Lofty Heights... 'Ohhh Bobby Zamooooora!!!'

A look at Queens Park Rangers F.C. through the eyes of the fans - follow us on twitter @loftyheights70, @LoftyQPR and @qprleeroy








Sunday, May 25, 2014

Bobby Ram Raids Derby as QPR Return to the Premier League..


Derby 0-1 QPR

QPR returned to the Premier League at the first time of asking, following an emotional and amazing day at Wembley Stadium.



I don't even know where to begin here... but after watching this after arriving home, I will start with an emotional speech from Captain, Clint Hill after the match, which got the tears flowing once more..

'Throughout the season, everybody's doubted us, questioned our mentality, our desire, that just shows what we're all about, there's no mercenaries in there, we're a band of brothers, and we've been through hell this season, and that is just magnificent! I'm delighted for them, our Chairman, but more importantly our boys, they deserved every bit of that!!'

It was an early start for us all and after much deliberation, myself, Jenson, Lee, Jess, Sam, Luke, Iceman, Trev, Travis, PK, Steve, Lorna and Kareem, all arrived in Harrow at various times and descended on the Moon on the Hill for breakfast for some and some nice, cheap drinks, which definitely calmed our nerves somewhat. When Jenson informed me Friday evening that Trevor was meeting him, I was a bit concerned as his reliability has been somewhat questioned in the past as we all know. But fair play, he was bang on the button and the cab from Maidenhead, set sail.. only to be turned back as Trev, on this day of days, had left his match tickets in his car!!!! Only Trev!!! #TrevsFault

The drinks continued to flow and any kind of social occasion with Jenson on board, would involve Jaeger at some point, and , as named by California Hoop a few years back, 'Bomb Shits' were consumed!! But we kept it all level and made our way to Wembley to meet up with people at the Torch and probably, have a few more drinks... which, resulted in drinking cans in what was a mass street party as the Torch was heaving with R's fans!!



At about 2.15, we made what was a very slow journey along Wembley way to the impressive Stadium and the nerves were really starting to kick in as we made our way into the Stadium to start waving our flags and soaking up the atmosphere with 40,000 R's fans along with Jess's family who were sitting with us.  The teams came out, we proudly sang the National Anthem and we were ready to rock and roll..


 

To the neutral, in fairness this probably wasn't the best game of football ever seen, but it was full of emotion, tension and drama as most Play off Finals have been. The first half was extremely cagey from both sides, but Rangers were looking the more comfortable in their new surroundings. Charlie Austin and Joey Barton both had half chances and at the other end, the much talked about Hughes was unsuccessful in trying to win a penalty for the Rams, going over far too easily after turning away from Richard Dunne - extremely disappointing from a very promising young player I must say!

Forsyth had earlier headed over from a tight angle, but the best effort on goal came from a Ward free kick, that missed everyone except Rob Green who pushed the ball away low down.

A few of us assembled on the concourse at half time and it was evident from the half that it would remain very close with nothing in the game at all..

Derby had the better of the opening exchanges of the second half, forcing a good few corners which were well defended by the R's back line. At the other end, Rangers had their best chance of the game on 57 minutes - battling work from Austin saw the ball find Traore, who in turn, crossed from the left for Austin who scuffed his shot wide.

Bobby Zamora then entered the play for the sadly ineffective Doyle and shortly after, Austin again fired a shot well over following good work from Hoilett. Rangers were then dealt a massive blow on the hour, when Russell went through on goal only for Gary O'Neil to hack him down on his way through. Lee Mason deliberated with his assistant but it was inevitable, O'Neil was shown the red card and it was advantage Derby with half an hour left. It was definitely a case of O'Neil taking one for the team as they say and adding this to losing Kranjcar to injury in the first half, this could well have been turning into a disaster. Redknapp responded immediately bringing on Karl Henry for Clint Hill.

