QPR v Millwall

THE OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME OF QUEENS PARK RANGERS FC 2021/22 SEASON 

ISSUE 01 £3.50 

v MILLWALL FC 

SATURDAY 7TH AUGUST, 2021 

KICK-OFF 3PM

Ashville Holdings is rooted in construction and our history has morphed 

from boots on the ground company found itself to with in-house very few basements to development and government 

dig. So, Louisy went looking for work elsewhere. 

infrastructure projects. I used to drive 

“I knew Ashville who my building competitors Holdings were, as I encompasses every element in 

would see their names on tenders,” he says. “So I the lorry, and 

construction and went to them is all a and fundamental said ‘I can’t beat the others on part of all supply pump too.” chains. 

then pull over 

and use the 

laptop on the 

passenger 

seat to run the 

business 

price, but I’ll be there when I say I’ll be there’.” This 

approach worked, and one tipper-grab very soon 

became three tipper-grabs and a tipper. 

“Then Wandsworth banned grabs from taking 

out of skips, and I began to lose work,” remembers 

Louisy. “So we started buying skip lorries too.” 

This was quickly followed by another change 

in direction. “We would arrive at a job only to be 

told we couldn’t load as a concrete lorry was there, 

and that the concrete lorry was more important. 

So we bought a volumetric concrete lorry! So then 

we had a concrete lorry, grabs, tippers and skips,” 

says Louisy. “But then when we turned up with the 

concrete lorry, people were telling us that the pump 

wasn’t there, so we’d have to wait. So we bought a 

A pair of 4x2 grabs were soon added to the 

fast-expanding and increasingly varied fleet, 

allowing Ashville to operate in some of the mews 

and narrow streets of Chelsea. And more recently 

the company made the move into artic tippers, 

with the purchase of a pair of Scania XT R500 6x2 

tractors with Kelberg tipping trailers. 

WALKING THE LINE 

But there was still one serious hurdle to overcome, 

as Louisy explains: “If we priced a job, and two 

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HOOPS 

#QPRMIL 

SATURDAY 7TH AUGUST 2021 

CLUB DIRECTORY 

Queens Park Rangers FC 

QPR Holdings Ltd, Kiyan Prince 

Foundation Stadium, South Africa 

Road, London, W12 7PJ 

Main Switchboard: 020 8743 0262 

Box Office: 08444 777 007 

Commercial Sales: 020 8740 2560 

Superstore: 020 8749 6862 

Direct Mail Order Line: 0870 240 4547 

Community Trust: 020 8740 2509 

Official Website: www.qpr.co.uk 

STAFF 

QPR FC/QPR Holdings Ltd Chairman: 

Amit Bhatia 

QPR Holdings Ltd Vice-Chairmen: 

Tony Fernandes, Ruben Gnanalingam 

Board members: 

Tony Fernandes, 

Ruben Gnanalingam, Amit Bhatia, 

Datuk Kamarudin Meranun 

CEO: Lee Hoos 

Financial Director: Ruban Ghandi 

Director of Football: Les Ferdinand 

First Team Manager: Mark Warburton 

Club Ambassador: Andy Sinton 

Club Historian: Chris Guy 

OFFICIAL TWITTER 

Queens Park Rangers @QPR 

QPR+ Pass @QPRPlusPass 

QPR in the Community Trust @QPRtrust 

QPR Women @QPRWFC 

PROGRAMME 

Editor: 

Tom Harvey 

Contributors: 

Tony Incenzo, Simon Cheshire 

Designed by: 

Thomas Ridge 

This programme was produced on 

behalf of Queens Park Rangers by 

Ignition Sports Media. 

www.ignitionsportsmedia.com 

Printed by: Stephens & George Print Group 

The views of this publication are not necessarily 

the views of Queens Park Rangers Football Club. 

Material in this publication is copyrighted and may 

only be reproduced with written permission of 

Queens Park Rangers Football Club. All information 

correct at time of print. 

04 12 

23 36 

04 THE GAFFER 

Words from Mark Warburton 

08 NEWS + MESSAGES 

All the latest from W12 

12 THE BIG READ 

Interview with Charlie Austin 

21 COLUMNIST 

Ben Summer has his say 

23 VISITORS 

An in-depth look at Millwall 

32 FREEZEFRAME 

A classic pic from yesteryear 

35 SPONSOR A PLAYER 

Player sponsors 2021/22 

36 1981/82 FEATURE 

A chat with Peter Hucker 

44 KEY FIXTURE 

A vital clash from 1981/82 

46 ANDY SINTON 

Our ex-winger pens his column 

48 OTHER USES OF LR 

The ground has seen it all 

52 JUNIOR HOOPS 

Test your knowledge 

56 MIKE DONOVAN 

A trip down memory lane 

62 FIXTURES & RESULTS 

Stay updated this season 

65 STAT PACK 

Key facts from the Champ 

66 AIDAN MAGEE 

The view from the press box 

WWW.QPR.CO.UK // @QPR // @OFFICIALQPR // OFFICIALQPRFC 03

HOOPS 

The Gaffer 

I WOULD ALWAYS START MY PROGRAMME NOTES BY 

WELCOMING THE OPPOSING MANAGER AND HIS 

TEAM. HOWEVER, BEFORE I MAKE SUCH REFERENCE, 

I WANT TO AGAIN HIGHLIGHT THE SIGNIFICANCE 

OF TODAY’S OPENING FIXTURE AND THE RETURN OF 

OUR SUPPORTERS TO THE STADIUM. 

T 

he two matches 

against Manchester United 

and Leicester City gave us 

the opportunity to once again 

savour having our home support 

backing the team. The passion of 

genuine supporters, the 

atmosphere you create and the 

impact it can have on the team is 

clear for all to see. Therefore, 

my first and most obvious welcome 

is to each and every fan. It’s 

great to see you, you’ve been 

so sorely missed! 

Now I can welcome Gary Rowett, 

his staff and players for what I know 

will be a highly competitive opening 

game. Millwall have invested well 

and made some excellent additions 

to their squad and there’s no doubt 

that they’ll be pushing hard for 

a top-six finish, seeking to build 

on their strong campaign of last 

season. They have good quality 

throughout the team, allied to an 

evident physicality that they use so 

well. We face a very tough opponent, 

but we’re looking forward to the 

challenge and to sharing a postmatch 

drink with Gary and his staff. 

Last week’s game against Leicester 

gave us another opportunity to 

test ourselves against top-quality 

opposition and I was delighted with 

many aspects of the performance. 

We delivered a positive display 

and, once again, both created and 

converted chances against another 

stern defence. The players have 

worked extremely hard in preseason, 

and this was evident with 

the level of intensity they displayed, 

a factor that will be so important for 

our league campaign this term. 

04 WWW.QPR.CO.UK // @QPR // @OFFICIALQPR // OFFICIALQPRFC

HOOPS 

“The passion of 

genuine supporters, 

the atmosphere 

you create and the 

impact it can have 

on the team is clear 

for all to see” 


We stand for clean sport. 

Even for your skin. 

Sport is the most beautiful thing in the world, and nothing must be allowed to pollute that beauty. 

That is why, besides developing increasingly high-performance materials that have a low impact 

on the environment, we at Erreà are the first teamwear company in Europe to have been awarded 

STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX ® certification. 

This certification sets extremely strict limits for substances harmful to health, which is why our fabrics 

are highly safe in all conditions. 

With Erreà, sport and health run side by side.

HOOPS 

“John Eustace will go 

on to become an 

outstanding manager, 

but he continues to play 

his part in what we hope 

will be a very successful 

campaign for the club” 

Since my last notes, we’ve completed 

our summer recruitment with the resigning 

of Stefan Johansen. It was well 

documented that we were eager to have 

him join us on a permanent basis, and it 

was certainly very pleasing to see him 

sign last week and commence training 

with the squad. He had a significant 

impact last season, both on and off the 

pitch, and his quality and experience 

will be very important in the weeks and 

months ahead. 

I’d also like to use these notes to give 

special mention to John Eustace who is 

an important member of my coaching 

team. I’ve absolutely no doubts that John 

will go on to become an outstanding 

manager, but he continues to play 

his part in what we hope will be a very 

successful campaign for the club. I 

look forward to working with him and 

watching his contribution to the overall 

team development. 

Finally, once again, it’s a very sincere 

‘welcome back’ to all of our supporters. 

As I repeatedly say, the backing you give 

the team is always greatly appreciated 

and never taken for granted. 

Enjoy the game! 

Gaffer 


QPR Programme 23.1.20 2.pdf 1 24/01/2020 15:21:33 

HOOPS 

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HOOPS 

PAYING TRIBUTE 

In the last 17 months more than 128,000 people 

have lost their lives to Covid-19 in the UK. 

Today we will remember those R’s supporters who 

are no longer with us by showing their images on the 

big screen prior to kick-off. 

ODUBAJO SIGNS 

QPR snapped up Moses Odubajo late last month. 

The defender has put pen to paper on a one-year 

deal. The club also has a further 12-month option on 

the 28-year-old. 

Odubajo, who played under Mark Warburton at 

Brentford, was out of contract after leaving Sheffield 

Wednesday at the end of last season. He had been 

training with QPR during pre-season and bagged a 

brilliant 25-yard goal in the friendly win at home to 

Manchester United. 

Greenwich-born Odubajo started his career at 

Leyton Orient, before two spells with Brentford 

either side of a three-year stint at Hull City. He 

joined Wednesday in July 2019. 

“I’ve got to know the lads really well and it’s a 

manager who I’ve played with before, so the move 

just felt right,” he said. “The manager knows what I 

can do and he knows what I’m capable of.” 

MAN IN THE MIDDLE 

Oliver Langford takes charge of today’s game. 

He will be assisted by Adrian Waters and Akil 

Howson, with Neil Hair on fourth official duties. 

INJURY BLOW 

FOR FIELD 

Sam Field has been ruled 

out for three to four months 

after suffering a knee injury 

in training. 

Dr Imtiaz Ahmad, QPR’s Head of Medical, said: “Sam 

went for a scan and unfortunately that revealed a 

tear to the medial collateral ligament in his left knee. 

“As a result, he’ll require an operation. Procedures 

of this nature usually have a recovery time of 

approximately three to four months. 

“Sam is obviously disappointed but is already 

displaying a real determination to come back 

stronger than ever.” 

Midfielder Field joined QPR permanently from 

West Bromwich Albion in the summer following a 

successful loan spell last season. 

HALL’S JAMAICA ROLE 

Senior Professional Phase Coach Paul Hall was 

named Jamaica’s assistant coach in the summer. 

