As QPR prepare to head to Arsenal this weekend, LFW looks back at a clash from 1974 when both teams were struggling at the bottom of the league but fought out an entertaining draw with Stan Bowles to the fore.
QPR's great escape from what looked like certain relegation was just starting to get underway when they last met Arsena, at Loftus Road at the end of March. A home draw with Everton an memorable comeback win against Liverpool had breathed life into the Super Hoops and despite away defeats at Sunderland and, most damagingly, at Bolton in between they set about the Gunners with a real purpose in front of a raucous capacity crowd. Adel Taarabt, out of favour for so long during the winter, opened the scoring with a typically tricky run and accurate finish into the corner but the R's were dragged back level when Theo Walcott converted at the second attempt after his original shot had flown back to him off the post. Mark Hughes' men sealed a priceless win in the second half when persistence from Jamie Mackie down the right worried Vermaelen into a mistake and a good advantage played by referee Mike Dean gave Samba Diakite a chance to advance forward from midfield and thump the subsequent assist into the roof of the net.
QPR: Kenny 8, Onuoha 8, Hill 8, Ferdinand 8, Taiwoo 8, Taarabt 9 , Derry 8, Diakite 9, Barton 8, Mackie 8, Zamora 8 (Wright-Phillips 90 -)
Subs Not Used: Cerny, Young, Gabbidon, Buszacky, Bothroyd
Booked: Taarabt (goal celebration), Mackie (squabbling with Vermaelen), Ferdinand (foul), Barton (foul), Diakite (foul)
Arsenal: Szczesny 7, Sagna 7, Vermaelen 5, Koscielny 7, Gibbs 7 (Chamakh 80 6), Rosicky 7, Arteta 7 (Oxlade-Chamberlain 80 7), Walcott 7, Ramsey 7 (Gervinho 69 6), Song 7, Van Persie 7
Subs Not Used: Fabianski, Santos , Djourou, Benayoun
Booked: Vermaelen (squaring up to Mackie), Song (foul)
Arsenal 1 QPR 0, Saturday December 31, 2011, Premier League
A patchy Arsenal display was still good enough to take all three points from QPR on new Year’s Eve last season as Neil Warnock's reign at Loftus Road neared its end. The R’s, made a bright start to the game with a reshaped team but were still lucky to survive two gilt edged Robin Van Persie chances in the first half. The Dutchman looked well in the mood against an unorthodox centre back pairing of Danny Gabbidon and Matt Connolly playing against his former club for the first time. Van Persie would win the game in the second half, seizing on a senseless back pass from Shaun Wright Phillips before slotting home, but one of the most inept misses of all time from Theo Walcott just beforehand was just as big a talking point after the match.
Arsenal: Szczesny 7, Djourou 6, Mertesacker 7, Koscielny 7, Vermaelen 7 (Coquelin 54, 6), Song 6, Arteta 6, Walcott 5 (Gervinho 74, 7), Ramsey 8, Arshavin 5 (Rosicky 67, 6), van Persie 8
Subs Not Used: Almunia, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Chamakh, Benayoun
Booked: Vermaelen (foul), Djourou (foul)
Goals: van Persie 60 (unassisted)
QPR: Cerny 7, Young 7, Connolly 6, Gabbidon 6, Traore 7 (Orr 77, -), Faurlin 6, Barton 6, Mackie 5 (Smith 74, 6), Taarabt 7, Wright-Phillips 6, Bothroyd 6 (Campbell 64, 5)
Subs Not Used: Murphy, Hill, Derry , Helguson
Booked: Barton (foul), Young (foul)
QPR 0 Arsenal 6, Saturday January 27, 2001, FA Cup
Those games were the first competitive meetings between the sides in a decade, the last coming in a hefty FA Cup hammering back in 2001. Having laboured through a Third Round tie and replay that went to extra time against Second Division strugglers Luton, First Division side QPR pulled Arsenal at home in the Fourth Round. They made a good start in front of a capacity crowd, Peter Crouch had a header cleared from the goal mouth and another that bounced down right on the line after hitting the bar but stayed out before the Gunners set about a systematic demolition of Gerry Francis’ team. Chris Plummer kneed in a low cross for an embarrassing own goal opener, then Sylvain Wiltord’s low shot deflected into the net off former Arsenal man Matthew Rose after Dennis Bergkamp had drawn Ludek Miklosko from his line. The second half was embarrassingly one sided. Another own goal, this time from Rose at close range under pressure from Wiltord as Ashley Cole crossed, started the rout and Wiltord then volleyed the fourth after being left unmarked at a corner. A swift counter attack constructed by Bergkamp and Ray Parlour set up Robert Pires for number five and the sixth was bagged by Bergkamp himself after Maddix’s pass out of defence was intercepted by Patrick Viera.
