Ahead of Tuesday'smeeting between QPR and Everton, LFW looks back to a game between the two at Loftus Road in early 1985 when the reigning champions were put to the sword.

Memorable Match

QPR 3 Everton 0, Saturday September 7, 1985, First Division

In form league champions Everton were given a shock to their system on the infamous plastic pitch at Loftus Road early in the 1985/86 season.

The Toffees boasted a team of eight internationals, led by England striker Gary Linekar who had five goals in his previous two appearances, and had begun the defence of the First Division crown in fine style with a 5-1 victory at Sheffield Wednesday during the week. QPR meanwhile had lost to Arsenal in W12 following a 3-1 defeat at Newcastle the week before.

Everton, roared on by more than 3,000 travelling fans, through they’d opened the scoring after 12 minutes when Trevor Stevens found the net but he was flagged offside. That let off stirred QPR into life and Neville Southall had to be at his best to keep out a free kick from Terry Fenwick a short time later.

But the Welsh international stopper could do nothing to prevent Jim Smith’s men going into the lead on the half hour when Wayne Fereday slipped Gary Bannister through the visiting defence and he calmly rounded Southall before sliding the ball into the empty net from a tricky angle. That was his one hundredth goal in competitive football.

The lead was doubled three minutes before half time. Fereday was at the heart of the move again, crossing to the far post for Martin Allen to volley right across the face of goal and John Byrne was waiting to stab home from close range when the ball seemed to have passed everybody by.

The change of ends and half time team talks did little to life the Toffees’ and they fell three behind ten minutes after the break when Fereday, again, crossed for Bannister to thump home a header at the Loft End and seal the victory at 3-0.

Despite his brace, and the presence of England manager Bobby Robson who was bombarded with “Bannister for England” chants throughout, there was to be no call up for QPR’s leading scorer for that Wednesday night’s friendly game against Romania at Wembley.

Everton went on to finish runners up to local rivals Liverpool that season, missing out on the title by two points. Rangers finished thirteenth.

QPR: Hucker, Chivers, Dawes, McDonald, Fenwick, Waddock, M Allen, Gregory, Fereday, Bannister, Byrne

Sub: Rosenior

Everton: Southall, Stevens, Van Den Hauwe, Ratcliffe, Mountfield, Reid, Steven, Bracewell, Heath, Linekar, Sharp

Sub: Marshall

Classic Encounters

LFW regular and AKUTR’s columnist Dave Barton has set up a QPR Memories YouTube channel, with a mixture of clips, classic games, and old highlights packages. His Everton packages are embedded below, give him a subscribe on YouTube or follow @QPR_Memories on Twitter.

Recent Meetings

QPR 1 Everton 2, Sunday March 22, 2015, Premier League

QPR lost for the tenth time in 11 games as their brief return to the Premier League petered out into a fairly pathetic relegation. Chris Ramsay had taken over from Harry Redknapp by the time Everton came to town in March but bar a couple of away wins at Sunderland and West Brom, snapping Redknapp’s dire run of six months without one on the road, fortunes didn’t change much for the R’s. Seamus Coleman scored off both posts for the visitors early in the first half and although Eduardo Vargas rose from the bench to equalise off a goal mouth scramble, that hope quickly dissipated when Aaron Lennon swept home a cross from wide for 2-1.

QPR: Green 6; Isla 6, Caulker 6, Onuoha 6, Yun 6; Phillips 6, Barton 8, Sandro 5 (Henry 71, 6), Hoilett 6 (Vargas 60, 5); Zamora 5 (Taarabt 82, -), Austin 6

Subs not used: McCarthy, Hill, Ferdinand, Kranjcar

Goals: Vargas 64 (assisted Barton/Austin)

Bookings: Hoilett 39 (foul), Yun 56 (foul)

Everton: Howard 6; Coleman 6, Stones 7, Jagielka 7, Baines 6; Lennon 6, McCarthy 6, Gibson 6, Osman 6; Kone 6 (Naismith 79, 6), Lukaku 6 (Barkley 67, 5)

Subs not used: Robles, Besic, Browning, Garbutt, Alcaraz

Goals: Coleman 18 (assisted Osman), Lennon 77 (assisted Coleman)

Bookings: Naismith 90+4 (kicking ball away)

Everton 3 QPR 1, Monday December 15, 2014, Premier League

QPR’s miserable away form stretched to nine successive defeats from the start of the season with a televised defeat at Everton in December. The R’s had started brighter than in many of their road trips, but captain Joey Barton took it upon himself to gift the home side two goals in the last quarter of an hour in the first half just as the Goodison Park regulars were starting to turn on their own players. First he passed the ball to Ross Barkley who ran on to score from long range via a deflection. Then he conceded a mindless free kick on the edge of his own box which Kevin Mirallas dispatched into the net, again via a deflection. Bobby Zamora rose from the bench to score in the second half after Jordon Mutch’s shot was blocked, but Stephen Naismith had made it 3-0 before that and the game was up long before the end.

