With Stoke City in town on Saturday for Mark Hughes' first return to Loftus Road, LFW looks back at the players who served both clubs with more distinction, and some memorable meetings between the two sides.

Recent Meetings

A long, slow, torturous exit from the Premier League continued for QPR in the last meeting between these two sides when, despite being chronically out of form themselves, Stoke won easily at Loftus Road. Rangers, long since down, wasted several presentable free kick opportunities around the edge of the Stoke area before the visitors took the lead with a defensively shambolic goal just before half time. A channel ball for Cameron Jerome to chase after should have posed few problems for Chris Samba but he stood off his man and allowed him to cross while, behind him in the penalty area, Clint Hill had contrived to lose track of the only other Stoke man up in the attack and former R’s favourite Peter Crouch could hardly miss from six yards out — although Green may feel he should have saved the reasonably weak shot. The second wasn't much better - Hill again allowed Crouch to stand goal side of him from a set piece and then foolishly wrestled the Stoke man to the ground. Crouch certainly made a lot of the contact, but it was an obvious penalty and although Jay Bothroyd’s prolonged moan about the placing of the ball meant Jon Walters had to try a second time after lashing the first spot kick into the roof of the net, he kept his cool and found the bottom corner when it counted.

QPR: Green 5, Bosingwa 5, Samba 4, Hill 3, Ben Haim 6, Townsend 5 (Mackie 46, 5), Mbia 5, Derry 5, Hoilett 3, Taarabt 5 (Bothroyd 56, 5), Remy 6

Subs not used: Cesar, Onuoha, Diakite, Park, Granero

Bookings: Hill 76 (foul — penalty concession)

Stoke: Begovic 6, Shotton 6, Huth 6, Shawcross 6, Wilson 6 (Wilkinson 61,6), Whelan 6, Nzonzi 6, Adam 6 (Whitehead 69, 6), Walters 6, Crouch 7 (Cameron 90, -), Jerome 7

Subs not used: Sorensen, Kightly, Jones, Owen

Goals: Crouch 41 (assisted Jerome), Walters 76 (penalty, won Crouch)

Bookings: Adam 20 (foul), Nzonzi 77 (foul)

Stoke City 1 QPR 0, Saturday November 10, 2012, Premier League

QPR were left to reflect on gilt edged chances missed after a defeat at the Britannia Stadium in November 2012 stretched their run of games without a win at the start of the campaign to 11. Charlie Adam scored the only goal of the game after Anton Ferdinand had lost out to Jon Walters in the air and Armand Traore had tried and failed to intercept the bouncing ball with his chest. But that would have been academic had Adel Taarabt shot properly rather than attempting a flamboyant chip when through on goal in the first half, and then found the target rather than rolling the ball wide in another one on one situation after the break. Mark Hughes would survive only one more fixture, a home defeat against Southampton a week later, before being given the bullet.

Stoke: Begovic 7, Cameron 5, Huth 6, Shawcross 6, Wilkinson 7, Whelen 5, Nzonzi 7, Adam 6 (Whitehead 77, 5), Etherington 6 (Kightly 71, 6), Crouch 6 (Jones 74, 5), Walters 5

Goals: Adam 52 (assisted Walters/Crouch)

Bookings: Nzonzi 65 (foul), Whitehead 90 (foul)

QPR: Cesar 6, Bosingwa 4, Ferdinand 6, Nelsen 6, Traore 5, Granero 6, Faurlin 5 (Zamora 77, 5), Diakite 5, Hoilett 6, Taarabt 7, Cissé 5

Subs not used: Green, Hill, Onuoha, Derry, Wright-Phillips, Mackie

Bookings: Diakite 45 (foul), Traore 83 (foul), Granero 90 (dissent)

QPR 1 Stoke City 0, Sunday May 6, 2012, Premier League

QPR left it late, but managed to take the fight for Premier League survival down to the final day of the season with a victory against Stroke in the last home game of the 2011/12 season. Locked in a tussle with Bolton to steer clear of the final relegation spot, Rangers looked nervous and tense against a Stoke side that had won only one of its last ten games and came to West London with limited ambition. The mood around the place was dark when news came through that Bolton were 2-0 up at home to a West Brom side that had nothing to play for and knew manager Roy Hodgson was about to leave. But the whole situation swung in the final minute when Anton Ferdinand glanced on Adel Taarabt’s corner and substitute Djibril Cisse slammed the ball into the open goal. Amidst wild celebrations, news filtered through that the Baggies had equalised up in Lancashire. A week later Stoke held Bolton to a draw which meant the R’s survived despite a late defeat at Man City.

