QPR vs WBA: Recent and Past Encounters

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Past QPR vs WBA Encounters

For QPR fans (and probably for WBA fans): Two obvious encounters in particular stand out: The 1967 League Cup Final and the 1982 FA Cup Semi-Final. QPR of course, winning both.

Earlier this season, QPR were crushed 5-1 by WBA. That game on the last day of September left QPR at the bottom of the table and the only team in the four divisions yet to have a won a game: QPR had 3 points from 7 games. Next came Sheffield Wednesday with 6 points from 8 games.
QPR's team vs WBA:
Queen's Park Rangers (4-4-2): Camp; Rehman (Curtis, h-t), Cullip, Stewart, Barker (Bignot, 60); Ainsworth, Rowlands, Bolder, Moore; Blackstock, Sahar (Ephraim, 60). Substitutes not used: Cole (gk), Timoska.
West Bromwich Albion (4-4-2): Kiely; Hoefkens, Barnett, Albrechtsen, Robinson; Morrison, Koren, Greening (Gera, 67), Teixeira (Brunt, 63); Phillips (Beattie, 67), Miller. Substitutes not used: Steele (gk), Pele.
Match reports of that game "QPR's WBA Hamering -
and "WBA Defeat QPR

The WBA game was manager John Gregory's last game in charge. The following day, Gregory was fired, with Mick Harford appointed caretaker manager, and a host of big names linked to the club. "The Times - Queens Park Rangers sack manager John Gregory"

Other QPR-WBA connections:
Clive Clark is probably the most famous ex-QPR player who played for WBA (including 2 goals in the Wembley final). QPR also sold to WBA in 1969 a brilliant youngster, Alan Glover, who cost WBA a then big, big fee of 70,000 pounds after playing just seven games for QPR. Danny Shittu almost joined WBA before joining Watford. Australian defender, Andrew McDermott went to WBA from QPR. And of course QPR "stole" manager Ray Harford from WBA in December 1997. He never actually played for QPR, but WBA's Neil Clement, set to make his 300th appearance is of course the son of QPR's much-loved David Clement.

LEAGUE CUP 1967Forty-one years ago, QPR won at Wembley.... March 4 1967: Photo

---Video of Marsh's '67 goal - A Few second video at about 25 second mark. More Extensive Video of all three 1967 QPR goals (starting at about 3 minutes 55 seconds into the video.)
[Note: Feel free to post or Email at Qprreport@hotmail.com any other '67 video links. Thanks!]

QPR Team:
(Peter) Springett -Langley, Hunt, Sibley, Hazell
Lazarus, Sanderson,Keen (Roger) Morgan - Marsh, Allen"
(Unused) Sub- Ian Morgan
WBA Team: Sheppard - Cram Collard Foggo Jones (c) Fraser Brown Astle Kaye Hope
Clark

And a special note to Ian Watson who played in four of QPR's League Cup games that season but is usually not remembered/considered part of QPR's League Cup Triumph.
The Managerial Team: Alec Stock and Bill Dodgin
The Chairman: Jim Gregory

See WIkipedia/QPR-WBA

PHOTOS
1967 Programme - Programme
1966-67 Team Photo Photo Photo
Cup Triumph Photo - Photo
1967 Team Photo (almost) Team
Photos of Many of the players from that yearPhotos

QPR's Path To Wembley - League Cup Final Programme

Wikipedia Match Report
The 1967 Football League Cup Final took place on 4 March 1967 at Wembley Stadium. It was the seventh final and the first to be played at Wembley. It was contested between Queens Park Rangers of the Third Division and West Bromwich Albion of the First.

WBA were hot favourites to win, led by centre forward Jeff Astle. It was QPR's first ever appearance at Wembley, their star man was Rodney Marsh.

