We're back to 1988 for the memorable match this week as Jim Smith's QPR halt the rot of a dire start to the season with a 2-0 victory over Sheff Wed on the new grass pitch at Loftus Road.

Memorable Match

QPR 2 Sheff Wed 0, Saturday September 17, 1988, First Division

The late Jim Smith rarely seems to cop much of a mention when achievements by Queens Park Rangers managers are discussed among fans.

Alec Stock, Gordon Jago and Dave Sexton are of course lauded as men who shaped the modern day QPR as we know it, transforming it from a Division Three South side into a mainstay of the top two divisions with a League Cup win and near miss at the league title along the way. Terry Venables’ revitalisation of the club, transformative forward-thinking training and tactics, FA Cup final appearance and promotion prior to a move to Barcelona (just imagine now) comes next but it tends to then skip straight onto Gerry Francis and the fifth-placed finish in the inaugural Premier League, Ian Holloway’s early new millennium rebuild job, and Neil Warnock’s remarkable 2010/11. Occasionally there’ll be a deserved mention for Don Howe.

But Smith matched Francis’ top five finish in the top flight in 1987/88, a season which began with nine wins from the first 12 matches that sent Rangers to Liverpool in early October neck and neck with the Scousers at the top of the table. He’d taken them to a cup final two years prior, through Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest, bitter rivals Chelsea and the all conquering Liverpool of the 1980s on the way to Wembley. The defeat there, and Smith’s fondness for the Oxford club that inflicted it upon us, always held against him, it seems. Players he brought to the club included Paul Parker, Les Ferdinand, David Seaman, Simon Barker and Danny Maddix. Results included successive Gary Bannister hat tricks against Chelsea, one in the famous Easter 6-0 massacre.

Things weren’t, however, going quite according to plan at the start of the 1988/89 season. Rangers won five on the spin and six of eight towards the end of the previous campaign to push on into fifth but started with something of a hangover. A 0-0 draw at Old Trafford on day one wasn’t to be sniffed at but that was followed with a 2-0 loss at Loftus Road to Arsenal in the actual Mercantile Credit Trophy — Rangers’ first game at home on grass for seven years after the controversial plastic pitch was binned over the summer. That was also the final game for chairman David Bulstrode who died suddenly that week and a 1-0 league loss to Southampton on the new turf swiftly followed before Norwich scored late at Carrow Road to also beat the Super Hoops by a single goal. Four matches in Rangers had managed one point, were yet to score, were out of one cup competition, and the chairman was dead. So far, so QPR.

Attempt five to get up and running came in mid-September against Sheffield Wednesday on a pitch already cutting up badly and sporting some funky markings after the rather ill-advised decision to continue playing the American Football Bud Bowl on the pitch post-artificial era — Birmingham Bulls v London Olympians had taken place the week before and here’s two and a quarter hours of it if you’re short of something to do.

Sheffield Wednesday turned up in a bottle green number with white pin hoops and David Seaman arrived looking like Ron Burgundy for a game Rangers were desperate to win/score in. Tony Galvin sent an early sighter wide of Seaman’s post from 20 yards. Seaman was then on hand with a fine save and hold to deny Wednesday after slashed clearances from first Mark Dennis and then Alan McDonald offered half a look at the goal.

The first goal of the season really should have arrived shortly after that when Parker intercepted high up the field and then brilliantly switched the play left to Wayne Fereday. He, in turn, fed the ball into new signing Mark Stein, in at the near post after a £300,000 summer transfer from Luton, and it was moved on one more to veteran striker Trevor Francis who rather scuffed a routine finish and allowed a very young, slim, Kevin Pressman to save. Soon Stein was trying his own look from long range, taking Pressman out of the game with a gorgeous, curled shot from 25 yards but he just couldn’t bring it back enough to find the top corner.

More Seaman brilliance at full stretch denied Siggy Johnson from range after David Hirst had touched Mel Stirland’s long throw into his path which meant that when Francis beautifully cushioned a ball wide to Fereday five minutes before half time and then advanced into the area to meet the perfectly flighted cross with his head it was not only QPR’s first goal of the season, but also the opening goal of the game. The Lower Loft, in terrace form, looked absolutely fucking wonderful.

Second half, another Fereday cross was headed up and over Pressman by Stein but it bounced back into play off the bar. Now full of confidence Rangers soon attacked down the opposite flank and Kevin Brock was able to burst into the area and draw a lazy leg from Nigel Pearson for an obvious penalty. Trevor Francis would this season experiment, wholly unsuccessfully, with a one step run up for these, nearly sparking a riot at Millwall away a fortnight later with a farcical miss, but he found the bottom corner on this occasion for 2-0.

Rangers went onto win 1-0 at Derby County the following week with Mark Stein’s first goal for the club but form remained patchy. A 2-1 home win against West Ham in front of huge travelling support secured by a wonderous half volley by Stein (also not mentioned often enough) and a 3-0 demolition of bottom of the table Newcastle were interspersed with a granular run of draws and defeats.

