History of Queens Park Rangers F.C. facts for kids

Queens Park Rangers Football Club, often called QPR, is a professional football team from White City, London. Their history began in 1882 when a team called Christchurch Rangers was formed.

How QPR Started and Grew

Queens Park Rangers F.C. officially began in 1886. This happened when two local teams, St Jude's Institute and Christchurch Rangers, joined together. They chose the name Queens Park Rangers because many players came from the Queens Park area of North-West London.

QPR became a professional team in 1889. They joined the Southern Football League in 1899. They won this league for the first time in the 1907–08 season. Because they were champions, QPR played in the very first Charity Shield match. They played against Manchester United, who were the Football League champions. QPR lost 0–4 in a replay after the first game was a 1-1 draw. Both games took place at Stamford Bridge. QPR won the Southern League again in 1911–12.

The club joined the Football League in 1920. This was when the Third Division was created, mostly with teams from the Southern League.

Home Grounds Over the Years

QPR played their home games at almost 20 different stadiums. This is a record for a league team! They finally settled at Loftus Road in 1917. However, they did play briefly at White City between 1931–32 and 1962–63. They hoped to attract bigger crowds there.

The club also played at two grounds in Park Royal. The first was the Horse Ring from 1904 to 1907. It could hold 40,000 fans. When that land was sold, the club moved to the Park Royal Ground. This ground was very similar to Ayresome Park and could hold 60,000 people. The team had to leave in February 1915 because the Army took over the ground.

Winning Trophies and Reaching the Top League

QPR won the Division 3 South championship in the 1947–48 season. This meant they were promoted to the Second Division. Dave Mangnall was the manager then. Rangers spent four seasons in the Second Division before being relegated in 1951–52. Tony Ingham joined the team and played the most league games ever for QPR, with 519 appearances.

Alec Stock Era

In 1959, Alec Stock became manager. Many people think he was the club's greatest manager. In the 1960–61 season, QPR had their biggest win ever. They beat Tranmere Rovers 9–2 in a Division 3 match. Stock, along with chairman Jim Gregory in the mid-1960s, completely changed the club.

In 1966–67, QPR won the Division Three championship. They also made history by becoming the first Third Division club to win the League Cup. On March 4, 1967, they beat West Bromwich Albion 3–2. They came back from being two goals down! This is still the only major trophy Rangers have won. It was also the first League Cup Final held at Wembley Stadium. The team's biggest star was Rodney Marsh, who scored 44 goals. Other key players included Les Allen, Roger Morgan, and captain Mike Keen. The next year, they won promotion again. This meant they reached the top flight of English football for the first time.

Unfortunately, their first season in the top division was very tough. Manager Alec Stock was unfairly sacked. Bill Dodgin, Jr. took over, but after a bad start, he stepped aside. Tommy Docherty then became manager but resigned quickly. Les Allen was appointed player-manager, but the team was relegated straight back to the Second Division.

Promotion Again and New Stars

After being relegated in 1968–69, QPR spent four years in the Second Division. Terry Venables joined from Spurs in 1969. Later, Rodney Marsh was sold to Manchester City. However, a skilled and exciting team was built by Gordon Jago. This team included goalkeeper Phil Parkes, striker Don Givens, winger Dave Thomas, and Marsh's replacement, the very talented Stanley Bowles. These new players, plus home-grown talents like Dave Clement, Ian Gillard, Mick Leach, and captain Gerry Francis, helped the team finish second in the 1972–73 season. This meant another promotion!

Sexton's Super Team

Gordon Jago resigned in late 1974. He was replaced by former Chelsea manager Dave Sexton. Sexton added experienced players like John Hollins, Don Masson, and David Webb. In 1975–76, Sexton led QPR to finish second in the First Division. They missed out on winning the league title by just one point.

After finishing their 42-game season, QPR were at the top of the First Division. They were one point ahead of Liverpool. Liverpool had to win their final game of the season against Wolverhampton Wanderers to take the title. Because Liverpool was also playing in a European cup final, their last league game was delayed for ten days. Wolves took the lead and held it until the 77th minute. But Liverpool scored three times to win 3–1 and clinch the league title. The QPR squad that season had seven players who played for the England national team.

In 1976–77, QPR did not play as well in the league. However, they had some success in cup competitions. They reached the semi-finals of the League Cup but lost to Aston Villa. In their first time playing in European football, they reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup. They lost to AEK Athens FC on penalties.

