Post by QPR Report on Jun 1, 2009 8:18:23 GMT
And the book coming out
www.qpr.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10373~1636865,00.html
[As used to be posted on the QPR Official Site]
The History of QPR - 1965 - 1966
By Gordon Macey - Official Q.P.R. Club Historian.
With chairman Jim Gregory's backing Rangers were able to make some significant signings for the forthcoming season. The main arrivals were Les Allen (Tottenham Hotspur) for a club record fee of £20,000, Ian Watson (Chelsea) for £10,000, Keith Sanderson (Plymouth Argyle) for £5,000, Jim Langley (Fulham) for £2,000 and Alan Wilks (Chelsea) on a free transfer. Sanderson was unique in that he was still an amateur and had a full time job at NCR in Marylebone Road. Nobody left the club for another side, although Peter Angell announced his retirement. In early September top goalscorer Brian Bedford went to Sc***horpe United for £3,750.
Following the big signings hopes were high of a successful season. The first game, when the new arrivals all made their debuts, was a disaster with Rangers losing 6-1 to Brentford at Griffin Park. Things did not get much better in the next two home games as a 4-1 win over Brighton was followed by a 2-1 defeat by Mansfield Town. In the first published tables Rangers were in eighteenth place, a long way from where they wanted to be. Having won at Hull City Rangers lost at home again, this time to Reading. An improvement came with just one loss in the next six matches. By now Rangers had slowly inched their way up to twelfth place. Two successive defeats halted the climb and Rangers had now lost three of their six home games. The end of October saw a turn for the better with the side being more settled results improved. Rangers remained unbeaten for the rest of the year, they won six of the seven league games played. In November Mark Lazarus joined Rangers for the third time in his career. Les Allen was the main scorer with nine in five games. Due to bad weather both the Christmas games against Oldham Athletic were postponed.
The new year started in style with a 7-2 home win on January 1st over York City. The next home game also produced a big win, 6-2 against Swansea Town. Rangers were now up to third place, behind Millwall and Hull City. They suffered their first defeat for twelve games at Mansfield Town, but recovered with two draws and two wins in the next four matches. Rangers were still in third place bit there was a ten point gap to the two clubs above them. In March Alec Stock made, what was undoubtedly, his best ever purchase for Queen's Park Rangers. He signed Rodney Marsh from Fulham for just £15,000. Rodney's first home game was against Millwall, a game which Rangers had to win if they wanted to close up on the two leaders. He scored his first goal for the club after just 3 minutes 41 seconds. Rangers went on to win the very competitive game by 6-1. The next two matches were both won by 4-1 and Rangers were now seven points behind Hull with two games in hand. Rangers then hit a bad patch and won only two of their next ten games to rule themselves out of a chance of promotion. Rangers recovered some pride with three successive wins to end the season in third place but twelve points behind Millwall.
After 80 minutes of the away game against Millwall on October 2nd 1965, Frank Sibley became the first Rangers substitute, when he came on for John Collins. The regular players in the season were Les Allen, Mike Keen, Jimmy Langley, Roger Morgan and Peter Springett who between them missed only seven games. The leading goalscorer was Les Allen with thirty three (30 league and 3 cup), next highest was John Collins with twenty (18 league and 2 cup).
LEAGUE CUP
Rangers first round game this season was at home to fellow third division side Walsall. The match was a dour one with neither side getting the upper hand and it ended in a 1-1 draw. Rangers goal was scored by the Walsall half-back Sissons who turned the ball passed his own goalkeeper. The replay the following week was more entertaining and was another close affair. Rangers took the lead through goals by Roger Morgan and John Collins. Walsall hit back with two goals to level the scores. As the match went into injury time the prospect of extra time looked a certainty but Walsall scored with the last kick of the game to take the tie 3-2.
F.A. CUP
The F.A. Cup trail started at Colchester United's Layer Road ground. Rangers had a goal disallowed in the first minute and then found themselves 3-1 down after half an hour, Rangers goal coming from Collins. They then fought back and had pulled level mid way through the second half with goals from Roger Morgan and Sanderson. Rangers thought that they had scored the winner close to the end but it was disallowed by the referee. The replay was much easier for Rangers who ran out winners by 4-0. In the second round Guildford City of the Southern League were the visitors. Guildford played well and were kept in the game by their goalkeeper Vasper. At half time there had been no goals. Rangers experience told in the second half when they scored three goals without reply. Fortune favoured Rangers again in the third round draw when they were paired at home with Shrewsbury Town. With a home game against third division opposition Rangers were hoping to progress to the fourth round for the first time since 1948. The game was very closely contested and ended in a goalless draw. Arthur Rowley the Shrewsbury manager said after the game that both sides had given 101%. The replay was equally as good, but Rangers were to regret missed chances as Meredith scored the only goal of the game for Shrewsbury to deny them that elusive fourth round spot.
The History of QPR - 1966 - 1967
By Gordon Macey - Official Q.P.R. Club Historian.
As Alec Stock had established a strong squad during last season he did not make any entry in the transfer market during the summer of 1966. The only departures were Bobby Nash to Exeter City and Billy McAdams to Barrow. The interest in football was at its highest level for several years following England's victory in the World Cup Final in July. Added to the good season before Rangers and their fans were looking forward to another successful year. They were not to be disappointed.
The league campaign started badly with a home draw and an away defeat. This put Rangers down in twentieth place. The next two games both at home ended in victory, with Marsh scoring his first Rangers hat-trick in the 4-0 win against Middlesbrough United. An away draw was followed by two impressive wins, 6-0 at home over Doncaster Rovers and 7-1 away at Mansfield Town, with another three from Marsh. The pattern was then repeated with an away point and a 5-1 win followed by a 4-2 victory over Grimsby Town and Swansea Town respectively. Rangers were now up to second place and had scored thirty five goals in just ten matches. The unbeaten run was extended to fifteen matches with three more wins and two draws. The 2-1 at home to Torquay United on November 15th took Rangers to the top of the league. They were never displaced for the rest of the season, a run of thirty games. Having reached first place Rangers lost the next game 1-0 to Oldham Athletic at home. They remained unbeaten for the rest of the year with four wins and two draws. By the half way point of the season Rangers had thirty five points from their twenty three games and had scored sixty four goals.
The new year continued in the same manner of the old one had finished. They consolidated their hold on the top by extending the unbeaten run to twenty matches. The run was made up of thirteen wins and seven draws. During February and March Rangers played eleven games and only conceded a goal in two of them. The biggest victories in that time were 4-0 at home to Bournemouth and Darlington and a 5-1 at home to Sc***horpe United. After the Sc***horpe game Rangers needed just two points from their remaining eight matched to clinch the championship. So hopes were high of a celebratory drink or to on the way back from the game at Walsall. The champagne had to be kept on ice as Walsall inflicted only the third defeat of the season by 2-0. However the next game at Oldham Athletic ended in a 1-0 win and the championship was Rangers. The all important goal was scored by Alan Wilks who had come in for Rodney Marsh after he was injured in the previous game. The third division trophy was presented by Len Shipman, president of the Football League, to Rangers before the home game to Oxford United on April 22nd. Rangers rewarded their fans with another win, this time 3-1. Having won the title Rangers seemed to relax and only won one of their last five matches. They lost twice, at Bristol Rovers and at Oxford United in their last match as a third division side. By the end of the season Rangers were a record twelve points ahead of second place Middlesbrough United. For the second time in their history Rangers had scored more than a hundred goals in a league season. The century coming with Alan Wilks' goal in the 1-1 draw at Swindon Town. Not surprisingly the team was a very settled side with ten players appearing in forty or more of the forty six games. They were, in positional order, Peter Springett, Jim Langley, Mike Keen, Ron Hunt, Frank Sibley, Mark Lazarus, Keith Sanderson, Les Allen, Rodney Marsh and Roger Morgan. The eleventh place was shared between Tony Hazell and Ian Watson and the regular substitute being Ian Morgan. The only ever presents were Mike Keen and Peter Springett. The leading goalscorers were Rodney Marsh with a club record of 44 goals (30 league and 14 cup) in one season, Mark Lazarus twenty one (16 league and 5 cup) and Les Allen twenty (16 league and 4 cup).