It was now all Derby and Rob Green was performing heroics in the R's goal, keeping out Martin, Bryson and Dawkins as Rangers were fighting for their lives. Towards the end , Rangers went on the attack and Joey Barton fired an effort wide as extra time was looming.

Then the moment came - Zamora forced a throw in on the right which found Hoilett who went for the by-line and after appearing to lose out, slid in to win the ball and cross low into the box - Keogh tried to clear but the ball fell straight to Zamora who curled the ball home to send 40.000 Rangers fans into absolute raptures!!






After the celebrations died down, I asked Lee how long was left as I truly thought their were about 8 minutes to go, and when Lee said - seconds - the heart started racing.

A late corner saw the keeper go up for Derby but after the ball went clear for a throw, the ball entered play and Lee Mason blew the final whistle. We had done it and tears flowed from myself, Jenson and Sam as we all partied in the aisle's.



Queens Park Rangers

  • 01 Green
  • 02 Simpson
  • 06 Hill (Henry - 67' )
  • 17 Barton
  • 15 Onuoha
  • 05 Dunne
  • 23 Hoilett
  • 36 O'Neil Dismissed
  • 14 Doyle (Zamora - 57' Booked )
  • 09 Austin
  • 19 Kranjcar (Traore - 33' )

Substitutes

  • 03 Traore
  • 04 Morrison
  • 13 Yun Suk-young
  • 18 Hughes
  • 20 Henry
  • 25 Zamora
  • 26 Murphy


Onto the Man of the Match

Plenty of choice as you would imagine so will do the singular votes first, with Lorna going for Joey Barton. Jess went with what was also the Sky Choice, for a real commanding performance from Richard Dunne. PK and Sam went for Bobby Zamora for 'that' winning Wembley goal. Luke, Trevor and son, Travis went for Junior Hoilett and you couldn't really argue with any of these selections, but there has to be a winner and with 4 votes from Steve, Lee, Jenson and myself picked out Rob Green for a heroic goalkeeping performance.



And so, the Wembley Pie Rating

With a few having a big brekky in Moons, only myself and Lee sampled the delights of the Chicken Balti, Lee before the game and myself at half time.

Lee reported that it was extremely nice but questioned the dryness of the pastry - 8/10

I could not fault it at all, perhaps as I skipped breakfast through nerves, I was ravenous come half time. The only mark down from me was the outrageous price of £4.90!! But it IS Wembley after all - 9/10

Giving the Wembley Pies a rating of 8.5/10

We all continued celebrating as we saw the Rangers walk up those steps and collect the Trophy. Personally, I wasn't born in 67, but saw both Cup Finals against Spurs in 82, the Milk Cup final against Oxford in 86, the play off final against Cardiff in 2003, but seeing your team win at Wembley, well, it doesn't get much better than that does it?

We continued our celebrations back at the Torch but again, being so busy, we were drinking cans of beer in the street, before cabbing it to Shepherds Bush where we met with Laura and Tony, but sadly, all of the pubs had decided to close the doors as they were fit to bursting.. So, again, it was cans of beer, bottles of wine and this time sitting on Shepherds Bush Green. A bit disappointing after the euphoria of the last promotion celebrations, but this day just CANNOT have any disappointment. A curry was consumed before we headed for home and when I got in, switched on the TV and what came on.. Bobby Zamora curling the ball into the net.. MAGIC!!!

So, as I bring the curtain down on this report and simply the best football experience of my life, myself and Lee would like to thank you all this season for your continued support. It's not always pretty and it's not always very good, but it is honest and genuine and we are thrilled that Lofty Heights continues to grow from strength to strength. Myself and Lee are now stopped in the street in regards to our work and we have now been recognised by the Club itself, attending our first Fans Forum a few weeks back.

And to close, I just want to say a BIG THANK YOU to my own little band of brothers and sisters that travel home and away, week in and week out, which make following Queens Park Rangers the absolute joy that it is. We, along with every single R's fan out there so deserved our day yesterday!!




Feeling a bit emotional now...

See you all back in the Premier League and Come on you R'sssssssss!!!



Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Austin Banks Play Off Final Date.....


The moment of truth was finally here, ninety minutes away from Wembley and the chance to visit the holy grail of English Football for a one off shoot out for promotion back to the Premier League. 
Could the R's overcome a strong Wigan side and reach a play off final for the first time in nine years? We were about to find out.

The tension was building throughout the day as the gang shared Whats App messages regarding the ticket prices that had been released by Derby and we were already planning on where we were going to book tickets, taking our minds off the fact we still had a huge ninety minutes plus the potential for extra time and penalties ahead of us.
I was the first to arrive with Sam and Jack, as Luke and Jointy enjoyed a pre-match pint in the Springbok. I was greeted by Michael and Zach (thanks for the beer!) as we had a beverage to calm the nerves that were slowly beginning to get worse as kick off inched closer. Lofty then joined us for a beer before and half cut Jenson, Banksy  and Lorna then came along. PK joined us in the stands just in time to hold up our sheets for the mosaic that covered Loftus Road as the players entered the field.
Jess was slightly late owing to train issues, but missed very little.

Two changes were made to the side that drew at the DW Stadium on Friday.
Niko Kranjcar and Kevin Doyle replaced Ravel Morrison, who dropped to the bench, and Armand Traore who missed out completely.

The opening exchanges saw the R's enjoy the better of the play, whilst it was clear to see Wigan's game plan, sit back and catch us on the counter attack through the pace of McClean and McManaman.
However it was Wigan that grabbed an early break through.
Rangers' stood off Beausejour as he slipped a pass to McClean on the right side of the R's box before he whipped in a delightful cross for Perch to tap in from two yards out. McClean was given too much space before Hill lost Perch's advancing run before he opening the scoring.
The early goal dampened what was a great atmosphere inside Loftus Road as the anxiety started to creep into the home fans.
McClean and McManaman were pressure the R's high up the pitch and this meant that Rangers' had very little space to play their usual patient passing game. The high pressing meant that we were often left looking for a long ball to Austin, who was isolated up front on his own and was in desperate need of support from his team mates.
With 20 minutes gone O'Neil's backpass left McClean through on goal as he took a heavy touch before diving over Green and appealing for a penalty. Absolutely shocking dive! He's obviously been taking lessons from Jordi Gomez!!
Rangers' then made a tactical change on the half hour as Doyle moved into a more advanced position alongside Austin as Hoilett and Kranjcar occupied the wings.
This then saw the home side become a lot more of an attacking threat and the chances then became a lot more frequent as we searched for an equaliser.
Kranjcar was becoming a heavier influence on the game and was the more likely to be the one to unlock the solid Wigan defence. He forced the first save out of Carson as he picked up the loose ends of a corner before turning Perch inside out and unleashing a drive that Carson done very well to divert wide for a corner.
This gave us the hope that was needed to drive us forward as O'Neil flashed an effort wide before Austin saw a header cleared off the line by McClean.



At half time we were scratching our heads as to how we did not take any of the chances created, with crosses flashing across the box without a final touch being applied and Carson being in fine form when called upon. The optimism was there, however we needed that all important breakthrough before we overcommitted players and get caught out by Wigan's lightening counter attacks.

