Opposition view: QPR

Ahead of tomorrow's game at Loftus Road, Bluemoon caught up with Mike from QPR Report to get the lowdown on the opposition...

1. Who are QPR's key players?

Well seemingly not Adel Taarabt! Paddy Kenny obviously needs to be at his best to keep City out. Hopefully old boys Barton and Wright-Phillips will turn it on against City...And Bothroyd having scored his first goal for QPR, will on Saturday get his first hatrick!

2. Were you happy with the business conducted during the transfer window?

Almost but not quite. For most of the window, we were stuck with the miserly Ecclestone-Briatore, trying to sell the club and really not giving Neil Warnock money...In his final few days, Warnock did have a pot of gold...And he was feverishly trying to sign...And we did sign several...But just fell short of at least a couple more. Without the late signings, relegation would have been almost certain. Those literally last-minute signings gave us a fighting chance.

3. What are your expectations for this season?

Like every club in the Premiership, we obviously had hopes - if not great expectations! At the end of last season, I was pretty confident that with money given for strengthening, we could stay up. Until the Fernandes takeover, that confidence gradually turned to dread... Now, am cautiously optimistic, we'll stay up. But certainly relegation would not be a total shock.

4. Are you happy with the manager?

First QPR fans have been through some horror years of bizarre managerial appointments and firings... One after the other, after the other (see the Forthcoming Documentary about QPR "The Four Year Plan").

So yes, almost all QPR fans are very happy with Neil Warnock (while of course having complaints about this or that). We owe Neil Warnock everything for getting us up last season - spending very little money and with Flavio Briatore, Bernie Ecclestone and Gianni Paladini.

Is he the best manager in the country? Probably not. Is he the best QPR manager of all time? No: He's not Alec Stock, Dave Sexton, Terry Venables, but he is rapidly climbing the ranks of great QPR managers. (Almost up there now with Gordon Jago, Gerry Francis and Ian Holloway). And in all seriousness, he is IDEAL for a QPR, whose best hope of staying up is a fighting united team.

5. Are there any rising stars in the squad that we might not have heard of?
Bottom line: unfortunately no! Our best youngster was one we sold off a couple of years ago, Raheem Sterling, now developing at Liverpool. We have a bunch of mostly experienced pros.

6. If you could have any City player in your team who would you choose?
Torres! (Or a young Stan Bowles!)

7. What is your perception of City as a club?
Incredibly, incredibly rich - rich owners. Over the decades, incredible youth players developed...and great players signed: Lee, Bell, Summerbee, etc...The Mercer/Allison years at your best, and then the nuttiness of later days with Allison (including buying Rodney Marsh).

Perhaps underachievers time and time again - as you can't quite match Manchester United, so it gives you perhaps an inferiority complex - when you should be top six/top-eight consistently.

8. Likely QPR starting XI for Saturday, and score prediction?
Kenny
Toure Gabidan Ferdinand Young
Mackie (or Derry) Faurlin Barton Wright-Phillips
Helguson Bothroyd

QPR 1 Manchester City 5