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








Saturday, August 30, 2014

Sun-shine R's Back from the Toilett....


After an absolutely shocking week in terms of results for the R's with a tonking being handed by Spurs last Sunday and Burton supplying the customary early League Cup exit on Wednesday evening, it's fair to say we were not entirely looking forward to Saturday afternoon as Sunderland. Things could not get much worse could they???


An easy train journey for Jess, her brother James and I led to us arriving outside HQ just over an hour before kick off as we met Sam and Luke, who were in W12 extremely early, chatting away to Zach on the wall before Lofty and Jenson rocked up with their personalised 'Bestie' and 'Bro' cans of Diet Coke, the bromance they shared in Burton was continuing well into the weekend....
Inside the ground we were finally joined by PK, who was making his first appearance of the season.

 With the news of Loic Remy finalising a move to Chelsea and bids for Danny Simpson courtesy of Leicester for £2 million and Armand Traore from Palace for £2.5 million also being accepted it was down to those players whether they wanted to move or stay at the club and fight for their places. Not so ironically Simpson was not in the match day squad yet Traore was. Hopefully the Senegalese left back will opt to stay at the club, especially as it's just weeks after he signed a new two year deal with the club.

Unsurprisingly there was a formation change for today's game with a 4-3-3 being in place -
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It wasn't a surprise that the R's started the game quite tentatively and several early misplaced passes did not help the nerves as Sunderland looked to probe early and in the opening minute former Chelsea defender Van Aarnholt saw his effort brush the side netting, an early escape for the R's!!
Ten minutes later and Sunderland's patient play saw Johnson slide Fletcher through on goal however Green was more than up to the task as he safely palmed the Scottish International's effort aside for Clint Hill to mop up and clear the danger.
In the 18th minute the home crowd rose to give a minutes applause for the unfortunate Ali Faurlin who ruptured his ACL for the third time, albeit a different knee, almost definitely ruling him out for the rest of the season.
The R's slowly began to grow into the game as the midfield three of Barton and Mutch in the holding roles with Fer playing just behind Austin in the supporting role, started to pass in triangles before including the wide man and utilising the pace of Phillips and Hoilett, who were providing some superb service for Austin and the late runners in the danger areas. We were also seeing Isla looking to provide overlapping runs past Phillips as he definitely looks like the box to box full back that we will need this season.
On the half hour mark Leroy Fer unleashed a phenomenal 30 yard effort  that left Mannone helpless as he saw the ball fly past him, only to see it smash against the bar and then scrambled to safety. Definitely one of the first highlights we will see on Match of the Day tonight!
This gave Rangers' the confidence to start playing the kind of passing football that we were used to in the early part of last season and picked apart teams by creating plenty of chances for Austin to feed on.
Hoilett had a volley smothered by Mannone before the Sunderland 'keeper had to be on his toes to deny Austin shortly after.
As we drifted into added time of the first half it looked like we could be left to rue the opportunities that were spurned, however the final Barton corner of the half was headed back into the danger area by Fer and there was Austin to put his foot through the ball and smash it into the roof of the net for the R's first goal on their Premier League return and Austin's first goal in the top flight, the first of many more I'm sure.

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The mood at half time was a very positive one, a complete transformation compared to the gloom that surrounded us before the game. The change back to a more familiar formation that is tried, testing and suits the players we have in the squad definitely gave the team the lift that was so badly needed after last weeks demolition job at White Hart Lane.

Sunderland started the second half the better of the two sides and Rob Green had to be at his best to first deny Rodwell before then saving from Vergini at full stretch.
Rangers' were content to hold the ball in midfield and the majority of the threat was coming from our left side with Hoilett the one that was providing the threat but was often found lacking that final finish.
Zamora entered the fray just after the hour mark as Austin's work for the day was done after only training twice at the end of the week following the hamstring strain that was picked up in training before the Spurs game.
Zamora's introduction saw the R's play deeper and contain from the midfield whilst leaving Zamora on his own to try and hold the ball up and allow Phillips and Hoilett to join up as we looked to hit Sunderland on the counter attack.
This plan was executed perfectly up until the 85th minute and that's were the nerves really started to kick in!! Traore replaced Hoilett for the final five minutes to shore up the defence, however moments after coming on he really should have sealed the victory. Zamora played in Traore, who made a superb run in between two Sunderland defenders to leave himself one on one with Mannone on his unfavoured right foot and dragged the shot wide when he really should of scored.
The final moments saw the R's defend deeper and deeper, creating even more tension for R's fans!
Then the heart in the mouth moment came as Giacharrani let fly with his effort looking to be heading for the back of the net but Green was more than equal to it, beating the ball away to safety to ensure that three points were on the board and the doom and gloomers were not to be out in force tonight.



