The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed 14:58 - May 21 with 9074 views | Northernr | Chance to talk about the Chelsea quarter final and Liverpool semi final probably, but to complete our QPR at Wembley set, we unfortunately are going to have to broach the thorny subject of 1986. Who went? Stories to tell? Memories of the day? Help an overworked fansite editor out.... | ![](/images/avatars/1005.gif) | | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed on 15:21 - May 21 with 5069 views | Sudbury_Hill_R | Yes. I was there. Worked all through the night. Walked from HQ to Wembley. Good craic on the walk then terribly let down by the game. I think as we'd beaten top sides to get there the players thought they'd walk the game. Unfortunately that's all they did. Walk during the game. Huge huge let down. Never once seen any of the highlights, not that there were any. | ![](/images/avatars/5121.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed on 15:35 - May 21 with 5033 views | Phildo | Did the walk in new ill fitting shoes- feet bled for a week. My main memory was of quite a lot of fighting in our end. Everyone knows about the game.... I think we played Spuds the following week and they took the royal p*ss. | ![](/images/avatars/1558.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed on 15:37 - May 21 with 5031 views | SINGINGDETECTIVE | Met a few mates in the C&S then drove to Wembley Had a few pints outside the greyhound when an oxford coach pulled up , all hell broke loose with bottles flying from all directions the coach was a mess, all their fans were on the floor.........unhurt I hope, sat through the game totally shell shocked , went back to the pub and got wrecked a total, total non event | ![](/images/avatars/12989.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed on 15:39 - May 21 with 5027 views | rbsranger | I only lasted half the home game against Chelsea - Ellesrie Road full of foul mouthed and dangerous looking Chelsea scum and I was a very small 12 year old scared out of my wits. I remember the Replay from the TV highlights - Alan McDonald being all over that small little scumbag Speedie and then the incredible Michael Robinson goal from the half-way line with the last kick of the game to make it 2-0 and the whingeing scum asking for offside against Gary Bannister who was lying half-dead in their penalty area. First leg of the semi against Liverpool was good hard fought game and could not get to the away leg on a school night but the joy of the two own goals on the radio was great. I remember physically being at Wembley for the Final and I remember the feeling that we would need to just show up to win. Us fans showed up, players didn't bother. I cannot remember a more anemic performance... don't think we strung two passes together all day. Still at least in '86 we had the comfort of beating Chelsea 6-0 in the league on Easter Monday.... | ![](/images/avatars/7300.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed on 15:44 - May 21 with 5022 views | Nov77 | getting beat is one thing, but we didn't even turn up. thankfully I can remember very little about it. deliberately didn't watch any highlights or reruns of it since. just a total waste of time. the most abject performance i've ever witnessed. just had an empty feeling afterward. beating chelsea in the quarter and liverpool in the semi just made it all the more hard to take. I was at stamford bridge the night we won there with Macca's header and Robinson from the half way line. Went to the home leg v liverpool but didn't make the away, still can't believe they scored all 4 goals that night and we got a draw to take us through! | ![](/images/avatars/2744.gif) |
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The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed on 15:46 - May 21 with 5022 views | BrianWilliamsBeard | I remember the Chelsea game, particularly Robinson's goal from the halfway line, and getting back to The Greyhound in time to see the highlights on TV. I remember us taking over a pub close to Anfield, a mate getting so drunk he climbed behind the fruit machine and couldn't get out and then the same guy being arrested before kick-off. I remember Liverpool scoring 4 times, but luckily 2 being for us, the second spinning in in slow motion and it taking what seemed like an age before we realised we'd scored. I remember the "We did it mum" banner. I remember the papers predicting an R`s win, the walk to Wembley, the blue hair, Steve O`s big French flag but I can't remember a single thing about the match. I know the score but I couldn't tell you the scorers or describe any of the goals. It's all been blotted out. [Post edited 21 May 2014 17:35]