The second half started as it ended, with the R's in the ascendency. Two quickfire corners were won, with Hoilett coming closest to testing Carson, with his shot flying just wide.
Redknapp made his first change just five minutes into the half as Clint Hill was replaced by Yun Suk-Young. Joey Barton took over the captains armband.
It was clear to see why the change was made as we soon saw Yun bombing up and down the left wing and providing the width we were lacking down that side of the pitch.
Joey Barton was involved everything good about the R's as he was winning the midfield battle as well as keeping the heads up of the team as he looked to do all he could to get us back in the game.
With twenty five minutes left on the clock, super sub Bobby Zamora entered the fray in the place of Kevin Doyle.
Wigan then had a golden opportunity to extend their lead. Sloppy Rangers' defending lead to McClean being clean through and forcing a great stop from Green but as the ball bobbled loose McClean's second effort hit the outside of the post! Massive let off!!!
Instantly after that Ravel Morrison replaced Gary O'Neil.
A minute later some sharp interchanging passes saw Barton feed Hoilett on the edge of the box before the Canadian fire just wide once again.
On 72 minutes the chance we had been waiting for arrived!
Following passes from Morrison, Kranjcar, Barton and Simpson we saw Zamora expertly flick the ball into the path of the on rushing Hoilett, who was then taken down by Gary Caldwell inches inside the box... Penalty!!
Up stepped the ever reliable Charlie Austin and he rifled the penalty down the left hand side to bring it level at 1-1!!
Bobby Zamora took a nasty kick from Scott Carson as the Wigan keeper looked to smash the ball clear to stop him getting the ball and instead volleyed Zamora's right leg.
The home crowd were lifted once again and the belief was there for us all, this was going to happen it was just a case of when not if, should the R'continue to play with such intensity.
Zamora's inclusion saw him hold the ball up exceptionally well and bring players into the game, he was a man on a mission and looked like he was up for the fight and proving that he was the one to really make a difference in the attacking third. He almost done that as he latched onto a long ball and looped the ball over Carson's head only to see his effort rest on the roof of the net.
The remaining minutes were played out as both teams looked to settle for extra time.

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A second short break for the gang as we took the opportunity to stretch our legs before the drama continued as we had thirty more agonising minutes to put ourselves through, no nails were left to bite, we just had to rely on the remains of the mints I had in my pocket.

Despite the R's looking like they were carrying some heavy legs in Dunne and Kranjcar, they still kept the tempo up and continued to take the game to Wigan in search of that second goal.
Five minutes into extra time it actually happened!
Danny Simpson's throw in was cleverly looped into the box by Zamora and there was Charlie Austin to poke the ball home from close range!! Cue pandemonium!!!!

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The final twenty five minutes were extremely nervy, with Rangers' played the ball in the corner for the final seven minutes and done all they can to run the clock down.
There was very nearly one final twist as Kiernan's effort in second half injury time took a massive deflection and dropped millimetres wide of the far post!
Following what felt like an additional five minutes and four Wigan corners, it was finally over!!
Wembley, Wembleyyyyyy we're the famous Queens Park Rangers and we're off to Wembley.........

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What can I say?? I'm rambled on for what seems like a lifetime now in what was a hugely dramatic encounter and every emotion going was experienced throughout the 132 minutes of football we watched!
The atmosphere in the ground was the best it has been for a long time and it was great to see us take a game to a team and get the rewards for it. So many shots were taken and Carson has to take credit for keeping the score down.
Three players stood out for me today.
Nedum Onuoha was solid as a rock tonight and did not put a foot wrong! The Chief has consistently been our best defender for a number of weeks now and is really catching the eye after a host of solid performances.
Joey Barton was immense throughout the game today and was a real leader of men throughout it all. He lead the midfield though the battlefield and lead the team to victory in the final eighty minutes of the game.
Thirdly, who else but Charlie Austin!! The man is indescribable!! He always pops up when it matters the most and scoring 20 goals this season, what a signing he has been!

Onto our Man of the Match. Lofty voted for Hoilett and his energetic performance and winning the penalty that led to our equaliser. We however have a tied vote for Man of the Match as Jenson and Banksy, Jess and Lorna opted for Charlie Austin and votes from Sam, Luke, PK and myself for Joey Barton led to a tie. Usually I would go for an editors choice, however on this occasion I'm going to leave it as Charlie Austin and Joey Barton being our Men of the Match.

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Once the lap of honour was over we finally took a moment to catch our breath and savour the moment! Several celebratory selfies were taken of the gang as we let it all take over and let the joy and relief ooze out of our bodies.
So Banksy attends his one game a game a season in the most dramatic game of the season so far, unfortunately for him he has booked his holiday and will not get the chance to visit the new Wembley with us. All is not lost, we will see him once next year!

