travel to Plymouth, Bristol and Exeter in the first ten days of the season and should have taken at least a point from Ashton Gate where Adel Taarabt, who hit the post from less than a yard out in the second half, was most guilty of missing chances. Nicky Maynard and Danny Haynes both missed good opportunities for City in a first half they enjoyed the best of but Rangers were dominant after the break and even after Maynard had taken advantage of a slip by Fitz Hall to give City a late lead Mikele Leigertwood should have equalised in stoppage time when he was faced with the goalkeeper one on one.

Bristol City: Gerken 7, Skuse 6 (Fontaine 37, 7), McCombe 6, Nyatanga 7, Orr 7, Hartley 7, Elliott 6, Clarkson 7, McAllister 5 (Velicka 64, -) (Johnson 75, 7), Haynes 6, Maynard 8
Subs Not Used: Basso, Akinde, Sproule, Brian Wilson
Booked: McAllister (foul), Nyatanga (foul), Hartley (time wasting)
Goals: Maynard 78 (assisted Clarkson)

QPR: Cerny 7, Ramage 6, Hall 7, Stewart 7, Borrowdale 6, Routledge 8, Leigertwood 6, Faurlin 6 (Helguson 84, -), Buzsaky 6, Taarabt 7 (Vine 66, 5), Agyemang 5 (Pellicori 66, 6)
Subs Not Used: Heaton, Mahon, Gorkss, Connolly
Booked: Faurlin (foul), Buzsaky (foul), Stewart (foul)

QPR were comfortably beaten 2-0 on their last visit to Portman Road in November 2008 with Gareth Ainsworth in caretaker charge. Coming off the back of a 1-0 home victory against Birmingham on Tuesday night QPR would have been confident of taking at least a point from this match at kick off but they rarely looked capable of doing so once it had kicked off. Ipswich won the match courtesy of two soft goals from substitute Jon Stead. He needed two attempts at the first after Cerny had initially denied him in a goal mouth scramble but the second was as clean as a whistle after he was left unmarked at a corner. Rangers rarely looked like scoring.

Ipswich: R Wright 7, Volz 7, McAuley 6, Naylor 7, David Wright 8, Norris 8, Shumulikoski 7, Garvan 8, Quinn 5 (Counago 59, 6), Walters 7, Lisbie 4 (Stead 68, 8)
Subs Not Used: Supple, Bruce, Miller
Booked: Garvan (foul)
Goals: Stead 73 (assisted Counago), 75 (assisted Garvan)

QPR: Cerny 7, Delaney 4, Stewart 7, Hall 6, Connolly 6, Parejo 6, Rowlands 6, Tommasi 7, Cook 6, Di Carmine 5 (Blackstock 57, 4), Buzsaky 4 (Ledesma 68, 4)
Subs Not Used: Cole, Mahon, Gorkss
Booked: Di Carmine (foul)

The R’s play off push was dealt an irreparable blow at Loftus Road against Ipswich in February when the Tractor Boys came from behind to win 3-1 infront of the Sky cameras. Things all looked good for Paulo Sousa’s men as Sam Di Carmine (no, really) gave them the lead inside two minutes but Jon Stead equalised before halftime and as the fans turned on the hapless Gavin Mahon Pablo Counago and Jon Walters added further goals in the second half. QPR went on to make it nine games without a win to drop right out of the play off picture.

QPR: Camp 5, Connolly 4, Gorkss 5, Hall 4, Delaney 4 (Blackstock 67, 5) Routledge 6, Mahon 2, Leigertwood 6, Miller 5 (Balanta 73, 5) Cook 5, Di Carmine 6 (Helguson 55, 4)
Subs Not Used: Stewart, Alberti
Goals: Di Carmine 3 (assisted Routledge)

Ipswich: R Wright 7, D Wright 7, McAuley 8, Bruce 7, Thatcher 5, Miller 7, Norris 8, Civelli 6 (Walters 61, 7), Quinn 7, Stead 8 (Lisbie 69, 6), Counago 8 (Garvan 82, 6)
Subs Not Used: Supple, Balkestein
Booked: Thatcher (time wasting)
Goals: Stead 14 (assisted Norris), Counago 61 (unassisted), Walters 70 (assisted Quinn)

