As Reading come back to Shepherd's Bush on Saturday, LFW looks back to a memorable 4-1 win for ten-man QPR against the Royals during a remarkable week in 2009.
QPR 4 Reading 1, Tuesday October 20, 2009, Championship
Highlights of Flavio Briatore’s reign as chairman at Loftus Road were few and far between. QPR worked their way through eight permanent managers in three seasons and despite shelling out millions on long contracts for supposedly proven players the team actually looked like it might be relegated towards the end of the 2009/10 season.
But earlier in that campaign, for one glorious fortnight, it seemed as though everything was coming together in spectacular fashion. Jim Magilton was not a popular appointment, following on from a farcical season where Rangers had been managed permanently by Iain Dowie and Paulo Sousa and temporarily on two occasions by Gareth Ainsworth and boasting a less than impressive record from his first managerial position at Ipswich . He made an inauspicious start to life at Loftus Road with no wins from the first four league games against Blackpool, Plymouth , Bristol City and Nottingham Forest.
But things started to come together for the former Northern Ireland international in September. He added Ben Watson to his midfield on loan and he formed a formidable partnership with Martin Rowlands that serviced three advanced midfielders further forward including Akos Buzsaky, Wayne Routledge and Adel Taarabt. A narrow win at Scunthorpe kick started things, with a superb performance and 2-0 success at Cardiff following soon after and a first home win of the season sealed in spectacular 5-2 fashion against Barnsley. QPR were winning, and playing beautiful football at the same time.
Meanwhile, down the M4, Brendan Rodgers was struggling with his Reading rebuilding job. They’d been relegated from the Premiership in 2008 and kept faith with both the team and the manager Steve Coppell initially only to run out of steam in the play offs during their first bounce-back attempt. The impending end of parachute payments and ambition of the players saw chairman John Madejski embark on a fire sale that included Stephen Hunt, Leroy Lita, Kevin Doyle, Marcus Hahnemann, James Harper, Khalifa Cisse and eight others. Rodgers had impressed the previous year in his first senior managerial role, guiding Watford to safety after arriving midway through the campaign and even making Tamas Priskin look like a reasonable footballer in the process. He’d been brought in with a three year remit to turn Reading back to the Premier League but would ultimately last barely three months, and a thrashing under the lights at Loftus Road was another nail in his coffin.
QPR had followed up the Barnsley win with a 4-0 thumping of Preston at Loftus Road on the Saturday and they set about Reading in similar fashion that Tuesday evening.
The free flowing, passing football that Magilton demanded was wowing the home faithful when our old friend Andy Hall intervened. Every football supporter moans about referees, it’s part of the game, but Andy Hall was so awful against QPR on so many occasions one could only conclude that the chunky Birmingham official either had a thing against the Super Hoops, was so totally incompetent he made Gurnham Singh look reasonable, or was just one of those absolute pricks you happen upon in life sometimes. Perhaps he was a combination of all three. After half an hour he brought QPR back for a free kick when they would have preferred an advantage, and then yellow carded Ben Watson for taking it too quickly which, as it was his second of the game, meant a red. An outrageously stupid piece of refereeing from an official who was never anything other than irritating, and a prime example of somebody who approached the job without a modicum of common sense.
Ultimately the injustice only served to rile Rangers. Akos Buzsaky curled the resulting free kick over the wall and into the bottom corner to give them the lead, then three minutes later Jay Simpson got on the end of Wayne Routledge’s cross to slam home a second — QPR’s goal of the season that one, coming at the end of a move that had begun with Kaspars Gorkss picking up possession in his own six yard box.
Rodgers was probably still confident of turning the game around against ten men at half time but Hall — who always was a spinless twat — ruined the Reading half time team talk with another by-the-book, no-common-sense yellow card right from the kick off of the second half that saw Ivar Ingimarsson sent off and the numbers evened up. Rangers were never going to lose from that point and as the passing football continued to flow substitutes Rowan Vine and Patrick Agyemang both got on the scoresheet in some style in the final 20 minutes.