QPR: Kenny 6, Onuoha 6, Ferdinand 7, Hill 7, Taiwo 6, Barton 7, Derry 6 (Wright-Phillips 81, -), Buzsaky 5 (Cisse 50, 7), Mackie 5, Taarabt 7, Zamora 5 (Bothroyd 81, -)

Subs Not Used: Cerny, Hall, Gabbidon, Traore

Goals: Cisse 89 (assisted Taarabt/Ferdinand)

Stoke: Sorensen 7, Huth 7, Shawcross 7, Upson 6, Wilson 5 (Shotton 46, 6), Walters 6, Whelan 5, Delap 5, Jerome 6 (Jones 78, 6), Crouch 6, Fuller 6 (Whitehead 78, 6)

Subs Not Used: Begovic, Etherington, Woodgate, Palacios

Stoke City 2 QPR 3, Saturday November 19, 2011, Premiership

It’s hard to believe that QPR are even the same club from the one that went to Stoke and won back in November 2011. A 3-2 win at the Britannia Stadium moved Neil Warnock’s team up to eighth in the league and was their third away win from the first six road trips of the season. They were good value for it as well, out passing and outplaying Stoke to recover from an early Jon Walters goal and not only equalise when Luke Young got on the end of a flowing move to score his first goal for the club but then take the lead when Traore crossed and Helguson rammed in an unstoppable header. The lead was extended still further after half time when Helguson got on the end of Barton’s excellent cross and moments later Shaun Wright-Phillips hit the post in pursuit of a fourth. A typically direct goal from Ryan Shawcross made for a nervous last 25 minutes but Stoke completed just 117 passes in the entire game and QPR were good value for the win.

Stoke: Sorensen 6, Wilkinson 5, Shawcross 6, Huth 6, Higginbotham 6, Pennant 5 (Fuller 68, 6), Whitehead 5 (Whelan 85, -), Delap 5, Etherington 6, Walters 7, Crouch 6 (Jones 65, 6)

Subs Not Used: Begovic, Wilson, Upson, Palacios

Booked: Wilkinson (foul), Shawcross (foul), Delap (foul), Fuller (foul)

Goals: Walters 8 (assisted Crouch), Shawcross 64 (assisted Crouch)

QPR: Kenny 6, Young 7 (Orr 77, 6), Ferdinand 6, Gabbidon 7, Hill 7, Wright-Phillips 7, Barton 7, Faurlin 8, Traore 8, Mackie 7, Helguson 9

Subs Not Used: Derry , Buzsaky, Smith, Hewitt

Booked: Barton (handball), Helguson (foul)

Goals: Helguson 22 (assisted Traore), 54 (assisted Barton), Young 44 (assisted Mackie)

QPR 3 Stoke 0, Sunday March 2, 2008, Championship

Stoke City were second in the Championship when these sides met at Loftus Road in 2008, and were heading for promotion to the Premiership. QPR were in the early throws of the Flavio Briatore reign and his first manager Luigi De Canio was doing an excellent job of hauling the R’s away from the bottom three — nevertheless they were only fifteenth in the table when Tony Pulis’ men arrived in W12 and were heavy odds against for the live Sky clash. Stoke dominated the early proceedings and, as at the Britannia Stadium in the earlier meeting that season, Rangers really struggled to deal with their set piece threat — Mamady Sidibe headed against the underside of the bar from an early corner. Within a minute of that near miss though Mikele Leigertwood had drilled a spectacular opener in from fully 30 yards out. The quickly became 2-0 as Vine headed Buzsaky’s cross back into the path of Leigertwood once more who lashed into the roof of the net after arriving in the penalty box unchecked. Stoke made much of a the harsh straight red card handed out to Andy Griffin by referee Andy D’Urso just before half time for what seemed to be a fair tackle on Hogan Ephraim but Rangers were already well on their way to victory by then and the game was over when a counter attack from a dire Liam Lawrence free kick ended with Agyemany teeing up Buzsaky for a crisply struck third.