LEAGUE CUP
For this season's competition The Football League had decided to replace the two-legged final with one match at Wembley Stadium. This was in order to give the Cup more respectability amongst the clubs. They League clubs responded with only Liverpool and Everton not entering. Rangers League Cup campaign started on August 23rd with Sir Stanley Rous, President of FIFA, switching on the club's new floodlights. He said that he hoped that this was the beginning of a bright new future for the club. Little did he know how prophetic those words were to become. The lights must have been to Marsh's liking as he scored four goals in the 5-0 first round win over Colchester United, the other coming from Mark Lazarus. The draw for the second round took Rangers to the Recreation Ground to meet Aldershot of the fourth division. The match was close with Aldershot opening the scoring in the first half. Les Allen equalised before half-time. There was no further scoring in the second half and the 1-1 draw meant a replay at Loftus Road the following week. The winners of the tie had been drawn at home to the winners of the Bristol Rovers and Swansea Town match. In the replay Rangers took the lead through a Jim Langley penalty after 75 minutes and consolidated their position with a second goal from Rodney Marsh in the 81st minute. Rangers had now reached the third round for the first time and their next opponents were Swansea Town, who by coincidence had visited Loftus Road four days earlier for a league game, which Rangers won 4-2. Interest in the cup was increasing and a crowd of nearly 13,000 came to the Swansea cup game. The Welshman took the lead in the 32nd minute when Ivor Allchurch went round two defenders before firing the ball passed Peter Springett into the net. Rangers equalised in the 59th minute with a Tony Hazell shot that was deflected passed his own keeper by the Swansea centre half Brian Purcell. Despite their efforts Rangers could not score again and a replay was looking likely. However in the 89th minute Rangers won a corner which Les Allen took and Mike Keen headed the winner.
The draw for the fourth round gave Rangers a home tie over first division Leicester City. The match attracted a crowd of 20,735 who saw an electrifying game. Leicester's side contained a number of current Internationals, like Gordon Banks, Derek Dougan and Peter Rodrigues. The opening goal was scored by Roger Morgan in the 21st minute. Derek Dougan equalised within a minute and scored a second after 41 minutes to give Leicester a half-time lead. Rangers came out fighting in the second half and equalised after 56 minutes when Les Allen's chipped shot hit the crossbar came down and went in off Gordon Banks. Rangers regained the lead a minute later when Sanderson released Lazarus down the wing and Les Allen scored from his cross. Just three minutes later Mark Lazarus scored the fourth and Rangers held on to win by 4-2 to progress to the last eight. The next opponents were Carlisle United who were at the top of the second division, again Rangers were favoured with a home draw. The match had another good crowd of 19,146. Rangers again proved themselves capable in higher company. Rodney Marsh scored twice and Carlisle could only get one goal, so Rangers were through to the last four. The draw for the two-legged semi-finals paired Rangers with Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion with West Ham United. This gave the possibility of an all Birmingham or an all London final. Rangers first leg was at St. Andrews. A crowd of 34,295 saw Birmingham take the lead after just four minutes through Barry Bridges. It was a lead that the first division side held on until half-time. No Rangers fan could have imagined what the second half was to bring. Rangers were not in the least overawed by their superior opponents. Rodney Marsh scored to bring Rangers back level. This was followed shortly afterwards by another goal, this time from Roger Morgan. Mark Lazarus added a third to give Rangers a comfortable cushion. But they were not finished as Les Allen scored a fourth to give Rangers an incredible 4-1 win. With a three goal lead Rangers were confident of becoming the first third division side to appear in a Wembley final. The crowd of 24,604, for the second leg was Rangers biggest home gate of the season. They were all hoping to see a repeat of the first game. At half-time the match was still goalless, but of course Rangers were still leading the tie by three goals. In the second half Rodney Marsh scored after 53 minutes. He scored another before Birmingham got one back. But Mike Keen ended the tie with another goal to give Rangers a 3-1 win on the night and a 7-2 aggregate win overall. In the other semi-final West Bromwich had beaten West Ham United 6-2 on aggregate to get to the final for the second year in succession.
The final attracted a competition record crowd of 97,952 to Wembley Stadium on March 4th 1967. Both sides had similar records in getting to the final. West Bromwich had a goal tally of 21 to 6 and Rangers goal tally was 23 to 7. Rangers started very nervously and conceded a goal after just seven minutes. The scorer was the ex-Rangers player Clive Clark who took a pass from Doug Fraser and shot from the left passed Peter Springett. Rangers fought back and thought that they had scored with a spectacular overhead kick from Rodney Marsh. But the referee disallowed it due to offside. West Bromwich increased their lead in the 36th minute when Clive Clark beat the Rangers offside trap and ran in to fire the ball passed a stranded Springett. The first division side them exerted more pressure and would have scored again, through Jeff Astle, if it had not been for a splendid save from Springett. So at half-time Rangers went in a little disappointed at being two goals down. No one really knows what Alec Stock said to his players during the half-time interval but it certainly was effective. Albion still were able to control the play and as the game entered its last half an hour Rangers were still two goals adrift. After 63 minutes Mark Lazarus was fouled on the right hand edge of the penalty area. Les Allen took the free kick and Roger Morgan was able to get a header on target and passed keeper Shepherd to give Rangers some hope. The crowd urged the third division side on and it must have inspired Marsh. As with 75 minutes gone he collected a ball just inside the Albion half and managed to dribble his way through the defence to place a right footed shot in the far corner of the goal for Rangers equaliser. It was one of the best goals ever seen at the Wembley Stadium and the Stadium resounded to the famous chant of 'Rodnee - Rodnee'. Tony Brown then had a good chance to give West Bromwich the lead again but he missed his shot. With just nine minutes remaining Ron Hunt started a run with the ball from just inside his own half. He played a one-two with Mark Lazarus and continued into the Albion penalty area. Shepherd the West Bromwich keeper came out to smother the ball and collided with Hunt. The ball ran loose to Mark Lazarus who kicked it into the unguarded net. All the Albion players were claiming a foul on the keeper but the referee, Walter Crossley, adjudged that it had been a fifty-fifty challenge and awarded the goal to Rangers. Rangers held on for those final nail-biting nine minutes to win the trophy. The unique three handed cup was presented to Mike Keen by the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Robert Bellinger. The only disappointment for Rangers was that as they were a third division side they were not allowed to take their place in the following seasons Inter-City fairs Cup competition. The place was given to the losing finalists West Bromwich Albion as only first division sides were nominated by the League.
F.A. CUP
In the first round Rangers were drawn at home to non-league Poole Town. Rangers opened the scoring through Marsh after 41 minutes. A nasty head injury caused Mike Kelly, who was making has debut in goal, to miss the second half. He was replaced in goal for the second half by veteran Jim Langley. The loss of the keeper gave the Southern League side some hope. With both sides scoring twice the match ended in Rangers favour by 3 goals to 2, with Marsh completing his hat-trick. The second round saw Rangers at home again, this time to fellow third division side Bournemouth. Unusually the second round was played at the beginning of January not in its more customary date of December. After 23 minutes Keith Sanderson was fouled in the penalty area and Jim Langley put Rangers ahead from the spot. Bournemouth fought hard and it was not until the 87th minutes that Mark Lazarus scored to make the tie safe. The draw for the third round paired Rangers with Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. The match was intriguing as the goalkeepers were brothers. Peter Springett for Rangers and ex-Rangers Ron for Sheffield Wednesday. The first division sides class showed and they easily won by 3 goals to nil. This was Rangers first cup defeat in ten games, not bad for a third division side.