All in all we deserved the three point against a decent Sunderland team that will be safe in mid table come the end of the season. If Sunderland can sign themselves a decent striker by the end of the transfer window then they will definitely fare a lot better than they did for the majority of last season.
We can be extremely happy with the performance today which was a huge improvement on the Spurs game last week. Our home form is going to be the key to survival this season and with two very good performances against Hull and Sunderland, two very good teams in this division, it can only put us in good stead for the rest of the season.

Onto our Man of the Match. The gang were split three ways today with Lofty, Sam and PK going for Hoilett. Jenson, Luke and Zach voted for Fer as Jess, James and I voted for Phillips. With it being a tie this one goes down to Editors choice.... with my final decision being to give the award to Junior Hoilett.



With the transfer deadline being on Monday we will look to be as up to date as we possibly can before enjoying the International break ahead of the visit to Old Trafford in two weeks time.

In the meantime, Keep The Faith!!!

Friday, August 29, 2014

Rob-in-son turns into Rob-out-son.....


On Thursday Evening the R's announced the signing of promising Liverpool left back Jack Robinson and swiftly showed the door for the season.

Robinson broke into the Liverpool first team due to injuries two years ago but has since seen John Flanagan jump ahead of him in the pecking order. Loan spells at Wolves and Blackpool during 2013 and 2014 followed before seeing Brendan Rodgers sign defensive reinforcements ahead of their League and Champions League ventures, thus leaving Robinson the decision to either become a forgotten man or have a fresh start and try to establish himself at another club.

The 20 year old joins on a four year deal for a fee believed to be about £1 million.

Robinson spoke exclusively to the Official QPR Website shortly after signing and having the usual photos taken -

“It was an easy decision for me to come here for a new challenge.

“Hopefully I can do well here and establish myself as a Premier League player in the future.”

He added: “The loan spell at Huddersfield will no doubt serve me well for my future at QPR – I definitely need another season of games under my belt.

“I’m relishing the opportunity to go there and play, before I come back here and hopefully show what I’m capable of.”

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No sooner has Robinson come through the door, he is back out again as he goes to join Huddersfield Town on loan for the rest of the season.

With only four more days of the transfer window left open there could yet be more arrivals (and departures) at Loftus Road, we will do our best to keep you up to date with all that happens.

In the meantime, let's try and look forward to Saturday's home game against Sunderland. It's not yet a must win with only two games been played so far but it would be nice to get a point or three on the board!

Remember - Keep The Faith.....

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Rangers go for a Burton in the League Cup...


Burton Albion 1-0 QPR

QPR's dismal cup tradition continued last night, this time at the hands of League 2, Burton Albion as the euphoria of last season and Wembley is fading fast...



Again, due to various reasons, it was just myself and Jenson that decided to brave this one, hoping we wouldn't end up regretting it and see the R's record their first win and goals of the season. And it all started well enough as a trouble free journey saw us in Burton at 6pm. We decided to have something to eat and drink at the local Frankie and Bennys for a bit of 'bromance' and extremely nice it was too, but would we have room for a pie afterwards?? We certainly didn't feel like it on arrival at the Pirelli Stadium and little did we know at the time, that the dinner would be the highlight of the evening...