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The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed on 16:03 - May 21 with 5001 views | KerryE | I moved heaven and earth to get there, I had severe food poisoning/minor dysentery at the time. The only time we've ever been favorites for anything. Why do we bother sometimes... | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed on 16:22 - May 21 with 4973 views | DanVanDyke | I didn't go so I'm not sure this story is valid, but I was 11 at the time and living in North Shields near Newcastle. I remember listening to the semi-final with my dad on the radio and getting excited that we'd beaten Liverpool and he let me stay up to watch the 2nd leg highlights. As for the day itself I'd been invited to the 11th birthday party of Erica Salen, a Swedish girl who was friends with my cousin and I really fancied her so I went to her party rather than watch the final. My mam taped it for me and I was gonna do a 'Likely Lads' and watch it when I got back in 'as if live'. To make up for this treachery, I wore a blue and white hooped jumper and white jeans to the party. I was the DJ at the party and had to play A-Ha all the time as I was the only boy there. On one occassion I put on the single I'd brought which was 'Look Away' by Big Country. The girls didn't like that. When my mam came to pick me up, I was too nervous and excited to pretend that the match hadn't been played, so I asked her for a hint and she looked glum and said we'd lost 3-0! I thought she was confused or taking the p*ss so I badgered her and she kept telling me that was the score. I was totally f*ckin' gutted and blamed myself as we would have won if I hadn't been disloyal and gone to a girl's party. I told all my mates at school that I watched it but I actually burned the tape and got wrong for wasting a new tape. I never snogged Erica and she moved back to Sweden. I probably could have got at least outside tops as well and had to wait far too many years for not having the confidence at her party. But I did become a massive fan of Big Country and to this day believe that my actions can have an impact on a football match over 300 miles away. That was quite cathartic as I have never admitted to anyone outside my family that I didn't watch that match! | ![](/images/avatars/1657.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) | Login to get fewer ads
The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed on 16:33 - May 21 with 4964 views | ElHoop | I don't remember anything much about any of it at all, the whole run. The final I've deleted from my hard drive completely and there's no back-up, no nothing. The only game I can remember is the one at Chelsea when I think it was possibly a wet horrible night, as usual no cover on the terraces at their place and the usual scum fascist pieces of turd lurking everywhere before during and afterwards. And people wonder why we hate them so much? Oh well we beat them (again) and it was worth losing at Wembley just to have done that, especially as I've forgotten everything else anyway. | ![](/images/avatars/4962.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed on 16:56 - May 21 with 4947 views | murge | The happy memories were all about beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the replay and Micky Robinson's goal from the half way line. We were under the cosh a bit as Chelsea strove for an equaliser, and then suddenly out of the blue we were 2-0 up. I remember it as being a quite damp evening and the pitch looking as if it could have doubled as a setting for ' All Quiet on The Western Front'. The Liverpool home leg was a fairly tight game, decided by a Terry Fenwick free kick from the edge of the box , almost dead centre , in front of The Loft.That was a speciality of Terry's and he scored quite a few like that from dead balls. Most of the fans including me didn't think that would be enough.Only watched the return leg on tv, ( live recording on I think ITV ) and every time it looked like Liverpool were going to run away with the game they gave us an own goal equaliser. We hardly created much but after the 2nd equaliser Liverpool seemed to realise that it wasn't going to be their night. It seemed that our name was on the cup. The final was truly awful. Nothing good about the day at all. We were all very confident and justfiably were the favourites., but the vibe just wasn't right. The Yanks had just bombed Colonel Gaddafi's tented home and some of our less enlightened younger fans were singing " What shall we do with the dirty Libyans?, What shall we do with the dirty Libyans?........... , Bomb Bomb Bomb those bastards etc. Meanwhile the team were having trouble keeping the ball or even managing 2 consecutive passes. After about 30 mins of this the Oxford fans started to sing about scoring in a