QPR face a massive match at West Brom on Saturday and usually big occasions don’t sit well with the Super Hoops. Against the Baggies though things have always been a bit different.

Recent Meetings

QPR were left to count the cost of a series of missed chances as West Brom escaped from Loftus Road with a point in December. Heidar Helguson gave the home side a first half lead and Shaun Wright-Phillips thought he’d doubled it shortly afterwards only to be incorrectly flagged offside. Rangers had only themselves to blame thereafter though, with Joey Barton’s open goal howler at the Loft End the pick of a series of sitters. The inevitable equalising goal, from Shane Long, came nine minutes from time after Chris Brunt had been allowed to run unchecked through the heart of the R’s midfield.

QPR: Cerny 7, Young 6, Gabbidon 6, Ferdinand 6, Traore 7, Mackie 7, Barton 7, Faurlin 8, Wright-Phillips 7, Bothroyd 6 (Buzsaky 74, 5), Helguson 8

Subs Not Used: Putnins, Orr, Hill, Derry, Taarabt, Smith

Goals: Helguson 20 (assisted Barton)

West Brom: Foster 7, Reid 6, Olsson 6, McAuley 6, Shorey 6, Thomas 6 (Odemwingie 65, 7), Dorrans 7 (Tchoyi 78, 6), Mulumbu 8 (Scharner 83, -), Morrison 7, Brunt 7, Long 7

Subs Not Used: Fulop, Dawson, Jones, Cox

Booked: Long, Thomas, Reid

Goals: Long 81

QPR 3 West Brom 1, Saturday March 6, 2010, Championship

Neil Warnock’s successful reign as QPR manager started with an unlikely win in his first match in charge against West Brom. The Baggies were top of the league and heading back to the Premiership under Roberto De Matteo and were heavy favourites to win at Loftus Road against a QPR side with just one win from their previous 11 matches and about to start life under their fourth permanent manger of the season. Relegation was starting to look like a serious possibility for the Super Hoops but Warnock’s impact was instant. Jay Simpson made the most of a poor piece of goalkeeping from Scott Carson to tap in from close range after 13 minutes and that lead was doubled five minutes later when a glorious through ball from Alejandro Faurlin set up Matt Connolly for a rare goal. When Brunt halved the deficit before half time a nervous second half seemed likely but Rangers re-established their advantage when Carson again treated them to a soft goal, Akos Buzsaky the beneficiary directly from a free kick on this occasion.

QPR: Ikeme 8, Connolly 7, Gorkss 7, Stewart 7, Hill 6, Taarabt 7 (Ramage 69, 6), Leigertwood 7, Faurlin 8, Ephraim 6 (Buzsaky 59, 7), Priskin 6 (Vine 77, 6), Simpson 7

Subs Not Used: Cerny, Balanta, Borrowdale, German

Booked: Priskin (dissent), Faurlin (foul)

Goals: Simpson 13 (assisted Taarabt), Connolly 18 (assisted Faurlin), Buzsaky 67 (free kick)

West Brom: Carson 3, Reid 6, Tamas 6, Olsson 7, Cech 6 (Miller 64, 5), Morrison 6 (Dorrans 68, 6), Mulumbu 7, Watson 6, Brunt 7, Thomas 7, Cox 6

Subs Not Used: Kiely, Mattock, Koren, Moore, Meite

Booked: Cech (foul), Brunt (foul)

Goals: Brunt 36 (assisted Thomas)

West Brom 2 QPR 2, Monday December 14, 2009, Championship

Before Christmas that season Rangers travelled to the Hawthorns once more under the guidance of a brand new managerial team. In the wake of Jim Magilton's suspension youth team coaches Steve Gallen and Marc Bircham took the reins for a match televised live by Sky. The R's stunned their hosts by surging into a two goal lead just after half time with Kaspars Gorkss first forcing an own goal from Olsson from a Ben Watson corner, then heading another set piece from the ginger midfielder in himself. Sadly Rangers couldn't hold on, getting nervous and dropping deep when Jerome Thomas fired home after a defensive scramble and then collapsing in injury time when Alejandro Faurlin and Alessandro Pellicori contrived to give the ball away in the Baggies’ half and Simon Cox stole in to bury an equaliser with the last kick of the game.