Well that's my final report of the season as I have given Lofty the honour of covering what will be a special day on 24th May.

I'd just like to say thank you all for your continued support of Lofty Heights and I will look forward to seeing you all next season!!

U R'SSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Better Late Than Trevor..


Wigan 0-0 QPR

QPR held Wigan to a goal less draw at the DW Stadium last night to leave this Championship play off semi final nicely in the balance ahead of Mondays second leg at Loftus Road..




With the FA kindly making this a Friday fixture, we all made out relative arrangements for the long journey to the North and I met with Jenson and PK in Wycombe shortly after 1.30pm. We were looking to meet with Lee, Jess and Luke further up the motorway. Sam was sadly missing for this one due to family commitments.

I think it's fair to say over the years that our mate Trevor could hardly be described as Mr Reliable, so when he expressed an interest in travelling with us, he was as vague as ever when we were making the arrangements. We decided to travel a bit earlier following the mention on the QPR website of travel issues in the Wigan area and as we hadn't heard from Trevor in the morning, we decided to start our journey - and low and behold, he arrived at Jenson's house, bang on 2.20 with us already flying up the M40. Not to be outdone, we pulled over near Silverstone and awaited the arrival of the Juke.

We eventually got going again and following absolute motorway chaos, we arrived in Wigan at about 6.15, but still concerned for Lee who had diverted from the motorway madness. After a quick drink in Frankie and Bennys, we met with Lee, Jess and Luke outside the away end with a mere 5 minutes until the kick off. Of course, had Trevor been on time, we would have been able to enjoy a much more relaxed pre match. There was barely time to take a leak before we took our place amongst the 3500 travelling R's with the game already under way. Lorna joined us about 20 minutes later following travel chaos of her own.

Onto the game and the first half was a scrappy affair, littered with yellow cards, Dunne for QPR and a card each for McArther and McManaman for Wigan following reckless challenges. Rangers forced the first real chance of the game on 37 minutes with Traore heading over Hoilett's cross. With the break looming, Jordi Gomez took the ball down well and forced Green into a decent save at the near post.

Myself, Lee, PK and Luke braved a packed concourse at half time, with only Lee managing to squeeze his way to the refreshment bar to get his pie. The rest of us literally gave up and went back to our seats for the second half.



Onto the second half and again, it was Traore who's shot on the turn was pushed away by Scott Carson on about 50 minutes. The positive start had the superb away support in full cry. But on 63 minutes, Wigan missed their best chance when Fortune ballooned over from 10 yards out following a ricochet in the box. Fortune again, later saw an effort superbly blocked by Onuoha.

But in the last 20 minutes, it was Rangers that were looking the more likely, but saw efforts from O'Neill and Barton go flying over the bar. But in a game of few chances, neither side could make any sort of breakthrough and Rangers take the slenderest of advantages back to Loftus Road on Monday.




   Queens Park Rangers
  • 01 Green
  • 02 Simpson
  • 06 Hill
  • 17 Barton
  • 15 Onuoha
  • 05 Dunne Booked
  • 03 Traore (Doyle - 70' )
  • 36 O'Neil
  • 09 Austin
  • 04 Morrison (Kranjcar - 78' )
  • 23 Hoilett (Yun - 88' )

Substitutes

  • 10 Carroll
  • 13 Yun
  • 14 Doyle
  • 18 Hughes
  • 19 Kranjcar
  • 20 Henry
  • 26 Murphy
Man of the Match

There was a majority vote for this one, but Lee picked out Gary O'Neill, Luke choosing Hoilett and Jess making a late decision on Danny Simpson. But with votes from myself, Jenson, Lorna, PK, Trev and one coming in from Sam by text, the award goes for another dominant display from the Chief, Nedum Onuoha.

