Queens Park Rangers F.C.: Difference between revisions

Queens Park Rangers

Full name	Queens Park Rangers Football Club
Nickname(s)	Super Hoops/Hoops, R's
Founded	1882
Ground	Loftus Road (Rangers Stadium) Shepherd's Bush Hammersmith
Capacity	19,148
Chairman	Gianni Paladini
Manager	John Gregory
League	The Championship
2005-06	Championship, 21st
Home colours Away colours

Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English football team, from Loftus Road, Shepherd's Bush in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The team currently play in the Football League Championship, having finished as Division Two runners-up at the close of the 2003-2004 season.

The team is also referred to as "QPR" (or often just "Rangers") and nicknamed the Hoops (or the Superhoops), due to the team's kit of blue and white hooped shirts, or the Rs. Their home stadium is Loftus Road, which has a capacity of 19,148. QPR have a strong rivalry with both Chelsea and Fulham, as all 3 clubs play in the same borough. QPR also have a strong rivalry with another west London club, Brentford.

QPR was formed in 1882, when a team known as St Jude's merged with Christchurch Rangers. The resulting team was called Queen's Park Rangers, because most of the players came from the Queens Park area which is part of the London suburb of North Kensington. QPR became a professional team in 1889 and played their home games in 14 different stadiums, a league record, before permanently settling in Loftus Road in 1917 (although the team briefly played at White City during the 1962-63 season in the hope of attracting larger crowds).

The 1960-61 season saw QPR achieve their biggest win to date - 9-2 vs Tranmere Rovers in a Division 3 match.

In 1966-67, QPR won the Division Three championship and became the first Third Division club to win the League Cup, beating West Bromwich Albion 3-2, (coming back from a two goal deficit). This is the only time QPR have won a cup competition. The final was also the first league cup final to be held at Wembley Stadium.

In 1975-76 Dave Sexton led them to the runners-up spot in the First Division, missing out on the Championship by 1 point. After completing their 42 game season QPR sat at the top of the league 1 point ahead of Liverpool. Liverpool had to win their final game of the season, at Wolverhampton Wanderers to clinch the title. Despite Wolves taking the lead and holding it until the 77th minute, Liverpool scored 3 times to win 3-1 and win the League Championship. The squad contained 5 England internationals and internationals from the home nations and Morocco. QPR were unable to recreate their wonderful league form in 1976-77 but the cup competitions saw some success. The side reached the semi-finals of the league cup but lost in a replay to Aston Villa and in their first entry into European football reached the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup losing to AEK Athens on penalties. In 1977 Sexton moved to Manchester United and two years later QPR slipped into the Second Division.

The 1980-81 season saw Terry Venables take over as manager and in the following year QPR reached the FA Cup final for the only time in the club's history, facing defending holders and London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. The first game ended 1-1 after extra time and so for the second year running the Final was to be decided in a replay. Tottenham won the replay 1-0 with the only goal coming from a Glenn Hoddle penalty in the 10th minute. In 1981, the club installed a 'plastic pitch'. The technology was premature and this unpopular measure was reversed in April 1988. The first game on plastic was against Luton Town who won and later became the second side to install an artificial pitch. The following season, 1982-83 QPR went on to win the Second Division championship in the following season, thus returning to English football's top division. After a respectable fifth place finish, and UEFA Cup qualification, the following year, Venables departed to become manager of Barcelona in Spain.

Over the next seven years, various managers came and went from Loftus Road, including Don Howe, Frank Sibley and Trevor Francis. The club spent many seasons finishing mid table but avoided relegation. The most successful season during this period was the 1987-88 in which QPR finished 5th. They were also runners up in the 1986 League Cup, losing to Oxford United.

Gerry Francis, a key player in the 1970s QPR side who had proved himself as a successful manager with Bristol Rovers, was appointed QPR manager in the summer of 1991. In the 1991-92 First Division campaign they finished mid-table in the league and were founder members of the new Premier League which began in 1992. They finished that season in fifth place, and in the following season Francis guided them to a ninth place finish. Midway through the 1994-95 season Francis departed to become manager of Tottenham Hotspur and Ray Wilkins was installed as player-manager. Wilkins led QPR to an eighth place finish in the Premiership. In July 1995 the club's top goalscorer, Les Ferdinand, was sold for a club record fee of £6 million to Newcastle United. The inability to replace Ferdinand was an important factor in QPR's relegation at the end of the 1995-96 season.