WBA started strongly with former QPR winger Clive Clark scoring twice to give WBA a 2-0 half time lead. In a fairy tale 2nd half, the underdogs stormed back. First Roger Morgan scored with a header. Then Rodney Marsh went on a mazy run, eluding tackles, and shot in off the post past keeper Dick Sheppard. In the closing minutes QPR centre half Ron Hunt went on a forward run and as he challenged the keeper for the ball it ran loose to Mark Lazarus to score the winning goal. Mike Keen lifted the cup to thousands of cheering Rangers fans" - Wikipedia

Carling Classic Finals - 1967 Classic Finals: Part One
1967: Queens Park Rangers 3 West Bromwich Albion 2

Interest in the League Cup was dwindling by 1967 and the Football League decided that to renew interest in England's second biggest cup competition, some changes needed to be made. Out went the two-legged final and in game a one-off finale, staged at the home of football, Wembley. Also, the winners (providing they were a First Division club) would be guaranteed European football in the Fairs Cup (now the UEFA Cup) the following season.

But a determined band of brothers from west London had other ideas as they hijacked the revitalised tournament. And so it was that Third Division QPR, with the likes of Les Allen, Jim Langley and the legendary Rodney Marsh in the side, waltzed all the way to the final and once there produced another great upset - just as they had done all season.

Former Rangers striker Clive Clark bagged a brace for West Brom in the first half to give the Baggies a two goal lead at half-time. But the Rs refused to lie down and they stunned the Midlanders with a breathtaking second half performance.

Roger Morgan scored just a few minutes after the restart to make it 2-1 and then, with 15 minutes of normal time remaining, Marsh produced a magnificent piece of skill, running through the Albion defence and levelling for the Londoners. And then, in the dying moments, Mark Lazarus completed a remarkable comeback and ensured Rangers made history as the first division three team to lift the League Cup.

They were refused entry into the Fairs Cup because of their lowly league status, but still had plenty to celebrate as they also won the Third Division title that season.
Carling

Some of the Heroes:
See:
Ron Norris/QPR Net 2002 Interview with Rodney Marsh - Rodney Marsh
Ron Norris/QPRNet 2003 Interview with Roger and Ian Morgan - Morgan Interview
Ron Norris/QPR Net 2003 Interview with Frank Sibley - Sibley

Dave's Queens Park Rangers FC Site Profile of Alec Stock - Alec Stock
Dave's Queens Park Rangers FC Site Profile of Jim Gregory-
Jim Gregory

Carling: Carling Cup History "...The romance for the smaller clubs returned with the Wembley ticket: in 1967, a young Rodney Marsh helped QPR on the way to their first proper piece of silverware. They beat West Brom 3-2 and, in the process, became the first Third Division club to win a major trophy. The Super Hoops added to their haul a few weeks later by picking up the Third Division title too. The League Cup was fast becoming the 'Lucky Cup'.
The fact that 98,000 fans packed into Wembley for the 1967 final was conclusive proof that the League Cup was now extremely popular. In just seven years it had earned the right to stand alongside the FA Cup as a showpiece final. In every subsequent year, Wembley would be a sell-out.Carling

1967 Team - "Where Are They Now" - From 2003 Sunday Times
Caught In Time QPR win League Cup, 1967 by Greg Struthers

A quiet revolution was taking place in west London in the mid-1960s. A dapper former army major called Alec Stock was putting together a Queens Park Rangers football team that was ready to challenge the cream of the country.

Stock had developed a fine youth scheme since taking over in 1959, and when Jim Gregory was appointed club chairman in March 1965, the manager was given money to spend on new players. Striker Les Allen was enticed from Tottenham, the experienced Jim Langley was bought from Fulham, and a fee of only 15,000 pounds was paid to Craven Cottage for striker Rodney Marsh, probably the most famous player to don blue-and-white hoops.

Under the astute management of Stock and coach Bill Dodgin, the experience and talent blended well, with young lads breaking into the first team such as Dave Clement, Frank Sibley, Tony Hazell and the Morgan twins, Ian and Roger.

"The young players would inspire each other," recalls Roger Morgan. "There were about five or six of us who had grown up together, and there was tremendous team spirit.