The History of QPR - 1967 - 1968
By Gordon Macey - Official Q.P.R. Club Historian.
Before the season started Rangers were invited to play on a four team tournament in Spain. The Olive Tournament was based in the town of Jaen, who were in the Spanish second division. The other sides competing were Malaga and AS Roma, Alec Stock's old side. They lost the first match 1-0 to the hosts Jaen. In the third place play off match Rangers met Malaga. Rodney Marsh scored first for Rangers but tiredness caught up with Rangers and they eventually lost the match 5-1.
Alec Stock relied on practically the same squad of players for the club's return to the second division. The only player movements were the retirement of Jim Langley, who at the age of 38 years and 96 days was the oldest player ever to appear in the first team, the arrival of Allan Harris from Chelsea as Langley's replacement. The other transfer was unique in footballing terms, that of the swapping of goalkeeping brothers Ron and Peter Springett.
The other player missing at the start of the season was Rodney Marsh who had broken a bone in his foot during pre-season training. The season started with an away draw at Portsmouth, the goal coming from Roger Morgan. This was followed by five successive wins which put Rangers on top of the second division. They lost the next game, 1-0 at home to Derby County, but immediately recovered their form with two more wins. The next game was a London derby at Crystal Palace which Rangers lost by the only goal. The match attracted a gate of 38,006, the largest crowd to see Rangers that season. With a sequence of two wins and two defeats Rangers fell to fifth in the table. The home game with Middlesbrough United on November saw the come back of Rodney Marsh. The match ended in a 1-1 draw, with Marsh getting the goal. At the end of November Mark Lazarus left Rangers for the third time, this time he signed for Crystal Palace, for a fee of £12,000. From the middle of December Rangers had an unbeaten run of nine matches. The best wins were either side of the new year, being 4-1 and 6-0 at home to Plymouth Argyle and Rotherham United respectively.
At the half way point of the season Rangers were in second place with twenty eight points from their twenty one games. The unbeaten run took Rangers back to the top of the table, ahead of Portsmouth and Blackpool. The good spell ended with a 4-0 reverse at Derby County. In order to boost their goalscoring and to hold on to a promotion place Rangers signed Frank Clarke from Shrewsbury Town for £34,000. The next three games all ended in 1-1 draws, which allowed Ipswich Town and Blackpool to close the gap on Rangers. The next game was at home to Blackpool and Rangers knew that they could not afford to lose as the Seasiders were only one point behind in third place. As it was Rangers won 2-0 with goals from Ian Morgan and Clarke. This was the start of a run of four successive victories in which Rangers did not concede a goal. With six games to go Rangers had 49 points and Ipswich and Blackpool had 46 points, but Ipswich had a game in hand. Rangers 3-1 lost at Middlesbrough, which allowed Ipswich to go to the top. With another away defeat the following week at Cardiff Rangers were in second place only one point ahead of Blackpool. A win and a draw at top placed Ipswich meant that if Rangers won their last two games they would be promoted, probably on goal average, providing Blackpool did not win both theirs by good margins. The penultimate weekend saw Rangers at home to Birmingham City and Blackpool at Derby County. Both sides won by a two goal margin. So the decision went to the last game of the season. Rangers were ahead of Blackpool by 0.2381 of a goal in the race for the first division. Rangers were away at Aston Villa with Blackpool away at Huddersfield Town. At half-time Rangers were losing 1-0 and Blackpool were ahead at Huddersfield. Mick Leach equalised early in the second half with a goal that was hotly disputed by the Villa players, who claimed that the ball had not gone over the goal line having rebounded from the crossbar. But George McCabe, the referee said it had. As news came through that Blackpool were now 3-1 ahead Rangers travelling fans were getting worried. With 8 minutes to go Rangers attacked again and in attempting to clear the ball the Villa fullback Keith Bradley turned the ball passed his own goalkeeper to give Rangers the lead. No further scoring took place and Rangers were in the First Division for the first time in their history. The final table saw Ipswich Town on 59 points and Rangers and Blackpool on 58 points. Rangers were promoted by 0.21 of a goal. They became only the second side ever to go from the third to first in successive seasons. The main feature of the season for Rangers was their home form. They won eighteen, drew twice and lost only one, and conceded only nine goals all season at Loftus Road. Four players, Allan Harris, Tony Hazell, Mike Keen and Ian Morgan, were ever presents in the promotional side. The leading goalscorers were Rodney Marsh with fourteen goals, despite missing nearly half the season, Ian Morgan and Mick Leach both with ten. Leach had scored a goal in each of the final three games, which proved to be very beneficial.
LEAGUE CUP
As they were now in the second division and holders of the trophy Rangers received a bye in the first round. They began the defence of the cup in the second round at home to second division side Hull City. Rangers won a close game by two goals to one. The third round draw paired Rangers at home to Oxford United. Rangers were looking for revenge as Oxford had been the last third division side to beat them. The match started with Alan Wilks scoring in the first minute. He went on to set a club record by scoring all five in the 5-1 win. The next opponents were to be first division Burnley, again Rangers had home advantage. Although Rangers were not really outclassed by their more seasoned opponents they never could match Burnley's experience and went out of the competition by 2 goals to one. Bobby Keetch was unlucky with a header in the final minutes which went just over the bar. So Rangers reign as League Cup Winners was over.
F.A. CUP
Having been promoted Rangers entered the F.A. Cup in the third round and after being drawn at home to Preston North End they were hopeful of reaching the fourth round for the first time in twenty years. Having beaten Preston the previous week in the league Rangers started as though it was easy. But Preston had learnt some lessons from the league game and won the game by 3-1, Rangers goal coming from Mike Keen.
The History of QPR - 1969 - 1970
By Gordon Macey - Official Q.P.R. Club Historian.
Following their relegation Rangers went into the transfer market in an attempt to regain their first division place. They signed Terry Venables for £70,000, a club record, from Tottenham Hotspur. Clive Clark was re-signed from West Bromwich Albion. Clark came as part payment for the transfer of Alan Glover to The Hawthorns. Bobby Keetch had left the club to play for the South African side Durban City and Les Allen gave up playing to concentrate on managing the club. Despite several offers for Rodney Marsh Rangers managed to hold on to their star player to reinforce their determination to win promotion.
The season started promisingly with four wins and a draw. The best victory was 6-1 at home to Blackpool, with Marsh scoring a hat-trick. These good results had put Rangers at the top of the league. They lost the top spot following a 3-0 defeat at Birmingham City. Four more consecutive wins put them back in first place. In order to strengthen the defence Vic Mobley was signed from Sheffield Wednesday for £55,000. Rangers slipped to third with a run of just two wins and three draws in seven games. Second place was regained after two successive wins but no wins in the next four saw Rangers drop to fifth. At the end of November Rangers scored four goals at Bolton Wanderers but still lost as Bolton got six. Mike Ferguson was signed Aston Villa to add width to the forward line. At the midpoint of the season Rangers had twenty seven points from their twenty one games. The year ended with two wins and two draws.
January did not see an improvement in Rangers league position, they only won once in the four games played. Rangers were briefly back to second place following two successive wins, 2-1 at Hull City and 4-0 at home to Norwich City. Their form then deserted them at the crucial time of the season, it coincided with the sale of Frank Clarke to Ipswich Town. With ten games to go Rangers were just one point behind second placed Cardiff City. Rangers only won once in those final games, 4-2 at home to Aston Villa. Although the run in did contain five consecutive draws. Rangers had dropped to ninth place at the end of the season, eight points behind promoted Blackpool. The only regular players during the season were Barry Bridges, Rodney Marsh and ever present Tony Hazell. The leading goalscorers were Brides with twenty four (21 league and 3 cup) and Marsh with twenty one (12 league and 9 cup).