minute and shortly before half time they did. One hoped that Jim Smith would ensure we upped our game 2nd half , but if possible it was even worse, with the final killer blow being Jeremy Charles ( who had struggled to be anymore than a super sub whilst playing for us earlier in the season ) scoring a deserved 3rd for Oxford. It was a hot day and the trek home really was a trek. My day was complete when that evening I had to go and visit dour Scottish relatives in order to introduce my son of 2 years old to his Great Aunt Mary. She was singularly unimpressed with him to the extent that at the following Christmas he received his only ever present from her ' A Book of Manners for Children ' As i said a truly awful awful day . But getting there was fun. ps He is now a passionate Qpr fan who's treating his old man to a day at Wembley. | ![](/images/avatars/8037.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed on 17:29 - May 21 with 4918 views | themodfather | well the final was a write off...it was one of the first moved to a sunday and all the tv was about jim smith v his lovely old club, rot! we gor truly trounced, only a late sub leroy rosenior showed anything.... looking back they had aldridge and ray houghton to name 2 , i recall as the 3rd went in and many were leaving seeing 100s of hats, scarves littering the huge wembley steps. i went straight home. we had so many there that day....my ticket had "stoke city fc" stamped on the reverse.... | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed on 17:32 - May 21 with 4914 views | paulparker | the thing is we had a great run to get to the final, only to royally f uck it up went to my 1st ever away game when we played Watford in the early rounds John Barnes i think missed a pen & Byrne slammed home the winner, we then played Forest at home, which was f ucking cold , the floodlights went off then there was a huge punch up in the now x block ER, me & dad jumped onto the pitch and walked up to the other end of the stand passed a bemused wayne fereday i think the club called a sparky to try and get the floodlights working, and then to the replay all was going well until forest got the equaliser , there must have been about 10 minutes left when barron had the ball in his hands , my dad was going ballistic telling him to kick the fecking thing as we never won at forrest, barron duely obliged on to a rushing bannister i think ,2-1 then we made it 3-1, relief onto the scum in the QF, got to say that was the tightest i have ever known LR, chelsea were fecking everywhere, Byrne with a cracker only for Nevin from 2 yards out, we did well to get a replay, never went to the replay but remember watching the highlights on Sportsnight went to the 1st leg against liverpool and we should have won by more than the 1-0, robbie james best game for us, 2nd leg watched on the tv with my folks remember mick channon rooting for us the dodgy pen they got (way out the box and ball to hand) the og, & the celebrations at the end (loved the we did it mum banner ) then to the final, got tickets as in them days you had a voucher at the back of the programme and you got a special one if you went midweek against southampton (we lost btw 2-0 sh*t game) my dad sent the vouchers off in the post and hey presto we had 2 tickets right at the front of the gate (f ucking sh*t view) the place was a sea of blue and white QPR flags, ski hats and flat caps we sung we beat the chelsea 6-0 before ko and i saw a banner behide us say QPR FANTASTIC ON PLASTIC, CLASS ON GRASS recall being outside the away end and seeing Jimmy greaves who was at the height of st & greavsie fame, he was by some stall, i asked him for an autograph on my programme and he told me and several others to f uck off another thing that sticks in my mind is just before oxford scored that 1st goal i looked up and saw a huge punch up in the upper terrace section with a bloke stabbing a QPR flag in someones head , we stayed for all 3 goals but do recall leroy rosenior missing a free header at the back stick which caused my dads mate to go into a basil style fawltey tirade rememebr walking back towards the car with hundreds of others all saying how sh*t we played fecking Jim Kunting Smith | ![](/images/avatars/8151.gif) |
| 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
