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Queens Park Rangers F.C.

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Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers badge
Full nameQueens Park Rangers Football Club
Nickname(s)The Hoops, The 'R's
Founded1882
GroundLoftus Road (Rangers Stadium)
Shepherd's Bush
Hammersmith
Capacity19,128
ChairmanItaly Flavio Briatore
First-Team CoachNorthern Ireland Iain Dowie
LeagueThe Championship
2007–08The Championship, 14th

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

Main article: History of Queens Park Rangers F.C.
For the most recently completed season see Queens Park Rangers F.C. season 2007-08
For the upcoming 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).[1]

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,[2] 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 depature 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.

Old logo used from the 1980s until 2008

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.[3] 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[4] and, just over a year later, the death of promising teenager and first-team player Ray Jones in a car crash.[5]. 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.[6] On 14 May 2008 Iain Dowie was announced as the manager to begin the campaign to return Rangers to the top flight.[7][8]

Investment

After a number of years of financial difficulties which included a period in financial administration, QPR was bought by Formula One tycoons and multi-millionaires Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore in a £14m takeover in August 2007. In spending £690,000 to acquire a 69 per cent majority stake in the club, Ecclestone spent £150,000 on his 15 per cent, while Briatore bought 54 per cent for £540,000 through a British Virgin Islands registered company, Sarita Capital. In addition Briatore and Ecclestone are believed to have promised £5 million in convertible loan facilities to help buy players and have covered £13 million of debt, in a total commitment to the club of around £20 million. At the time of purchase the remaining 31 per cent of shareholders turned down the offer of 1p a share.[9]

Four months later, on 20 December 2007, it was announced that the family of billionaire Lakshmi Mittal had purchased a 20 per cent shareholding in the club from Briatore. The purchase price of the 20 per cent stake was just £200,000. As part of the investment Lakshmi Mittal's son-in-law took a place on the board of directors.[10] While Gianni Paladini remains chairman of the football club, Alejandro Agag, as chairman of QPR Holdings (the parent company) was the de facto chairman,[9] until he was replaced by Flavio Briatore in early February 2008.[11] Agag moved into the role of managing director, supported by a deputy managing director, Ali Russell, who moved from Hearts in the Scottish Premier League.[11]

Despite QPR's perilous financial condition, the combined personal wealth of the club's new owners (which included the world's then 5th richest man Lakshmi Mittal) sparked speculation that QPR would receive significant further investment from their new benefactors drawing parallels to their wealthy West London neighbours Chelsea and Fulham.[6] However, to date no significant further funds are believed to have been made available to the club other than those injected as part of the purchase of its share capital. Indeed it was reported in January 2008 that the investors had not discharged the £10 million loan from ABC Corporation together with its £1 million annual interest burden—despite the club's prospective annual turnover of between £10 million and £15 million a year. Furthermore around £2 million was still owed to a former director and major shareholder, Antonio Caliendo, who waived £4.5 million of loans when Briatore and Ecclestone bought the club. It was expected that the ABC loan would be discharged in June 2008 on its maturity and that the debt owed to Antonio Caliendo will be paid off "in early 2008" in line with a funding strategy which Ecclestone has publicly stated would not result in the wealthy owners simply bankrolling the club.[6] Mittal's investment is thought to be primarily motivated by his son-in-law's interests and that Mittal himself will remain a silent investor while Briatore, Ecclestone and Bhatia work together to implement the strategy of slowly building the club up ahead of a push for promotion to the Premier League in 2009. The new owners have also pledged to refurbish Loftus Road and use their experience in Formula One to increase sponsorship revenues.[9] On 25 March 2008 Q.P.R. confirmed that, from the 2008–09 season and for five seasons, their kits will be supplied by Lotto Sport Italia as part of a number of new partnerships formed by Flavio Briatore.[12] The investment potential of the club's new backers resulted in a number of wildly speculative storylines in the football press throughout the 2007-2008 season including rumoured signings of former World Player of the Year winners Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane (the latter as a possible manager).[13][14]

In May 2008, billionaire Vijay Mallya was linked with buying into the club, as part of the Ecclestone, Briatore and Mittal consortium.[15] Following the termination of the club's sponsorship deals with Car Giant, Le Coq Sportif and Sellotape at the end of the 2007-08 season, in early July 2008 it was expected to be announced that Gulf Air would be the new shirt sponsors.[16] Further sponsorship packages were also announced including Abbey Financial Services and Lotto Sport Italia.[17]

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.[18]

Honours

Records

Further information: QPR records

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:[19]