LEAGUE CUP
In the second round Rangers were drawn away at third division Mansfield Town. Bridges scored after three minutes only for Mansfield to equalise after 21 minutes. Early in the second half Ian Watson scored with a long range shot. But Mansfield did not give up and deserved their equaliser after 65 minutes. In the replay Rangers completely outplayed Mansfield and took the lead with a Venables penalty after 17 minutes. Rangers added two more through Clement and Marsh before half time. Clarke scored a fourth after the interval to clinch an easy 4-0 win. In the third round Rangers were home to another third division side, Tranmere Rovers. Mick Leach and Frank Clarke scored within ninety seconds of each other to give Rangers a half-time lead. The second half belonged to Rodney Marsh as he scored four goals to give Rangers a 6-0 winning margin. Rangers had another home draw in the fourth round, this time the visitors were first division Wolverhampton Wanderers. Rangers looked the first division side in the first half and went in at half time leading by three goals to nil, the goals coming from Barry Bridges and two from Frank Clarke. Wolves fought back in the second half and pulled one back through Wilson. But it was not enough and Rangers went through by 3-1. Rangers were now in the last eight for the first time since their victorious season in 1967. The fifth round had Rangers travelling to Maine Road to meet Manchester City. Rangers were outclassed by City's international trio of Lee, Bell and Summerbee. At half time they had scored three without reply. With City relaxing in the second half the game died and no further goals were scored, so Rangers good cup run came to an end.
F.A. CUP
The third round saw Rangers at home to northern non-league side South Shields. The game saw Marsh return to the side following a four match suspension. The Northern Premier League side were no match for Rangers in the current form and lost 4-1. Marsh marked his return with two goals. Rangers had now ended their cup jinx by reaching the fourth round for the first time in 22 years. The next round saw Rangers travelling across London to meet Charlton Athletic. The game did not start well for Rangers who were two goals down after 23 minutes. Rangers fought back and equalised within twelve minutes through two goals from Marsh. After the break Marsh worked his way through the Charlton defence and looked like completing his hat-trick. But he passed to Clarke who side footed the ball into the empty net. Rangers held on to their advantage and went through to the next round by 3-2. The fifth round draw paired Rangers, at home, with Derby County. Rangers dominated the game but could not score in the first half. The second half saw Marsh perform at his best and Rangers took the lead with a Dave Mackay own goal. Despite Derby's pressure Rangers defence held and they were into the last eight of the competition. This equalled the furthest Rangers had ever been in the F.A. Cup before. The sixth round draw gave Rangers another home tie against neighbours Chelsea. The match attracted a ground record of 33,572 people. The match was one of the best seen at Loftus Road for many seasons. Unfortunately for Rangers Chelsea proved to be too strong for them. The main destroyer for Chelsea was Peter Osgood who scored a hat-trick. Rangers scored through a Venables penalty and a Bridges header. But Chelsea won in the end by four goals to two and went forward to the semi-finals.
Not yet found:! The History of QPR - 1970 - 1971]
The History of QPR - 1971 - 1972
By Gordon Macey - Official Q.P.R. Club Historian.
During the close season Jim Gregory let it be known that he was looking for buyers for the club. No offers were forthcoming so Gregory remained in control. Gordon Jago made a couple of early season signings in Terry Mancini from Orient for £25,000 and John O'Rourke from Coventry City for £60,000. He released Alan Wilks to Gillingham for £3,000. As Gordon Jago was trying to get the fans closer to the club he instigated the Open Day. It was a chance for the fans to meet the players, have their photographs taken with them and to get their autographs. The idea was something that Jago had seen in his days in the United States.
Rangers started the season with a fine three goal victory over Sheffield Wednesday. This was followed by an even spell of two wins, two draws and two defeats in the next six. A 3-0 win over Watford lifted Rangers up to third place in the table. Another one of each result followed. The defence was playing well and went four games without conceding a goal. The sequence was ended by three successive 1-1 draws. Another 3-0 home win, this time over Bristol City took Rangers back up to third place, where they stayed until the end of January. On November 10th Rangers had their second full England International player when Rodney Marsh came on as substitute for the last ten minutes of the game against Switzerland at Wembley. The year ended with a run of five wins in six games enabling Rangers to hold on to third place, they were just three points behind second placed Millwall.
A sixth successive home win saw Rangers go up to second place above Millwall on goal average. As Rangers were in a good position to challenge for a promotion place their form deserted them. They lost three games on the trot to drop out to sixth place and out of the promotion race. At this point Manchester City approached Rangers with a bid of £200,000 for Rodney Marsh. Although Marsh was financial secure at Rangers he wanted to further his career with a move to a first division side. So Rangers reluctantly agreed to sell him. His last game was the away match at Bristol City on March 4th, five years exactly after the Wembley triumph. Frank Saul was another departure in March when he joined Millwall for £23,000. Rangers had twelve matches left and ironically having let Marsh go they remained unbeaten in that time, winning six and drawing six. The defence only conceded two goals in the run. By the end of the season Rangers were up in fourth place just two points behind promoted Birmingham City and three behind champions Norwich City. They were left to reflect on those three games prior to Marsh's departure. The mainstays of the side were the defence with Phil Parkes, Dave Clement and Tony Hazell all being ever present. The leading goalscorer was Marsh with twenty. The next highest was John O'Rourke with nine.
In February Rangers arranged a friendly with West Bromwich Albion at short notice as both sides were out of the F.A. Cup and did not have a match. In order let people know that the game was on Rangers became the first club to advertise on television. The advert was a still of Rodney Marsh with a voice over giving details of the game. It must have worked as a larger than expected crowd of 7,087 turned up for the Friday night game.
LEAGUE CUP
In the second round of the League Cup Rangers were drawn at home to Birmingham City in a rematch of the 1967 semi-final. Rangers had the upper hand in the first half but were kept out by the Birmingham keeper Latchford. In the second half 18 year old Gerry Francis upstaged his 17 year old namesake, Trevor, to score the first goal of the game with a diving header. After an hour Marsh headed in a Saul corner to seal Rangers victory. The next round saw fourth division side Lincoln City as the visitors to Loftus Road. The match went with form as Ian Morgan scored after 21 minutes. Although Lincoln equalised Andy McCulloch added a second to give Rangers a half-time lead. Marsh made it 3-1 with a penalty before Lincoln scored again to bring the gap back to just one goal. The game was decided late on when Saul scored Rangers fourth. The fourth round draw also gave Rangers a home game against a side from a lower division, Bristol Rovers from the third. Rangers were given a very tough game by Rovers. Jarman had given them a half-time lead which they held on to until five minutes before the end. Shepherd, the Rovers keeper, was adjudged to have carried the ball outside the area and Marsh scored direct from the free kick. In the replay at Eastville Rangers had another tough match and lost to the only goal of the game scored 12 minutes before the end by Allan.
F.A. CUP
In the third round Rangers were drawn to meet Fulham at Loftus Road. It was typical cup tie with both sides attacking. Phil Parkes was the busier of the two keepers in the first half and was beaten by a dipping 25 yard shot from Conway. Rangers forced their way back into the game with a Mancini goal after 76 minutes. As neither side could score again the tie went to a replay at Craven Cottage the following Tuesday night. By not losing Rangers had set a new club record of 21 home games, league and cup, without defeat. The replay was even more exciting than the first match. Again Fulham took the lead, this time through Cross after 20 minutes. Dave Clement equalised one minute into the second half to set up a thrilling climax to the game. But after 75 minutes Cross scored his second to put Rangers out at the third round stage for the sixth time in seven years.
