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He didn't miss many though whereas Bonne and Dykes have set themselves up by missing sitters.
Is that some kind of vague positive that they are at least getting into those positions?
Washington was a mystery to me - my lad pointed him out as a dud way, way before me; I was so hopeful after the Reading brace he got.
All I can think of is that as a fan base we knew we were on our way down that season he joined us, whereas this time around, with money to spend and last seasons promise, we were hopeful of so much more?
They may still come good, but the signs are not good (yet)...
On Les, there was something there even before Turkey. I seem to think he was an awesome finisher with not a lot else before he left, but have I got that wrong;did he score before he left on loan?
He did though, some quite glaring if memory serves. I don't think you can overplay the impact Super Ray had on him as a player and I make no apologies for posting this again.
I can't remember any other Rangers striker before or since who was so, so good in the air.
Sir Les just seemed to 'hang there' with so much time and 'punch' the ball into the net with his head- seemingly he could be on the end of any cross into the box from Sinton, Bardsley, Wilkins, Wilson, anyone... as some above have said, he seemed so much taller than he actually was.
I wish we could have held onto him (and Willo) for just one more year...
[Post edited 12 Jan 2021 18:50]
Always wondered if the hang time and heading power were down to gym work. His Father was shorter than Les but was an absolute unit, he did weightlifting, I used to hear, and would well believe it. often wondered if Les joined in.
"The opposite of love, after all, is not hate, but indifference."
Les in his prime was the best player I've seen at Rangers by some distance (honourable runners up - Adel/Paul Parker). Too young for Stan and Rodney.
What made it so good was as others have said he was a fairly mediocre target man for a few years, and then one season he turned up on the first day and was f--king phenomenal from that moment on. We got three seasons out of that new Les before he went to Newcastle but for those three seasons, as long as he was playing, you knew we could beat anyone.
Never seen a player before or since who could hang in the air for so long, he was also fast as f--k, great shot from distance or close in. Our basic tactic while we had him was for Wilkins/Barker/Holloway/whoever, to get the ball vaguely near him and he would win it 90% of the time.
In this day and age he'd be a superstar, seriously.
Les in his prime was the best player I've seen at Rangers by some distance (honourable runners up - Adel/Paul Parker). Too young for Stan and Rodney.
What made it so good was as others have said he was a fairly mediocre target man for a few years, and then one season he turned up on the first day and was f--king phenomenal from that moment on. We got three seasons out of that new Les before he went to Newcastle but for those three seasons, as long as he was playing, you knew we could beat anyone.
Never seen a player before or since who could hang in the air for so long, he was also fast as f--k, great shot from distance or close in. Our basic tactic while we had him was for Wilkins/Barker/Holloway/whoever, to get the ball vaguely near him and he would win it 90% of the time.
In this day and age he'd be a superstar, seriously.
[Post edited 12 Jan 2021 21:35]
Agree with all of this, my first (and one of my last) idols and always in any game with him in the team.
Les in his prime was the best player I've seen at Rangers by some distance (honourable runners up - Adel/Paul Parker). Too young for Stan and Rodney.
What made it so good was as others have said he was a fairly mediocre target man for a few years, and then one season he turned up on the first day and was f--king phenomenal from that moment on. We got three seasons out of that new Les before he went to Newcastle but for those three seasons, as long as he was playing, you knew we could beat anyone.
Never seen a player before or since who could hang in the air for so long, he was also fast as f--k, great shot from distance or close in. Our basic tactic while we had him was for Wilkins/Barker/Holloway/whoever, to get the ball vaguely near him and he would win it 90% of the time.
In this day and age he'd be a superstar, seriously.
[Post edited 12 Jan 2021 21:35]
Great Player nearly as good as Clive Allen.
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Sir Les (n/t) (n/t) on 22:10 - Jan 12 with 1076 views
He didn't miss many though whereas Bonne and Dykes have set themselves up by missing sitters.
Is that some kind of vague positive that they are at least getting into those positions?
Washington was a mystery to me - my lad pointed him out as a dud way, way before me; I was so hopeful after the Reading brace he got.
