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So many treasured memories of watching Stan in his pomp from the Ellerslie with my Dad, also sadly passed away. If there are some heaven elevens, I hope Stan is wearing the number 10 for the Mavericks and Dad has the best seat in the house.
I know a lot of people on this forum have a low opinion of Martin Samuel and think he is anti QPR, but to be fair to him he wrote a very nice article about Stan in today's Times. I know it is behind a paywall, but it can be accessed for free on X. Well worth a read.
I know a lot of people on this forum have a low opinion of Martin Samuel and think he is anti QPR, but to be fair to him he wrote a very nice article about Stan in today's Times. I know it is behind a paywall, but it can be accessed for free on X. Well worth a read.
I know a lot of people on this forum have a low opinion of Martin Samuel and think he is anti QPR, but to be fair to him he wrote a very nice article about Stan in today's Times. I know it is behind a paywall, but it can be accessed for free on X. Well worth a read.
That's a lovely article.
Thanks for sharing.
"The opposite of love, after all, is not hate, but indifference."
Thank you Stan for allowing us to have you among us Hoops. My father ( life long hoop) passed away many years ago and I bet he can't wait to buy you a pint up there.
In a world obsessed with money and fame it’s the life of Stan Bowles that we all should live Laughs , jokes , and being care free , him and Shanks have lived a life with plenty of stories to tell Life goes so quick that we should make the most of every second
And Bowles is onside, Swinburne has come rushing out of his goal , what can Bowles do here , onto the left foot no, on to the right foot
That’s there that’s two, and that’s Bowles
Brian Moore
I think the last time he was at HQ was after his condition had worsened, for that pre-season friendly against Bournemouth where before the game he came out on the pitch accompanied by Don Shanks and Gerry Francis.
So, so sad. As others have said, we all realised this day was probably getting nearer but it doesn't make it any easier.
I think after he does finally pass, the club should change that name on the stand. Change it to the 'Stan Bowles Stand'. He was always 'Stan'. He was never known at the club as 'Stanley'.
The chant was Stanley, Stanley, Stanley not Stan stan Stan. Hence the Stanley Bowles stand.
Stan was before my time but I have seen the footage and have been told stories by others about just how good he was
Many great tributes on here from those that were lucky enough to see him
For me if you look at other clubs message boards many fans are saying what a genius he was and how he was their favourite “other team” player, that is a huge tribute. They all wanted a swashbuckling maverick who could get you off your seat and play to the gallery, but lucky for us for the prime of his career he was ours
My mates Dad loved Stan, he would’ve been late teens nearly 20 during 75/76 and Stan was his hero. Anyway sometime early mid 90’s we were walking to the game and Stan was walking along my mates dad ran like Usain Bolt to meet his hero and someone happened to have a camera so he managed to get a pic of him and the great man smiling together he was walking on air all the way home. So a few weeks later I go round my mates house and walk into the front room now ever since I had known him on top of the Telly was a pic from his Mum and Dads wedding day and pic of him and his two brothers
Not anymore his dad had got the picture framed and replaced the pictures of his wedding day to his wife of now nearly 50 years and his 3 son and heirs
The man was adored by many and will be missed, but not forgotten
In a world obsessed with money and fame it’s the life of Stan Bowles that we all should live Laughs , jokes , and being care free , him and Shanks have lived a life with plenty of stories to tell Life goes so quick that we should make the most of every second
To be fair, as a gambling man who clearly never saved a penny, Stan was always pretty motivated by money, and a number of his more colourful stories at QPR coagulate around fiscal shenanigans; e.g. the one about Ron Phillips escaping his own office into South Africa Road to avoid having to give him yet another sub, and the hilarious two-timing of Gola and Adidas with his boot sponsorship. He once said his main regret about pulling out of the European Cup Final with Forest was not getting a medal he could sell, and it's pretty common knowledge he mainly went there for financial reasons. His association with the Quality Street Gang, who contained some pretty spicy criminal elements, was long-standing, and he said he'd probably have ended up knocking around with them full-time if he hadn't made it in football. Basically, I see him as a guy who swerved a life as a minor Mancunian gangster to kick a ball with such gifted guile it made your soul sing.
I've been thinking this weekend about what a hero is, and about how 'charisma' manifests (especially when one is a child),and I do feel that, apart from being a talented law to oneself, working with a unique passion, charm and ingenuity, and taking real risks that pay off and inspire us all, part of it involves the presence of a certain penumbra. It's why the likes of Emlyn Hughes or Gary Lineker or Michael Owen could never be true hero material - they play/ed far too straight a bat. (At the other end of the spectrum, Vinnie Jones was simply a thug, gripped by destructive sickness.) This shadow-thing was true of another childhood hero of mine: Tom Baker, the 4th Doctor Who, a marvellously compelling actor and character who also drank with Francis Bacon and could really throw his weight around on set. Andrea Bowles has called Stan a selfish father, even though at the same time (I never met him socially) he was apparently friendly and without airs and graces in person. The two things, the selfish/sleazy/unsavoury side and the genius/charm - are perhaps both are a function of a certain kind of narcissism or affable arrogance. It's why, despite all the money he made (and lost) in his career, we were so happy to put our hands in our pockets for the GoFundMe campaigns, even thought there were/are arguably far more morally 'deserving' cases. The charisma, in a nutshell, cancelled the 'deserving' element. On the pitch, Stan also had an artful way of dealing with his own misplaced passes - knowing, as he said, that the Rangers crowd could get quite nasty, he'd throw his hands wide to make the intended recipient the fall guy. He and Gerry were also very controlling of e.g. free kick routines, pissing off an international like Don Masson, in a way that may have been to the detriment of the team. He was controversial through and through, a kaleidoscope of contradictions, and as complex as they come.