QPR: Miklosko, Perry (Koejoe (Ngonge)), Carlisle, Plummer (Connolly), Rose, Baraclough, Peacock, Langley , Darlington , Crouch, Kiwomya
Subs not used: Harper, Morrow
Bookings: Carlisle , Baraclough
Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon , Stepanovs, Adams , Cole, Lauren (Grimandi), Viera (Vivas), Parlour, Pires (Malz), Bergkamp, Wiltord
Subs not used: Henry, Manninger
Bookings: Cole, Lauren
Goals: Plummer og 32, Wiltord 33, 56, Rose og 49, Pires 58, Bergkamp 74
QPR 1 Arsenal 1, Saturday March 2, 1996, Premiership
The last Premiership meeting between these two sides prior to last season was towards the end of QPR’s 1995/96 relegation season. Arsenal were a steady midtable side at this stage, supplemented by Dennis Bergkamp up front and managed by Bruce Rioch. This game is often forgotten by Rangers fans amid the more notable disasters of that campaign such as the 98th minute Man Utd equaliser and Spurs 3-2 victory after QPR had led 2-0, but the R’s dropped another two crucial points here after taking the lead. Kevin Gallen kept up his impressive goal scoring record against the Gunners with a crisp first half finish but Arsenal levelled in the second half thanks to an explosive volley from Bergkamp at the School End. I maintain that Bergkamp is the best opposition player I’ve seen play against QPR in my time watching the club. QPR finished second bottom and were relegated, Arsenal climbed up as high as fifth by the end of the campaign.
QPR: Sommer, Bardsley, Challis, Ready, Yates, Barker, Holloway, Quashie, Impey (Dichio), Gallen, Sinclair
Subs not used: Goodridge, Plummer
Goal: Gallen
Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon , Keown, Linighan, Morrow (Rose), Winterburn, Platt, Parlour, Merson, Bergkamp, Hartson
Subs not used: Hillier, Hughes
Goal: Bergkamp
2011/12 QPR 2 Arsenal 1 (Taarabt, Diakite)
2011/12 Arsenal 1 QPR 0
2000/01 QPR 0 Arsenal 6*
1995/96 QPR 1 Arsenal 1 (Gallen)
1995/96 Arsenal 3 QPR 0
1994/95 QPR 3 Arsenal 1 (Gallen, Impey, Ready)
1994/95 Arsenal 1 QPR 3 (Gallen, Impey, Allen)
1993/94 QPR 1 Arsenal 1 (Penrice)
1993/94 Arsenal 0 QPR 0
1992/93 Arsenal 0 QPR 0
1992/93 QPR 0 Arsenal 0
1991/92 QPR 0 Arsenal 0
1991/92 Arsenal 1 QPR 1 (Bailey)
1990/91 Arsenal 2 QPR 0
1990/91 QPR 1 Arsenal 3 (Wegerle)
1989/90 QPR 2 Arsenal 0 (Wilkins, Wegerle)
1989/90 QPR 2 Arsenal 0* (Sansom, Sinton)
1989/90 Arsenal 0 QPR 0*
1989/90 Arsenal 3 QPR 0
1988/89 QPR 0 Arsenal 0
1988/89 Arsenal 2 QPR 1 (Falco)
1987/88 Arsenal 0 QPR 0
1987/88 QPR 2 Arsenal 0 (Byrne, McDonald)
1986/87 QPR 1 Arsenal 4 (McDonald)
1986/87 Arsenal 3 QPR 1 (Bannister)
1985/86 Arsenal 3 QPR 1 (Bannister)
1985/86 QPR 0 Arsenal 1
1984/85 QPR 1 Arsenal 0 (James)
1984/85 Arsenal 1 QPR 0
1983/84 Arsenal 0 QPR 2 (Stewart, Fenwick)
1983/84 QPR 2 Arsenal 0 (Gregory, Neill)
1978/79 QPR 1 Arsenal 2 (Shanks)
1978/79 Arsenal 5 QPR 1 (McGee)
1977/78 QPR 2 Arsenal 1 (Shanks, Bowles)
1977/78 Arsenal 1 QPR 0
1976/77 QPR 2 Arsenal 1 (Francis, Hollins)
1976/77 QPR 2 Arsenal 1** (Masson, Webb)
1976/77 Arsenal 3 QPR 2 (Thomas, McLintock)
1975/76 QPR 2 Arsenal 1 (McLintock, Francis)
1975/76 Arsenal 2 QPR 0
1974/75 QPR 0 Arsenal 0
1974/75 Arsenal 2 QPR 2 (Bowles 2)
1973/74 Arsenal 1 QPR 1 (Bowles)
1973/74 QPR 2 Arsenal 0 (Bowles, Givens)
1968/69 QPR 0 Arsenal 1
1968/69 Arsenal 2 QPR 1 (Wilks)
1921/22 QPR 1 Arsenal 2* (Smith)
1921/22 Arsenal 0 QPR 0*
1920/21 QPR 2 Arsenal 0* ( Chandler , O’Brien)
* - FA Cup
** - League Cup
In 1973/74 QPR, newly promoted from the Second Division under the management of Gordon Jago, finished eighth in the First Division. This was to herald the start of a memorable few seasons at Loftus Road that would culminate in the team agonisingly missing out on its first ever League Championship a couple of years later.