Managers past and present

Name Nat From To G W D L
James Cowan Scotland August 1907 May 1913
James Howie Scotland August 1913 April 1920
Ned Liddell England April 1920 May 1925 177 71 42 64
Robert Hewison England August 1925 May 1931 219 80 53 86
Archie Mitchell England November 1931 May 1933 79 32 18 29
Mick O'Brien Republic of Ireland May 1933 April 1935 84 40 16 28
Billy Birrell Scotland April 1935 May 1939 184 85 42 57
Ted Vizard Wales May 1939 April 1944
Dave Mangnall England April 1944 May 1952 280 112 74 94
Jack Taylor England June 1952 May 1959 341 118 89 134
Alec Stock England August 1959 June 1968 439 206 104 129
Bill Dodgin England June 1968 November 1968 16 2 5 9
Tommy Docherty Scotland November 1968 November 1968 4 1 0 3
Les Allen England December 1969 January 1970 4 2 1 1
Gordon Jago England January 1971 October 1974 161 71 55 35
Dave Sexton England October 1974 July 1977 130 57 32 41
Frank Sibley England July 1977 July 1978 45 9 17 19
Steve Burtenshaw England July 1978 May 1979 41 6 13 22
Tommy Docherty Scotland May 1979 October 1980 51 20 16 15
Terry Venables England October 1980 May 1984 166 84 33 49
Alan Mullery England June 1984 December 1984 26 11 8 7
Frank Sibley (Caretaker) England December 1984 June 1985 28 8 6 14
Jim Smith England June 1985 December 1988 167 67 38 62
Trevor Francis England December 1988 November 1989 93 31 30 32
Don Howe England November 1989 May 1991 75 27 21 27
Gerry Francis England May 1991 November 1994 158 59 47 52
Ray Wilkins England November 1994 September 1996 80 31 13 36
Stewart Houston Scotland September 1996 November 1997 63 25 15 23
John Hollins (Caretaker) England November 1997 December 1997 4 1 2 1
Ray Harford England December 1997 September 1998 41 5 18 18
Iain Dowie (Caretaker) Northern Ireland September 1998 October 1998 2 1 0 1
Gerry Francis England October 1998 February 2001 125 36 42 47
Ian Holloway England February 2001 February 2006 252 100 71 81
Gary Waddock Republic of Ireland February 2006 September 2006 23 4 8 11
John Gregory England September 2006 October 2007 48 13 12 23
Mick Harford (caretaker) England October 2007 October 2007 5 2 2 1
Luigi De Canio Italy October 2007 May 2008 35 12 11 12
Iain Dowie Northern Ireland May 2008 0 0 0 0

Technical Staff

Name Nationality Position
Gianni Paladini Italy Sporting Director
Iain Dowie Northern Ireland First-Team Coach
Tim Flowers England Assistant First-Team Coach
David Rouse England Goalkeeping Coach
John Harbin England Fitness Coach
Gareth Ainsworth England Player/Coach
Filippo Orlando Italy First Team Scout
Gary Doyle England Kit Man
Paul Hunter England Physiotherapist
Shane Annun England Assistant Physiotherapist

Notable players, past and present

Emboldened players have represented their respective countries at full international level

Current squad

As of 23 July 2008.[21]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK England ENG Lee Camp
2 DF Ireland EIR Damien Delaney
3 DF Jamaica JAM Damion Stewart
4 MF England ENG Gavin Mahon
5 DF England ENG Fitz Hall
6 MF England ENG Mikele Leigertwood
7 MF England ENG Hogan Ephraim
8 FW England ENG Rowan Vine
9 FW England ENG Dexter Blackstock
10 MF Hungary HUN Ákos Buzsáky
11 FW Ghana GHA Patrick Agyemang
12 MF England ENG Adam Bolder
14 MF Ireland EIR Martin Rowlands
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 DF England ENG Peter Ramage
16 DF England ENG Matthew Connolly
17 MF England ENG Simon Walton
18 DF Pakistan PAK Zesh Rehman
19 MF Colombia COL Angelo Balanta
20 MF Argentina ARG Emmanuel Ledesma (on loan from Genoa)
21 MF Italy ITA Matteo Alberti
22 FW Italy ITA Samuel Di Carmine (on loan from Fiorentina)
23 DF England ENG Chris Barker
24 GK Czech Republic CZE Radek Černý
25 FW Wales WAL Daniel Nardiello
26 MF England ENG Gareth Ainsworth
— DF Latvia LVA Kaspars Gorkšs

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
–– GK England ENG Jake Cole (on loan to Oxford United)
For player movements since the end of the 2007-08 season, see Queens Park Rangers F.C. season 2008-09

Supporters' clubs

In common with many long-established football clubs in England, QPR has a network of loyal supporters' associations. The principal supporters' association is the QPR LSA. Other supporters groups exist throughout the UK and around the world including the USA, New Zealand, Serbia, Sweden, Australia and Hungary. QPR also has a supporters' football team: Accrington Stanley Bowles who play matches against similar supporters' sides from other English clubs.

References

  1. ^ Inglis, Simon: Football Grounds of Britain, page 305-6. ISBN 0-00-218426-5
  2. ^ Alec Stock Obituary at QueensParkRangersFC.com
  3. ^ The Independent
  4. ^ The Independent
  5. ^ QPR's Ray Jones dies in car crash BBC Sport, 25 August 2007
  6. ^ a b c "QPR fans give thanks a billion times over". The Times. Retrieved 2008-02-25. Cite error: The named reference "telegraph2" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  7. ^ "QPR bring in Dowie as new coach". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2008-05-15.
  8. ^ "Dowie targets the Premier League". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
  9. ^ a b c "QPR tycoons hesitate on spending spree". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
  10. ^ "QPR secure huge investment boost". BBC. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  11. ^ a b "Briatore is QPR Holdings chairman". BBC. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  12. ^ "CLUB STATEMENT: QPR & LOTTO SPORT ITALIA". QPR Official Website. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
  13. ^ "Figo dismisses QPR move rumours". BBC. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  14. ^ "Zidane to become QPR manager". Goal.com. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  15. ^ "Indian Formula One high roller joins Ecclestone and Briatore's party at Queens Park Rangers". Daily Mail. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  16. ^ New soccer strip, Gulf Daily News, 3 July
  17. ^ QPR signs Abbey as its financial partner, Marketing Week, 19 June 2008
  18. ^ Loftus Road - guide for visiting fans Loft For Words
  19. ^ VitalFootball.co.uk
  20. ^ QPR's First England International
  21. ^ "NUMBERS UP". Queens Park Rangers FC. 2008-07-23. Retrieved 2008-07-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

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