QPR: Camp 7, Mancienne 7, Connolly 7, Hall 7 (Stewart 79, -), Delaney 8, Buzsaky 8, Leigertwood 9, Rowlands 8 (Ainsworth 81, -), Ephraim 8, Agyemang 7, Vine 8 (Blackstock 75, 7)

Subs Not Used: Pickens, Lee

Booked: Mancienne (foul)

Goals: Leigertwood 12 (assisted Buzsaky) 21 (assisted Vine), Buzsaky 56 (assisted Agyemang)

Stoke: Simonsen 7, Griffin 3, Cort 5, Shawcross 5, Pugh 5, Lawrence 5 (Buxton 62, 6), Diao 6 (Gallagher 55, 5), Whelan 6, Cresswell 5, Sidibe 5 (Wilkinson 46, 5), Fuller 7

Subs Not Used: Hoult, Parkin

Sent Off: Griffin (two footed tackle)

Booked: Cresswell (dissent)

Previous Results

2012/13 QPR 0 Stoke 2

2012/13 Stoke 1 QPR 0

2011/12 QPR 1 Stoke 0 (Cisse)

2011/12 Stoke 2 QPR 3 (Helguson 2, Young)

2007/07 QPR 3 Stoke 0 (Leigertwood 2, Buzsaky)

2007/08 Stoke 3 QPR 1 (Vine)

2006/07 QPR 1 Stoke 1 (Rowlands)

2006/07 Stoke 1 QPR 0

2005/06 QPR 1 Stoke 2 (Ainsworth)

2005/06 Stoke 1 QPR 2 (Furlong, Langley )

2004/05 QPR 1 Stoke 0 (Cook)

2004/05 Stoke 0 QPR 1 (Gallen)

2000/01 Stoke 0 QPR 1 (Peacock)

2000/01 QPR 1 Stoke 0 (Thomson)

1997/98 Stoke 2 QPR 1 (Barker)

1997/98 QPR 1 Stoke 1 (Barker)

1996/97 Stoke 0 QPR 0

1996/97 QPR 1 Stoke 1 (Sinclair)

1984/85 Stoke 0 QPR 2 (James, Fillery)

1984/85 QPR 2 Stoke 0 (Bannister, Gregory)

1983/84 Stoke 1 QPR 2 (Allen, Fereday)

1983/84 QPR 6 Stoke 0 (Charles 2, Stainrod, Gregory, Stewart, Fillery)

1976/77 Stoke 1 QPR 0

1976/77 QPR 2 Stoke 0 (Bowles, Givens)

1975/76 Stoke 0 QPR 1 (Webb)

1975/76 QPR 3 Stoke 2 (Webb, Masson, Clement)

1974/75 Stoke 1 QPR 0

1974/75 QPR 0 Stoke 1

1973/74 Stoke 4 QPR 1 (Leach)

1973/74 QPR 3 Stoke 3 (Bowles 2, Givens)

1968/69 QPR 2 Stoke 1 (Leach 2)

1968/69 Stoke 1 QPR 1 (R Morgan)

1947/48 QPR 3 Stoke 0* (Hatton 2, Ramscar)

* - FA Cup

Memorable Match

QPR 3 Stoke City 2, Saturday November 29, 1975, First Division

Dave Sexton’s formidable QPR team had started the 1975/76 season in fine style, unbeaten in their first ten league games through August and September. With the likes of Gerry Francis, Stan Bowles and Dave Thomas to the fore it seemed something special was brewing in W12, but October had been tough on the R’s with their first defeat of the campaign at Leeds quickly followed by another at Burnley and although Everton had been vanquished 5-0 at Loftus Road, Newcastle had then come and knocked the R’s out of the League Cup 3-1.

Stoke meanwhile, managed by long serving Tony Waddington, were in decent touch with eight wins and two draws from their previous 12 games prior to arriving in Shepherd’s Bush at the end of November.

The first half belonged to Rangers. Mick Leach teed up Dave Clement for a low cross which made its way through a crowded penalty box to Don Masson who decided to try his luck from an acute angle and found the back of the net off the inside of the post. He looked as surprised as anybody that the ball had found a way in past Peter Shilton.

But Stoke emerged for the second half with renewed purpose and equalised almost immediately. An acrobatic bicycle kicked cross from Jimmy Robertston tight to the byline was rather hopefully helped on towards the goal by Ian Moores but the trajectory of the ball and late dip on the header was enough to deceive Phil Parkes and it landed plum in the corner of the net. QPR had hardly had a touch of the ball, and now they had to start all over again.

