News
Round Up
A week is
a long time in football so it was no surprise to come back from a week away in
Spain to find loads of changes at Loftus Road. A new signing, new contracts, a
new chairmen, a new chief executive and some games moved to be shown live on Sky.
It's all happening at QPR.
So here's a rather large news round up of
what's been happening in the last week or so at Loftus Road and click HERE
for last weeks edition of what the papers say which is slightly out of date
now but worth reading anyway and contains news of the potential signing of Aaron
Brown as well as news from boardroom level.
Cook Joins QPR as Four Sign New Contracts 
Lee Cook has become Rangers first new signing of the summer as four current players sign new deals at the club.
Lee Cook has been a long term target for Rangers and a deal to bring him to QPR has been on the cards for a long time. He was first told of QPR's interest back in January as clubs are allowed to contact the agents of out of contract players six months before the contract runs out.
Cook was keen to move but had a good end to the season with Watford and faced a real dilemma over whether to stay or go. Watford offered him a big new deal to stay but the QPR fan decided to opt to a move to the team he's always supported.
Cook's deal to join Rangers is subject to a tribunal Cook is 21 years old so can't move on a free due to the Bosman ruling. A tribunal will decide a fee with Watford wanting around £300,000 for the player.
The fee is decided on how long the player has been at his former club and how much it cost to bring him through the youth setup. As Watford signed Cook from Aylesbury when he was 17 the fee will probably be less than we paid for Kevin McLeod last summer.
Cook has joined up with the first team for pre season training and is expected to be first choice on the left wing next season. Cook told the official QPR website he was delighted to join QPR. He said: "I've been waiting a long time, but now it's done and dusted I can't wait for the season to get started. I knew in January that QPR would be interested in me if they went up."
"I was looking out for my results anyway, but even more so, knowing that I could be signing for them. I had a good time at Watford last season, but I thought the time was right to move on."
Cook is also ambitious to do well next season. He said: "Every QPR fan is ambitious and it won't be 'can we play in this league?', but 'can we get in the play-offs?' I've played in this division and there's nothing to be scared of. I think QPR have got a good chance this season."
Cook played 13 times for Rangers in the 2002/03 season scoring one goal which came in his final game , a 4-1 win over Cheltenham. Cook came to the club after the team had been on a terrible run and had lost to Vauxhall Motors and slipped away from the playoffs.
His arrival gave Rangers some much needed balance on the left wing and his excellent performances helped get Rangers on a good run which ended with us getting to the playoff final. When he left he was replaced by loan player Kevin Mcleod who has also joined Rangers and will be fighting it out with Cook for a first team place.
Cook won't have to wait long to wait long to face his former team mates at Watford. Rangers travel to Watford on August 9th for a game which will be live on Sky TV.
Elsewhere four players have signed new deals at the club. Richard Edghill and Richard Johnson have agreed new one year deals at the club. Both players have experience of playing in division one which will be vital next season. Edghill finished the season playing at right back and will act as cover for Bignot and Padula this season whilst Johnson will probably see himself as first choice unless we add any new midfield players in the next few weeks.
Matthew Rose has also agreed a new 2 year deal. Rose looked set to leave the club back in March when first team opportunities were limited but he got back into the team at centre half where his displays earned rave reviews and a 2 year contract. Lets hope he can keep up that form next season
where he will be needed in a position where we lack cover at the moment.
Martin Rowlands delighted QPR fans with his new deal. He was due to be out of contract next summer but has signed a new three year contract. He told the official web site: "I'm delighted. Now I've got to get my head down, get in to pre-season training and get prepared for the Championship season. It's a big commitment from both sides - from me and the Club."
Looking ahead to next season Rowlands is hopeful that the team can do well. He said: "It's a different game (in the Coca Cola Championship) and there are better players at this level. But I'll be doing the same things and hopefully I can do as well as I did last season.. There's a bit more football played in this division and we can adapt to that - we've got good players. And hopefully we can rediscover the form that we showed when we played Sheffield United."
Kevin Gallen, Chris Day and Gino Padula are also expected to sign extended deals before the start of the new season.
Power Becomes QPR Chairmen
and New Chief Exec is Announced
QPR
fan Bill Power has been named as the new chairmen of QPR after the departure of
Nick Blackburn from Loftus Road. Power invested money in the club a year ago to
get a place on the board and has continued to put money into the club when they
have needed it during the last twelve months.
Power tried to help the club sing Lee Cook after his loan spell in 2002/03 season but the club were unable to get their man. It is somewhat ironic that Powers first signing now he is chairmen was Lee Cook on a Bosman.
Bill also won an auction last year to pay for his son Andrew Power to have a place in the first team squad. His son had a squad number all season and was able to join the team for training and appeared in the team photo.
Power is a popular choice
among fans to be the new Chairmen and he has been quick to set our future aims
for the club as well as pledging to run the club sensibly. He told the Hammersmith
Times last week that: “The aim is to challenge for the Premiership within three
years and I honestly believe this club is capable of that. I think we can push
for promotion in time, although I have to say I also think this season is going
to be pretty tough."
“We’re going into a difficult division and are going
to have to dig in. Then, by the following year, I’m hopeful that we’ll have more
money coming in and will be able to push on from there. But the Premiership is
definitely the aim. I believe we can do it. To achieve that we’re going to have
to get hold of things off the pitch and keep improving on it. That’s not going
to happen overnight."
“This season is going to be difficult but the aim
is to end it feeling that we’ve improved and are a club on the up.”
“It
was vital we got promoted and now it’s vital that we’re sensible and keep building
properly, We will be keeping within a budget and are going to be very careful.
I think that’s important. What we could really do with is a good cup run, which
would bring in money we’re not budgeting for and would be a big bonus.
