Birmingham City v QPR

BLUES NEWS TAKES A LOOK BACK AT A SPECIAL DAY IN THE
HISTORY OF TODAY’S VISITORS, QUEENS PARK RANGERS
A DAY TO REMEMBER
QUEENS PARK RANGERS
Wembley is no place for losers, making
Queens Park Rangers prising victory
from the jaws of defeat on Saturday 24
May 2014 even sweeter. It seemed they would
need a miracle in the Sky Bet Championship Play-
Off Final, reduced to ten men and facing a Derby
County team unbeaten since Easter Saturday,
fortunately, they had Harry ‘Houdini’ Redknapp on
their side.
They had started the season, following their
relegation from the Premier League, as the
bookmakers’ favourites for promotion and won
eight of their opening 10 matches, seeming set
to fulfil this prophecy. That was until midwinter
struggles, where the R’s were without frontman
Charlie Austin for 12 matches owing to a shoulder
injury, saw them lose touch with Leicester City
and Burnley who claimed the automatic promotion
places.
The striker’s first goal upon his return, a 90thminute
winner, clinched their play-off berth in the
April and gave Austin ample time to go through the
gears again in readiness to hit a brace as Wigan
Athletic were sunk 2-1 on aggregate for a place in
football’s most expensive game.
Although, a different English striker, introduced
by Redknapp during the second-half under the
arch, would make the telling contribution on one of
the most dramatic afternoons in QPR’s history.
It was their first appearance at the ‘new’ Wembley
and their first in a second-tier play-off final, having
previously lost to Cardiff City in the Third Division
showdown 11 years previous at the Millennium
Stadium when the England national team’s home
was being reconstructed. Whilst the Super Hoops
boasted a mixed record up Olympic Way, having
won once and lost twice when the lush green
surface was overlooked by the Twin Towers during
the 20th century.
Those were, though, different times and the
riches of winning dwarfed much of the pre-game
charm of playing at the ‘venue of legends’, with
Sport Business Group Deloitte estimating a
financial benefit of £80 million to be recouped
by the victors, with other forecasts predicting
this could rise by 50% over three years owing to
television and sponsorship deals.
Derby, who had won the 2007 edition against
West Bromwich Albion and finished five points
clear of Redknapp’s men in the regular season
24 | BLUES NEWS BIRMINGHAM CITY V QUEENS PARK RANGERS