Streams

Millwall 2 Queens Park Rangers 2

Burnley 2 Queens Park Rangers 0

I made a last minute decision to make my way up to Burnley this week. It was partly due to the fact that otherwise I'd be missing five games because of my upcoming holiday. This will not make me popular, but a huge benefit to not having children is that I am not tied down by school holidays and seasonal changes which means I can send a big two fingers at those who are stuck here suffering the winter blues while I bask in the Philippine sunshine. This, potentially isn't the greatest time however to be leaving the boys behind, so it appears I will have to contend with trying to get some kind of internet stream while I am away for all those games I will miss.

I've always said I don't miss the Premiership, but do miss the coverage that it brings. And with regard to this blog it has been tough to write it with some semblance of personal knowledge when I haven't been able to watch a game (even on a crappy internet stream). On the other hand, I never promised that this blog would be a match report blog, but a blog about the experiences of an honest fan who has her own realities of life to contend with. So as I made my pilgrimage to Burnley yesterday and thought about what I was going to say about the Millwall match having listened to it on the radio,  I reminisced over the days when we used to play away and to get any running commentary we would have to call Rangers Club Call. That unbelievably expensive premium line that started with Les Ferdinand saying 'This is Rangers Club Call, sponsored by Ericsson'. We would always ring towards the end of the match so we wouldn't run up a huge bill but it must have cost my father a small fortune.  I remembered when we started getting the internet on the dial up (which really wasn't that long ago), and listening on QPR Player to the famous Port Vale game in 1997 when we came back from 4-0 down to save the game and finish it at 4-4. It was such an exciting match in the end, but it was also exciting to be able to hear it on our juddering stream in my Dad's little office at home where I was back from Uni. for the holidays.

And so I pondered about how listening to matches on the radio, now that the world is again, no longer interested in Championship club QPR, was actually not such a bad thing. In an 'old school' way it's quite nice to be able to imagine what was actually happening and dream of the magic taking place while listening to the commentators voice. And so it was that Millwall was both quite exciting (having taken the lead twice), but extremely frustrating. And nearly twenty years after that Port Vale game this is now how my father and I communicate whilst we sit in different parts of London:

Excuse the editing (just in case little ones read this)

It would be wrong of me to comment much on the match, apart from that I believe these three away matches  (Millwall, Burnley, Wigan) were always going to be really tough, and that I think Austin is really getting in to his stride (despite yesterday's loss). I am glad to see him scoring again in open play. May we please see more of those, and more #slidingmovements. Amen.

Since I last wrote, I am hearing news of Charlie's engagement to long time girlfriend and mother of his child. Congratulations to them both, and may this bring more fruitful results on the pitch for QPR. As Charlie said on London Call in - if things are going well off the pitch, they tend to go well on them. I have been wondering just how much Burnley have missed him. However, by yesterday's result Burnley are doing quite well without him and for town of circa 75,000 and almost a quarter of its population at Turf Moor they put on a great show and it was a pretty electric atmosphere when they scored.

My view on yesterday is that there is still room for us to improve, but I think most people know that has been the case for some time. And leaving Austin isolated up front for every game is a huge amount of unnecessary pressure. However, I am not sure whether we were just a bit sleepy or whether we were trying to be too clever, but we made quite a few mistakes...seemed to lack pace and managed to leave Simpson stranded out there on the right (which I've seen a few times season). We're sort of playing a bit lop sided. I am not tactician but if I can see it, there must be something wrong.

Apparently there are a few people thinking it's the end of the world for us, but for me it's a lesson learnt and a slap on the wrist. The Championship is NOT an easy league, and I've always felt from now until Christmas will be the making (or not) of our season. We're playing all the top teams soon and if we can't get our act together for those, we won't be getting promoted.

The game was littered with fouls, tackles and a little bit of temper. This obviously game through in the radio commentary as my dear QPR friend Gem listened from home and texted me about what they were saying. Apparently QPR were going hard on the tackles as opposed to Burnley. I thought, what match are they watching?? This was happening on both sides. When Barton received his yellow apparently they were saying it should have been a red card, and that he was being an 'arse' or something to that effect. I could just imagine the commentators taking a bit of creative licence and turning it in to something bigger than it was and helping vindicate Gem's long standing hatred of the man. I don't know how they commentated on the throwing of a half filled bottle of coke (with the cap on), right in to Barton's head, but had that been some big Premiership player it would have made front page news and a right old fuss would have been made. Had it been me standing there I would have absolutely lost it. And I don't have a criminal record, am not a recovering alcoholic, and do not have anger management issues. While it might be a little bit nostalgic to listen to the radio like the old days to hear QPR play, I think I must remember commentators aren't always there to tell you what is actually happening on the pitch, they are there to entertain you!