The move sees Hall - who has been with the R’s 

since 2013 - remain with Rangers, whilst linking up 

with the Reggae Boyz on a part-time basis during 

international windows. 

Hall scored 14 goals in 48 games between 1997 and 

2003 for Jamaica who reached the quarter-finals of 

the CONCACAF Gold Cup last month. 


HOOPS 

MARTIN 

Happy birthday to Martin who is 

80 on 10th August. 

He has been a supporter 

since his father first took him. 

The whole family, including 

grandchildren, are now seasontickets 

holders. 

Martin is pictured on the way to 

Wembley in 1982. 

CLÍONA 

Here is one of 

QPR’s newest 

supporters, 

Clíona Hurley, 

aged one, 

pictured in her QPR shirt. 

Her favourite player is 

Charlie Austin. 

She lives in Waterford, Ireland, 

and her local team is currently 

managed by QPR legend 

Marc Bircham. 

DAWN 

A very happy 

big 50 to 

Dawn Marsh. 

Much love, Andy, 

Naiya, Stas and the whole of the 

QPR family. 

MARTIN & FREDDIE 

Happy 41st birthday to Martin 

Fletcher and a very happy first 

QPR game to seven-month-old 

Freddie Fletcher. We hope you 

have a great day. Lots of love 

from Mummy, Mia and Erin. 

JESSE 

Jesse Charles 

Webb came 

into the world 

on 9th April 

2021 and joins 

a big QPR-supporting family! 

His big brother, Milo, is looking 

forward to bringing him to 

games when he’s old enough. 

HARRY 

& BOBBY 

Attending his 

first QPR game 

today is Harry 

Carroll, pictured 

here with his little brother 

Bobby, the newest member of 

the R’s family. 

Harry’s favourite player is 

Charlie Austin, and his dislikes 

are Chelsea. 

CHARLIE 

Happy 21st birthday to 

Charlie Wise! Have a great day, 

with love from Mum, Dad, Alfie 

and Thomas. 

BRADLEY 

Happy birthday to Bradley Carter 

who will be 31 on 7th August. 

EVAN 

Happy 18th birthday to Evan 

Sharma! Here’s to a fantastic 

season and an exciting year 

ahead. COYR’S! Jamie and Annie. 

CARSON 

Massive happy 10th birthday to 

Carson. Love Mum, Dad, Tyler 

and Rocky the dog. 

DEAN 

Massive happy birthday 

to Dean. Love Michelle, Tyler 

and Carson. 

ARIEL 

Mazeltov to Rabbi Ariel J 

Friedlander. Fifty years ago today, 

thanks to Uncle Geoffrey, she 

attended her first home game, 

also against Millwall. COYR’S! 


HOOPS 

OBITUARIES 

LESLEY 

MORAN 

15.05.1968 - 

28.01.2021. Sadly 

lost her battle to Covid-19. 

A lifelong supporter of QPR, 

Lesley had worked for the NHS 

at Hammersmith Hospital for 

more than 30 years. 

DAVID 

COLESHILL 

With sadness we 

leave a tribute to 

David Coleshill who 

sadly was taken from 

us much too early. 

David was a lifelong QPR fan who 

will always be in our hearts. 

From his wonderful wife Jackie, 

two beautiful daughters Sian 

and Bethany, and all his family 

and many friends. 

MAUREEN 

OLIVER 

26.06.1950 - 

01.02.2021. 

Taken by Covid. 

ROBERT 

‘BOB’ DENGEL 

Passed away in 

Cheltenham on 

22nd March 2021 

at the age of 87. 

He first went to a 

Rangers game in 1946 

with his father and attended the 

majority of home matches, as 

well as many away fixtures, up to 

2018 (since 1970 with his sons 

Simon and Andrew). 

Bob was present at all of QPR’s 

five Wembley appearances, 

plus the play-off final at the 

Millennium Stadium in 2003. He 

and Simon held season tickets 

in the South Africa Road Stand 

for many years. This season 

Simon and Andrew will occupy 

the same seats. 

TERESA 

NEWTON 

Teresa Newton, a 

long-time seasonticket 

holder, passed away 

peacefully on 3rd May 2020, aged 

55, after being diagnosed with 

brain tumours in 2019. 

She is greatly missed by her 

husband Pete, and their two 

sons Matt and Ciaran, who are 

all at today’s game. 

DEAN 

RICHARD 

McKEE 

30.01.92 - 07.04.20 

Son/brother/uncle/great uncle/ 

QPR fan and poet 

I loved being with you when 

QPR scored a goal because 

your passion was immense. 

That rubbed off on me, and we 

would go mental celebrating! 

‘Ohh Bobby Zamora’ comes 

to mind - me and you in tears 

celebrating victory in the last 

minute. I cherish that day more 

than ever now. 

I took some of your ashes to 

Wembley with Mum, Reice and 

Richie on the day England got to 

the final of the Euros. 

From your brother Richard. 

You are always in our thoughts 

and your memory will live 

on through your words 

#bornblueandwhite 

BRIAN 

PAYNE 

Brian passed away 

from Covid on 17th March 2021 at 

just 68. His ashes were scattered 

at the ground a few weeks ago. 

Brian had been a season-ticket 

holder for more than 40 years. 

He followed England all over 

the world and was frequently 

featured in the QPR programme 

at Three Lions matches with his 

Rangers flag. 

MICK 

ELLICOTT 

Well-known Rangers 

fan Mick Ellicott sadly 

passed away on 21st July 2021. 

STEVEN 

WEISBERG 

27.09.1948 - 

08.07.2020 

A loving husband, dad, grandad 

and great-grandad. Sadly passed 

away on 8th July 2020 after a short 

illness. He was a season-ticket 

holder with QPR for more than 50 

years and loved his Rangers. 

The family would like to thank 

Mark Warburton and the players 

for their kind video messages 

whilst Steven was in a short stay 

in the hospice. This cheered him 

up immensely. Sadly missed 

by all. From his wife Annie, 

daughters Tara, Donna and Nina. 

PEGGY 

ASHLEY 

07.08.1948 - 

05.10.2020 

In memory of Peggy 

Ashley who loved coming to 

Loftus Road with her husband 

Ray, sons Alan, Lee and Keith and 

grandchildren Amy, Tilly, Edward, 

Francis, Keeley, John, Jack and 

great-granddaughter Isabella. 

She would have been here 

today celebrating her birthday 

if she had not been taken so 

suddenly from us last year. 

Always here with us in spirit and 

still supporting the R’s from up 

there. Our love will never end. 


HOOPS 


HOOPS 

BE HERE NOW 

CHARLIE AUSTIN 

INTERVIEW: TOM HARVEY 

THERE’S ALWAYS HOPE AND 

EXPECTATION FOR A FOOTBALL CLUB 

COME AUGUST. FOR QPR, THAT 

HOPE IS HIGHER THAN IT’S BEEN FOR 

SOME YEARS GIVEN THE WAY THE 

R’S FINISHED THE SECOND HALF OF 

LAST TERM. WITH CHARLIE AUSTIN 

LEADING THE ATTACK AFTER SEALING A 

PERMANENT RETURN TO RANGERS AND 

FANS FINALLY BACK IN THEIR NUMBERS, 

THE STAGE IS SET. AUSTIN MAY HAVE 

JUST TURNED 32, BUT HIS HUNGER FOR 

FINDING THE BACK OF THE NET HASN’T 

DIMINISHED… 


HOOPS 

Charlie - how much are you looking 

forward to getting the new season 

under way? 

It’s an exciting time. Up and down the 

country, every player looks forward to 

this moment. It’s the end of pre-season 

which no one really likes and it’s an 

exhilarating time for me to be part of the 

club again as a permanent player. It’s a 

big challenge ahead for us but it’s one 

we’re all looking forward to. 

We’re always told not to read too much 

into pre-season results, but you must 

be pleased by how the friendly games 

have gone? 

We just took off from the way we finished 

last season. We’ve shown that the 

manager has found a system that seems 

to work. Pre-season is about getting 

minutes under your belt, strikers scoring 

goals and getting the repetition back in. 

But for us it all starts against Millwall and 

the first proper game of the season. It’s 

great to have that base fitness but now 

the real hard work starts. 

When we spoke to you towards the end 

of last season, you said you’d love to 

come back to QPR on a long-term basis, 

but it would depend on what direction 

the club wanted to go in. It wasn’t long 

before you made your loan stint from 

West Bromwich Albion a permanent one 

so presumably you were convinced that 

the future’s bright at Rangers? 

You can see from the players that the 

club have brought in that they want to 

bolster the squad, make it stronger and 

compete in this league. I’m delighted to 

be a part of it. 

You obviously have a real affinity with 

the club - why do you think that is? 

It’s hard to say, it just seemed to work 

from day one. Everyone loves a goalscorer 

don’t they, but I seem to bring a bit more 

to the table. Sometimes these things just 

happen and there’s no explanation for it. I 

just think it’s a perfect fit. 


HOOPS 

“It’s a big challenge ahead 

for us but it’s one we’re all 

looking forward to” 

As you mentioned, the club have done 

some really good business over the 

summer. Some players we already know 

about, while others are new faces. 

What have you made of the incoming 

transfers to date? 

It’s been brilliant. It’s a really strong 

squad now, which you need in the 

Championship. It’s a long season 

ahead but we’ve got some good, exciting 

young players and also got the lads 

in who were on loan last term. We’ve 

strengthened in all areas and it’s an 

exciting time to be at QPR. 

It’s a blow for Sam Field to be ruled out 

for three months, though… 

It’s disappointing for Fieldy. He was doing 

really well. But that’s football - injuries are 

part and parcel of the game. He’ll come 

back stronger than ever. I know Fieldy 

well and he’ll be busting a gut to get back 

fit and strong to help the team. 

What will the aims be for QPR this 

season? After the way we finished last 

term, fans are starting to dream of a 

promotion push… 

I understand that given the way we 

played in the second half of last season. 

Personally, I think we have to break it 

up into five-game segments and see 

where we are. There will be plenty of ups 

and plenty of downs this season, that’s 

the way it is. We’ve just got to try and 

emulate what we did in the second half 

of last season and see where it takes us. 

Our first aim will be to get to 40 points, 

then get to as many as we had last 

season and then try and improve on that. 


HOOPS 

Giving Football Back to 

Small Business 

At eBay, we know small business and 

football clubs used to be like chips and 

gravy, two peas in a pod – a match 

made in community heaven. 

Ironmongers, ship workers, spring 

makers and cobblers, all formed clubs 

which decades later are still prospering. 

But nowadays, you’d think it was all 

eyewatering transfers, Super Leagues 

and mega sponsors, detached from the 

humble origins of our historic clubs. 