Patrick Agyemang got Rangers’ fourth. Imagine living in that world. A late strike from Shane Long was mere consolation for the visitors.
Within a month, both managers were out of work. Rodgers was sacked and replaced by his chief scout Brian McDermott. Magilton’s Rangers scored four times in a match for the third time in a week that Saturday at Derby County live on the BBC but subsequently collapsed with a 5-1 home defeat by Middlesbrough and 3-1 set back at Watford, after which Magilton allegedly headbutted midfielder Buzsaky in the dressing room.
Magilton was sacked and replaced, for five matches, by Paul Hart. By the end of the season QPR were under the charge of Neil Warnock and lucky to avoid relegation. But for that one week at least, everything Magilton and Rangers touched turned to gold, and goals.
QPR: Cerny 8, Ramage 8, Stewart 9, Gorkss 9, Borrowdale 8, Buzsaky 9 (Mahon 66, 8), Watson 6, Faurlin 8, Taarabt 9 (Agyemang 75, 8), Routledge 8, Simpson 8 (Vine 53, 7)
Subs Not Used: Heaton, Hall, Alberti, Ainsworth
Sent Off: Watson (two bookings)
Booked: Watson (foul), Watson (taking quick free kick), Borrowdale (foul), Faurlin (foul)
Goals: Buzsaky 31 (unassisted), Simpson 39 (assisted Routledge), Vine 71 (assisted Borrowdale), Agyemang 83 (assisted Mahon)
Reading: Federici 3, Cisse 3 (Sigurdsson 46, 6), Mills 5, Ingimarsson 4, O'Dea 5, Tabb 3 (Howard 46, 7), Gunnarsson 5, Kebe 6, McAnuff 7, Long 5, Church 5 (Robson-Kanu 59, 5)
Subs Not Used: Hamer, Karacan, Rasiak, Pearce
Sent Off: Ingmarsson (two bookings)
Booked: Ingimarsson (repetitive fouling), Ingimarsson (foul
Goals: Howard 86 (assisted McAnuff)
Highlights >>> Reading 0 QPR 1, 2010/11 >>> QPR 4 Reading 1, 2009/10 >>> Reading 2 QPR 1, 2006
QPR 1 Reading 1, Saturday April 23, 2016, Championship
A standard midtable Championship match between these two played out to a 1-1 draw at Loftus Road in April. QPR had tested Ali Al Habsi, who’d gifted them a win in the corresponding fixture, with a free kick from Tjaronn Chery and a shot on the turn from Seb Polter before Grant Hall scored his first goal for the club — a towering back post header back over the keeper from Ale Faurlin’s beautifully flighted corner. But Reading had been pinging dangerous shots in on Matt Ingram long before Latvian Deniss Rakels struck an equaliser five minutes before half time and a draw was a justified, if fairly dull, outcome.
QPR: Ingram 7; Perch 6, Onuoha 6, Hall 7, Kpekawa 6; Luongo 6, Faurlin 7; Gladwin 7 (El Khayati 70, 6), Chery 6 (Washington 87, -), Phillips 6 (Petrasso 77, 6); Polter 6
Subs not used: Hill, Lumley, Diakite, Hoilett
Goals: Hall 35 (assisted Faurlin)
Reading: Al Habsi 7; McCleary 6, Ferdinand 6, Cooper 6, Taylor 6 (Gunter 77, 6); Evans 6, Norwood 7, Cox 6, Quinn 6 (Hector 71, 6); Kermorgant 6 (Vydra 81, -); Rakels 7
Subs not used: Bond, Piazon, John, Barrett
Goals: Rakels 41 (assisted Kermorgant)
Bookings: Norwood 24 (foul)
Reading 0 QPR 1, Thursday December 3, 2015, Championship
Neil Warnock signed off his second spell at the club with a last gasp win at Reading back in December that season, on the eve of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's arrival as manager. The result was somewhat fortuitous, with Reading enjoying much more of the ball and chances, and striking the bar in the second half when Robert Green inexplicably allowed Nathan Blackman's free kick to fly right past him and flush against the woodwork. The winning goal, in stoppage time, owed much to a goalkeeping error at the other end as Ali Al Habsi inexplicably fumbled a tame header from Nedum Onuoha into the net off a late corner.
