 Monday, 17th Sep 2012 23:33 by Clive Whittingham Andy Johnson’s first season with QPR has been ended before it had even really begun thanks to a knee injury, while Ryan Nelsen has been speaking about John Terry’s weekend penalty appeal. NewsJohnson pulled up with a knee injury in the first half of Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Chelsea at Loftus Road and was immediately sent for scans on the injury. The results came in today and it’s the worst possible news for the 31-year-old who signed on a free transfer from Fulham during the summer. He has damaged his anterior cruciate ligament and will now miss the rest of the season. Fabio Da Silva also left the field in the first half on Saturday but the Fulham Chronicle reports that his hamstring complaint is only likely to sideline him for a fortnight. Gven that Anton Ferdinand is also struggling with his hamstring, Nedum Onuoha is almost certain to start this Sunday at Spurs. All rather a shame really, because QPR played very well at the weekend against the European Champions and were unlucky not to take all three points. Manager Mark Hughes told the club’s official website: “In terms of controlling the game I thought we were able to do that, which augurs well for the future. We equipped ourselves really well and it just shows the longer we are together as a group and the longer we play as a group, the better we will become. In our last outing here in the Premier League we didn’t do so well, but in terms of an improved performance that was as good as we could have expected today. “We were always looking to try and win the game, and always looking to try and create things,” Hughes said. “We had a couple of good chances. Ji probably had more time than he realised and could have brought the ball down instead of heading it, and Bobby rounded the keeper, and Djib had a good opportunity as well.” Hughes reserved special praise for his centre half partnership, and particularly Ryan Nelsen who took the LFW Man of the Match award. Nelsen marked Fernando Torres out of the game despite hi advancing years and having spent the previous week on the other side of the world playing for New Zealand. Hughes said: “I thought Anton and Ryan Nelsen were excellent today. Ryan has travelled half-way round the world in the week and I thought he produced an outstanding performance for us.” On one of the few occasions Nelsen was caught out he was perhaps fortunate not to concede a penalty as he appeared to drag John Terry to the ground in the QPR box as a set piece was delivered from wide. Referee Andre Marriner showed little interest in the appeals and Nelsen was somewhat scathing in his assessment of Terry’s part in the incident after the game. Nelsen was quoted in The Mirror and elsewhere saying: “If you ask John, he just fell down. He fell. I was holding him, of course, but he just fell down. He does it to everybody in their box. I said to him, ‘That was a bit embarrassing, John’, and he laughed when he ran off. He didn’t say anything – he was too embarrassed, I think. He’s bigger than me – but he made me look really strong, actually. If the referee gives that, it’s ridiculous. If you really know the game, that’s never a penalty. It happens all the time. You watch him fall – that’s life. Fortunately it didn’t work. The ref was smart enough to see it. He was nowhere near the ball, was never going to win it, so he just fell down. He was just trying to get a penalty and trying to get something for his team to win. I wouldn’t make anything out of it.” The defence was backed up admirably by Brazilian international Júlio César on his debut. He made saves from Eden Hazard in the first half and Victor Moses in the second to maintain a clean sheet having been selected in front of Robert Green after arriving from Inter Milan. After the match Mark Hughes explained the decision to start César instead of Green, but appeared to row back from his previous suggestion that it had been his intention to sign two quality goalkeepers all along this summer. Hughes was quoted in the Fulham Chronicle saying: “I spoke to Rob this week and told him my intentions. It's difficult for him because we've put him in this situation that he didn't feel he would be put under. It wasn't pre-meditated. It wasn't a case of getting Rob in knowing we would bring Julio to the club. It progressed and we had the opportunity to bring in one of the best keepers in the world. Everyone saw by the manner of his performance today that it was the right decision to bring him to the team.” Of course the national media was all far more interested in who was shaking whose hand prior to kick off. For the record Anton Ferdinand ignored both John Terry and Ashley Cole, who responded by spitting over his shoulder, and QPR captain Ji Sung Park also blanked the former England captain. Today PFA chief Gordon Taylor – never shy of offering three lines of bullshit on a subject he has nothing to do with – said the whole thing was like a mafia feud and Ferdinand should shake Terry’s hand regardless of whether he was called a “fucking black cunt” or not for the good of the sport’s image. Taylor told the BBC:"We have to move on. These things will separate us and become like some mafia feud. Owners, managers, chief executives and players said 'yes' to handshakes and I do not know why we should say 'no' now, I would like to say to the players that I see no reason why they cannot do it. They are not betraying any personal principles. It is being done for the image of the game and to set the right example to the mascots and youngsters playing at school." Personally I can’t help but think that a strong message of what is right and wrong and about standing up for your principals and beliefs is a more important one to be delivering to school children