A Decade Ago: Ray Wilkins Axed/"Resigned"

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The Departure of Ray Wilkins

September 1, 1996: QPR having beaten Oxford and Portsmouth and drawn at Wolves; and lost Kevin Gallen through a terrible injury, played promotion-challenging Bolton at Loftus Road (and lost 2-1)

For newly-relegated QPR still under the managership (player manager) of Ray Wilkins and Frank Sibley and under the new ownership of Chris Wright...The QPR Board met with Wilkins, and ostensibly he left because he wanted to continue playing. But there were strong suggestions he was axed, even though Chris Wright and others denied that.

It was such a change from the less than two years previously, when Wilkins returned to QPR after Gerry Francis moved on to Spurs and in his first season, guided QPR to 8th. The following season, QPR sold Ferdinand and made some not-so great purchases: Zelic, Osbourne, Hately, Sommer.

And as a player, signed by Don Howe, in a deal arranged by axed Trevor Francis, Wilkins joined QPR on a free from Glasgow Rangers and made an immediate, brilliant impact on QPR. And for the next several seasons, was QPR's brilliant midfielder. There was a slight irony, since QPR under Dave Sexton in 1974/75 had tried to sign Wilkins as an 18 year old from Chelsea.

So Wilkins left and instead appointed Stuart Houston and Bruce Rioch (instead of Venables, George Graham or Alan Curbishly who were three names that were strongly touted.) And over the next year, Houston spent lavishly )approaching 8 million pounds + high wages) on John Spencer, Gavin Peacock, Steve Morrow, Lee Harper, Matt Rose, and finally....Mike Sheron.


See Ray Wilkins Interview with QPR Net

One of a thousand Wilkins online Bios