Reading: Al Habsi 3; Gunter 6, Hector 5, Ferdinand 6, Taylor 5; McCleary 6, Fernandez 5 (Robson Kanu 73, 5), Williams 6, Norwood 7; Blackman 6 (John 80, -), Vydra 5 (Sa 80, -)
Subs not used: Bond, Obita, Hurtado, Cooper
Booked: Norwood 67 (foul)
QPR: Green 5; Perch 5, Onuoha 7, Hall 6, Konchesky 5; Phillips 5, Fer 5, Sandro 7, Faurlin 7, Petrasso 6 (Austin 63, 6), Hoilett 6 (Chery 76, 6)
Subs not used: Henry, Angella, Smithies, Angella, Tozser
Goals: Onuoha 89 (assisted Faurlin)
Booked: Fer 28 (foul), Hall 40 (deliberate handball)
QPR 1 Reading 3, Sunday February 16, 2014, Championship
Although Harry Redknapp's QPR side went on to win promotion at Wembley in 2014, they endured a prolonged loss of form through the spring when Charlie Austin was out injured. One of several attempts at replacing the talismanic front man, Kevin Doyle, bundled a goal in against his former club Reading at Loftus Road in February but it was only an equaliser after Danny Williams had headed the visitors in front. After half time Pearce was able to head home unmarked at a corner, and Garath McCleary made the most of Benoit Assou Ekotto's disinterest by moving into acres of space and pinging in a third from long range.
QPR: Green 6; Hughes 5, Dunne 5, Hill 6, Assou-Ekotto 5 (Benayoun 78, 5); Hoilett 6, Kranjcar 5, Barton 6, Traore 6; Doyle 6, Keane 6 (Zamora 57, 5)
Subs not used: Onuoha, Jenas, Henry, Murphy, Maiga
Goals: Doyle 20 (assisted Traore/Hoilett/Keane)
Bookings: Hoilett 14 (foul), Hill 25 (foul), Barton 60 (foul), Kranjcar 62 (foul)
Reading: McCarthy 6; Gunter 6, Gorkss 6, Pearce 7, Obita 7; McCleary 8 (Kelly 90+3, -), Williams 8, Akpan 7, McAnuff 7; Pogrebnyak 6 (Robson-Kanu 85, -), Le Fondre 7 (Hector 73, 6)
Subs not used: Federici, Drenthe, Guthrie, Blackman
Goals: Williams 10 (assisted Le Fondre), Pearce 56 (assisted McAnuff), McCleary 58 (unassisted)
Sent off: Gorkss 70 (serious foul play)
Bookings: Williams 29 (foul), McCleary 46 (foul), Obita 90 (foul)
Reading 1 QPR 1, Saturday November 9, 2013, Championship
Reading were grateful to their goalkeeper Alex McCarthy for holding QPR at bay when these two sides met live on Sky in November 2013. McCarthy saved well from Charlie Austin twice and Matt Phillips once in the first five minutes of the match, and Junior Hoilett hit the cross bar from long range. When a long range strike from Garath McCleary deceived Robert Green on the hour it looked like being a tale of two goalkeepers but a late free kick from Joey Barton restored parity and a point was the least Rangers deserved for one of their better away performances of the season.