Wilkins was sacked after 3 games into the 1996-97 season and replaced by former Arsenal coach Stewart Houston. He lasted a little over 18 months before being sacked himself; his successor, Ray Harford, kept QPR clear of relegation but was himself dismissed after less than a year in charge, following the club's bad start to the 1998-99 season. Gerry Francis returned to become manager for the second time and, in 1999-2000, guided QPR to a tenth place finish.

At that point, however, financial problems set in and took their toll on the playing side. Francis was sacked in February 2001 with the side struggling near the foot of Division One. Ian Holloway, a former QPR midfielder, returned to Loftus Road as manager but was unable to save the club from relegation to Division Two, which put the club in English football's third tier for the first time in more than 30 years. QPR spent the 2001-02 season in financial administration which meant a ban from the transfer market, but Holloway consolidated the playing side and the club finished eighth in Division Two, just missing out on the playoffs. A year later, QPR qualified for the playoffs but lost 1-0 to Cardiff City in extra time of the final game. In 2003-04 they won promotion as Division Two runners-up and in 2004-05 consolidated their promotion by finishing 11th.

On 6 February 2006 Holloway was suspended as Queens Park Rangers manager. The ostensible reason given by the board was that the continual rumours linking Holloway to the vacant manager's job at Leicester City were causing disruption to the playing staff. He was replaced by Gary Waddock as caretaker manager (with former club captain Alan McDonald as his assistant).

In recent years QPR have been dogged with reports of potential administration, and are rumoured to be somewhere in the region of £18 million in debt. QPR had a difficult time in 2005-06 but managed to achieve survival by finishing 21st in the Championship. The club was also dogged by scandal during the 2005-2006 season involving the directors, shareholders and other interested parties in the club including allegations of blackmail and threats of violence against Gianni Paladini (who was allegedly held hostage at gunpoint during a match at Loftus Road). [1].

Gary Waddock brought in several new players in preparation for the 2006-2007 season, signing Jamaican international centre-back Damion Stewart from Bradford City and Cameroon midfielder Armel Tchakounte from Carshalton Athletic. On the 28th of June 2006, Gary Waddock was appointed full-time manager after Ian Holloway left to become manager of Plymouth Argyle. Nick Ward was also captured on the same day from A-League team Perth Glory.

In August 2006 Queens Park Rangers completed two high profile transfers. First to arrive was Fulham FC defender Zesh Rehman, who moved to Loftus Road for an undisclosed fee. Rehman was signed as a replacement for Danny Shittu, who had just moved to the newly promoted Watford for £1.6 million. To bolster QPR's attacking options, Dexter Blackstock was signed from Southampton for £500,000.

The new look side got off to a poor start to the season, culminating in a loss to League One side Port Vale F.C. in the Carling Cup in mid-September. As a result, Gary Waddock was demoted to first-team coach, with former QPR player and Aston Villa manager John Gregory replacing him.

Off the field, the pre-season contained glimpses of last season: Chairman Paladini was reported to be under threat and wearing a bullet-proof vest[2] The Chairman also launched a strong attack against some critics who he claimed were seeking to destroy the club. [3]

• Division Three (South) Champions 1947-48.
• Division Three Champions 1966-67.
• League Cup Winners 1967 v West Bromich Albion - (As a 3rd Div. Side).
• League (Milk) Cup Finalists 1986.
• Division Two Runners-up 1967-68, 1972-73.
• Division Two Champions 1982-83.
• Division One Runners-up 1975-76.
• FA Cup finalists 1982
• Nationwide Division Two Runners-up 2003-04.

• Highest Attendance 35,353: vs Leeds United 27/04/1974 Division 1
• Highest league win 9-2: vs Tranmere Rovers 03/12/1960 Division 3
• Highest league loss 1-8: vs Manchester United 19/03/1969 Division 1
• Most capped player Alan McDonald: 52 Northern Ireland
• Most League appearances Tony Ingham: 519 1950/63
• Oldest Player Ray Wilkins: 39 years 352 days
• Youngest Player Frank Sibley: 15 years 275 days
• Most League Goals in Season: George Goddard, 37, Division 3 South, 1929-30.
• Most League Goals in Total Aggregate: George Goddard, 172, 1926-34.
• Record Transfer Fee Received: £6,000,000 from Newcastle United for Les Ferdinand, June 1995.
• Record Transfer Fee Paid: £2,750,000 to Stoke City for Mike Sheron, July 1997.

