Queens Park Rangers

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QPR striker Richard Kone was substituted less than 30 minutes into a game for the club's development squad on Monday.

The 23-year-old, who was QPR's leading scorer last season, has made only four first-team appearances this term without a goal.

He picked up an injury against Middlesbrough on 5 September and made a return against Bolton's Under-21s.

However, he limped out of the game after being hurt in a strong challenge, in a match which Bolton's youngsters won 3-1.

The nature of Kone's problem is not yet known.

Queens Park Rangers boss Julien Stephan spoke to BBC Radio London as his side came from 2-0 down with 10 men to draw 2-2 against Preston North End.

For the match report and a written selection of his quotes, click here.

We asked for your thoughts after 10-man Queens Park Rangers came back to snatch a late 2-2 draw at home to Preston North End.

Here are some of your comments:

Queens Park Rangers fans

John: A determined team effort in the second half with only 10 men after 15 minutes. Well deserved point. There's a togetherness about this squad that hasn't been there for a number of seasons.

Barry: Thrilled with that. QPR finally look to have a sense of self-belief. They're now playing good possession football from the back, not aimlessly hoofing it up the park. Skill levels in tight situations have improved out of sight and more steel in their game. Think they do need a striker though. Ten men for almost all of the game, great comeback.

Malcolm: Ridiculous decision re the red card, desperately hope QPR appeal. Showed fighting spirit to get a point but horrendous again how many shots we have and how many are on target - 30 shots only 6 on target - that's just nowhere near good enough and it's a consistent weakness.

Peter: Can we get some more shooting practice, and give the opposition something to think about. That and a bit of variety with the free-kicks.

Alan: Much being made of the second half fight and determination, team spirit etc. Shouldn't that be the case at 14.59pm?

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Preston North End fans

Chris: Preston capitulated after 60 minutes, obvious majority of players weren't fit enough and QPR's energy levels were superior. PNE couldn't cope with wave after wave of attacks. Two good goals and some woeful defending by Preston. If it wasn't for Daniel Iverson PNE would have lost this game. PNE's stand in manager got his tactical subs wrong. Too little too late. Get working on fitness and appointing a manager who can make a difference at this level.

Roy: Preston's Achilles heel in evidence yet again, even against 10 men. Can never hold on to a lead and specialise in giving up midfield domination to invite far too much pressure from the opposition when leading a game. We've seen this for so many matches.

Fred: It's a point against a side near the top, away from home. Very frustrating at the end though.

Carl: This is starting to look like an expensively assembled train wreck for PNE, players who cannot manage a full 90 minutes without folding. The new manager will have his work cut out for him!

Paul: Change is needed quick and a new manager and whole back room staff. 15 million down the toilet as we are bound for League One. It took us nearly four years to get out last time.

Sam Ashoo
Final Score reporter

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After a thunderous strike, it was Paul Smyth who grabbed the headlines following QPR's dramatic draw with Preston, and rightly so. But for me, Koki Saito was just as instrumental in the comeback.

The Japanese winger was brought on at half-time by Julien Stephan and made an immediate impact, consistently finding space on the left-hand side. His direct dribbling and willingness to run at defenders were also a constant source of anxiety for Preston.

Saito and Smyth, along with a fervent Loftus Road crowd, were key to the comeback.

While Stephan will have expected all three points before the game, he can take pride in the resilience his side showed after being two goals and a man down for the majority of the match.

Preston North End take on their first match since sacking boss Paul Heckingbottom on Saturday (15:00 BST) and it's a tough one.

They make the trip to Loftus Road to visit a Queens Park Rangers side two points off league leaders West Ham United after conceding just one loss in six games.

• QPR are unbeaten in six league games against Preston (W4 D2), although both meetings last season were 1-1 draws.

• Preston have lost four of their last seven league visits to Queens Park Rangers (W2 D1), failing to win their last three (D1 L2).

• Only Preston (9) have lost more Championship home games in 2026 than QPR (8). It's more home league defeats than the Hoops suffered in the entirety of 2025 (7).

• Preston have lost six of their seven Championship games this season (W1); never in their history have they lost as many as seven of their first eight matches of a league campaign.