Everton: Howard 5; Baines 6, Jagielka 5, Distin 6, Coleman 6; Barkley 7, BeÅ¡ić 8; McGeady 5 (Pienaar 73, 6), Mirallas 6 (Kone 90, -), Naismith 7; Lukaku 5 (Eto’o 77, 6)

Subs not used: Garbutt, Alcaraz, Robles, Stones

Goals: Barkley 33 (assisted Barton), Mirallas 43 (free kick, conceded Barton), Naismith 53 (assisted Naismith)

QPR: Green 5; Isla 5, Dunne 6, Onuoha 5, Yun 5; Fer 5 (Kranjcar 77, 5), Mutch 5, Barton 4; Phillips 5 (Zamora 59, 6) Vargas 6, Hoilett 5

Subs not used: Hill, Henry, McCarthy, Feridinand, Wright-Phillips

Goals: Zamora 80 (assisted Mutch)

Bookings: Mutch 88 (foul)

Everton 4 QPR 0, Saturday January 4, 2014, FA Cup Third Round

Never a chance of an FA Cup upset at Goodison Park back in January 2014 with QPR combining their appalling knockout competition form with a desire to focus on the Championship promotion race for the rest of the season. There were changes aplenty for Rangers, although they did pick top scorer Charlie Austin in attack despite his injury concerns and lasted half an hour before conceding the first goal. Youngster Ross Barkley opened the scoring, curling the ball past recalled goalkeeper Julio Cesar from just inside the area. Then when Karl Henry trod on the ball and conceded possession 35 yards out from goal Nikica Jelavic found the bottom corner from long range. Jelavic was the subject of much January transfer window speculation before the game — and eventually moved to Hull — but he stated his case for more Everton games with a second goal after 68 minutes, and should have had a hat trick but for a stupid chipped penalty kick that rebounded back into play off the bar. Seamus Coleman rounded the scoring off with 14 minutes left for play.

Everton: Robles 6; Coleman 8 (Hibbert 82, -), Stones 7, Alcaraz 7, Oviedo 8; Barry 7 (Heitinga 83,-), McCarthy 7; Osman 7, Barkley 8 (Mirallas 89, -), Naismith 7; Jelavic 8

Subs not used: Lukaku, Pienaar, Howard, Vellios

Goals: Barkley 35 (assisted Oviedo), Jelavic 44 (assisted Henry), 68 (assisted Oviedo), Coleman 76 (assisted Barkley)

QPR: Cesar 6; Simpson 6, Hill 7, Onuoha 5, Assou-Ekotto 4; Henry 3 (Johnson 58, 6), Barton 6; O’Neil 4, Phillips 6, Traore 5 (Kranjcar 45, 5); Austin 6 (Benayoun 76, 5)

Subs not used: Dunne, Onyewu, Zamora, Murphy

Everton 2 QPR 0, Saturday April 13, 2013, Premier League

QPR were well beaten at Goodison Park in the April of their 2012/13 relegation season. Daron Gibson saw a shot deflected past Julio Cesar and Victor Anichibe added a second after the break for a comfortable 2-0 home win that Rangers seemed happy to roll over and accept. To be fair the fate was all but sealed in the three games immediately prior to this one — two 3-2 away defeats at Villa and Fulham followed by a heartbreaking last second equaliser from Wigan at Loftus Road — and QPR played like they knew the game was up in this one.

Everton: Howard 7, Baines 7, Jagielka 6, Distan 7, Mirallas 8 (Heitinga 90 - ), Osman 6, Gibson 7, Pienaar 6, Anichebe 8 (Jelavic 81 - ), Fellaini 7 (Naismith 86 - ).

