2. QPR -- 40 GP, 19-15-6, +31, 72 points 19. Grimsby Town -- 40 GP, 11-11-18, -21, 44 points ------ 10 April 2004 Loftus Road ------ This is it. Just six games left to earn promotion, two of them coming rapid-fire in this Easter weekend. Rangers News: Gino Padula is fit again and expected to be available for selection. Martin Rowlands is out Saturday and Monday due to card accumulation. Richard Johnson is still injured. Marcus Bignot is available (will miss Plymouth and Swindon) as is Arthur Gnohere (will miss Stockport and Plymouth). The BBC story says that Terrell Forbes "is back with the squad and could feature." I don't know if you'd play him this weekend (you can go with a Padula-Carlisle-Gnohere-Bignot/Edghill lineup on Saturday and if Gino is not fit enough to play twice in three days, you can start both Bignot and Edghill out wide against Barnsley). However, it will be interesting to see if he starts in central defense for the two matches Gnohere will miss (otherwise, it's likely Palmer or Rose). Official site: http://www.qpr.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10373~511562,00.html BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_2/3592765.stm Grimsby Telegraph: http://www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk/disp...layContent&sourceNode=59224&contentPK=9532576 GiveMeFootball.com: http://www.givemefootball.com/display.cfm?article=4205&type=1 The Opponent: Grimsby Town is just one point ahead of Stockport County in 20th and Chesterfield in relegation-zone 21st, and just two points ahead of Brentford in 22nd. They also have the worst goal difference in the division at the moment, so they need to stay ahead of these teams on points. They are definitely fighting for their second-division lives and getting a point at Loftus Road would help them greatly. They are coming off of a 2-0 victory at home over Sheffield Wednesday last weekend. Before that, however, they had 2 draws and 4 losses in the previous six. Michael Boulding (13 goals in all competitions) and Phil Jevons (12) are their chief scoring threats. Darran Barnard (30 league starts, 2 goals) is suspended, as is Darren Mansaram (7 starts, 20 sub appearances, 2 goals in league). Isaiah Rankin (8 starts, 3 goals) is fit, but may not start both games of the Easter programme. Their official site: http://www.grimsby-townfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/PreMatchAnalysis/0,,10417~511830,00.html Several more stories from the Grimsby Telegraph: http://www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk/disp...layContent&sourceNode=59224&contentPK=9532573 http://www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk/disp...layContent&sourceNode=59224&contentPK=9532862 http://www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk/disp...layContent&sourceNode=59224&contentPK=9532861 Of note, Grimsby just brought in Jamie Lawrence from Walsall. Lawrence is a Jamaican international who formerly played in the Premiership with Bradford City. After the US qualifier in Jamaica in 2001, I met Jamie and several other Jamaican players (most notably Deon Burton) at the hotel bar and a friend and I and several of the players chatted for a good while, with each side (players, fans) buying rounds of drinks for the other. In just two matches with Grimsby (both starts), Lawrence has scored a goal. This Season: On 4 October, Rangers won the away league matchup, 1-0, after Eric Sabin netted the winner deep into second-half injury time. http://www.qpr.premiumtv.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10373~22434,00.html However, on 8 November, homestanding Grimsby knocked Rangers out of the FA Cup in the first round, 1-0. Boulding scored the winner for the Mariners. http://www.qpr.premiumtv.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10373~25712,00.html The Series: In all competitions, Rangers trail slightly, 14-9-16. This season's meetings were the first between the clubs since Grimsby swept the R's in both matches during the 00/01 season that saw us relegated from Division One. The Referee: Mick or Mike Thorpe gets the whistle. The Football League website says Mick. Soccerbase only has a Mike listed. Both sites list him as being from Suffolk. Mike Thorpe has worked 30 matches, issuing 88 yellows and 6 reds, this season. He's not worked a match with either team this season. Last season, he worked QPR's 0-1 home loss to Northhampton and our 1-0 home win over Stockport. Now in his second year in the Football League, he doesn't appear to have ever worked a Grimsby match. The Promotion Chase: First-place Plymouth Argyle (78 points) hosts bottom-of-the-table Wycombe (34), so will definitely be looking to earn all three points. Third-place Bristol City (71 points) has a tougher task, as they play at fifth-place Swindon (65), who is seeking to lock up a place in the playoffs themselves.
John Thorrington is also with Grimsby now. In the five matches since he left Huddersfield he has started two and been on the bench for the other three. Much better than his last season at Huddersfield where he made the bench about 5 time the entire season. QPR should win the match, but Grimsby looked good against Sheffield last week.
ok fellas... unbiased opinion.... can plymouth hold u and bristol city off for the final 6 games... is our lead big enough to hold u both off if we hit a bad streak.. i mean out of the 6 ames we got left, 2 and 3 are in there.. luckily so is wycombe, and we need 3 for sure from those guys.... i certainly would like to win D2 this year... if it comes down to it, and we dont win... it will be a disappointing season for us... now u guys are in a dog fight with bristol city... who has the easier schedule between the 2 of you... hell for that matter, who has the easier schedule between the 3 of us...
Plymouth: April 10th Wycombe (home) - 24th 13th Bristol City (away) - 3rd 17th Oldham (away) - 17th 24th QPR (home) - 2nd May 1st Hartlepool (away) - 7th 8th Colchester (home) - 13th Opponent average in the standings - 11 After Wycombe, that average jumps to 8.4 QPR: April 10th Grimsby (home) - 19th 12th Barnsley (away) - 10th 17th Stockport (home) - 20th 24th Plymouth (away) - 1st May 1st Swindon (home) - 5th 8th Sheff Wed (away) - 14th Opponent average - 11.5 After Grimsby - 10 Bristol City: April 10th Swindon (away) - 5th 13th Plymouth (home) -1st 17th Luton (away) - 9th 24th Brighton (home) - 4th May 2nd Barnsley (away) - 10th 8th Blackpool (home) - 15th Opponent average - 7.3 After Swindon - 7.8 So, purely by that measure (and it doesn't take into account the teams' actual points, where the games are played, matchups, the fact that the table will change, etc.), Bristol City has the hardest schedule, Plymouth the middle, and QPR the easiest. Each team has 3 home/3 away left. Plymouth and Bristol City finish at home, while QPR finishes away. All of our final-day opponents should be both safe from relegation and out of the playoffs by that time.
Good stuff from Rangers. With Rowlands suspended, Cureton started up top, Gallen moved to left midfield, and the lineup was otherwise unchanged. Furlong snaged his 12th & 13th goals of the year, while Bircham got his second. Bad news is that Carlisle had to be stretchered off. Ankle ligament damage is suspected, but no final word yet, but he seems to definitely be out of Monday's match. While the official site said Padula would likely return, he didn't play and wasn't even an eligible substitute. While Plymouth got their anticipated victory (and kept a six-point lead on Rangers), Bristol City only managed one point at Swindon. So, Rangers now have a lead of three points (plus a substantial lead on goal difference). Plymouth now faces Bristol City on Tuesday. A Plymouth win might severely hurt Rangers' title chances, but do our promotion chances good, especially if we are able to get a point or three off of Barnsley away tomorrow. Since Rangers play first this week, Bristol City will know if they're playing on Tuesday for a chance to draw even on points, for a chance to stay in the race, or for something in between. Match reports: http://www.qpr.premiumtv.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10373~23720,00.html http://queensparkrangers.rivals.net//default.asp?sid=925&p=2&stid=8344569 (under the headline "Flying Furs Fells Fishy Folk") http://www.queensparkrangersfc.com/reports.htm