Flashback to QPR's Famed (and sole!) Win at Anfield
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- NEXT: LIVERPOOL VS QPR
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Daily Mail - The day we stormed Anfield: QPR and Liverpool old boys remember shock Hoops win
By JACK DAVIDSON and DOMINIC KING
Twenty years ago, struggling Queens Park Rangers travelled to champions Liverpool needing a win to move away from the relegation zone they were hovering above. They had never won at Anfield but pulled off a huge shock which saved their season and ruined Liverpool's.
The champions went on to lose to Southampton, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest before the end of the season and surrendered their title to Arsenal.
QPR return there on Saturday having not won since at Anfield.
Jack Davidson and Dominic King spoke to some of the protagonists from the unlikeliest of victories.
VIDEO: Liverpool 1 Queens Park Rangers 3, March 1991
QPR DEFENDER DANNY MADDIX
'We had a great squad in those days who could mix it with the best of them, so we were confident. I remember when we saw the team sheet and John Barnes wasn't playing, that gave everyone a boost.
'Don Howe told me before the game to do a job on Rushy, to make his life difficult. I always seemed to do well against him and it paid off, he hardly got a sniff at goal all game.
'There was a feeling with the big clubs, especially Liverpool, that they'd get the decisions, so of course all the lads were over the moon when we came away with three goals and the win.
'The highlight was Clive Wilson's goal. Liverpool had pulled one back and were pushing for an equaliser when Clive came on. Les Ferdinand rifled in a cross which missed everyone, it came off one of their players and Clive nipped in to slot the ball with his first touch of the game. From then on we always called him 'One-Touch Wilson'.
Rangers old boy: Danny Maddix
QPR DEFENDER ANDY TILLSON
'I wasn't really worried about playing them because I was full of the confidence of youth. I was shoulder-to-shoulder with Rush and Beardsley in the box and I remember Ray Wilkins, who was the most experienced of us, coming over to me and shouting "Be careful – don't give 'em a chance".
'And in the second half that's exactly what happened: we conceded a penalty and were only 2-1 up, so it was a bit tight. Then Wilson came on and scored with his first kick of the ball and I remember Ray Wilkins doing a little celebratory dance on the touchline as if to say "game over".
'The thing which has always stayed with me was the reaction of the Liverpool fans after the game. To a man they stood up and clapped us off - that's what football meant at Anfield, they appreciated the way we'd played, even though we'd won. It was the same with the players, they were all in the bar afterwards laughing and congratulating us, there were no bad feelings at all.
'When we finally got back to Loftus Road there was a whole group of fans waiting for us, I'd never seen that before, and it brought home to me what we'd achieved.'
QPR MIDFIELDER SIMON BARKER
'We had a strong side at the time, top quality players like David Bardsley, Andy Sinton and Les Ferdinand. Bobby Gould had brought in Andy Tillson, Rufus Brevett and Darren Peacock, so we had the confidence to play our football with the best of them. And Jan Stejskal was a brilliant keeper - he was one of only nine foreign players in the top division, which goes to show how much things have changed.
Unlikely hero: Clive Wilson (centre) celebrates his goal at Anfield
'Anfield was my favourite away ground because of all that history and the fans were football purists. When the supporters sang "Walk On" it made the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end.
'We were well prepared, the lads were all really fit, Don had recently introduced sports psychologists and nutritionists to the club and that made a huge difference. I think we took the win for granted then, no one thought that twenty years on that would be the last time we beat Liverpool away.
QPR MIDFIELDER CLIVE WILSON
'It was my first season since leaving Chelsea and it hadn't been a spectacular one. I was in and out of the team and hadn't started a game in a while. When we were 2-0 up I didn't think I'd get on the pitch, but then they pulled one back with a dodgy penalty and Don wanted to hold on for the win so I guess he brought me on to sure up the defence.
'It must have been scripted because the next thing I know I'm tearing up-field chasing a counter-attack and Les has put in a cross which just skimmed off Ray Wilkins on account of him not having any hair. I just stabbed a foot at the ball and it was in the back of the net.
'I was in shock. When the final whistle blew it really hit me, an overwhelming disbelief.'
Liverpool legend: Striker Ian Rush
LIVERPOOL STRIKER IAN RUSH
'QPR had a decent side back then but, even still, losing to them in the manner that we did was a shock.
'Danny was probably right that I never got a kick. Being man-marked was something that used to happen to me all the time against QPR. I was used to it from playing in Italy. It wasn't my idea of how you play football but, full credit to Danny, he did his job well.
