Queens Park Rangers F.C.

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Queens Park Rangers
Full name	Queens Park Rangers Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Hoops, Super Hoops or The 'R's
Founded	1882
Ground	Loftus Road (Rangers Stadium) Shepherd's Bush Hammersmith
Capacity	19,500
Chairman	Gianni Paladini
Manager	John Gregory
League	The Championship
2005-06	Championship, 21st
Home colours 　 Away colours

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 seats. 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.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early history 1.2 Cup glory and promotion double 1.3 Sexton's supremes 1.4 Revival under Venables 1.5 Mixed fortunes 1.6 The return of Gerry Francis 1.7 Sale of Ferdinand and relegation from the Premiership 1.8 Financial crisis and another relegation 1.9 Success at last 2 Current season 3 Honours 4 Records 5 Managers past and present 6 Past players 7 Famous QPR supporters 8 Current squad 8.1 Out on loan 9 Supporter's clubs 10 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Early 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.^{[citation needed]}

Prior to the start of the 1959-60 season saw the arrival of arguably^{[attribution needed]} 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.

[edit] Cup glory and promotion double

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). 40 years on, it is still the only major trophy that QPR have won. The final was also the first League Cup Final to be held at Wembley Stadium. They won promotion again the following year, reaching the top flight for the first time in their history, but were relegated after just one season.

[edit] Sexton's supremes

In 1975-76 Dave Sexton led them to the runners-up spot in the First Division, missing out on the Championship by a single 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.

[edit] Revival under Venables

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.^{[citation needed]} From looking good bets to go up,^{[citation needed]} 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.

[edit] Mixed fortunes

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.

[edit] The return of Gerry Francis

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.

[edit] Sale of Ferdinand and relegation from 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 a major 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.

[edit] Financial crisis and another relegation

At that point, however, financial problems set in and took their toll on the playing side.^{[citation needed]} 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.

[edit] Success at last

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.^{[citation needed]} 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].

The club's current manager is John Gregory. When he took over, QPR were bottom of the Championship, but they had climbed out of the relegation zone by the end of February 2007.

[edit] 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, Matthew Rose, Matthew Hislop, Jonathan Munday and Egutu Oliseh all agreed mutual termination of their contracts, while Kevin Gallen and Sean Thomas have all gone out on loan. However, in the transfer window, Gregory has signed Finnish defender Sampsa Timoska, Derby's Adam Bolder and Danny Cullip from Nottingham Forest. In February, Gregory had invaded Derby County again and secured Lee Camp on a 3 month loan deal.

On 7 February 2007, a friendly match against China's youth side was curtailed after it decended into a brawl, in which one Chinese player suffered a broken jaw and was knocked out. [4]. Since this incident, QPR's assistant manager, Richard Hill, has been suspended. [5].

[edit] Honours

• Division Three (South) Champions 1947-48.
• Division Three Champions 1966-67.
• League Cup Winners 1967
• Milk Cup (League 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.

[edit] Records

• 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 a Season: George Goddard, 37, Division 3 South, 1929-30.
• Most Goals in a Season: Rodney Marsh, 44 (30 League, 3 F.A Cup,11 League Cup) 1966-67
• Most League Goals in Total Aggregate: George Goddard, 174, 1926-34.
• Most Goals in Total Aggregate: George Goddard, 186 , 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.

[edit] Managers past and present

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

[edit] Past players

Emboldened players have represented their respective countries at full international level

Argentina Gino Padula Australia Ned Zelic Barbados Gregory Goodridge Czechoslovakia Luděk Mikloško Jan Stejskal England Bert Addinall Bradley Allen Clive Allen Les Allen Martin Allen Reg Allen Peter Angell Dennis Bailey Gary Bannister David Bardsley Simon Barker James Birch Stan Bowles Harry Brown Martyn Busby Frank Clarke Dave Clement John W. Collins William Conway Smith Peter Crouch Tony Currie Ian Dawes Ray Drinkwater Mark Falco Terry Fenwick Les Ferdinand Wayne Fereday Mike Fillery Mike Flanagan Gerry Francis Trevor Francis Ian Gillard George Goddard John Gregory Mark Hateley

Cyril Hatton Bob Hazell Tony Hazell John Hollins Ian Holloway Peter Hucker Ron Hunt Andy Impey Tony Ingham Mike Keen Pat Kerrins David Kerslake Andy King Jim Langley Mark Lazarus Mick Leach Sammy Lee Evelyn Lintott QPR's First England International Rodney Marsh Gary Micklewhite Ian Morgan Roger Morgan David Needham Paul Murray Warren Neill Steve Palmer Paul Parker Phil Parkes Darren Peacock Gavin Peacock Gary Penrice Mark Perry George Petchey George Powell Peter Reid Glenn Roeder Matthew Rose Keith Rutter Keith Sanderson Kenny Sansom David Seaman Ernie Shepherd Frank Sibley Trevor Sinclair Andy Sinton Nigel Spackman Peter Springett Ron Springett

Simon Stainrod Dave Thomas Andy Tillson Terry Venables David Webb Steve Wicks Ray Wilkins Clive Wilson Chris Woods Pat Woods Jamaica Richard Langley Danny Maddix Nigeria Danny Shittu Northern Ireland Colin Clarke Iain Dowie Alan McDonald David McCreery Ian Stewart Republic of Ireland John Byrne Don Givens Gary Waddock Scotland Frank McLintock Don Masson Nigel Quashie USA Juergen Sommer Roy Wegerle Wales Brian Bedford Leighton James Robbie James

[edit] Famous QPR supporters

- Bill Bailey - Pete Doherty - Martin Clunes - Ashley Giles - Neal Foulds - Ade Edmondson - Mick Jones - Robert Smith - Alan Wilder

[edit] Current squad

Players in bold have represented their country at international level.

No. Position Player 1 GK Simon Royce 2 DF Marcus Bignot (Captain) 3 DF Mauro Milanese 4 DF Danny Cullip 7 MF Adam Bolder 8 MF Marc Bircham 11 MF Gareth Ainsworth 12 GK Jake Cole 14 MF Martin Rowlands 15 DF Dominic Shimmin 16 MF Steve Lomas 17 MF Lee Cook 18 FW Stefan Moore 19 MF Armel Tchakounte 20 GK Lee Camp (on loan from Derby County)

No. Position Player 21 GK Paul Jones 22 FW Shabazz Baidoo 23 MF Stefan Bailey 24 DF Pat Kanyuka 25 DF Damion Stewart 27 DF Sampsa Timoska 28 MF Iñigo Idiakez (on loan from Southampton) 29 FW Paul Furlong 30 FW Marc Nygaard 31 FW Ray Jones 32 FW Dexter Blackstock 33 DF Andrew Howell 34 MF Rohan Ricketts (on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers) 37 MF Jimmy Smith (on loan from Chelsea) 38 DF Michael Mancienne (on loan from Chelsea)

[edit] Out on loan

No. Position Player 5 DF Zesh Rehman (on loan to Brighton & Hove Albion) 6 MF Tommy Doherty (on loan to Wycombe Wanderers) 9 MF Nick Ward (on loan to Brighton & Hove Albion) 10 FW Kevin Gallen (on loan to Plymouth Argyle) 26 GK Sean Thomas (on loan to Bristol City)

[edit] Supporter's clubs

QPR has an extensive network of loyal supporters associations.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] External links

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

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