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Queens Park Rangers F.C.

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Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers badge
Full nameQueens Park Rangers
Football Club
Nickname(s)Hoops, R's
Founded1882
GroundLoftus Road (Rangers Stadium)
Shepherd's Bush
Hammersmith
Capacity19,148
ChairmanItaly Gianni Paladini
ManagerEngland John Gregory
LeagueThe Championship
2005-06Championship, 21st

Queens Park Rangers Football Club are 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 are 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 consider both Chelsea and Fulham as rivals because all 3 clubs play in the same borough. QPR also have a historical rivalry with another west London club, Brentford.

History

QPR was formed in 1882, when a team known as St Jude's merged with Christchurch Rangers. The resulting team was called Queens Park Rangers, because most of the players came from the Queens Park area which is in North-West London. 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). This was in fact a second stint at White City, the previous spell was between 1931 to 1933.

Prior to the start of the 1959-60 season saw the arrival of arguably the club's greatest ever manager, Alec Stock. The 1960-61 season saw QPR achieve their biggest win to date - 9-2 vs Tranmere Rovers in a Division 3 match. In time, Stock, with the advent as Chairman in the mid-60's of Jim Gregory helped to totally transform the club as well as its surroundings.

In 1966-67, QPR won the Division Three championship and became the first Third Division club to win the League Cup on Saturday, March 4, 1967, 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. Because of Liverpool appearing in the then two-legged UEFA Cup Final, the game was held over for ten days. 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 FC 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.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 the game 2-1 and later became the second side to install an artificial pitch. That same season QPR reached the FA Cup Final for the only time in the club's history, facing 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 by a replay. Tottenham won the replay 1-0 with the only goal coming from a Glenn Hoddle penalty in the 6th minute.The cup exploits probably accounted for QPR missing out on promotion that season.From looking good bets to go up,they finished 5th. They had to play their last 5 games in the final 14 days of the season.They lost 2 out of their last 3 matches and missed out by two points. The following season however, 1982-83 QPR went on to win the Second Division championship quite comfortably 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 fifth, but missed out on a UEFA Cup campaign due to the ban on English clubs in European competition which arose from the Heysel Stadium disaster. 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). Gary Waddock had an awful spell as manager of the club and was sacked when QPR were 24th in the Championship.

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].

Current season

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 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]

On 19 October 2006 Gary Waddock left the club, with Richard Hill brought in as Gregory's assistant manager.

QPR's form has marginally approved since Gregory's appointment, and by 2 January 2007 they were clear of the relegation zone in 20th place, opening up a gap of two places and four points with 22nd-placed Barnsley.

Gregory has set about cutting the large playing staff he inherited during the January transfer window. Ian Evatt, Scott Donnelly, Ugo Ukah and Egutu Oliseh all agreed mutual termination of their contracts, while Kevin Gallen, Stefan Moore and Sean Thomas have all gone out on loan.

Honours

Records

Further information: QPR records

Managers past and present

Name Nat From To Games Won Drawn Lost
James Cowan Scotland August 1907 May 1913
James Howie Scotland August 1913 April 1920
Ned Liddell England April 1920 May 1925 177 71 42 64
Robert Hewison England August 1925 May 1931 219 80 53 86
Archie Mitchell England November 1931 May 1933 79 32 18 29
Mick O'Brien Republic of Ireland May 1933 April 1935 84 40 16 28
Billy Birrell Scotland April 1935 May 1939 184 85 42 57
Ted Vizard Wales May 1939 April 1944
Dave Mangnall England April 1944 May 1952 280 112 74 94
Jack Taylor England June 1952 May 1959 341 118 89 134
Alec Stock England August 1959 June 1968 439 206 104 129
Bill Dodgin England June 1968 November 1968 16 2 5 9
Tommy Docherty Scotland November 1968 November 1968 4 1 0 3
Les Allen England December 1968 January 1971
Gordon Jago England January 1971 October 1974 161 71 55 35
Dave Sexton England October 1974 July 1977 130 57 32 41
Frank Sibley England July 1977 July 1978 45 9 17 19
Steve Burtenshaw England July 1978 May 1979 41 6 13 22
Tommy Docherty Scotland May 1979 October 1980 51 20 16 15
Terry Venables England October 1980 May 1984 166 84 33 49
Alan Mullery England June 1984 December 1984 26 11 8 7
Frank Sibley (Caretaker) England December 1984 June 1985 28 8 6 14
Jim Smith England June 1985 December 1988 167 67 38 62
Trevor Francis England December 1988 November 1989 93 31 30 32
Don Howe England November 1989 May 1991 75 27 21 27
Gerry Francis England May 1991 November 1994 158 59 47 52
Ray Wilkins England November 1994 September 1996 80 31 13 36
Stewart Houston Scotland September 1996 November 1997 63 25 15 23
John Hollins (Caretaker) England November 1997 December 1997 4 1 2 1
Ray Harford England December 1997 September 1998 41 5 18 18
Iain Dowie (Caretaker) Northern Ireland September 1998 October 1998 2 1 0 1
Gerry Francis England October 1998 February 2001 125 36 42 47
Ian Holloway England February 2001 February 2006 252 100 71 81
Gary Waddock Republic of Ireland February 2006 September 2006 23 4 8 11
John Gregory England September 2006

Past players

Emboldened players have represented their respective countries at full international level

Current squad

Players in bold have represented their country at international level.

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 England ENG Simon Royce
2 DF England ENG Marcus Bignot
3 DF Italy ITA Mauro Milanese
5 DF Pakistan PAK Zesh Rehman
7 DF England ENG Matthew Rose
8 MF Canada CAN Marc Bircham
9 MF Australia AUS Nick Ward
11 MF England ENG Gareth Ainsworth
12 GK England ENG Jake Cole
14 MF Ireland EIR Martin Rowlands
15 DF England ENG Dominic Shimmin
16 MF Northern Ireland NIR Steve Lomas
17 MF England ENG Lee Cook
19 MF Cameroon CMR Armel Tchakounte
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 GK Wales WAL Paul Jones
22 FW England ENG Shabazz Baidoo
23 MF England ENG Stefan Bailey
24 DF England ENG Pat Kanyuka
25 DF Jamaica JAM Damion Stewart
27 DF Finland FIN Sampsa Timoska
29 FW England ENG Paul Furlong
30 FW Denmark DEN Marc Nygaard
31 FW England ENG Ray Jones
32 FW England ENG Dexter Blackstock
33 DF England ENG Andrew Howell
34 DF England ENG Matthew Hislop
35 DF England ENG Jonathan Munday
37 MF England ENG Jimmy Smith (on loan from Chelsea)
38 DF England ENG Michael Mancienne (on loan from Chelsea)

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
6 MF Northern Ireland NIR Tommy Doherty (on loan to Wycombe Wanderers)
10 FW England ENG Kevin Gallen (on loan to Plymouth Argyle)
18 FW England ENG Stefan Moore (on loan to Port Vale)
26 GK England ENG Sean Thomas (on loan to Bristol City)

Supporter's clubs

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.

Template:English Division One

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