QPR maintained their 100 per cent pre-season record with a 2-1 victory against Ravenna in Italy on Sunday evening. Elsewhere there have been comings and goings, and the QPR Masters retained their title.

News:

Ravenna presented arguably the toughest challenge for Rangers so far this summer, yo-yoing between Serie B and C in recent years. Neil Warnock selected a strong side and was rewarded with a victory. Two of his form players so far this summer we on the scoresheet with Jamie Mackie getting his third of the pre-season campaign and Hogan Ephraim his seventh in just five outings. Earlier Piovaccari had given the hosts the lead.

Both sides finished with ten men after a physical encounter descended into handbags near the end, Fitz Hall was withdrawn at the referee’s request.

Afterwards Neil Warnock told the club’s official website: “It's another step up the ladder as we prepare for the first day of the season. We created a hatful of chances and although we didn't take as many as I'd have liked, the fact we're making them is a positive. I still want to bring one or two strikers in before the start of the season and if we can do that I'll be happy. It's a great way to end what has been the best pre-season tour I have ever been involved in. The hotel, the people, the football - it's just been magnificent."

QPR: Kenny, Ramage, Hill (Gorkss 67), Connolly, Hall, Leigertwood (Borrowdale 67), Ephraim, Mackie, Helguson (German 67), Clake (Parker 58), Faurlin.

Subs: Cerny, Derry

Back in Britain Rowan Vine, Patrick Agyemang and Damion Stewart were all in action for the reserves as they drew 1-1 with Hayes and Yeading on Saturday. Agyemang gave Rangers a first half lead before the R’s were pegged back after half time.

Reserve team boss Ronnie Jepson said: “It was another very useful match for us. We are working hard to improve the players' fitness levels and it was great to see Pat get himself on the scoresheet. He did well. Damion Stewart got another 90 minutes under his belt and came through unscathed, which was another real plus point. We created a few chances in the first half and I was happy with how we did. I made a few changes in the second half, and gave a few trialists a run-out, It was useful to have a look at them. We probably lost our shape a little bit in the closing stages. Overall, it was a good performance and a decent test."

Afterwards Damion Stewart told the Fulham Chronicle: “I am starting to get back to full fitness now. It was a recommended three months out for me and I had to wait for that to start playing again. I have been getting 90 minutes now and feel good physically – I just need to get into shape in terms of playing games. For every team in the Championship, it is all about promotion – no team in it will not be thinking about promotion,” he added. “We will buy into what Neil teaches us and I hope that we can kick on from the start of the season. This will be my fifth season and hopefully I will be here.”

QPR: Putnins, Harriman, Stewart, Fitzsimmons, Brown, Ehmer, Oastler, Hibbert, Vine, Agyemang, Rose

Rangers seem set to announce their sixth signing of the summer, with Bristol City right back Bradley Orr expected to complete a £500,000 move to Loftus Road at the end of protracted negotiations. Orr has been linked with Rangers several times in recent years, and the former Championship select eleven representative is finally set to complete the move with his contract situation forcing Bristol City’s hands. Steve Coppell is running his eye over Liam Rosenior as a potential replacement but told the City official website that he would have liked Orr to stay.

Coppell said: “Brad is the kind of player I would love to keep at the club but he has a seed in his mind that he wants a fresh challenge. He only has a year left on his contract and that leaves us vulnerable. Brad gives everything and I don't doubt anything he's done in pre-season and during my dealings with him. He really wants a move though and it's likely that will happen this week."

Rather worryingly the Bristol Evening Post reports that the deal has been held up through the summer because of wrangling between Lakshmi Mittal and Flavio Briatore over how transfer funds should be spent by Neil Warnock.

Warnock has stated all summer that new arrivals will be restricted while dead wood remains in the squad. The club has managed to shift out Matteo Alberti, who failed to make a single first team appearance last season, however his one year deal to join AC Lumezzane in the third tier of Italian football is only a loan move.

Alberti was given a four year contract when he arrived at Loftus Road and it’s these extortionate deals that Rangers gave out post takeover that are proving problematic when it comes to shifting people like Alberti, Agyemang and Rowan Vine out of the club. Vine has been stuck in the reserves all summer and seemingly has no future under Warnock after dramatically failing to recapture any form at all since breaking his leg two years ago.