All I can think of is that as a fan base we knew we were on our way down that season he joined us, whereas this time around, with money to spend and last seasons promise, we were hopeful of so much more?
They may still come good, but the signs are not good (yet)...
On Les, there was something there even before Turkey. I seem to think he was an awesome finisher with not a lot else before he left, but have I got that wrong;did he score before he left on loan?
I don't think he did score before leaving for Turkey. I remember him getting a brace against the SW6 filth at LR just before Christmas 1989/90 season but I'm pretty sure that was after his spell for Besiktas. IIRC I think the goals against the pikies at LR were his first.
I don't think he did score before leaving for Turkey. I remember him getting a brace against the SW6 filth at LR just before Christmas 1989/90 season but I'm pretty sure that was after his spell for Besiktas. IIRC I think the goals against the pikies at LR were his first.
That's my recollection as well, FWIW.
"The opposite of love, after all, is not hate, but indifference."
I can't remember any other Rangers striker before or since who was so, so good in the air.
Sir Les just seemed to 'hang there' with so much time and 'punch' the ball into the net with his head- seemingly he could be on the end of any cross into the box from Sinton, Bardsley, Wilkins, Wilson, anyone... as some above have said, he seemed so much taller than he actually was.
I wish we could have held onto him (and Willo) for just one more year...
[Post edited 12 Jan 2021 18:50]
The only modern player who can 'hang in the air' like Les could, is Ronaldo
I don't think he did score before leaving for Turkey. I remember him getting a brace against the SW6 filth at LR just before Christmas 1989/90 season but I'm pretty sure that was after his spell for Besiktas. IIRC I think the goals against the pikies at LR were his first.
Yep, you're right. Just two games for us before he went on his travels.
That hang time was remarkable - something to do with the fact that he was only 5'11" and needed to outjump taller CBs.
The other Wiki Stat that aught my eye was his Newcastle scoring record - 41 goals in 62 games.
Les in his prime was the best player I've seen at Rangers by some distance (honourable runners up - Adel/Paul Parker). Too young for Stan and Rodney.
What made it so good was as others have said he was a fairly mediocre target man for a few years, and then one season he turned up on the first day and was f--king phenomenal from that moment on. We got three seasons out of that new Les before he went to Newcastle but for those three seasons, as long as he was playing, you knew we could beat anyone.
Never seen a player before or since who could hang in the air for so long, he was also fast as f--k, great shot from distance or close in. Our basic tactic while we had him was for Wilkins/Barker/Holloway/whoever, to get the ball vaguely near him and he would win it 90% of the time.
In this day and age he'd be a superstar, seriously.
[Post edited 12 Jan 2021 21:35]
He was simply breathtaking in the air. Never seen anything like it.
Then again he could also do this. It was even better live!
I bloody loved Clive Allen, best finisher I've seen for us or anyone else.
But Les was the best all-round striker I've seen: strong, good in the air, lightening quick with the ball at his feet, powerful shot... I actually think it cost him England caps, Shearer was more a "pure" centre forward and Beardsley the creator.
I bloody loved Clive Allen, best finisher I've seen for us or anyone else.
But Les was the best all-round striker I've seen: strong, good in the air, lightening quick with the ball at his feet, powerful shot... I actually think it cost him England caps, Shearer was more a "pure" centre forward and Beardsley the creator.
Think it was Sheringham that kept Les out of the team in my view. Always biased but Sir Les deserved more England Caps...
Think it was Sheringham that kept Les out of the team in my view. Always biased but Sir Les deserved more England Caps...
Yeah, I think you're right. I've no doubt at all Les was the better player but I can see the thinking.
I remember reading some Dutch bloke praising England's strikers and saying that we weren't even playing our best ones and it'd be scary when we started picking Les.
He was simply breathtaking in the air. Never seen anything like it.
Then again he could also do this. It was even better live!
Everyone talks about the hang time, the headers from crosses, and racing onto balls over the top but this was my favourite part of his game.
