 Monday, 24th Dec 2012 16:38 by Clive Whittingham As QPR prepare to welcome West Brom to Loftus Road on Boxing Day, LFW recalls the controversial move of the late Ray Harford between the two clubs and the disaster it turned out to be for Rangers. Recent MeetingsWest Brom 3 QPR 2, Saturday October 6, 2012, Premier League QPR produced a defensive horror show at The Hawthorns back in October as they slipped to a 3-2 defeat. They fell behind early, when Shane Long powered down the right and delivered a sumptuous cross for James Morrison to open the scoring. When Anton Ferdinand failed to cut out another Long cross at the midway point of the half Zoltan Gera stuck home a second but the deficit was halved before the break when Adel Taarabt brilliantly pulled down a pass from Esteban Granero on his thigh then turned and whipped a powerful volley into the net. That rather flattered Rangers but it took until five minutes from time for the home team to seal the win with a goal from Youssuf Mulumbu at the end of a slick move. Even then there was time for Granero to score a fine second goal for QPR and Jose Bosingwa to miss an absolute sitter to equalise with the final kick of the game. West Brom Foster 6, Tamas 4 (Jara 46, 5), McAuley 7, Olsson 7, Popov 7, Yacob 6, Mulumbu 8, Morrison 8, Odemwingie 6 (Rosenberg 62, 6), Gera 7, Long 8 (Lukaku 68, 6) Subs: Daniels, Dawson, Dorrans, Fortune Goals: Morrison 5 (assisted Long), Gera 22 (assisted Long), Mulumbu 85 (assisted Jara) Bookings: Tamas 25 (repetitive fouling), Mulumbu 90 (time wasting) QPR: Cesar 6, Bosingwa 3, Nelsen 6, Ferdinand 3, Hill 3 (Traore 46, 5), Mbia 5 (Hoilett 70, 5), Wright-Phillips 4 (Mackie 58, 5), Park 5, Granero 6, Taarabt 7, Zamora 5 Subs: Green, Onuoha, Faurlin, Cisse Goals: Taarabt 25 (assisted Granero), Granero 90 (unassisted) Bookings: Park 45 (foul), Mackie 87 (foul)
West Brom 1 QPR 0, Saturday April 14, 2012, Premier League An impressive run of five straight home wins at the end of last season put QPR in with a chance of survival in the Premier League after a disastrous winter had threatened to sink them. But with three games of the campaign left, and two of them on the road, it seemed as though the R’s would need to find a way to win an away game for the first time since November to make doubly sure of safety. With Man City away looming large on the final day of the campaign the earlier trip to West Brom looked to be their best chance but despite a big travelling support from West London, and the hosts having nothing to play for, they slipped to a meek 1-0 defeat. This was a tale of two goalkeepers with Paddy Kenny culpable for Graeme Dorrans’ long range opener at one end while Ben Foster denied Bobby Zamora on three separate occasions with fine saves at the other. Ultimately Rangers survived anyway, winning a crucial game at home to Stoke a week later, but it was no thanks to their lousy away form which persists to this day. West Brom: Foster 8, Jones 7, McAuley 6, Dawson 6, Ridgewell 6, Brunt 7, Mulumbu 7, Dorrans 7 (Andrews 71, 6), Thomas 7 (Scharner 80, -), Fortune 6 (Long 59, 6), Odemwingie 7 Subs Not Used: Daniels, Shorey, Hurst, Cox Booked: Mulumbu (foul), Ridgewell (time wasting), Dorrans (foul) Goals: Dorrans 22 (unassisted) QPR: Kenny 5, Onuoha 5, Ferdinand 6, Hill 7, Taiwo 7 (Traore 77, 6), Barton 6, Diakite 6, Derry 5 (Wright-Phillips 56, 6), Mackie 6, Zamora 6, Taarabt 6 (Helguson 75, 6) Subs Not Used: Cerny, Gabbidon, Buzsaky, Young