To me, all this deepens and complicates the man himself, and acts as a check on one-sided idealisation. It makes me love him more, knowing as well he perhaps never really needed us (until the cruel end when he did). Those who are 'simply themselves' tend to inspire more irrational love than those who are thoroughly decent. And now, of course, his life being ended, that love is endless.
I know a lot of people on this forum have a low opinion of Martin Samuel and think he is anti QPR, but to be fair to him he wrote a very nice article about Stan in today's Times. I know it is behind a paywall, but it can be accessed for free on X. Well worth a read.
Just read that - lovely article.
RIP Stanley
[Post edited 25 Feb 20:00]
Extra mature cheddar......a simple cheese for a simple man
I am old enough and lucky enough to remember his FA Cup 3rd Round Replay headed goal in the 1-0 win over that lot from Fulham Broadway. It was played at 1.30 on a Monday afternoon as there were no floodlights allowed due the three days week. Think it was 1974. The original magic hat. RIP Stan you were the best.
Stan IS the reason why I support QPR. Remember seeing him on tv aged four in 1974 playing for a team who played in the best kit. I was hooked, much to the dismay of my Millwall supporting family. Thank you.
I was lucky enough to see pretty much all of his home games and a few away too. What a player and what a character. Just loved going to LR in those days. So many memories.
To be fair, as a gambling man who clearly never saved a penny, Stan was always pretty motivated by money, and a number of his more colourful stories at QPR coagulate around fiscal shenanigans; e.g. the one about Ron Phillips escaping his own office into South Africa Road to avoid having to give him yet another sub, and the hilarious two-timing of Gola and Adidas with his boot sponsorship. He once said his main regret about pulling out of the European Cup Final with Forest was not getting a medal he could sell, and it's pretty common knowledge he mainly went there for financial reasons. His association with the Quality Street Gang, who contained some pretty spicy criminal elements, was long-standing, and he said he'd probably have ended up knocking around with them full-time if he hadn't made it in football. Basically, I see him as a guy who swerved a life as a minor Mancunian gangster to kick a ball with such gifted guile it made your soul sing.
I've been thinking this weekend about what a hero is, and about how 'charisma' manifests (especially when one is a child),and I do feel that, apart from being a talented law to oneself, working with a unique passion, charm and ingenuity, and taking real risks that pay off and inspire us all, part of it involves the presence of a certain penumbra. It's why the likes of Emlyn Hughes or Gary Lineker or Michael Owen could never be true hero material - they play/ed far too straight a bat. (At the other end of the spectrum, Vinnie Jones was simply a thug, gripped by destructive sickness.) This shadow-thing was true of another childhood hero of mine: Tom Baker, the 4th Doctor Who, a marvellously compelling actor and character who also drank with Francis Bacon and could really throw his weight around on set. Andrea Bowles has called Stan a selfish father, even though at the same time (I never met him socially) he was apparently friendly and without airs and graces in person. The two things, the selfish/sleazy/unsavoury side and the genius/charm - are perhaps both are a function of a certain kind of narcissism or affable arrogance. It's why, despite all the money he made (and lost) in his career, we were so happy to put our hands in our pockets for the GoFundMe campaigns, even thought there were/are arguably far more morally 'deserving' cases. The charisma, in a nutshell, cancelled the 'deserving' element. On the pitch, Stan also had an artful way of dealing with his own misplaced passes - knowing, as he said, that the Rangers crowd could get quite nasty, he'd throw his hands wide to make the intended recipient the fall guy. He and Gerry were also very controlling of e.g. free kick routines, pissing off an international like Don Masson, in a way that may have been to the detriment of the team. He was controversial through and through, a kaleidoscope of contradictions, and as complex as they come.
To me, all this deepens and complicates the man himself, and acts as a check on one-sided idealisation. It makes me love him more, knowing as well he perhaps never really needed us (until the cruel end when he did). Those who are 'simply themselves' tend to inspire more irrational love than those who are thoroughly decent. And now, of course, his life being ended, that love is endless.
[Post edited 25 Feb 20:12]
Very impressive post there stainrods_elbow really enjoyed that and sums up Stan the man beautifully. Sad that he ended his playing career broke and indeed his regular life before he contracted that cruel disease . You have to simply love the art not the artist as Bruce Springsteen so aptly put but in Stans case you have the whole package and they truly broke the mold when they made him. RIP
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