In the summer of 1977, Sexton moved to Manchester United. His assistant, Frank Sibley, took over. He became the youngest manager in Football League history. The next season was difficult, and QPR barely avoided relegation. Sibley's time as manager ended after just one year. Former manager Alec Stock agreed to return but then changed his mind. This led to Steve Burtenshaw being quickly appointed manager. The 1978–79 season was very poor, and the club was relegated after winning only six league games.

Terry Venables Returns

Tommy Docherty was appointed manager in 1979. But after little progress, Terry Venables took over as manager in October 1980. In 1981, the club installed a 'plastic pitch'. This technology was new and not very popular, so it was removed in April 1988. The first game on the plastic pitch was against Luton Town, who won 2–1.

That same season, QPR reached the FA Cup Final for the only time in the club's history. They played against Tottenham Hotspur. The first game ended 1–1 after extra time, so a replay was needed. Tottenham won the replay 1–0 with a penalty goal from Glenn Hoddle. In the league, QPR finished fifth in the Second Division.

The next season, 1982–83, QPR won the Second Division championship easily. This meant they returned to English football's top division. The team had talented players like Steve Wicks, Terry Fenwick, Simon Stainrod, Clive Allen, and future manager John Gregory. After finishing a respectable fifth place the next year, Venables left to manage Barcelona in Spain.

Ups and Downs for QPR

Alan Mullery replaced Venables. Early in his time, QPR had a very bad loss, 0–4 against Partizan in the UEFA Cup. This was despite having a 6–2 lead from the first game. Even with this loss, the club's league form was generally good. But Mullery was surprisingly sacked and replaced by former manager Frank Sibley in December 1984. The season quickly got worse, and QPR only avoided relegation because Norwich City lost their last game.

Jim Smith became manager that summer. He brought a period of stability to the club. They easily avoided relegation in his first two seasons. They also finished second in the 1986 League Cup, losing to Oxford United. In the 1987–88 season, they finished fifth. However, they could not play in the UEFA Cup because English clubs were banned from European competitions. This ban happened after the Heysel Stadium disaster. Despite the club doing well, Smith surprisingly resigned to manage Newcastle United.

After Smith left, Trevor Francis took over as player-manager. He guided the club to a ninth-place finish. However, problems between Francis and the senior players started. The team had a terrible start to the 1989–90 season, winning only 2 of their first 12 games. This led to Francis being dismissed. Don Howe replaced him, and the club improved, finishing eleventh. They could have done even better if not for a poor end to the season. The next season, they finished twelfth, and Howe's contract was not renewed.

Gerry Francis Comes Back

Gerry Francis, a key player from the 1970s QPR team, became manager in the summer of 1991. He had been a successful manager at Bristol Rovers. In the 1991–92 First Division season, QPR finished in the middle of the league table. They became one of the founding members of the new Premier League, which started in 1992.

Francis led QPR to one of their most famous wins: a 4–1 victory over league leaders Manchester United at Old Trafford. This game was shown live on TV on New Year's Day 1992. Dennis Bailey scored three goals in that game. This was the last time someone scored a hat-trick in a league game at Old Trafford. Many people saw this game as the start of Manchester United's struggles that season. They had a big shortage of goals and lost the league title to Leeds United. QPR finished that season in fifth place. The next season, Francis guided them to a ninth-place finish.

In the middle of the 1994–95 season, Francis resigned. He quickly became manager of Tottenham Hotspur. Ray Wilkins was then appointed as player-manager. Wilkins led QPR to an eighth-place finish in the Premiership. They also reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. This made fans hopeful that Wilkins could continue Francis's success.

However, in July 1995, the club's top goalscorer, Les Ferdinand, was sold for £6 million to Newcastle United.

Life After the Premier League

Wilkins struggled to find a good replacement for Ferdinand. This was a big reason why QPR was relegated at the end of the 1995–96 season. After relegation, QPR played in Division 1 until 2001. They had several managers, including Stewart Houston and Ray Harford. Gerry Francis returned in 1998 and helped stabilize the club for a while.

However, the 2000–01 season was very bad. The only good thing was the rise of future England international Peter Crouch as a striker. Francis resigned in early 2001. Former player Ian Holloway replaced him, but it was too late. The club was relegated to England's third tier for the first time in over thirty years.

Holloway helped the team improve. They finished eighth in 2001–02 and fourth the next season. They lost in the play-off final to Cardiff City. Finally, in 2003–04, they finished second, which meant promotion back to Division 1. The team continued to do well, finishing 11th in the 2004–05 campaign.