Smith joined Newcastle in December, taking Kevin Brock with him, but was unable to save them from relegation. Francis became QPR player manager, and memorable games ensued including a 4-1 New Year’s Eve win at Southampton when Martin Allen let rip from long range, a 4-3 home farce against Wimbledon, and Andy Gray’s pair of bullets in a 3-2 home win against Man Utd at Loftus Road in May — watched by just 10,017 on the night of a tube strike. There was also enormous, immediate, player turnover with money being spent on the likes of Nigel Spackman, Colin Clarke, Peter Reid and a young Brentford winger by the name of Andy Sinton who scored the only goal of the game to win his home debut against Aston Villa.

Rangers finished ninth, Wednesday fifteenth. Francis would last barely a year in the top job, his reign defined by the Martin Allen baby episode at Newcastle away in March — a game Rangers actually won 2-1 with goals from Stein and Clarke. He would later finish third in the top flight and reach two cup finals as player manager of the Owls.

As part of the club’s sterling efforts to keep us all from killing each other during lockdown they posted the full original review of that season on their Facebook channel. Click the link for a nostalgia fest of Ossie Ardilles in QPR colours, Richard Keys commentary, and incredible saxophone solos.

QPR: Seaman; Law, McDonald, Parker, Maddix, Dennis; Allen, Brock, Fereday; Stein, Francis

Sheff Wed: Pressman, Sterland, Worthington, Pearson, Madden, Cranson, Megson, Hirst, West, Jonsson, Galvin (Bradshaw).

Attendance: 8,011

Classic encounters

LFW regular and AKUTR’s columnist Dave Barton has set up a QPR Memories YouTube channel, with a mixture of clips, classic games, and old highlights packages. His three recent meetings with Sheff Wed are embedded below, give him a subscribe on YouTube or follow @QPR_Memories on Twitter.

Recent Meetings

Sheff Wed 1 QPR 1, Saturday October 3, 2020, Championship

Despite having the better of a dire first half, going close first with a Lyndon Dykes header and then with Geoff Cameron hitting the inside of the post with a flicked header from a corner, QPR looked like they were slipping to a defeat at Hillsborough when these sides met in Sheffield in October. Yoann Barbet could do little but turn the ball into his own net ten minutes after half time when Adam Reach cut the ball back from the byline to a queue of waiting home players. Brilliance from Seny Dieng to deny Reach, and the crossbar keeping out Mass Luongo against his former club, kept it at 1-0 which meant Barbet was able to make amends in injury time with a gorgeous cross headed home to level by Macauley Bonne with his first goal for Rangers.

Sheff Wed: Dawson 6; Shaw — (Palmer 5, 5 (Odubajo 46, 6)), Lees 7, Van Aken 5; Harris 5, Luongo 6, Bannan 7, Reach 6, Dele-Bashiru 6 (Pelupessy 69, 5); Windass 5, Paterson 6

Subs not used: Rhodes, Wildsmith, Kachunga, Waldock

Goals: Barbet own goal 54 (assisted Reach)

Bookings: Paterson 52 (foul), Luongo 63 (foul)

QPR: Dieng 7; Kakay 6, Dickie 7, Barbet 5, Wallace 5; Cameron 6, Carroll 5 (Bonne 64, 7); Osayi-Samuel 6, Amos 5 (Ball 73, 6), Chair 5; Dykes 5

Subs not used: Kane, Bettache, Hamalainen, Kelly, Smyth

Goals: Bonne 90+6 (assisted Barbet)

Bookings: Barbet 77 (foul)

QPR 0 Sheff Wed 3, Saturday July 11, 2020, Championship

QPR’s worst performance of the 2019/20 season came against Sheff Wed at Loftus Road during the summer lockdown. The Owls had been in pretty dire form themselves, winning only five games in the second half of the season, and two of those were against Rangers. In July they scored early when Joe Lumley parried an early free kick, Mass Luongo followed up off the post against his former club and Dominic Iorfa slammed in a second rebound. More calamitous defending let Josh Windass in for a simple second from a corner in first half injury time and Jacob Murphy made it three deep into the second half.

QPR: Lumley 5; Masterson 4 (Oteh 33, 4), Cameron 3, Barbet 3; Kakay 5, Manning 3; Eze 4, Ball 3 (Clarke 60, 4), Amos 3; Osayi-Samuel 4, Shodipo 4 (Chair 60, 4)

Subs not used: Kane, Rangel, Bettache, Kelly, Gubbins

Bookings: Ball 35 (foul)

Sheff Wed: Wildsmith 6; Iorfa 7, Lees 6 (Shaw 75, 6), Borner 6; Odubajo 6, Hunt 6 (Pelupessy 61, 6); Bannan 7, Luongo 8, Harris 7; Windass 6 (Nuhiu 75, 6), Da Cruz 6 (Murphy 55, 8)

Subs not used: Rhodes, Reach, Dawson, Brennan, Hughes

Goals: Iorfa 5 (assisted Luongo), Windass 45+2 (assisted Harris), Murphy 78 (assisted Bannan)

Bookings: Hunt 30 (foul), Odubajo 57 (foul)

QPR 1 Sheff Wed 2, Friday January 24, 2020, FA Cup Fourth Round

QPR’s lamentable record in the FA Cup continued with a 2-1 loss at home to Sheff Wed last January. Jack Clarke, Todd Kane and Joe Lumley were all culpable in Morgan Fox’s weak opener before half time and Sam Winnall looked to have made the game safe when he scored a second in the last minute. Substitute Nahki Wells made it six in six games from the bench but that was mere consolation and the decision to rest players, particularly the in form Bermudian who was on the verge of moving to our opponents the following week Bristol City in any case, once more drew fire from supporters tired of Rangers’ attitude to the knock out cup competitions.