“Everyone’s ambitious. I certainly am. But I think everyone understands the need
to get the finances sorted out first and foremost.”
Power is very modest
about his new role as Chairmen and he find it hard to believe he has the job after
watching the team as a fan for so many years. He said: “It’s difficult to believe
because it’s happened so quickly, Someone said to me last week that I was part
of QPR history now and I laughed, but I suppose it’s true. I don’t know what to
make of it really. “It doesn’t seem real to think I’m in the same job Jim Gregory
was when I was watching us play in the old Third Division.
“If you’d
said to me in the days I used to look at the ground from my bedroom window on
the estate that I’d be chairman one day, I wouldn’t have believed you. It’s a
big responsibly though and one I take very seriously. I want to do what’s right
by QPR.”
Mananger
Ian Holloway welcomed the appointment of bill Power as Chairmen and spoke of his
optimism for the future on QPR World. He said: "I'm looking forward to having
a lot more to do with Bill. He's always been there for us and I can't thank him
enough. It's exciting, he'll have plenty to learn, but his heart's in the right
place and I can only see us moving forward."
Power's first task was to
appoint a new chief executive and he moved fast to appoint Mark Devlin in the
role. Mark was at QPR in the Marketing department for a few years before taking
on the Chief Exec role at Swindon.Mark was a big success at the County Ground
taking over a club in big financial trouble and he made cuts and helped turn the
club around out of administration and into one which came close to promotion last
season. Mark is a QPR fan so he was delighted to take the role and Mark told the
official site of is delight in joining QPR again.
He said: “I am delighted
to have accepted the opportunity to become the Chief Executive of QPR and I look
forward to working with the new board of directors. As a supporter and previous
Season Ticket Holder at Rangers, the club means a great deal to me and I can’t
wait to get started on the challenges that lie ahead."
"I
have enjoyed my two years at Swindon Town immensely, and I believe that I have
left the club in much better shape than when I first started. I would like to
thank everyone connected at Swindon for their support during my time at the club
and I really hope that they can achieve promotion next season”.
Rangers
Chairman Bill Power was happy to get him man. He said: "He (Mark Devlin) knows
all about the Club, he's been here before and we really wanted someone to come
in and hit the ground running. I spoke to Mark last week and met him on Tuesday
and he's very positive. He's given me some really good vibes about what he wants
to achieve and this is a very positive step for the Club.
"He did an
incredible job at Swindon and he's left them in a very good state. I know the
guys from Swindon wish him well. "He's a very direct chap - you'll get no bull
and I like that. I've told Mark to be straight with us, tell us what he needs,
and believe me, we'll step up. "Mark's looking forward to it and he knows he's
got to work hard and help us do well in the Coca Cola Championship."
Devlin
is expected to join Queens Park Rangers on August 2nd after serving his notice
at Swindon.
New
Coaching Set Up At Rangers
Ian
Holloway has restructured the coaching set up at QPR and has decided not to appoint
a replacement for Kenny Jackett who left to take over at Swansea. Instead Holloway
has gone for specialised coaching for each area of the team.
Tony
Roberts stays in charge of the keepers, Tim Breacker will now take charge of the
defence, Gary Waddock will work with the midfield and Gary Penrice will work with
the attack. The idea behind this is to help improve players in each positions
and then all be brought together for team work throughout the week.
It
will stop the players being split into reserve and first team as all midfield
players will work together and team work will then be done before a game with
Holloway whilst the specialised coaches continue to work with the rest of the
players. This should help improve the players and make for a bit more interest
for the players in training as they'll be doing different things every day.
The new set up will allow Ian Holloway to pass some of his work load over to his staff and be able to scout for more players. He is keen to look abroad with new board member Gianni Paldini and that has not been possible before when he has been in charge of training every day. The players will also benefit from having fresh voices in training with young players like Scott Donnolly likely to improve working with the first team players.
Ian
Holloway told the official site: "I have also put a structure in place where we
will now have coaches for the forwards, midfielders and defenders and our players
will be improved day in, day out. I have hand picked the people and it's something
I've wanted to do for ages. I'm entrusting it to some fantastic people who will
be there for my players. I'm tapping their excellence and if I was a player again,
I'd be loving this."
With Gary Waddock moving
to the midfield training his position overlooking the Youth team set up has been
taken by former assistant Manager at QPR Des Bulpin. Bulpin worked alongside Gerry
Francis with the reserve and youth team at QPR in the 1990's and before Holloway
took over as manager in 2001.
Bulpin is a
surprise choice and although he has plenty of experience working with young players
his strategy with the reserve team in his last spell at the club has been heavily
criticised in the past by Holloway.
Bulpin
though has experience of pushing youngsters through with Kevin Gallen, Nigel Quashie,
Danny Dichio, Mark Perry, Trevor Challis and Matthew Brazier all getting into
the first team whilst he was in charge of the youth team in the early 1990's.
He has also worked with Holloway before at
Bristol Rovers so they should be able to work well again together.
Best of the Rest
In other news Rangers have been drawn against Kenny jackett's Swansea City in the first round of the league cup. It will be the second time the two teams have met in recent years after the Swans thrashed us 4-0 in the FA Cup in 2001. I am sure Kenny Jackett will get a good reception from the QPR fans and we may also be up against Dennis Oli who is currently on trial at Swansea. What price Oli getting his first ever professional goal against us?
Sky have moved three of QPR's games to live tv fixtures. The away trip to Watford will now be on Monday August 9th whilst the trip to Reading has been moved to Sunday December 19th at 1pm. The August Bank Holiday weekend has totally changed. The away trip to Gillingham is now on Friday August 28th whilst the home game against Sheff Utd has been moved to Tuesday September 1st due to the Notting Hill Carnival. Great planning by the football league for that one.