Alec was prepared to put his faith in youth, but we learnt from the experienced players around us." Mike Keen, the club captain, has fond memories of his time at Loftus Road. "Even though we were in the Third Division, we were playing some quality football, and there was a good attitude in the team," he says. They showed the nation how good they really were on a crisp, frosty March 4, 1967.

The football hierarchy was concerned about the diminishing value of the League Cup in the eyes of the leading clubs. So it decided that the final would be staged at Wembley and that the winning First Division club would qualify for the European Fairs Cup.

Queens Park Rangers scuppered those plans. They marched cornfortably into the final, then came from two goals down at half-time to upset First Division West Bromwich Albion, winning 3-2.

Clive Clark, a former QPR player, scored both goals for West Brom, but the Rangers players were not concerned at half-time. "We had come back from 2-0 down in other games that season and were told to simply go out and enjoy the. day," says Keen.

Enjoy it they did. Roger Morgan scored after the restart, and 15 minutes from the end, Marsh set off on a trademark mazy dribble that ended with a brilliant solo goal, his shot going in off the post. Late in the game, Mark Lazarus scored the winner.

Rangers were denied a place in Europe, but were more than satisfied with their season. They won the Third Division by 12 points, and the following year were promoted to the top flight for the first time in their history.

1 Ron Hunt (QPR)
One of the products of the club's youth scheme, Hunt made his name as a solid centre-half. He became a squash coach after retiring from football, but knee injuries suffered earlier in his career forced him to quit. He lives near Reading and works for a petro-chemical company based in London.

2 Les Allen (QPR)
A striker in Tottenham's Doublewinning side of 1960-61, Allen moved to QPR for 21,000 pounds in July 1965. "I met Jim Gregory, the chairman, and he laid out the plans about what they wanted to do. I was impressed, even though they were in the Third Division," recalls Allen. "It was quite a change. When I started, we were only getting gates of 3,000 or 4,000 people, but that trebled when we began to get results". Allen became player-manager in December 1968 after the premature departure of Stock and the stormy 28-day reign of the colourful Scot Tommy Docherty. However, the club was relegated, and he moved on to manage Swindon, then spent time in Greece.
He then became a professional model-maker. Allen, who recently underwent hip replacement surgery, is retired and lives in Brentwood.

3 Roger Morgan (Tottenham Hotspur)
Another of the young players who came through QPR's youth scheme, Morgan was a speedy right-winger who played in 180 games for Rangers, scoring 39 goals. He then joined Tottenham, where he scored eight goals in 68 games. Although he scored a goal in the final, he does not remember the game well. "I was only 20 years old, and it went so quickly that I did not have time to savour it," he says. "But we were on the crest of a wave." After battling with injuries for four years, he was forced to quit s football at 26. He went to college and earned a degree in leisure studies.

After working as a recreation officer for Haringey council in London for 11 years, Morgan joined West Ham United and has run their football in the community scheme for 12 years. There are 125,000 children in the Essex and Hertfordshire area who take part in the project, and he feeds the best of them into the West Ham Academy. "It's nice to be giving something back to the game," he says.

4 Ian Morgan (QPR)
A wing forward like his twin brother, Roger, Ian also joined the club through the youth ranks. He signed for Watford after a successful spell at QPR, but was forced to quit football at 28 because of injury. He moved to Norway, where he coached for five years. On his return to Britain, he went into the leisure industry , teaching football and tennis in schools. Morgan lives in east London and helps his brother in the football in the community scheme at West Ham.

5 Mike Keen (Luton Town)
One of the old school of half-backs Keen was a skilful player who enjoyed delivering long passes, and he was a strong, clinical tackler. He was a QPR stalwart who joined the club in 1958, and played in 393 League matches. After a change of managers, he moved to Luton before finishing his playing career at Watford. He was appointed manager at Vicarage Road and enjoyed four years at the club, where he set about engendering the spirit he had experienced as a player at Loftus Road. He managed Northampton for a year before taking charge of Wycombe part-time and then Marlow while he concentrated on running Sport and Ski, a shop in Wycombe. He lives in Flackwell Heath in Buckinghamshire, and is manager of a shop in Oxfordshire that sells outdoor gear and ski equipment.