QPR: Lumley 4; Kane 5, Leistner 6, Masterson 6, Manning 5; Ball 6; Clarke (Osayi-Samuel 66, 7) 4, Eze 6, Chair (Wells 74, 6) 6, Pugh 6; Hugill 5

Subs not used: Barnes, Hall, Shodipo, Cameron, Amos

Goals: Wells 90+3 (unassisted)

Bookings: Ball 60 (foul), Osayi-Samuel 86 (foul)

Sheff Wed: Dawson 6; Odubajo 6, Lees 6, Borner 6, Fox 7, Murphy 7 (Reach 72, 6), Hutchinson 6 (Hunt 54, 6), Pelupessy 6, Harris 6; Rhodes 6 (Nuhiu 76, 6), Winnall 7

Subs not used: Wildsmith, Iorfa, Borukov, Urhoghide

Goals: Fox 43 (Hutchinson), Winnall 90+1 (assisted Reach)

Sheff Wed 1 QPR 2, Saturday August 30, 2020, Championship

QPR won 2-1 at Hillsborough for the second time in quick succession either side of the summer break when these teams met in South Yorkshire last August. It didn’t look good for Mark Warburton’s team when the latest in a series of early season penalties was awarded against them midway through the first half — although quite what Grant Hall was supposed to have done to Fernando Forestieri to justify it was never really explained. Steven Fletcher converted. But Rangers came on strong after half time with Jordan Hugill first slickly rounding Westwood and equalising after being played in expertly by Nahki Wells, then twice riding marginal offside calls to knock in a second from the latest Ryan Manning assist.

Sheff Wed: Westwood 7, Palmer 5 (Murphy 75, 5), Iorfa 4, Bornar 4, Fox 4 (Luongo 67, 4) Reach 4 (Nuhui 76, 4), Hutchinson 5, Bannan 5, Harris 5, Forestieri 4, Fletcher 5.

Subs not used: Lee, Rhodes, Dawson, Bates

Goals: Fletcher 23 (penalty, won Forestieri)

Bookings: Borner 21 (foul), Bannan 23 (unsporting) Forestieri 45+3 (foul), Iorfa (90+4 (foul)

QPR: Lumley 6; Rangel 7 (Kane 88, -) Manning 7, Barbet 6, Hall 6, Leistner 7; Ball 6, Eze 7 ( Scowen 83, -), Chair 7; Wells 7 (Mlakar 68 5), Hugill 8.

Subs not used: Pugh, Osayi-Samuel, Owens, Kelly

Goals: Hugill 60 (assisted Wells), 64 (assisted Manning)

Bookings: Hugill 23 (unsporting) Rangel 43 (foul), Leistner 90+6 (foul)

Sheff Wed 1 QPR 2, Sunday May 5, 2019, Championship

Matt Smith scored in spectacular fashion with the last kick of the game and the final touch of his QPR career as the R’s won at Hillsborough on the final day of last season. In a farcical game of multiple penalties, Rangers took the lead in the first half when a slick move ended with a Darnell Furlong cross and Josh Scowen finish into the bottom corner. Wednesday should have been level when a disgraceful decision to award the home side a penalty for no contact at all gave Fernando Forestieri a chance from 12 yards but he sportingly blazed it over the bar. That looked a critical miss when Rangers were awarded a spot kick of their own for a trip on Bright Osayi-Samuel but Ebere Eze’s kick was saved by the brilliant Kieran Westwood. Typical Rangers, they then went down the other end and committed another offence in their own area and Michael Hector slammed in an equaliser from the game’s third penalty. That set the stage for Smith to strike a glorious full volley into the roof of the net to win the game deep into injury time in front of the travelling QPR fans.

Sheff Wed: Westwood 8; Palmer 6, Hector 7, Lees 6, Fox 6; Matias 6, Pelupessy 5, Lee 7 (Hutchinson 64, 5); Forestieri 5, Joao 6 (Nuhiu 64, 5), Fletcher 6 (Hooper 78, 6)

Subs not used: Winnall, Thorniley, Dawson, Penney

Goals: Hector 84 (penalty, won Matias)

Bookings: Matias 90+3 (foul), Hector 90+4 (foul)

QPR: Lumley 6; Furlong 7, Leistner 6, Cameron 6, Manning 7; Eze 7, Scowen 7, Luongo 6, Shodipo 5 (Walker 61, 5); Osayi-Samuel 6 (Hall 89, -), Smith 7

Subs not used: Ingram, Bidwell, Freeman, Wells, Bansal-McNulty

Goals: Scowen 28 (assisted Furlong), Smith 90+3 (assisted Luongo)

Bookings: Scowen 74 (dissent), Cameron 88 (foul)

QPR 3 Sheff Wed 0, Tuesday October 23, 2018, Championship

One of several autumn high points in a season that has since dramatically unravelled came at home to Sheff Wed in October. Although the visitors were denied a pretty blatant penalty when Pudil had his head split by a high boot from Rangel, Rangers played well and were thoroughly good value for a 3-0 win. Tomer Hemed converted a Pawel Wszolek assist to open the scoring before half time and the R’s moved off into the distance after half time with a rare headed goal from Luke Freeman and a fine first goal for the club from Nahki Wells. Joel Lynch got man of the match. What a night.