'We had been on a good run going into the game and, as we were defending champions, we were expected to beat those teams at Anfield before moving on but it never worked out that way.
'It was a funny end to the season. We all assumed after Kenny (Dalglish) had left six weeks earlier that Ronnie Moran would get the manager's job and things would carry on as normal. But Ronnie never wanted the job and we were missing Kenny's presence in the dugout at that time more than we realised. That defeat was the sign that our title was slipping away from us.
LIVERPOOL DEFENDER GARY GILLESPIE
'The week before we played QPR, we had gone to the Baseball Ground and battered a Derby County side that contained Mark Wright and Dean Saunders 7-1. We felt we were right at the top of our game, we were full of confidence and we certainly did not expect to lose at home to QPR. Perhaps complacency played a part. The main thing I remember about the game was Les Ferdinand's performance. He was always a handful and had all the attributes to be a top striker – he was strong, quick, skilful and good in the air. You could see he was destined for great things.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
LIVERPOOL
Mike Hooper, 47, was last said to be working as a nightclub doorman in Durham.
Gary Ablett, 46, fighting non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Had previously worked as a coach at Ipswich and managed Stockport.
Gary Gillespie, 51, regular pundit on LFC TV.
Glen Hysen, 52, commentator for Norwegian television.
David Burrows, 43, runs a childcare company in the south of France.
Steve Nicol, 49, has just finished a 10-year stint coaching New England Revolution. Lives in the USA.
Jan Molby, 48, pundit for Danish television.
Ray Houghton, 49, ambassador for the Football Association of Ireland and works in the media.
Steve Staunton, 42, had been working on Sunderland's coaching staff prior to Steve Bruce's sacking.
Peter Beardsley, 50, reserve team manager for Newcastle United.
Ian Rush, 50, Elite Performance Director of the Welsh FA and Liverpool's Head of International Soccer Schools Ambassador.
QUEENS PARK RANGERS
Jan Stejskal, 49, is the goalkeeping coach at Sparta Prague.
David Bardsley, 47, runs an academy in the US.
Rufus Brevett, 42, owns a tanning salon in Egham.
Andy Tillson, 45, is the development coach for Exeter City.
Darren Peacock, 43, lives in Portugal with his family.
Danny Maddix, 44, coaches Sunday league side the Colebrook Royals.
Ray Wilkins, 55, commentator and pundit for Sky Sports. Simon Barker, 47, senior executive at the PFA.
Les Ferdinand, 44, forwards coach at Tottenham as well as working part-time for the BBC.
Roy Wegerle, 47, earning a living on the professional golf mini tour in the US. Bradley Allen, 40, U15s coach for the Tottenham Academy.
Andy Sinton, 45, manager of AFC Telford United.
Clive Wilson, 49, PE teacher at St John's CE secondary School in Epping, Essex. Mail
MIRROR/James Nursey - Two Prem clubs eye up QPR's Faurlin
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North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham are both monitoring QPR midfielder Alejandro Faurlin, who has demanded £50,000-a-week to stay at Rangers.
The contract the Argentine signed when he made a £3.5million move to Loftus Road from his homeland's Instituto de Cordoba in July 2009 expires in 2013.
The controversial transfer breached FA rules on ownership and, for a time, was felt to threaten Rangers' promotion to the Premier League last May. In the end, they were only fined £875,000.
Faurlin’s excellent Premier League form this season has now sparked interest from two of QPR's London neighbours.
The 25-year-old has asked for a huge pay-rise to £50,000-a-week if he is to sign a new deal at Rangers.
Club chiefs are reluctant to meet his terms, which has alerted Arsenal and Spurs, as well as Italy's Napoli.
Agent Lucas Cominelli said: “When the phone rings and there are two Premier League teams and one from Serie A expressing their admiration, it’s a testimony to the way Ali has started in the top flight.” Mirror
DAILY MAIL
Goalkeeper Lewis goes undercover to earn QPR deal
By MATT BARLOW
Peterborough goalkeeper Joe Lewis played for Queens Park Rangers this week in order for Neil Warnock to scrutinise one of his January transfer targets' fitness.
Lewis is out of contract in June and Peterborough are prepared to sell him next month but the 24-year-old has struggled after suffering a serious knee injury in last season's play-offs.
On trial: Joe Lewis
He appeared for Rangers as 'A Trialist' in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Leyton Orient, which ended 2-2.
Last weekend, Lewis had started his first Peterborough game of the season and was booed by some fans during a 4-3 defeat by Barnsley.
He will start again against Leicester, according to Darren Ferguson, who is resting Paul Jones. The Peterborough boss said: 'I'm very lucky to have two good Championship goalkeepers. I don't know why some fans haven't taken to Joe.'