• Alec Stock 1959-1968
• Bill Dodgin Junior June-November 1968
• Tommy Docherty November 1968
• Les Allen 1968-1971
• Gordon Jago 1971-1974
• Dave Sexton 1974-1977
• Frank Sibley 1977-1978
• Steve Burtenshaw 1978-1979
• Tommy Docherty (2nd Spell) 1979-1980
• Terry Venables 1980-1984
• Alan Mullery June-December 1984
• Jim Smith 1985-1988
• Trevor Francis 1988-1989
• Don Howe 1989-1991
• Gerry Francis 1991-1994
• Ray Wilkins 1994-1996
• Stewart Houston 1996-1997
• Ray Harford 1997-1998
• Gerry Francis (2nd Spell) 1998-2001
• Ian Holloway 2001-2006
• Gary Waddock February-September 2006

• Bradley Allen
• Clive Allen
• Les Allen
• Martin Allen
• David Bardsley
• Stanley Bowles
• Frank Clarke
• Dave Clement
• Peter Crouch
• Tony Currie
• Iain Dowie
• Terry Fenwick
• Les Ferdinand
• Gerry Francis
• Trevor Francis
• George Goddard
• Ian Gillard
• Don Givens
• John Gregory
• Mark Hateley
• Ian Holloway
• Tony Ingham
• Vinnie Jones
• Evelyn Lintott (QPR's first England international)
• Sammy Lee
• Danny Maddix
• Rodney Marsh
• Alan McDonald
• Frank McLintock
• Don Masson
• Ludek Miklosko
• David Needham
• Paul Parker
• Phil Parkes
• Gavin Peacock
• Peter Reid
• Glenn Roeder
• Kenny Sansom
• David Seaman
• Danny Shittu
• Trevor Sinclair
• Andy Sinton
• Jan Stejskal
• Dave Thomas
• Terry Venables
• Gary Waddock
• David Webb
• Roy Wegerle
• Ray Wilkins
• Clive Wilson
• Chris Woods

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ENG Simon Royce 2 DF  ENG Marcus Bignot 3 DF  ITA Mauro Milanese 4 DF  ENG Ian Evatt (on loan to Blackpool) 5 DF  PAK Zesh Rehman 6 MF  NIR Tommy Doherty (on loan to Wycombe Wanderers) 7 DF  ENG Matthew Rose 8 MF  CAN Marc Bircham 9 MF  AUS Nick Ward 10 FW  ENG Kevin Gallen (captain) 11 MF  ENG Gareth Ainsworth 12 GK  ENG Jake Cole 14 MF  EIR Martin Rowlands 15 DF  ENG Dominic Shimmin 16 MF  NIR Steve Lomas 17 MF  ENG Lee Cook 18 FW  ENG Stefan Moore (on loan to Port Vale)

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 MF  CMR Armel Tchankounte 20 MF  ENG Scott Donnelly 21 GK  WAL Paul Jones 22 FW  ENG Shabazz Baidoo 23 MF  ENG Stefan Bailey 24 DF  ENG Pat Kanyuka 25 DF  JAM Damion Stewart 26 GK  ENG Sean Thomas 27 MF  NGA Egutu Oliseh 28 FW  POL Adam Czerkas 29 FW  ENG Paul Furlong 30 FW  DEN Marc Nygaard 31 FW  ENG Ray Jones 32 FW  ENG Dexter Blackstock 33 DF  ENG Andrew Howell 34 DF  ENG Matthew Hislop 35 DF  ENG Jonathan Munday 37 MF  ENG Jimmy Smith (on loan from Chelsea)

QPR has an extensive network of loyal supporters associations. The primary LSA can be contacted through the QPR-LSA website. QPR-LSA groups exist throughout the UK, and in numerous countries including USA, New Zealand, Serbia, and many others. The team is occasionally mistaken for Queen's Park Football Club of the Scottish Third Division.

• Official Site
• Queens Park Rangers F.C. on BBC Sport: Club news – Recent results and fixtures
• Unofficial news, opinion and fact based site with a fans' messageboard
• QPR REPORT, Unofficial QPR-related News Blog
• Unofficial Rivals.net Site, source of a good fan's forum
• unofficial fans' forum

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