Of course, there is nothing better than being there yourself. And, if you were there, you would have also seen the breakdancing Burnley mascot who did a mean caterpillar, and was sent off. I only found out later that apparently this was for handing the linesman his glasses (sour official!). This guy has a sense of humour obviously...and his fake jail time is pictured all over the press this morning. In addition, Burnley fans thought it would be rather amusing to bring an inflatable male body part to the ground. I must say, it was rather refreshing not to see another blow up doll.

However, yesterday will only be remembered as a match in which QPR didn't play very well, and Burnley stuffed us by two goals fair and square. I can live with this because we've moved on from last season and we've got players who care a bit more about us and have a bit more gumption. And even if we don't get the wall to wall coverage we have done for the last two seasons, we've moved on such a great deal from Les's Rangers Club Call, I think I can survive with the digital media centre that most of us fans have created for ourselves to keep up with the team news.

As we prepare for a potentially big storm that reaches England & Wales tonight, I wish you all a safe and pleasant Sunday and many good live QPR streams.

Sliding Movements

Queens Park Rangers 2 Barnsley 0

This year has been a very long one for me. Having not had a holiday longer than 3 days and with 4 weeks to go till the big one, I started this week feeling pretty exhausted. The two things that kept me going were the thought of the Fans Forum on Thursday which I was very kindly invited to by the IndyRs crew, and a second consecutive home game on Saturday. 

In all honesty, it was such a hectic week that I had not thought to consider what questions I would ask. But I did, in fact, have a cunning plan. Many of you know that @annieqpr and I both wrote articles on the Rainbow Laces campaign recently. Annie's was published in the Brent & Kilburn Times. Both of us also showed our support for the initiative by tweeting about it regularly during that main campaign week. Annie received a lot more negative feedback than I did. A handful of people decided to disagree with her views (perfectly entitled), but many of those insulted (Iron Hoof: What is it with these female so called QPR fans who want to bring outside issues into football?) and others should be arrested (Paul:gays should be put down like dogs that dont breed). Annie fought back and I applaud Annie for standing her ground. For me, however, I wasn't going to let one or two people who simply enjoyed winding someone up ruin my general view that most QPR fans believed in what we were saying. And judging from the conversations with everyone I spoke to last night (male, female, straight and gay QPR fans - oh yes we have them!!), this was very much confirmed. On the other hand, my plan for the forum was not to ask questions, but to do a stats piece. The last forum was an exceptionally fiery one. Many questions were directed at Phil Beard, and they asked about everything from shirts in the club shop to player school visits. Admittedly, many people complained about the quality of the questions, but surely this demonstrated that people were interested in other 'outside issues' and felt that they had a relevance to the club.  So for this fans forum, I was hoping to note down how many questions were 'off the pitch' questions asked by male as opposed to female fans to demonstrate to ironically named 'Iron Hoof' that there are several 'outside issues' that matter to many QPR fans. My hopes were scuppered when I was told Phil Beard was not going to sit in the panel this time. So as I rushed in to the building, red faced having run down South Africa Road from the tube literally 5 minutes before the start and I sat down and thought 'what the hell am I going to ask?'

Needless to say it was hardly revealing or ground-breaking, nor was it really a forum as  Indy Rs so eloquently put it. This was more of a Q&A session with an on-form Redknapp pulling the strings and making everyone laugh. Beard spoke for a few minutes and gave us nothing that we didn't already know. He was as stiff as a board. Green's body language (miserable face, arms crossed), showed us he really didn't want to be there, and this got worse whenever Cesar was mentioned. Charlie Austin looked nervous and very shy. Redknapp was in his element and very relaxed. So as the comperes attempted to wrestle attention away from someone in front of us who wouldn't stop bantering with Harry about horses running at Kempton or Wolverhampton the mic fell to me. Amidst the general banter I realised there was no point in trying to ask anything serious, and I was most interested in seeing how Charlie would react to a question that required him to show more personality than just a simple 'yeah, I'm really chuffed to be here and obviously want to score lots of goals' yada yada yada. Little did I know that my completely innocent question about Charlie Austin's famous goal scoring celebrations was going to turn in to possibly the funniest moment of the night. If you have not seen it, minute 22 of Part Two was the defining moment. And as Harry attempted to tear me to shreds for talking about 'sliding movements' and claimed I that 'like them sliding movements'  I wasn't going to let Charlie get away not with not answering my question. And when he answered 'Saturday' to a round of applause from everyone in the room I had not only inadvertently put myself in the middle of a joke full of sexual innuendo but I had also inadvertently turned myself in to an Charlie-fancying obsessed fan (apparently no one else had seen that Youtube video 'Charlie Austin The Goal Machine Parts 1 & 2'). 