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The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed on 17:40 - May 21 with 4908 views | sexton | I stood at The Shed End for Chelsea away. I was fairly broke at the time and didn't fancy paying to sit down as my mates did, so I stood alone in the pouring rain. I didn't seriously expect us to beat Liverpool in the semi but had to show some bravado as my then girlfriend (now Mrs S) was a diehard fan. I couldn't believe what I saw. 2 own goals and we were through. One bottle of wine already down, opened another and suffered the next morning. Worth it though. We were red-hot favourites for the final but we were simply awful. No creativity whatsoever. Somebody was injured - Fillery? I've haven't watched a single second again. After Liverpool beating Wolves with 15 minutes to go, the biggest disappointment in all my time watching the Rs. What made it especially annoying was Ray Houghton's performance. He had been training with us pre-season and it was expected to be a formality that he signed but he went to Oxford instead. | ![](/images/avatars/1456.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed on 17:57 - May 21 with 4894 views | BrianMcCarthy | Jesus, I can't do this sober.... Only time I've ever seen my team at Wembley. No, I can't do it. | ![](/images/avatars/1570.gif) |
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The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed on 18:12 - May 21 with 4875 views | loftboy | All that I can say is that me and my mates had planned to stay in London overnight on the piss and then head to hammersmith Sunday for the planned civic reception, instead I was home in bed sulking by 7:30, all I can remember during the game was some oxford fan waving a flag in the qpr end and some rangers fan promptly ramming the said flagpole in the Oxford fans head. | ![](/images/avatars/1481.gif) |
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The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed on 18:13 - May 21 with 4873 views | loftboy |
The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed on 15:35 - May 21 by Phildo | Did the walk in new ill fitting shoes- feet bled for a week. My main memory was of quite a lot of fighting in our end. Everyone knows about the game.... I think we played Spuds the following week and they took the royal p*ss. |
5-2 wasn't it, we were 5 down and for a minute looked like a Newcastle come back was on the cards | ![](/images/avatars/1481.gif) |
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The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed on 18:43 - May 21 with 4840 views | toreqpr | I went over from Norway for the QF,or so I thought only to find it moved due to over postponed FA cup tie against Carlisle which we of course lost 1-0 up there.Following Sat we beat Newcastle at home 3-1.Back in Norway I listned to the radio for all the four matches on Our way to Wembley.Next day Down to the travel agency booked flight and hotel for a week. Had to stay for a week and night between sat-sun to get "cheap" flights.£350 flight same for hotel Kensington Close Wrights Lane.Expensive for a poor young man.I will allways remember sat night at the Crown &Ceptre packed singing everyone optimistic.The match dont remember a lot, we just didn`t turn up.BTW the ticket was £23.Rest of the week I stayed in the hotel watching tv-snooker from the Crucible.Stephen Hendries first televised match against Willie Thorne.SH nearly won.Just sulking in the room for 3 days | ![](/images/avatars/5290.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed on 18:48 - May 21 with 4835 views | johann28 | Memories hazy. Nice walk from the Bush with some nice chicks with hooped stockings and ciggies (people smoked in them days). Terry Fenwick launching an outlandish 'tackle' (read attempted murder) on a player within a few seconds .... it didn 't get any better. Qpr fans fighting among themselves, and I mean fighting - brutal stuff. Don't recall a shot on goal, but at least the beer was good, as I got royalty plastered. All in all, things can only get better ???? | ![](/images/avatars/3914.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed on 18:51 - May 21 with 4831 views | BlackCrowe | Thank god no - getting pissed on a kibbutz and getting fruity with Israeli and Scandi goddesses. It was the right choice. | ![](/images/avatars/1396.gif) |
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The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed on 18:57 - May 21 with 4829 views | MrSheen | I was actually at college in Oxford at the time which made it even more painful and embarrassing. I managed to persuade an Everton supporting friend with a car to drive a few of us to Watford, which was the first time I saw us beat them in about 10 games. I came down for the home game against Chelsea but watched the replay and the two Liverpool games on telly. I couldn't bear to watch the second leg in the college TV room in front of everyone so saw it in my kitchen on an old portable. I was so shocked after I literally couldn't speak for about half an hour afterwards. That's never happened before or since. The other semi was delayed by postponements by about three weeks - one of