Birmingham City v QPR Connections and Memories
Friday, 3rd Oct 2008 09:56

Normally an unhappy hunting ground for QPR, but this week Ash looks back on a rare win for QPR at St Andrews.

So one only point from nine and suddenly there’s some small concern for Iain Dowie as we head up to St Andrews to play Championship favourites Birmingham City this Saturday in front of the Sky cameras. Dowie has some big decisions to make on who makes the starting XI after the disappointing 1-1 draw with Blackpool in mid-week but it would just be like Rangers to follow up the last three defeats with an impressive display on Saturday. Birmingham may currently sit in second place in the league but as Blackpool proved are certainly beatable at home if the R’s rediscover their form in the same City we enjoyed our cup scalp last week. Rangers first trip to Birmingham was for an FA Cup match in 1914, the R’s coming away with a 2-1 win. While the last time the sides met was on Boxing Day two seasons ago when Rangers were on the wrong end of a 2-1 score-line despite Lee Cook’s goal.

Memorable Match
Birmingham 0-2 QPR
April 14, 1984
Division One
Rangers went into the game off the back of two home wins against Southampton and Ipswich Town, either side of a valuable away point at West Ham United. Birmingham had only won one game in their last five, including a narrow defeat at Manchester United. A win over local rivals Aston Villa going into the game would have been a definite confidence boost going into the subsequent home game against QPR. Rangers travelled to St. Andrews in trepidation as in 13 previous visits, the R`s had drawn three and lost 13 - having never won in England`s second city.

The R`s took the game 2-0 - skipper Terry Fenwick`s tenth goal of the campaign added to an earlier John Gregory effort to seal a comfortable win for Rangers. It was also the only time that the R`s had put two past Birmingham at St. Andrews. Despite the R`s first win in 14 attempts at St. Andrews there was some bad news on the horizon. Young midfielder Gary Waddock would miss the rest of the season courtesy of an ankle injury. In a tackle with Blues player Howard Gayle, Waddock suffered a broken ankle and would take no further part in the R`s drive for the top.

QPR: Hucker, Neill, Dawes, Waddock (Feredey), Wicks, Fenwick, Micklewhite, Fillery, Allen, Stainrod, Gregory

Postscript: Birmingham failed to win again that season and were subsequently relegated, finishing third bottom. The R`s finished fifth after going on a six game winning string to consolidate their position at the higher end of the league.

Connections
Paul Furlong
Birmingham 1996-2002
QPR 2002-2007
One of the true modern heroes at Loftus Road, Paul Furlong was born in Wood Green, London and got his first taste of football at non-league Enfield after being rejected by QPR as a junior. At the North London Club he earned six caps for the England C team and his goalscoring exploits soon got noticed by several league clubs. It was Coventry who swooped to sign Paul but after some early promise the big striker failed to settle in the area and after just one season was back in London with First Division Watford. It was at Vicarage Road Furlong really found his feet and became one the best frontmen outside the top flight. He scored nearly 40 goals in 80 appearances in two seasons for the Hornets before he got his big chance when Glen Hoddle brought him to Chelsea for just over a million pounds. Hoddle hoped to pair Paul up with Mark Stein in a little and large partnership. Things never quite clicked for him at Stamford Bridge though and the inconsistency of the team was matched Furlong’s form-although he did score against QPR in the derby.

He soon moved back down to the First Division with Birmingham City and stayed with the Midlands club for seven seasons helping the club reach the play off semi finals in 2000 losing out to Barnsley. The following season Furlong struggled to hold down a regular first-team spot and was loaned out first to QPR and then Sheffield United, both spells though were ruined by injury and he was soon back at Birmingham. At the start of the 2002/03 season after newly promoted Birmingham had seen Furlong surplus to requirements he returned to Rangers now in the Second Division. A few section of Loftus Road weren’t best pleased to see the Chelsea man, and even those that got past the whole Chelsea thing were unsure of the merits of an ageing old pro with a worrying injury record as a signing, but he soon won those over with a memorable spell in W12.