QPR: Lumley 7; Rangel 7, Leistner 7, Lynch 8, Bidwell 6; Cameron 8, Luongo 7; Wszolek 8, Eze 8 (Scowen 84, -), Freeman 8 (Cousins 88, -), Hemed 7 (Wells 65, 7)

Subs not used: Ingram, Hall, Smith, Osayi-Samuel

Goals: Hemed 35 (assisted Wszolek), Freeman 65 (assisted Wszolek), Wells 83 (assisted Eze)

Sheff Wed: Dawson 5; Baker 6, Hector 6, Pudil 6 (Thorniley 62, 6), Fox 5; Pelupessy 5 (Penney 75, 6), Bannan 7, Reach 7, Onomah 6; Joao 5 (Fletcher 75, 6), Nuhiu 5

Subs not used: Palmer, Lees, Wildsmith, Kirby

QPR 4 Sheff Wed 2, Tuesday April 10, 2018, Championship

Fresh from a 4-0 battering at Hull on the Saturday, QPR flew out of the blocks against Sheff Wed on the Tuesday and were 3-0 up inside a quarter of an hour. A beautifully crafted volleyed finish by Paul Smyth got things underway on eight minutes and Jake Bidwell stabbed home at the second attempt two minutes later. With visiting keeper Joe Wildsmith enduring his own personal nightmare, Darnell Furlong crossed brilliantly for Idrissa Sylla to head home at the far post on the quarter hour. A typically flamboyant penalty conversion from Sylla straight after half time made it four before Forestieri and Nuhui pulled two quick goals back for Wednesday to make the finale a lot more nervous than it ever really should have been.

QPR: Smithies 7; Furlong 7, Baptise 7, Robinson 6, Bidwell 8; Cousins 7, Scowen 6 (Manning 67, 7), Freeman 6; Osayi-Samuel 7 (Wszolek 77, 6), Sylla 7 (Smith 68, 6), Smyth 7

Subs not used: Ingram, Kakay, Eze, Washington

Goals: Smyth 8 (assisted Bidwell), Bidwell 10 (assisted Sylla), Sylla 15 (assisted Furlong), 53 (penalty won Osayi-Samuel)

Bookings: Scowen (foul play)

Sheff Wed: Wildsmith; Palmer, Lees, Pudil, Thorniley; Pelupessy, Jones, Reach, Forestieri (Boyd 80); Joao (Matias 64), Nuhui (Rhodes 83)

Subs not used: Dawson, Baker, Butterfield, Nielsen.

Goals: Forestieri 61 (assisted Joao), Nuhui 69 (assisted Palmer)

Bookings: Pudil (foul play)

Sheff Wed 1 QPR 1, Saturday August 12, 2017, Championship

QPR took one point and probably should have had all three when these sides met at Hillsborough on the second weekend of the new season. Jamie Mackie stormed through on goal to give the R’s a 1-0 half time lead but, as has happened all too often this season, a goal straight after half time pegged Rangers back — Sam Winnall capitalising on a mistake by Nedum Onuoha on this occasion. That’s how it looked like staying until right at the death Kazenga LuaLua burst clean through on goal only to sidefoot a very presentable chance wide of the post.

Sheff Wed: Westwood 6; Hunt 6, Lees 6, Loovens 6 (Winnall 27, 7), Pudil 6; Wallace 5, Hutchinson 6 (Jones 13, 6), Bannan 6, Reach 6; Hooper 6, Rhodes 5 (Fletcher 87, -)

Subs not used: Palmer, Boyd, Wildsmith, Abdi

Goals: Winnall 48 (assisted Bannan)

QPR: Smithies 6; Perch 6, Onouha 6, Lynch 6; Wszolek 7 (Furlong 90+3, -), Bidwell 6; Scowen 7, Freeman 7 (Manning 80, 6), Luongo 7; Mackie 6 (Lua Lua 79, 5), Washington 6

Subs not used: Ingram, Smith, Baptiste, Borysiuk

Goals: Mackie 23 (assisted Freeman)

Yellows: Lynch 40 (foul), Bidwell 66 (foul), Scowen 80 (foul)

QPR 1 Sheff Wed 2, Monday April 17, 2017, Championship

Rangers lost 2-1 at home to Sheff Wed on Easter Monday 2017 as part of their second six-match losing run of the campaign. That was despite Idrissa Sylla scoring one of the oddest goals every seen at Loftus Road — the ball flying up inside a towel hung in the back of the net by Kieron Westwood meant it disappeared completely from view and three sides of the ground didn’t realise it had gone in — to equalise James Reach’s early opener. Wednesday weren’t great either as they laboured towards the play-offs but they had more than enough to beat QPR and scored again through Pudil before half time to win 2-1.

