New years day 2008 was to start in the best possible fashion for us, an early rise and a train to the capital to see struggling City take on Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road. Catching the zombie express from Loughborough in the early morning looking around the carriages were vast amounts of hangovers being nursed from the previous nights shenanigans and there was simply no requirement for British Rail to put on a 'quiet carriage' as in all 10 of them you could have heart a moth fart.
Finally arriving into St Pancras after passing through Leicester,South Wigston, Market Harborough, Kettering, Wellingborough,Bedford, Luton,Luton Airport Parkway (shows how long i've been doing this route) it was onto the tube and away to Oxford Circus to check out the shops and see if we could grab a billy bargain or two.
After a spot of retail therapy it suddenly came to us that we had a match to watch, so it was onto the tube again this time in the direction of White City where we would find the home of the R's. My constant memory of Loftus Road up to this point was of Trevor Sinclair's incredible bicycle kick at home to Manchester United some time in the 90's and for this the stadium had stuck in my mind as a pin in the map to visit someday. Fortunately behind the HQ of BBC television there stood Loftus Road in all its...erm....glory.
Walking through what appeared to be a set for 'Football Behind Bars' to get to the ground we stumbled upon the closest pub to the stadium called 'The Springbok' and headed inside for a cheeky pint. This however being London it was overpriced and over watered-down. Shandy's downed and into the ground it was then.
Inside the ground its a very traditional affair, a small dark alleyway is the entrance to the away end and up some steps to the upper tier giving one of the better views of Loftus Road. All stands are of equal height more-or-less and the stadium feels very rectangular, a bit like being in a shoebox. Whether or not it was the hangovers or the fact Leicester continued to flounder at the arse-end of the league, the fans simply couldn't get going, much like the team as it turned out as QPR had clearly passed on the booze last night (or drank in the Springbok) and were as fresh as the proverbial daisy.
Damion Stewart acted as bouncer for the day in the heart of the QPR defence and time and again told strikers Hume and Fryatt 'Your names not down, you're not coming in' before heading Rangers in front on 16 minutes giving the Hoop's the perfect start to the tune of 'pigbag' ringing round the ground. I didn't think much to the home support, a group of 5-10 to the right of us tried giving it the swagger and a few original chants but generally got no reaction and the atmosphere was flatter than Rik Waller's car tyres.
Dexter Blackstock and Akos Buszacky were the main handfuls for City to deal with and each acted as Director and Editor and ran the show from the off, Adam Bolder netted a second before the half was out and early in the second Blackstock bagged the third. A moment reprieve via an Iain Hume free kick drew a forced cheer from the travelling support but the game was long since over and it was another step in the wrong direction for Holloway despite the positive introduction of new signing Steve Howard from Derby County who made more of an impact than the whole attacking force in one movement by cushioning the ball Cantona style and hitting a post.
Another game, another ground and with little to cheer about and not a great deal of atmosphere to revel in it's difficult to say whether or not I'd be keen on a return to Loftus Road. With the addition of the brand new Westfield Centre close by and QPR and Leicester both in better shape and competing once more in the upper reaches of the Championship perhaps another visit is due...
Finally arriving into St Pancras after passing through Leicester,South Wigston, Market Harborough, Kettering, Wellingborough,Bedford, Luton,Luton Airport Parkway (shows how long i've been doing this route) it was onto the tube and away to Oxford Circus to check out the shops and see if we could grab a billy bargain or two.
After a spot of retail therapy it suddenly came to us that we had a match to watch, so it was onto the tube again this time in the direction of White City where we would find the home of the R's. My constant memory of Loftus Road up to this point was of Trevor Sinclair's incredible bicycle kick at home to Manchester United some time in the 90's and for this the stadium had stuck in my mind as a pin in the map to visit someday. Fortunately behind the HQ of BBC television there stood Loftus Road in all its...erm....glory.
Walking through what appeared to be a set for 'Football Behind Bars' to get to the ground we stumbled upon the closest pub to the stadium called 'The Springbok' and headed inside for a cheeky pint. This however being London it was overpriced and over watered-down. Shandy's downed and into the ground it was then.
Inside the ground its a very traditional affair, a small dark alleyway is the entrance to the away end and up some steps to the upper tier giving one of the better views of Loftus Road. All stands are of equal height more-or-less and the stadium feels very rectangular, a bit like being in a shoebox. Whether or not it was the hangovers or the fact Leicester continued to flounder at the arse-end of the league, the fans simply couldn't get going, much like the team as it turned out as QPR had clearly passed on the booze last night (or drank in the Springbok) and were as fresh as the proverbial daisy.
Damion Stewart acted as bouncer for the day in the heart of the QPR defence and time and again told strikers Hume and Fryatt 'Your names not down, you're not coming in' before heading Rangers in front on 16 minutes giving the Hoop's the perfect start to the tune of 'pigbag' ringing round the ground. I didn't think much to the home support, a group of 5-10 to the right of us tried giving it the swagger and a few original chants but generally got no reaction and the atmosphere was flatter than Rik Waller's car tyres.
Dexter Blackstock and Akos Buszacky were the main handfuls for City to deal with and each acted as Director and Editor and ran the show from the off, Adam Bolder netted a second before the half was out and early in the second Blackstock bagged the third. A moment reprieve via an Iain Hume free kick drew a forced cheer from the travelling support but the game was long since over and it was another step in the wrong direction for Holloway despite the positive introduction of new signing Steve Howard from Derby County who made more of an impact than the whole attacking force in one movement by cushioning the ball Cantona style and hitting a post.
Another game, another ground and with little to cheer about and not a great deal of atmosphere to revel in it's difficult to say whether or not I'd be keen on a return to Loftus Road. With the addition of the brand new Westfield Centre close by and QPR and Leicester both in better shape and competing once more in the upper reaches of the Championship perhaps another visit is due...
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