Queens Park Rangers v Swansea City

hoops
The Rangers
centre-back
enjoyed a
keen tussle
with former
team-mate
Les Ferdinand
when he
returned to
Loftus Road
in a Newcastle
shirt
on to play a lot more games for England,
which he should have done really with the
attributes he had.
We had Ray Wilkins pulling all the strings
in midfield. He was a magnificent player
and a fantastic man…
Yes, we all looked up to Ray. We had a
great time when he was at QPR. He
wasn’t just a footballer, though – he was
a gentleman and we all loved Ray. I was
at the Princess Grace Hospital in London
one day having a knee operation. They
said there was a phone call for me and I
was expecting it to be my wife. But it was
Ray on the line and he said: “We need
you back but don’t rush back!” That was
incredible and it perked me up. Ray gave
the feeling that he wanted me to play in
the same team as him.
When Loftus Road was full back then,
the atmosphere was electric…
Oh gosh, yeah. The crowd were so close
to the pitch and always behind us. Then
obviously being in the top flight, the
opposition teams would bring plenty
of supporters down as well, so the
atmosphere was phenomenal. They were
lovely times for me and I am so grateful
that Rangers gave me the chance.
What are you up to nowadays?
I’ve been retired from football quite a
while. I did ‘the knowledge’ to become a
London taxi driver. It is quite convenient
as I can go out in the cab on those days
when I want to work or otherwise just
go off and play golf with friends, so the
situation is good overall.
Lastly, do you still keep an eye on
events at QPR?
I do. Sometimes I can get very frustrated
as I want to see QPR back in the Premier
League. There have been occasions
when we have been up towards the top of
the Championship and I’ve been looking
for a big push towards the end of the
season, but for some reason it hasn’t
happened. However, with Les Ferdinand
behind the scenes working alongside the
management I am sure we can do it soon.
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