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www.qpr.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10373~1636865,00.html
[As used to be posted on the QPR Official Site]
The History of QPR - 1965 - 1966
By Gordon Macey - Official Q.P.R. Club Historian.
With chairman Jim Gregory's backing Rangers were able to make some significant signings for the forthcoming season. The main arrivals were Les Allen (Tottenham Hotspur) for a club record fee of £20,000, Ian Watson (Chelsea) for £10,000, Keith Sanderson (Plymouth Argyle) for £5,000, Jim Langley (Fulham) for £2,000 and Alan Wilks (Chelsea) on a free transfer. Sanderson was unique in that he was still an amateur and had a full time job at NCR in Marylebone Road. Nobody left the club for another side, although Peter Angell announced his retirement. In early September top goalscorer Brian Bedford went to Sc***horpe United for £3,750.
Following the big signings hopes were high of a successful season. The first game, when the new arrivals all made their debuts, was a disaster with Rangers losing 6-1 to Brentford at Griffin Park. Things did not get much better in the next two home games as a 4-1 win over Brighton was followed by a 2-1 defeat by Mansfield Town. In the first published tables Rangers were in eighteenth place, a long way from where they wanted to be. Having won at Hull City Rangers lost at home again, this time to Reading. An improvement came with just one loss in the next six matches. By now Rangers had slowly inched their way up to twelfth place. Two successive defeats halted the climb and Rangers had now lost three of their six home games. The end of October saw a turn for the better with the side being more settled results improved. Rangers remained unbeaten for the rest of the year, they won six of the seven league games played. In November Mark Lazarus joined Rangers for the third time in his career. Les Allen was the main scorer with nine in five games. Due to bad weather both the Christmas games against Oldham Athletic were postponed.
The new year started in style with a 7-2 home win on January 1st over York City. The next home game also produced a big win, 6-2 against Swansea Town. Rangers were now up to third place, behind Millwall and Hull City. They suffered their first defeat for twelve games at Mansfield Town, but recovered with two draws and two wins in the next four matches. Rangers were still in third place bit there was a ten point gap to the two clubs above them. In March Alec Stock made, what was undoubtedly, his best ever purchase for Queen's Park Rangers. He signed Rodney Marsh from Fulham for just £15,000. Rodney's first home game was against Millwall, a game which Rangers had to win if they wanted to close up on the two leaders. He scored his first goal for the club after just 3 minutes 41 seconds. Rangers went on to win the very competitive game by 6-1. The next two matches were both won by 4-1 and Rangers were now seven points behind Hull with two games in hand. Rangers then hit a bad patch and won only two of their next ten games to rule themselves out of a chance of promotion. Rangers recovered some pride with three successive wins to end the season in third place but twelve points behind Millwall.
After 80 minutes of the away game against Millwall on October 2nd 1965, Frank Sibley became the first Rangers substitute, when he came on for John Collins. The regular players in the season were Les Allen, Mike Keen, Jimmy Langley, Roger Morgan and Peter Springett who between them missed only seven games. The leading goalscorer was Les Allen with thirty three (30 league and 3 cup), next highest was John Collins with twenty (18 league and 2 cup).
LEAGUE CUP
Rangers first round game this season was at home to fellow third division side Walsall. The match was a dour one with neither side getting the upper hand and it ended in a 1-1 draw. Rangers goal was scored by the Walsall half-back Sissons who turned the ball passed his own goalkeeper. The replay the following week was more entertaining and was another close affair. Rangers took the lead through goals by Roger Morgan and John Collins. Walsall hit back with two goals to level the scores. As the match went into injury time the prospect of extra time looked a certainty but Walsall scored with the last kick of the game to take the tie 3-2.
F.A. CUP
The F.A. Cup trail started at Colchester United's Layer Road ground. Rangers had a goal disallowed in the first minute and then found themselves 3-1 down after half an hour, Rangers goal coming from Collins. They then fought back and had pulled level mid way through the second half with goals from Roger Morgan and Sanderson. Rangers thought that they had scored the winner close to the end but it was disallowed by the referee. The replay was much easier for Rangers who ran out winners by 4-0. In the second round Guildford City of the Southern League were the visitors. Guildford played well and were kept in the game by their goalkeeper Vasper. At half time there had been no goals. Rangers experience told in the second half when they scored three goals without reply. Fortune favoured Rangers again in the third round draw when they were paired at home with Shrewsbury Town. With a home game against third division opposition Rangers were hoping to progress to the fourth round for the first time since 1948. The game was very closely contested and ended in a goalless draw. Arthur Rowley the Shrewsbury manager said after the game that both sides had given 101%. The replay was equally as good, but Rangers were to regret missed chances as Meredith scored the only goal of the game for Shrewsbury to deny them that elusive fourth round spot.
The History of QPR - 1966 - 1967
By Gordon Macey - Official Q.P.R. Club Historian.
As Alec Stock had established a strong squad during last season he did not make any entry in the transfer market during the summer of 1966. The only departures were Bobby Nash to Exeter City and Billy McAdams to Barrow. The interest in football was at its highest level for several years following England's victory in the World Cup Final in July. Added to the good season before Rangers and their fans were looking forward to another successful year. They were not to be disappointed.
The league campaign started badly with a home draw and an away defeat. This put Rangers down in twentieth place. The next two games both at home ended in victory, with Marsh scoring his first Rangers hat-trick in the 4-0 win against Middlesbrough United. An away draw was followed by two impressive wins, 6-0 at home over Doncaster Rovers and 7-1 away at Mansfield Town, with another three from Marsh. The pattern was then repeated with an away point and a 5-1 win followed by a 4-2 victory over Grimsby Town and Swansea Town respectively. Rangers were now up to second place and had scored thirty five goals in just ten matches. The unbeaten run was extended to fifteen matches with three more wins and two draws. The 2-1 at home to Torquay United on November 15th took Rangers to the top of the league. They were never displaced for the rest of the season, a run of thirty games. Having reached first place Rangers lost the next game 1-0 to Oldham Athletic at home. They remained unbeaten for the rest of the year with four wins and two draws. By the half way point of the season Rangers had thirty five points from their twenty three games and had scored sixty four goals.
The new year continued in the same manner of the old one had finished. They consolidated their hold on the top by extending the unbeaten run to twenty matches. The run was made up of thirteen wins and seven draws. During February and March Rangers played eleven games and only conceded a goal in two of them. The biggest victories in that time were 4-0 at home to Bournemouth and Darlington and a 5-1 at home to Sc***horpe United. After the Sc***horpe game Rangers needed just two points from their remaining eight matched to clinch the championship. So hopes were high of a celebratory drink or to on the way back from the game at Walsall. The champagne had to be kept on ice as Walsall inflicted only the third defeat of the season by 2-0. However the next game at Oldham Athletic ended in a 1-0 win and the championship was Rangers. The all important goal was scored by Alan Wilks who had come in for Rodney Marsh after he was injured in the previous game. The third division trophy was presented by Len Shipman, president of the Football League, to Rangers before the home game to Oxford United on April 22nd. Rangers rewarded their fans with another win, this time 3-1. Having won the title Rangers seemed to relax and only won one of their last five matches. They lost twice, at Bristol Rovers and at Oxford United in their last match as a third division side. By the end of the season Rangers were a record twelve points ahead of second place Middlesbrough United. For the second time in their history Rangers had scored more than a hundred goals in a league season. The century coming with Alan Wilks' goal in the 1-1 draw at Swindon Town. Not surprisingly the team was a very settled side with ten players appearing in forty or more of the forty six games. They were, in positional order, Peter Springett, Jim Langley, Mike Keen, Ron Hunt, Frank Sibley, Mark Lazarus, Keith Sanderson, Les Allen, Rodney Marsh and Roger Morgan. The eleventh place was shared between Tony Hazell and Ian Watson and the regular substitute being Ian Morgan. The only ever presents were Mike Keen and Peter Springett. The leading goalscorers were Rodney Marsh with a club record of 44 goals (30 league and 14 cup) in one season, Mark Lazarus twenty one (16 league and 5 cup) and Les Allen twenty (16 league and 4 cup).
