Queens Park Rangers

This was featured from 4th October 2008.



Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English football club, based in Shepherds Bush in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London. The club's first team currently plays in the Football League Championship. In August 2007 QPR was bought by Formula One tycoons, Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, who sold a 20% stake to the family of steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal in December of that year.

The club is commonly referred to as "QPR" or often just "Rangers" by fans. Other nicknames include the "Hoops" or the "Superhoops" (after the team's kit of blue and white hooped shirts), or the "Rs". QPR are not to be confused with the Scottish clubs Rangers or Queen's Park.

History

 * For the current season see Queens Park Rangers F.C. season 2008-09

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 of North-West London. QPR became a professional team in 1889 and played their home games in nearly 20 different stadia (a league record), before permanently settling in Loftus Road in 1917 (although the team briefly played at White City between 1931-3 and 1962–63 in the hope of attracting larger crowds).

QPR were promoted as champions of Division 3 South in the 1947–48 season. Dave Mangnall was the manager as Rangers enjoyed four seasons in the Second Division, being relegated in 1951–52. Tony Ingham was signed from Leeds United and went on to make most ever league appearances for QPR (519).

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-60s of Jim Gregory helped to achieve a total transformation of the club and 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). 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. After winning promotion in 1968 to the top flight for the first time in their history, Rangers were relegated after just one season and spent the next four years in Division 2. Terry Venables joined from Spurs at the beginning of the 1969–70 season and Rodney Marsh was sold to Manchester City. During this time, new QPR heroes emerged including Phil Parkes, Don Givens, Dave Thomas and Stanley Bowles. These new signings were in addition to home-grown talent such as Dave Clement, Ian Gillard, Mick Leach and Gerry Francis.

In 1974 Dave Sexton joined as manager and, in 1975–76 led QPR to the runners-up spot in the First Division, missing out on the Championship by a single point with a squad containing five England internationals and internationals from the home nations and Morocco. After completing their 42-game season, QPR sat at the top of the league, one point ahead of Liverpool who went on to defeat Wolverhampton Wanderers to clinch the title. Also, Wolves relegated to Second League at same season. The late 1970s also saw some cup success with Rangers reaching the semi-finals of the League Cup and in their first entry into European football reached the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup losing to AEK Athens FC on penalties. Following Sexton's departure in 1977 the club eventually slipped into the Second Division in 1979.

In 1980 Terry Venables took over as manager and the club installed a 'plastic pitch'. In 1982 QPR, still playing in the Second Division, reached the FA Cup Final for the only time in the club's history, facing holders Tottenham Hotspur. Tottenham won 1–0 in a replay. The following season 1982–83 QPR went on to win the Second Division championship and returned 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. Over the next seven years, various managers came and went from Loftus Road and 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, missing out on a UEFA Cup campaign due to the ban on English clubs in European competition as a result of 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 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. Francis oversaw one of QPR's most famous victories, the 4–1 win at Old Trafford in front of live TV on New Years Day 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 resigned and very quickly became 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.

QPR's struggled in the following season and were relegated at the end of the 1995–96 season. QPR then competed in Division 1 until 2001 under a succession of managers. Gerry Francis returned in 1998 however the 2000–2001 season proved to be a disaster, and Francis resigned in early 2001. Charismatic former player Ian Holloway became manager but was unable to stop Rangers from being relegated to England's third tier for the first time for more than thirty years. Following the 2003–2004 season QPR returned to Division 1 and struggled for consistent form over the next two campaigns before Holloway was suspended amidst rumours of his departure for Leicester City. A poor series of results and lack of progress at the club saw Holloway's successors Gary Waddock and later John Gregory (both former players) fail to hold on to the manager's job.

During this same period QPR became embroiled in financial and boardroom controversy. Although the club had floated on the Alternative Investment Market in 1991, in 2001 it entered administration. A period of financial hardship followed and the club left administration after receiving a £10m high-interest emergency loan which continued to burden the club. Scandals involving the directors, shareholders and others emerged in 2005–06 season and included allegations of blackmail and threats of violence against the club's chairman Gianni Paladini. In an unrelated incident QPR were further rocked by the murder of Youth Team footballer Kiyan Prince on 18 May 2006 and, just over a year later, the death of promising teenager and first-team player Ray Jones in a car crash. Following this low point in the club's history as Rangers also faced mounting financial pressure, in the same month it was announced that the club had been bought by wealthy Formula 1 businessmen Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone (see Investment below). During the 2007–08 season, Rangers competed in the Football League Championship (see also: Queens Park Rangers F.C. season 2007-08). John Gregory's reign as manager came to an end in November 2007 after a string of poor results left QPR at the bottom of the Championship and he was replaced by Luigi De Canio until the end of the 2007–08 season. Further investment followed in early 2008 as the club looked to push for promotion to the Premier League within four years, on the back of greater financial stability. On 14 May 2008 Iain Dowie was announced as the manager to begin the campaign to return Rangers to the top flight. Recently QPR have found little success and have got through multiple managers, including Jim Magilton and Neil Warnock.

The club was taken over by Tony Fernandes, and Warnock could spend money on a good set of players.

Warnock managed to take QPR to the Premier League, but was sacked half a season later. Mark Hughes took over, and QPR survived. QPR's poor start to the 2012-13 campaign meant that Hughes was sacked in November 2012. His replacement is Harry Redknapp.

Rivals
The club's traditional local rivals are Brentford and Fulham. Since the 70's and 80's QPR fans have seen Chelsea as rivals. Recently minor rivalries with Luton Town and Watford have begun.

Honours
League
 * Division One Runners-up 1975–76
 * Division Two Runners-up 1967–68, 1972–73
 * Division Two Champions 1982–83
 * Nationwide Division Two Runners-up 2003–04
 * Division Three Champions 1966–67
 * Division Three (South) Champions 1947–48

Cup
 * FA Cup Runners-up 1982
 * League Cup Winners 1967
 * League Cup Runners-up 1986
 * FA Community Shield Runners-up 1908, 1912

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 FA 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.

Grounds
Rangers have had a somewhat nomadic existence, having played in nearly 20 different locations throughout North West London since their formation. The several grounds before 1886 are unknown but were probably in the Queens Park area (the first being The Queens Park itself) Along with having the title of most home grounds in football league history:


 * Welford's Fields (1886–1888)
 * London Scottish F.C.'s Ground (1888–1889)
 * Brondesbury(1888–1889)
 * Home Farm (1888–1889)
 * Kensal Green (1888–1889)
 * Gun Club (1888–1889)
 * Wormwood Scrubs (1888–1889)
 * Killburn Cricket Ground (1888–1889)
 * Kensal Rise Athletic Ground (1899–1901)
 * Latimer Road (1901–1904)
 * Notting Hill (1901–1904)
 * Royal Agricultural Society showgrounds (1904–1907)
 * Park Royal (1904–1907)
 * Park Royal Ground (1907–1917)
 * Loftus Road (1917–1931)
 * White City Stadium (1931–1933)
 * Loftus Road (1933–1962)
 * White City Stadium (1962–1963)
 * Loftus Road (1963–present)