As you would expect, their were 10 changes to the team that were walloped at Spurs on Sunday but the biggest surprise of all is that it included Adel Taarabt, who hadn't started for Rangers in 16 months. Also included was SWP, which in my opinion, meant we were effectively starting with 9 men. SWP doesn't appear to be in Redknapp's plans and is no doubt picking up a very nice wage sitting on the sidelines and as for Adel, well, he wants to go. As much as I like Taarabt and what he has done for us, he doesn't want to play for QPR so he shouldn't play, in my opinion. Also, I heard an interview on Talksport with Harry last Friday who said, he is NOT fit and doesn't want to train, so why is he playing? And why have we gone into a cup tie with not one recognised striker in the starting line up?



In fairness, Taarabt didn't have a bad first half and was unlucky not to score, but dragged his effort just wide. Hoilett also hit the bar before the break but their were plenty of chances at the other end that kept the Rangers fans extremely worried.



The 2nd half was to be honest, an absolute snooze fest but if any side was to make the breakthrough, it would be Burton who were making all the running -  and the goal duly came on 77 minutes, when the extremely lively Harness was taken down by Richard Dunne as he skipped towards goal.

As McGurk placed the ball down for the free kick, their was a huge air of inevitability about what would happen next and he didn't disappoint, curling home a delightful free kick.

Queens Park Rangers

  • 21 Murphy
  • 02 Simpson Booked
  • 22 Dunne Booked
  • 15 Onuoha
  • 06 Hill
  • 20 Henry (Mutch - 81' )
  • 18 Faurlin (Fer - 59' )
  • 11 Wright-Phillips (Zamora - 78' )
  • 23 Hoilett
  • 07 Phillips
  • 27 Taarabt

Substitutes

  • 01 Green
  • 10 Fer
  • 17 Mutch
  • 25 Zamora
  • 28 Ehmer
  • 36 Doughty
  • 37 Harriman

Man of the Match

For an almost faultless performance - Brian Murphy

Apologies at this point, but after queuing at half time for a pie, they had sold out which was a shame, as pies in the North are normally quite good and they were also of the Pukka range.

On 88 minutes, myself and Jenson decided we had seen enough and made our way from the ground and onto the motorway, very easily for another easy journey.

It's fair to say that the QPR fans in the social media had gone into meltdown and you can understand it to a degree. In my opinion, the above line up on paper looked strong enough, with respect to beat Burton, but as said, to not even start with a recognised striker and try and play a 4-4-2 formation?

But, credit to Burton Albion who thoroughly deserved their victory and Good Luck in the next round versus Brighton.

And to end with two positives, the Frankie and Bennys was indeed, VERY good and the second is that the game didn't go into extra time and penalties..

After reporting now on 2 awful defeats, Lee will hopefully bring you some nicer news as he reviews Sunderland at home on Saturday..

Keep the Faith and Come on you R'sssssssssssss!!

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Woeful QPR make it easy Four Spurs...


Tottenham 4-0 QPR

If last weeks result wasn't a big enough welcome back to the Premier League, it was today as Rangers were well and truly dicked at White Hart Lane this afternoon..

Proceedings started well enough as a depleted gang of Jenson, Sam and Luke picked me up amongst the bikers at the Ace Café shortly after 10.30 and we made the short trip over to North London, with PK, Lee and Jess missing out today for various reasons. After a very pleasant catch up at a local café, we went into the ground at about 12.30 and the first disappointment of the day came with the news that Charlie Austin would miss out due to a hamstring injury. But with Isla and Fer making their debuts, surely it would be enough to give the home side a good run for their money?? Especially with Harry Redknapp adnd Glenn Hoddle returning to White Hart Lane..



Onto the game and it was a very sloppy start from Rangers and after Traore lost possession, Lamela forced a comfortable save from Green. Adebayor headed just over moments later following a succession of early Spurs corners.

The goal was coming and it did so on 12 minutes, when Remy lost the ball to Bentaleb, who freed Adebayor on the right who crossed to the far post, finding Chadli unmarked and who had time to chest the ball down before poking it past Rob Green.

Rangers forced a corner soon after but after Barton's delivery was punched clear, Spurs broke with lightning pace and Adebayor brought Green into action once more - all this from a Rangers corner!!




Against the run of play, Rangers should have been level when Joey Barton found Matt Phillips with a superb lofted pass, Phillips turned his man and rather than put his foot through the ball and into the net, went for a delicate chip which flew high and harmlessly over the bar.