LEAGUE CUP
For this season's competition The Football League had decided to replace the two-legged final with one match at Wembley Stadium. This was in order to give the Cup more respectability amongst the clubs. They League clubs responded with only Liverpool and Everton not entering. Rangers League Cup campaign started on August 23rd with Sir Stanley Rous, President of FIFA, switching on the club's new floodlights. He said that he hoped that this was the beginning of a bright new future for the club. Little did he know how prophetic those words were to become. The lights must have been to Marsh's liking as he scored four goals in the 5-0 first round win over Colchester United, the other coming from Mark Lazarus. The draw for the second round took Rangers to the Recreation Ground to meet Aldershot of the fourth division. The match was close with Aldershot opening the scoring in the first half. Les Allen equalised before half-time. There was no further scoring in the second half and the 1-1 draw meant a replay at Loftus Road the following week. The winners of the tie had been drawn at home to the winners of the Bristol Rovers and Swansea Town match. In the replay Rangers took the lead through a Jim Langley penalty after 75 minutes and consolidated their position with a second goal from Rodney Marsh in the 81st minute. Rangers had now reached the third round for the first time and their next opponents were Swansea Town, who by coincidence had visited Loftus Road four days earlier for a league game, which Rangers won 4-2. Interest in the cup was increasing and a crowd of nearly 13,000 came to the Swansea cup game. The Welshman took the lead in the 32nd minute when Ivor Allchurch went round two defenders before firing the ball passed Peter Springett into the net. Rangers equalised in the 59th minute with a Tony Hazell shot that was deflected passed his own keeper by the Swansea centre half Brian Purcell. Despite their efforts Rangers could not score again and a replay was looking likely. However in the 89th minute Rangers won a corner which Les Allen took and Mike Keen headed the winner.
The draw for the fourth round gave Rangers a home tie over first division Leicester City. The match attracted a crowd of 20,735 who saw an electrifying game. Leicester's side contained a number of current Internationals, like Gordon Banks, Derek Dougan and Peter Rodrigues. The opening goal was scored by Roger Morgan in the 21st minute. Derek Dougan equalised within a minute and scored a second after 41 minutes to give Leicester a half-time lead. Rangers came out fighting in the second half and equalised after 56 minutes when Les Allen's chipped shot hit the crossbar came down and went in off Gordon Banks. Rangers regained the lead a minute later when Sanderson released Lazarus down the wing and Les Allen scored from his cross. Just three minutes later Mark Lazarus scored the fourth and Rangers held on to win by 4-2 to progress to the last eight. The next opponents were Carlisle United who were at the top of the second division, again Rangers were favoured with a home draw. The match had another good crowd of 19,146. Rangers again proved themselves capable in higher company. Rodney Marsh scored twice and Carlisle could only get one goal, so Rangers were through to the last four. The draw for the two-legged semi-finals paired Rangers with Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion with West Ham United. This gave the possibility of an all Birmingham or an all London final. Rangers first leg was at St. Andrews. A crowd of 34,295 saw Birmingham take the lead after just four minutes through Barry Bridges. It was a lead that the first division side held on until half-time. No Rangers fan could have imagined what the second half was to bring. Rangers were not in the least overawed by their superior opponents. Rodney Marsh scored to bring Rangers back level. This was followed shortly afterwards by another goal, this time from Roger Morgan. Mark Lazarus added a third to give Rangers a comfortable cushion. But they were not finished as Les Allen scored a fourth to give Rangers an incredible 4-1 win. With a three goal lead Rangers were confident of becoming the first third division side to appear in a Wembley final. The crowd of 24,604, for the second leg was Rangers biggest home gate of the season. They were all hoping to see a repeat of the first game. At half-time the match was still goalless, but of course Rangers were still leading the tie by three goals. In the second half Rodney Marsh scored after 53 minutes. He scored another before Birmingham got one back. But Mike Keen ended the tie with another goal to give Rangers a 3-1 win on the night and a 7-2 aggregate win overall. In the other semi-final West Bromwich had beaten West Ham United 6-2 on aggregate to get to the final for the second year in succession.
The final attracted a competition record crowd of 97,952 to Wembley Stadium on March 4th 1967. Both sides had similar records in getting to the final. West Bromwich had a goal tally of 21 to 6 and Rangers goal tally was 23 to 7. Rangers started very nervously and conceded a goal after just seven minutes. The scorer was the ex-Rangers player Clive Clark who took a pass from Doug Fraser and shot from the left passed Peter Springett. Rangers fought back and thought that they had scored with a spectacular overhead kick from Rodney Marsh. But the referee disallowed it due to offside. West Bromwich increased their lead in the 36th minute when Clive Clark beat the Rangers offside trap and ran in to fire the ball passed a stranded Springett. The first division side them exerted more pressure and would have scored again, through Jeff Astle, if it had not been for a splendid save from Springett. So at half-time Rangers went in a little disappointed at being two goals down. No one really knows what Alec Stock said to his players during the half-time interval but it certainly was effective. Albion still were able to control the play and as the game entered its last half an hour Rangers were still two goals adrift. After 63 minutes Mark Lazarus was fouled on the right hand edge of the penalty area. Les Allen took the free kick and Roger Morgan was able to get a header on target and passed keeper Shepherd to give Rangers some hope. The crowd urged the third division side on and it must have inspired Marsh. As with 75 minutes gone he collected a ball just inside the Albion half and managed to dribble his way through the defence to place a right footed shot in the far corner of the goal for Rangers equaliser. It was one of the best goals ever seen at the Wembley Stadium and the Stadium resounded to the famous chant of 'Rodnee - Rodnee'. Tony Brown then had a good chance to give West Bromwich the lead again but he missed his shot. With just nine minutes remaining Ron Hunt started a run with the ball from just inside his own half. He played a one-two with Mark Lazarus and continued into the Albion penalty area. Shepherd the West Bromwich keeper came out to smother the ball and collided with Hunt. The ball ran loose to Mark Lazarus who kicked it into the unguarded net. All the Albion players were claiming a foul on the keeper but the referee, Walter Crossley, adjudged that it had been a fifty-fifty challenge and awarded the goal to Rangers. Rangers held on for those final nail-biting nine minutes to win the trophy. The unique three handed cup was presented to Mike Keen by the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Robert Bellinger. The only disappointment for Rangers was that as they were a third division side they were not allowed to take their place in the following seasons Inter-City fairs Cup competition. The place was given to the losing finalists West Bromwich Albion as only first division sides were nominated by the League.
F.A. CUP
In the first round Rangers were drawn at home to non-league Poole Town. Rangers opened the scoring through Marsh after 41 minutes. A nasty head injury caused Mike Kelly, who was making has debut in goal, to miss the second half. He was replaced in goal for the second half by veteran Jim Langley. The loss of the keeper gave the Southern League side some hope. With both sides scoring twice the match ended in Rangers favour by 3 goals to 2, with Marsh completing his hat-trick. The second round saw Rangers at home again, this time to fellow third division side Bournemouth. Unusually the second round was played at the beginning of January not in its more customary date of December. After 23 minutes Keith Sanderson was fouled in the penalty area and Jim Langley put Rangers ahead from the spot. Bournemouth fought hard and it was not until the 87th minutes that Mark Lazarus scored to make the tie safe. The draw for the third round paired Rangers with Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. The match was intriguing as the goalkeepers were brothers. Peter Springett for Rangers and ex-Rangers Ron for Sheffield Wednesday. The first division sides class showed and they easily won by 3 goals to nil. This was Rangers first cup defeat in ten games, not bad for a third division side.
