Loftus Road (no doubt it’s not called that these days) was in danger of becoming one of biggest bogey grounds, but, for me, our win there earlier this year courtesy of a marvellous free kick by Rubin Colwill (remember him?) was one of the highlights of the miserable 21/22 campaign.
Could we repeat that victory on Wednesday? I doubt it myself – I think Rangers (under the management of Michael Beale, who I reckon could have been tempted here a year ago) are genuine top six candidates this season and, in a division which seems as open as it’s been in years, a top two finish might be possible for them.
We’ve shown that when we get it right away from home, we can be impressive and, with Mark Hudson needing a positive result after a performance on Saturday that, once you put all the Bobby Madley stuff to one side, had very little going for it, I think we may be able to come home with a point.
Here’s the usual seven questions about our next opponents and I’ll put the answers on here on Thursday.
60s. Who am I describing below.
Born in the constituency of a former Prime Minister, this defender was a QPR record holder early in his career because of something which happened at the Recreation Ground, Aldershot. He won two and lost one in his encounters with City, with the last of them, resulting in the defeat, coming just months before he was forced to retire from playing because of a knee injury having not quite reached one hundred and fifty league appearances for his only club. This partly explains why he became a manager before the age of thirty. In all, he had three go’s at management – two at the same club (the second one was in caretaker charge) and the other in the Midlands with a side that was once pretty swift.
70s. This forward was released by Chelsea without playing a league match, but in over a hundred of them for his next two clubs, he was able to maintain a scoring rate of comfortably above a goal every other game. His prolific scoring was not interrupted by a collision which saw the goalkeeper of the team he was playing against sustain an injury severe enough to keep him in a coma for sixteen days and end his football career. With many of his goals coming in the second tier, it was no surprise that he eventually made Chelsea question their earlier decision to release him by being snapped up by a First Division side. Wearing different shades of blue for the two sides he played for in the top flight, the goals still came regularly, but not at the rate he’d become used to. QPR were the side he signed for when he dropped down a division and, although far from a regular starter during his three years with the club, he was still able to score at a healthy rate when given his chance – it was only at his final club on the south coast in the third tier that his scoring rate dropped to the mundane. Can you name the player?
80s. I daresay that there were times when cries rang out of Northern Ireland waster at Loftus Road when he was playing! (3,7)
90s. A UEFA Cup finalist and league title winner in front of the “Yellow wall”, this defender cost QPR a club record fee when he signed for them during this decade. However, he played just four times for thein the Premier League (his only appearances for a UK club) due to a combination of injury and an inability to settle in this country. The majority of his football was played on mainland Europe, but he was from a different continent and won thirty four caps for the country of his birth. After a detour to another continent when he played in Japan for a while, he eventually returned home to play for Newcastle, then he was globe trotting again with spells in Holland and Georgia before hanging up his boots. Who is he?
00s. Which member of the QPR side which played City in the 02/03 Play Off Final made an appearance for Cambridge University’s cricket team, captained by Michael Atherton, against Lancashire during which he dismissed former England opener Graeme Fowler?
10s. He played for QPR and had two spells with us during this decade, he also scored for us against a team that included the brother of a current City player. Who?
20s. Seasonal song for male cat?
Answers
60s. Frank Sibley became QPR’s youngest ever player when he was selected as a fifteen year old for a League Cup tie at Aldershot in 1963. He also had two spells as manager of the club and managed Walsall for a while.
70s. Jiohn O’Rourke who also played for Luton, Middlesbrough and Bournemouth.
80s. Ian Stewart.
90s. Ned Zelic.
00s. Steve Palmer.
10s. Armand Traore scored for us in a game against a Bolton team which had Ben Alnwick, brother of Jak in goals for them.
20s. Tom Carroll.
