We’re going back to the 1982 FA Cup semi-final at Highbury for this week’s History column, ahead of the trip to West Brom tomorrow night.

Memorable Match

QPR 1 West Brom 0, Saturday April 3, 1982, FA Cup Semi Final

Following a club like QPR means big occasions are few and far between, and victories in them even scarcer, but the omens suggest we couldn’t be playing anybody better this Tuesday than West Bromwich Albion. When it really matters, QPR seem quite adept at dealing with the Baggies on the big day.

Having beaten the First Division Albion side in the 1967 League Cup final while still in the third tier (a match we covered in the last history column prior to the home meeting this season) Rangers found themselves paired with the Baggies again in an FA Cup semi final in 1982. The R’s had needed replays to see off Middlesbrough and Blackpool and also registered victories against Grimsby and Crystal Palace on their way to the Highbury showdown. West Brom meanwhile had beaten Blackburn, Norwich, Coventry and Gillingham in previous rounds and kept three clean sheets in the process.

Once again Rangers went into the game in a lower division than their opponents, although this time there was only one league between the two. Terry Venables’ men, in a change strip of red, were competing in a first ever FA Cup semi final for the club and more than 20,000 Rangers fans packed onto Highbury’s famous North Bank for the match. West Brom, by contrast, held the competition record for semi final appearances at the time — this was their nineteenth.

Venables recalled Terry Fenwick and Ian Gillard as his full backs, they’d been replaced by Ian Dawes and Warren Neil for the 2-0 league win against Sheffield Wednesday five days previous, but he was without suspended midfielder John Gregory. Baggies boss Ronnie Allen named four players in his line up who’d played the last time they reached a semi final in 1978, including Derek Statham who passed a late fitness test. Allen dropped Gary Owen to the bench in favour of Steve MacKenzie who had played in two cup semi finals the previous season while with Manchester City. The goal threat was carried by Cyrille Regis.

Despite the greater big game experience of the Albion side, the presence of Regis in attack and QPR’s lower division status it was the team with eight London born players in their starting 11 that threatened first. Flanagan crossed from the left, Allen hung back to give himself space in the penalty area and his crisp volley flashed a yard wide of the Clock End goal with Grew beaten all ends up.

Northern the Elder was always of the opinion that Tony Currie deserved more of a mention when people discussed great QPR players of the past and he started and finished a move here that could have led to the opening goal. Initially, thanks to Currie, the move was slick and incisive but when it descended into a farce and crowd of bodies on the edge of the area Currie swooped in once more with a first time shot that was blocked away.

Currie found himself dictating the play at the start of the second half as well. He combined with Micklewhite who then swung over a deep cross which Flanagan nodded back and Simon Stainrod, with 20 goals to his name already that season, flashed a volley wide of the post from the edge of the area

One of the big stories of the day was the manner in which former Wolves trainee Bob Hazell coped with Regis but when Rangers finally won their first corner of the game 20 minutes from time the giant centre back had a chance to move forward into an offensive position of his own. Currie’s initial delivery was well above his head but Rangers’ tenacity prevented Albion from clearing the corner, and three subsequent crosses, properly. Eventually the ball broke to Hazell in the area and although West Brom were quickly in with a tackle the ball smacked against the shin of Clive Allen and flew into the net to send the North Bank into delirium. It was Allen’s seventh FA Cup goal of the season, and fifteenth overall.

Flanagan went close to adding a second with a late header, and Stainrod had a decent penalty appeal waved away by Sheffield-based referee Keith Hackett but comfortably saw out the victory.

After the game goalscorer Allen said: “We’d trained all week and set out our plan for the way we wanted to play. Terry had obviously given us the incentive to go and play as we wanted to and not to worry about West Brom and that seemed to go pretty well. At half time all he was concerned about was us keeping our authority on the game and going on and scoring. Overall we were the better side, I’m not saying it was a good game but we were the better side.”