Booked: Gibson (foul), Pienaar (foul), Fellaini (foul)

QPR: Cesar 5, Onuoha 6, Hill 5, Samba 5, Bosingwa 4, Hoilett 6, Jenas 5, Park 5 (Taarabt 61 6), Granero 5 (Diakité 74 6), Townsend 6, Remy 7

Subs Not Used: Green, Ben-Haim, Mackie, Fabio, Bothroyd

Booked: Bosingwa (foul), Townsend (foul) Granero (foul)

QPR 1 Everton 1, Sunday October 21, 2012, Premier League

QPR couldn’t really have asked for much more help against Everton at Loftus Road in October that season as they attempted to snap a run of eight matches without a win at the start of the campaign. The R’s took the lead in the second minute in front of the Sky Sports cameras when Junior Hoilett ran from halfway before unloading a shot past Tim Howard and into the net via a hefty deflection off Leighton Baines. But Rangers were vulnerable from set pieces and conceded an equaliser on the half hour when Sylvain Distin was left unmarked at a free kick and his header rebounded into the net off the back of goalkeeper Julio Cesar having initially struck the post. Referee Jon Moss rather harshly dismissed Steven Pienaar for two yellow cards after half time but he turned down a stone wall QPR penalty appeal as well and the wait for a win went on and on and on for two more months with the R’s forced to settle for a point in this one.

QPR: Cesar 6, Bosingwa 6, Nelsen 6 (Ferdinand 83 -), Mbia 6, Traore 6 (Onuoha 72, 6), Park 6, Diakite 7, Granero 7, Taarabt 6, Hoilett 7, Zamora 5 (Cisse 71, 5

Subs not used: Green, Wright-Phillips, Faurlin, Mackie

Goals: Hoilett 2 (unassisted)

Bookings: Diakite 66 (foul), Granero 90 (foul)

Everton: Howard 7, Coleman 6, Distin 7, Jagielka 8, Baines 6, Osman 6, Pienaar 6, Neville 6, Mirallas 6, Jelavic 6 (Heitinga 83, -), Anichebe 5 (Naismith 52, 6)

Goals: Cesar og 33 (assisted Distin/Pienaar)

Bookings: Pienaar 51 (foul), 60 (foul)

Sent off: Pienaar 60 (two bookings)

QPR 1 Everton 1, Saturday March 3, 2012, Premier League

Rangers were circling the drain when Everton came to Loftus Road in March 2012. The R’s had lost five out of six at home over the Christmas period including damaging set backs against Norwich, Wolves and Fulham and were now facing a daunting run in that would see Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool head to Shepherds Bush after Everton. When Paddy Kenny allowed a long distance strike from Royston Drenthe to squirm away from him and in for the opening goal the writing seemed to be on the wall, but the crowd was lifted late in the half by the bizarre antics of a squirrel on the pitch and amid the farce Bobby Zamora nodded in an equaliser. That’s the way the game finished, but Rangers won all five and a half home matches played after that squirrel turned up and ultimately survived on the final day of the season.

QPR: Kenny 6, Onuoha 7, Ferdinand 6, Hill 8, Traore 7, Derry 7, Barton 7, Wright-Phillips 6, Buzsaky 7, Taarabt 7 (Mackie 80, -), Zamora 7.

Subs Not Used: Cerny, Gabbidon, Bothroyd, Young, Smith, Taiwo

Booked: Derry (foul)

Goals: Zamora 36 (assisted Buzsaky)

Everton: Howard 7, Hibbert 6, Heitinga 7, Distin 7, Baines 7, Drenthe 7 (Osman 63, 6), Fellaini 8, Neville 6, Pienaar 7, Cahill 7 (Jelavic 63, 6), Stracqualursi 6 (Coleman 88, -)

Subs Not Used: Mucha, Jagielka, Gueye, Barkley

Booked: Drenthe (foul), Pienaar (dissent)

Goals: Drenthe 31 (assisted Pienaar)

Everton 0 QPR 1, Saturday August 20, 2011, Premier League

After a 4-0 opening day defeat at home to Bolton nobody gave QPR much of a prayer in their first away game following promotion at Goodison Park. Because of the previous week’s riots that saw Everton’s opener against Spurs postponed this was actually the Toffees’ first match of the season but they were stunned by Neil Warnock’s QPR side that launched a trademark smash and grab raid on a ground that they have always enjoyed visiting in the Premier League era. Tommy Smith got the only goal of the game in the first half, finishing nicely after Akos Buzsaky found him in the area intelligently, and although Tim Cahill missed an absolute sitter and Leighton Baines hit the bar with a free kick the Londoners held on for their first win of the season.