Away Day Pie Rating

Lee individually provides his expert analysis as he battled through the half time crowds to order a Steak Pie, of which he later found he was given a meat and potato. The marks were dropped for that alone but the pie itself was nice but nothing spectacular, bringing in a vote and a Wigan Pie Rating of 6.5/10.

In summary, I am sure that most Rangers fans would be more than happy with the outcome and before the game would have certainly taken a draw. But you can't help but feel had Rangers stepped it up a bit, we would be going into the home leg with a lead. The home league game ended in a 1-0 win for the R's and I fully expect it won't be any less closer come Monday. Loftus Road will be rocking and it promises to be quite a night...

With us not really having anything to eat etc before the match, we decided to make a stop at Knutsford for some food before tackling the long ride home, of which the M6 was it's normal charming self with road works aplenty and even a closure at Junction 13. Jenson decided to cut across to the M1 and come down, with Lee choosing to battle it out on the M6, making a short diversion at Junction 14. The Sat Nav's certainly proved their worth and we all got home around the same sort of time, myself tweeting so at 2.48am. Of course, if Trevor had got to us in good time, I doubt we would have had any of the mentioned travel issues..

Lee will return next week with the review of the Second Leg and hopefully, we will then have a decision to make of whom will be tackling the Wembley report...

Come on you R'ssssssssssssssss!!


Tuesday, May 06, 2014

Lofty Heights Awards 2014.......

It's that time again where the Lofty Heights Gang have assembled their votes on the season that has passed by and voted on their Player of the Season and the highlights we have had whilst travelling up and down the country over the course of the last nine months.

LH Player of the Season - Joey Barton
                      Runner-Up - Charlie Austin

LH Young Player of the Season - Ravel Morrison
                                   Runner-Up - Tom Hitchcock

Signing of the Season - Charlie Austin, who else!!

Worst Player of the Season - Will Keane

Goal of the Season - Charlie Austin vs Charlton

Best Home Game - Nottingham Forest

Best Away Day - Blackpool

Worst Game of the Season - Charlton Away

Biggest Wanker of the Season - Assou-Ekotto

The Alan Knight Latecomer Award - Lee and Jess, for arriving half an hour late into the Millwall game

The Gordon McNamara Corporate Award - Lofty and Jenson

Song of the Season - Dunne, Dunne, Dunne (to the sound of Paul Johnson - Get Down)

Assist of the Season - The Riverside Bobble for Bobble Zamora's goal at Middlesbrough

Surprise Package - Charlie Austin for his 'bulge' as pointed out by Jess and Sam

Best Celebratory Injury - Sam's massive bruise on her leg following Onuoha's goal line clearance at Leicester
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Best Striptease - PK changing from shorts to jeans in the car park in Leicester
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Most Hungover - Jenson after many a late night booze up

Newest Good Luck Charm - Coral after she attended her first game against Nottingham Forest and we ended up winning 5-2

Geographical Genius - Jess for thinking Bournemouth is up near Manchester/Liverpool

The Fastest Driver Award - Jenson for his whizzing up and down the motorways for away games

The Safest Driver Award - Lee, never in a rush

Most Shocking Admission - Luke admitting he'd swallow Charlie Austin's 'special sauce'

The Neil Warnock 'Who Can Wear Shorts the Longest into the Winter' Award - Lofty and PK

The 'I'm Honestly Watching the Game with my Eyes Closed award' - Lofty for looking as if he was asleep when caught on camera at the game at Leicester. (Top left corner)
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The Viagogo Award - Lorna for the usage for selling home tickets this season

LH Supporter of the Year - Lofty narrowly wins this one by attending just two games more than his closest rival.

LH Hardcore Fan of the Year - Zach Sutton. He's there through thick and thin and even grows his own hat.
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Sunday, May 04, 2014

A Great Day of Football...


Barnsley 2-3 QPR

QPR began their preparations for next weeks play off games with a decent win against an already relegated, Barnsley, in what was cracking day out in Yorkshire.