Venables himself added: “It was a long 15 or 20 minutes to the end of the game. It’s very emotional, we’ve got a few young boys in there who are emotionally full up. It’s a wonderful moment for us. We wanted to keep the ball and try and run them out, they’re a good side and we had to make sure they didn’t catch us on the break. We had Tony Currie going into the back and our full backs breaking and I felt they had a problem trying to stop our full backs. We were starting our build ups mainly from wide positions and I felt that we did it very well.

“We were 4/1 against today which upset me in the first place, I thought that was a disgrace. That was quite a good spur for us because I think that upset everyone.”

QPR: Hucker, Fenwick, Hazell, Roeder, Gillard, Currie, Waddock, Flanagan, Allen, Stainrod, Micklewhite

West Brom: Grew, Batson, Statham, Zondervan, Wile, Robertson, Bennett, King, Regis, Cross, MacKenzie

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 West Brom packages are embedded below, give him a subscribe on YouTube or follow @QPR_Memories on Twitter.

Recent Meetings

West Brom 2 QPR 2, Monday April 10, 2023, Championship

QPR staged quite the Easter resurrection at The Hawthorns on Easter Monday. Rapidly descending the table towards relegation after topping the table in October, the R’s quickly went 2-0 down through the by now usual collection of appalling defending and goalkeeper errors – Thomas-Asante and Ajayi both able to score into open goals from close range. But for the first time under Gareth Ainsworth, Rangerrs managed to rally to take a point from a losing position. Lyndon Dykes’ flying header from Ilias Chair’s cross was the sort of goal proper football teams score, and Dykes’ tireless hard work on the close down after half time allowed Chris Martin a chance to block Griffiths’ clearance and send the ball spinning into the empty net from 40 yards out. Andre Dozzell and Taylor Richards both came within inches of winning the game in the final few minutes.

West Brom: Griffiths 4; Furlong 6, Ajayi 5, Pieters 4, Townsend 5; Chalobah 4 (Molumby 76, 5), Gardner-Hickman 4 (Rogic 61, 5); Wallace 5, Albrighton 5 (Grant 62, 5), Swift 5; Thomas-Asante 7 (Dike 76, 6)

Subs not used: Palmer, Ingram, Andrews

Goals: Thomas-Asante 10 (assisted Swift), Ajayi 13 (unassisted)

QPR: Dieng 4; Dunne 5, Dickie 5, Balogun 5, Paal 5; Adomah 5 (Lowe 71, 6), Amos 6 (Dozzell 82, -), Field 7, Chair 6 (Richards 83, -); Dykes 7, Martin 6

Subs not used: Johansen, Willock, Archer, Laird

Goals: Dykes 22 (assisted Chair), Martin 49 (unassisted)

Bookings: Lowe 81 (foul)

QPR 0 West Brom 1, Saturday November 5, 2022, Championship

QPR’s 2022/23 decline really started in earnest as October turned to November. Faced with three fixtures against clubs in the bottom four in the week before the World Cup break, instead cementing their position in the play-offs they contrived to lose to all three of Huddersfield, West Brom and Coventry. The Baggies were second bottom with two wins from 14 when they came to Loftus Road but they were good value for a 1-0 win supplied by Kyle Bartley’s headed second half goal.

QPR: Dieng 6; Laird 6 (Armstrong 90, -), Dickie 4, Balogun 5, Paal 6; Field 6, Iroegbunam 6 (Adomah 84, -), Amos 5 (Dozzell 61, 5); Chair 5, Dykes 6, Willock 5

Subs not used: Dunne, Archer, Thomas, Shodipo

Bookings: Field 68 (foul)

WBA: Palmer 6; Furlong 7, Bartley 8, O’Shea 7, Pieters 5 (Townsend 84, -); Yokuslu 7 (Livermore 90, -), Molumby 7; Wallace 7 (Gardner-Hickman 90, -), Swift 7, Diangana 6 (Thomas-Asante 64, 7); Phillips 6 (Reach 84, -)

Subs not used: Button, Rogic

Goals: Bartley 68 (assisted Swift)

Bookings: Pieters 16 (foul), Molumby 90+1 (time wasting)

West Brom 2 QPR 1, Friday September 24, 2022, Championship

Charlie Austin’s headed winner from an offside position at the Loft End eight minutes from time settled a pulsating match in W12 in January 2022. David Button had made several saves from long range before his team got into the game and came on strong late — David Marshall lucky to get away with one cross that deflected past him and skirted along the goal line, and there was a huge penalty appeal still to come. When sub Daryl Dike smashed Yoann Barbet into the advertising hoardings and split his head opened it ratcheted the atmosphere and mood up another few notches which set the scene for Austin’s late winner.