That’s why eBay are proud to support 

300,000 small businesses who help 

power EFL clubs nationwide. We’ll be 

donating our advertising space to a lot 

of these businesses – on match day 

hoardings, around grounds and beyond – 

throughout the coming season, to ensure 

they can continue to thrive in our local 

communities. So, join us in giving your 

support to Small Business Power, because 

today, they need us more than ever. 

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH 


HOOPS 

“We’ve strengthened in all 

areas and it’s an exciting 

time to be at QPR ” 

You got eight goals in 21 games for 

Rangers during your loan stint last term. 

Do you set yourself a goal target at the 

start of every season - and is it one you 

can share? 

Not really, I just try and score as many as 

I can. That’s my aim! 

As a proud Englishman, what was your 

take on the Euros? 

It was disappointing in the end, let’s be 

honest. To get to the final was great 

and it would have been amazing to see 

us win. We were brilliant for about 15 

minutes against Italy, but then we were 

poor, and the penalties weren’t exactly 

great. It was good that we got to the final 

but when you’re there you want to win. 


HOOPS 

“Everyone loves a 

goalscorer don’t they?” 

It’s a tough opening fixture for QPR 

- what can we expect from Gary 

Rowett’s Millwall? 

It will be interesting. Gary Rowett likes 

his teams to play football. If you look at 

the sides he’s managed before, 

he’s had them passing through 

the back and through the lines. 

It will be interesting to see if he 

can get Millwall playing in a similar way. 

Everyone sees Millwall as a big, strong 

physical side - and they do bring that to 

the table - but if Gary gets them playing 

the way he wants them to, they’re going 

to be a tough opponent. 

We certainly had an eventful meeting 

with Millwall at home last season… 

They battered us for the first half and 

deserved the 2-0 lead. We came out for 

the second half, got the goal and pushed 

on to win the game. We know what 

threats Millwall will bring, and we have to 

be wary of them. As I said earlier, it’s all 

well and good having a great pre-season, 

but the proper stuff starts now. 

The Euros showed what a difference 

having fans back at stadiums can make. 

You’ve had a taster in the pre-season 

friendlies - just how good is it have 

supporters at grounds again? 

It’s great. It’s brilliant to have home 

and away fans back to create an 

atmosphere. All players relish playing in 

that environment, it’s what we thrive on, 

and it seems to give you an extra five or 

10 per cent, it really does. I didn’t mind 

playing in empty stadiums, it was just 

one of those things where you had to 

get on with it. You kind of got used to it in 

the end but ultimately you can’t beat the 

fans being in the ground. When you’re 

winning or when you score, it gives you 

that buzz you want as a footballer. 


HOOPS 


HOOPS 

For the latest news and to share 

your match day experiences, 

follow… 

EFL 

theEFL 

EFL 


HOOPS 

Columnist 

THE ‘R’ GENERATION FANSITE WRITER PENS HIS NEW 

COLUMN FOR THE OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMMME… 

fter a summer of euphoria and heartbreak 

A from cheering on the England team in 

their oh-so-close Euros campaign, 

flipping the mental switch back to ‘QPR mode’ has 

an air of slight guilt about it. Apologies need to be 

made to a club that we as fans haven’t given 

enough attention over the summer… 

Ilias: all the praise we heaped on Saka, Grealish 

and Phillips - we haven’t forgotten about you, the 

real wonderkid. 

Mark: we know we have a song about how Gareth 

is the one, but you’re the only one for us really. 

Lyndon… alright, you were better than Harry Kane 

in that one game, we’ll give you that. 

Honest, whatever we said, whatever we did, we 

didn’t mean it. QPR, we just want you back for good. 

With the red and white scarves swapped for 

blue and white, and Rangers busy in the transfer 

market, a season of club football seems an 

attractive prospect. We’ll pledge to never again 

take sub-zero weather, midweek away fixtures 

or a 0-0 draw for granted, and we’ll immediately 

moan about those things when they come along 

because that’s just how it works. 

Brilliantly, everything might be becoming vaguely 

normal again - and what better than the steady 

rhythm of a club football season to remind us of 

this? Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Wednesday, 

a rogue Friday night or two, international break, 

play-off push, maybe not, hang on yeah, it’s a 

play-off push… there’s something pleasantly 

familiar about it. 

The pre-season friendlies have suitably whet 

the appetite. A 4-2 drubbing of Manchester 

United was followed by an enjoyable away day 

in Cambridge, but QPR’s home meeting with 

Leicester was the sternest test, with the Foxes 

putting out an XI who will feature regularly in the 

Premier League this term. 

Whilst an onslaught of no fewer than nine 

Leicester substitutions put an end to 

Rangers’ well-earned lead, the game was best 

characterised by the Greatest Hits compilation 

of fan-favourite chants emanating from R Block. 

As Bircham, Buzsaky and Taarabt were hailed 

from the Ellerslie Road Stand, the mere fact of 

being home felt like more than enough - the 

performance was really just the icing on the cake. 

Basically, it was brilliant to be back at the Kiyan 

Prince Foundation Stadium. I’ll refrain from 

trying to turn this into a prediction of QPR’s 

Championship fortunes, but here’s hoping the 

rest of my programme columns this season 

(alternating with the fantastic Sam Taylor) can all 

be this jubilant! 


HOOPS 

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HOOPS 

Today , s Opposition: 

MILLWALL FC 

(THE LIONS) 

IN THE CABINET: 

CLUB FACTS: 

STADIUM: 

[ The Den ] 

OPENED: 

[ 1993 ] 

CURRENT CAPACITY: 

[ 20,146 ] 

RECORD 

ATTENDANCE: 

[ 20,093 ] 

v Arsenal 

FA Cup third round 10.01.1994 

CLUB COLOURS: 

[ Blue and White ] 

SECOND TIER 

Champions: 1987/88 

THIRD TIER 

Winners (3): 1928/29, 1937/38, 2000/01 

Promoted (3): 1965/66, 1975/76, 1985/86 

Play-off winners (2): 2009/10, 2016/17 

FOURTH TIER 

Winners: 1961/62 

Runners-up: 1964/65 

FA CUP 

Runners-up: 2003/04 

M I L L W A L L F C F A C T F I L E 


HOOPS 

MILLWALL FC 

OPPOSITION 

OVERVIEW 

MILLWALL FC OPPOSITION OVERVIEW 

“NO ONE LIKES US, WE DON’T CARE” has been heard on 

Millwall’s terraces since the early 1970s and for many decades a 

trip to The Den was something to be feared. 

However, under the guidance of current boss Gary Rowett, the 

Lions have started to carve out a new identity for themselves 

with an easy-on-the-eye footballing style. 

Last term’s 11th-placed finish was down from the eighth 

spot achieved the previous year, but the absence of the 

Millwall faithful shouldn’t be underestimated and the return of 

spectators will certainly give Rowett’s side a boost. 

Millwall have been busy in the summer transfer market and 

the arrival of experienced players such as Benik Afobe, George 

Saville and George Long will give former Burton Albion boss 

Rowett a welcome selection headache. 


HOOPS 

M 

GARY ROWETT 

Age: 47 

Nationality: English 

Year Appointed: 2019 

Succeeded: Neil Harris 

[ THE GAFFER ] 

Gary Rowett had big 

shoes to fill when he 

replaced fans’ 

favourite Neil Harris 

in the Millwall hotseat 

in October 2019. 

As a player, Rowett 

enjoyed spells at no 

less than eight clubs 

as a solid centre-half. 

Burton Albion was his 

final destination 

before calling it a day 

in 2007 and it was at 

the Pirelli Stadium that 

Bromsgrove-born 

Rowett would begin 

his journey into 

management. 

Initially working as 

assistant to Paul 

Peschisolido, Rowett 

took the reins in 2012, 

with an impressive rise 

up the Football 

League prompting 

Birmingham City to 

move for his services. 

A fine stint at St 

Andrew’s saw 

Rowett’s stock grow 

higher, although spells 

at Derby County and 

Stoke City weren’t 

as fruitful. 

Rowett left the 

Potters in January 

2019 and worked in 

the media until his 

appointment at 

Millwall later that year. 

An impressive first 21 

months at The Den 

has seen him win a 

respectable 33 of his 

86 games in charge. 

M I L L W A L L F C T H E G A F F E R 


HOOPS 

M I L L W A L L F C K E Y Q U A R T E T 

[ SAFE HANDS ] [ THE ROCK ] 

33 

# 

33 

BARTOSZ BIALKOWSKI 

GOALKEEPER 

Age: 34 

Nationality: Polish 

Signed From: Ipswich 

Bartosz Bialkowski has 

become a regular 

between the posts for 

Millwall following his 

arrival from Ipswich 

Town, initially on loan, 

prior to the 2019/20 

campaign. 

The Polish shotstopper 

first arrived on 

these shores in 2006 

when he joined 

Southampton from 

Gornik Zabrze, 

spending time on loan 

at Ipswich and Barnsley. 

A move to Notts County 

followed in 2012 before 

a permanent switch to 

Ipswich in 2014. The 

towering keeper made 

178 appearances for the 

Blues, joining Millwall five 

years later. 

The experienced 

Bialkowski, capped once 

for his country, has 

helped solidify the Millwall 

backline and will play a 

key role in Gary Rowett’s 

plans this season. 

JAKE COOPER has become 

one of the first names on the 

Millwall teamsheet following 

his move from Reading, 

initially on loan, in 2017. 

Cooper has gone from 

strength-to-strength in the 

Millwall defence, with his 

impressive performances 

earning him successive Young 

Player of the Year awards. 

Known for putting his body on 

the line, Cooper played every 

minute of both the 2018/19 

and 2019/20 seasons, with 

only a dislocated shoulder 

ruling him out of action for a 

short period last term. 

CLASSIC 

KIT 

1987/88 

# 

5 

JAKE COOPER 

DEFENDER 

Age: 26 


Signed From: Reading 

TEDDY 

SHERINGHAM 


HOOPS 

[ THE BIG MAN ] 

10 

# 

10 

DODGY 

BARNET 

BILLY 

NEIL 

1965/66 

# 

6 

MAIKEL KIEFTENBELD 

MIDFIELDER 

Age: 31 

Nationality: Dutch 

Signed From: Birmingham 

[ THE ENGINE ] 

HAVING worked with Gary 

Rowett at Birmingham City, 

making the switch to The Den 

in January was a no brainer 

for Dutchman Maikel 

Kieftenbeld. 

Kieftenbeld’s energetic 

displays had made the 

31-year-old a popular figure 

at St Andrew’s, a place where 

he enjoyed six seasons 

following his move from 

Groningen in 2015. 