6 Tony Hazell (QPR)
A right-back who joined the club as a 15-year-old apprentice, Hazell admits that he did not have a great final. But he enjoyed his time at QPR, although he admits "football was nowhere near as intense as it is today". He later joined Millwall. and then spent three years at Charlton.
When he hung up his boots, he became an insurance salesman for three or four years, then went into property maintenance. He lives at Flackwell Heath, the same village as his former captain, and is a technician for BT, specialising in fibre optics.

7 Peter Springett (Sheffield Wednesday)
A member of the Springett goalkeeping family, Peter played an important role in the success of QPR, while his brother Ron stood between the posts for Sheffield Wednesday and won 33 caps for England. When he quit football, Peter joined the police force In Sheffield. He died after a short illness about four years ago.

Taken from this site: Where are they now


1982 the 1982 Cup Semi Final Team Vs WBA
April 3, 1982: QPR's Team against WBA
Hucker
Gillard Hazell Roeder Fenwick
Flanagan Waddock Currie Micklewhite
Allen Stainrod

WBA had Andy King and Cyrel Regis in their team.
WBA - Grew, Batson, Statham, Zondervan, Wile, Robertson, Bennett, King, Regis, Cross, Mackenzie. - Owen (sub)


Express and Star - Semi-final just a blur for Bob

He was the Baggies fan who broke the hearts of the Albion throng. But Bob Hazell still can’t remember a thing about it.

The club return to the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday 26 years since their last appearance ended in the calamity of defeat to a then Championship level Queen’s Park Rangers.

And although one of the capital’s famous goalscoring sons, Clive Allen, struck the goal that took Rangers to the final, no player did more to sink the Baggies that day than Hazell.

Former Villa manager John Gregory was in the Rangers midfield in those days but, ineligible for the semi, watched the Highbury contest from the QPR dugout. And his eyes rarely strayed from the central confrontation on which the semi-final hinged.

“To be honest, it was a pretty crap match,” Gregory says. “But if you are going to speak to one man about that game it has to be Bob. He won it for us.”

Why the reverence for the central defender? Because Hazell produced arguably the game of his career to nullify Albion legend Cyrille Regis, who at that time was in all his pomp and one of the most feared strikers in the top flight.

Albion would ultimately be grateful for Regis for scoring the goals that would keep them in the division but they hoped his pace and power would also see them through to Wembley. Hazell made sure it was not to be.

“Yeh that’s true,” says Regis. “I was flying at the time, I had 24 or 25 goals. And Bob has told me since how he was singled out to stop me.

“Bob was a powerful player like me and he had a great game, he was on form that day. I can only remember getting a half chance. He matched me wherever I went and we kind of nullified each other. He also clattered Andy King – nothing illegal – with a challenge and he had to go off which also upset our rhythm.

“But there is a message there for any team. You’ve got to have more than one match winner. I was playing well at the time and I am not saying everybody wasn’t playing well but Rangers were right. If you stopped me scoring they would have a good chance.”

Hazell is now a Birmingham-based 48-year-old Sports Prevention Manager working to help rehabilitate young offenders through sport. But despite memorable spells at Molineux, where he became the first black player to score for Wolves, and then Port Vale and Leicester, no game defines him quite like that heartbreaking day for Albion.

A pity then, it’s all still a bit of a blur.

“You will find this hard to believe but the truth is I can barely remember one or two incidents from that game,” says Hazell.

“It was one of those matches where I concentrated so hard that even when the final whistle went I didn’t realise it was the end of the game.

“But, at that time, Cyrille was ripping up trees, he was really doing the business and I remember vividly the team meeting beforehand. Terry Venables (QPR manager) looked at me at that meeting and said: ‘Bob, if you can look after Cyrille, we have got a good chance here.’

“Although Cyrille and I were and are good friends that was my mission for the day. For the day? It felt like it was my life’s mission. And from the time we walked out on to the pitch to after the match had been finished, barely a couple of things have ever come back to me.

