Rangers are currently 13th in the Nationwide League after a 3-0 defeat at Middlesbrough on Saturday. The announcement is bound to prompt speculation that Rioch is set to take over as the new manager of Sheffield Wednesday.
A club statement read: “Following a meeting of the Board of Queen’s Park Rangers this evening, at which Stewart Houston was present, the club has reluctantly decided to release both Stewart Houston and Bruce Rioch from their current positions with immediate effect. The Queen’s Park Rangers manager, Stewart Houston, and his assistant, Bruce Rioch, were last night sacked by the First Division club following a board meeting at Loftus Road. Cadle said: “If we don’t make it, then the season will be a failure for me, whatever happened in England.”
Towers’ fate hangs on a thread against Stefanel in Milan after losing five of their previous six games, three at home.Although their European campaign has been disrupted by injury, particularly affecting American James Hamilton, a full-strength London capitulated dismally by 78-69 at home to Israelis Hapoel Eilat at Wembley last week.. In general defence terms we struggled against the Egyptians who ran at us with a lot of skill.”The coach will be back in England at the beginning of December to watch players in action at important League games and for a training camp at Lilleshall from 8 to 10 December.. London Towers’ coach, Kevin Cadle, will write off this season as “a personal failure” if his team are knocked out of the European Cup tonight, even if they go on to win all the domestic competitions.

London must finish in their European Cup group’s top four to repeat last season’s feat of reaching the last 32. It is one of the key areas on which we will be concentrating.”The new coach was most impressed with England’s defensive corner drill: “It was one of our real strengths over the Tests. Offensively there is need for greater fluidity.”Commenting on the fact that the majority of England’s 21 goals in the Test series came from penalty strokes or penalty corners, Dancer added: “I am happy to take them, but I want others as well. I am looking for a range of forwards who can score from open play and score with confidence. All 18 performed well and will be in my World Cup plans.”I was encouraged by what I saw, although a greater fitness level is necessary. Hodgson, who has already exceeded expectations by steering Rovers to joint second in the table, wants the 28-year-old Lazio striker to compete with Chris Sutton and Kevin Gallacher.

Blackburn can expect to pay a club record pounds 6m to pounds 7m for Casiraghi – but the problem may be wages.
Casiraghi’s demands could be too high for the club’s owner, Jack Walker. However, Hodgson insists that Rovers need to strengthen their squad with top players. He has also been watching other top strikers, such as Monaco’s Thierry Henry and Viktor Ikpeba.Howard Wilkinson is, it seems, staying with the Football Association. Hints had emerged that the former Leeds manager might reconsider his future as the FA’s technical director if his “Charter for Quality” proposals were not backed.David Pleat’s dismissal as Sheffield Wednesday manager last week led to reports that the South Yorkshire club were poised to offer Wilkinson the chance to return to the club he managed a decade ago. Yesterday, though, the FA Council gave its “overwhelming support” for Wilkinson’s plans for youth development, which includes the establishment of academies of excellence at the country’s biggest clubs.Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, and Geert Meijer, Feyenoord’s caretaker coach, have almost certainly escaped punishment for their touchline row during the Champions’ League match in Rotterdam last Wednesday.Officials at Uefa, European football’s ruling body, indicated yesterday that the altercation, following the foul by Paul Bosvelt on Denis Irwin, has not been included in either the referee’s or the official delegation’s reports. But what is sure is that more and more people are coming out of the woodwork.”However, there is light at the end of this tunnel of malpractice.