With the final Championship games kicking off at 12.15, it was a very early morning departure. Almost a bit too early for the drivers today who both were slightly delayed by the early morning alarm call. Myself and PK left Hemel at around 8.15 and headed up the M1. Jenson was sadly absent today due to a last minute family emergency. I took the wheel today and we met with Lee, Sam and Luke at Leicester Forest services for a coffee and a catch up. Jess was also, sadly missing today, a long and frustrating season beginning to take it's toll. We stayed at the services, probably a little longer than we should have and rolled into Barnsley and parked up with a mere 20 minutes to go before kick off and met the awaiting, Lorna. All of us lads still managed to sneak in a quick pie before taking our seats.

Onto the game and it was actually quite pleasant to sit and watch the match in a relaxed atmosphere, with Rangers cemented in 4th place and Barnsley's fate already sealed, but there was plenty of excitement elsewhere as our play off opponents changed several times.

As expected, it was a very much changed R's line up, but strong all the same but good to see Coll Donaldson make his debut at centre back and Michael Petrasso and Jordan Gibbons on the bench.

Queens Park Rangers

  • 01 Green
  • 38 Donaldson
  • 13 Yun
  • 20 Henry
  • 18 Hughes
  • 15 Onuoha
  • 35 Benayoun (Petrasso - 76' )
  • 36 O'Neil
  • 09 Austin (Keane - 57' )
  • 14 Doyle
  • 03 Traore (Kranjcar - 57' )

Substitutes

  • 10 Carroll
  • 12 Keane
  • 19 Kranjcar
  • 23 Hoilett
  • 26 Murphy
  • 42 Petrasso
  • 43 Gibbons
It was Barnsley who forced the early pressure and their player of the season, O'Grady was at the heart of most of their good stuff and forced Green to make a fine save down to his right and later hitting the side netting. But the R's looked very comfortable on the ball throughout and on 42 minutes, took the lead - Traore attacked the box before feeding Charlie Austin, who took control of the ball before slotting the ball home for his 100th Career Goal - Congratulations Charlie!!



A minute later and it was two - Doyle's cross from the right, avoided everyone and Mvoto's touch took the ball over the line with Charlie Austin waiting on hand. The goals made the half time even more relaxed as we discussed matters, joined by Zach and his inflatables, but also had to describe the two 'worldie' goals with Michael who had nipped down early for a beer and sadly missed them. So unfortunate to travel all that way and miss two absolute screamers!!




Onto the second half and on 54 minutes, the home side reduced the deficit, when Jennings crossed for O'Grady to head home. Later, former Ranger, Peter Ramage forced Green to tip over the bar from a corner. But Rangers made the game safe with 20 minutes to go, when Suk-Young went on a run, beating three defenders before rifling the ball home superbly, now this really was a worldie from the R's left back, just hope Michael got to see it.



It was Barnsley who completed the scoring in the last minute and it was that man O'Grady again, drilling home a great goal from 25 yards. With the best respect, I very much doubt O'Grady will be with the Tykes and I am sure he is attracting a lot of attention.

So, with the final whistle gone, it was now confirmed that despite defeat, we will be taking on Wigan next week. But the 6th place took a real twist when a last minute goal for Brighton saw them nick the last place from Reading who were held at home by Burnley and whose fans were already celebrating on the pitch by all accounts... such a shame for them and I can assure you that none of us were laughing and found this in any way amusing.... really! ;)

Onto our Man of the Match and Lorna singled out Suk-Young, although that wasn't quite how she said it at the time. Sam and Luke went for Kevin Doyle and Lee and PK picked out Nedum Onuoha. Karl Henry gets a mention for his performance in midfield and my personal choice was for a fine debut for youngster, Coll Donaldson. Which leaves an editors choice and seeing as we were lucky enough to meet the great man in the car park who happily posed for photos with the girls and myself, today's choice is again, the Chief, Nedum Onuoha

Away Day Pie Rating

Plenty of choice available with myself and PK choosing Steak and Ale, Lee the Balti and a meat and potato for Luke.