“I can remember the lead up to our goal although I can’t remember how the ball came in my direction. They showed it on TV last week but the clip was so short I still couldn’t remember how it got there.

“The only other thing I can remember is right at the finish, we won a free-kick and I tried to be clever and waste a little more time by kicking the ball forward. The ref realised what I was up to and decided to teach me a lesson and said ‘Right, play on.’ Derek Statham jumped on to it but just as he made his play, the final whistle went.

“Tony Currie came up to me and shouted ‘Bob, Bob, you did ••••••• great!’ I don’t think I responded. I was still in the ‘zone’.”

In fact, it wasn’t until the following day when another legendary local figure came to take his pal out for a celebration that the enormity of the occasion struck home.

“I was back home – and I remember this bit clearly – that me and my great friend George Berry were out for a drive on the Sunday afternoon.

“We were somewhere in the country and I was looking at the trees flying by and I suddenly said to George: ‘Blimey, I’m going to Wembley. I’m going to be in the FA Cup final.’ And suddenly it all struck home. That FA Cup final was everything to me. As a kid I was an absolute fanatic up at 9am to watch the coverage begin.

“I remember all of that. And now I was going to be there. I really started to take it all in.

“Normally I can go through a game 100 times in detail and remember all the moments, recount them and replay them. But I think that match was just so intense and marking Cyrille was such a challenge.

“We’ve spoken about it many times, shared a stage together and talked about it, been away together and people have brought it up. It did mean a great deal to me.

“I had been brought up as an Albion fan and that day I was playing against some of my heroes. John Wile was in the side and I had watched him from the terraces. Tony Brown and Ally Rob . . . it was a big thing for me.

“And when I was at Wolves, I used to sneak away and watch Albion play.

“I was always a little disappointed that Albion never came in for me as a schoolboy but at that time, a lot of people would have struggled to get in there.

“To play against them and turn them over made that day all the more memorable and all I can say is ‘Thank God’ for that memory.”

Ultimately, Hazell finished empty-handed as Spurs won the final after a replay but he does not believe that should deter the focus Albion place on Saturday’s meeting with Portsmouth.

“It’s alright saying promotion is more important but if your team is good - and Albion’s is - the odds that you can get up the following year are still very good,” he insists.

“You can’t say that for the Cup. It could be an age before Albion are here again. And often when you look at teams getting promoted when they are not ready, they have all sorts of problems.

“They don’t say ‘Well, we did well to even get here’. It all implodes and they can easily end up going down a couple of divisions.

“But any player who has walked out there for the final will remember it forever. I got promoted with QPR and that was terrific but it still doesn’t match playing in the FA Cup final. And I was on the losing side! Had we beaten Spurs, they would still be trying to drag me down from the clouds now.”

Unfortunately, his head overrules his heart when he looks to Saturday’s contest and the possibility of the Baggies enduring another FA Cup semi disappointment to go with the setbacks of 1969, 1978 and 82.

He adds: “Portsmouth are a really powerful team. When you are the lower division side, the one thing that you hope for in Cup ties is that physical edge.

“You like to play a Tottenham where you know they are going to be very skilful but you might have the edge in muscle, aggression and work rate. That isn’t the case here and Albion are going to have their work cut out.

“I don’t know whether it’s bravado in Albion saying the league is more important. Personally, I don’t like that talk. For Pompey, winning the FA Cup is everything. And that could also make a difference.