The History of QPR - 1967 - 1968
By Gordon Macey - Official Q.P.R. Club Historian.
Before the season started Rangers were invited to play on a four team tournament in Spain. The Olive Tournament was based in the town of Jaen, who were in the Spanish second division. The other sides competing were Malaga and AS Roma, Alec Stock's old side. They lost the first match 1-0 to the hosts Jaen. In the third place play off match Rangers met Malaga. Rodney Marsh scored first for Rangers but tiredness caught up with Rangers and they eventually lost the match 5-1.
Alec Stock relied on practically the same squad of players for the club's return to the second division. The only player movements were the retirement of Jim Langley, who at the age of 38 years and 96 days was the oldest player ever to appear in the first team, the arrival of Allan Harris from Chelsea as Langley's replacement. The other transfer was unique in footballing terms, that of the swapping of goalkeeping brothers Ron and Peter Springett.
The other player missing at the start of the season was Rodney Marsh who had broken a bone in his foot during pre-season training. The season started with an away draw at Portsmouth, the goal coming from Roger Morgan. This was followed by five successive wins which put Rangers on top of the second division. They lost the next game, 1-0 at home to Derby County, but immediately recovered their form with two more wins. The next game was a London derby at Crystal Palace which Rangers lost by the only goal. The match attracted a gate of 38,006, the largest crowd to see Rangers that season. With a sequence of two wins and two defeats Rangers fell to fifth in the table. The home game with Middlesbrough United on November saw the come back of Rodney Marsh. The match ended in a 1-1 draw, with Marsh getting the goal. At the end of November Mark Lazarus left Rangers for the third time, this time he signed for Crystal Palace, for a fee of £12,000. From the middle of December Rangers had an unbeaten run of nine matches. The best wins were either side of the new year, being 4-1 and 6-0 at home to Plymouth Argyle and Rotherham United respectively.
At the half way point of the season Rangers were in second place with twenty eight points from their twenty one games. The unbeaten run took Rangers back to the top of the table, ahead of Portsmouth and Blackpool. The good spell ended with a 4-0 reverse at Derby County. In order to boost their goalscoring and to hold on to a promotion place Rangers signed Frank Clarke from Shrewsbury Town for £34,000. The next three games all ended in 1-1 draws, which allowed Ipswich Town and Blackpool to close the gap on Rangers. The next game was at home to Blackpool and Rangers knew that they could not afford to lose as the Seasiders were only one point behind in third place. As it was Rangers won 2-0 with goals from Ian Morgan and Clarke. This was the start of a run of four successive victories in which Rangers did not concede a goal. With six games to go Rangers had 49 points and Ipswich and Blackpool had 46 points, but Ipswich had a game in hand. Rangers 3-1 lost at Middlesbrough, which allowed Ipswich to go to the top. With another away defeat the following week at Cardiff Rangers were in second place only one point ahead of Blackpool. A win and a draw at top placed Ipswich meant that if Rangers won their last two games they would be promoted, probably on goal average, providing Blackpool did not win both theirs by good margins. The penultimate weekend saw Rangers at home to Birmingham City and Blackpool at Derby County. Both sides won by a two goal margin. So the decision went to the last game of the season. Rangers were ahead of Blackpool by 0.2381 of a goal in the race for the first division. Rangers were away at Aston Villa with Blackpool away at Huddersfield Town. At half-time Rangers were losing 1-0 and Blackpool were ahead at Huddersfield. Mick Leach equalised early in the second half with a goal that was hotly disputed by the Villa players, who claimed that the ball had not gone over the goal line having rebounded from the crossbar. But George McCabe, the referee said it had. As news came through that Blackpool were now 3-1 ahead Rangers travelling fans were getting worried. With 8 minutes to go Rangers attacked again and in attempting to clear the ball the Villa fullback Keith Bradley turned the ball passed his own goalkeeper to give Rangers the lead. No further scoring took place and Rangers were in the First Division for the first time in their history. The final table saw Ipswich Town on 59 points and Rangers and Blackpool on 58 points. Rangers were promoted by 0.21 of a goal. They became only the second side ever to go from the third to first in successive seasons. The main feature of the season for Rangers was their home form. They won eighteen, drew twice and lost only one, and conceded only nine goals all season at Loftus Road. Four players, Allan Harris, Tony Hazell, Mike Keen and Ian Morgan, were ever presents in the promotional side. The leading goalscorers were Rodney Marsh with fourteen goals, despite missing nearly half the season, Ian Morgan and Mick Leach both with ten. Leach had scored a goal in each of the final three games, which proved to be very beneficial.
LEAGUE CUP
As they were now in the second division and holders of the trophy Rangers received a bye in the first round. They began the defence of the cup in the second round at home to second division side Hull City. Rangers won a close game by two goals to one. The third round draw paired Rangers at home to Oxford United. Rangers were looking for revenge as Oxford had been the last third division side to beat them. The match started with Alan Wilks scoring in the first minute. He went on to set a club record by scoring all five in the 5-1 win. The next opponents were to be first division Burnley, again Rangers had home advantage. Although Rangers were not really outclassed by their more seasoned opponents they never could match Burnley's experience and went out of the competition by 2 goals to one. Bobby Keetch was unlucky with a header in the final minutes which went just over the bar. So Rangers reign as League Cup Winners was over.
F.A. CUP
Having been promoted Rangers entered the F.A. Cup in the third round and after being drawn at home to Preston North End they were hopeful of reaching the fourth round for the first time in twenty years. Having beaten Preston the previous week in the league Rangers started as though it was easy. But Preston had learnt some lessons from the league game and won the game by 3-1, Rangers goal coming from Mike Keen.
The History of QPR - 1969 - 1970
By Gordon Macey - Official Q.P.R. Club Historian.
Following their relegation Rangers went into the transfer market in an attempt to regain their first division place. They signed Terry Venables for £70,000, a club record, from Tottenham Hotspur. Clive Clark was re-signed from West Bromwich Albion. Clark came as part payment for the transfer of Alan Glover to The Hawthorns. Bobby Keetch had left the club to play for the South African side Durban City and Les Allen gave up playing to concentrate on managing the club. Despite several offers for Rodney Marsh Rangers managed to hold on to their star player to reinforce their determination to win promotion.
The season started promisingly with four wins and a draw. The best victory was 6-1 at home to Blackpool, with Marsh scoring a hat-trick. These good results had put Rangers at the top of the league. They lost the top spot following a 3-0 defeat at Birmingham City. Four more consecutive wins put them back in first place. In order to strengthen the defence Vic Mobley was signed from Sheffield Wednesday for £55,000. Rangers slipped to third with a run of just two wins and three draws in seven games. Second place was regained after two successive wins but no wins in the next four saw Rangers drop to fifth. At the end of November Rangers scored four goals at Bolton Wanderers but still lost as Bolton got six. Mike Ferguson was signed Aston Villa to add width to the forward line. At the midpoint of the season Rangers had twenty seven points from their twenty one games. The year ended with two wins and two draws.
January did not see an improvement in Rangers league position, they only won once in the four games played. Rangers were briefly back to second place following two successive wins, 2-1 at Hull City and 4-0 at home to Norwich City. Their form then deserted them at the crucial time of the season, it coincided with the sale of Frank Clarke to Ipswich Town. With ten games to go Rangers were just one point behind second placed Cardiff City. Rangers only won once in those final games, 4-2 at home to Aston Villa. Although the run in did contain five consecutive draws. Rangers had dropped to ninth place at the end of the season, eight points behind promoted Blackpool. The only regular players during the season were Barry Bridges, Rodney Marsh and ever present Tony Hazell. The leading goalscorers were Brides with twenty four (21 league and 3 cup) and Marsh with twenty one (12 league and 9 cup).