the benefits of plastic. On the day of the second leg, my parents took me for a cream tea in the Randolph hotel for the one and only time and my dad had fun embarrassing me by eating jam off his knife. Who should we pass on the way out but the Villa on the way in for their meal. To my excitement I was face to face with Simon Stainrod and managed to blurt out some encouragement. Not that it did any good. I won't say anything about the game except that I was too ashamed and depressed to go back to Oxford for four or five days, which was a bit stupid with finals coming up. A sad postscript was a couple of weeks later when I was in the Everton end of the Manor ground for the penultimate game of the season. A small band of Everton fans were half heartedly trying to cheer their team to the title. I was screaming at them to win and sent Oxford down. No effing luck that night either. Lineker missed a stack of chances and Les Taylor scored for them from outside the box in the 88th minute. Double bollox. [Post edited 21 May 2014 19:04]
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The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed on 19:09 - May 21 with 4810 views | MrSheen | By the way, didn't Oxford have "Wang" on their shirts then? The only thing that makes me smile about the day. | ![](/images/avatars/1288.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed on 19:34 - May 21 with 4779 views | Monahoop | After this awful game I was among a small number of QPR conspiracy theorists who cast doubts on the manager Jim 'The Bald Eagle' Smith. He had success previously with Oxford, he continued to talk them up when he was with us and so having got us to Wembley, imagine to his delight, his beloved Oxford Utd should be the R's opponents in the final. I'm sure he had secretly orchestrated some kind of curse on the R's to let little Oxford whip us a good 'un that fateful day. I never liked him anyway and was glad to see the morosed voiced potato head leave to ironically have two more stabs at management at his 'baby' Oxford Utd. Anyway I felt pretty confident we would win this one. I went with my long suffering girlfriend who as it so happens is now my long suffering wife. There was I waxing lyrical to her about the team who entered this final on a great run [ but I was still cautious about Smith ]. She tried to look interested. In the tatty,tired old lady that was Wembley Stadium I thought the atmosphere a little muted. By the time Oxford scored their 3rd the QPR crowd was totally mute if not stunned by what we were witnessing. A decent team simply looked disinterested. Oxford would never meet easier opposition all season. If this game were played over a week we would never have scored still. What went wrong?? I remember a loud Scottish R behind us venting his spleen at the team screaming about how he had traveled down from Inverness only to witness what he described as a 'scabby shower of shite'. I somewhat felt sorry for him and a crowd from Limerick who at least tried smiling through this debacle. In 1982 I was proud of our teams cup final performance in a gallant defeat. Four years later I was gutted and felt hollow. On the tube back a crowd of Mackems were on the train. They had seen their lot play Arsenal and judging from their jollity they may have seen their team win at Highbury. They of course laid into us crestfallen R's with all kinds of banter but no violence. In fact I don't recall seeing any fights or aggro which others on here appear to have witnessed. A thoroughly terrible day which still sticks long in the memory. Bloody Smith??!! | ![](/images/avatars/2861.gif) |
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The dreaded third album - were you there in 1986? Your help needed on 20:39 - May 21 with 4737 views | YorkRanger | I went to the Chelsea game at the Bridge and remember the weather was shocking and the whole experience being fairly intimidating. Saw the home game v Liverpool and remember the away game being live on TV which was quite rare at that time. As for the final I can honestly say I remember virtually nothing. My Dad and I had a couple of Double Diamonds (remember that) from an Off Licence near the ground and the rest is a blur. Someone mentioned earlier a Forest game where the floodlights failed. I remember taking Mrs York to that game (one of her first) but I thought it was called off completely. Also remember standing at Selhurst in the Open Holmsdale end V Charlton maybe the next season and the same thing happened. Versus Forest it was freezing, versus Charlton I remember being huddled under an umbrella. I'd love to know the dates of those games... | ![](/images/avatars/2666.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
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