QPR 1 West Brom 1, Saturday December 3, 2011, Premier League QPR were left to count the cost of a series of missed chances as West Brom escaped from Loftus Road with a point last December. Heidar Helguson gave the home side a first half lead and Shaun Wright-Phillips thought he’d doubled it shortly afterwards only to be incorrectly flagged offside. Rangers had only themselves to blame thereafter though, with Joey Barton’s open goal howler at the Loft End the pick of a series of sitters. The inevitable equalising goal, from Shane Long, came nine minutes from time after Chris Brunt had been allowed to run unchecked through the heart of the R’s midfield. QPR: Cerny 7, Young 6, Gabbidon 6, Ferdinand 6, Traore 7, Mackie 7, Barton 7, Faurlin 8, Wright-Phillips 7, Bothroyd 6 (Buzsaky 74, 5), Helguson 8 Subs Not Used: Putnins, Orr, Hill, Derry, Taarabt, Smith Goals: Helguson 20 (assisted Barton) West Brom: Foster 7, Reid 6, Olsson 6, McAuley 6, Shorey 6, Thomas 6 (Odemwingie 65, 7), Dorrans 7 (Tchoyi 78, 6), Mulumbu 8 (Scharner 83, -), Morrison 7, Brunt 7, Long 7 Subs Not Used: Fulop, Dawson, Jones, Cox Booked: Long, Thomas, Reid Goals: Long 81
QPR 3 West Brom 1, Saturday March 6, 2010, Championship Neil Warnock’s successful reign as QPR manager started with an unlikely win in his first match in charge against West Brom. The Baggies were top of the league and heading back to the Premiership under Roberto De Matteo and were heavy favourites to win at Loftus Road against a QPR side with just one win from their previous 11 matches and about to start life under their fourth permanent manger of the season. Relegation was starting to look like a serious possibility for the Super Hoops but Warnock’s impact was instant. Jay Simpson made the most of a poor piece of goalkeeping from Scott Carson to tap in from close range after 13 minutes and that lead was doubled five minutes later when a glorious through ball from Alejandro Faurlin set up Matt Connolly for a rare goal. When Brunt halved the deficit before half time a nervous second half seemed likely but Rangers re-established their advantage when Carson again treated them to a soft goal, Akos Buzsaky the beneficiary directly from a free kick on this occasion. QPR: Ikeme 8, Connolly 7, Gorkss 7, Stewart 7, Hill 6, Taarabt 7 (Ramage 69, 6), Leigertwood 7, Faurlin 8, Ephraim 6 (Buzsaky 59, 7), Priskin 6 (Vine 77, 6), Simpson 7 Subs Not Used: Cerny, Balanta, Borrowdale, German Booked: Priskin (dissent), Faurlin (foul) Goals: Simpson 13 (assisted Taarabt), Connolly 18 (assisted Faurlin), Buzsaky 67 (free kick) West Brom: Carson 3, Reid 6, Tamas 6, Olsson 7, Cech 6 (Miller 64, 5), Morrison 6 (Dorrans 68, 6), Mulumbu 7, Watson 6, Brunt 7, Thomas 7, Cox 6 Subs Not Used: Kiely, Mattock, Koren, Moore, Meite Booked: Cech (foul), Brunt (foul) Goals: Brunt 36 (assisted Thomas)
West Brom 2 QPR 2, Monday December 14, 2009, Championship Before Christmas that season Rangers travelled to the Hawthorns once more under the guidance of a brand new managerial team. In the wake of Jim Magilton's suspension youth team coaches Steve Gallen and Marc Bircham took the reins for a match televised live by Sky. The R's stunned their hosts by surging into a two goal lead just after half time with Kaspars Gorkss first forcing an own goal from Olsson from a Ben Watson corner, then heading another set piece from the ginger midfielder in himself. Sadly Rangers couldn't hold on, getting nervous and dropping deep when Jerome Thomas fired home after a defensive scramble and then collapsing in injury time when Alejandro Faurlin and Alessandro Pellicori contrived to give the ball away in the Baggies’ half and Simon Cox stole in to bury an equaliser with the last kick of the game. West Brom: D Kiely 8, G Zuiverloon 7 (R Bednar 85, -), A Meite 5, J Olsson 6, J Mattock 5, C Brunt 6, G Jara 6, G Dorrans 7, J Thomas 8, L Moore 5 (C Wood 64, 6), S Cox 7 Subs not used: R Allsop, M Cech, F Teixeira, Y Mulumbu, S Martis Booked: Brunt (foul), Cox (dissent) Goals: Thomas 67 (assisted), Cox 90+3 (assisted Bednar) QPR: R Cerny 6, P Ramage 5, D Stewart 7, K Gorkss 8, T Williams 6, Routledge 6, M Leigertwood 7, B Watson 6, J Simpson 5 (F Hall 90, -) A Taarabt 7 (A Faurlin 81, -), P Agyemang 6 (A Pellicori 84, -) Subs not used: R Taylor, R Vine, M Alberti, J Parker Goals: Olsson own goal 56 (assisted Watson), Gorkss 62 (assisted Watson)