Head to Head:
QPR wins – 30
Draws – 22
Bristol City wins – 25

Ipswich wins - 26
Draws – 18
QPR wins – 21

Previous Results:
2009/10 Bristol City 1 QPR 0
2008/09 QPR 2 Bristol City 1 (Taarabt, Lopez)
2008/09 Bristol City 1 QPR 1 (Blackstock)
2007/08 QPR 3 Bristol City 0 (Agyemang 2, Buzsaky)
2007/08 Bristol City 2 QPR 2 (Blackstock, Stewart)
2003/04 Bristol City 1 QPR 0
2003/04 QPR 1 Bristol City 1 (Padula)
2002/03 QPR 1 Bristol City 0 (Gallen pen)
2002/03 QPR 0 Bristol City 0 (Vans trophy, City won 5-4 on pens)
2002/03 Bristol City 1 QPR 3 (Connolly 2, Gallen)
2001/02 Bristol City 2 QPR 0
2001/02 QPR 0 Bristol City 0
1998/99 Bristol City 0 QPR 0
1998/99 QPR 1 Bristol City 1 (Ready)

2008/09 QPR 1 Ipswich 3 (Di Carmine)
2008/09 Ipswich 2 QPR 0
2007/08 Ipswich 0 QPR 0
2007/08 QPR 1 Ipswich 1 (Nygaard)
2006/07 Ipswich 2 QPR 1 (Furlong)
2006/07 QPR 1 Ipswich 3 (Gallen)
2005/06 Ipswich 2 QPR 2 (Moore, Furlong)
2005/06 QPR 2 Ipswich 1 (Rowlands, Gallen)
2004/05 Ipswich 0 QPR 2 (Furlong, Shittu)
2004/05 QPR 2 Ipswich 4 (Furlong 2)
1999/00 QPR 3 Ipswich 1 (Peacock, Koejoe, Kiwomya)
1999/00 Ipswich 1 QPR 4 (Steiner 2, Peacock, Wardley)
1998/99 Ipswich 3 QPR 1 (Kiwomya)
1998/99 QPR 1 Ipswich 1 (Gallen)
1997/98 QPR 0 Ipswich 0
1997/98 Ipswich 0 QPR 0
1996/97 Ipswich 2 QPR 0
1996/97 QPR 0 Ipswich 1
1994/95 Ipswich 0 QPR 1 (Ferdinand)
1994/95 QPR 1 Ipswich 2 (Ferdinand)
1993/94 Ipswich 1 QPR 3 (Impey 2, Ferdinand)
1993/94 QPR 3 Ipswich 0 (White 2, Barker)
1992/93 Ipswich 1 QPR 1 (White)
1992/93 QPR 0 Ipswich 0

Played for both clubs:
Phil Parkes
QPR 1970-79
Ipswich 1990-91
A legend in both West and East London , Parkes is arguably the greatest player to play in between the sticks for the Superhoops and West Ham. Born in Sedley, West Midlands, Parkes started his career with Third Division side Wallsall. The 18 year old made eight appearances for the Saddlers in his debut season before being made number one for the following campaign. In the summer of 1970, seeing his potential as a top-class goalkeeper QPR signed Parkes for £15,000 and he made his debut for the R’s in an opening day defeat to Leicester City .For the next nine years we become an ever present for Rangers as the club’s first choice number one. He enjoyed being part of what is known as QPR’s greatest ever team, the side that narrowly missed out on the League title to Liverpool in 1976 and played for the R’s in the UEFA Cup run the following year.

In all Parkes made 406 appearances for Rangers and is held in great regard by the fans as one of if not the best goalie to have played for the club. While at Loftus Road , Parkes earned his one and only England cap in a game against Portugal in 1974. He should have gone to earn many more but fell out with manager Don Revie after he went back on his promise to give Parkes some playing time in a game against Wales . After that Ray Clemence and Peter Shilton were regularly picked ahead of him.

In 1979 West Ham shocked the football world by signing Phil in what was a world record fee for a goalie at the time, £500,000. Former Rangers gaffer Dave Sexton had tried with six bids to bring him to Manchester United but he could not match the Hammers offer and Parkes headed across London to sign for West Ham. Again he achieved cult status while at Upton Park, picking up a FA Cup winners medal and keeping goal for the club for a decade. He later had a brief spell at Ipswich making three league appearances before retiring in 1991. Since then has regular coached young goalkeepers including a stint back at Loftus Road in the mid nineties.

Sieb Dijkstra
QPR 1994-96
Bristol City 1994 (Loan)
Over the years we’ve had many goalkeepers who could provide flashes of brilliance along with critical lapses of concentration. Tony Roberts, Jurgeon Sommer and Lee Harper are just a few we’ve had in between the sticks at Loftus Road, and one that always sticks out for me is Sieb Dijkstra. In truth Sieb never got enough games to prove if he was either one of the other but he’s more remembered for his comedic appeal then his goalkeeping prowess at Loftus Road. After starting his career in his native Holland, Sieb joined Scottish side Motherwell in 1991, where he caught the eye of Rangers manager Gerry Francis with some solid displays. So much so he splashed out £250,000 to bring him to Loftus Road to replace Jan Stejskal. But despite looking like Gary Penrice’s twin brother, Sieb never reproduced the form from Scotland and struggled to get into the first team. A ten game loan spell at Bristol City followed to get his confidence up but when he returned to Rangers he again failed to nab the number one jersey. After two seasons and just eleven appearances Sieb moved back to Scotland with Dundee Utd before returning to play his football back in Holland. He is now goalkeeper coach for Ducth second division side MVV.