QPR: Smithies 6; Perch 5, Lynch 4, Bidwell 4; Petrasso 4 (Lua Lua 45, 6), Robinson 6 (Washington 62, 6); Freeman 6, Luongo 6, Manning 5 (Smith 75, 5); Mackie 5, Sylla 5

Subs not used: Goss, Ingram, Wszolek, Ngabakoto

Goals: Sylla 20 (assisted Mackie)

Bookings: Perch 76 (foul)

Sheff Wed: Westwood 6; Palmer 6, Lees 6, Loovens 6, Pudil 8; Wallace 6 (Semedo 67, 6), Jones 6, Bannan 6, Reach 7; Rhodes 7 (Nuhiu 76, 4), Hooper 6 (Forestieri 67, 6)

Subs not used: Wildsmith, McManaman, Fletcher, Sasso

Goals: Reach 12 (assisted Pudil), Pudil 31 (assisted Wallace)

Bookings; Reach 61 (Repetitive fouling)

Sheffield Wednesday 1 QPR 0, Saturday October 22, 2016, Championship

Gary Hooper made the most of a shot mishit in his direction by David Jones just before half time to bang in the only goal of the game when these sides met at Hillsborough in October that season. QPR were probably worth a point, with Wednesday’s young stand in goalkeeper Cameron Dawson enduring a nervous afternoon. He saved twice from Tjaronn Chery from long range in the first half, the first after he’d miscued a clearance straight to him, and was twice grateful to defenders clearing off the line in the second. When Chery rounded him in stoppage time a point looked to be Rangers’ but, again, Wednesday massed up on the goal line.

Sheff Wed: Dawson 6; Hunt 6 (Palmer 70, 6), Lees 6, Hutchinson 7, Pudil 6; Bannan 7, Jones 6, Lee 7 (Wallace 87, -), Reach 6; Forestieri 5, Hooper 6 (Fletcher 74, 6)

Subs not used: Kean, Loovens, Nuhui, Buckley

Goals: Hooper 40 (assisted Jones)

Bookings: Pudil 77 (dissent)

QPR: Smithies 6; Perch 6, Onuoha 6, Caulker 6, Hamalainen 6; Borysiuk 7 (Shodipo 80, 7); Gladwin 5 (Wszolek 74, 6), Luongo 6, Chery 6, Washington 6; Sylla 6 (Polter 64, 5)

Subs not used: Ingram, El Khayati, Kakay, Henry

Bookings: Borysiuk 13 (foul), Gladwin 17 (foul), Onuoha 85 (foul), Hamalainen 90+1 (foul)

Attendance: 29,903

Sheffield Wednesday 1 QPR 1, Tuesday February 23, 2016, Championship

A goal from an unlikely source, and the standard penalty save from Alex Smithies, won QPR a point when they visited Hillsborough in February 2016. Smithies dived left to save easily from Nuhiu early in the second half after Nedum Onuoha had fouled Gary Hooper in the box. It looked like it might be Rangers’ night when a similarly rank piece of defending at the other end of the field allowed the much maligned Daniel Tozser to fire in a composed volley from 20 yards. But QPR were real draw specialists — then and now — and had to share the spoils when Nuhiu atoned for his miss with a late towering header to equalise. It could have been worse still — a late challenge in the box by Grant Hall on Kieran Lee looked a stick on shout for a second Wednesday spot kick.

Sheff Wed: Westwood 6; Hunt 6, Lees 7, Sasso 6, Pudil 6; Wallace 7, Lee 7, Bannan 6, McGeady 5 (Jao 62, 6); Hooper 6, Nuhiu 5

Subs not used: Loovens, McGugan, Bennett, Helan, Lopez, Price

Goals: Nuhiu 63 (assisted Pudil)

Bookings: Wallace 72 (foul)

QPR: Smithies 8; Onuoha 5, Hall 6, Angella 7, Perch 6; Phillips 5, Tozser 7, Henry 6, Luongo 6, El Khayati 7 (Mackie 79, 6); Washington 6 (Polter 73, 6)

Subs not used: Chery, Hoilett, Ingram, Petrasso, Diakite

Goals: Tozser 57 (unassisted)

Bookings: Phillips 76 (foul)

QPR 0 Sheffield Wednesday 0, Tuesday October 20, 2015, Championship

QPR were left cursing the form of visiting goalkeeper Keiron Westwood, but grateful to the finishing ability of Barry Bannan and refereeing of Andy Haines when these sides drew a blank at Loftus Road in October that season. Westwood saved well from Emmanuel-Thomas in the first half, and brilliantly from Tjaronn Chery in the second, while Bannan twice found himself in space in the Rangers' penalty area only to thrash poor shots over the bar. But it was Haines who drew the most attention, inexplicably failing to award a free kick against Clint Hill when he brought down Modou Sogou as the striker raced through on goal before half time with a tackle so severe the striker was stretchered off with a dislocated shoulder. A red card would surely have followed, but Haines bizarrely waved play on. He did likewise deep into the second half when Lucas Jao appeared to be tripped in the area for a penalty kick.