That near miss was overseen by Dave Sexton who took over from Jago in October 1974. In between the two of the most successful managerial reigns in the club’s history came a brief spell under the caretaker charge of Stan Anderson who took charge of QPR for a trip to Highbury on a crisp autumn day in 1974. The R’s had drawn there 1-1 the season before with a goal from Stan Bowles and this time brought legendary Arsenal defender Frank McLintock back to North London for the first time since his switch to W12 the previous summer. He’d missed the final day Highbury draw in 1973/74 due to injury and this was to be his first start in a competitive fixture for seven months.
Rangers needed him, they’d won just two of their first 11 fixtures and were only being kept off the bottom of the table by the Gunners who hadn’t won in nine. The home side went close early when John Radford skipped around a lunging tackle from Dave Webb and then dragged a long range shot wide of the post.
Radford was then at the heart of the move that brought the opening goal of the game, first turning a ball around the corner into the right channel for Powling to run onto and cross, and then keeping the chance alive with a dinked cross back into the six yard box after Webb had blocked an initial shot. This time captain Alan Ball steamed in with a header and it fell perfectly for Brian Kidd to stab home past Phil Parkes from close range.
Rangers could have equalised immediately. Dave Thomas dinked a cross into the area almost straight from the kick off and although Bowles’ cute header didn’t seem to pose much difficulty for Jimmy Rimmer the former Man Utd goalkeeper could only make a nervous parried save down in his bottom corner and was then fortunate to see Gerry Francis stick the rebound into the side netting via a deflection. Webb headed the resulting corner over the bar.
Bowles certainly looked in the mood, riled by an ongoing verbal spat with Ball, and the same combination of Thomas’ cross and his header almost brought an equaliser midway through the half but he could only guide the ball onto the Clock End terrace. That was only a half chance at best, but the one that followed was an absolute sitter. Bowles, out on the right flank this time, linked a flowing move out from the back that started with Gerry Francs robbing Liam Brady and ended with Powling chopping down Dave Clement. Francis took the free kick to the back post where Mick Leach stole in unmarked and planted a firm header towards goal from no more than four yards out but fortunately for the home side it smacked straight into Rimmer’s chest and held firm. Anywhere either side of the keeper and Rangers would have been level.
Arsenal’s confidence was fragile, despite the early lead, and Francis should have done more than head over the bar after being left totally unmarked from Thomas’ corner. Nevertheless it remained 1-0 at half time.
Brady tested Parkes with a long range shot early in the second half but Rangers started as they’d left off in the first period and soon got their reward when Bowles silenced the boos he was receiving from the North Bank by allowing Gerry Francis’ pass to run across his body on the edge of the area and then finishing crisply into the far corner with a first time shot on his left foot.
Radford attempted to respond with a shot from an acute angle but was never likely to beat Parkes from there and Rangers subsequently responded with an attack off their own. Don Rogers, making his first start in a league match since a big money move from Crystal Palace, started a patient and considered move that culminated with Bowles collecting the ball wide on the left, jinking infield past two men, then back out again beating a third before finally collapsing to earth in the penalty area for an obvious spot kick. Storey was the unfortunate Arsenal player guilty of the trip in the end.