As a long working day at Friday wore on and I began to look forward to the match on Saturday I realised that I was actually so excited to see whether Charlie was going to a. score and b. do the 'sliding movement' goal celebration (why oh why did I not just say 'knee-slide?). Surely, if there was ever a match where he had a chance of scoring from open play, and not just scoring one goal but maybe a hat-trick it would be against bottom-placed Barnsley. Having no goals by half time was a worry and as I tucked in to some fabulous cupcakes from Geraldine's Cakes I hoped and prayed we would see a better performance at half time. I could see Danny Simpson's frustration, especially in the first half as so much of the play was happening in the centre and Hoilett had to come on to help create a bit more space and take the play out a little wider. And when Charlie scored, I was absolutely elated when he kept his promise and did his knee slide goal celebration. My neighbour turned round to me and said 'I think your phone is going to melt now'. And before long @officialqpr tweeted a pic of said knee slide to me. I was over the moon. 

From @officialqpr Charlie's slide yesterday

But let's take a step back a bit. It's not even as if the 'knee-slide' is a particularly original or exciting goal celebration. It also isn't Austin's only type of sliding movement. In fact if you view Part 2 of Charlie Austin the Goal Machine you will see that he also has a knee slide/forward chest slide ensemble. So I wondered this morning when I woke up: what prompted me to ask that question in the first place? I realised in the cold light of day that it's been a long time since we've had such a prolific goal-scorer. Helguson was maybe the closest we've come in more recent years but there is something exciting about having someone in the fold who has such a great record and still has his best years left. And as I mentioned in my second blog of the season, Austin appears to be a decent and hard working person, and we like that at QPR. Having slightly 'stalker-ish-ly' scoured the internet for information on our bricky from Hungerford he has had the usual footballer brush with the law having been done for assault in a nightclub back in June this year. But for a young person he also appears to have been through quite a bit, having lost his first child with his partner to cerebral palsy at the age of 21 (see article here). So, I suspect there's a lot more to Mr Austin then most of us would immediately assume. 

But alas, I digress in to issues outside of football don't I? 

Ultimately,  we all support QPR because we love watching QPR play football. It's the goals that get scored and the clean sheets achieved that put points on the board. But let's not think that matters off the pitch have no impact on the ethos, ethics and motivations of players on it. If we believed that they did not, it would be almost impossible to explain what happened to us in last two seasons. I would also argue that if one uses such an argument then many things that QPR in the Community Trust does would be a waste of time and is irrelevant. Clearly, this is not the case and it is an extremely important and valuable resource. 

As for me, while I must say I had never thought of Mr Austin as much of a looker, I may now need to revert to having him on my screensaver at work again (I had replaced him 2 weeks ago with a view of the beach I will be lying on in four weeks time). It looks like I've got a bit of competition as a few lovely ladies at the pub had him on the top of their list of 'hot QPR players'. Never mind. I think I'm more interested in seeing Charlie score us plenty more goals than I am in him taking me out for date on 'Saturday night'. But thanks for the offer Harry, triffic. 

Charisma

Queens Park Rangers 2 Middlesborough 0

I was looking forward very much to this match thinking that this was a real opportunity to finally thump a team, being at home, having built up momentum with 1-0 wins and playing a fairly weak opponent. So, on the way to the ground I placed two bets. A fiver on QPR to thrash Middlesborough 4-0, and a fiver on Barton to score a goal at any time. Having spent the first few matches consistently backing SWP due to some strange thing in my head that was saying 'he will one day score, he will one day score', I figured I would pick Barton as it was about time he popped one in for the lads.

On the way to the ground I stopped off at the mini club shop on South Africa Road, and finally purchased a much coveted Dennis the Menace top. I'm actually loving the material, but after a quick change in the Springbok loos I realised as I waited for @annieqpr and @gemcricketmad that this new design doubles up as a tight fitting dress. As per several people's feedback, just stick on some leggings and knee high boots and you'll be ready to paint the town red (and black). Seriously, what is going on with the length of the shirts? Someone suggested that it may be something to do with my height but at about 5ft5, and @qprbennyboy also claiming has a dress I am not sure this is true. Perhaps it's QPR's way of helping us save a little money by giving two options in one. Though I'd rather have received a membership pack this year like I have done for several years with my Platinum Season ticket instead.

Anyway, at the pub Annie and Gem and I were excitedly discussing the team news. It would be the first time I would witness all our new signings starting together apart from Chevanton. We discussed the fact that there were plenty of midfielders and how it was another opportunity for Faurlin to show Harry he was any good. I'll be honest, we also discussed how good looking Kranjcar is. I blame Gem for this. Having the wonderful excuse of being a mother with two boys she was able to attend the open day a few weeks ago and take lots of photos of gorgeous football players with her sons in them. And according to her, not only is Niko good looking, but he's got a certain kind of charm and charisma which we agreed was an extremely positive thing.

Little did we know what we were actually about to witness on the pitch. Kranjcar injected that little bit of creativity that we needed which seemed to energise everyone else in to trying and completing some clever stuff. There was some good passing and heaps possession. Even if the BBC didn't show that great moment around 64 minutes it will be embedded in my mind as the time when QPR fans gasped in a strange sort of horror as we just couldn't believe we were seeing such moments of skill and team play- something we had not seen for such a long time within such positive circumstances. But my neighbour to my right said to me 'I'm not even sure he's left second gear yet' and he was still playing like a demon. And as I watched him amble nonchalantly off the pitch I did wonder whether he felt a little like you feel if you've stepped back a class in a course, or been demoted to a job you did years ago. It was all too easy. I imagined him blowing his imaginary pistol as he walked up and faced the tunnel cam. But that's what charisma is isn't it?