and mascots than the insistence that whatever somebody has done to you in the past you should engage in the empty gesture of pre-match handshakes with them so football doesn’t look bad. Former R’sPeter Crouch has said he would love to play for England again after notching his third goal of the season already for Stoke against Man City on Saturday. The striker has been overlooked by Roy Hodgson so far after apparently refusing to go on the standby list for the European Championships, but he says that was not the case and he is keen to earn a recall following the injury to West Ham’s Andy Carroll. Crouch said: “If I get a chance to play for my country again I'll grab it with both hands. I'm not too concerned with it, I'll just keep on playing as well as I can for Stoke and if the call comes that would be fantastic. It wasn't a case of being a stand-by, I think he wanted me to play in one of the friendlies and then go home. We had a conversation but I think that should remain between me and the manager." Leon Clarke scored his second goal in as many games as Scunthorpe United finally got a first league victory of the season at Shrewsbury. Clarke, who is on loan at Scunthorpe from Charlton, scored on hi debut last week against Sheffield United but struggling Scunny shipped a late equaliser despite the Blades being reduced to nine men by that stage. Having left QPR for Swindon at the start of last season Clarke subsequently clocked up spells with Chesterfield, Charlton and Crawley after a public falling out with Robins boss Paulo Di Canio. Scunthorpe is the thirteenth different club of Clarke’s nomadic career – he is still only 27. Chris Plummer has been appointment manager of Conference North outfit Corby Town. Plummer joined the Steelmen in the summer as assistant to manager Ian Sampson who resigned last week. Gianni Paladini’s bid to take control of Birmingham City seems to have hit an impasse. The Italian is heading a consortium loking to take control of the financially stricken Championship side from Carson Yeung and he has given a series of interviews in which he claimed to be QPR longest serving chairman, and responsible for taking the club out of administration. However a statement from the Blues at the weekend said a bid had been rejected and Paladini told the Birmingham Mail the deal could now be off. He said: “"The deal is there, it can be done in 48 hours, but it looks like we have got no deal. So all the work we have done, to get this group together, to convince them that Birmingham is the right place, and the right club, has been completely wasted. Fortunately I am in a position where I mix with very wealthy people, and they trust my judgement. I can only convince my people to invest money in Birmingham, which they have done, but I am not going to fight for six, seven months to get the club. I convinced my people to do the deal, I put the bid in, the bid was more or less accepted and now all of a sudden somebody calls me saying that Birmingham have never had an approach, I am very offended about that." Premiership Shorts- Ceri Richards, the linesman who failed to spot Ashley Young was three yards offside before he dived to win a penalty from QPR at Old Trafford last season, was at the centre of more controversy at Goodison Park tonight. The hapless official failed to spot Victor Anichebe’s second half header had crossed the line, and although the Nigerian then put Everton in front against Newcastle, super sub Deba Ba struck a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw. - David Silva has extended his contract with Man City until 2017. The 26-year-old Spanish international midfielder cost £24m when he signed from Valencia in 2010. - West Brom will lose influential technical director Dan Ashworth at the end of the season after the FA named him director of elite development. Ashworth, who is set to team up with former Baggies boss Roy Hodgson in the national role, will work at The Hawthorns for the rest of the season. Meanwhile Baggies striker Chris Wood has moved to Championship side Millwall on loan until November 20. - Spurs goalkeeper Brad Friedel says a hectic fixture list will ensure French international Hugo Lloris gets games at White Hart Lane, but says the keeper will have to deal with competition for places. Friedel kept his place at the weekend as Spurs won 3-0 at Reading but Lloris is already said to be unhappy at the situation by his national team manager Didier Deschamps. Friedel said: "He's a super goalkeeper but we have two other really good goalkeepers in Heurelho Gomes and Carlo Cudicini. We have friendly, and healthy, competition for places.” Parish NoticeboardThe following tube and train disruption will affect QPR fans travelling to this weekend’s game at Tottenham: - Overground suspended between Highbury and Islington and Crystal Palace, Sydenham and New Cross. No Overground between Gospel Oak and South Tottenham until 13.00. No service between Richmond and Camden Road until 12.30. - No Circle Line between Aldgate and Edgware Road. - No District Line between Earls Court and West Ham, or Dagenham East and Upminster, Replacement bus services operate. - No Jubilee Line between Wembley Park and Willesden Green – replacement buses in operation. - Replacement buses also on the Metropolitan Line from Aldgate to Harrow-on-the-Hill. - Northern Line closed from Charing Cross to Camden Town all weekend, and from Camden to High Barnet before 9am on Sunday. Tweet @loftforwords Pictures – Action Images Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
You need to login in order to post your comments |
   Blogs 31 bloggersDerby County Polls[ Vote here ] |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.We in turn value your personal details in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