So often when we were in our own half Les would look to drop off a CB, towards the centre circle, and collect a pass into him. He'd turn and, if the CBs had given him even a yard of space, run at them with pace and power. It scared the life out of them. So impressive to watch.
Iv'e seen better passes, better defenders, better crossers, players with better control - but I've never seen or felt a QPR player generate the sort of excitement Les did in his prime years with us. Genuinely thrilling.
Les in his prime was the best player I've seen at Rangers by some distance (honourable runners up - Adel/Paul Parker). Too young for Stan and Rodney.
What made it so good was as others have said he was a fairly mediocre target man for a few years, and then one season he turned up on the first day and was f--king phenomenal from that moment on. We got three seasons out of that new Les before he went to Newcastle but for those three seasons, as long as he was playing, you knew we could beat anyone.
Never seen a player before or since who could hang in the air for so long, he was also fast as f--k, great shot from distance or close in. Our basic tactic while we had him was for Wilkins/Barker/Holloway/whoever, to get the ball vaguely near him and he would win it 90% of the time.
In this day and age he'd be a superstar, seriously.
[Post edited 12 Jan 2021 21:35]
Was lucky that this was my team when living over there & you’ve nailed it. Quite brilliant. Agree with Grove though on Wilkins influence - he could get a pout on if couple of decisions went against him & Ray was constantly geeing him up & keeping him focussed. Loved that side.
Just a wonderful player. A true Great and you shouldn't use that term lightly.
It wasnt just us that rated Les. I went to many England games during the early 90s and every fan I met from other clubs rated him as unplayable. Could jump like he was on a trampoline, too fast, too strong or too skillful for the defenders he was playing against. Absolute monster of a player and one that were likely to never see the likes of again.
Here's another tangent for this one, perhaps relevent to Dykes now (one can only hope).
Les came out of non-league and had several seasons (not months) of developing, couple of loans, one famous 'making of the man' season in Turkey, used and trusted a little bit by Don Howe, but really only in the second half of 91/92 under Gerry and after Wegerle left did he really become the main man up front, and of course then absolutely blitzed 92/93, 93/94, 94/95...
Do we think these days, at QPR and/or elsewhere, he'd have been afforded that time? Would we perhaps write him off and give up around the sort of 1989/90 mark now, when he'd been here for three years and not broken through?
I guess we gave Conor Washington plenty of time, but I already see people giving up on Dykes.
This post has been edited by an administrator
I think fans are cuter than you give them credit for. The first season Les played for us, sure he did get some stick, but think that was largely out of frustration, you could see he had everything at that point except the ability to shoot straight. That came right but important point at the early stage fans, and no doubt the club, saw that he had something special.
Same with Eze. There were some who called him lazy but again while some may have thought he was genuinely lazy I think it just became a universal word for his one weakness, that of not being alert to running full backs and something he still hasn’t quite got to grips with at Palace either. No matter, the vast majority had patience because he had every other attribute.
Players like Eze and Les have that moment that takes your breath away, when you know they’re special. Eze when he left Huddleston for dead in an early appearance, Les for his unstoppable surging runs. That’s the difference and why fans have less patience with the likes of Conor and Dykes.
To give Dykes a break, the last two games I’ve been surprised that when played through one on one he didn’t get caught for speed and stayed ahead of the defender. Missed both chances admittedly, but that gives some glimmer of hope maybe.
Les was superb he had everything, that salamander leap to beat giant old school 6ft4" centerbacks you dont really see any more.
I remember Les being unconcious or dazed in the penalty area, the ball was cut across for Garry Thompson only to blast it straight at the prone Les's head.
I think the ref stopped play after that
Beer and Beef has made us what we are - The Prince Regent
Didn’t Jimmy Hill say that we would have qualified for the 1994 World Cup had Les been playing in a certain game? Or something akin to that.
Yes, he missed the game against Holland in Rotterdam through injury ("The referee's got me the sack. Thank him ever so much for that, won't you?").
We then played Newcastle at St James' Park the following Saturday where he scored and made the other for Bradley Allen and was absolutely unplayable which ultimately convinced Kevin Keegan that he had to sign him.
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