It was then back to Spurs and after Lamela was caught by Ferdinand outside the box, Eriksen smashed a superb free kick against the Rangers bar. Moments later, Spurs forced a corner following a big shout for a handball. Lamela's delivery was met by Dier at the near post who got in front of Fer before heading home - 2-0 after 30 minutes and 7 minutes later it was three - pundits will pick out that this was a 48 pass move from Spurs and yes, it was but Rangers were more than guilty of not pressing the ball or closing Spurs down in this time and we were duly punished - Lamela skipped his way into the box before chipping in for Chadli, unmarked to make no mistake and if he had of missed it, Adebayor was laying in waiting, again, unmarked.

We at this point wanted to join the hundreds of R's fans heading for the exits but feared we may well be blocked in the car park, so stuck it out we did.



The second half was marginally better as Rangers replaced Dunne, who's lack of pace was certainly targeted by Spurs in the first half, with Onouha. But the first half deficiencies were still on view and we were giving Spurs far too much time and space on the ball and it was 4-0 on 65 minutes - Danny Rose broke with pace down the left before centering for the again, unmarked Adebayor to slot the ball home.

Tottenham now took their foot off the gas a little and Rangers slowly got back into the game and indeed, created a few chances to record our first goal of the season. Caulker shot tamely at Lloris and Bobby Zamora should have done better than side footing his effort over the bar. Loic Remy's fierce effort was deflected and from the resulting corner, Caulker headed wide when he really should have scored. But by this time, we were long gone and on our way home from the car park that we could have easily got out of had we had left at half time.. typical!!

Queens Park Rangers

  • 01 Green
  • 04 Caulker
  • 22 Dunne (Onuoha - 45' )
  • 05 Ferdinand
  • 08 Barton
  • 03 Traore
  • 17 Mutch
  • 14 Isla
  • 10 Fer Booked (Faurlin - 68' )
  • 19 Remy
  • 07 Phillips (Zamora - 74' )

Substitutes

  • 02 Simpson
  • 11 Wright-Phillips
  • 15 Onuoha
  • 18 Faurlin
  • 21 Murphy
  • 23 Hoilett
  • 25 Zamora
Man of the Match - N/A - I apologised to the gang but I flatly refused to take any nominations.

Away Day Pie Rating

Just myself and Jenson providing the expert analysis, both having the Balti and both enjoyed. Jenson commented that there was perhaps not enough sauce in the filling and awarded an 8.5. I was slightly more generous, and the slight dryness dropped half a mark for a 9.5 from me. However, the indigestion I suffered throughout the first half, led to me taking another mark off for a final result of 8.5, although matters on the pitch may have been the cause of that??  Giving the Tottenham pies a rating of 8.5/10

Well on the journey home it is safe to say that we were all very disappointed in the Rangers showing and we simply just let Spurs play and didn't get in their faces at all. This division is ruthless and if we give any team the time and space to play like we did today, we will get punished and we certainly did! It is obvious that this team is still gelling etc, but to play Leroy Fer today after just 3 days with the club was baffling to say the least.

Myself and Jenson are off to Burton midweek for the League Cup game and I will return with my review of that one but in the meantime, Keep the Faith and Come on you R'sssssss!!

Friday, August 22, 2014

Surely The Best Transfer Window by Var..... or The Best Transfer Window by Fer.....


The Summer Transfer Window has surely been the best by a country mile this season as we have seen players of proven quality walk through the door at Loftus Road and over the past two days another two players of this calibre have joined the R's.

Firstly on Wednesday evening it was confirmed that Leroy Fer had joined the R's on a three year deal for a fee believed to be around £6-7 million from Norwich City.
The transfer upset a number of Norwich fans who lost another one of their shining lights as they slipped down the Premier League trapdoor, a shock when you consider the players they had in their armoury.
Fer played and scored for Holland in this years World Cup and enhanced his reputation during a testing season as a grafter in the heart of midfield and can play in either a holding or attacking role within the middle of the park.