The tough-tackling midfielder 

could prove vital to the Lions 

this term. 

MATT SMITH 

FORWARD 

Age: 32 


Signed From: QPR 

Frontman Matt Smith 

needs no introduction 

to the R’s faithful 

following a two-year 

spell in W12 between 

2017 and 2019. 

The powerful 

striker plied his trade 

in non-League 

before making the 

breakthrough at 

Oldham Athletic 

in 2011. 

Spells at Leeds United 

and Fulham followed 

before his switch to 

Rangers. Smith hit 23 

goals in 102 games 

for QPR and has 

continued to find the 

net on a regular basis 

at The Den. 

His aerial prowess will 

ensure a tough time 

for the Rangers 

defence this 

afternoon. 

M I L L W A L L F C K E Y Q U A R T E T 


HOOPS 


HOOPS 

23 

# 

23 

BENIK AFOBE 

STRIKER 

Age: 28 

Nationality: Congolese 

Signed From: Stoke (loan) 

[ DANGER MAN ] 

Benik Afobe will be 

looking to get his 

career back on track as 

he begins a second loan 

spell at Millwall. 

The striker rose through 

Arsenal’s ranks, heading 

out on a temporary 

basis to Huddersfield 

Town, Reading, Bolton 

Wanderers, the Lions, 

Sheffield Wednesday 

and Milton Keynes Dons 

prior to a permanent 

switch to 

Wolverhampton 

Wanderers in 2015. 

A fine stint at Molineux 

propelled the hitman to 

the Premier League with 

AFC Bournemouth in 

2015 but, after 10 goals 

in 63 appearances, 

regular starts became 

hard to come by. 

He returned to Wolves, 

initially on loan, before 

heading to Stoke City in 

2018 and working under 

current Millwall boss 

Gary Rowett. 

Loaned to Bristol City in 

2019, an ACL injury 

hindered his chances of 

success at Ashton Gate, 

although Afobe enjoyed 

a more fruitful stay at 

Turkish side 

Trabzonspor last term. 

After his previous loan 

at The Den was cut 

short by a knee 

problem, the 28-yearold 

will be hoping his 

second stay will prove to 

be more fruitful. 

M I L L W A L L F C D A N G E R M A N 


HOOPS 

M I L L W A L L F C F A M I L I A R F A C E 

FAMILIAR FACE: 

MARC 

BIRCHAM 

“We love you Bircham because you’ve got blue hair...” 

Midfielder Marc Bircham is fondly remembered in W12 for his 

all-action displays during a five-year stint. 

After arriving from Millwall in 2002, the midfielder went on 

to become a vital part of Ian Holloway’s side that sealed 

promotion to Division Two in 2004. 

Bircham made his affinity for the R’s clear during his spell as 

a player, but it was the Lions who gave him his big break and 

the Wembley-born man made more 100 appearances for the 

Bermondsey outfit. 

After hanging up his boots, Bircham has gone on to be a 

first-team coach with both QPR and Millwall as an assistant to 

Holloway. The former Canada international is now manager 

of Irish outfit Waterford. 

MARC BIRCHAM 

1996-2002 


Millwall Apps: 104 | Gls: 7 

MARC BIRCHAM 

2002-2007 


QPR Apps: 152 | Gls: 7 


HOOPS 

LAST TIME IN W12: 

QPR 3 

MILLWALL 2 

Jordy de Wijs was the hero as QPR came from behind to seal a 

dramatic win over Millwall. 

After going in 2-0 down at the break, Rangers had it all to do, but 

second-half strikes from Charlie Austin, Stefan Johansen and De Wijs 

secured the R’s the points. 

The visitors led early on courtesy of Jed Wallace’s sixth-minute strike 

and things got worse for the hosts when Mason Bennett slotted 

home just before the break. 

But a dramatic second half completed the unlikeliest of comebacks 

for Rangers and secured their ninth victory of 2021. 

THE TEAMS: 

QPR: Dieng; Kane (Adomah 78), Dickie, De Wijs, Barbet, Wallace; 

Johansen, Cameron (Field 70), Willock (Chair 70); Dykes (Ball 90+1), 

Austin (Bonne 79) 

MILLWALL: Bialkowski; Romeo, Hutchinson, Pearce (Burey 89), 

Cooper, Malone; Woods (Mitchell 77), Evans (Bradshaw 89), Thompson 

(Williams 77); J Wallace, Bennett (Bodvarsson 77) 

DATE: 

17.03.2021 

VENUE: 

KIYAN PRINCE 

FOUNDATION 

STADIUM 

MILLWALL FC LAST TIME IN W12 


HOOPS 

FREEZEFRAME 

A PICTORIAL LOOK BACK AT A PREVIOUS 

CLASH WITH TODAY’S OPPONENTS… 

Shaun Derry and David Forde exchange pleasantries 

during QPR’s Championship fixture with Millwall in 

September 2010. The game finished 0-0. 


HOOPS 


HOOPS 

PUTTING THE SPARK 

INTO MATCHDAY 

PROGRAMMES... 

PROUD PROGRAMME 

PARTNERS OF 

QUEENS PARK 

RANGERS 

www.ignitionsportsmedia.com 


HOOPS 

Tel: 020 8740 2560 | E-mail: corporate@qpr.co.uk | @QPR_Corporate | www.qprcorporate.co.uk 

M Mark WARBURTON 

SPONSORED BY: 

Phyl & 

Tina 

# 1 Seny DIENG 

SPONSORED BY: 

Sindy 

Grewall 

# 2 Osman KAKAY 

SPONSORED BY: 

Richard & 

Vivienne 

MacLennan 

# 3 Lee WALLACE 

SPONSORED BY: 

Trish 

Phillips 

# 4 Rob DICKIE 

SPONSORED BY: 

Jakson 

Buhaj 

# 5 Jordy DE WIJS 

SPONSORED BY: 

Dutch 

Superhoops 

# # 

Marco 6 RAMKILDE Yoann BARBET 27 

SPONSORED BY: 

Martin & 

Kieran O’Brien 

- True Potential 

Wealth 

Management 

# 7 Stefan JOHANSEN 

SPONSORED BY: 

David 

Loveland 

# 8 Luke AMOS 

SPONSORED BY: 

Tyler 

Buhaj 

# 9 Lyndon DYKES 

SPONSORED BY: 

Ron Hill 

# 10 Ilias CHAIR 

SPONSORED BY: 

Keith 

Porter 

# 11 Charlie AUSTIN 

SPONSORED BY: 

Phil 

Newman 

& Billy 

Maguire 

# 12 Dominic BALL 

SPONSORED BY: 

Dave, Di 

& Nathan 

Smith 

# 13 Jordan ARCHER 

SPONSORED BY: 

# 14 George THOMAS 

SPONSORED BY: 

# 15 Sam FIELD 

SPONSORED BY: 

Amanda 

Dixon 

# # 

Marco 16 RAMKILDE Sam McCALLUM 27 

SPONSORED BY: 

# 17 Andre DOZZELL 

SPONSORED BY: 

# 18 Charlie KELMAN 

SPONSORED BY: 

Trent 

Buhaj 

# 20 Jimmy DUNNE 

SPONSORED BY: 

# 21 Chris WILLOCK 

SPONSORED BY: 

Richie 

Dixon 

# 22 Moses ODUBAJO 

SPONSORED BY: 

Phil & 

Harry 

Newman 

# 23 Conor MASTERSON 

SPONSORED BY: 

# 24 Charlie OWENS 

SPONSORED BY: 

# 26 Faysal BETTACHE 

SPONSORED BY: 

# 32 Joe WALSH 

SPONSORED BY: 

# 33 Dillon BARNES 

SPONSORED BY: 

# 37 Albert ADOMAH 

SPONSORED BY: 

Martin 

& Kieran 

O’Brien 


HERE’S 

A ST AT 

I BET 

YOU 

DIDN’T 

KN 

W

OVER HALF A MILLION 

SKY BET CUSTOMERS USE DEPOSIT LIMITS 

TO MANAGE THEIR BETTING BUDGET. 

THAT’S ENOUGH TO FILL: 

6 WEMBLEYS. 

201 ALLY PALLYS. 

OR 8 CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP DAYS. 

(THAT’S A LOT OF TWEED) 

ALL GOOD BOOKMAKERS 

HAVE DEPOSIT LIMITS. 

SO WHOEVER YOU BET WITH, 

SET AN APPROPRIATE ONE FOR YOU 

AND THEN ENJOY THE SPORT. 

DEPOSIT LIMITS 

THAT’S BETTING BETTER.

HOOPS 

THIS SEASON MARKS 40 YEARS SINCE 

QPR REACHED THE 1981/82 FA CUP FINAL. 

IN EACH MATCHDAY PROGRAMME, TONY 

INCENZO SPEAKS TO A MEMBER OF THE 

SQUAD WHO PLAYED A ROLE IN THAT 

UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEY TO THE TWIN 

TOWERS. FIRST UP, IT’S PETER HUCKER… 

INTERVIEW: TONY INCENZO 


HOOPS 

PETER HUCKER 

Goalkeeper 

YEARS AT QPR: 1980-86 


HOOPS 

P 

ETER, you were the 

brilliant goalkeeper in our 

run to the 1981/82 FA Cup 

final. It was 40 years ago now, 

but it only seems like yesterday, 

doesn’t it? 

Yes, absolutely. Even though our 

memories start to fade, there are 

things that we still remember vividly 

and that FA Cup run is one of them. 

You were only 22 years old, and you 

didn’t play for us in the first half of 

that season. In fact, it was only when 

we drew Middlesbrough at home in 

the FA Cup third round that you came 

into the side… 

It was a strange one. I’d been with the 

R’s since I was 13 and played in the 

reserves by the time I was 15. But 

with the first team, I kept getting 

overlooked every time a goalkeeper 

left and they brought another one in. 

Looking back, it probably would have 

been my last season at Rangers if I 

hadn’t made the breakthrough. But 

that’s how it is. That’s fate. When the 

1981/82 cup run started, I’d 

previously only played one senior 

game away to Shrewsbury in May 

1981. That was our final fixture of the 

season and a dead rubber for QPR. 

Then on the Thursday before the 

Middlesbrough tie in the third round, I 

was called into training at the main 

stadium on the plastic pitch. It was 

just the goalkeepers and Terry 

Venables (top right) took the session. 

All the other players were at the 

training ground. I arrived at Loftus 

Road and Terry was out in the 

goalmouth with John Burridge, who’d 

been the regular keeper up until that 

point. Then one of the kit men said to 

me, ‘Go and sit in an executive box.’ I 

thought: ‘Sit in one of the boxes? 