Lewis joined Peterborough for £400,000 from Norwich in January 2008 and made an immediate impact. Within five months, he won his first England Under 21 cap and was called into the senior squad by Fabio Capello for friendlies against the United States and Trinidad and Tobago.
Rangers boss Warnock needs cover because Paddy Kenny could be out for two months with a calf injury and back-up Brian Murphy is also injured.: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2072371/Joe-Lewis-goes-undercover-earn-QPR-deal.html#ixzz1g7huSUaa">Daily Mail
Peterbrough's Evening Telegraph
You are hereSport>Football>Peterborough United
Sponsored byLewis set for QPR
Published on Saturday 10 December 2011 09:20
Posh goalkeeper Joe Lewis has been lined up for a January transfer window move to QPR.
Lewis spent last week training with the Premier League side and played for them in a reserve team friendly under the name ‘A Triallist’.
He is expected to be in goal for Posh in today’s Championship fixture at Leicester before returning to London for another week’s training on Monday.
Posh Director of Football Barry Fry said: “QPR manager Neil Warnock asked if they could take a look at Joe at close quarters and our manager and chairman agreed.
“He was there last week and will be going back there on Monday after he has played for us today. It’s no disruption for us as we had no midweek games and Joe did return to train with us yesterday in preparation for today’s game.
“That’s as far as it has gone. No offers have been made, but Joe is out of contract at the end of the season when we face losing him for nothing.
“He played in a reserve team game for them and did well.”
Posh would expect to make a substantial profit on Lewis who moved to London Road from Norwich for £400,000 in January 2008 and has since helped the club to three promotions.
The England Under 21 international is out of contract at the end of the current campaign and would therefore be eligible for a free transfer.
Posh have held fresh contract talks with the player’s agent, but little progress has been made.
Lewis was a surprise call-up to the Posh first team last Saturday when he made his first appearance since suffering a serious knee injury in May leading some to speculate that he was being placed in the shop window to attract possible purchasers. Peterborough Evening Telegraph
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Property Week Magazine
Queens Park Rangers this week kicked off a hunt for a new football ground in west London’s White City.
The Premier League club is close to appointing Lambert Smith Hampton to search for a 40,000 to 45,000-seat ground. Candidates include sites in the 272 acre White City Opportunity Area, where the club’s 18,500-seat Loftus Road stadium is located.
It has also emerged that local planners would favour a neighbouring council estate if the club invested in new housing and regeneration.
QPR is the latest in a string of London football clubs to join a land grab to try to boost capacity and increase revenues from larger crowds. The outdated Loftus Road is the smallest ground in the league.
Relocation plans for Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham and now QPR are tantalising developers with the prospect of bringing valuable sites to the market, while also creating further opportunities for the industry to sell land to the clubs.
QPR is understood to be close to agreeing to commission LSH, the agent selling the nearby BBC’s TV Centre, for the ambitious expansion plans alluded to by majority shareholder Tony Fernandes last week.
The club is likely to need a site of around 15 acres for a move from its Loftus Road ground, which occupies little more than 5 acres. Within the White City area, there are several of sufficient scale, but none would be an easy win for QPR.
Sources said the club would consider enlarging its existing ground, but it is hemmed in by private housing and a road. Any redevelopment would also require a temporary ground share elsewhere.
The more obvious move involves the White City council estate, to the west of Wood Lane, which is owned by Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
QPR is believed to have looked closely at the land between Loftus Road and Television Centre. It appears to have held discussions with the council already about this possible move, led by planning consultants at Savills.
Significantly, April’s White City Opportunity Area framework makes provisions for the estates to incorporate a “brand-new football stadium” to replace “the cramped and outdated ground at Loftus Road”.
However, QPR and LSH would have to come up with “acceptable and compatible proposals” that would regenerate the housing estate itself. Wealthy shareholders including Fernandes and Indian steel dynasty the Mittal family would be called on to help pay for the new homes, and this could take in BBC land north of Television Centre.
Sites owned by Helical Bar and Marks & Spencer to the west of Wood Lane are closer to public transport links, but not large enough individually, and landowners are pursuing their own plans there.
Chelsea Football Club has also been linked to sites at White City, but owner Roman Abramovich is understood to have been put off by its proximity to QPR. All parties, including QPR and LSH, declined to comment.
http://www.propertyweek.com/news/news-by-sector/hotels-and-leisure/qprs-white-city-quest-football-club-lines-up-lsh-for-stadium-hunt/5029040.article
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