Fer spoke exclusively to the Official QPR Website -

“I can’t wait to get started here.
“It was always my dream to stay in England, in the Premier League. QPR did well last season to come up and the squad is full of top players, so I’m delighted to be here.
“Harry told me I was a big target for him and when you hear that from a coach, you want to work with them and play for them."

Fer will wear the number 10 shirt.

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Following Leroy into Loftus Road on Thursday was Chilean International striker Eduardo Vargas.
Vargas, like Fer, played at this years World Cup Finals alongside another of our new signings Mauricio Isla.
He joins from Napoli on a season long loan, with a view for a permanent transfer at the end of the loan spell should it be a successful one. Vargas joined Napoli in 2012 for £11.5 million but failed to hold down a regular starting place and has had two loan periods, firstly with Brazilian side Gremio in 2013 and then in January 2014 Vargas plied his trade in Spain for Valencia, where he made 17 appearances and scored three goals.
Vargas has played for Chile 32 times, scoring 15 times for La Roja, including one goal against Spain in their second group match at the Brazil World Cup 2014.

In an exclusive interview with the Official QPR Website Vargas said -

“I have come here to do as much as I can for QPR in the Premier League.
“I’ve spoken to Mauricio a lot and he said it’s a great, relaxed environment to work in, with a fantastic squad of players.
“The Premier League is the best in the world, the most exciting in the world, and I am looking forward to competing in what is a super-competitive division.”

Vargas will wear the number 24 shirt.

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The good news continues as Julio Cesar has finally left the club, joining Benfica on a two year deal.
Good riddance!!

This has to be one of the most successful Transfer Windows anyone could ever of imagined with the quality signings of Ferdinand, Caulker, Mutch, Isla, Fer and Vargas coming into the club and with the potential of Remy also staying just highlights the amount of quality we have brought in this summer. If you compare this to previous windows when we've signed the likes of M'Bia, Diakite, Cisse, Bosingwa, Samba just to name a few then you'll have to agree that this is 'The Best Transfer Window by Var...' or 'The Best Transfer Window by Fer...' you decide!

Just a reminder that Lofty returns with his one of his ever entertaining reports after we visit Spurs on Sunday afternoon, let's hope he can report on another positive display and fingers crossed we may be able to come away with a point, maybe three if we dare to dream!!

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Wasteful Rangers' Pay The Penalty


After a long summer of reliving the magic of the play off final back in May, the football season finally returned to Loftus Road yesterday afternoon as Premier League football was back on the menu. Our first visitors of the season were FA Cup finalists Hull City.

A long pre-season was finally over and for the first time in a very long time none of the LH gang attended any of the friendlies during the build up, instead we were lucky enough to catch a stream on the majority of games to see how the team were shaping and how our new signings were beginning to bed in.
At 2pm we all assembled in our usual meeting point near the Loft entrance as Sam, Luke, Jess and myself hooked up with the already present Lofty, Jenson, Lorna and Zach.
Once the cobwebs were dusted off we made our way in the ground and met Michael before we made our way up to our seats and getting back into the spirit of our Saturday afternoon joy/disappointment for the next 10 months.

Harry Redknapp decided to go with the new look 3-5-2 formation that we have been trialling during the course of pre-season, with three of our new signings making their debuts. Surprisingly Dunne was preferred to Onuoha as Loic Remy marked his return to Loftus Road following his loan spell at Newcastle and potential move to Liverpool collapsing.
The official QPR Twitter account (@QPRFC) provided an excellent insight into the formation we would be playing -

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The R's started the game very nervy as the players looked to continue to familiarise themselves with the new formation. Both wing backs did not venture forward to much in the opening 25 minutes as they feared leaving the back three exposed to the threat of Ince and Snodgrass.
Jelavic harmlessly steered his header over from Robertson's cross in the opening 10 minutes of the game, Hull's only effort on goal in the first half!
Rangers' slowly grew in confidence as the half wore on and as we slowly began to assert pressure on a very well organised Hull defence.
As we edged past the half hour mark the R's created their best opportunity of the game as Austin and Remy combined down the right before Remy floated into the near post to Mutch, whose deft header somehow flashed across goal and wide.
This gave the home side the initiative to press further forward and win a series of corners which sparked some panic in the Hull backline with some desperate defending leading to two goal line clearances.
Austin also found himself wanting as his managed to back clear after a misplaced back pass lead to last seasons top goalscorer racing clear, only for Bruce to put in a superb last minute challenge as Austin was about to pull the trigger.