Previous ResultsHead to Head >>> QPR wins 13 >>> Draws 9 >>> West Brom wins 172012/13 West Brom 3 QPR 2 (Taarabt, Granero) 2011/12 West Brom 1 QPR 0 2011/12 QPR 1 West Brom 1 (Helguson) 2009/10 QPR 3 West Brom 1 (Simpson, Connolly, Buzsaky) 2009/10 West Brom 2 QPR 2 (Olsson og, Gorkss) 2007/08 QPR 0 West Brom 2 2007/08 West Brom 5 QPR 1 (Ainsworth) 2006/07 QPR 1 West Brom 2 (Blackstock) 2006/07 West Brom 3 QPR 3 (Stewart, Gallen, Nygaard) 2000/01 QPR 2 West Brom 0 (Plummer, Koejoe) 2000/01 West Brom 2 QPR 1 (Kiwomya) 1999/00 QPR 0 West Brom 0 1999/00 West Brom 0 QPR 1 (Wardley) 1998/99 QPR 2 West Brom 1 (Ready, Peacock) 1998/99 West Brom 2 QPR 0 1997/98 West Brom 1 QPR 1 (Dowie) 1997/98 QPR 2 West Brom 0 (Sheron, Peacock) 1996/97 West Brom 4 QPR 1 (Spencer) 1996/97 QPR 0 West Brom 2 1985/86 QPR 1 West Brom 0 (Bannister) 1985/86 West Brom 0 QPR 1 (Robinson) 1984/85 West Brom 0 QPR 0 1984/85 QPR 3 West Brom 1 (Stainrod 2, Fenwick) 1983/84 QPR 1 West Brom 1 (Fereday) 1983/84 West Brom 1 QPR 2 (Stainrod, Fenwick) 1982/83 West Brom 3 QPR 2* (Fenwick, Micklewhite) 1981/82 QPR 1 West Brom 0* (C Allen) 1978/79 West Brom 2 QPR 1 (McGee) 1978/79 QPR 0 West Brom 1 1977/78 West Brom 2 QPR 0 1977/78 QPR 2 West Brom 1 (Bowles, Eastoe) 1976/77 West Brom 1 QPR 1 (G Francis) 1976/77 QPR 1 West Brom 0 (Gillard) 1972/73 West Brom 2 QPR 1** (Givens) 1968/69 QPR 0 West Brom 4 1968/69 West Brom 3 QPR 1 (Clarke) 1966/67 QPR 3 West Brom 2** (R Morgan, Marsh, Lazarus) 1948/49 West Brom 1 QPR 1 (Pointon) 1948/49 QPR 0 West Brom 2 * - FA Cup ** - League Cup ConnectionsRay Harford >>> West Brom (manager) 1997 >>> QPR (manager) 1997-1998 The first two months of the 1997/98 season suggested that the First Division title would be keenly contested by Queens Park Rangers and West Bromwich Albion. Rangers, flush with Chris Wright’s cash and with the division’s two leading scorers from the previous season John Spencer and Mike Sheron leading the line, went joint top of the table at the end of September with a 2-1 midweek home win against Portsmouth. At The Hawthorns the Baggies were keeping pace with Rangers every step of the way – winning four and drawing two of their first six games before losing 2-0 at Loftus Road a goal from Mike Sheron and one from Gavin Peacock. According to QPR board member Nick Blackburn in an interview with A Kick Up The R’s West Brom’s manager at the time Ray Harford has told him after the game in the players’ lounge: “If I had your two forwards, Spencer and Sheron, I guarantee I’d win the league.” Harford the player had been a centre half who started his career at Charlton, spent two years with Fourth Division Exeter, played almost 200 games for Lincoln City, joined Port Vale fro Mansfield for £5,000, won promotion and the Player of the Year award in 1974 at Colchester United and finished his career at non-league Romford when a knee injury became too much for him to continue playing. As a manager and coach he cut his teeth at Fulham, first as assistant to manager Malcolm Macdonald and then later as number one in his own right but the club suffered a financial collapse which necessitated the sale of players and Harford resigned after relegation from the Second Division in 1986. He made his name at Luton Town, first as assistant to David Pleat’s replacement John Moore as the club finished seventh in the top flight in 1987. Harford then replaced Moore that summer and won the League Cup in his first season, beating Arsenal 3-2 in the final. They also reached the FA Cup semi-final before losing to eventual winners Wimbledon, and returned to Wembley a year later to lose their League Cup crown to Nottingham Forest in the 1989 final. Harford was sacked during the 1989/90 season as the club battled against relegation. This model of arriving as an assistant only to eventually take over the top job continued at Wimbledon where he initially worked under Bobby Gould, and Blackburn where Kenny