“I would love to see Albion do it, it would be terrific for this area no matter what the Wolves fans think! But if I had any money I would have to put it on Pompey. Express and Star


And the manager:

BBC - Friday, December 5, 1997 - Baggies allow Harford move
West Bromwich Albion manager Ray Harford is set to join Queens Park Rangers after the clubs reached an agreement outside the High Court.
West Brom had been due to go before a judge in chambers for an injunction to prevent Harford from moving.
It followed Harford's decision to resign late on Wednesday evening, saying he wanted to be nearer his Surrey home.
But after discussions outside court, the two First Division clubs issued a joint statement that they had reached an "amicable agreement", as a result of which Harford was free to join QPR.
It means he should be in charge of the West London team for Saturday's home game against Sunderland.
Harford had never signed a contract at the Hawthorns, but Albion wanted compensation from QPR for the loss of their manager. Harford transformed the Baggies from relegation candidates into promotion challengers during his 10-month spell in charge.
He moved to Albion after resigning from Blackburn Rovers in October 1996 with the Premier League club bottom without a win in 10 matches. BBC



Complete List of Past Encounters

From Soccerbase -

2007/2008
Football League Championship West Bromwich Albion 5-1 Queen's Park Rangers 30-09-2007

2006/2007
Football League Championship Queen's Park Rangers 1-2 West Bromwich Albion 31-03-2007
Football League Championship West Bromwich Albion 3-3 Queen's Park Rangers 31-10-2006

2000/2001
Football League Championship Queen's Park Rangers 2-0 West Bromwich Albion 13-01-2001
Football League Championship West Bromwich Albion 2-1 Queen's Park Rangers 28-08-2000

1999/2000
Football League Championship Queen's Park Rangers 0-0 West Bromwich Albion 29-04-2000
Football League Championship West Bromwich Albion 0-1 Queen's Park Rangers 19-10-1999

1998/1999
Football League Championship Queen's Park Rangers 2-1 West Bromwich Albion 10-04-1999
Football League Championship West Bromwich Albion 2-0 Queen's Park Rangers 21-10-1998

1997/1998
Football League Championship West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Queen's Park Rangers 14-02-1998
Football League Championship Queen's Park Rangers 2-0 West Bromwich Albion 13-09-1997

1996/1997
Football League Championship West Bromwich Albion 4-1 Queen's Park Rangers 28-12-1996
Football League Championship Queen's Park Rangers 0-2 West Bromwich Albion 07-09-1996

1985/1986
English Division 1 (old) Queen's Park Rangers 1-0 West Bromwich Albion 12-04-1986
English Division 1 (old) West Bromwich Albion 0-1 Queen's Park Rangers 09-11-1985

1984/1985
English Division 1 (old) West Bromwich Albion 0-0 Queen's Park Rangers 26-01-1985
English Division 1 (old) Queen's Park Rangers 3-1 West Bromwich Albion 25-08-1984

1983/1984
English Division 1 (old) Queen's Park Rangers 1-1 West Bromwich Albion 07-05-1984
English Division 1 (old) West Bromwich Albion 1-2 Queen's Park Rangers 10-12-1983

1982/1983
English FA Cup West Bromwich Albion 3-2 Queen's Park Rangers --

1981/1982
English FA Cup Queen's Park Rangers 1-0 West Bromwich Albion 03-04-1982

1978/1979
English Division 1 (old) West Bromwich Albion 2-1 Queen's Park Rangers 24-03-1979
English Division 1 (old) Queen's Park Rangers 0-1 West Bromwich Albion 22-08-1978

1977/1978
English Division 1 (old) West Bromwich Albion 2-0 Queen's Park Rangers 22-03-1978
English Division 1 (old) Queen's Park Rangers 2-1 West Bromwich Albion 29-10-1977

1976/1977
English Division 1 (old) West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Queen's Park Rangers 12-02-1977
English Division 1 (old) Queen's Park Rangers 1-0 West Bromwich Albion 04-09-1976

1972/1973
English League Cup West Bromwich Albion 2-1 Queen's Park Rangers --

1968/1969
English Division 1 (old) Queen's Park Rangers 0-4 West Bromwich Albion 26-12-1968
English Division 1 (old) West Bromwich Albion 3-1 Queen's Park Rangers 05-10-1968

1966/1967
English League Cup Queen's Park Rangers 3-2 West Bromwich Albion 04-03-1967

1948/1949
English Division 2 (old) West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Queen's Park Rangers 02-04-1949
English Division 2 (old) Queen's Park Rangers 0-2 West Bromwich Albion 06-11-1948
From Soccerbase -