• Preston (-4.2) and QPR (-2.7) are two of the four biggest underperformers when it comes to xG differential between goals scored and xG in the Championship this season, with Cardiff (-5.6) and Lincoln (-2.8) making up the bottom four.

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Queens Park Rangers head coach Julien Stephan says he was impressed with his side in their 1-1 draw at high-flying West Bromwich Albion.

The R's ended the day in fifth place after being pegged back at The Hawthorns as they drew for the third time in their seven league games this season.

"I give a lot of credit to the players to earn a point like this," told BBC Radio London.

"I think it was a tough game. We knew before that we faced today the leaders, a team with very great confidence and I think we managed the situation quite well.

"Tactically, it was good. We locked the main spaces today with intelligence.

"The only regret that I can have is to concede the goal just after we scored. It was too quickly and it was a situation where two times we had the opportunity to win the ball in between and he finished with a good goal.

"We had the best chance in the second half as well with Kwame, the keeper did a great save, but I have to say as well that they had more control than us today. But they had the control more in the midfield positions, so it was not really dangerous for us."

You have to go back to 21 February for the last time West Brom were beaten at home in the league, a 2-1 defeat by last season's eventual champions Coventry City.

QPR will arrive at The Hawthorns on Saturday (12:30 BST) defending an unbeaten start on the road which has produced seven points from a possible nine.

• West Brom have only lost one of their past 14 home league games against QPR (W9 D4), a 4-1 reverse in the Premier League in April 2015.

• QPR have won just one of their past eight league matches against West Brom (D2 L5), a 3-1 home win in last season's Championship.

• West Brom are hoping to win three consecutive league matches for the first time since August 2025, and could do so while keeping a clean sheet each time for the first time since September 2024.

• QPR have failed to score in eight of their 13 away games in the Championship in 2026, the most of any side currently in the division.

• West Brom's Jimmy-Jay Morgan has more goal involvements than any other player in the Championship this season (six), scoring three and assisting three in his six games.

BBC Radio London's Izzy Gilligan and Andy Rowley discuss all things QPR on their latest show.

They reflect on a goalless draw at Charlton Athletic on Wednesday night before turning attentions to Saturday's trip to Championship leaders West Bromwich Albion.

"Given the way people were talking about QPR at the beginning of the season, I think they've done very well at the start of the campaign," BBC commentator Rowley said.

The Rs were without four attacking players at The Valley, with Ilias Chair, Richard Kone, Koki Saito and Kwame Poku missing through injury.

On the prospect of facing the Baggies, Rowley added: "It's looking like quite a tough challenge given the way West Brom have started.

"They're a tough nut to crack and they will have the home support behind them but I don't think QPR are really fearing going anywhere at the moment.

"QPR are unbeaten away at the start of this season, could've had three wins in a row away so I think they'll go there with confidence and there's just that hope they will get a couple of those players back to strengthen those options in attack."

Former Hoops forward Bradley Allen also shares his thoughts with reporter Phil Parry.

Listen above or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

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Swansea City boss Vitor Matos has been named the Championship's manager of the month for August.

The 38-year-old helped his side take seven points from their opening three games of the season last month.

Matos was appointed Swansea boss in November 2025 and has won 17 of his 38 games in charge.

Charlton's Nathan Jones, Cesar Peixoto of Wolves and QPR head coach Julien Stephan were also nominated for the award.

QPR boss Julien Stephan spoke to BBC Radio London after his side's 0-0 draw with Charlton Athletic at The Valley on Wednesday night.

Listen to his interview above or here on BBC Sounds.

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Charlton Athletic boss Nathan Jones, Swansea's Vitor Matos, Cesar Peixoto of Wolves and QPR head coach Julien Stephan have been nominated for August's Championship manager of the month award.

Jones led Charlton to the top of the table with three wins from their opening three games.

Swansea made an unbeaten start under Matos with their seven points including victories over Stoke City and Derby County.

In his first season in charge of Wolves, Cesar Peixoto also started with seven points from the first three games of the campaign as they seek an immediate return to the Premier League.

