Two Years Ago Today: QPR's Home Loss to Leicester - Ian Holloway's Last Home Game in Charge

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January 31, 2006, was Ian Holloway's last time he was in charge of a game at Loftus Road as QPR lost 3-2 to Leicester. The following week, QPR played and lost at Leeds, with five players (three loans) making their debuts. It was announced that Ian Holloway had been placed on "gardening leave," after having expressed an interest in the Leicester City managerial job. (Prior to that Leeds game, Ian Holloway reportedly heard - not directy from QPR - that he was out. The official announcement was made a couple of days later)

That Last Home Game: January 31, 2006: QPR 2 Leicester 3
QPR - Royce, Bignot, Shittu, Santos, Rose - Ainsworth, Lomas, Langley, Cook - Furlong, Nygaard. (subs) Moore, Kus, Taylor, Donnelly, Baidoo.
Leicester - Douglas, Stearman, McCarthy, Kisnorbo, Johansson - Maybury, Williams, Gudjonsson, Hughes - Hume, Fryatt. (sub) Hammond, Wesolowski, Gerrbrand, Smith, O'Grady.
QPR: Ainsworth (6) Shittu (83)
Leicester Fryatt (10), Stearman (79), Hughes (88)
Match Details

Sporting Life - Match Report: QPR 2 Leicester 3
Stephen Hughes struck a late winner to hand managerless Leicester a crucial three points in their fight against relegation as they beat QPR 3-2.

Dan Shittu's 82nd-minute equaliser looked to have earned QPR a point after Richard Stearman had put Leicester 2-1 up, but Hughes' 88th-minute effort gave caretaker-boss Rob Kelly victory in his first Coca-Cola Championship match since replacing the sacked Craig Levein.

The game looked to be heading for a 1-1 draw thanks to first-half goals from Gareth Ainsworth and Matty Fryatt, but the game exploded into life, with the final three goals coming in the last 11 minutes to give Leicester only their second away win in the league this term.

Kelly's team - who won at Loftus Road for the first time since September 1986 - made the worst possible start to the match by going behind in the sixth minute.

Richard Langley played the ball left to Lee Cook, who was allowed the time and space to pick out Ainsworth, who had moved into the penalty area from the right and rose unchallenged to head into Rab Douglas' top-right corner from 10 yards.

Leicester looked dispirited - but they were gifted an equaliser four minutes later thanks to some awful Rangers defending.

Fryatt shook off Marcus Bignot on the left and got the better of Shittu inside the penalty area before firing past Simon Royce from eight yards.

In the 20th minute, Joey Gudjonsson robbed the dawdling Langley in midfield and fed Fryatt on the right.

The former Walsall player curled over a fine cross that Royce did well to push away from danger.

Neither defence looked comfortable, and in the 27th minute Alan Maybury cleared the ball from under his own bar after Paul Furlong had beaten keeper Douglas to another Cook cross.

Maybury was involved at the other end six minutes before half-time, striking a sweet effort that drew another smart stop from Royce.

Cook was proving QPR's main creative source, and in the 42nd minute he swung over a free-kick from the right that Furlong headed goalwards but that was deflected narrowly wide.

The game appeared to be going nowhere, until Leicester substitute James Wesolowski sent over a perfect right-wing cross for the unmarked Stearman to volley past Royce from five yards, 11 minutes from the end.

Three minutes later, Leicester were pegged back when Shittu headed in Cook's free-kick but, with time running out, Stearman collected Gudjonsson's through-ball and cut it back for Hughes to tap into the empty net. Sporting Life

IAN HOLLOWAY POST-MATCH COMMENTS
TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE
Ian Holloway has labelled the defeat to Leicester City as 'totally unacceptable.'"It' s hard to express just how dissapointed I am. Tonight was totally unacceptable. There were some individual performances that were unacceptable.
"The back line were shocking. I stuck with them after Luton and have they have done well for me, but that was awful. I've never seen so many errors in all my life. I've made one or two acquistions, I'll work with them and think about changing it about because that was unacceptable.''
Holloway had seen his Rangers side take the lead through Gareth Ainsworth with just five minutes on the clock, but a quick response from Matty Fryatt five minutes later levelled the scores.Richard Stearman's 79th minute strike gave Leicester the lead for the first time in the game, but despite Dan Shitttu's header nine minutes from time, it was Leicester who went home with the three points.As the clock ticked down, Leicester struck again through Stephen Hughes to kill any chance Rangers may have had of stealing the three points."I think our expectations need looking at. We need to take a right good look at ourselves. What investment have we had? What have we spent? How many injuries have we got. Gallen, Bircham, Rowlands, they're all quality players and I think we need to get real.
"I don't make excuses for my team, but tonight was unacceptable. That's the worst I've seen a lot of my players play for this club. It was a terrible night.'' QPR

Ian Holloway -.BEN KOSKY, KILBURN TIMES
".... "I've never seen such a spate of mistakes," Holloway declared. "It wasn't just one person - nearly every single one of my players played the wrong pass and our clearances were diabolical.
"That was my back four, that I've had for a while and I've showed faith in. But on this showing, it was back to the drawing board. Mentally, they looked the weakest team I've ever had.
"I've asked them all to go home and work out why they were so nervous or frustrated. That wasn't acceptable and it'll have to be changed - we looked like the side who were 13 points behind the other.
"For the first time, I can probably pick a whole new back four, if I want.
We've got some new people and maybe I'm going to have to work with them and get them out there." Kilburn Times