West Brom: D Kiely 8, G Zuiverloon 7 (R Bednar 85, -), A Meite 5, J Olsson 6, J Mattock 5, C Brunt 6, G Jara 6, G Dorrans 7, J Thomas 8, L Moore 5 (C Wood 64, 6), S Cox 7

Subs not used: R Allsop, M Cech, F Teixeira, Y Mulumbu, S Martis

Booked: Brunt (foul), Cox (dissent)

Goals: Thomas 67 (assisted), Cox 90+3 (assisted Bednar)

QPR: R Cerny 6, P Ramage 5, D Stewart 7, K Gorkss 8, T Williams 6, Routledge 6, M Leigertwood 7, B Watson 6, J Simpson 5 (F Hall 90, -) A Taarabt 7 (A Faurlin 81, -), P Agyemang 6 (A Pellicori 84, -)

Subs not used: R Taylor, R Vine, M Alberti, J Parker

Goals: Olsson own goal 56 (assisted Watson), Gorkss 62 (assisted Watson)

Previous Results

Head to Head >>> West Brom wins 15 >>> Draws 9 >>> QPR wins 13

2011/12 QPR 1 West Brom 1 (Helguson)

2009/10 QPR 3 West Brom 1 (Simpson, Connolly, Buzsaky)

2009/10 West Brom 2 QPR 2 (Olsson og, Gorkss)

2007/08 QPR 0 West Brom 2

2007/08 West Brom 5 QPR 1 (Ainsworth)

2006/07 QPR 1 West Brom 2 (Blackstock)

2006/07 West Brom 3 QPR 3 (Stewart, Gallen, Nygaard)

2000/01 QPR 2 West Brom 0 (Plummer, Koejoe)

2000/01 West Brom 2 QPR 1 (Kiwomya)

1999/00 QPR 0 West Brom 0

1999/00 West Brom 0 QPR 1 (Wardley)

1998/99 QPR 2 West Brom 1 (Ready, Peacock)

1998/99 West Brom 2 QPR 0

1997/98 West Brom 1 QPR 1 (Dowie)

1997/98 QPR 2 West Brom 0 (Sheron, Peacock)

1996/97 West Brom 4 QPR 1 (Spencer)

1996/97 QPR 0 West Brom 2

1985/86 QPR 1 West Brom 0 (Bannister)

1985/86 West Brom 0 QPR 1 (Robinson)

1984/85 West Brom 0 QPR 0

1984/85 QPR 3 West Brom 1 (Stainrod 2, Fenwick)

1983/84 QPR 1 West Brom 1 (Fereday)

1983/84 West Brom 1 QPR 2 (Stainrod, Fenwick)

1982/83 West Brom 3 QPR 2* (Fenwick, Micklewhite)

1981/82 QPR 1 West Brom 0* (C Allen)

1978/79 West Brom 2 QPR 1 (McGee)

1978/79 QPR 0 West Brom 1

1977/78 West Brom 2 QPR 0

1977/78 QPR 2 West Brom 1 (Bowles, Eastoe)

1976/77 West Brom 1 QPR 1 (G Francis)

1976/77 QPR 1 West Brom 0 (Gillard)

1972/73 West Brom 2 QPR 1** (Givens)

1968/69 QPR 0 West Brom 4

1968/69 West Brom 3 QPR 1 (Clarke)

1966/67 QPR 3 West Brom 2** (R Morgan, Marsh, Lazarus)

1948/49 West Brom 1 QPR 1 (Pointon)

1948/49 QPR 0 West Brom 2

* - FA Cup

** - League Cup

Memorable Match

QPR 1 West Brom 0, Saturday April 3, 1982, FA Cup Semi Final

Following a club like QPR means big occasions are few and far between, and victories in them even scarcer, but the omens suggest we couldn’t be playing anybody better this Saturday than West Bromwich Albion. When it really matters, QPR seem quite adept at dealing with the Baggies on the big day.

Having beaten the First Division Albion side in the 1967 League Cup final while still in the third tier (a match we covered in the last history column prior to the home meeting this season) Rangers found themselves paired with the Baggies again in an FA Cup semi final in 1982. The R’s had needed replays to see off Middlesbrough and Blackpool and also registered victories against Grimsby and Crystal Palace on their way to the Highbury showdown. West Brom meanwhile had beaten Blackburn, Norwich, Coventry and Gillingham in previous rounds and kept three clean sheets in the process.