Reading: McCarthy 8; Gunter 6, Morrison 6, Gorkss 5, Kelly 5; McCleary 7 (McAnuff 89, -), Guthrie 6 (Akpan 89, -), Baird 6, Obita 5; Pogrebnyak 6 Robson-Kanu 6 (Sharp 89, -)
Subs not used: Federici, Pearce, Cummings, Le Fondre
Goals: McCleary 62 (unassisted)
Bookings: Pogrebnyak 66 (foul)
QPR: Green 7; Simpson 7, Hill 6, Dunne 6 (Onuoha 46, 6), Assou Ekotto 6; Barton 7, O’Neil 6 (Johnson 66, 7); Phillips 7, Jenas 5 (Kranjcar 31, 5), Hoilett 7; Austin 6
Subs not used: Traore, Chevanton, Murphy, Henry
Goals: Barton 76 (free kick, won Austin)
Bookings: Assou-Ekotto 44 (foul)
Reading 0 QPR 0, Sunday April 28, 2013, Premier League
Rangers and the Royals bizarrely managed to relegate each other when they met in a dreadful encounter at the Madejski Stadium in 2012/13. Marooned as the bottom two in the Premier League after a string of poor results they had effectively had their fate sealed over the previous weeks, but a bore draw in front of the Sky cameras at the Madejski Stadium mathematically sealed both teams’ fates. It was a game best remembered for Jose Bosingwa, substituted in the second half of a lousy personal performance, laughing his way down the tunnel at the final whistle as QPR geared up for life in the Championship.
Reading: McCarthy 6, Gunter 6, Mariappa 6, Morrison 6, Kelly 5 (Harte 76, 6), Karacan 5, Guthrie 6, McAnuff 7, McLeary 6 (Le Fondre 64, 6), Blackman 6 (Robson Kanu 55, 6), Pogrebnyak 5
Subs not used: Taylor, Pearce, Caricco, Hunt
QPR: Green 6, Bosingwa 4 (Da Silva 73, 5), Onuoha 7, Hill 6, Traore 6, Granero 6, Mbia 6 (Mackie 89, -), Jenas 6, Taarabt 5 (Hoilett 68, 5), Bothroyd 5, Remy 5
Subs not used: Cesar, Ben Haim, Derry, Park
Bookings: Granero 71 (foul), Da Silva 90 (foul)
QPR 1 Reading 1, Sunday November 4, 2012, Premier League
QPR’s winless run at the start of last season stretched out to ten league matches with another poor performance and result against lowly Reading at Loftus Road in November that season. The Royals had already been to W12 and triumphed 3-2 in the League Cup the month before, and those familiar defensive fragilities were on display again when former QPR favourite Kaspars Gorkss scored from a set piece after a quarter of an hour — his second goal in as many appearances against his former employers. Rangers rallied slightly after half time and Djibril Cisse seized on a through ball from Jose Bosingwa to notch an equaliser, but the display and scoreline left a lot to be desired. Things deteriorated further with subsequent defeats against Stoke and Southampton which ultimately saw Mark Hughes sacked as manager.
QPR: Cesar 6, Bosingwa 4, Ferdinand 4, Nelsen 8, Traore 5 (Onuoha 84 -), Hoilett 6, Granero 6, Diakite 7, Taarabt 7, Mackie 5 (Zamore 81,-), Cisse 6
Subs Not Used: Green, Hill, Derry, Wright-Phillips, Faurlin
Goals: Cisse 66 (assisted Bosingwa)
Reading: McCarthy 8, Gunter 6, Morrison 6, Gorkss 7, Shorey 6, McCleary 5 (Kebe 62, 7), Tabb 7, Leigertwood 7, McAnuff 6 (Robson-Kanu 79, 6), Roberts 7 (Le Fondre 88, -), Hunt 6
Subs: Federici, Pearce, Cummings, Pogrebnyak
Goals: Gorkss 16 (assisted Morrison)
Bookings: Hunt 33 (foul), Le Fondre 90 (diving)
QPR 2 Reading 3, Wednesday September 26, 2012, League Cup
After a patchy start to the campaign, QPR’s 2012/13 season really started to come off the rails in September when newly promoted West Ham and Reading both came to Loftus Road and won, scoring six goals between them in the process. The Royals went first, without a win themselves in the league and fielding a mixture of first and reserve teams for a League Cup clash. QPR stuck their first choice 11 out there and seemed to be on course for due reward when Junior Hoilett powered through the visiting defence and scored his first QPR goal. Although Reading subsequently equalised when former QPR defender Kaspars Gorkss headed in a free kick, the home side restored their advantage after half time with a fabulous long range strike from Djibril Cisse. That looked like being that, but a physical Reading side forced their way back in and a mixture of their persistence and QPR’s defensive incompetence allowed first Nicky Shorey to curl in a long range free kick and then Pavel Pogrebnyak to back heel in from close range. The Russian subsequently missed a stoppage time penalty that would have made it 4-2. Reading went on to lose 7-5 to Arsenal in remarkable circumstances in the next round.