LEAGUE CUP
In the second round Rangers were drawn away at third division Mansfield Town. Bridges scored after three minutes only for Mansfield to equalise after 21 minutes. Early in the second half Ian Watson scored with a long range shot. But Mansfield did not give up and deserved their equaliser after 65 minutes. In the replay Rangers completely outplayed Mansfield and took the lead with a Venables penalty after 17 minutes. Rangers added two more through Clement and Marsh before half time. Clarke scored a fourth after the interval to clinch an easy 4-0 win. In the third round Rangers were home to another third division side, Tranmere Rovers. Mick Leach and Frank Clarke scored within ninety seconds of each other to give Rangers a half-time lead. The second half belonged to Rodney Marsh as he scored four goals to give Rangers a 6-0 winning margin. Rangers had another home draw in the fourth round, this time the visitors were first division Wolverhampton Wanderers. Rangers looked the first division side in the first half and went in at half time leading by three goals to nil, the goals coming from Barry Bridges and two from Frank Clarke. Wolves fought back in the second half and pulled one back through Wilson. But it was not enough and Rangers went through by 3-1. Rangers were now in the last eight for the first time since their victorious season in 1967. The fifth round had Rangers travelling to Maine Road to meet Manchester City. Rangers were outclassed by City's international trio of Lee, Bell and Summerbee. At half time they had scored three without reply. With City relaxing in the second half the game died and no further goals were scored, so Rangers good cup run came to an end.
F.A. CUP
The third round saw Rangers at home to northern non-league side South Shields. The game saw Marsh return to the side following a four match suspension. The Northern Premier League side were no match for Rangers in the current form and lost 4-1. Marsh marked his return with two goals. Rangers had now ended their cup jinx by reaching the fourth round for the first time in 22 years. The next round saw Rangers travelling across London to meet Charlton Athletic. The game did not start well for Rangers who were two goals down after 23 minutes. Rangers fought back and equalised within twelve minutes through two goals from Marsh. After the break Marsh worked his way through the Charlton defence and looked like completing his hat-trick. But he passed to Clarke who side footed the ball into the empty net. Rangers held on to their advantage and went through to the next round by 3-2. The fifth round draw paired Rangers, at home, with Derby County. Rangers dominated the game but could not score in the first half. The second half saw Marsh perform at his best and Rangers took the lead with a Dave Mackay own goal. Despite Derby's pressure Rangers defence held and they were into the last eight of the competition. This equalled the furthest Rangers had ever been in the F.A. Cup before. The sixth round draw gave Rangers another home tie against neighbours Chelsea. The match attracted a ground record of 33,572 people. The match was one of the best seen at Loftus Road for many seasons. Unfortunately for Rangers Chelsea proved to be too strong for them. The main destroyer for Chelsea was Peter Osgood who scored a hat-trick. Rangers scored through a Venables penalty and a Bridges header. But Chelsea won in the end by four goals to two and went forward to the semi-finals.
Not yet found:! The History of QPR - 1970 - 1971]
The History of QPR - 1971 - 1972
By Gordon Macey - Official Q.P.R. Club Historian.
During the close season Jim Gregory let it be known that he was looking for buyers for the club. No offers were forthcoming so Gregory remained in control. Gordon Jago made a couple of early season signings in Terry Mancini from Orient for £25,000 and John O'Rourke from Coventry City for £60,000. He released Alan Wilks to Gillingham for £3,000. As Gordon Jago was trying to get the fans closer to the club he instigated the Open Day. It was a chance for the fans to meet the players, have their photographs taken with them and to get their autographs. The idea was something that Jago had seen in his days in the United States.
Rangers started the season with a fine three goal victory over Sheffield Wednesday. This was followed by an even spell of two wins, two draws and two defeats in the next six. A 3-0 win over Watford lifted Rangers up to third place in the table. Another one of each result followed. The defence was playing well and went four games without conceding a goal. The sequence was ended by three successive 1-1 draws. Another 3-0 home win, this time over Bristol City took Rangers back up to third place, where they stayed until the end of January. On November 10th Rangers had their second full England International player when Rodney Marsh came on as substitute for the last ten minutes of the game against Switzerland at Wembley. The year ended with a run of five wins in six games enabling Rangers to hold on to third place, they were just three points behind second placed Millwall.
A sixth successive home win saw Rangers go up to second place above Millwall on goal average. As Rangers were in a good position to challenge for a promotion place their form deserted them. They lost three games on the trot to drop out to sixth place and out of the promotion race. At this point Manchester City approached Rangers with a bid of £200,000 for Rodney Marsh. Although Marsh was financial secure at Rangers he wanted to further his career with a move to a first division side. So Rangers reluctantly agreed to sell him. His last game was the away match at Bristol City on March 4th, five years exactly after the Wembley triumph. Frank Saul was another departure in March when he joined Millwall for £23,000. Rangers had twelve matches left and ironically having let Marsh go they remained unbeaten in that time, winning six and drawing six. The defence only conceded two goals in the run. By the end of the season Rangers were up in fourth place just two points behind promoted Birmingham City and three behind champions Norwich City. They were left to reflect on those three games prior to Marsh's departure. The mainstays of the side were the defence with Phil Parkes, Dave Clement and Tony Hazell all being ever present. The leading goalscorer was Marsh with twenty. The next highest was John O'Rourke with nine.
In February Rangers arranged a friendly with West Bromwich Albion at short notice as both sides were out of the F.A. Cup and did not have a match. In order let people know that the game was on Rangers became the first club to advertise on television. The advert was a still of Rodney Marsh with a voice over giving details of the game. It must have worked as a larger than expected crowd of 7,087 turned up for the Friday night game.
LEAGUE CUP
In the second round of the League Cup Rangers were drawn at home to Birmingham City in a rematch of the 1967 semi-final. Rangers had the upper hand in the first half but were kept out by the Birmingham keeper Latchford. In the second half 18 year old Gerry Francis upstaged his 17 year old namesake, Trevor, to score the first goal of the game with a diving header. After an hour Marsh headed in a Saul corner to seal Rangers victory. The next round saw fourth division side Lincoln City as the visitors to Loftus Road. The match went with form as Ian Morgan scored after 21 minutes. Although Lincoln equalised Andy McCulloch added a second to give Rangers a half-time lead. Marsh made it 3-1 with a penalty before Lincoln scored again to bring the gap back to just one goal. The game was decided late on when Saul scored Rangers fourth. The fourth round draw also gave Rangers a home game against a side from a lower division, Bristol Rovers from the third. Rangers were given a very tough game by Rovers. Jarman had given them a half-time lead which they held on to until five minutes before the end. Shepherd, the Rovers keeper, was adjudged to have carried the ball outside the area and Marsh scored direct from the free kick. In the replay at Eastville Rangers had another tough match and lost to the only goal of the game scored 12 minutes before the end by Allan.
F.A. CUP
In the third round Rangers were drawn to meet Fulham at Loftus Road. It was typical cup tie with both sides attacking. Phil Parkes was the busier of the two keepers in the first half and was beaten by a dipping 25 yard shot from Conway. Rangers forced their way back into the game with a Mancini goal after 76 minutes. As neither side could score again the tie went to a replay at Craven Cottage the following Tuesday night. By not losing Rangers had set a new club record of 21 home games, league and cup, without defeat. The replay was even more exciting than the first match. Again Fulham took the lead, this time through Cross after 20 minutes. Dave Clement equalised one minute into the second half to set up a thrilling climax to the game. But after 75 minutes Cross scored his second to put Rangers out at the third round stage for the sixth time in seven years.
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