The much used, but often questioned google dictionary supports this:

cha·ris·ma  

/kəˈrizmə/

Noun Compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others. A divinely conferred power or talent.

Needless to say, for Gem and I it's 'Cheerio Julio' and 'Hello Niko' for the foreseeable future. And as for the other players, well they all played their part. There were still some mistakes - Carroll was great in parts  but did make a few mistakes. Similar thoughts on Faurlin who perhaps has lost some confidence since coming back from injury and falling out favour. It is a team game however, and as a unit we worked well, backing each other up when required and forgiving little mistakes. We needed to play and win in this way so that when we get to Christmas when we play all the better teams in the league we have that confidence instilled in us. Falling in our favour is, perhaps, that we saw glimmers of a team 'charisma' at the 64 minute mark? Let us hope it is not the last time we see that. 

Yesterday, my Step Mum came to the match with my Dad as part of her birthday weekend treat. I am hoping that she comes more often as we seem to play well when she is around. I'd like to wish her a big Happy Birthday and a thank you for being there. If anyone can teach the lads a little about charisma it's her. And she'd probably look way cooler than me in that Dennis the Menace top and knee high boots. 

Good Noise

Queens Park Rangers 0 Brighton 0

Yeovil 0 Queens Park Rangers 1

During my weekend away I went to bed on Sunday night having seen Joey Barton's late night tweet in support of Stonewall's campaign Right Behind Gay Footballers. A wave of excitement hit me as I knew we were in for a week that would be full of debate and conversation on three subjects that are pretty dear to me: gay equality, advertising and QPR. Let me just say outright, that this hasn't suddenly made me love Mr Barton but it has increased my respect for him a significant little. It's hard for it not to as I'm hardly made of stone and these are subjects so close to my heart.

My brother tells me I am more of a gay rights activist than he is. Hardly. There are thousands in the UK who are truly fighting for the cause. I am only guilty of writing a little piece  on the subject in relation to football some time ago when that documentary with Barton (who was still our captain) opening up about his gay uncle came out. I also wrote about the Football v Homophobia campaign that QPR signed up to - an important initiative that tackles homophobia specifically in football. 

Was it pre-planned that the first match QPR would play after the launch of the campaign would be against Brighton? Whether it was or not, the campaign provided me with an element of distraction during what was in all honesty, a drab football affair. This time, the score line didn't even give me one goal to cheer for. But if it had, I may have missed it as I was admittedly spending a lot of time staring at players' feet to see if they had been wearing their laces. I had no idea there were so many different coloured boots, and so many different coloured laces. One could be forgiven for thinking that footballers were extremely fashion conscious even on the pitch! Despite the drab affair, the draw gave us a point and a move one point adrift at the top of the table. And it was still wonderful to be back at Loftus Road under the floodlights and hearing the noise of the crowd.

I have been undecided for a while, but now I am leaning towards Stonewall's view on this one. Why? Ever since that documentary that was aired in February 2012, one English league player (Robbie Rogers) came out, retired and appeared again to play in the US. And Football v Homophobia's facebook page has increased to just 655 likes. @tpasichelle reminded me today that 32 of 92 league clubs in the UK have signed up to Football v Homophobia, as well as the managers of England men's and women's team as well as the FA and that there has been 'lots of global action'. Sounds good doesn't it? But how many of you heard about anything that they have been doing until you read my blog? Have you seen more than one Football v Homophobia support tweet from QPR? Have you seen numerous press articles around their campaign since that football documentary which Fashanu's niece presented in such a heartfelt way? Did you see any advertising? In contrast, Paddy Power has so far this week run two 24 hour #RBGF sponsored tweet campaigns on twitter (each would cost approximately £20K) which led to millions of twitter impressions. Barton's support has meant that most of his 2.3m followers are likely to have seen his campaign tweets throughout the week. There is also plenty of advertising in print across the UK - reaching millions of adults, and not just those who are interested in football (again likely to be costing at least a few hundred thousand pounds). In addition, every Paddy Power store is holding those rainbow laces. I went to my local shop today in Willesden Green and the guy at the counter said they were running out. This, don't forget, is another space for visibility. While Barton's support is likely to come at no cost, Paddy Power's support provides leverage and scale a campaign like this would otherwise never have achieved. And, like it or not for being a bookies with cheeky advertising, scale still drives awareness. And it sure does drive conversation.

I have no doubt that these partnerships were completely intentional, and the negative response from other campaigners, whilst unfortunate, will not be considered as a failure for the campaign. Stonewall would have thought long and hard about whether these were the right partners and one of their goals would have been to ensure the campaign had a good share of conversation within the social space on the premise that all noise in this instance, is good noise. 