Everton: Howard 6, Neville 6, Jagielka 6, Distin 6, Baines 7, Barkley 7, Heitinga 6 (Saha 74, 6), Rodwell 5 (Arteta 54, 5), Osman 6, Cahill 6, Beckford 4 (Fellaini 63, 5)

Subs Not Used: Mucha, Hibbert, Vellios, Anichebe

Booked: Osman (foul)

QPR: Kenny 8, Orr 7, Hall 7, Gabbidon 7, Connolly 7, Derry 8, Faurlin 7, Smith 7 (Ephraim 66, 7), Buzsaky 7, Taarabt 6, Agyemang 5 (Bothroyd 55, 8)

Subs Not Used: Murphy, Gorkss, Perone, Moen, Andrade

Booked: Hall (foul)

Goals: Smith 31 (assisted Buzsaky)

QPR 3 Everton 1, Monday April 8, 1996, Premier League

When these sides met for the final time in QPR’s previous Premier League stint it was an Easter Monday fixture in the 1995/96 season. QPR would finish that campaign in the bottom three having started a rally of results, particularly at home, just too late. Everton were one of three sides suddenly beaten with some ease by QPR in W12, Southampton and West Ham would follow, but it wasn’t enough to keep the R’s up. In this game Kevin Gallen, Mark Hateley and Andy Impey scored the goals for Rangers who won 3-1 despite not forcing a corner in the entire game. John Ebbrell scored for Everton, then managed by Joe Royle.

QPR: Sommer, Bardsley, McDonald, Yates, Brevett, Impey, Holloway, Wilkins, Sinclair, Gallen, Hateley

Subs not used: Ready, Brazier, Dichio

Goals: Gallen, Hateley, Impey

Everton: Southall, Unsworth (Short 63), Watson, Horne (Grant 73), Parkinson, Holcrft, Ebbrell, Kanchelskis, Ferguson, Limpar (Branch 46), Hottinger

Goals: Ebbrell

Previous Results

2014/15 QPR 1 Everton 2 (Vargas)

2014/15 Everton 3 QPR 1 (Zamora)

2013/14 Everton 4 QPR 0*

2012/13 Everton 2 QPR 0

2012/13 QPR 1 Everton 1 (Hoilett)

2011/12 QPR 1 Everton 1 (Zamora)

2011/12 Everton 0 QPR 1 (Smith)

1995/96 QPR 3 Everton 1 (Gallen, Hateley, Impey)

1995/96 Everton 2 QPR 0

1994/95 QPR 2 Everton 3 (Gallen, Ferdinand)

1994/95 Everton 2 QPR 2 (Ferdinand 2)

1993/94 QPR 2 Everton 1 (White, Ferdinand)

1993/94 Everton 0 QPR 3 (Allen 3)

1992/93 Everton 3 QPR 5 (Ferdinand 3, Impey, Bardsley)

1992/93 QPR 4 Everton 2 (Sinton 3, Penrice)

1991/92 Everton 0 QPR 0

1991/92 QPR 3 Everton 1 (Barker 2, Bailey)

1990/91 QPR 1 Everton 1 (Wegerle)

1990/91 Everton 3 QPR 0

1989/90 Everton 1 QPR 0

1989/90 QPR 1 Everton 0 (Sinton)

1988/89 Everton 4 QPR 1 (Falco)

1988/89 QPR 0 Everton 0

1987/88 Everton 2 QPR 0

1987/88 QPR 1 Everton 0 (M Allen)

1986/87 QPR 0 Everton 1

1986/87 Everton 0 QPR 0

1985/86 Everton 4 QPR 3 (Bannister 2, Byrne)

1985/86 QPR 3 Everton 0 (Bannister 2, Byrne)

1984/85 Everton 2 QPR 0

1984/85 QPR 0 Everton 0

1983/84 Everton 3 QPR 1 (Mickelwhite)

1983/84 QPR 2 Everton 0 (Charles 2)

1978/79 Everton 2 QPR 1 (Goddard)

1978/79 QPR 1 Everton 1 (Gillard)

1977/78 Everton 3 QPR 3 (Shanks, Hollins, Howe)

1977/78 QPR 1 Everton 5 (Eastoe)

1976/77 Everton 1 QPR 3 (Leach, Masson, Bowles)

1976/77 QPR 0 Everton 4

1975/76 Everton 0 QPR 2 (Bowles, Leach)

1975/76 QPR 5 Everton 0 (Francis 2, Givens, Masson, Thomas)

1974/75 Everton 2 QPR 1 (Givens)

1974/75 QPR 2 Everton 2 (Givens, Busby)

1973/74 QPR 1 Everton 0 (Givens)

1973/74 Everton 1 QPR 0

1968/69 QPR 0 Everton 1

1968/69 Everton 4 QPR 0

1951/52 Everton 3 QPR 0

1951/52 QPR 4 Everton 4 (Shepherd 2, Waugh, Gilberg)

1949/50 QPR 0 Everton 2*

1914/15 QPR 1 Everton 2* (Birch)

* - FA Cup

Connections

Kevin McLeod >>> Everton 2000-2003 >>> QPR 2003-2005

There are certainly no shortage of stories about players at QPR who wasted their potential down the years, but I certainly think Kevin McLeod is worthy of mention in that category.

