Queens Park Rangers v Coventry City

hoops
Columnist
SAM TAYLOR
‘R’ GENERATION WRITER SAM TAYLOR
DISCUSSES THE LATEST GOINGS-ON IN W12
In my short 21 years coming to Loftus Road
I don’t think I’ve witnessed anything quite
like this.
It’s bizarre what you remember and what you
don’t from your early years on this planet
because I don’t remember learning to read
or write, family holidays or playdates. When
I think back to the earlier years of my life, I
simply remember Martin Rowlands.
Whether I was living out my Sunday League
fantasies vicariously through him or simply
was drawn to the man at the heart of the
action, Rowlands was always my favourite
player. Fourteen is a number that remains
special for me. In my final years playing
Sunday League, as all great strikers do toward
the closing stages of their careers, I reverted
back to midfield and was sure to take up the
14 as my squad number that year.
In what was a relatively blissful upbringing, my
Dad would probably identify one of the few
major aggravations in my childhood as the
struggle to dress me in hoops. I was set on
supporting Arsenal like my schoolmates and
my siblings had all pretty much discredited
football as a source of pleasure the minute
they left their first QPR match. But in the
great puzzle of getting me to board the blue
and white train, Rowlands was certainly a
corner piece.
There was something about Rowlands that
really brought me around. I think it was the
passion. He was a player who very clearly
cared an awful lot about what he was doing
each week. I’m sure he was brilliant, but
reflecting back now I don’t actually remember
how capable he was as a footballer. I
remember him scoring a screamer at some
point against Watford and I remember him
wearing that yellow nPower Football League
captain’s armband each week but, other than
that, my image of Rowlands is all about the
passion he played with.
It was really amazing to see someone care
so much about their job. In my school, the
best you might find would be some mildly
passionate introvert blissfully resigned to an
inevitable route to accountancy. So seeing
Martin go out each week and play Scunthorpe
as if his life depended on it really brought the
club to life.
Of course, it wasn’t just him. I’ve seen
countless players don the hoops in the last
two decades willing to die for this club. The
other most prevalent fighter in my (and I’m
sure your) recollection was, of course, Gareth
Ainsworth. It’s an attribute that is priceless in
this profession, adding a level of ferocity that
perhaps doesn’t transcend technical ability
but most certainly elevates it.
I feel this elusive internal fire is something
lacking in this current crop. It’s crucial to
success at this level and the lack of it is
deafening in recent performances. Gareth
has that fire somewhere and I truly hope
he can find a way to strike his match, ignite
a flame in this squad and light a pathway to
safety.
OFFICIALQPRFC // @OFFICIALQPR // @QPR // WWW.QPR.CO.UK
47