For me, this goes back to one key point about football as compared with other sport, or other organisations in this day and age. The fact is football is a tough nut to crack. Many consider it to be the last bastion of male, heterosexual,  beer swilling, pub drinking, macho behaviour, although I would argue that is is also extremely corporate, and much more family and female friendly these days. It is, however, run by an FA and a FIFA that doesn't really consider homophobia a key priority. Not one player is out in the UK and only two professional players in the world are, so it's not like they are even visible in the same way that players of different ethnic groups are. In addition, no one really talks about gay footballers amongst fan groups and people are so uncomfortable with the subject they don't even know how to have a sense of humour about it. In fact, most of the time the subject swept under the carpet and forgotten. How the hell are we going to fight equality in such a resistant environment? While I respect all campaign groups, and have great respect for Football v Homophobia, cutting through isn't going to happen through campaigns that aren't just a little bit disruptive. 

Evidence that this campaign is, I believe, a tipping point, is that there were announcements from the Premier League and some individual Premier League Clubs defending their position for not officially supporting the RBGF campaign. Both groups claiming that had they had more time they would have been able to support it - marketing deals and sponsorships being impacted by the initiative. It is probably somewhat true, but I do find it amusing because by defending their position it has generated PR for the campaign yet again. And it has made fans ask questions of their own clubs which they may well want answered more fully in the long-term. 

What does this mean for QPR? Probably not a huge amount in the short-term. My hope is that one day when gay footballers are able to safely come out and be visible, QPR will go down in history as a club that supported the cause. For now, it is most QPR fans' hope that Barton continues to focus primarily on his game. But I for one am proud to see a QPR player having the guts to make a point by wearing the laces, during that match on Wednesday night against Brighton. Who cares if Barton loves the attention? He's got 2.3m people who read his tweets every day. And yeah, so what if Paddy Power wants to leverage the campaign to get more people in to its shops? Betting isn't illegal here, and it isn't illegal for them to advertise either. If they've got money to spend, why shouldn't Stonewall leverage this? Call me a marketing cynic, but this is the reality of the world that we live in. And consumers are pretty clever, they can make informed decisions for themselves about brands and advertising. They also understand Paddy Power's tone and style is part of its advertising identity. If they did something that wasn't controversial it wouldn't seem right would it? That's like asking website companies to start using opera singers in their ads (oh, wait a minute...). 

And so we came to Saturday, the day when we were meant to see many players wear the rainbow laces. I sadly could not make it to Yeovil and had to contend with old school radio-listening while at the same time writing the beginnings of this blog post. I also have not yet seen MOTD, and am about to start watching the League Show. Another 1-0 win for the Rs is great news, but like many fans I am worried about the plethora of injuries (Nedum, Johnson, Hoilett). The recent score lines reflect their loss and resulting lack of of a strike force as well as creativity. 

Nevertheless, we have 20 points and sit at the top of the table, which says a lot for the importance of momentum for positive results. The RBGF campaign is creating momentum - and I have hopes it will outlive and outlast the Paddy Power and the Barton brand given that we live in an age where people own brands and brands themselves are merely their own guardians. And surely, any noise about a good cause is good noise? Just like a win is a win is a win. Right?

Treasure

Queens Park Rangers 0 Swindon Town 2 (Capital One Cup)

Leeds 0 Queens Park Rangers 1

Queens Park Rangers 1 Birmingham 0

#rbgf

Firstly, I'd like to apologise for the lack of blog posts these past few weeks. Work and family commitments left me with so few hours in the day to be able to report on my trip to Leeds. I hope it suffices to say that it was great to be back up north and spend time with QPR friends Gary & Robbie. It was made even better by a fantastic win at a very intimidating ground. 

I should be back on, in the usual form in the coming days, and look forward to another evening game this Wednesday. There is so much to talk about, but of all the topics I'm excited about a very interesting campaign that Barton is championing in support of Stonewall, the charity that works towards equality for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals. I'll be looking at whether this campaign could be the tipping point in the history of gay football players, or whether it's just another failed attempt in an archaic football world. 

However, first up this week I'd like to welcome back my best QPR friend @gemcricketmad who has written a little piece on her experience of  Birmingham game which I begged her to do. Gemma often visits Loftus Road with her son, and I was hoping for a piece that captured how special the experience is. I was not disappointed. I hope you enjoy, and You RRRRssssss

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are 2 types of Saturday afternoons at QPR for me. Those with my 7 year old Rs fan in tow and those without. The latter usually end up in a far too late night, a never-ending lecture on my return about my alcohol consumption and Sunday being a long and total write off. The QPR Birmingham game fortunately, was the former and it got me thinking. What does going to QPR mean to little H? (I'll call him that for the benefit of this blog because it stands for his name but also for hooligan which at times I worry I am creating.)