He’d grown up in Everton’s cup and league winning youth team that produced Wayne Rooney and others. Despite having a pair of feet so tiny it was hard to see how he could stand up McLeod boasted not only decent ball control and speed down the flank, but also a deceptive ability in the air that meant he was often utilised as a second striker while with the Toffees, and on occasions at QPR including one night at Preston when the bookie in the away end found a flurry of money coming his way when he quoted a 33/1 first goal price for Rangers’ centre forward that evening. He had the last laugh needless to say.

With first team opportunities limited to substitute appearances in cup competitions McLeod headed to Rangers, initially on loan, as Ian Holloway’s men qualified for the Second Division play off final in 2003. He replaced Lee Cook on the left wing, a popular loanee from Watford who had unfortunately used up his full three month quota before the end of the campaign and was therefore forced to return to Vicarage Road before the end of the season. Some feared the impact of Cook’s departure given that his initial arrival had turned around a dreadful run of form that included the infamous cup exit to Vauxhall Motors but McLeod proved to be a more than able deputy, looking particularly impressive in his first away match as the R’s won 3-1 up at Blackpool.

Two matches later, after he’d played a part in a memorable 2-1 win at Cardiff, he bagged both goals in a home win against Luton Town and it seemed as if Rangers had a player on their hands. He was unfortunate not open the scoring in the first minute of the play off semi final second leg at Loftus Road against Oldham as well but saw his shot saved by Pogliacomi in the Oldham goal.

Another loan spell followed the next season before QPR used money from the sale of Richard Langley to secure McLeod’s signature permanently from Goodison Park. In the 2003/04 promotion season he played 39 times and scored four goals but after moving up a division Rangers splashed out to bring Lee Cook back to Loftus Road permanently. Two into one simply didn’t go and after a pretty even tussle for places initially — McLeod helped seal a famous win over title chasing Wigan with a superb run and cross for Paul Furlong’s last minute winner while Cook scored a flying header in a memorable 3-2 home victory against Leicester — it was the former Watford man who claimed the place on a regular basis.

That seemed somewhat harsh on McLeod who’d done little wrong, and he seemed to fnd his feet again at Swansea City under Kenny Jackett who’d been the assistant to Holloway at Rangers when McLeod first moved there. He scored seven goals in the opening six games of Swansea’s 2005/06 season but he was transfer listed in March that year for repeated breaches of club discipline relating to alcohol. Amid tales of him enjoying the London life with his old mate Francis Jeffers a little too much his career has since nosedived through Colchester, Brighton (where he was hampered by injury and weight issues) and Wycombe clocking up barely 70 appearances in total. Trials with Aldershot, Port Vale and St Mirren failed to yield deals so he then moved into non-league with Braintree, Redbridge and latterly Thurrock.

Cook of course went on to achieve cult hero status at QPR and a £2.5m move to Premier League side Fulham just before his knee fell apart. Strange how two careers can take such different paths based on the decision of one manager about which of them should play more regularly.

Others >>> Andros Townsend, Everton 2021-present, QPR (loan) 2013 >>> Josh Bowler, Everton 2017-2021, QPR 2017 >>> Richard Dunne, QPR 2013-2015, Everton 1996-2000 >>> Andy Johnson, QPR 2012-2014, Everton 2006-2008 >>> John Spencer, QPR 1996-1998, Everton 1998-1999 >>> Matt Jackson, Everton 1991-1996, QPR (loan) 1996 >>> Kenny Sansom, QPR 1989-1991, Everton 1993 >>> Peter Reid, Everton 1982-1989, QPR 1989-1990 >>> Andy King, Everton 1976-1980, QPR 1980-1981 >>>Dave Thomas, QPR 1972-1977, Everton 1977- 1979 >>> Peter Eastoe, QPR 1976-1979, Everton 1979-1982 >>> Dave Thomas, QPR 1972-1977, Everton 1977- 1979 >>> Mickey Walsh, Everton 1978, QPR 1978-1981

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