What’s the problem?’ Anyway, I sat in 


HOOPS 

When the cup run started, 

I’d previously only played one 

senior game 

the box and watched Terry put John 

through his paces. When they finished, I 

was taken out on to the pitch for a light 

workout with Terry. I was thinking, ‘What’s 

this all about? It’s crazy.’ At the end of my 

session, I went into the dressing room 

and started getting changed when Terry 

came in and just went, ‘Oh by the way, 

you’re starting on Saturday.’ 

Boro were in Division One and Rangers 

were in the second tier. We started our 

cup run as underdogs, didn’t we? 

Definitely, but we had a good side. 

There’s no doubt that it was a great era 

for Queens Park Rangers. We had 

talented players and Terry Venables was 

a master tactician. The one thing he 

always said was, ‘Let the opposition 

worry about us.’ We never thought 

too much about how other teams did 

things. We’d run through their 

corners, we’d run through their 

free-kicks and we knew who they had 

marking. But that was about all we did. 

Terry never asked us to play in a 

certain way to stop other teams. That 

never, ever came into our thinking. 

Terry said, ‘Let’s make them try to 

stop us.’ We got a good 1-1 draw 

against Middlesbrough. I don’t think it 

was the most exciting game in the 

world although the replay was. 

Yes, it was a midweek trip up to Boro’s 

old Ayresome Park. Rangers won 3-2 

with Warren Neill grabbing the winning 

goal for us in extra-time. That was a 

stunning victory, wasn’t it? 

It was probably the most stand-out 

game in our cup run for me. It was a 

noisy and hostile crowd up there for an 

evening game. We were a long way 

from London but thank God that some 

Rangers fans made the trip. It went 

into extra-time and Warren scored a 

fantastic diving header. I’m not being 

funny but from that game onwards we 

were actually buoyant for the rest of 

the tournament. To be fair - like 

England in the Euros recently - we 

didn’t have the toughest route through 

to the final. 


HOOPS 

We had talented players 

and Terry Venables was a 

master tactician 

In the fourth round we were drawn 

away to Blackpool who were in 

Division Four. We nearly lost that 

game, but it finished 0-0. Then the 

replay took place at Loftus Road with 

Clive Allen scoring four times as we 

ran out 5-1 winners… 

That was a tight game up at Blackpool 

and we got away with it a little bit there 

as they had a few good chances. But 

we were very disappointed in our 

performance, and we knew we were a 

lot better than that - no disrespect to 

Blackpool. We brought them back to 

west London and did what we should 

have done in the first game really. Clive 

Allen was a great finisher. When I first 

joined QPR as a youngster, it was me, 

Clive, Paul Goddard and a guy called 

Craig Richards. We were the only four 

apprentices at the club. Clive and I 

used to go back out on to the pitch at 

the end of training and take two bags 

of balls with us. There were only the 

two of us and Clive would just 

practise hitting the target. Regardless 

of power, regardless of accuracy. Hit 

the target! Hit the target! Hit the 

target! I think that paid off for him in 

the end because he did hit the target 

a lot in his career. As his skills 

improved, he scored more and more 

goals. That was down to the many 

afternoons we spent doing extra 

training before we had to wash the 

kit and clean the senior players’ 

boots in our roles as apprentices. 

Do you remember listening to the 

radio on a Monday lunchtime for 

the live FA Cup draws back in 

those days? 


HOOPS 

It was the first thing we did on a Monday 

afternoon. We came in from training, went 

upstairs for a cup of tea and everyone 

crowded around the radio. 

In the fifth round, we beat Grimsby Town 

3-1 at Loftus Road. They were several 

places below us in the Division Two table 

and it was a comprehensive victory, 

wasn’t it? 

Yes, and again our confidence in the 

competition was growing all the time. You 

never know with FA Cup ties but we were 

very confident going into that game. 

Then it was on to Crystal Palace at 

home in the quarter-finals. They were 

also in Division Two and it was a huge 

needle game as a number of QPR men 

like Terry Venables, Terry Fenwick, Mike 

Flanagan and Clive Allen had previously 

been at Palace… 

Definitely. It was a big occasion in terms of 

atmosphere and a very tight match all the 

way through as I remember it. Both teams 

had their chances. Both teams had spells of 

pressure. Then Clive scored the only goal of 

the game for us at the Loft End with two 

minutes to go. Not only did he score, but he 

then ran all the way down to the other end 

of the pitch to celebrate in front of the 

Palace fans and all hell broke loose (left)! 

It was like the whole game had built up to 

that crescendo. We’d been pressing 

towards the end to get the goal, but 

Palace were about to go away thinking, 

‘We’ve got a draw out of it. Take them 

back to our place. We can finish them 

off.’ Luckily enough the chance fell to 

Clive, and it was a great result. 

We had the plastic Omniturf pitch at 

Loftus Road during the cup run and 

critics used to say that it gave us a big 

advantage. But we also had a very 

good away record in that period… 

A fantastic away record. The following 

season when we won promotion, I 

think we won as many away games as 

we did at home. So was the pitch an 

advantage for us? No! Opposing 

teams only had to play on it once. We 

were there week after week and it 

wasn’t an easy pitch to play on, believe 

me. It was a difficult surface, and I don’t 

think our players enjoyed playing on it. 

But the R’s didn’t break any rules when 

we laid the plastic pitch. If it’s within the 

rules, that’s the way the game goes 

and everybody knew that. 

As you already hinted, there were a 

number of players at Rangers in the 

early 1980’s who - like yourself - 

came up through the youth team… 

I think the supporters appreciated it. 

The Rangers fans were pretty good on 

the whole anyway with most players. 

They were very supportive of the 

team. And we had loads of players 

coming through from the successful 

youth set-up. I think I played in one 

game for the first team where seven or 

eight lads had come through the ranks. 

There weren’t many other clubs that 

could do that. 

Read the second part of Tony’s 

interview with Peter in the next 

matchday programme 


HOOPS 

1981/82 

QPR 1 

LUTON TOWN 2 

DATE: 1st September 1981 

COMPETITION: Division Two 

QPR SCORER: King 

ATTENDANCE: 18,703 

THE PROGRAMME: 20 pages, price 40p 

THERE was incredible media interest as 

Loftus Road became the first league 

ground in the world to stage football on an 

artificial playing surface. 

In front of a sell-out capacity crowd, 

midfield man Andy King gave Rangers the 

lead with a close-range strike at the School 

End after 35 minutes. 

But back came Luton in the second half with 

goals from Mark Aizlewood (71 minutes) 

and man of the match Ricky Hill (84). 

Terry Venables, manager of QPR in 1981, 

later said: “My chairman Jim Gregory had 

always been worried about the terrible 

problems we had with the pitch. We couldn’t 

get the drainage right. Even on a fairly nice 

day, it would be like a quagmire. 

“Jim just didn’t know what to do. Whatever 

he spent, he couldn’t seem to solve the 

problem. So, he said to me, ‘What about a 

plastic pitch?’ We chatted for a while and it 

was a big step forward. And he said, ‘There 

are no rules to say we can’t!’ 

“So, I said, ‘Come on then - we’ll do it!’ And 

yes, we went for it!” 

RANGERS: Burridge, Gregory, Fenwick, 

Waddock, Hazell, Roeder, Flanagan, Francis, 

Allen, King, Stainrod. Sub (not used): 

Micklewhite. 


HOOPS 

PROGRAMME SNIPPETS: R’s secretary 

Ron Phillips wrote: “You are present when 

the first-ever Football League game takes 

place on an artificial playing surface - 

Omniturf, a name you’ll be hearing a lot 

about from now onwards. 

“We predict that Omniturf will drastically 

change - for the better - the manner in 

which the nation’s clubs use their stadiums. 

However, it does not necessarily follow that 

it will also change the way in which teams 

play soccer. 

“We have no doubt that losing teams 

will leave this stadium this season blaming 

their misfortune solely on our new pitch… 

we shall listen more closely to those 

teams who examine their results here 

from the point of their own players’ abilities 

and efforts. 

“For the record, Rangers have played one or 

two practice games on Omniturf before this 

evening and the general verdict is the 

surface produces a fast and highly 

entertaining match which can only delight all 

spectators who watch it. We expect thrills 

galore at Rangers Stadium this season!” 

Elsewhere in the programme, the Michael 

Wale Report also concentrated on our new 

playing surface. “Tomorrow’s match reports, I 

guarantee, will be saying as much about the 

pitch as the game. Losing managers, no 

doubt, will blame it and if they are so lucky to 

win no doubt they will praise it. 

“Rangers have taken a gigantic gamble, for 

which chairman Jim Gregory should be 

applauded. Personally, I believe we will be the 

first of many clubs switching to this or other 

all-weather surfaces.” 


HOOPS 

OUR CLUB AMBASSADOR’S 

VIEWS ON ALL THINGS QPR… 

G 

ood afternoon everyone and 

welcome back to the Kiyan 

Prince Foundation Stadium for 

the start of another new season. 

It really is so good to say “welcome 

back” to all our fans today after an 

unprecedented last 17 months where, 

other than two games last season, 

matches have been played without any 

supporters in attendance. 

I’ve said on numerous occasions 

that football is all about the fans and 

without them at games it’s just not the 

same. The noise and the atmosphere 

the fans generate when supporting their 

team is something special and has 

really been missed. 

I speak for everyone at QPR and indeed 

right across the football industry when I 

really hope that we can continue to keep 

moving forward and get back to watching 

the game we all love together and 

sharing in the roller coaster of emotions 

that this sport throws up for us all. 

A new season starts today and I’m so 

looking forward to it getting under way. A 

new campaign always brings excitement 

and hope for every team and their fans at 

all levels of the game. 

The mood and optimism within and 

around our club is really positive going 

into this season and confidence within 

the squad will be good. That positive 

feeling is built on the superb form shown 

by the team in the second half of last 

season where our performances and 

points per game return were excellent. 

The recruitment and signings that have 

been made by the club in the close 

season have enabled the squad that 

finished last term so well to be kept 

together. Some very good additions to 

that have really added competition for 

places which is always a good thing if you 

want to be successful. 

Every player within the squad has an 

important role to play throughout the 

season. The games come thick and fast, 

there will be injuries, suspensions, loss of 


HOOPS 

form and rotation so every player has to 

be ready for when the opportunity comes. 

Unfortunately, injuries are part and parcel 

of the game, and I was sorry to hear that 

Sam Field will be out of action for a while. 

We all wish Sam a quick and full recovery 

in the coming weeks. 