He asked me at bedtime last week "Mummy, why are you so obsessed with QPR?" I struggled to answer and so said "do you mind that I am?" He grinned, laughed and said  "no, but can we go to the shop before the game on Saturday?"

Now for anyone who knows my son, he is obsessed with shopping and collecting and QPR provides him with the perfect platform to indulge in both these passions endlessly. Before we had even got to the turnstiles on Saturday, I was poorer thanks to one programme (for the collection) one gold badge (for the new, lucky "we'll win now" badge collection) and one QPR jacket, complete with hidden hood ("in case it rains during the game"). We are both good at finding excuses to shop.

As I had tucked him into bed on Friday night, I asked him what two things he was most looking forward to about getting back to Loftus Road (this was to be his first game of the season) and he said without thinking "Goals" and "The Springbok". I was worried by this answer on both fronts; AJ likely to be out and only having Austin to rely on (Little H has Austin on his new shirt and the same football boots so huge pressure) left me with the deep seated worry that there might not be any goals;  and The Springbok....... Yes, well, I am successfully but worryingly turning my son into a child who aged 7 begs to go on pub crawls - how irresponsible a mother am I? Actually don't answer that. But I must confess that our afternoons together are pretty sacred he and I time and I think that the fact QPR gives us that great excuse, makes us love it all even more.

So onto the game. The 1st half was a scrappy and tense affair, typical of the tough and relentless type of Championship football we are quickly readjusting to. The midfield were all over the place, we didn't look like scoring and Bobby..... well Bobby was on the pitch and only thanks to the Dunne wall of Loftus Road, Greeno and our crossbar, did we slope in at half time without being at least a goal down. So how did little H feel the first half had gone? "Great" he said "it was all great". Now I must add at this point for those who don't know me, that I come from a split family. I have an 11 year old Gooner son #fail, who is a walking talking stat man. He watches every ball of a game and can tell you anything you need to know about any match he has ever watched on TV or at a ground. His younger brother however, well lets just say, I was relieved 10 minutes in when I asked him which end we were shooting at and he actually knew. For Little H, a good first half at QPR consists of a large pack of Percy pigs, a drink of something fizzy and the promise of crisps or chocolate at half time (this explains his 3am visit to my bedside following the game to tell me he was feeling sick). 

So after a quick half time pint (mine obviously) it was onto a thankfully very different 2nd half, minus the Bob but with the addition of SWP and a shift in formation. Now I have a chequered past when it comes to missing goals around half time (other son missed 2 of the 4 England goals against Moldova)  but someone was smiling on us yesterday. As we walked towards our seat and play was well under-way, we were just in time (phew) to watch Charlie push the ball over the line - cue absolute delight from him and us all. And so the game continued in an entirely different manner to the 1st half. Joey (deep breath) played well again but saved me from a fate worse than death by not quite scoring with his mid air bicycle kick. We defended well - the lovely Ned not putting a foot wrong, midfield pace was good and generally we looked like we believed we could win the game. The moment Austin hit the deck looking injured was my most worrying, given our distinct lack of alternatives.

A highlight for Little H was the throwing of the blue smoke bomb by a Midlands fan and the pause in the game (son is also obsessed with bombs, smoke machines and rebellious behaviour) and was desperate to know how the smoke was emitted, where could he buy one, how had it been smuggled into the ground and what would happen to the man who did it.......

We chatted on intermittently - he believed he had seen at least 40 QPR goals live (if it's 20 he'd be lucky) and he seems to have erased the last 2 seasons from his memory (aside from beating Chelsea) talking nostalgically about the year we were promoted (he's forgotten we lost that Leeds game too). I am convinced he is creating many of our games out of his imagination, but actually that is no bad thing. The last 10 minutes of the game was spent with me arguing that just because we were winning, did not mean he was allowed to invade the pitch at the end; that I explained, we would save for our promotion.

So I won't bore you with the pints at the pub after (of which there were too few due to me being on mummy duty) but I must just share little  H's comment on the final whistle as he jumped up and down cheering "Mummy, now we've won, does that mean you'll take me to three pubs to celebrate?"

Secretly, I was proud. Job done.

Sneaky trip back to the pitch side after the game complete with new shiny badge and jacket (purchases)

Deserving

Exeter City 0 Queens Park Rangers 2

Huddersfield 1 Queens Park Rangers 1

Queens Park Rangers 1 Ipswich Town 0

It is rare that a QPR fan can write something in a calm and positive environment. There is plenty of time yet for controversy and angst, especially as we edge closer to transfer deadline day, but I really am very happy right now.