However, QPR struggled to build on this success. On February 6, 2006, Holloway was suspended. He was replaced by former player Gary Waddock. The 2005–06 season was tough for Rangers. They had financial problems and issues with the club's board. They also had many poor performances. After Holloway's departure, they had a winless streak from late February to the end of the season. This caused Rangers to drop to 21st position.

QPR Avoids Relegation

Gary Waddock brought in several new players for the 2006–07 season. These included Jamaican defender Damion Stewart and Cameroon midfielder Armel Tchakounte. They also signed Zesh Rehman, Nick Ward, and Dexter Blackstock, who became the team's top goalscorer. The team was knocked out of the League Cup and FA Cup. They also struggled in the League.

In September 2006, Waddock was moved to first-team coach and later left the club. Another former QPR player, John Gregory, became manager. He made changes to the team. He signed Finnish defender Sampsa Timoska and Adam Bolder. He also brought in Lee Camp on loan. The team climbed to mid-table. They even beat the league leaders, Cardiff City, 1–0, with a goal from young striker Ray Jones.

Despite early improvements, the club later dropped back into the relegation zone. However, in an exciting end to the season, QPR secured safety with a series of wins. This included beating Cardiff City again, thanks to a goal from Dexter Blackstock. The last game of the season was a 1–1 draw at home to Stoke City. QPR finished 18th, a small improvement from the previous season.

2007–08 Season and New Owners

The 2007–08 season started sadly for QPR. Player Ray Jones died in a car crash at age 19. After this sad event, Rangers also faced growing financial problems. In the same month, it was announced that wealthy Formula One businessmen Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone had bought the club.

During the 2007–08 season, Rangers played in the EFL Championship. John Gregory's time as manager ended in November 2007 after poor results left QPR at the bottom of the league. Luigi De Canio replaced him. QPR's form improved under De Canio. He guided them to a safe 14th place in the final table. They also had a close defeat against their Premier League neighbors Chelsea in the FA Cup third round. More money was invested in early 2008 by steel businessman Lakshmi Mittal. The club aimed to be promoted to the Premier League within four years, with better financial stability. On May 8, QPR announced that Luigi De Canio had left the club.

Recent Years: 2008 to Present

Ian Dowie became the new manager on May 14, 2008. However, Dowie was sacked on October 24, 2008, after only fifteen games. On November 19, 2008, QPR named former Portugal midfielder Paulo Sousa as their new coach. Sousa was sacked on April 9, 2009. Player/coach Gareth Ainsworth became caretaker manager for a second time.

Jim Magilton took over as manager in June 2009. He left in December 2009. Paul Hart and Mick Harford replaced him. But a month later, Hart also left the club. Neil Warnock was appointed manager on March 1, 2010. He led the club back to the Premier League at the end of the 2010–11 season by winning the Championship title.

An investigation by the FA (Football Association) looked into QPR's signing of Alejandro Faurlín. This threatened to deduct points from the team and put their promotion at risk. The investigation finished on May 7, 2011. It found the club at fault on two charges and gave them a fine of £875,000. But no points were deducted, so QPR's promotion to the Premier League was confirmed.

Tony Fernandes became the club's new chairman on August 18, 2011. He bought Bernie Ecclestone's majority share.

In January 2012, Fernandes appointed Mark Hughes as manager. This was just 36 hours after Neil Warnock was sacked. Hughes helped the club stay in the Premier League. On November 23, 2012, Hughes was sacked after a poor start to the 2012–13 season. Harry Redknapp was confirmed as the new manager the next day. On April 28, 2013, QPR were relegated from the Premier League after two seasons in the top flight. This happened after a 0–0 draw against fellow relegation rivals Reading.

At the end of the 2013–14 season, QPR won the play-off final against Derby County on May 24, 2014. Bobby Zamora scored the winning goal in the 90th minute, sending QPR back to the Premier League.

QPR had a poor start to their 2014–15 campaign in the Premier League. Harry Redknapp resigned in February due to bad results. Chris Ramsey replaced him. The team finished last with only 30 points. They were relegated back to the Championship after just one season. After a poor start the next season, Ramsey was sacked in November 2015. Former manager Neil Warnock returned to the club.

On December 4, 2015, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was appointed the club's new manager. Hasselbaink was sacked on November 5, 2016, after just 11 months. Six days later, the club reappointed old favorite Ian Holloway. Holloway left the club at the end of the 2017–18 season. A week later, on May 17, 2018, former England manager Steve McClaren was appointed as manager.