 Thursday, 24th Apr 2008 10:17 Plenty of high scoring encounters between Norwich and QPR in the past, but one very painful memory stands out from the rest. The R’s final away trip of the season takes them to Carrow Road to take on Norwich City. Norwich were the first team that we managed to beat this season and on that night the Canaries were possibly one of the worst teams I’ve seen down the Loft. Although Glenn Roader has since been appointed and steadied the ship up there, they are still one win away from safety with a nervy looking last game against Sheff Weds to come. Rangers of course are now safe and can relax as we look forward to what should be a very exciting season next year but that doesn’t mean we’ll be doing Norwich any favours. We first travelled up to East Anglia at the start of the last century for an FA Cup match that ended goalless, but we did win the replay 3-0. It was another two decades before our first league meeting with Norwich at Carrow Road, a 2-0 defeat in February 1921. Last season the R’s suffered another defeat as Dion Dublin grabbed the only goal. He and Darren Huckerby are set to play their last home game for Norwich this Saturday - who’d bet a against a goal from either eh? But before that lets take a walk down the blue and white hooped path of memory lane…. Memorable Match Seven days earlier Rangers had beaten Middlesborough 4-2 at the Loft and with Liverpool drawing at Aston Villa it meant Rangers were a point clear at the top having played the same number of games - the title was in sight. On a sunny Easter Saturday Rangers travelled up in vast numbers to Norwich, a team with very little to play with other then pride, for their last away game of the season knowing that they were just three wins away from becoming league champions for the very first time. The match was a very tight affair, and at half time the teams went in level at one apiece after an own goal had cancelled out Norwich’s opener. Then in the second half disaster struck as Norwich scored twice through Norris and Bouyer. Dave Thomas salvaged one back for the R’s but we just couldn’t find the equaliser and suffered our first defeat since January’s 1-0 loss at West Ham. It was made worse when news filtered through that Liverpool had beaten Stoke 5-2 and were now in poll position for the title. The rest as the say is history, both Rangers and Liverpool won their remaining games and the Reds finished the season as champions one point ahead of the Superhoops. It could all have been so different if just taken down the Canaries. Connections Chris Woods Peter Crouch Others: Fans’ Memories Remember a one all midweek a few years back. Think Impey scored a peach from 25 yards out. Fell asleep in the car on the way home. And I was driving. Lucky nothing major happened other than missing the M4 turn off when on the M25 - Charlie I remember the game where a young Craig Bellamy reduced our defence to shreds with a Hat-trick and won few fans amongst us. I'm sure Danny Maddix also got sent off due to Bellamy's antics and that we were 3-1 down after 9 minutes. I travelled up there on my own and I must have been quite young although I do remember giving there fans some stick on the way out. The game ended 4-2 to them. Dixie My over riding memory of 76 is some yokel being thrown in the canal for gloating .First wash he'd had in months probably. Christmas '91, 'Dennis Bailey Hallalujah' with a last minute winner. Fans dressed up in fancy dress. Jingle bells never sounded so good. The game when Bruno scored in a 4-3 win, great day out.Stopped off to see the Youth team win in Cambridge that morning, then onto Narwich. ChrisPTenner My first QPR game at Carrow Road was in the 2000/01 season, which saw us relegated to the Second Division. Gerry Francis was still in charge, although his days were by now numbered. I distinctly remember his rotund figure standing on the touchline across the other side of the pitch utilising his famous ‘hand on chin’ pose which he maintained for the entire second half. QPR wasted a few good opportunities, one which stands out was missed by Chris Kiwomya, and Langley went close from long range I remember. Ultimately though we were poor bordering on total sh1t and lost the game 1-0. Zema Abbey scored his first goal for Norwich at the Barclay end in the first half from very close range. The Norwich fans to my right were goading and taking the mickey out of a young and gangly Peter Crouch for quite a while. They’d never seen a more ridiculous figure and I can still hear them jeering now as he lined up in the wall. Little did they know he’d go on the play for England and of course them on loan. Richard Langley played the game with an afro and persisted on showboating the most of it. How he never became a better player I’ll never know. With the right guidance and a better attitude he could easily have played in the Premiership. The worst QPR side in my time of supporting them lined up: Miklosko, Baraclough, Carlisle, Plummer, Darlington, Morrow, Perry, Langley, Kiwomya, Crouch, Wardley. Subs: Koejoe, Harper, Bruce, Kulcsar, Ngonge. - Suffolk Hoop I think it's more a case of what I don't remember from my one and only trip to Norwich! I went during the 88/89 season (I think) and travelled up there on an LSA coach. This was in the early days of the LSA, probably not long after the proposed merger with Fulham and they took one coach up there. Unlike the offical supporters' coaches there was plenty of booze onboard, but no toilets - so frequent unscheduled stops along the way probably added at least an extra hour to the journey. I have very little recollection once the booze kicked in; I think we draw 1-1; no idea who scored or in fact how I got back from Shepherds Bush in the evening. So, on reflection this probably isn't much use to you. ut if anyone can tell me about the game that would be appreciated - OneCliveWalker Wasnt it a Norwich player who gobbed at the Rangers fans at Carrow Road a few years back? Diop or something? Seem to remember it being around Xmas or am I losing it? How many more questions can I ask in one sentance? - Wild One From the 80s, winning 0 1 in 81/82 in the old Div 2, when Roeder volleyed in direct from a corner past Chris Woods at our end. Norwich went up that year, we finished fifth. After we followed Norwich up, we went there around Oct 83 in Div 1, Mike Channon got an award before the game & got sent off we won 0 3. QPR sang "Blame the pitch, blame the pitch" and "La-la-la-la-la, tweet, tweet, tweet tweet" - Yeah I know, written down ain't so good! Went in 84/85, HAPPENED to be sat in a pub that gave a good view of QPR & Norwich chasing each other up & down a hill! - Walnut I have a couple of memories, the most recent being Easter Monday 17th April 2006 as I got married that day and prior to the meal I was informed we were winning 2-0 so I decided to add a line in my speech to "and this is the happiest day of my life - Rangers have won away" but my fellow R's forgot to tell me that Norwich had scored 3 in the last 10 minutes so I looked like a plank. But it did get a good laugh. The other was a Boxing Day away and one of the lads said he would give is son's motor a run out so we headed down to Norwich in this rust bucket that he called a car but on the way back the driver's window was open and we thought it was because it had broken. It was only on our arrival back in London we discovered that Ted had left the window open as he had the drivers heated seat on and was feeling a little hot. - Stonebridgers Been there loads of times , but to be honest apart from the Diop incident cant really remember to much from the games. Probably something to do with the little pub near the ground we used to take over before each game and the avalibility of of copious amounts of lager before each game - Wombat The only time I went was the 4-3. Top day. chris sutton was playing centre back. Hopefully they have dublin and hickerby in defence for their send-off. Remember the plod throwing out a kid for standing on his seat, can't have been more than ten years old. - Geneva Hoop Remember drawing 0-0 at Loftus Road against Ron Saunders Norwich in a promotion challenge in 1971/72. (Norwich went up as Champions. Jago's QPR finished 4th), Norwich were a tough/ruthless, boring team that won lots of games. But they did have Graham Paddon who took great free kicks and a tough center half, Duncan Forbes. - QPRReport Add your memories of Norwich away games to the thread on the Message Board and we’ll add the best ones to this article Click here and be the first user to comment on this article
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