Bowles took the penalty himself in typically nonchalant style, planting the ball casually past Rimmer and into the net at the North Bank end to give Rangers the lead for the first time in the game. The visitors had turned it around inside ten minutes at the start of the second half.
Now it was Arsenal’s turn to chase the game and they should really have levelled it when Radford nodded down a long ball from Matthews, then delivered a cross to the back post after receiving possession back and Alan Ball, unmarked, could easily have scored with a free header that he instead sent straight at Parkes. At the other end Rogers hacked a long range volley a mile wide.
Alan Ball went through on goal but was denied by Parkes who then saved smartly when Kelly let fly from range as Arsenal pressed for an equaliser. Rogers drilled a shot wide and it looked like QPR may hang on for a famous win for their caretaker manager, but it wasn’t to be and late in the game Radford was played in by Kidd and finished confidently into the bottom corner. Nothing Parkes could do about it this time. Rangers had conceded with just four minutes left to play.
Arsenal: Rimmer, Storey, Simpson, Matthews, Powling, Kelly, Armstrong, Ball, Radford, Kidd, Brady
Sub: Price
QPR: Parkes, Clement, McLintock, Webb, Gillard, Thomas, Francis, Rogers, Leach, Masson, Bowles
Sub: Hazell
Referee: Gordon Hill (Leicester)
Highlights >>> QPR 0 Arsenal 6 2000/01 >>> Arsenal 1 QPR 3 94/95 >>> QPR 1 Arsenal 3 1990/91 >>> QPR 2 Arsenal 0, FA Cup replay 1990 >>> Arsenal 2 QPR 2 74/75 >>> QPR 2 Arsenal 0 73/74
David Seaman >>>QPR 1986-1990 >>> Arsenal 1990-2003
Seaman began his career as a trainee at his boyhood club Leeds United but was quickly deemed surplus to requirements and sold on the cheap to Peterborough United in 1982. Birmingham City soon recognised his talents and paid £100,000 for him in 1984, winning promotion from the Second to the First Division with him between the sticks and then selling him on at a profit two years later after they were relegated back down a league at the first attempt.
QPR manager Jim Smith paid £225,000 in August 1986 to secure Seaman's services and he would excel at Loftus Road, initially making light of the club's notorious plastic pitch and then later impressing enough on grass to earn his first England cap against Saudi Arabia in 1988. He did start with a 5-1 defeat at Southampton on his debut though.
Rangers fans on our message board recall a save made from Ian Rush in the famous 2-2 draw with Liverpool at home in the FA Cup, and another against Man Utd at Old Trafford, but also that his attitude always seemed to be that he was destined for better things than QPR. He made difficult things look easy, and occasionally easier things look difficult and long range shots, particularly from free kicks, would trouble him throughout his career.
Eventually, inevitably, he did indeed attract interest from elsewhere. Sadly this soured his relationship with the Rangers fans because although a deadline day move to Highbury in 1990 collapsed when Arsenal's John Lukic refused to come the other way on loan, everybody in Shepherds Bush knew he would leave for Arsenal at the end of the season regardless and he made little secret of his desire to leave in the press. So it proved, with George Graham agreeing a fee of £1.3m – a record for a goalkeeper at the time – as soon as the season was over.
While QPR fans, as you would expect, held Seaman's decision to leave against him the subsequent honour roll he accrued at Highbury more than justified his decision. He won the league championship three times – including in his first full season at the club when he was ever-present and conceded just 18 goals - the FA Cup on four occasions, the League Cup and the Cup Winners Cup.
He was also able to claim the England goalkeeping slot for himself after Peter Shilton retired by holding off competition from the likes of Chris Woods, Tim Flowers, Nigel Martyn, David James and Ian Walker. He missed the Italia 90 World Cup with injury but eventually retired with 75 caps to his name, second only to Shilton in the goalkeeping stakes but surely to one day be topped by the present incumbent Joe Hart.
Seaman became known for his penalty saving prowess – despite never saving one for QPR - particularly for England in Euro 96 where he was named in the team of the tournament after turning aside Miguel Nadal's effort in the quarter final shoot out, and one in open play earlier in the tournament from Scotland 's Gary McAllister. This talent was also prevalent in Arsenal's prolonged European campaigns in the mid 1990s - on their way to the 1995 Cup Winners Cup final Seaman saved a penalty from Sampdoria's Atillio Lombardo (latterly with Crystal Palace).