I’ve really enjoyed the pre-season matches 

and the positive nature of what we’ve 

seen from the squad in recent weeks. 

Pre-season is all about getting ready 

individually and collectively for the league 

campaign and we’ve seen some really 

exciting games - an excellent performance 

and 4-2 win against Manchester United, a 

good display and 2-1 victory at Cambridge 

United followed by a very entertaining 3-3 

draw against Leicester City have given us 

a good foundation to build from going into 

the new term. 

However, we know how hard this league 

can be and over 46 games you have to 

really earn and fight for every point you 

get. I know the players and staff have all 

worked hard in preparation for today and 

come 3pm will be ready to go. 

We start the new campaign against 

Millwall and, as always, I’m expecting a 

very tough game against a very good 

opponent. Under Gary Rowett, Millwall 

have done brilliantly over the past 

couple of seasons, finishing eighth and 

11th, and I’m sure they’ll be looking to 

improve on that this term. They’ve also 

made some very good additions to 

their squad during the summer and will 

come into the game today confident and 

wanting to start the season with a good 

performance and result with their own 

fans cheering them on. 

It’s a London derby and there should be 

a terrific atmosphere within the stadium, 

something we’ve missed during the past 

year and a half. 

Once again, it’s great to have you back 

supporting the team. Enjoy the game. 

Come on you R’s! 


HOOPS 

Other Uses Of Loftus Road 

CRICKET, HOCKEY, RUGBY, BOXING, CONCERTS AND MORE 

- LOFTUS ROAD HAS SEEN IT ALL DOWN THE YEARS. WE 

EXAMINE THE OCCASIONS WHEN OUR FAMOUS GROUND 

PLAYED HOST TO SOME VERY DIFFERENT EVENTS… 

BOXING 

One of the most dramatic 

non-football nights in 

Loftus Road’s history came 

on Saturday 8th June 1985 

when QPR played host to a 

WBA featherweight boxing 

championship fight. 

Ireland’s Barry McGuigan 

challenged the Panamanian 

Eusebio Pedroza. 

This attracted a raucous sellout 

crowd of 27,000 to W12. 

Irish accents were everywhere, 

green was the dominant 

colour being worn and the 

repeated chants of “BAR-REE, 

BAR-REE” filled the air. In fact, 

Pedroza didn’t appear to have 

a supporter in the stadium. 

Irish sporting royalty such 

as George Best, Norman 

Whiteside, Willie John 

McBride and Mary Peters 

were among those present. 

The fight was broadcast live 

on BBC television and also on 

ABC in America. 

Looking back, McGuigan 

said: “I hurt my left arm in my 

last sparring session before 

the fight and I couldn’t punch 

but there was no way I was 

pulling out. 

“As my father Pat sang 

Danny Boy to the crowd 

during the preliminaries at 

Loftus Road, I was oblivious 

to everything. I just hummed 

the whole way through it. I 

felt emotional. But I had to 

concentrate on Pedroza. 

“While my father sang, 

Pedroza stared at me. By that 

time my pupils were staring at 

him too - like a terrier that’s 

got hold of a fox. 


HOOPS 

Irish accents were 

everywhere, green was the 

dominant colour and the 

repeated chants of 

‘BAR-REE, BAR- 

REE’ filled the air 

“Pedroza was freakishly 

tall and skilful. I knew 

technically he was far superior 

to me and that the only way 

to defeat him was to beat him 

for pace. If you stood off him, 

he would just box your ears 

off all night long.” 

McGuigan went on to take the 

title on a unanimous points’ 

decision over 15 pulsating 

rounds. Pedroza had previously 

defended his title successfully 

19 times but lost this fight 

and Ireland had a first world 

champion in 35 years. 

The next day’s Sunday 

newspaper headlines screamed 

‘Mighty Mac Grabs Title - King 

of The World’ and ‘Oh Barry 

Boy! You Are The Tops’. 

National reporter Bill Clarke 

wrote: “Barry McGuigan, the 

grocer’s boy from the border 

town of Clones, is the new World 

Featherweight champion. 

“The brilliant 24-year-old, 

who has united his troubled 

country, is destined to reign 

for years to come. No nine 

stones alive looks capable of 

withstanding this ferocious 

country boy who treated a 

great champion like Eusebio 

Pedroza with utter contempt 

at Queens Park Rangers 

football ground last night. 

“When referee Stanley 

Christopoulous and his two 

judges completed their scores, 

the margin for the Irishman 

was embarrassingly wide. 

“McGuigan went so close to 

knocking out the man who 

had ruled the world for seven 

years. In round seven, one of 

McGuigan’s rarely thrown right 

crosses dumped Pedroza on 

the seat of his crimson pants. 

“By the late rounds, McGuigan 

spent the minute intervals 

grinning at World Snooker 

champion Dennis Taylor in a 

ringside seat.” 

It led to McGuigan winning the 

BBC Sports Personality of the 

Year title for 1985. He was the 

first person from outside the 

United Kingdom to receive 

the honour. 


HOOPS 


HOOPS 

Columnist 

TALKSPORT REPORTER AND RANGERS FAN 

TONY INCENZO’S RECALLS SOME WEIRD AND 

WONDERFUL STORIES... 

FIRST DAY OF TRAINING 

THE first day of training for our Rangers players 

got extensive publicity on the club’s official 

website and Twitter feed once again this year. 

Looking back to when I was a 12-year-old kid 

in 1975, I read in Shoot magazine that 10,000 

fans had turned up en masse for the first day 

of training at Manchester United, while 20,000 

were in attendance at Real Madrid. It seemed 

to me that this was an event that every true 

supporter should attend. 

Therefore, I rang Loftus Road to find out when 

the players were returning to training. After a 

short pause of what must have been disbelief, 

the lady receptionist kindly gave me the details. 

Then I meticulously planned how I would get to 

the Ruislip training ground on the tube and really 

hoped that I’d get in. 

I thought there would be thousands of R’s fans 

there with extra security in place. But I set off 

anyway wearing my blue and white beanie hat 

and a QPR silk scarf tied so tightly around my 

wrist that the print was starting to fade. 

In the end, it transpired that I was the only 

Rangers supporter who turned up at the 

As a 12-year-old, I thought there 

would be thousands of R’s fans at the 

first day of training. In the end, I was 

the only supporter who turned up 

training ground that day. I just wandered in and 

positioned myself alongside one of the pitches 

to intently watch a coaching masterclass by 

boss Dave Sexton. 

As I recall, the Rangers players were extremely 

surprised that I had made the effort. But it was 

all worth it as I got some really good autographs 

from my hooped heroes. 

Follow Tony on Twitter at @TonyIncenzo 


HOOPS 

JUNIOR 

HOOPS 

FUN, GAMES, TRIVIA & MORE! 

Hello, everyone! 

It’s your favourite feline 

friend here! Over the 

next couple of pages 

you’ll get the chance 

to test your footballing 

knowledge! Challenge 

your family and friends 

to see who comes out 

on top! 

Jude 

JUDE’S JOKE 

Q: Which insect doesn’t play well in goal? 

A: The fumble bee! 

GROUND HOPPER 

Which Champ stadium is this? 

Follow me on Twitter 

@QPRJudeTheCat 


BIRTHDAYS! 

Big birthday wishes 

to all Junior Hoops 

celebrating in July… 

Nathan Graver-Roberts, 1st 

Keira Munnelly, 1st 

Teddy Purdue, 1st 

Edward Raven, 1st 

Izbella Schwartz, 1st 

Kiara Sheehan, 1st 

Liam Blunt, 2nd 

Violet Burford, 2nd 

Owen Burton, 2nd 

George Death, 2nd 

Cameron Dias, 2nd 

Fionntan Doherty, 2nd 

Alfie Hood, 2nd 

Stanley Newton-White, 2nd 

Joe Christmas, 3rd 

Archie Griffiths, 3rd 

James Johnson, 3rd 

Finlay Macdonald, 3rd 

Charlie McCarthy, 3rd 

Ruben McDowell, 3rd 

Frankie O’brien , 3rd 

Paige Pike, 3rd 

Jay Bates, 4th 

Oscar Bracher, 4th 

Harris Cherry, 4th 

Benjamin Cooke, 4th 

Seamus Curry, 4th 

Frankie-Mae Smail, 4th 

Jordan Snowden, 4th 

Ella Ashley, 5th 

Archie Brown, 5th 

Oliver Dash, 6th 

Darragh Egan, 6th 

Louis Horton, 6th 

Kristian Luka Krivosic, 6th 

Thomas McGowan, 6th 

Ejay Robert Barrs-James, 7th 

Dylan Davies-Jones, 7th 

Richie Harper, 7th 

Grace Klemis, 7th 

Nuwan Hewavitarne, 8th 

Louis Sparkes, 8th 

Harry Stewart, 8th 

Ayden Underdown, 8th 

George Deans, 9th 

Jeanne Goodger, 9th 

Oskar Saunders, 9th 

Max Clarke, 10th 

Charlie Haynes, 10th 

Scarlett Hershkorn, 10th 

Hugo Carey, 11th 

Riley Coombs, 11th 

Joseph Leonard, 11th 

Faith Wilson-Coker, 11th 

Sophie Coyte, 12th 

Stanley Craig, 12th 

Cecil Thomas, 12th 

Darcey Wayne, 12th 

George Micheal Carter, 13th 

Megan Byrne, 14th 

Rebecca Harrington, 14th 

Telemachus Sexton, 14th 

Joel Stagg, 14th 

Aslan Tunc, 14th 

William Walker, 14th 

Danny Wiilliams, 14th 

Mason Francis, 15th 

Cameron Henry, 15th 

Nathan Robertson, 15th 

Finnegan Tingle, 15th 

Conor Forkin, 16th 

Grace Knell, 16th 

Francesca Lisi, 16th 

Alfie Middleton, 16th 

Louis Pusey, 16th 

Charlie Falconer, 18th 

Daniel O’Toole, 18th 

James Palin, 18th 

Archie Pape, 18th 

Amy Smith Bees, 18th 

George Walden, 18th 

Ethan Wiggins, 18th 

Teddy Yellend, 18th 

Dulcie Bowers, 19th 

Harrison Harding, 19th 

Joseph Piggott, 19th 

Daisey Sparks, 19th 

Ethan Storey, 19th 

Flo Sumpter, 19th 

Charles Szpiro, 19th 

Sophie Allwright, 20th 

Oliver Ashby, 20th 

Ronnie Bale-Hawkins, 20th 

Luke Brown, 20th 

Ethan Hearn, 20th 

Rebecca Heavey, 20th 

Teddie Lisi, 20th 

Queenie Belle Owen, 20th 

Scarlett Rudge, 20th 

Denver Cook, 21st 

James Durn, 21st 

Aaron Fox, 21st 

Ziggy Kwaskowski, 21st 

Luke Thomas, 21st 

Stanley Walker, 21st 

Jack Canning, 22nd 

Alexander Fitzgerald, 22nd 

Sky Leppard, 22nd 

Oscar Manville-Anthony, 22nd 

Patrick Murphy, 22nd 

Patrick Naughton, 22nd 

Freddie Richardson, 22nd 

Jacob Tait, 22nd 

Jayden Alleyne, 23rd 

Sebastian Rogers, 23rd 

Edward Spencer, 23rd 

Isobel Denman, 24th 

Joseph Saunders, 24th 

Ciaran Walsh, 24th 

Jaiden Thomas, 26th 

Ronnie Winter , 26th 

Frankie Lacey, 27th 

Patrick Sheehan, 27th 

Sam Foss, 29th 

Joseph Halsey, 29th 

Arthur Hilling, 29th 

Lewis Hughes, 29th 

Oscar Orman, 29th 

Joseph Plumb, 29th 

Jack Gordon, 30th 

Freddie Blackmun O’Brien, 31st 

Harry Connolly, 31st 

Jessica Wells, 31st 

KNOW YOUR 

HISTORY 

Which former QPR ace is this? 