QPR: Green 6; Onuoha 6, Hall 6, Hill 6, Konchesky 6; Tozser 5, Sandro 6; Phillips 4, Luongo 6, Chery 5; Emmanuel-Thomas 5 (Fer 69, 5)

Subs not used: Doughty, Faurlin, Henry, Hoilett, Smithies, Angella

Bookings: Sandro 8 (foul)

Sheff Wed: Westwood 6; Palmer 6, Loovens 6, Lees 6, Wiggins 6; Sougou 6 (Wallace 42, 6), McGugan 6 (Lee 69, 6), Semedo 6, Bannan 5; Forestieri 5 (Lucas João 45, 7), Nuhiu 4

Subs not used: Wildsmith, Pudil, Sasso, Hutchinson

Sheffield Wednesday 3 QPR 0, Tuesday March 18, 2014, Championship

QPR's worst performance of 2013/14 came at Hillsborough against Sheff Wed on a long Tuesday night for the travelling faithful. Sporting a long injury list, and harshly robbed of Richard Dunne for a professional foul in the first half, there were still few excuses for a shambolic performance and deserved thrashing from the mid-table Owls. Chris Maguire scored the penalty resulting from Dunne's foul and with Joey Barton on a one-man mission to get a red card of his own, second half goals from Leon Best and Lewis Buxton followed as the R's capitulated. The result was o0ne of several meek defeats through March and April as Rangers played out a number of essentially dead rubbers, with automatic promotion out of reach but a play-off spot secured.

Sheff Wed: Martinez N/A; Buxton 7, Helan 6, Loovens 7, Onyewu 7; Palmer 6, Lavery 7 (Prutton 84, -), Lee 6; Best 7 (Johnson 74, 6), Nuhiu 6, Maguire 7 (Afobe 84, -)

Subs not used: Davies, Coke, Mattock, Llera

Goals: Maguire 35 (penalty won Best), Best 51 (assisted Onyewu), Buxton 71 (unassisted)

Bookings: Buxton 28 (foul)

QPR: Murphy 5; Onuoha 4, Dunne 4, Hill 4, Hughes 3; Henry 4 (Kranjcar 45, 5), Barton 3; Hoilett 5 (Suk-Young 45, 4), Morrison 4, O’Neil 2 (Carroll 83, -); Zamora 2

Subs not used: Keane, Benayoun, Lennox, Maiga

Red Cards: Dunne 35 (professional foul, one match ban)

Queens Park Rangers 2 Sheffield Wednesday 1, Saturday August 3, 2014, Championship

Things didn’t look good for QPR 20 minutes into the first meeting between these sides that season either. After such a colossal turnover in personnel during the summer, and a Premier League season that brought just four paltry wins, nobody knew quite what to expect of the new look Rangers back in the second tier and when Wednesday’s debutant Albanian striker Atdhe Nuhiu lashed in from the edge of the box things did not look promising. The visitors had two very decent shouts for a penalty waved away by referee Scott Mathieson either side of half time as well but ultimately two quick fire first half goals won the points for Harry Redknapp’s side. Nedum Onuoha tapped home after a corner broke to him at the far post, then Andy Johnson volleyed in a fine second after keeper Chris Kirkland had saved an initial effort.

QPR: Green 6, Simpson 6, Onuoha 6, Hill 6, Traore 4, Barton 7 (Wright-Phillips 79, 6), Henry 6, Faurlin 6, Hoilett 7 (Jenas 87, -), Zamora 5 (Austin 68, 6), Johnson 7

Subs not used: Murphy, Dunne, Suk-Young, Derry

Goals: Onuoha 40 (assisted Hoilett), Johnson 43 (assisted Barton)

Bookings: Barton 56 (foul)

Sheff Wed: Kirkland 8, Zayatte 6, Gardner 6, Mattock 6 (Maghoma 37, 7), Palmer 6, Johnson 6, Prutton 6, Coke 6 (McCabe 69, 6), Antonio 5, Helan 6, Nuhiu 7 (Madine 76, 6)

Subs not used: Davies, Semedo, Taylor, Llera

Goals: Nuhiu 19 (unassisted)

Bookings: Palmer 19 (foul), Maghoma 57 (diving)

Queens Park Rangers 1 Sheffield Wednesday 1, Saturday April 3, 2010, Championship

QPR were in something of a mess when these sides met at Loftus Road back in April 2010. A promising start to the season under Jim Magilton had given way to a winter of complete chaos following his sacking. Brief spells in charge for first Paul Hart and then Mick Harford had seen Rangers drift from play off contenders into the relegation battle. Under fire owner Flavio Briatore had decided to take a back and seat and hand the day to day running of the club to Amit Bhatia and Neil Warnock had been poached from fellow financially crippled Crystal Palace. That arrested the side slightly, a run of seven defeats and two draws giving way to two consecutive wins following Warnock’s arrival but the R’s then found themselves drawing too many matches — this was their fifth tie in six matches — which kept them dangerously close to the relegation places. It could easily have been a win — Ale Faurlin fired in his first goal for the club midway through the first half — but a dire second half saw Wednesday fight back and equalise through Tom Soares. A subsequent Easter mauling at Leicester had alarm bells ringing but Rangers subsequently won at Palace which meant late season victories over Barnsley and Watford cemented their place in the Championship. A year later, Warnock had them promoted as champions. Wednesday meanwhile were relegated on the final day when they failed to beat Palace at home, the side immediately above them.