QPR: Cesar 6, Dyer 6 (Nelsen 64, 5), Mbia 6, Hill 7, Onuoha 5, Mackie 5, Granero 6, Faurlin 7 (Diakite 87, -), Park 5 (Zamora 67, 6), Hoilett 6, Cisse 6
Subs not used: Green, Derry, Wright Phillips, Ehmer
Goals: Hoilett 14 (unassisted), Cisse 71 (unassisted)
Bookings: Mbia 26 (foul), Cisse 71 (over celebrating)
Reading: McCarthy 7, Cummings 6, Gorkss 7, Mariappa 6 (Morrison 79, -), Shorey 7, Kebe 6 (McCleary 69, 6), Karacan 6, Tabb 6, Robson Kanu 6, Pogrebniak 6, Hunt 7
Subs not used: Taylor, Gunter, McAnuff, Le Fondre, Church
Goals: Gorkss 15 (assisted Shorey), Shorey 76 (unassisted — free kick), Pogrebnyak 81 (assisted Hunt)
Bookings: Kebe 60 (foul), Robson Kanu 84 (dissent)
Reading 0 QPR 1, Friday February 4, 2011, Championship
QPR secured a crucial 1-0 away win at play off chasing Reading in a live Sky match on their way to winning the Championship in 2010/11. This was a game won against the odds as the omnipresent three man refereeing committee that Brian McDermott’s Reading are famed for took control of the game from the appointed official Russell Booth. First Matt Mills deliberately upended Hogan Ephraim on his way through on goal but after the committee surrounded the referee and screamed in his face he escaped with a yellow card when it was an obvious red. Frustrated and wronged, Ephraim lunged into a tackle a moment later and Mills et al surrounded Booth once more and persuaded him to issue a red card. Down to ten against an in form team, QPR dug in and stuck it so far up Mills’ arse you could see it at the back of his throat when Ale Faurlin played Wayne Routledge in with eight minutes left and he took the shot on early, beating Federici who should have done better.
Reading: Federici 5, Griffin 5, Ingimarsson 6, Mills 5, Harte 6, McAnuff 6, Tabb 6 (Robson-Kanu 76, 6), Karacan 6, Kebe 6, Long 5, Church 5 (Manset 68, 7)
Subs Not Used: McCarthy, Gunnarsson, Hunt, Khizanishvili, Cummings
Booked: Griffin (foul), Mills (foul)
QPR: Kenny 8, Orr 7, Connolly 7, Gorkss 7, Hill 7, Routledge 8 (Hall 90, -), Derry 8, Faurlin 9, Ephraim 6, Taarabt 7 (Moen 86, -), Hulse 6 (Miller 66, 7)
Subs Not Used: Cerny, Rowlands, Chimbonda, Shittu
Sent Off: Ephraim 42 (serious foul play)
Booked: Hill (foul), Connolly (foul)
Goals: Routledge 82 (assisted Faurlin)
QPR 3 Reading 1, Saturday November 6, 2010, Championship
Controversial refereeing decisions have punctuated our recent clashes with Reading and it was no different when these sides met at Loftus Road in November 2010. The R’s won 3-1 despite Bradley Orr receiving a straight red card before half time for a tackle on Hal Robson-Kanu that was crude, but barely merited a red. QPR were already in the lead by that stage thanks to a penalty from Adel Taarabt after Brian Howard had hacked him down in the penalty area during a typically mazy dribble. Reading must have fancied their chances against ten men in the second half but Rangers, and Taarabt in particular, were irresistible. Ale Faurlin rammed in a second and Tommy Smith converted after Taarabt’s free kick had been saved either side of a fine goal from Shane Long.