It was a great pleasure to welcome back my best QPR buddy Gem to the fold after her summer holidays, and to spend time with others at the Shepherd & Flock post-match. Much of the discussion over the past week or so has centred around how good it feels to be winning again. As I mentioned last week, I miss the extended coverage a little, but overall life really is better. It has been a little like spending the last two years with a partner who really wasn't any good for you. You knew it was traumatic, but you kept at it anyway 'for love' and it is only when you finally leave him you realise just how lovely and different life can be. I'm not going to lie, I think it was a major feat for me to be able to write a blog nearly every week last season given just how miserable it was- result after result after result. And there we were again and again in our thousands, travelling away from home in the full knowledge that, even if we managed to get a result, we were watching a team that we no longer really recognised as truly our own Rangers.

While Gary Linekar claimed that yesterday was the start of the football season (have now un-followed), the rest of the real footballing community looked forward to the third league match of the season. As early as it is, this season so far has been as good as I had hoped it would be. I am in no rush to get back to the PL and it will be a mammoth challenge to do so. While we haven't lost yet, it is early days and it is probably fair to say there is still plenty to be done to improve the team. Perhaps it's a positive that we don't look like we're firing on all cylinders yet?

Charlie Austin has made a fine start having scored within 90 seconds at Exeter. Although it feels as if he's missing a lot of chances - hitting the bar, post, keeper etc...we appear to be better at simply keeping up the pressure and not giving up. It has probably helped that several 'passengers' have now left the club and we're left (for the most part) with people who actually want to play a decent game of football.

Speaking of wanting to play, if we can we must do something about Zamora (the man who doesn't really like football). Yesterday, in comparison to others, he lacked pace, accuracy and was generally not connecting with anyone else on the pitch. Half the time he was looking down at his feet and it was frustrating to watch. On the other hand, if he hadn't been so bad, we might not have had to chance to see Tom Hitchcock get on the pitch and score the winning goal. As hard as us football fans like to think we are, we're probably more soft than anyone else, and we like to see people succeed where they have worked hard to reach their place. While it was great to win a the last minute, this for me was the biggest cause for celebration yesterday. Having Hitchcock on the bench with two others from the youth team is just the thing QPR fans want to see - wouldn't most other football fans want to see those who have grown up through the club youth system play first team football? These are the players most likely to have their own soft spot for the club - and this must certainly help morale and team spirit. Admittedly, Hitchcock came from the Blackburn youth team to QPR, but nonetheless it is nice to see a family connection with his father also at the club. He tweeted last night 'Probably the best feeling I've ever had.' That just sums it all up.

Witnessing such joy is great, especially if it is from a team you support. I admit I felt almost as pleased when Rickie Lambert scored for England earlier this week. With his first touch, to score the winning goal was a 'dream come true' for him. And English fans up and down the country saluted him because you could see it meant so much more to him (in spite of it being a friendly), than it would have to anyone else on that pitch. That's because he represents hard graft and someone who has worked hard to get where he is. We are a nation obsessed by football, but we are also fed up with people who just don't
act or work like they deserve to be where they are. I am so thrilled for Lambert, as I am for Hitchcock. And I am quietly confident too that former bricklayer Charlie Austin will also be a great footballer for us, as well as a decent, hard working person.

I haven't yet mentioned my man of the match Joey Barton. I do not excuse what I still believe to be pretty arrogant and poor general public behaviour, but on the pitch he is delivering. He was everywhere he needed to be, and had made some damn fine crosses yesterday (and how nice is it not to have Taraabt around to strop about who's going to take free kicks and corners?). We will miss Barton big time if he goes.

I am also convinced that I actually enjoy Championship football more.  I mentioned this last week, but it's physical, it's still bloody fast, there is a lot more ebb and flow to it and we aren't playing a load of prima-donnas every week. Speaking of prima-donnas, where is Mbia?

It felt so good to score that goal yesterday. Admittedly the importance of the event was not as big as the 3-2 win against Liverpool, or our Taraabt's winner against Arsenal last season where it was hugs all-round and severe knee bruising. Regardless I hugged Terry who sits next to me every week, and a bloke to my left who I've never met before. That's because it meant just as much to me as those 'big' games in the PL.

Past Life? Who needs it?

Don't mention the football

Queens Park Rangers 2 Sheffield Wednesday 1

I wondered at the end of last season whether I'd have the courage to continue writing this blog. It has since been an extremely relaxing and stress-fee couple of months without football. I must admit, it was only a few days ago that I honestly started to look forward to making it down to Loftus Road, with the last season having been so traumatic. We certainly did need the time to get over it all.

The last few months have been spent enjoying the first heat wave we've had in years. I've been getting to know my neighbours, catching up with non-footie friends I tend to ignore during the season and training for my swim at the London Triathlon. In addition to continuing my quest to become the barbecue goddess of Willesden Green. It has been bliss to be able to focus on things other than QPR. In fact, I didn't even bother to really keep up with the transfer gossip, and there were some days (shock horror) when I didn't even look at twitter.