Vine is keen to look elsewhere for regular first team football, but again this may have to be on loan with the only clubs who can afford to meet the wage he’s on at QPR playing well above the level of performance he is currently able to produce. Vine told the Fulham Chronicle: “I have not played much during the past two seasons and I would not rule anything out. I was available to go to Italy, but they took a selected number and I was not in that so I went down to Cornwall with Ronnie Jepson and the lads and played a couple of games down there instead. I am not in the immediate plans because I have not gone on the tour to Italy, which is quite significant.

“It was really good for me when I first joined QPR, but then I broke my leg and I have had a lot of injury problems since,” he added. “On a personal level, I have to keep myself fit so that I am available and see what happens. I have been training since the first day of pre-season and I am getting fitter. I am playing games, albeit with the reserves, and I have played three games in a week with the young lads now.”

The QPR Under 16s lost in the final of the Foyle Cup in Ireland at the weekend. After beating Hull City 2-1 in the semis Rangers were beaten 5-4 on penalties in the final by NECSL in Derry. Komradkirk followed the R’s throughout and filed reports on the LFW messageboard.

Rumours:

QPR could have an entirely new look right side to the team by the end of this week if The Mirror is to be believed. The paper says Reading winger Jobi McAnuff is ready to request a transfer from th Royals if they reject a renewed bid from rangers, said to be around £1.5m with a £13k weekly wage for the player. If the story is true and Warnock succeeds then McAnuff and Bradley Orr could be linking up down the Rangers right in a new look partnership on August 7.

Former R’s:

The QPR Masters proved to be the comeback kings at Wembley Arena on Saturday night, as they twice overcame big deficits to retain their title and progress to the national finals for a second successive season. The R’s beat Spurs 3-2 in the first game having initially fallen 2-0 behind, and then an unlikely hat trick from Marcus Bignot sealed a 3-0 win against Arsenal and a place in the final against West Ham. The R’s again fell behind, 3-0 this time, before fighting back and drawing 3-3 with a hat trick from Michael Meaker and winning the resulting penalty shoot out. Former QPR man Keith Rowland missed the vital Hammers spot kick, saved by Simon Royce. The grand final will take place on Sunday September 5 at a venue to be confirmed.

Mark Kennedy has left Cardiff City and signed for Ipswich Town. The one time QPR loanee seemed to be winding down his career at Cardiff but following a nasty injury to another of our former charges Damien Delaney Roy Keane ha moved quickly to secure the veteran left sided player for £75,000.

Championship shorts:

- Crystal Palace should exit from administration this week, bringing to an end thei transfer embargo at the same time. Manager George Burley has been unable to add to his squad and has seen a number of players leave during the close season but should be able to commence rebuilding this week. Administrator Brendan Guilfoyle said: "This is now the beginning of the end of the rescue of Crystal Palace. I am delighted and would like to express my sincere gratitude for the support and patience of the staff and fans and everyone involved at Crystal Palace.”

- The transfer embargo does remain at Cardiff City however, and with just a fortnight to go until the season begins the Bluebirds’ star names are starting to get restless. Michael Chopra told the South Wales Echo: “If this club doesn’t bring in new players, I’m off. I’ve had enough. Nothing is moving, with just a couple of weeks until the new season. I can see that we will struggle this season if people at board level don’t get real and sort this matter out sooner rather than later. It’s not good for morale and I’m not the only one fuming about the lack of movement in the camp.” SPL outfit Motherwell have cranked up the pressure on City, saying they are still owed half of the £200,000 fee for defender Paul Quinn who moved south last summer.

- Scunthorpe United seem to be losing their fight to retain the services of top scorer Gary Hooper, after Celtic had a bid accepted for the former Southend striker. Hooper had been tipped to join Middlesbrough but after Celtic made a £2.4m offer for the player on Friday manager Nigel Adkins admitted: “Celtic have courted him, as have several clubs over the course of the summer. He's not signed yet but it's fair to say it does look very close."

- Burnley have failed in a bid to take Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Lee Grant to Turf Moor. Grant has been outstanding for Wednesday since signing from Derby three years ago but Wednesday’s relegation, and the threat of a winding up order from HMRC last week, seemed to have opened the door for his departure. Burnley’s “six figure” offer was dismissed as totally unacceptable by the Owls over the weekend.

- Norwich manager Paul Lambert has blasted his side as ‘just not good enough’ after a pre-season defeat at Dagenham and Redbridge. Following the 1-0 setback at Victoria Road Lambert said: “What I take out of it is we're just not good enough to turn up at any football ground. Albeit it's a pre-season friendly, the main thing is to get people fit and to get people ready."

Photo: Action Images

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