YOUNG 

GUN 

Name this 

current Premier 

League star in his 

early days? 

JUDE’S 

LOOKALIKE 

HOOPS 

Everton & England goalkeeper Jordan 

Pickford & actor Thomas Turgoose 

ANSWERS: Ground Hopper: St Andrew’s (Birmingham), 

Know Your History: Roy Wegerle, Young Gun: Jack Grealish 


QUEENS PARK RANGERS FC QUEENS PARK RANGERS FC QUE 

QUEENS PARK RANGERS FC QUEENS PARK RANGERS FC QUEENS PARK RANGERS FC 

FC QUEENS PARK RANGERS FC QUEENS ERS FC

ENS PARK RANGERS FC QUEENS PARK RANGERS FC 

QUEENS PARK RANGERS FC QUEENS PARK RANGERS FC QUE 

GOALKEEPER 

SENY 

DIENG 

D.O.B: 23.11.1994 

NATIONALITY: SENEGALESE 

EENS PARK RANGERS FC QUEENS PARK RANGERS

HOOPS 

|| MEMORY LANE|| 

AS A SPORTS JOURNALIST WITH THE EALING GAZETTE, 

MIKE DONOVAN WAS A MAINSTAY OF THE LOFTUS ROAD 

PRESS BOX IN THE 1970S AND 1980S. IN EACH MATCHDAY 

PROGRAMME, HE LOOKS BACK ON THOSE UNFORGETTABLE 

DAYS OF COVERING QUEENS PARK RANGERS… 

Nostalgia. Now there’s a 

word. Memories build the 

foundations of lifetime 

experience. When it comes to 

football, the strength of your 

affiliation to any particular 

club is based on them. 

Especially the first time you 

watch its players perform live. 

I’ll confess to having already 

lost my football heart to 

Tottenham Hotspur, my dad’s 

team, before setting eyes on 

Queens Park Rangers, but I’ve 

always retained a fondness for 

them through work and my 

mate Nick’s steadfast loyalty. 

I was even moved to write a 

book on them called QPR’s 

Greatest Games (officially 

endorsed by the club, by 

the way). 

Let’s go back through the ages 

and I’ll tell you how that ‘just 

good friends’ affection began. 

(Cue fading, blurring images 

and the sound of harp strings). 

It was the time of Stan Bowles, 

who’d taken over the No.10 

shirt from Rodney Marsh 

claiming he’d “never heard of” 

his predecessor. 

Of Gerry Francis, the local lad 

who captained England. 

Of gentle giant Phil Parkes, the 

colossus of a goalkeeper. 

All foundations of arguably the 

greatest Queens Park Rangers 

side. The one being put 

together by manager Gordon 

Jago. The one eventually 

captained by Frank McLintock 

and going within an ace of the 

club’s first top-flight title in the 

mid-1970s with Dave Sexton 

at the helm. 

And I was up in the Loftus 

Road press box, plugging in 

those big, now iconic black 

Bakelite phones for the first 

of many occasions while the 


HOOPS 

Rs performed for their fans 

and the Fourth Estate. My 

efforts were for the benefit 

of reporters to read their 

accounts over to copytakers 

with headsets on and fingers 

poised over QWERTY 

keyboards. Or get yours truly 

to complete the task. The 

Daily Mirror’s esteemed chief 

football writer Frank McGhee 

passed across a series of small 

sheets of white paper with 

his running reports for me to 

read over to copytakers and 

spell out “Bowles with an ‘E’” 

where necessary. Newspapers 

produced electronically were 

for the following decade 

when Today - my first fulltime 

national newspaper 

employer - launched. It was 

all rather labour intensive 

before Eddie Shah began his 

publishing revolution. 

That day when ‘me and Mr 

McGhee’ got together was 

my first work experience in 

journalism. I was just out 

of school and my dad had 

spotted an advert in the 

Evening Standard. An ‘editorial 

assistant’ was required by the 

esteemed Hayters Sports 

Agency in Shoe Lane on 

It was the time of Stan 

Bowles, who’d taken over 

the No.10 shirt from 

Rodney Marsh claiming 

he’ “never heard of” 

his predecessor 

the edge of Fleet Street. It 

was either sports journalism 

or social work. Barnardo’s, 

understandably, thought 

I didn’t have enough life 

experience. The agency 

was sufficiently impressed 

to take me on for each 

Saturday before giving me a 

full-time role assisting the 

respected Albert Sewell, the 

doyen of stattos. I even got 

to write the odd article for 

Shoot magazine in between 

compiling reserve-team lists. 

Rangers was the nearest 

league club to where I lived, 

so a quick hop on the tube 

every other Saturday and I 

was in Shepherd’s Bush for my 

Loftus Road stint. 


Prostate cancer 

HOOPS 

kills one man 

every 45 minutes 

in the UK. 

Help us turn it around. Come and 

join the biggest team in football. 

prostatecanceruk.org/football 

Men, we are 

with you 

58 WWW.QPR.CO.UK // @QPR // @OFFICIALQPR // OFFICIALQPRFC 

Prostate Cancer UK is a registered charity in England and Wales (1005541) and in Scotland (SC039332). Registered company number 02653887. 

5877

HOOPS 

Although I had to concentrate 

on my job, it was a thrill to be 

part of a matchday experience 

when Rangers were producing 

entertaining, exciting and 

successful football with 

players who were becoming 

household names in and 

beyond London W12. The 

Bush wasn’t just known for 

producing an Olympic Stadium 

for the 1908 Games, a market 

with a superb pie and mash 

shop and The Who, while 

providing a home for the BBC. 

Bowles was charisma on legs, 

Francis class, Dave Thomas 

bright and speedy, Don Givens 

a fine, selfless and skilled 

performer. The seminal fullback 

pairing of Ian Gillard and 

the now late Dave Clement in 

front of Parkes was as solid as 

a rock - and just as hard. 

The 1968 League Cup-winning 

team had dissipated with 

Tony Hazell the lone survivor 

when Bowles established 

his credentials as a bonafide 

legend by scoring one, making 

one and shining brightly as the 

Super Hoops lived up to their 

nickname by cutting down 

Nottingham Forest 3-0 in 

September 1972. (Mind you, 

today’s opponents Millwall 

rained on the R’s parade by 

having the temerity to beat 

them 3-1 in front of the Loft 

and School End a month later). 

And the Loftus Road faithful 

continued to cheer the 

rise and rise of the team 

* Mike Donovan is an author 

and award-winning journalist. 

He also produced Queens 

Park Rangers Greatest 

Games in 2013, with Stan 

Bowles, no less, helping 

to promote it and ‘Sir’ 

Les Ferdinand writing the 

foreword. Has a feel for the 

Bush. Taken to Cook’s Pie 

and Mash Shop in the market 

by his mum (who worked in 

the area) and dad, attended 

concerts at the fabulous 

Empire and hung out socially 

in W12 growing up. Has 

written a series of football 

books. The latest, Football’s 

Braveheart: The Authorised 

Biography of Dave Mackay, 

was published by Pitch on 

26th July. 

which eventually had the 

championship crown snatched 

away from them by Liverpool 

when the Anfield giants 

overcame Wolverhampton 

Wanderers in the final game of 

the 1975/76 season. 


HOOPS 

QPR FC 

WOMEN 

QPR FC WOMEN 

PARTNER UP WITH NNR 

GLOBAL LOGISTICS 

QPR FC Women are delighted to 

announce an exciting new partnership 

with global logistics provider NNR. 

NNR Global Logistics, who become 

an official club partner, are part of the 

renowned Nishitetsu corporation, 

established in 1908 in Fukuoka, Japan. 

NNR are an industry-leading 

organisation, offering a variety of 

high-quality logistics, fulfilment and 

distribution services worldwide. 

This landmark partnership with the female 

R’s will only boost Steve Quashie’s side as 

they head into the new campaign. 

Everyone at QPR FC 

Women is excited about this 

new partnership 

Rangers - who were recently promoted to 

the FA Women’s National League Division 

1 South East - will proudly wear the NNR 

Global Logistics logo on the front of their 

shirts for the next two seasons. 

Charlotte Edwards, QPR Trust’s Equality, 

Diversity and Inclusion Lead, said: 

“As we start a new chapter in the FA 

Women’s National Division, everyone 

at QPR FC Women is excited about this 

new partnership. 

“NNR Global Logistics are an organisation 

who understand our ambitions and have a 

real want to invest in local female football. 

“We thank them for their support and look 

forward to an exciting season ahead.” 

Gary Strange, NNR Global Logistics’ 

UK sales manager, added: “NNR Global 

Logistics are delighted to further expand 

our partnership with Queens Park 

Rangers, becoming the primary sponsor 

of the women’s team. 

“NNR are keen advocates in support of 

diversity and inclusion within society and 

sport alike. We’re delighted to help support 

QPR FC Women. Following on from last 

year’s success we wish Steve and his team 

all the best for the upcoming season.” 


HOOPS 

2019-22 

qprcommunitytrust.co.uk e: community@qpr.co.uk t: 020 8740 2509 

@QPRtrust 

FANS AND STAFF COMPLETE 

ASICS LONDON 10K 

LAST SUNDAY, SIX STAFF 

MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS 

JOINED TOGETHER TO 

REPRESENT QPR IN THE 

COMMUNITY TRUST IN THE 

ASICS LONDON 10K. 