Once again Rangers went into the game in a lower division than their opponents, although this time there was only one league between the two. Terry Venables’ men, in a change strip of red, were competing in a first ever FA Cup semi final for the club and more than 20,000 Rangers fans packed onto Highbury’s famous North Bank for the match. West Brom, by contrast, held the competition record for semi final appearances at the time – this was their nineteenth.

Venables recalled Terry Fenwick and Ian Gillard as his full backs, they’d been replaced by Ian Dawes and Warren Neil for the 2-0 league win against Sheffield Wednesday five days previous, but he was without suspended midfielder John Gregory. Baggies boss Ronnie Allen named four players in his line up who’d played the last time they reached a semi final in 1978, including Derek Statham who passed a late fitness test. Allen dropped Gary Owen to the bench in favour of Steve MacKenzie who had played in two cup semi finals the previous season while with Manchester City. The goal threat was carried by Cyril Regis.

Despite the greater big game experience of the Albion side, the presence of Regis in attack and QPR’s lower division status it was the team with eight London born players in their starting 11 that threatened first. Flanagan crossed from the left, Allen hung back to give himself space in the penalty area and his crisp volley flashed a yard wide of the Clock End goal with Grew beaten all ends up.

Northern the Elder was always of the opinion that Tony Currie deserved more of a mention when people discussed great QPR players of the past and he started and finished a move here that could have led to the opening goal. Initially, thanks to Currie, the move was slick and incisive but when it descended into a farce and crowd of bodies on the edge of the area Currie swooped in once more with a first time shot that was blocked away.

Currie found himself dictating the play at the start of the second half as well. He combined with Micklewhite who then swung over a deep cross which Flanagan nodded back and Simon Stainrod, with 20 goals to his name already that season, flashed a volley wide of the post from the edge of the area.

One of the big stories of the day was the manner in which former Wolves trainee Bob Hazell coped with Regis but when Rangers finally won their first corner of the game 20 minutes from time the giant centre back had a chance to move forward into an offensive position of his own. Currie’s initial delivery was well above his head but Rangers’ tenacity prevented Albion from clearing the corner, and three subsequent crosses, properly. Eventually the ball broke to Hazell in the area and although West Brom were quickly in with a tackle the ball smacked against the shin of Clive Allen and flew into the net to send the North Bank into delirium. It was Allen’s seventh FA Cup goal of the season, and fifteenth overall.

Flanagan went close to adding a second with a late header, and Stainrod had a decent penalty appeal waved away by Sheffield-based referee Keith Hackett but comfortably saw out the victory.

After the game goalscorer Allen said: “We’d trained all week and set out our plan for the way we wanted to play. Terry had obviously given us the incentive to go and play as we wanted to and not to worry about West Brom and that seemed to go pretty well. At half time all he was concerned about was us keeping our authority on the game and going on and scoring. Overall we were the better side, I’m not saying it was a good game but we were the better side.”

Venables himself added: “It was a long 15 or 20 minutes to the end of the game. It’s very emotional, we’ve got a few young boys in there who are emotionally full up. It’s a wonderful moment for us. We wanted to keep the ball and try and run them out, they’re a good side and we had to make sure they didn’t catch us on the break. We had Tony Currie going into the back and our full backs breaking and I felt they had a problem trying to stop our full backs. We were starting our build ups mainly from wide positions and I felt that we did it very well. “We were 4/1 against today which upset me in the first place, I thought that was a disgrace. That was quite a good spur for us because I think that upset everyone.”

QPR: Hucker, Fenwick, Hazell, Roeder, Gillard, Currie, Waddock, Flanagan, Allen, Stainrod, Micklewhite

West Brom: Grew, Batson, Statham, Zondervan, Wile, Robertson, Bennett, King, Regis, Cross, MacKenzie

Highlights >>> QPR 3 West Brom 1 09/10 Highlights >>> West Brom 2 QPR 2 09/10 Highlights >>> West Brom 3 QPR 3 06/07 Highlights >>> QPR 1 West Brom 0 FA Cup semi final 1982 highlights >>> West Brom 2 QPR 3 League Cup final 1967 highlights

Connections

Going back still further, Clive Clark is the most famous name to have played for both clubs. Rangers picked him up from Leeds after he failed to make the grade but then had to come back from conceding two goals to him at Wembley in the 1967 League Cup final after he’d moved to the Hawthorns.