Parkes, who’d erred in the first half but escaped, continued with an uncharacteristically shakey display thereafter. The keeper rushed from his line to claim a deep free kick midway through the second period but could only drop the ball at the feet of defender Alan Bloor who needed no second invitation to hammer the chance into the back of the net.

Back came the home team though and they drew level when Masson splendidly found Thomas wide on the left. The winger took his full back to the byline before standing a cross up to the back post where Clement called strongly for the ball so that debutant Phil Nutt, on as a substitute, knew to duck out of the away and allow his team mate to chest it down and volley into the net from close range.

That set up a grand stand finish and one of the most iconic images of the old Loft End. Stan Bowles, brutally hacked down in the corner of the field, was still picking himself up when a young supporter emerged onto the pitch from the Ellerslie Road corner of the ground with the football and plonked it down so Rangers could mount a quick final attack with the free kick. They did just that and although a flicked header from centre back Dave Webb was initially blocked at the near post the ball fell back to him perfectly and he lashed it into the roof of the net to bring the house down.

The goal, scored with the last kick of the game, preserved an unbeaten home record that would last all season and brought fans streaming onto the field in celebration.

Rangers of course would go on to finish second, narrowly losing out to Liverpool in the title race. Stoke finished twelfth.

QPR: Parkes, Clement, McLintock, Webb, Gillard, Thomas, Beck, Hollins, Leach (Nutt), Bowles, Masson

Highlights >>> QPR 1 Stoke 0, 2012/13 >>> QPR 3 Stoke 2 1975 >>> QPR 0 Stoke 1 1974

Connections

Simon Stainrod >>> QPR 1980-1985 >>> Stoke 1987-1988

Simon Stainrod was the QPR number ten during the club’s revival in the early 1980s, led by manager Terry Venables.

He was also one of those rare players who turned out for both Sheffield clubs. Having been born in the Steel City he came through the ranks at Bramall Lane initially, signing professional terms in 1975 and scoring 14 goals in almost 67 appearances through to 1979 when he embarked on a spell on the other side of the Pennines with Oldham Athletic.

His time at United didn’t start well — his debut came in a 5-0 defeat at Spurs which sealed the Blades’ relegation to the Second Division. Given that they lost 14 and drew one of their first 16 league matches that season the demotion wasn’t a great surprise. Stainrod scored on his second appearance against Norwich a week later though — that 3-1 win was their first away maximum of the season just five games before the end of the campaign, and only their third win in total. Bizarrely the Blades actually won four and drew one of their last six.

Despite forging a good striking partnership with Keith Edwards during the following seasons Stainrod was sold to Oldham for a club record fee of £60,000 in March 1979. His debut for the Latics was somewhat better than his Sheffield United bow as he scored the second goal in a 2-0 home win against Blackburn. He was the top scorer for Oldham in the 1979/80 season with 11 goals but is better remembered by some for his antics in a game against Sheffield Wednesday where his play acting saw the Owls legend Terry Curran sent off and violent clashes on the terrace as a result.

Nevertheless, Venables spent £270,000 on him in November 1980. The former QPR midfielder didn’t get much wrong during his managerial reign in W12 and Stainrod proved to be an inspired signing as well, becoming the top scorer and focal point of the attack as the R’s reached the FA Cup final as a Second Division team in the 1981/82 campaign. Stainrod played in every round as Rangers fought through replays with Blackpool and Middlesbrough, then beat Grimsby and Crystal Palace, and finally defeated West Brom 1-0 at Highbury in the semi-final thanks to a goal from Clive Allen at the North Bank end. Stainrod played both the final and the replay against Spurs at Wembley — Rangers were of course eventually beaten 1-0 having drawn the first game 1-1.

Prior to the final Stainrod gave a bullish interview in the press about his side’s chances. Transcribed by Steve Russell on Indy R’s, Stainrod said: “Over the last few weeks we’ve proved that we have the players capable of winning the trophy. Some of our performances have been fantastic. We’ve annihilated some teams as we’ve tried for the Cup and promotion double. This is the best footballing side I’ve ever had the privilege of playing for. We combine hard work and determination with skill. As well as myself and Clive Allen, the team has so many other players who can score goals and turn the game on their own.

“I’ve always had confidence in my own ability and I know that I’m good enough to play at the top level. Wembley gives me the chance to prove to people I’m right. But I’m not going out there to show the world how good I am. I’ll just be doing my very best to win the game for Queen’s Park Rangers. I want to play a good game for the team. If I get a chance to shine then all well and good. At the end of the day the most important thing is victory.