After an early start, James Urquhart, James 

Casling, Justin Stone, Conor McBrearty, Simon 

Cheshire and Colin Clarke all dusted off their 

running shoes and covered the iconic route in the 

capital in what was the Trust’s first participant 

event and the first major running event in London 

since the pandemic began. 

More importantly, the runners raised some vital 

money for the Trust. 

Conor McBrearty said: “I worked for QPR in the 

Community Trust for nearly six years and have seen 

first-hand the amazing work they do on a daily basis, 

and I wanted to support this to help it to continue.” 

Simon Cheshire continued: “This event was 

fantastic. I’m so delighted to have taken part. The 

cheers throughout the run for being associated with 

QPR and the Trust were so uplifting. To have raised 

money along the way to help support the fantastic 

work the Trust continue to do is an amazing feeling 

and one I’m so proud to have achieved.” 

Fiona Hodgson, the Trust’s Business Manager, 

added: “We’d like to thank our six representatives 

who’ve shown great commitment to the charity - 

both in training and taking part and fundraising for 

the Trust. 

“It was great to be part of an in-person event, the 

first for the charity since the pandemic and we’d 

like to thank everyone who has sponsored the team 

who did a great job.” 

A huge congratulations from everyone here at the 

Trust to all six of you! 

The fundraising page is still open - if you’d like to 

donate, head to uk.virginmoneygiving.com and 

search for ‘QPR Asics London 10k 2021 team’. 


HOOPS 

DATE KO OPPOSITION SCORE POS. STARTING XI 

AUGUST 

Sat 7 15:00 Millwall 

Wed 11 19:45 Leyton Orient CC 

Sat 14 15:00 Hull City 

Wed 18 19:45 Middlesbrough 

Sat 21 12:30 Barnsley 

Sat 28 15:00 Coventry City 

SEPTEMBER 

Sat 11 15:00 Reading 

Tue 14 19:45 AFC Bournemouth 

Sat 18 15:00 Bristol City 

Sat 25 15:00 West Bromwich Albion 

Tue 28 19:45 Birmingham City 

OCTOBER 

Sat 2 15:00 Preston North End 

Sat 16 15:00 Fulham 

Tue 19 19:45 Blackburn Rovers 

Sat 23 15:00 Peterborough United 

Sat 30 15:00 Nottingham Forest 

NOVEMBER 

Wed 3 19:45 Cardiff City 

Sat 6 15:00 Blackpool 

Sat 20 15:00 Luton Town 

Wed 24 19:45 Huddersfield Town 

Sat 27 15:00 Derby County 

DECEMBER 

Sat 4 15:00 Stoke City 

Sat 11 15:00 Sheffield United 

Sat 18 15:00 Swansea City 

Sun 26 15:00 AFC Bournemouth 

Wed 29 19:45 Bristol City 

JANUARY 

Sat 1 15:00 Birmingham City 

Sat 15 15:00 West Bromwich Albion 

Sat 22 15:00 Coventry City 

Sat 29 15:00 Reading 

FEBRUARY 

Sat 5 15:00 Millwall 

Wed 9 19:45 Middlesbrough 

Sat 12 15:00 Barnsley 

Sat 19 15:00 Hull City 

Wed 23 19:45 Blackpool 

Sat 26 15:00 Blackburn Rovers 

MARCH 

Sat 5 15:00 Cardiff City 

Sat 12 15:00 Luton Town 

Tue 15 19:45 Nottingham Forest 

Sat 19 15:00 Peterborough United 

APRIL 

Sat 2 15:00 Fulham 

Sat 9 15:00 Preston North End 

Fri 15 15:00 Huddersfield Town 

Mon 18 15:00 Derby County 

Sat 23 15:00 Stoke City 

Sat 30 15:00 Sheffield United 

MAY 

Sat 7 12:30 Swansea City 

All fixtures subject to change. *AET 


HOOPS 

KEY: GOALSCORER 1 FIRST SUB SECOND SUB THIRD SUB FOURTH SUB FIFTH SUB † OWN GOAL YELLOW CARD RED CARD 

SUBSTITUTES 

REFEREEE 


HOOPS 


CHAMP STAT PACK 

LEAGUE TABLE 

2o21 /22 

# CLUB P W D L F A +/- PTS 

1 BARNSLEY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

2 BIRMINGHAM CITY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

3 BLACKBURN ROVERS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

4 BLACKPOOL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

5 BOURNEMOUTH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

6 BRISTOL CITY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

7 CARDIFF CITY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

8 COVENTRY CITY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

9 DERBY COUNTY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

10 FULHAM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

11 HUDDERSFIELD TOWN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

12 HULL CITY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

13 LUTON TOWN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

14 MIDDLESBROUGH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

15 MILWALL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

16 NOTTINGHAM FOREST 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

17 PETERBOROUGH UNITED 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

18 PRESTON NORTH END 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

19 QUEENS PARK RANGERS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

20 READING 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

21 SHEFFIELD UNITED 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

22 STOKE CITY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

23 SWANSEA CITY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

24 WEST BROMWICH ALBION 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

LAST UPDATED: 04.08.2021 

TODAY'S 

Fixtures 

KICK-OFF 3PM UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE 

PP 

VS 

VS 

VS 

VS 

VS 

VS 

VS 

VS 

(8PM) 

HOOPS 

TOP FIVE 

Goalscorers (2020 /21) 

IVAN TONEY 

BRENTFORD 33 

ADAM ARMSTRONG 

BLACKBURN ROVERS 28 

TEEMU PUKKI 

NORWICH CITY 26 

KIEFFER MOORE 

CARDIFF CITY 20 

LUCAS JOAO 

READING 19 

TOP FIVE 

Assists (2020 /21) 

EMILIANO BUENDIA 


MICHAEL OLISE 

READING 12 

HARRY WILSON 

CARDIFF CITY 11 

HARVEY ELLIOTT 

BLACKBURN ROVERS 11 

BRYAN MBEUMO 

BRENTFORD 10 

TOP FIVE 

Clean Sheets (2020 /21) 

FREDDIE WOODMAN 

SWANSEA CITY 20 

TIM KRUL 


RAFAEL CABRAL 

READING 17 

BARTOSZ BIALKOWSKI 

MILLWALL 17 

DAVID RAYA 

BRENTFORD 16 


HOOPS 

Columnist 

W 

THE JOURNALIST AND BROADCASTER 

PENS HIS LATEST COLUMN… 

ell, here we are again. For the first time 

in many years, there’s a genuine 

feelgood factor around QPR. 

I went to the Manchester United game and 

peered out of the press room window down to 

South Africa Road to find a queue for the club 

shop which stretched to the opposite pavement. 

I’d hoped to get my hands on a large home shirt, 

but the excitement around the club means that 

I’ll have to wait for now as they’d sold out. 

I then gave my Sky colleague and Rangers 

fanatic Dean Spencer a lift to Cambridge for the 

friendly the week before last. As a thank you, 

he’s treating me to a pre-match meal today at 

Bush Pie & Mash and Liquor in Uxbridge Road. 

Our Millwall mate Jack Dalton will also be joining 

us. Being from Bermondsey, he’ll have his eyes 

on the jellied eels. 

Millwall will be very tough today - much different 

to what we’ve encountered in pre-season. 

They’ll not give us much time on the ball, and 

they’ll look to dominate set-plays. 

As you can see from the picture, we had a 

special guest at the KPFS for the United game. 

It was a first visit for my five-year-old nephew 

Ruari, who watched the match from the Ellerslie 

Road Stand. 

He plays football himself, and his dad Liam tells 

me he’s been hearing good reports from his 

coach about his fancy footwork. 

We took him to the Defector’s Weld on 

Shepherd’s Bush Green afterwards and no sooner 

was he pestering me for the new shirt. Needless 

to say, he’d fallen asleep by the time we’d reached 

Brixton on his drive home to Maidstone. 


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QUEENS PARK 

RANGERS 

MANAGER Mark Warburton 

MILLWALL 

FC 

MANAGER Gary Rowett 

# 

1 Seny DIENG GK 

# 

2 Osman KAKAY 

# 

3 Lee WALLACE 

# 

4 Rob DICKIE 

# 

5 Jordy DE WIJS 

# 

6 Yoann BARBET 

# 

7 Stefan JOHANSEN 

# 

8 Luke AMOS 

# 

9 Lyndon DYKES 

# 

10 Ilias CHAIR 

# 

11 Charlie AUSTIN 

# 

12 Dominic BALL 

# 

13 Jordan ARCHER GK 

# 

14 George THOMAS 

# 

15 Sam FIELD 

# 

16 Sam McCALLUM 

# 

17 Andre DOZZELL 

# 

18 Charlie KELMAN 

# 

20 Jimmy DUNNE 

# 

21 Chris WILLOCK 

# 

22 Moses ODUBAJO 

# 

23 Conor MASTERSON 

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24 Charlie OWENS 

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26 Faysal BETTACHE 

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30 Kiyan PRINCE 

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31 Ray JONES 

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1 George LONG GK 

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2 Danny McNAMARA 

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3 Murray WALLACE 

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4 Shaun HUTCHINSON 

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5 Jake COOPER 

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6 Maikel KIEFTENBELD 

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7 Jed WALLACE 

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8 Ben THOMPSON 

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9 Tom BRADSHAW 

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10 Matt SMITH 

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11 Scott MALONE 

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12 Mahlon ROMEO 

# 

13 Ryan SANDFORD GK 

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15 Alex PEARCE 

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17 George SAVILLE 

# 

18 Ryan LEONARD 

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20 Mason BENNETT 

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21 Connor MAHONEY 

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22 Jon DADI BODVARSSON 

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23 Benik AFOBE 

# 

24 Billy MITCHELL 

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26 Daniel BALLARD 

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28 George EVANS 

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32 Tyler BUREY 

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33 Bartosz BIALKOWSKI GK 

# 

34 Alex MITCHELL 

# 

32 Joe WALSH GK 

# 

33 Dillon BARNES GK 

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37 Albert ADOMAH 

REFEREE Oliver Langford 

AR1 Adrian Waters 

AR2 Akil Howson 

4TH OFFICIAL Neil Hair 

NEXT UP @ KIYAN PRINCE FOUNDATION STADIUM 

Barnsley 

Saturday 21st August, 2021 

Kick-Off 12.30pm (Live on Sky Sports)

OPS HOOPS HOOPS HOOPS HOOPS HOOPS HOOPS HOOPS HOOPS #QPRMIL HOOPS HOOPS HOOPS HOOPS HOOPS HOOPS HOOPS HOOPS HOOPS

QPR v Millwall

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