But he was also prone to high profile mistakes and will always be remembered for being lobbed from long range first by Zaragoza's Nayim in that final, and then Ronaldinho in the 2002 World Cup when Brazil beat England in the Far East . Manager Sven Goran Ericsson kept faith with him after this in the face of mounting criticism but when he then conceded directly from a corner in a European Championships qualifier with Macedonia that finished 2-2 he was dropped in favour of David James and never recalled.
Seaman remained a mainstay of the Arsenal team after Arsene Wenger took over towards the end of the 1990s. He conceded just 17 goals in 38 games in the 1998/99 season but the Gunners lost out to Manchester United in both the title race and FA Cup. A year later they reached the UEFA Cup final but lost on penalties to Galatasaray. He won the league and cup double in 2001/02 and then the FA Cup a year later, making an extraordinary save from Paul Peschisolido in the semi-final against Sheffield United in what was his 1,000th professional game, but he was starting to come in for heavy criticism about the effect his advancing years were having on him. His decision to grow his hair out into a pony-tail didn't do much for his image and the year before Arsenal famously won the league going unbeaten for the entire season he was shipped off to join pre-takeover Manchester City.
Seaman finally hung up his gloves midway through his first season at Eastlands while suffering with a persistent shoulder injury.
He has since been a regular face on such nonsense as Dancing on Ice and most recently became involved with non-league Wembley as a goalkeeping coach after Terry Venables, Martin Keown, Claudia Caniggia and others also joined the non-league outfit as part of a sponsorship stunt.
Others >>> Armand Traore, Arsenal 2006-2011, QPR 2011-present >>> Jay Bothroyd Arsenal trainee, QPR 2011-present >>> Jay Simpson, Arsenal 2007-2010, QPR (loan) 2009-2010 >>> Matthew Connolly, Arsenal 2006-2008, QPR 2008-present >>> Frankie Simek, Arsenal 2003-2005, QPR (loan) 2004 >>> Matthew Hislop, Arsenal trainee, QPR 2005-2007 >>> Shabazz Baidoo, Arsenal trainee, QPR 2004-2008 >>> Dom Shimmin, Arsenal trainee, QPR 2005-2008 >>> Jerome Thomas, Arsenal 2001-2004, QPR (loan) 2002 >>> Brian McGovern, Arsenal 1997-2000, QPR (loan) 1999-2000 >>> Chris Kiwomya, Arsenal 1995-1998, QPR 1998-2001 >>> Andy Linighan, Arsenal 1990-1997, QPR (loan) 1998-1999 >>> Steve Morrow, Arsenal 1988-1997, QPR 1997-2001 >>> Matthew Rose, Arsenal 1994-1997, QPR 1997-2007 >>> Lee Harper, Arsenal 1994-1997, QPR 1997-2001 >>> Stewart Houston, Arsenal (coach) 1990-1996, QPR (manager) 1996-1997 >>> Bruce Rioch, Arsenal (manager) 1995-1996, QPR (coach) 1996-1997 >>> Gus Caesar, Arsenal 1984-1991, QPR (loan) 1990 >>> Don Howe, Arsenal 1964-1966, (manager) 1983-1986, (coach) 1997-2003, QPR 1989-1991 >>> Bobby Gould, Arsenal 1968-1970, QPR (coach) 1990-1991 >>>Jimmy Carter, QPR 1985-1987, Arsenal 1991-1995 >>> Kenny Sansom, Arsenal 1980-1988, QPR 1989-1991 >>> Paul Barron, Arsenal 1978-1980, QPR 1985-1988 >>> Clive Allen QPR 1978-1980, 1981-1984, Arsenal 1980 >>> Frank McLintock, Arsenal 1964-1973, QPR 1973-1977 >>> John Hollins, QPR 1975-1979, Arsenal 1979-1983 >>> Terry Mancini, QPR 1971-1974, Arsenal 1974-1976 >>> Eddie Kelly, Arsenal 1969-1976, QPR 1976-1977 >>> Dave Metchick, QPR 1968-1970, Arsenal 1970 >>> Bill Dodgin Arsenal 1952-1961, QPR (manager) 1968 >>> Adam Haywood, Arsenal 1896-1899, QPR 1899-1900
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Pictures – Action Images