Clark was born in Leeds in 1940 and developed into a skilful left sided attacker with his home town club. He didn’t make the grade at Elland Road though and in 1958 dropped down the divisions, and the country, to sign for Queens Park Rangers who were then under the guidance of Jack Taylor who ironically left midway through Clark’s Loftus Road stay to join Leeds.

Clark made 63 appearances for Rangers and scored seven goals after making his debut against Bournemouth in 1958 and that was enough to attract interest from one of the big boys. Having moved to West Brom midway through the 1960/61 season Clark joined the likes of Tony Brown, Jeff Astle and Bobby Hope in a legendary Albion team that was overwhelming favourite to beat QPR when the sides, two divisions apart, came together in the 1967 League Cup final. Clark, as we know, haunted his former club with two well taken first half goals but still finished on the losing side.

Clark was no stranger to scoring on the big occasion, the Baggies had lifted the League Cup 12 months earlier by beating West Ham 5-3 on aggregate in the last final to be played over two legs. He played in an FA Cup win in 1968 and another League Cup final defeat in 1970 at the hands of Man City.

In all the speedy winger scored almost 100 goals in around 350 appearances for the Baggies and is fondly remembered in that part of the world. His career at The Hawthorns was curtailed by a nasty knee injury picked up on the club’s controversial tour of Africa in the early 1970s that was marred by bad tackles and injuries suffered by several star players.

The cup final success of 1967 sent QPR shooting up the Football League and Clark returned for ten game spell during the 1969/70 Second Division campaign. He went on to make the best part of 80 appearances for Preston North End and added a Third Division title medal to his collection there in 1970/71. He ended his career with a brief eight game spell at Southport and time in the American MLS with Washington, Dallas and Philadelphia.

Others >>> Danny Gabbidon, West Brom 1998-2000, QPR 2011-present >>> Rob Hulse, West Brom 2003-2005, QPR 2010-present >>> Ishmael Miller, West Brom 2007-2011, QPR (loan) 2011 >>> Ben Watson, QPR (loan) 2009, West Brom (loan) 2010 >>> Jay Simpson, West Brom (loan) 2009, QPR (loan) 2009-2010 >>> Steven Reid QPR (loan) 2009, West Brom 2009-present >>> Lloyd Dyer, West Brom 2000-2006, QPR (loan) 2005 >>> George Santos, West Brom 2000, QPR 2004-2006 >>> Brett Angell, West Brom (loan) 1996, QPR 2002-2003 >>> Jerome Thomas, QPR (loan) 2002, West Brom 2009-present >>> Paul Peschisolido, West Brom 1996-1997, QPR (loan) 2000 >>> Ray Harford, West Brom (manager) 1997, QPR (manager) 1997-1998 >>> Andy McDermott, QPR 1995-1996, West Brom 1996-2000 >>> Danny Dichio, QPR 1993-1997, West Brom 2001-2004 >>> Nigel Quashie, QPR 1995-1998, 2010, West Brom 2006-2007 >>> Ossie Ardiles, QPR 1988-1989, West Brom (manager) 1992-1993 >>> Wayne Fereday, QPR 1980-1989, West Brom 1991-1994 >>> Gary Bannister, QPR 1984-1988, West Brom 1990-1992 >>> Paul Barron, West Brom 1982-1985, QPR 1985-1988 >>> Alan Glover Peter Eastoe, QPR 1976-1979, West Brom 1982-1985 >>> Andy King, QPR 1980-1981, West Brom 1981-1982 

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Photo: Action Images

MrSheen added 00:12 - Apr 14 That semi was one of the worst games of football I've ever seen! It even looked dire in the highlights. What was amazing was the rumour going round the North Bank after the final whistle that Spurs had lost to Leicester, we thought the Cup was ours. On an unpleasant note, the abuse that Cyrille Regis got, inspired by terror, no doubt, was the worst racism I have seen from a Rangers crowd.

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TacticalR added 01:20 - Apr 14 Seems a world away now. It was packed on the North Bank and hard to see what happened for the goal. In those dim and distant pre-internet days (in fact pre-video recorders days) I didn't know exactly how we'd scored until I saw it that evening on Match of the Day. Cyril Regis was a powerful mobile player with a formidable scoring rate, so we did well to get through the match without him scoring. Personally, I really liked Tony Currie. He was a languid, skillful player. Perhaps the reason that he is not mentioned as often as he should be is that he arrived at QPR at the end of his career, and spent most of his time with the team in the Second Division.

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