In his first season at QPR he helped Rangers reach the play offs and it was Furlong who scored the vital goal in the semi-final against Oldham that rocked Loftus Road to its very core. Unfortunately the R’s went on to lose to Cardiff in the final but bounced back the season after gaining promotion on the last day with a win at Sheffield Wednesday and Furlong getting on the score sheet. His partnership with Kevin Gallen in the R’s attack was proving to be a hit and they continued their success the season after in the newly named Championship. Now one of the veterans of the team Furs rolled back the years to score 19 goals back at the level he was always best including a brilliant goal at Sunderland. He achieved hero status at the club and stayed until 2007, signing off with a last minute winner to relegate Luton. He has since gone to play for the Hatters and Southend.

Magic R’s Moment That goal against Oldham, never felt an atmosphere like it at the Loft.

Don Givens
QPR 1972-78
Birmingham 1978-81
Irishman Givens may have been born Daniel but was always known as Don especially down at Loftus Road where he really was the Don. Givens began life at Manchester United where in just eight appearances he did enough to win his first cap for Ireland at the tender age of 20. He left Old Trafford after failing to nail down a regular first team spot and moved south to join Luton Town. After a successful two year stint at the Hatters, Givens got a big move to join Gordon Jago’s Queens Park Rangers. It was in West London that Don really made his name as part of arguable the greatest ever Rangers side. Playing as a deep lying striker, Givens spent six seasons with the R’s scoring over a hundred goals in the process. He was top scorer for the club on four separate occasions and was a key player in the team that famously missed out on the title by a whisker in 1976. He left London to join Birmingham two years after that but couldn’t quite find the same form that had made him such a hero for the Superhoops. He went on to play for Sheffield United, Bournemouth and Swiss side Xmax before going into coaching and is now coach of Ireland’s U21’s.
Magic R Moment: Any one of the strikes in the 1976 season where he finished top scorer and the R’s finished second.

Others: Bill Finney Birmingham 1955-57, QPR 1957-58. Now unknown.
Mike Hellawell QPR 1955-57, Birmingham 1957-65. Now retired.
Barry Bridges Birmingham 1966-68, QPR 1968-70. Now retired
.Mike Kelly QPR 1966-70, Birmingham 1966-70. Now Fulham goalkeeping coach.
Trevor Francis Birmingham 1971-79, QPR 1988-91. Now TV pundit.
Ian Muir QPR 1980-82, Birmingham 1982-83. Now lives in Hong Kong.
David Seaman Birmingham 1984-86, QPR 1986-90. Now TV celebrity.
Dennis Bailey Birmingham 1989-91, QPR 1991-95. Now unknown.
Stephen Kelly QPR 2003 (loan), Birmingham 2006-present.
Tom Williams Birmingham 2002-04, QPR 2002-03 (loan). Now at Peterborough
Rowan Vine Birmingham 2007-08, QPR 2008-present

Fans’ Memories

1986, the Saturday before the milk Cup Semi,Birmingham were rock bottom, David Seaman was their keeper and what did Jim Smith do, hand Alan Mcdonald the number 9 shirt. We lost 2-0 in front of a mammoth crowd of 6000. -Loftboy

Gary Waddock breaking his leg there many moons ago -Wombat

There is another game we won there. 4-1. I leave it to Reg Toomer to describe it.-Norfolt

I remember a very dull 0-0 in the first season out of the Premiership. We away fans kept ourselves amused with a little ditty to the tune of Three Lions. ‘He’s f*cking shit, he’s f*cking shit, he’s f*cking (Player’s name) is f*cking shit!’ Of for course that was back in the day when it was permissible to swear at football. And the target of our abuse? One Paul Furlong -Eastside_R

I don't remember that eastside and I was at the game in question. Houston in charge? It was a shocker. I remember the game not because of that chant but the long walk back to the station. At New Street, mates and I went into a bookies. I think to get scores and my mate wanted to check racing results. In the bookies, it was all going off. A certain Frankie Dettori had won his first 6 races at Ascot and had one more race to go. The horse was an outside bet but had been severly back. The race was off in 5 mins so we piled on it as well, just in case Frankie made it 7 out of 7 for the day. If you know your history.....Horrid ground / place. -Charlie

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