QPR: Kenny 7, Orr 6, Connolly 7, Gorkss 7, Walker 7, Derry 8, Faurlin 9, Mackie 8, Taarabt 9 (Clarke 80, 7), Smith 8 (Ephraim 90, -), Hulse 6 (Agyemang 81, 7)
Subs Not Used: Cerny, Leigertwood, Rowlands, Parker
Sent Off: Orr (serious foul play)
Booked: Derry (ungentlemanly conduct), Clarke (handball)
Goals: Taarabt 27 (penalty won by Taarabt), Faurlin 61 (assisted Mackie), Smith 71 (assisted Taarabt)
Reading: Federici 7, Griffin 6, Khizanishvili 6, Mills 6, Harte 6, McAnuff 5, Tabb 6 (Antonio 81, 6), Karacan 6 (Church 62, 5), Howard 6, Robson-Kanu 7 (Hunt 72, 6), Long 7
Subs Not Used: McCarthy, Cummings, Pearce, Armstrong
Booked: Mills (foul), Karacan (foul), Antonio (foul)
Goals: Long 68 (unassisted)
Reading 1 QPR 0, Tuesday March 16, 2010, Championship
QPR didn’t get the best of luck with refereeing decisions in their two meetings with Reading the previous season either, particularly in the game at the Madejski Stadium where our old friend Gavin Ward was in vintage form with the whistle. At the time both teams were enjoying resurgences under new management with Neil Warnock and Brian McDermott leading their sides up the table after winter relegation fights. Young referee Ward took centre stage by sending Damion Stewart off just before half time under heavy duress from Reading ’s three man refereeing committee and then awarding the Royals a late penalty which was converted by Gylfi Sigudsson for a 1-0 win.
Reading: Federici, Griffin , Mills, Ingimarsson, Bertrand, Kebe,Tabb, Sigurdsson, Howard (Rasiak 61), McAnuff, Long (Church 67)
Subs Not Used: Hamer, Gunnarsson, Matejovsky, Robson-Kanu, Khizanishvili
Booked: Rasiak (diving)
Goals: Sigurdsson 85 (penalty)
QPR: Ikeme 7, Connolly 7, Stewart 6, Gorkss 8, Hill 7, Faurlin 7, Leigertwood 6, Priskin 6 (German 87), Taarabt 7 (Ramage 80, -), Ephraim 6 (Cook 90, -), Simpson 7
Subs Not Used: Cerny, Cook, Vine, Buzsaky, Borrowdale
Booked: Faurlin (foul), Leigertwood (repetitive fouling), Hill (foul), Connolly (dissent)
Sent Off: Stewart (two bookings — foul, obstructing goalkeeper)
Head to Head >>> QPR wins 28 >>> Draws 21 >>> Reading wins 38
2015/16 QPR 1 Reading 1 (Hall)
2015/16 Reading 0 QPR 1 (Onuoha)
2013/14 QPR 3 Reading 1 (Doyle)
2013/14 Reading 1 QPR 1 (Barton)
2012/13 QPR 1 Reading 1 (Cisse)
2012/13 QPR 2 Reading 3** (Hoilett, Cisse)
2010/11 Reading 0 QPR 1 (Routledge)
2010/11 QPR 3 Reading 1 (Taarabt, Faurlin, Smith)
2009/10 Reading 1 QPR 0
2009/10 QPR 4 Reading 1 (Buzsaky, Simpson, Vine, Agyemang)
2008/09 QPR 0 Reading 0
2008/09 Reading 0 QPR 0
2005/06 Reading 2 QPR 1 (Furlong)
2005/06 QPR 1 Reading 2 (Cook)
2004/05 QPR 0 Reading 0
2004/05 Reading 1 QPR 0
