 Monday, 29th Nov 2010 23:51 by Clive Whittingham Neil Warnock was delighted with the performance of his players against Cardiff on Saturday, but visiting manager Dave Jones was furious with referee Kevin Friend after the match. NewsWarnock was keen to praise his own players for their performances against Cardiff, and accused his opposite number Dave Jones of ‘clutching at straws’ over the Jay Bothroyd penalty controversy with QPR denied two clear cut spot kicks of their own during proceedings. Warnock told the official website: “I thought this was a cracking advertisement for the Championship. There were two teams out there who were at each others' throats for the whole game, it was end to end and there were chances in both goalmouths. I really enjoyed it - and I would have said that regardless of the score. At half-time I told the lads just to go out and enjoy it," he said. "I thought we could do a little bit more in the second half. We were a little bit in awe of their strikers early on but we sorted that out after the break and were a lot more positive. "Adel worked hard today. They were very tight on him so he didn't get a lot of joy, but he worked his socks off - and that's not his game. Only he could have scored that goal. He does that in training, and I can't believe some of the other things he can do. It was a great finish, and was worthy of winning any match. It was a super strike. "I thought Jamie Mackie, Tommy Smith and Rob Hulse were excellent. Rob was absolutely magnificent. He won nearly every header and dominated the game for us. "I think Dave is clutching at straws really. In the 13th minute we had a certain penalty not given when their lad handled it in the box. And in the last minute we had a cert penalty as well - so two against one isn't bad.” Tommy Smith, who had a hand in both QPR goals, said of his team mate Taarabt in The Star: “He can be infuriating and mesmerising at the same time. But it’s fun when you are playing with talents like that. It’s different for English players growing up, especially when I was younger. You couldn’t get away with not working. You know you’ve got to work for the team first, otherwise you’d never get anywhere near the first team. I think nowadays, particularly in Europe, it is all about football and the talent that you have rather than your physique or speed. That’s the difference. If he wants to play in England and get on he’s got to work on that side of his game, which he has done.” Cardiff were predictably less than happy with referee Kevin Friend after the game. Jay Bothroyd was clearly fouled in the penalty area seven minutes from time but Friend waved the away side’s penalty appeals away. Cardiff manager Dave Jones told the Western Mail: “I’m a bit frustrated and a bit angry. I don’t think there’s much in the game and when the decision needed to be called the referee didn’t make it. If he misses it, his linesman can’t miss it. That’s the difference between us coming away with something and not.18,000 people in the stadium today knew it was a penalty – the officials may analyse it tomorrow, but it doesn’t mean two hoots because we’re not going to get it back. We just have to lick our wounds and get going again. “I don’t know what he was looking at – whatever view he’s got ain’t from the view I’ve got. Sometimes during the season you’ll get your luck and during the season hopefully we’ll earn more luck than bad decisions. I’m just angry because it’s a big game and a big call. My next question would be: ‘Is it too big for him?’ There’s a fine line between coming away with something and in such a tight game, a big game, you need the person in the middle to make the right calls. You can’t miss the big call in games as tight as that.” Bothroyd himself has been bemoaning the failure to award his penalty to anybody that will listen today via the South Wales media and Twitter. Bothroyd said: “The referee said it wasn’t a penalty, but even Clint Hill and Matt Connolly, the guy who brought me down, said it was. Yet nobody can say anything? I’ve gone through in the penalty area and the guy has left his leg out.He didn’t get the ball and took me down. Yet the referee didn’t give a penalty. Then Craig Bellamy ran through. He was in the box and their guy pulled him by his shirt – everyone can see the big V from the back of his shirt. Once again he didn’t give it and it’s inconsistent. He’s a Premiership referee as well. I don’t understand why referees are untouchable. For me if you make a mistake you hold your hands up and say I made a mistake. I don’t understand why referees can’t do that. He waved me away saying it was never a penalty. I’m going through to score a goal, he’s brought me down. I don’t understand. Why would I go down if it’s not a penalty.” “It was a very even game. But we lost and I think it was down to the decisions that weren’t given to us. It was nasty. I don’t understand why if players make bad challenges during a game we hold our hands up and say it was a bad challenge but when a referee makes a bad decision you can’t talk to them. I don’t understand that and I don’t think it’s fair. There was two stonewall penalties.” Former QPR loanee Tom Heaton was beaten twice as Cardiff goalkeeper on Saturday. Afterwards he told Wales Online that Taarabt’s goal had been deflected, and the blame lay squarely at his own feet for Kaspars Gorkss’ equaliser. Heaton said: “It was a terrific strike, but the shot took a bit of a deflection. It was a poor goal kick from me and that led to the attack. We should have defended better as a unit before that goal – and I include myself in that.Overall, though, we feel slightly unlucky not to come away with a point. It was a tight game and we had chances. Jay Bothroyd insists he was fouled and should have had a penalty. Sometimes those things go against you. It’s the same with that deflection off Taarabt’s shot for the goal. It wasn’t our day. “We went to Loftus Road believing we could win and it didn’t happen. But we go again when Preston North End come to Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday. People talk about our poor record over November, but we can’t worry about that. QPR away was our final game in November anyway. We play Preston next in December and we have to earn the points. On a different day we might have come away with something from Queens Park Rangers. We felt we deserved something.” And after all of that fun on Saturday there was the small matter of the FA Cup Third Round draw on Sunday which pitted the R’s against Premiership side Blackburn Rovers. QPR have infamously not won an FA Cup game of any sort for ten years, the longest losing record of any team in the country, and one of those defeats came at Ewood Park at this stage off the competition in January 2006 shortly before Ian Holloway was placed on gardening leave. It’s a lousy draw in truth, a game that neither side is likely to take too seriously and not one we’re likely to win so the run could be set to continue for another 12 months at least. Neil Warnock played a scratchy side in the League Cup back in August when Rangers were beaten by League Two side Port Vale and is likely to do so again in this game. He told the official website: “It's a good draw against a Premier League club and while our priorities lie elsewhere this season, it will be interesting to see how we perform against them. The match will come after four league games in nine days, which is very difficult, and the league has to be our priority. But we will go there and be determined to give a good account of ourselves." In a draw full of cracking ties Man Utd will face Liverpool, Man City will travel to Leicester and Newcastle go to Stevenage in a repeat of their 1995 classic.