“Many people are surprised to see us at Wembley, but I had a sneaking feeling that we’d reach the final. During all the controversy about the synthetic pitch at Loftus Road and rumours that we wouldn’t be allowed to play an FA Cup-tie at home, I said to the lads that we’d win the cup this year. It’s just the sort of ironic thing that happens in life.”

In the league he scored 24 times in 29 appearances as the R’s finished fifth — that included a hat trick against his home town club Sheffield Wednesday at Loftus Road in November to help the R’s to a 3-1 win.

A year later Venables led QPR to promotion and Stainrod made 33 appearances. He found goals a little harder to come by than the previous campaign, despite bagging two in an early 4-1 win at Derby and another a week later against Fulham. He missed nine matches midseason and finished the campaign with nine goals.

Stainrod appeared 60 times in the top flight for Rangers, scoring 16 goals in 45 appearances in the first year after promotion. The R’s finished fifth and qualified for the UEFA Cup, but Venables left to manage Barcelona and was replaced by Alan Mullery who turned out to be a disaster for the club. Stainrod scored one of the six goals the R’s managed in a home tie against Partizan Belgrade — actually played at Highbury because of the plastic pitch at Loftus Road — but they were beaten 4-0 in the away leg and went out on away goals.

John Byrne arrived from York City after he’d impressed against Rangers in the League Cup and as he struck up a partnership with Gary Bannister, Stainrod was deemed surplus to requirements. In December 1984, shortly after Byrne’s arrival Rangers sold Stainrod for £250,000.

Oddly, he moved to Sheffield Wednesday, who he claimed to have supported his whole life despite starting with Sheffield United, scoring freely against the Owls when in hoops, and putting in that less than savoury performance against them back in his Oldham days. The Wednesday fans doubted his credentials, needless to say. He finished his QPR career with 62 goals in 143 starts and two sub appearances.

His stay at Hillsborough was short and bitter, lasting just 15 matches before a fall out with manager Howard Wilkinson sent him on his way to Aston Villa for £370,000. Although he scored four times on his debut, in a League Cup tie with Exeter, Stainrod’s time at Villa Park was also unhappy and ended when they were relegated. Villa cashed in by selling him to Second Division Stoke City.

His time at the Victoria Ground was not a particularly successful one either as he’d started to suffer with injuries by this stage

He then played for Strasbourg and Rouen in France before returning to these shores as player manager of Falkirk where he won the First Division and later Dundee and Ayr — famously scoring a goal directly from the kick off for Falkirk against St Johnstone in the SPL.

He had been working as a football agent based in France and was part of the deal that brought Hatem Ben Arfa to Newcastle but had his license suspended by the FA in May 2012 for failing to provide documents when requested.

Others >>>Jay Bothroyd, Stoke (loan) 2008, QPR 2011-2013 >>> Peter Crouch, QPR 2000-2001, Stoke 2011-present >>> Clint Hill, Stoke 2003-2008, QPR 2010-present >>> Jason Jarrett, Stoke (loan) 2005, QPR (loan) 2007-2008 >>> Chris Barker, Stoke (loan) 2004, QPR 2007-2008 >>> Andrew Davies, QPR (loan) 2005, Stoke 2008-present >>> Richard Johnson, Stoke 2004, QPR 2004-2005 >>> Paul Peschisolido, Stoke 1994-1996, QPR (loan) 2000 >>> Tony Scully, Stoke (loan) 1998, QPR 1998-2001 >>> Mike Sheron, Stoke 1995-1997, QPR 1997-1999 >>> Mark Stein, QPR 1988-1989, Stoke (loan) 1991, (loan) 1996-1997 >>> Gary Bannister, QPR 1984-1988, Stoke 1993 >>> Paul Barron, Stoke (loan) 1985, QPR 1985-1988 >>> Robbie James, Stoke 1983-1984, QPR 1984-1987 >>> George Mountford, Stoke 1946-1950, QPR 1953-1954 >>> Des Farrow, QPR 1948-1952, Stoke 1952-1954 >>> John Bowman, Stoke 1899-1900, QPR 1901-1905

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Pictures - Action Images

Photo: Action Images

AgedR added 07:06 - Sep 18 Thanks Clive. Great memories of "Super Simon Stainrod" and that outstanding Venables promotion team
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Discodroids added 10:38 - Sep 18 named my son after him.cant say more than that.
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