2001/02 Reading 1 QPR 0
2001/02 QPR 0 Reading 0
1997/98 QPR 1 Reading 1 (Spencer)
1997/98 Reading 1 QPR 2 (Spencer, Swales og)
1996/97 QPR 0 Reading 2
1996/97 Reading 2 QPR 1 (Spencer)
1966/67 QPR 2 Reading 1 (Marsh, R Morgan)
1966/67 Reading 2 QPR 2 ( Langley pen, I Morgan)
1965/66 Reading 2 QPR 1
1965/66 QPR 0 Reading 2
1964/65 Reading 4 QPR 0**
1964/65 Reading 5 QPR 3 (Keen 2, Bedford)
1964/65 QPR 0 Reading 1
1963/64 QPR 4 Reading 2 (Bedford, Kean, Leary, Vafiadis)
1963/64 Reading 1 QPR 2 (McLeod 2)
1962/63 Reading 1 QPR 1 ( Bedford )
1962/63 QPR 3 Reading 2 (Large, Collins, Malcolm)
1961/62 Reading 0 QPR 2 (Towers 2)
1961/62 QPR 3 Reading 6 (Lazarus 2, Angell)
1960/61 Reading 3 QPR 1 (Longbottom)
1960/61 QPR 5 Reading 2 (Bedford 2, Lazarus 2, Barber)
1959/60 Reading 2 QPR 0
1959/60 QPR 2 Reading 0 (Andrews, Bedford )
1958/59 QPR 2 Reading 0 (Kerrins, Pearson)
1958/59 Reading 2 QPR 2 (Longbottom 2)
1957/58 QPR 3 Reading 0 (Woods, Longbottom, Petchey)
1957/58 Reading 3 QPR 0
1956/57 QPR 1 Reading 1 (Peacock)
1956/57 Reading 1 QPR 0
1955/56 Reading 3 QPR 1 (Cameron)
1955/56 QPR 3 Reading 3 (Smith 2, Angell)
1954/55 Reading 3 QPR 1 (Kerrins)
1954/55 QPR 2 Reading 3 (Shepherd, Smith)
1953/54 QPR 2 Reading 0 (Smith, Tomkys)
1953/54 Reading 3 QPR 1 (Shepherd)
1952/53 Reading 2 QPR 0
1952/53 QPR 1 Reading 0 ( Harrison )
1947/48 QPR 2 Reading 0 (Boxshall, Hatton)
1947/48 Reading 3 QPR 2 (Durrant, Boxshall)
1946/47 Reading 1 QPR 0
1946/47 QPR 2 Reading 0 (Heath, McEwen)
1938/39 QPR 2 Reading 2 (Bott, Devine)
1938/39 Reading 2 QPR 4 (Fitzgerlad 2, Bott, Fulwood og)
1937/38 QPR 3 Reading 0 (Fitzgerald 2, Stock)
1937/38 Reading 1 QPR 0
1936/37 Reading 2 QPR 0
1936/37 QPR 0 Reading 0
1935/36 QPR 0 Reading 1
1935/36 Reading 1 QPR 2 (Cheetham 2)
1934/35 Reading 0 QPR 0
1934/35 QPR 2 Reading 0 (Dutton, Watson)
1933/34 Reading 5 QPR 0
1933/34 QPR 0 Reading 0
1932/33 Reading 3 QPR 1 (Goddard)
1932/33 QPR 0 Reading 3
1931/32 QPR 2 Reading 0 (Wiles 2)
1931/32 Reading 3 QPR 2 (Blackman 2)
1925/26 Reading 2 QPR 1 (Burgess)
1925/26 QPR 1 Reading 2 ( Campbell )
1924/25 QPR 1 Reading 0 (Johnson)
1924/25 Reading 2 QPR 1 (Hart)
1923/24 Reading 4 QPR 0
1923/24 QPR 1 Reading 4 (Birch)
1922/23 Reading 0 QPR 0
1922/23 QPR 1 Reading 0 ( Davis )
1921/22 QPR 1 Reading 1 (Birch)
1921/22 Reading 0 QPR 1 (Gregory)
1920/21 Reading 0 QPR 0
1920/21 QPR 2 Reading 0 (Gregory, Smith)
1907/08 QPR 1 Reading 0* (Barnes)
* - FA Cup
** - League Cup
Brian Bedford >>> QPR 1959-1965 >>> Reading 1954-1955
Welsh born centre forward with an astonishing goal scoring record during his six years with QPR — second only to George Goddard in Rangers’ all-time scoring charts.