QPR: C Ikeme, P Ramage, D Stewart, M Hill, K Gorkss, M Leigertwood, H Ephraim (L Cook, 81), A Taarabt yellow card, A Faurlin, T Priskin (R Vine, 89), J Simpson (A German, 73)

Subs not used: J Oastler, A Balanta, A Buzsaky, R Cerny

Goals: Faurlin 23

Sheff Wed: L Grant, D Purse, L Buxton, T Spurr, M Beevers, D Potter (L Clarke, 72), L Varney (J Johnson, 69), T Soares, E Nolan, J O'Connor, M Tudgay

Subs not used: R Hinds, M Gray, F Jeffers, R O'Donnell, F Simek

Goals: Soares 77

Attendance: 13,405

Sheffield Wednesday 1 Queens Park Rangers 2, Saturday November 7, 2009, Championship

Jim Magilton’s QPR side continued their play off push with a 2-1 victory against Sheffield Wednesday in November 2009. Rangers had been in spectacular form leading up to the match, playing sumptuous football to sweep aside Barnsley (5-2) before embarking on a memorable seven day period where they beat Preston, Reading and Derby scoring 12 goals in the process — four in each. This was a much less fluent performance and although Arsenal loanee Jay Simpson finished across Lee Grant to give the visitors an early lead, Wednesday equalised immediately through Jermaine Johnson and were the better team for long periods. With the game apparently set for a draw, Rangers found a late winner thanks to an emphatic header from Latvian centre back Kaspars Gorkss who powered home a late Ale Faurlin corner in front of the travelling faithful behind the goal. Sadly a damaging defeat at Doncaster Rovers followed a week later and the season collapsed with subsequent thrashings by Watford and Middlesbrough leading to Magilton leaving the club under a cloud of controversy after an alleged dressing room attack on midfielder Akos Buzsaky.

Sheff Wed: Grant 6, Simek 6 (Richard Wood 72, 5), Buxton 7, Hinds 6, Spurr 6, Johnson 8 (Clarke 76, 5), Miller 7(McAllister 72, 6), Potter 6, O'Connor 7, Tudgay 5, Varney 6

Subs Not Used: O'Donnell, Sodje, Esajas, Beevers

Goals: Johnson 13 (assisted Potter)

QPR: Cerny 6, Leigertwood 4, Hall 4 (Connolly 27, 7), Gorkss 7, Ramage 5, Buzsaky 6 (Faurlin 68, 8), Mahon 6, Watson 6, Routledge 6,Taarabt 7 (Vine 88, -), Simpson 7

Subs Not Used: Heaton, Agyemang, Alberti, Ephraim

Goals: Simpson 10 (assisted Taarabt), Gorkss 82 (assisted Faurlin)

Attendance: 19,491

Previous Results

Head to Head >>> QPR wins 24 >>> Draws 18 >>> Sheff Wed wins 32

2020/21 Sheff Wed 1 QPR 1 (Bonne)

2019/20 QPR 0 Sheff Wed 3

2019/20 QPR 1 Sheff Wed 2** (Wells)

2019/20 Sheff Wed 1 QPR 2 (Hugill 2)

2018/19 Sheff Wed 1 QPR 2 (Scowen, Smith)

2018/19 QPR 3 Sheff Wed 0 (Hemed, Freeman, Wells)

2017/18 QPR 4 Sheff Wed 2 (Sylla 2, Smyth, Bidwell)

2017/18 Sheff Wed 1 QPR 1 (Mackie)

2016/17 QPR 1 Sheff Wed 2 (Sylla)

2016/17 Sheff Wed 1 QPR 0

2015/16 Sheff Wed 1 QPR 1 (Toszer)

2015/16 QPR 0 Sheff Wed 0

2013/14 Sheff Wed 3 QPR 0

2013/14 QPR 2 Sheff Wed 1 (Johnson, Onuoha)

2009/10 QPR 1 Sheff Wed 1 (Faurlin)

2009/10 Sheff Wed 1 QPR 2 (Simpson, Gorkss)

2008/09 QPR 3 Sheff Wed 2 (Mahon, Vine, Stewart)

2008/09 Sheff Wed 1 QPR 0

2007/08 Sheff Wed 2 QPR 1 (Delaney)

2007/08 QPR 0 Sheff Wed 0

2006/07 QPR 1 Sheff Wed 1 (Rowlands pen)

2006/07 Sheff Wed 3 QPR 2 (Blackstock 2)

2005/06 Sheff Wed 1 QPR 1 (Bircham)

2005/06 QPR 0 Sheff Wed 0

2003/04 Sheff Wed 1 QPR 3 (Gallen, Furlong, Carr og)

2003/04 QPR 3 Sheff Wed 0 (Palmer, Thorpe, McLeod)

2000/01 Sheff Wed 5 QPR 2 (Crouch 2)

2000/01 QPR 1 Sheff Wed 2 (Peacock pen)

1995/96 Sheff Wed 1 QPR 3 (Barker 2, Goodridge)

1995/96 QPR 0 Sheff Wed 3

1994/95 Sheff Wed 0 QPR 2 (Maddix, Ferdinand)

1994/95 QPR 3 Sheff Wed 2 (Ferdinand, Sinclair, Gallen)

1993/94 Sheff Wed 3 QPR 1 (White)

1993/94 QPR 1 Sheff Wed 2 (Ferdinand)

1993/94 QPR 1 Sheff Wed 2 (Meaker)*

1992/93 QPR 3 Sheff Wed 1 (Allen 2, Ferdinand)

1992/93 Sheff Wed 1 QPR 0

1992/93 Sheff Wed 4 QPR 0*

1991/92 QPR 1 Sheff Wed 1 (Wilkins)

