Ash takes his usual look back at a memorable match and some player connections between Saturday's opponents - QPR and Cardiff City.

Gareth Ainsworth has experienced all emotions as a football manager in his first three games in charge and this weekend leads Rangers out in front of the Loftus Road crowd against our old foes Cardiff City. I was hoping to add the name Michael Chopra to the list of connections this week but it seems not even Flavio’s big bucks could convince the Sunderland striker to join the R’s and he will be in fact be playing for the opposition on Saturday and our striker hunt will continue for another week.

Cardiff are in a great run of form, having not lost away from all season and Dave Jones winning manager of the month for October. Hopefully football myth 239- the Manger of the Month curse will strike once again this weekend and Gareth can celebrate another three points against one of his former clubs.

Cardiff first hit W12 in March 1932, winning 3-2 in a Third Division South match. The Bluebirds were also victorious last year an early 2-0 win over John Gregory’s Rangers. Of course the most memorable of recent games between the two is the 2003 Play-Off final but less said of that the better I think! So let’s take a walk down the blue and white hooped path of memory lance once again.

Memorable Match
QPR 3-0 Cardiff
9th November 1979
Second Division
With thanks to Vital QPR

Rangers came into the fixture in tremendous form with four wins in five including the 3-0 win over local rivals Fulham. This run also included League Cup wins over Bradford City and Mansfield Town as Rangers lie in fifth in the second division. The Bluebirds came into the game off the back of some decent form themselves, beating Luton Town and Shrewsbury in a six game unbeaten run that situated them 11th place, level on points with Rangers in the early stages.

Eighteen year old Clive Allen was the toast of W12 as another convincing display added to his reputation as one of the emerging talents in the Football League. Cardiff looked to stifle their opponents creativity, which worked in a relatively successful fashion as Rangers were struggling to make inroads into the Welsh outfit.

The Bluebirds work was undone when Wayne Hughes scythed down Stan Bowles in the area to hand the R`s a chance from the spot. It was the aforementioned Allen who got the nod, and duly dispatched the kick despite goalkeeper Ron Healy moving from his line before the kick was taken. Glenn Roeder managed to net a second to put the game beyond doubt. His effort was coolly taken as Cardiff could offer very little in response.

Clive Allen`s neat touch put defender Keith Pontin on his backside before neatly slotting past Healy for the third. Rangers were rampant and the Loftus Road crowd was responding in kind, with a tremendous atmosphere in W12. With that the R`s had secured the points to take them up to second in the Division Two table, narrowly behind leaders Luton.

QPR: Woods, Shanks, Gillard, McCreery, Hazell, Roeder, Bowles, Wicks, Allen, Goddard (Walsh), Burke.

Cardiff City: Healy, Jones, Sullivan, Campbell, Pontin, Dwyer, Bishop, Stevens, Moore, Ronson, Hughes.

Postscript: Cardiff City finished off the season in 15th place, while QPR finished four points off a promotion place in the second division.

Connections
Richard Langley
QPR 1996-2003, 2005-06
Cardiff 2003-05
Few have separated the opinion of supporters more in recent years then Richard Langley. Some thought he was our best player and midfield linchpin, while others considered him over-rated and lazy but in truth I think he has the tendency to prove both sides right in his two spells at Loftus Road.

Part of the youth system at Rangers, Langley made his first team debut for QPR as a sub during a 3-1 defeat to Swindon in October 1998, at only 18 years old. A month later Langley got hid first goal for the club in only his second appearance, opening the scoring in a 2-1 win over Barnsley at Loftus Road. Langley looked like a great prospect and under Gerry Francis formed a great partnership the following campaign with Gavin Peacock and Stuart Wardley in the centre of the park, in season where he only missed two league games for the Superhoops.

Unfortunately the season was a disappointing one for both Langley and Rangers struggled as QPR were relegated to the third tier for the first time since the seventies. Langley missed the second half of that campaign and the start of the new season after suffering a serious knee injury. When he returned to the team Ian Holloway was in charge but still saw the midfielder as a key part of his Rangers side. The 2002-03 season was arguably Langley ’s best in a QPR shirt. Playing on the right-wing he helped Rangers finish in the top six and make the play-offs. His goal in the semi-final first leg against Oldham vital in seeing Rangers make the final, but a sending off, and another red card earlier in the season in an LDV Vans game with Bristol City, in the same game meant that a gutted Langley would miss the final which the R’s went on to lose 1-0 to Cardiff.

That summer he decided to leave Loftus Road for the league above and somewhat surprisingly signed for Rangers play-off conquerors Cardiff for a £200,000 fee. He spent two consistent but uneventful seasons in Wales and winning caps for Jamaica before returning to Rangers now back in the Championship on deadline day 2005, signing a one-year deal. He played 33 times that season and Rangers finished in the top half but was released that summer and joined Luton Town . Now training with Bristol Rovers after becoming a free agent.
Magic R’s moment: A brilliant hat-trick during the play-off season against Blackpool .

Others:
Andy McCulloch QPR 1970-72, Cardiff 1972-74. Now manger of Esher United
Garry Thompson QPR 1991-93, Cardiff 1993-95. Now unknown
Trevor Sinclair QPR 1993-1998, Cardiff 2007-08. Now without a club
Leon Jeanne QPR 1997-01, Cardiff 2001-02. Now at Measteg Park !
Tony Scully Cardiff (loan) 1996, QPR 1998-01. Now without a club
Jermaine Darlington QPR 1999-01, Cardiff 2004-06. Now without a club
Gareth Ainsworth Cardiff 2003, QPR 2003-present
Chris Barker Cardiff 2002-07, QPR 2007-08. Now at Plymouth
Simon Walton Cardiff (loan) 2007, QPR 2007-08. Now at Plymouth

Fans’ Memories
Andy Thomson scoring a quick fire double to beat them in div 2, and Danny Shittu getting so irate with Alan Lee that he came back on from treatment scored straight away and then battered Lee into submission - Cardiff subbed him in the end. -Northernr

Langley getting spat on. Dreadful. -Ted_Hendrix

Under a barrage of bottles from the other side of the Uxbridge rd when emerging from the Conningham was quite amusing. The 0-4 that was, watched a Cardiff fan steam into the pub getting three slaps and thrown out onto the pavement...fireworks going off inside pubs, the Adelaide ringed by cops linking arms...innocent times indeed. The 1-0 lunchtime kick off was great standing in the members bar watching the little oiks get shepherded away, totally rat arsed that day, two of our boys were so drunk they still refuse to believe they were at that game. Play off final of course, if only he had passed the bloody ball. Bit apprehensive going in but on the way out ready for a punch up, at my age tut tut. Not going tomorrow, fed up watching Cardiff. -komradkirk

1970, in the old Division II, not doing well under Les Allen. Cardiff doing very well. In I think was John Toshack's last game for Cardiff before Liverpool bought him, Rodney Marsh's QPR smashed Cardiff 4-0 in the League Cup - (Those were the days when QPR were close to being unbeatable under the floodlights at Loftus Road.) -QPRReport

1-0 lunchtime kick off. Not realising it was an early kick off, and driving into Shepherds Bush just as a radio report came on saying the second half had just started. Well oi laffed! -WatfordR

Shittu and Carlisle high fives in the play off when Earnshaw went off, only to be beaten by a late goal will always stay with me. TBH the noise when they scored was mental. I fking hate Cardiff..... -GloucsR

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