Dalglish’s side won the Premier League title after being bankrolled by Jack Walker. Dalglish then moved upstairs and Harford replaced him but Rovers could only rally from a poor start to the 1995/96 season to finish seventh and miss out on European football altogether, then the following year won none of their first ten league games and Harford resigned. West Brom came next. Promoted to the First Division in 1993 the Baggies had mostly struggled against relegation ever since under the manager that promoted them Ossie Ardilles, and then Keith Burkinshaw. Harford replaced Alan Buckley, an objectionable figure more known for his three separate spells as Grimsby manager than anything he achieved at The Hawthorns, and initially this seemed a good fit as he attempted to rebuild his reputation as a manager rather than simply a good coach or assistant. He saved West Brom from relegation in 1996/97 with five home wins and a big 4-2 success at Norwich. The following year his tea started like a train, losing only that QPR match in their first 13. QPR however, after winning six of their first ten, then suffered a trough in form with four defeats and four draws from nine matches amid talk of dressing room problems between the players and manager Stewart Houston’s assistant Bruce Rioch. Houston was sacked after two three goal defeats to Swindon and Middlesbrough in a week and Harford, who never signed a long term contract at The Hawthorns, walked out and replaced him. QPR travelled to West Brom on February 15 1998 but there was certainly no love in, as the Rangers fans team coach and visiting supporters were subjected to an angry reaction from the home supporters amidst a heavy police presence. The move turned out to be a disaster for all parties. QPR had only won two of Harford’s first 14 matches to that point, and only won three of 29 after his appointment through to the end of the season when they survived by the skin of their teeth courtesy of six consecutive draws after Vinnie Jones and Neil Ruddock had been brought in to strengthen the team. West Brom won four straight matches through November but then won only five of their last 28 league games and dropped out of the promotion race to finish in midtable. Nick Blackburn takes up the story… ”Ray Harford wanted to come. Ray was West Brom manager. They were second in the table. There was huge uproar there, and they didn’t want him to go at all. I remember fanzines saying this is the best appointment you could have made. None of the fans criticised it and it turned out to be the worst appointment we could have made. Disastrous. Yet he was very successful at West Brom. “I think he took the job for the wrong reasons. I think he wanted to come back to London. I think he was lazy. He worked through Clive Berlin and not with the Board. And for transfers, they seemed to use just one agent. Barry Silkman. And this agent brought Heinola, Kulcsar, and Scully to the club. Apart from those, we also took Mark Kennedy on loan, which was good. He helped keep us up. “Clive Berlin rang me up and said: ‘Nick, we want to sign this goalkeeper, Bankole.’ I said: ‘I’ve never heard of him.’ He said: ‘He’s at Crewe, in the reserves.’ I said: ‘Who’s the agent?’ Clive said: ‘Barry Silkman.’ I said: ‘What’s the deal?’ He told me Bankole’s salary, which wasn’t a lot. But he told me we had to give the agent some money. I can’t remember the reason why, but there was some reason. I told him I’d have to speak to Chris Wright. When I spoke to Chris, he asked me what I thought, and I told him I hadn’t heard of this goalkeeper, but they say he’s okay. So I rang up Ray Harford to ask him why they wanted to sign him, and he said, ‘Don’t worry, me and Clive will deal with this one’, and they signed him. “About four of five months later, I was at a game at West Ham, funnily enough, and Glenn Roeder was sitting next to me in the directors box, long before he became manager there. He said to me: ‘I’m surprised you signed that Bankole.’ I said: ‘I’m fucking surprised too now I’ve seen him play!’ Glenn then said that when he was assistant manager at Burnley with Chris Waddle, Ray Harford had called him and said Barry Silkman was bending his ear about Bankole. He asked Glenn to have a look at him in his reserve match against Crewe and tell him what he thought. He said the score was something like 5-4, so Glenn told Ray Harford not to touch him with a bargepole. I don’t think Ray had personally ever seen him play. “The other thing that I found out about Ray, which worried me, was that we were on a pre-season tour of Ireland and he came back from the tour a day early to go horse racing at Epsom. I rang up Ray Harford to see how things were going on tour. He wasn’t there. He didn’t clear it with the Board or anything. You don’t come back early as the manager from a pre-season tour to go horse racing. So you get the feeling that something is wrong.” Rangers started the 1998/99 season in lousy form, losing five and drawing five of their first ten. They broke their duck at the eleventh attempt with a 2-0 home win against Stockport but subsequently lost 4-1 in farcical circumstances at Oxford United after which Harford’s car was vandalised outside the ground. Blackburn said: “Chris was away, so I had to deal with it. But Ray Harford called me up at 8.15am on the Sunday after the game and said: ‘I think I ought to resign.’ I said: ‘I think you ought to as well, Ray, frankly. I’m not going to argue with you,’ because the performance at Oxford was one of the worst footballing performances I’ve ever seen in my life. I remember one ping-pong goal, where the players kept kicking it against each other. Pathetic. It was sad, because I’d also known Ray Harford personally for a long time, and I was surprised to some extent that it hadn’t worked out. He’s a good coach.” QPR subsequently recovered under Gerry Francis before suffering a financial collapse and relegation 18 months later. Harford went to Millwall as a coach, working under Keith Stevens and later Mark McGhee when the club won promotion from the Second Division. Sadly he fell ill with cancer during his time at The Den and died in 2003 aged 58 – his reputation as a fine coach who struggled as a manager still intact. Others >>> Danny Gabbidon, West Brom 1998-2000, QPR 2011-2012 >>> Rob Hulse, West Brom 2003-2005, QPR 2010-present >>> Ishmael Miller, West Brom 2007-2011, QPR (loan) 2011 >>> Ben Watson, QPR (loan) 2009, West Brom (loan) 2010 >>> Jay Simpson, West Brom (loan) 2009, QPR (loan) 2009-2010 >>> Steven Reid QPR (loan) 2009, West Brom 2009-present >>> Lloyd Dyer, West Brom 2000-2006, QPR (loan) 2005 >>> Georges Santos, West Brom 2000, QPR 2004-2006 >>> Brett Angell, West Brom (loan) 1996, QPR 2002-2003 >>> Jerome Thomas, QPR (loan) 2002, West Brom 2009-present >>> Paul Peschisolido, West Brom 1996-1997, QPR (loan) 2000 >>> Andy McDermott, QPR 1995-1996, West Brom 1996-2000 >>> Danny Dichio, QPR 1993-1997, West Brom 2001-2004 >>> Nigel Quashie, QPR 1995-1998, 2010, West Brom 2006-2007 >>> Ossie Ardiles, QPR 1988-1989, West Brom (manager) 1992-1993 >>> Wayne Fereday, QPR 1980-1989, West Brom 1991-1994 >>> Gary Bannister, QPR 1984-1988, West Brom 1990-1992 >>> Paul Barron, West Brom 1982-1985, QPR 1985-1988 >>> Peter Eastoe, QPR 1976-1979, West Brom 1982-1985 >>> Andy King, QPR 1980-1981, West Brom 1981-1982 >>> Clive Clark, QPR 1958-1960, 1969-1970, West Brom 1960-1969 Memorable MatchQPR 3 West Brom 2, Saturday March 4, 1967, League Cup Final, WembleyThe 1960s and 1970s were glorious times to be a QPR fan by and large as the club moved from its previous status as Division Three South minnows into the big time and almost finished up as champions of England. There were ups and downs along the way of course but the club we know today was shaped during those two decades under the guidance of