1991/92 Sheff Wed 4 QPR 1 (Bailey)

1989/90 QPR 1 Sheff Wed 0 (Clarke)

1989/90 Sheff Wed 2 QPR 0

1988/89 Sheff Wed 0 QPR 2 (Falco, Allen)

1988/89 QPR 2 Sheff Wed 0 (T Francis 2 (1pen))

1987/88 QPR 1 Sheff Wed 1 (Coney)

1987/88 Sheff Wed 3 QPR 1 (Bannister)

1986/87 Sheff Wed 7 QPR 1 (Peacock)

1986/87 QPR 2 Sheff Wed 2 (Bannister, McDonald)

1985/86 Sheff Wed 0 QPR 0

1985/86 QPR 1 Sheff Wed 1 (James)

1984/85 Sheff Wed 3 QPR 1 (Fillery)

1984/85 QPR 0 Sheff Wed 0

1982/83 Sheff Wed 0 QPR 1 (Flanagan)

1982/83 QPR 0 Sheff Wed 2

1981/82 QPR 2 Sheff Wed 0 (Stainrod, Flanagan)

1981/82 Sheff Wed 1 QPR 3 (Stainrod 3)

1980/81 QPR 1 Sheff Wed 2 (Stainrod)

1980/81 Sheff Wed 1 QPR 0

1973/74 QPR 8 Sheff Wed 2* (Givens 2, Leach 2, Bowles, Francis, Mullen og, Cameron og)

1972/73 Sheff Wed 3 QPR 1 (Leach)

1972/73 QPR 4 Sheff Wed 2 (Francis, O’Rourke, Givens, Leach)

1971/72 Sheff Wed 0 QPR 0

1971/72 QPR 3 Sheff Wed 0 (Marsh 2 (1 pen), Francis)

1970/71 QPR 1 Sheff Wed 0 (Marsh)

1970/71 Sheff Wed 1 QPR 0

1968/69 Sheff Wed 4 QPR 0

1968/69 QPR 3 Sheff Wed 2 (Wilks, Bridges, leach)

1966/67 Sheff Wed 3 QPR 0**

1951/52 Sheff Wed 2 QPR 1 (Muir)

1951/52 QPR 2 Sheff Wed 2 (Addinall, Smith)

1949/50 QPR 0 Sheff Wed 0

1949/50 Sheff Wed 1 QPR 0

1948/49 QPR 1 Sheff Wed 3 (Heath)

1948/49 Sheff Wed 2 QPR 0

* - League Cup

** - FA Cup

Connections

Simon Stainrod >>> QPR 1980-1985 >>> Sheff Wed 1985

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. More recently he’s been working in football agency.

Others >>> Mass Luongo, Sheff Wed 2019-present, QPR 2015-2019 >>> Kieran Lee, Sheff Wed 2012-2019, QPR (loan) 2008 >>> Jay Bothroyd QPR 2011-2013, Sheff Wed (loan) 2012 >>> Leon Clarke, QPR 2006 (loan), 2010-2011, Sheff Wed 2007-2010 >>> Giles Coke, QPR 2003-2005, Sheff Wed 2010-2013 >>> Adam Bolder, QPR 2007-2009, Sheff Wed (loan) 2008 >>> Ben Sahar, QPR (loan) 2007, Sheff Wed (loan) 2008 >>> Jimmy Smith, QPR (loan) 2006-2007, Sheff Wed (loan) 2008-2009 >>> Leon Knight, QPR (loan) 2001, Sheff Wed (loan) 2002-2003 >>> Frankie Simek, QPR (loan) 2004, Sheff Wed 2005-2010 >>> Marlon Broomesm QPR (loan) 2000, Sheff Wed 2001-2002 >>> Danny Maddix, QPR 1987-2001, Sheff Wed 2001-2003 >>> Andy Sinton, QPR 1989-1993, Sheff Wed 1993-1996 >>> Trevor Francis, QPR 1988-1990, Sheff Wed 1990-1995 >>> Gary Bannister, Sheff Wed 1981-1984, QPR 1984-1988 >>> Chris Woods, 1979-1981, Sheff Wed 1991-1996 >>> Andy McCulloch, QPR 1970-1972, Sheff Wed 1979-1983 >>> Vic Mobley, Sheff Wed 1961-1969, QPR 1969-1971 >>>Steve Burtenshaw, Sheff Wed (manager) 1971-1974, QPR (manager) 1978-1979 >>> >>> Peter Springett, QPR 1963-1967, Sheff Wed 1967-1975 >>> Ron Springett, QPR 1953-1958, 1967-1969 >>> Mike Pinner, Sheff Wed 1957-1959, QPR 1959-1960 >>> Peter Baker, Sheff Wed 1957-1960, QPR 1960-1963

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davman added 13:37 - Apr 8 Rare to find an error in your work - lauded not lorded, surely?
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CiderwithRsie added 20:16 - Apr 8 Some lovely nostalgia in this one with the Stained profile and nice to see positive mentions of Mark Stein
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CiderwithRsie added 20:17 - Apr 8 Oh, and: "Four matches in Rangers had managed one point, were yet to score, were out of one cup competition, and the chairman was dead. So far, so QPR." - is another classic
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