During the half time interval I was saying how last time we were in the Premier League we were good at creating chances, however often found ourselves not making the most of these and getting punished on many occasions, I was just hoping that this wasn't going to be the case once again.

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Hull started brightly in the second half and earned themselves a corner as Elmohammady continued to cause Traore problems down the Hull right before having his cross intercepted and put out for a corner. The resulting corner saw Quinn float a ball towards the far post where Chester had cleverly escaped Ferdinand before heading into the bottom corner to give the visitors the lead.
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Hull used their experience to slow the game down and try to draw us further up the pitch before counter attacking in behind our defence and extending their lead. The plan nearly came to fruition as Dunne got drawn forward by Jelavic before Quinn was played into the gaping hole left by Dunne as he went one on one with Ferdinand. Ince then made a great run on the outside of Quinn before receiving the pass to go clean through on the R's goal, only to find Rob Green more than equal to the task. Ince really should've done better and sealed the three points for Hull.
Rangers' needed to freshen up their approach as they had completely gone flat as Hull controlled the game.
The out of sorts Simpson made way after an ineffective game which saw him look pretty lost as a wing back, Ali Faurlin also made way as Hoilett and Phillips came on to to add some extra bite to our attacking play.
Some life was brought back in as Remy started to come more and more into the game as Hoilett began to create more trouble for Hull as they finally had someone running at them and back peddling towards goal.
Zamora came on for the final ten minutes of the game and almost immediately as he released Hoilett down the left before trying to centre the ball for the awaiting Austin, however Chester was adjudged to of handled the cross and the penalty was awarded!! A very harsh decision when you look back on the replays, however justice was done when Austin stepped up and placed the ball to the left of the goal and saw McGregor save and preserve Hull's one goal advantage.
Rangers' did continue to put the pressure on and Ferdinand had the opportunity to level from three yards out but did not react quick enough before a last gasp effort from Remy was tipped over the bar.

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On reflection you have to be positive coming away from the game as we did show flashes of good play and once the players get used to the wing back system and begin to play more football on the floor rather than lumping to Austin and Remy then we will see even further improvement. We also need to be more clinical in front of goal and make the most of the half chances we create. If we do not do this then we will find ourselves get punished more often and get even more frustrated.
You also have to give credit to Hull who came to W12 to not lose and were patient and organised within their approach whilst also having that killer instinct in that final third. Once they strengthen the squad after Long's departure they should sit comfortably within the Premier League whilst enjoying their European experience.

Onto our Man of the Match. There was a split across the gang today as Jess opted for Remy as Sam picked out Ferdinand. There was a tie at the top as Jenson and Luke voted for Caulker whilst Lofty and I picked out Mutch. As this goes to editors choice it is only right that the choice of Lofty and myself wins the opening vote of the season, so Jordon Mutch is today's Man of the Match for an encouraging performance whilst should've been rounded off with a goal in the first half. I have a feeling we will be writing a few rave reviews about this new signing over the course of the next few months.



Lofty will make his long awaited return next week as he, Jenson, Luke and Sam make their way to White Hart Lane on Sunday afternoon. Hopefully we will see a return of the Pie Ratings as we look for our Premier League Pie of the Year.

Wednesday, August 06, 2014

LH Welcomes..


QPR have been busy in the transfer window ahead of the New Premier League season that is almost upon us..

All of us at Lofty Heights would like offer a very warm welcome to our 4 new recruits..


RIO FERDINAND




STEVEN CAULKER




JORDAN MUTCH




MAURICIO ISLA (Loan from Juventus)





With just a week and a bit away, we hope to be welcoming a couple more in, especially in the striking department, but this looks to be decent business thus far and we wish Rio, Steven, Jordan and Mauricio, all the very best of luck and we hope they enjoy their time at QPR.

Come on you R'sssssssssss!!!