Preston North End go into their opening day fixture against QPR looking to extend their unbeaten home record against their opponents that has stood since before this century.
Alex Neil’s side did the double over the Hoops last season, a 1-0 win at Deepdale followed by a crucial 2-1 win at Loftus Road in April.
QPR haven’t had the greatest record of late against PNE, having failed to win any of the last six meetings between the two.
Their last victory came in 2010, courtesy of a brace from Adel Taarabt and a Rob Hulse strike.
The R’s team that day featured ex-PNE man Patrick Agyemang, 21 of his 72 career league goals having come for the Lilywhites.
That season ended with contrasting fortunes for both clubs, with QPR promoted to the Premier League under Neil Warnock and North End relegated to League One.
The Hoops then enjoyed two seasons in the Premier League, under Warnock, Mark Hughes and Harry Redknapp.
Although they did bounce straight back to the top flight under Redknapp in 2014 after relegation, they went down again after one season and have fallen into financial turmoil since.
A UEFA report published last summer showed QPR held the fifth highest debt of any European club, a staggering £242m (€279m).
Their big spending days are certainly behind them now, the club looking at cheaper incomings as well as promoting their promising youth products.
One of those, Paul Smyth, made a goal-scoring Northern Ireland debut earlier this summer, when he notched the winner against South Korea.
I spoke with Mark Davis, QPR fan & co-founder of the fan group Hoops Down Under (@hoopsdownunder), who gave his thoughts on the opening game and the upcoming season in general:
1) There were mixed reactions from QPR fans to Ian Holloway’s sacking and Steve McClaren’s subsequent appointment as manager, what were your thoughts?
I felt for Ollie to be honest but wasn’t surprised he was shown the exit door. Even though the team improved on their previous season and we saw more youth players given first team opportunities, Ollie’s biggest issue was the team not being able to find any consistency and our dour away form didn’t improve at all. It’s been our Achilles heel for numerous years now.
Steve McClaren was a surprise appointment and I must admit comments from Newcastle fans didn’t give me any vote of confidence off the top. But as I with every managerial chance (& let’s be honest, we’ve had a few), I’ll support Steve all the way, like I did Ollie before that.
2) From a fans’ perspective, what would be the ideal season for the club realistically?
Well with a change of managers, we seriously can’t afford to go backwards.
The club are still hand tied with this FFP fine breathing down our necks and until that’s sorted, QPR are going to have to rely on funds from transfer sales & continue to give youth a shot at Championship football.
Last season we finished 16th, so I’m thinking somewhere between 8th-10th would be a pass mark. Playoffs would be a surprise bonus.
3) What sort of business do you think QPR need to do in the transfer market before the first game of the season, given that a few high profile players have left or been released?
We need a few defenders and a prolific striker. We struggled for goals the last two seasons and our position on the ladder reflected this.
The sale of Smithies was disappointing but it had to be done. I think fans were expecting to get more for Alex but we have no idea how it all ultimately played out.
We’ve signed German central defender Toni Leistner and by all reports he sounds like a promising player so fingers crossed. Hopefully a few more signings to come but it’s safe to say those crazy big spending days are well and truly behind us…thank god.
4) Although he didn’t feature for Australia, Massimo Luongo was the sole QPR representative at the World Cup, how important a player will he be this season?
Luongo has been improving every season and as QPR fans from Australia, it’s only natural that we want to see Massimo continue down this path. This could be his biggest season yet and if so, I think QPR will hugely benefit from his control in the midfield. In saying that, I do hope McClaren has big plans for Massimo this coming season.
5) Which other players will PNE need to watch out for on the opening day?
Luke Freeman fell away at the back end of the season but started 2017-18 with a hiss and a roar. I expect PNE will have to keep Freeman at bay if he starts the new season in a similar fashion. Matt Smith looks like he’s shed some weight in the summer so could be dangerous up front, combining with Smyth or (Eberechi) Eze.
It’s going to be intriguing to see what lineup McClaren picks & the formation he uses for this match given our very very poor away record. A draw would be a nice result.
All the best to PNE for the season ahead
RS Sport 