Loan WatchThis is turning into a bit of a mammoth section now with seven QPR players on loan at various places. Here we go: - Mikele Leigertwood made his debut for Reading as they drew for the fourth consecutive game, 0-0 this time at home to Leeds. Legs began the game in midfield but was replaced with 13 minutes remaining by Michail Antonio and received mixed reviews on the Reading forums for his performance. - Antonio German had a free weekend with Southend out of the FA Cup but he is back in action, weather permitting, on Tuesday when the Shrimpers face Cheltenham at Whaddon Road. - Torquay caused a minor cup upset at the weekend, the League Two side knocked out League One strugglers Walsall with a 1-0 win at Plainmoor. Joe Oastler completed another full 90 minutes at centre half but Ramone Rose was an unused substitute. Their rather meagre reward for reaching the third round is a home tie against another League One side Carlisle United. - Wycombe also progressed to the third round, where they will play Hereford or Lincoln at home, but Josh Parker missed their 3-1 second round win against Chelmsford as he has returned to the Caribbean on international duty. - While there has been no official announcement (apologies if I missed one) it appears Lee Brown has finished his loan spell with Hayes and Yeading as he is no longer listed in their squad and has not featured since a narrow FA Cup First Round defeat by Wycombe. Goalkeeper Niki Lee Bulmer remains though and played in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Newport County – a sixth straight defeat in the Conference. - Rowan Vine must wait until December 4 for his Brentford debut with the Bees having a free weekend this week as well.
Former R’sThe adventures of Leon Jeanne, mental age 13 and three quarters, continue this week as the former QPR youngster and all round drugged up waster has pitched up at Conference side Bath City. Jeanne, kicked out of QPR and Cardiff for drug problems earlier in his career, has since been knocking round the non-league and League of Wales circuit but has been handed this chance at a reasonably good level by Bath manager Adie Britton who has recently seen Jeanne playing for local league side Cardiff Corinthians. Britton told his club’s official website: “I was asked a month ago if Leon could train with us. I had seen him in various parts of his career, so I knew who he was. You do not see many players who excite you when they are just controlling the football. His first touch is different. He has undoubted ability. I am well aware of the problems he has had before, but after getting to know him better I have decided to give him an opportunity with us. “Bath City is a club that is continuing to exceed expectations. We do this by giving one hundred percent all of the time. All of my players know this, and Leon knows it too. He is aware of our standards and our work ethic. As long as he adheres to those, and continues to work hard, he will remain with the team and do very well with us. His has had fitness issues recently. He has shown dramatic improvement in the last few months, but he still needs to do more. I see him in the near future as an impact player. He’ll need to work very hard on the physical aspects of his game to make the starting line-up. I am sure, though, that his talent will excite people.” Jeanne is all set for his first appearance on Tuesday night when Bath face high flying Crawley Town. Elsewhere Damien Delaney endured a mixed afternoon in the East Anglia derby on Sunday. The Irish defender headed home Ipswich’s equaliser in the first half after a nod down from Tamas Priskin but later saw red after he miscontrolled a ball and then wrestled Grant Holt to the floor as he raced away from him. Ipswich went on to lose the game 4-1.
Championship Shorts- Hull are hoping midfielder Ian Ashbee will be fit to face QPR this weekend after limping out of the first half of a 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough played under several inches of snow on Saturday. The midfielder recently missed a year of action with a bad knee injury but is set to be fit for this Saturday’s game at the KC Stadium. - Leicester bid farewell to chairman Milan Mandaric, who is taking over at Sheffield Wednesday, with a 1-0 home win against Nottingham Forest on Monday night. Andy King got the only goal of the game. - Ipswich boss Roy Keane believes he is the right man for the job at Portman Road despite a 4-1 shellacking at Norwich in the East Anglia derby on Sunday. Keane said: “I do feel I can turn things around. But you need that time and support and sometimes you don't get that - I live in the real world. If the morning comes and I don't think I can turn things around, I'm not one for hanging around." - Middlesbrough boss Tony Mowbray has defended goalkeeper Jason Steele after a mediocre display in awful conditions against Hull at the weekend. Mowbray said: “He won't get criticism off me because he's been fantastic since I walked into the club. He's a young guy with a great attitude to work and to getting better. Hopefully he can be the goalkeeper for a long time here at Middlesbrough." Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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