chairman Jim Gregory. It was Gregory’s takeover of the club and the management of former army major Alec Stock that brought the R’s their one and only domestic cup triumph to date and two successive promotions. Stock had cup pedigree having famously knocked Sunderland out of the 1949 FA Cup while with Yeovil and his good work with the youth team at Loftus Road paid dividends when Gregory arrived and supplemented it with money for bigger name signings such as Les Allen from the double winning Spurs team, and Fulham pair Jim Langley and Rodney Marsh. In 1967 QPR were still a Third Division side but they made it all the way through to the first League Cup final to be played at Wembley Stadium thanks to victories over Colchester, Aldershot, Swansea, Leicester, Carlisle and finally Birmingham in the semi final. This was a truly exceptional QPR team that not only boasted Allen, Langley and Marsh, who scored ten goals in the eight games leading up to the final, but also included great QPR favourites like Mark Lazarus, Roger and Ian Morgan, Mike Keen and Frank Sibley. In the final however they came up against their toughest test yet, First Division West Bromwich Albion and their legendary striker Jeff Astle in front of 98,000 fans. By half time the game had gone much according to the script with the Baggies two goals to the good thanks to a brace from Clive Clark who’d played previously for QPR and would return to Loftus Road later in his career. Clark scored after seven minutes, collecting Doug Fraser’s pass and firing past Peter Springett, and then again before half time after sneaking through the Rangers’ offside trap. But miraculously Rangers fought back in the second half. The warning signs had been there in the first half when Marsh had an acrobatic overhead kick disallowed for offside and West Brom were living on their nerves when Roger Morgan scored with a header on the hour from Allen’s free kick. Then Marsh scored one of the all time great Wembley goals from long range after a mazy dribble through the West Brom half with 15 minutes still left to play. The Baggies felt aggrieved that the crucial third goal was allowed by referee Walter Crossley, Mark Lazarus slamming the ball home after centre half Ron Hunt put in a physical challenge on the goalkeeper Shepherd, but there was no stopping Rangers by this point and the cup was theirs. Interest in the competition had been dwindling prior to this, and a place in the Fairs Cup (later the UEFA Cup) was added as a prize to give teams and incentive to compete more for the trophy. QPR though were denied their first European entry because of their lowly league status and West Brom went forward into Europe instead. The League Cup was only just the beginning though – Rangers won the Third Division title that year and rocketed straight through the Second Division into the first the following season. Roger Morgan later told The Times: "The young players would inspire each other. There were about five or six of us who had grown up together, and there was tremendous team spirit. Alec was prepared to put his faith in youth, but we learnt from the experienced players around us." The late Mike Keen, club captain on the day, added: "Even though we were in the Third Division, we were playing some quality football, and there was a good attitude in the team. We had come back from 2-0 down in other games that season and were told to simply go out and enjoy the. Day.” QPR: Springett, Hazell, Langley, Hunt, Keen, Sibley, Sanderson, R Morgan, Lazarus, Allen, Marsh. Highlights >>> QPR 3 West Brom 1 09/10 Highlights >>> West Brom 2 QPR 2 09/10 Highlights >>> West Brom 3 QPR 3 06/07 Highlights >>> QPR 1 West Brom 0 FA Cup semi final 1982 highlights >>> West Brom 2 QPR 3 League Cup final 1967 highlights Tweet @loftforwords Pictures – Action Images Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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