But when this week arrived, and I thought about the new friend I planned to bring to Loftus Road for her first ever football match (well, from what I understand the first one where she wasn't just entertaining clients in a corporate box), I really started to get excited. Today, I brought my friend Jenny along, and what a sport she was wearing the QPR colours with me all the way. It was a blast from the start, as even from the moment we got to Willesden Green tube station, we saw fans in the blue and white hoops (and blue and white hair!). Meeting friends in The Bull almost reminded me of what it was like coming back from school summer holidays - some people had lost weight, some people had new hair...everybody was looking well. I provided Jenny with her first experience of being called a 'QPR Virgin' outside Loftus Road to the laugher of and by many fans in the queue while I bought my copy of AKUTRs, and took her to the bookies to place her first bet. In giving her the 'experience' of a match day I almost forgot about the fact we were watching a football match.

And then it hit me when @mrs_ajams came over and said 'latest news Barton is playing!' Well I certainly didn't see that coming. And I must say I was actually quite excited. Don't get me wrong...I was as appalled as anyone else (see previous post on breaking away from the chains of Joey Barton), with what did to QPR...but I do think that when can stay on the pitch he is fantastic for the Championship. And in fact, on today's evidence, the Championships suits him and the more physical nature of play appears to make refs ignore plenty of shenanigans that simply would have been 'red carded' in a Premier League game. In fact what would have probably been a red card today ended up being a yellow for the opposing team for 'simulation.' Fantastic.  Our dear friend @gemcricketmad is currently on holiday in the US and if she were here she would probably have dumped me as I nursed my pint of bitter at the bar for my positive attitude towards him. But it seems I am not alone..the very warm welcome he received when his name was called out, and the standing ovation that occurred as he was substituted confirms this.

Today was an absolute MUST WIN. Why? Because in the last two seasons, we started poorly, and starting poorly set the tone for the rest of the season. Because, in the last two seasons, and after ever transfer window when we would lose we'd hear the excuse that makes me FREAK OUT 'the team needs to gel,' and I really didn't want to hear that today. Because, in the last two seasons the thousands of fans who spent money to support the Rangers home and away despite abysmal performances deserved something better. And frankly, patience for the Manager, the Chairman and the board was and possibly still is starting wear a little thin.

Life is going to be different though...earlier this week I pressed the 'series link' for the Football League show. I thought about the fact that there would be no need to rush home from away games to watch MOTD and that I would have to contend with 20 seconds coverage of our beloved team, but that perhaps this meant more beer drinking time. I thought about the fact that there would be no more 'Match Choice' where I would be able to watch one hour of the game in its full glory around 10.30pm as well, but that perhaps it might help me to focus on some of the other decent TV that I've been getting in to on a Saturday night..or that maybe I could actually pick up a book to read. And the fact that it would be hard to get an online feed of away matches that I can't make...well, I can't think of any upside for that!

But coming back and winning the game, albeit with a slightly worrying start, and seeing most players play with commitment and pride in true Championships fashion made me remember why I loved this league so much and found so much of what we experienced in the Premier League unbearable. We filled up Loftus Road today slap bang in the middle of the holiday season, and Sheffield Wednesday fans were in typically fine form and voice (naked beer bellies included). My dear friend Jenny who says she is 'yet to be convinced' by the QPR fans about whether she should be a QPR fan felt the game was a bit like 'ping pong' and 'number 23' (Hoilett) was a real 'weasel.' In fairness, we're not in the Premier League any more, and in fact we were never really a Premier League team despite the suite of expensive players in our squad. We're now right where we belong...winning a match that isn't always pretty to watch but with some touches of elegance and plenty of speed and physicality in front of a happy crowd of real fans.

However, in the bathroom at the Springbok I bumped in to a lovely Korean lady. She said it was her first time at Loftus Road. She said she was here to see Park play. When I said he wasn't even on the bench she said 'Yeah I think he might play in Holland,' but when I told her that Yun Suk Young was on the bench I saw tumbleweeds and heard the wind whistling. I've never had a problem with our new fans from Korea. If it means they get to experience the beauty of Loftus Road I am happy for it. But frankly, most of them will disappear once he goes judging from that exchange in the Springbok bogs, and while I love to see all these amazing fans from around the world come to Loftus Road (hello Norway crew that were down this week!), please let it be the right fans in the future Mr Fernandes. Let's play on our strengths and build on what is already there, instead of trying to make something out of nothing.

As you know, I don't do 'Man of the Match' nominations on this blog, but in honour of my lovely German friend Jenny who came with me today I am selecting Andy Johnson (or Number 8 as she calls him) who she rated highly with 'Number 17' coming a close second.

Barton, you aren't going to be around for much longer probably. Controversy will continue to surround your football and your tweets and everything else you decide to do. But QPR will no doubt continue to surround itself with plenty of its own controversy, and the fans will have plenty of things to talk about and moan about. Let's just hope that this season my blogs will want to mention the football more than ever. With three points in the bag, the forecast is looking just about right.

P.S A special mention goes to @geraldinecakes from whom I purchased the most amazing QPR cupcakes for my birthday and are featured in the background of this blog. Do tweet her for orders.