Links >>> QPR 2 Bristol City 1 Match Report >>> Bristol City 1 QPR 0 Match Report >>> Ipswich 2 QPR 0 Match Report >>> QPR 1 Ipswich 3 >>> Match Report Archive >>> Ipswich Connections and Memories >>> Bristol City Connections and Memories

This Weekend
Team News: Rangers are without Damion Stewart for the Bristol City game after he picked up his fifth yellow card of the season against Sheffield United. That leaves Paul Hart with a choice between Matt Connolly who returns after a hip injury and Fitz Hall whose return would be a most unwelcome Christmas present for the long suffering Loftus Road crowd. Long term absentees Lee Cook, Martin Rowlands and Gavin Mahon (all knee) are out for the duration of the Christmas period. Angelo Balanta is finally fit and available for selection again.

Bristol City may be without manager Gary Johnson who has a chest infection and is keeping away from his players for fear of passing it on. Midfielder Marvin Elliott injured his knee against Reading and is a doubt, speedy winger Ivan Sproule has a hamstring strain and will not travel.

Ipswich are hoping to welcome back midfielder David Norris this weekend after four months out with a knee injury.

Elsewhere: Rangers against Bristol City is the main match on the Football League Show on Saturday evening while Sheff United and Leicester are the late game on Sky Sports. There is little else to pick from the first set of fixtures with Newcastle at Sheff Wed in an early kick off and West Brom welcoming Peterborough at 3pm. Newcastle v Derby is the televised game on Monday while play off chasers Sheff Utd and Preston clash at Bramall Lane. Bottom of the table Peterborough’s tough weekend continues with a home game against Cardiff.

Referee: Against Bristol City on Boxing Day we have rookie official David Phillips in charge – his first appointment with either side in this his second season on the league list. A Ipswich it’’s the exact opposite, experienced official Steve Tanner in charge after spending last year in the Premiership. He has been somewhat card happy in past QPR appointments as explained in the article linked below.

Links >>> Dean Sturridge Memorial Injury List >>> Arthur Gnohere Discipline Counter >>> Mixture of Youth and Experience in Christmas Refereeing Appointments >>> Referee League

Form
QPR: The R’s come into the festive fixtures without a win in six matches, a run that came after a run of one defeat in six that had lifted them to fourth, they go into these games in tenth. Rangers have only won three times at home this season but have only lost twice to Middlesbrough and Leicester – six score draws, five of them 1-1, which makes that the most likely outcome of the Bristol City game. Away from home QPR have picked up four wins which is more than they managed in the whole of last season however they have drawn one and lost two of their last three. Rangers have not won on Boxing Day for seven years, although it is certainly a relief not to be going to Plymouth again. There have been 39 goals scored at Loftus Road this season, more than anywhere else in the Championship, and Rangers have thrown away 20 points from winning positions so far.

Bristol City: Gary Johnson’s men are relatively weak on their travels with only two away wins so far this season, at Barnsley and Leicester. Last year they won eight on the road which was one more than Burnley managed in their promotion season. That win at Leicester is their only success in the last eight matches with Doncaster, Sheff Utd and West Brom all beating City in recent weeks and Reading, Ipswich, Forest and Sheff Wed taking draws. City have not won at Loftus Road since 1977 and lost 2-1 and 3-0 on their last two visits. The Robins are yet to lose a game from a winning position this year.

Ipswich: Town are still fourth from bottom on the table but haven’t lost in their last ten games – a failure to turn draws into wins has kept them entrenched in the relegation mire. They have beaten Derby (1-0) and Blackpool (3-1) at home and Cardiff (2-1) away in that run and drawn with Peterborough, Bristol City, Sheff Wed (all 0-0) and Reading, Plymouth, Watford and Swansea (all 1-1) in that run. They are unbeaten in six matches at Portman Road since Newcastle won 4-0 there in September but they failed to win in five home games prior to that, drawing three.

Predictions: Admittedly I’m back in a very negative frame of mind about QPR at the moment following the dramatic collapse in form from October and the frankly ludicrous decision to appoint Paul Hart as manager until the end of the season. I’d like to say I can see us taking four points from these two games but I’m afraid I can’t. I think we’ll bore the tits off ourselves again and draw against Bristol City and then surrender meekly at Ipswich. Merry Christmas.
1-1 draw with City, 2-0 defeat at Ipswich

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Photo: Action Images via Reuters

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