QPR have made an encouraging start to the new season and went through August unbeaten with Julien Stephan overseeing away wins at Portsmouth and Blackburn Rovers.

The winner of the season's first award will be announced on Friday, 11 September.

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Queens Park Rangers fan Gav Lawson says "it's too early to tell" how his side might perform this Championship season but after a strong start he is feeling bright about the club's chances.

"There's goals in this team, there's some real talent, and we've made some brilliant signings so I think QPR fans are feeling a lot more optimistic this season," he told BBC Radio London.

"It's not just the results, it's the manner of how we've been playing and the amount of chances we've been creating. We look really dangerous.

"We are having more possession and we never have possession in recent seasons."

Listen to the full analysis below or on BBC Sounds here.

QPR head coach Julien Stephan has been outlining his footballing philosophy in the build-up to Wednesday's Championship game with Charlton Athletic.

Rangers have won three of their first five league games this season and have the chance to go top of the table if they beat the Addicks.

And Stephan told BBC Radio London the methods he has been trying to instil in his squad.

"First, be brave on the pitch," he said. "Show the courage we need to show. Impose ourselves and impose our football.

"It's easier to say that than to act on that on the pitch, but when you succeed in doing that during training sessions, you have to try to do that during the games.

"Even if you lose the ball one or two times, you have to repeat and try again and again.

"If you want to win more games, and have more consistency, you have to be ambitious with the ball.

"You need to have some ideas [as to] how you want to create movement, how you want to hurt the defensive organisation of the opponent and how you want to put a lot of players in the last third to stay dominant.

"It's a big part of the discussions that we have with the players every day."

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Former QPR midfielder Adel Taarabt has announced his retirement from football at the age of 37.

After beginning his career with French club Lens, Taarabt joined the Hoops from Tottenham in 2009, initially on loan, and went on to make 164 appearances for the R's, scoring 34 goals and assisting 41 more.

After making his move from Spurs permanent in 2010 the mercurial talent scored 19 goals and contributed 21 assists in 44 appearances as QPR won the Championship in 2011, earning himself the Championship player of the year award.

Taarabt left for Fulham following Rangers' relegation in 2013 but, after short spells at Craven Cottage and AC Milan, he returned to Loftus Road for an ill-fated eight-game stint under Harry Redknapp in 2014-15.

He then joined Benfica, where he went on to play more than 100 games, with other spells at Genoa in Italy and Al-Nasr and Sharjah in the UAE, while he also won 30 caps for Morocco, scoring four times.

Posting on Instagram, external, Taarabt said: "The time has come to close this chapter.

"Football gave me amazing memories, let me meet incredible people and live moments I will never forget.

"I want to say thank you to every club I played for, every coach, team-mate, member of staff and of course every supporter who showed me love along the way.

"There were good moments, difficult moments, mistakes, great nights - everything, but that was my journey, and I wouldn't change it."

Image source, Opta

There's a tasty London derby in the offing on Wednesday (20:00 BST) as Charlton welcome QPR across town.

After 10 points from their opening four games, the Addicks saw their unbeaten start brought to a shuddering halt as they were humbled 4-0 at Stoke on Saturday.

The goal difference hit saw them slip to sixth, below the third-placed Hoops, who saw their own unbeaten run ended by a 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough last time out.

• Charlton have lost just one of their past 11 home league games against QPR (W6 D4), a 0-1 defeat in October 2007.

• QPR have failed to score in each of their past four away league games at Charlton, with Dexter Blackstock their last league scorer at the Valley in a 2-2 draw in December 2008.

• Charlton are looking to win each of their first three home games of a league season for the first time since 2017-18 in League One, and first time in the Championship since 2014-15.

• QPR could win each of their first three away games of a league season for the fourth time in their history, after 1927-28, 1962-63, and 1987-88.

• Charlton's Nathan Jones has only won one of his 10 managerial league games against QPR (D3 L6), a 3-1 victory with Luton in October 2022.

Queens Park Rangers head coach Julien Stephan spoke to BBC Radio London after his side's home loss to Middlesbrough, which ended their unbeaten start to the season.

For a written selection of his quotes, click here.