2 Year Flashback: Magilton No Interest in Campbell

[Macmoish]

Flashback...

July 20, 2009

Ben Kosky/Kilburn Times - No Dex and no DJ either

- QPR boss Jim Magilton has ruled out a move for Leicester's DJ Campbell as he searches for a striker to replace Dexter Blackstock.
- Campbell, who was born in west London and played for Rangers at schoolboy level, had been touted for a return to Loftus Road after failing to hold down a regular place at Leicester.
- Blackstock's protracted - and rather controversial - £750,000 sale to Nottingham Forest, which finally went through last week, left Magilton with just three specialist strikers at his disposal.
- Italian trialist Alessandro Pellicori has also featured in the Rs' pre-season games and could yet earn a contract but, asked if his shopping list included Campbell, Magilton replied: "Absolutely not.
- "We're constantly on the lookout - obviously Pellicori's come in as well, which gives me more options up front. At the moment we're just having a wee look at him through the rest of pre-season.
- "Adel Taarabt's come in [on loan from Tottenham] as well and again he gives me another option. If we feel someone can add quality to the squad, we'll try and get them."
- But the Rangers manager has made it clear that 27-year-old Campbell, who spent five years in non-league football before breaking into the Football League with Brentford, does not - in his view - come into that category.
- Ironically, Campbell might have been lining up at Loftus Road on the first day of the new season anyway had Blackpool, where he spent a successful period on loan from Leicester last season, been able to match his salary.
- His best season at Championship level came at Birmingham in 2006-07, when he scored 12 goals - the same number that Blackstock managed at QPR last year despite spending lengthy spells on the bench.
- Magilton made it clear earlier this month that he was happy to keep the former England under-21 striker at Loftus Road, but owner Flavio Briatore had been determined to sell Blackstock for some time.
- The move means that Forest have now benefitted twice this summer from Briatore's whims, having already signed goalkeeper Lee Camp for a nominal fee.
- With Jake Cole joining Barnet and Reece Crowther moving to A-League side Wellington Phoenix, QPR are still seeking fresh competition for number one keeper Radek Cerny.
- Andy Marshall, who spent three seasons as a team-mate of Magilton's at Ipswich, is currently on trial at Rangers and is available on a free transfer after his contract with Coventry expired last season.
- Magilton added: "Andy's having a look at us and we're having a look at him. I've got past experience of working with him and I know what he can bring.
"He's an experienced goalkeeper and a good back-up for Radek, but I'll sit down and have a conversation with him soon and see where we go." Kilburn Times


qprreport.blogspot.com/2009/07/football-snippetsvignal-update.html

[Macmoish]

And five+ year flashback...

* The Guardian, Saturday 28 January 2006

Yeading memory helps Campbell turn his life around

Brentford's in-form striker tells Jon Brodkin how glorious failure last year will spur him on against Sunderland today

DJ Campbell has still not got round to displaying Craig Bellamy's shirt at his house but every now and again he does sit down to watch a re-run of one of the greatest afternoons of his life. The striker's experience playing for Yeading against Newcastle in the FA Cup last January will live with him forever. After that glorious failure he hopes for even better memories from a tie today against another north-east side.

Campbell is at Brentford and looking forward to a visit from Sunderland, his seven Cup goals for Yeading last season having thrust him into the public eye and helped seal a move to the League One club. Given that Campbell continued his love affair with the Cup by scoring in the third round against Stockport this month, and has found the net in each of his past five matches, Mick McCarthy's team have good reason to be worried.

Whereas the chances of Newcastle slipping up against Yeading at Loftus Road were always slim, it is easier to imagine Sunderland struggling at Griffin Park. Brentford are fourth, returned in midweek from a break in Abu Dhabi and at their training ground there was none of the mania and fantasy that gripped Yeading but a more sober atmosphere. Excitement was still plain, though, as Campbell reflected on his Newcastle adventure.

"I kept all the press cuttings and a video of the game," he said. "I've still got Bellamy's shirt and I've still got my shirt. They're one-off things and you have to keep things like that. I've watched the video and studied it loads of times. There are things I could have done better.

"I did OK and I thought my touch was decent but I wasn't myself. I wasn't getting the ball and running at people. I didn't have a lot of shots. I could have had more shots - been a bit more greedy - but it's probably because I was nervous. I won't be nervous on Saturday," he emphasises with a smile.

Though Campbell's summer transfer took him up four divisions he has settled quickly. Ten goals are a healthy return and sizeable crowds feel normal now. Yeading fell quickly back to earth after their game against Newcastle, so much so that a year ago this weekend they lost 4-1 at Heybridge Swifts in front of 196 people. "To go from 100 fans or 50 fans to 7,000 fans is a massive buzz," he said. "Every time I go out there I get the buzz. I still think: 'Am I really here?' It's amazing."

The 24-year-old, encouraged by Ian Wright's rise from non-league to England, feels there is far more to come. He is, according to Brentford's manager Martin Allen, "capable of playing at the very top" and Campbell is not short of self-confidence. "I've come this far from the bottom so why not go all the way?" he said. "I'm determined to do it."

He has already been at the top. He was such a promising youngster that he trained at Lilleshall with England Under-14 and Under-15 squads that included Joe Cole. The attitude problems that saw him leave Queens Park Rangers and Aston Villa by the time he was 17 have been rectified.

"At the time I didn't appreciate what I had, which is sad thinking about it now," he said. "I was just a kid and it never worked out. At certain times I wouldn't be up for training or I'd be late, stuff like that. I had arguments with the managers and coaching staff, which was stupid really. It's only now that I'm starting to realise this is what I want to do.

"I was in the reserves at QPR when I was 16, which was a good achievement. Then I went to Villa and moved up to the reserves as well. I was a young boy, and to do that was great, so the talent was there but the mental side wasn't."

After quitting Villa feeling homesick, Campbell stopped playing for a year and began work as a warehouse assistant. Even when he resumed his career in non-league football he felt he would never get an opportunity as a professional. "I didn't really think anyone would take a chance on me," he said.

Allen stepped in and has no regrets. "I was concerned about his disciplinary problems but on and off the field he's been an absolute diamond," the manager said. "He trains very hard, he's improving and there's so much more to come. He's becoming more consistent, he's got an eye for a goal and he's hungry for success. He's skint - perfect. He's got the worst car in the car park - fantastic. Everything you want in a player."


www.guardian.co.uk/football/2006/jan/28/brentford