Former Blues midfielder Andre Dozzell says it will be strange facing his old club for the first time when Town travel to take on his current club QPR at Loftus Road on Saturday.

Dozzell, 24, joined the Hoops from the Blues for £1 million in the summer of 2021 after coming through the academy at Playford Road and making 78 senior starts and 15 sub appearances for Town, scoring three times, including a debut goal aged 16, following in his father Jason’s footsteps.

“It’s going to be very strange playing Ipswich for the first time in my career!” he told the QPR club site.

“But I’m looking forward to it and my family are, too. Hopefully we can get the three points.

“Obviously Ipswich is a club heavily invested in me and my family, but I’m a QPR player now and once we cross that white line, I’ll be wanting the three points.

“It’s going to be a great atmosphere. I’m sure the fans are buzzing to get back here for the first home league game of the season and we certainly are, too. The stadium will be packed and I’m sure it’s going to be a great day.”

Dozzell has started all three of QPR’s game so far this season, the opening-day 4-0 loss at Watford, last Saturday’s 2-1 victory at Cardiff, both in the Championship, and then the last-gasp 1-0 Carabao Cup defeat to Norwich City at home on Wednesday.

“It was a blow,” Dozzell reflected on the cup exit. “Everyone put a shift in and there were a lot of debutants who have worked hard for their opportunity and left everything out there.

“To concede right at the death was disappointing for all of us, but – like the gaffer said – we can be proud of our performance. We have to go again and get three points on Saturday.

“Obviously, we got off to a bad start. But we’ve regrouped and I think you’ve seen a real visible change in us over the last two games, a real togetherness. We’ve got to keep it going and keep building.”

Photos: Matchday Images/Reuters

bobble added 09:39 - Aug 18 3-1 to town.......always amazed how he wasnt good enough for town in the 3rd, but was for QPR in the 2nd ??......
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ArnieM added 09:41 - Aug 18 I doubt you’ll be on the ball much Andre. You’ll never get it off our MF duo!
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MickMillsTash added 09:58 - Aug 18 Can see Loungo and Morsy bulllying him off the ball - But we certainly don't want Dozzell getting space just outside our area - if they have runners in behind that no look passing will be a real danger. Come on Town!
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Linkboy13 added 10:18 - Aug 18 My how the team has moved on since the bad old days of Side ways Dozzell and sick note Bishop and to think some people on here raved about them they wouldn't get any where near our present team.
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ringwoodblue added 10:34 - Aug 18 Let’s hope Andre plays as badly against us as he often did for us. There were signs of a class player in there somewhere but only very very occasionally.
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pennblue added 10:36 - Aug 18 Will be interesting to see how Andre has progressed since joining QPR, he always had the passing vision, just needed to add other aspects to his game.
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Juggsy added 10:54 - Aug 18 He should have a great view from the bench.
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PortmanTerrorist added 10:55 - Aug 18 Mick Mills had an observation re Andre which I have seen validated every time I saw him play thereafter, which was that Andre lack 360 perspective and would often times be caught out by what was going on behind him....not ideal for a CM. No doubt, after his injuries, having regular football will have improved Andre and he was always good enough for the Championship, but hopefully still an error in there for us to exploit !

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budgieplucker added 11:43 - Aug 18 Undoubtedly Andre has real talent, whether he has the attributes to take him to another level is the real question, he may thrive in a continental type team - Hurst always had issues about his fitness level, there was of course always a misinterpretation of his “relaxed” style of play from some in the stands, but I guess the stats will reveal this from a modern game perspective. I wish him nothing but the best for a successful future in the game other than when he is playing us, I would however predict that Cameron Humphreys who has similar vision albeit more subtle at times will go on to better things than Andre, Cameron has most of the other attributes for a better all round gam and becoming a top player, with his application, his strength to press, close down and tackle as well as his ability to read the game.

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PhuketPete added 12:00 - Aug 18 I imagine things may have been really different for Andre if he’d had benefit of being coached here by KM/MP & Co. Same with Bish and Flynn. Maybe even Tristan. So many fell by the wayside who may have succeeded with the right coaching and man management. Anyway that’s all behind us.
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PhuketPete added 12:00 - Aug 18 I imagine things may have been really different for Andre if he’d had benefit of being coached here by KM/MP & Co. Same with Bish and Flynn. Maybe even Tristan. So many fell by the wayside who may have succeeded with the right coaching and man management. Anyway that’s all behind us.
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Jugsy added 12:58 - Aug 18 Andre has talent and I loved the idea of him (son of a previous town hero, one of our own, etc) but League One was not his level. He's a footballing player and League One was about getting lumps kicked out of us and having to battle though. You're seeing that now in the Champ, every team wants to play football and that's where we thrive. I wish him well, not on Saturday, but as many have already said, we've all moved on and you'd be hard pressed to suggest that he could get into this group. COYB!!!

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Bluearmy_81 added 13:20 - Aug 18 I was just looking at Downes history, we sold him to Swansea for 1.5 million and they sold him less than a year later for nearly 10 times as much!! How we used to get rolled over when Evans was in charge! Clueless pr@ck
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Karlosfandangal added 13:21 - Aug 18 We will never know but I w Dre if KMK and his team would have got the best out of him
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Karlosfandangal added 13:22 - Aug 18 Don’t think Dozzell has scored for QPR let’s hope it stays that way for Saturday at least
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Skip73 added 13:24 - Aug 18 Bluearmy, the same happened with Webster. What a joke we were then.
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Bluearmy_81 added 14:34 - Aug 18 Skip, never so much as a peep of protest out of fans at the time though! (Grumbling to your mate on a Saturday night down the pub doesn’t count.) Mystifying!! Serf mentality. #nevereveragain
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KMcBlue added 14:50 - Aug 18 Good luck dealing with Morsey!
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Linkboy13 added 16:17 - Aug 18 Yes Karlosfandangal Dozzell played 63 championship games 1 assist and no goals obviously there danger man.
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chepstowblue added 16:21 - Aug 18 There was an absolutely damning write up of Dozzell on the QPR forum a fortnight back. They do not hold back on there. No censorship, swearing allowed, and that was in the match report not just the comments. Something along the lines of....'This guy is a f------ embarrassment to the sport, yet he strolls around believing that the game owes him a living'. And a mark of 2/10. I remember one or two reverse passes and very little else of him in his time with us. Certainly a massive underachiever. The only thing more head scratching was how Flynn Downes made it to the premier league !!

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MickMillsTash added 16:43 - Aug 18 I thought we sold Downes and Dozzell after Evans sold to GameChanger Cook tried to get everyone out and these 2 were part of the exodus.
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Nomore4 added 18:36 - Aug 18 #bobble You will find QPR have been on a downward spiral since Dozzell joining. Eventually ending the 23/24 season to become a 3rd division player again. Dozzell has been getting terrible stick of late from supporters…. Even worse than he normally receives since joining.
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Linkboy13 added 19:00 - Aug 18 Nothing angers fans more than a player that strolls about not giving one hundred percent. It wouldn't be so bad if he scored the odd goal or created anything but he offers absolutely nothing.
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Pettabelieveit added 20:11 - Aug 18 Mass and Morsy will run all over him tomorrow! Blue army!
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TimmyH added 20:37 - Aug 18 Never rated him... could pick a pass but that was about it, physically weak on the ball.
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