Despite the packaging removed, they looked like the Pukka range but in general, failed to hit the spot. Mine was ok, hot enough but distinctly lacked in flavour (6). PK enjoyed his slightly more but mentioned the dryness (7).  The dryness again was an issue for Lee who's pastry looked like it has been kept in the warmer a bit longer than it had to (6) and Luke didn't seem to enjoy his at all giving a 4/5 .. I will be generous and round off to the latter, give the Barnsley pies a rating of 6/10.

Well all in all, this was a great away day and with it being an early kick off, we were able to listen to the excitement in the other divisions on our way home and after we stopped off at Leicester Forest services once more, we all enjoyed the news that Fulham and Cardiff were relegated, along with the news that Gaz Ainsworth's Wycombe stayed up as did Shaun Derry's, Notts County. What with the Reading news earlier in the day and of course, the R's winning, not forgetting a certain team going out of the Champions League in the week,  do football days/weeks get any better??

I will be back next weekend following the R's trip to Wigan, but keep your eyes peeled for the Lofty Heights Awards, 2014 from Lee during the week.

Come on you R'sssssssssssssss!!!!

Friday, May 02, 2014

QPR Fans Forum.... The Result


Lofty and myself attended the Fans Forum yesterday evening on behalf of Lofty Heights in what was an excellent occasion hosted by the Club.

We arrived at the ground in good time and managed to catch up with Zach and Malcolm before the doors were open just after 6.30.
Plenty of familiar faces were in the room with other Fan Sites being represented, with Clive Whittingham of Loft for Words and Paul Finney from Indy R's to name a few. There was also a good number of people from the LSA also taking their places in the forum.

On the panel for the evening were Mark Donnelly(COO), Philip Beard(CEO), Tony Fernandes and QPR Legend Rodney Marsh.

A variety of topics were discussed with some very honest answers being given on subjects like the upcoming Financial Fair Play (FFP) decision, current Club financial situation with the majority of the debt being with the shareholders and not a bank, current squad and youth policies, before then questions coming from the floor.

Rodney Marsh was excellent and added a good light hearted touch to proceedings and talked a lot of sense.
Tony Fernandes handled some difficult topics well and has definitely learned from mistakes made in the past and talks with a lot of passion about getting the club onto the big stage once again, whether its this season or next, with plans in place for Premier League or Championship status next season.
Mark Donnelly spoke about the Stadium and the feedback given so far from 6500 replies that have been sent so far and ensured that further feedback will be collated once the land had been acquired and then further details such as disabled facilities would again have fan feedback collated to ensure the new stadium we have will be built with all views taken on board. Tony Fernandes also confirmed that we are looking at a 30-40,000 capacity, with no decision yet made on the actual size.


If you missed the forum then just click on the link below to catch up with it all -



Overall a very good evening, with a lot of transparency being given by our Senior Management at the club and given us all plenty to look forward to in the future.

Once the Forum was over Lofty Heights managed to gain two quick and exclusive interviews from two of the panel, Rodney Marsh and Tony Fernandes.

Lofty to Rodney Marsh -
LH - Well done Rodney, really enjoyed it
RM - Ah thank you, my pleasure!
LH - Would it be ok to have a photo please Rodney?
RM - No problem, but first let me go and see that bloke over there (Gobi)
*waits five minutes* photo then taken
LH - Thanks Rodney
RM - No problem mate

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Me to Tony Fernandes -
TF - Did you enjoy the evening?
LH - Yes, it was really good and gained a good insight into what is happening at the club. How are you?
TF - Shattered.
LH - That's the joys of being a Chairman eh.... (silence)
*photo taken*
LH - Thanks Tony, nice meeting you
TF - Thank you (exits room)

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Once the photos were done we managed to catch up with Ian Taylor to thank him for inviting us along before then catching up with our old friend Matt for a catch up and share our play off views before heading to the exit with our EQ8 goodie bag.

A really good evening and we shall look forward to being in attendance in future forums!