Bedford initially attracted the attention of Charlton while in the RAF but went on to make only a handful of appearances for Reading and Southampton as a youngster before catching QPR’s eye with 32 league goals in 75 appearances along the south coast at Bournemouth.
Alec Stock paid a whopping £750 to bring him to Loftus Road from Dean Court and he proceeded to terrorise the Third Division over the coming years. He scored 180 goals for Rangers in 283 appearances, including seven against Bournemouth in meetings with his former employers.
In 1960/61 he scored 37 goals in 48 appearances but QPR narrowly missed out on promotion into the Second Division. Two seasons after he left for Scunthorpe Stock’s QPR side cruised to the title and League Cup success while Bedford scored a respectable 23 goals in 37 appearances for the Iron in 1965/66. He spent our double year down the road at Brentford before winding down his football career with the Atlanta Chiefs. He retired from the game aged 36 and then went on to be a professional tennis player for the next 17 years.
Bedford said: "I didn't pick up a tennis racket until I was 33, when I was playing football in the American league for Atlanta and living in Williamsburg. Some friends over there got me hooked on tennis and I carried on playing when I got back from England. After I retried in 1968 I got all the necessary tennis coaching qualifications and turned pro in 1970. I carried on in tennis until my knees have out but I spent a very happy 17 years coaching at the Barn Elms Sports Centre in Barnes.
"When I signed for QPR, Alec Stock had just been named as the new manager. I travelled up to West London to be interviewed by the Club and Alec said: 'You'll score 30 goals a year for me son.’ Just like that! So I said 'You're joking?' as my record down at Bournemouth was something like 32 goals over three years. But Alec said 'Yes you will!' And he wasn't far wrong, was he? Alec played a big part in my goal scoring. We used to play with those old fashioned players called wingers. We always seemed to get good wide men at the club like Mark Lazarus who could provide excellent crosses. So I was the benefactor of that.
"I recall that the top wage in the Third Division - which Rangers were in at the time - was about £35 to £40 a week. Ridiculous really, but it was still much better than the average working man's salary. Not only that, as far as I was concerned I was getting paid for something I loved doing. That was a big thing for me.
"Jim Gregory was appointed as chairman of QPR and he started pouring some money in with new players being signed. Unfortunately, I was just starting to go a little bit over the hill as far as age was concerned. I was nearly 32 years old then. The club had to offload some of the playing staff and I was one of them, I'm afraid. I had six very happy seasons at Rangers. Then they transferred me to that Godforsaken place called Scunthorpe. I don't think Alec Stock wanted me to sign for any other London team or any nearby club in case I embarrassed him. It was very sad. I didn't like leaving Loftus Road. But you have to move on don't you? That's life."
He worked later as a tennis coach, and the stadium manager at Loftus Road, before returning to Wales for his retirement.
A more fulsome interview with Brian is available on the always excellent QPRNet.com website.
Others >>> Jamie Mackie, QPR 2015-present, 2010-2013, Reading (loan) 2014-2015 >>> Stephen Kelly, Reading 2003-2005, QPR (loan) 2003 >>> Alex McCarthy, QPR 2014-2015, Reading 2007-2014 >>> Kevin Doyle, QPR (loan) 2014, Reading 2005-2009 >>> Anton Ferdinand, Reading 2014-2016, QPR 2011-2013 >>> Matt Connolly, Reading (loan) 2012, QPR 2008-2012 >>> Kaspars Gorkss, Reading 2011-2015, QPR 2008-2011 >>> Mikele Leigertwood, Reading 2010-2014, QPR 2008-2011 >>> Jamie Cureton, QPR 2004-2005, Reading 2000-2003 >>> Tony Thorpe, QPR 2003-2005, Reading (loan) 1998 >>> Steve Morrow, QPR 1997-2001, Reading (loan) 1991 >>> Les Ferdinand, Reading 2005, QPR 1987-1995 >>> Simon Osborn, QPR 1995, Reading 1994-1995 >>> Michael Meaker, Reading 1995-1998, QPR 1990-1995 >>> Brian Bedford, QPR 1959-1965, Reading 1954-1955
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