QPR: Marshall 6; Adomah 7, Dickie 6, Dunne 8, Barbet 9, Wallace 7; Johansen 7, Field 7, Willock 7 (Ball 90+3, -); Dykes 6, Gray 6 (Austin 54, 7)

Subs not used: Amos, Thomas, Dozzell, Odubajo, Walsh

Goals: Austin 89 (assisted Willock)

Bookings: Dickie 9 (foul), Field 70 (foul)

West Brom: Button 6; Gardner-Hickman 6, Furlong 6, Clarke 7, Townsend 6, Reach 5; Livermore 6, Molumby 6; Robinson 6, Phillips 6 (Dike 59, 7), Grant 6

Subs not used: Diangana, De Castro, Taylor, Ashworth, Palmer, Fellows

Bookings: Molumby 90+7 (handball)

QPR took the lead almost immediately in the first meeting, Andre Gray making the most of a busted offside trap and indecision from Sam Johnstone to slide into the empty net. A rather ropey backs-to-the-wall effort then manifested itself and took hold until 15 minutes from time when Seny Dieng’s poor mistake at his near post allowed Karlan Grant’s weak shot to squirm through him for an equaliser. Tails up, West Brom put together their first real move of the game with two minutes to go and Grant swept home a late winner.

West Brom: Johnstone 5; Furlong 6, Ajayi 6, Bartley 7, Townsend 6, Reach 6; Livermore 6, Mowatt 6; Diangana 6 (Hugill 55, 5), Phillips 5 (Robinson 54, 7), Grant 7 (Bryan 90, -)

Subs not used: Molumby, Kipre, Snodgrass, Button

Goals: Grant 75 (assisted Robinson), 88 (assisted Robinson)

Bookings: Hugill 90+3 (time wasting)

QPR: Dieng 4; Odubajo 5, Dickie 6, De Wijs 6 (Kakay 77, 5), Dunne 6, Barbet 6; Ball 6, Johansen 5 (Dozzell 77, 5), Chair 5; Gray 5, Willock 5 (Dykes 66, 6)

Subs not used: Austin, Thomas, Walsh, Adomah

Goals: Gray 1 (assisted Odubajo)

Bookings: Kakay 86 (foul)

West Brom 2 QPR 2, Wednesday July 22, 2020, Championship

Deep into the first lockdown, QPR played their final game of the elongated 2019/20 season at West Brom in the middle of July. With West Brom fighting it out with Brentford for the final automatic promotion spot, and Rangers nothing to play for, it was one of those unusual occasions when even the QPR fans weren’t sure if they really wanted us to win or not. That attitude is alien to Mark Warburton though, he picked a strong team, including Ebere Eze an injury to whom could have jeopardised a club transforming £20m move to Palace that close season. Eze responded with one of the goals of the season to seal a 2-2 draw. Ryan Manning had earlier given Rangers the lead from distance before goals either side of half time by Grady Diangana and Callum Robinson turned it around.

West Brom: Johnstone 6; Furlong 6 (Townsend 81, -), Ajayi 6, Bartley 6, O’Shea 5; Livermore 6 (Phillips 90, -), Sawyers 7 (Brunt 71, 6); Pereira 6 (Grosicki 81, -), Diangana 7 (Austin 71, 6), Krovinovic 7; Robinson 7

Subs not used: Harper, Bond, Hegazi, Robson Kanu

Goals: Diangana 44 (assisted Robinson), Robinson 49 (assisted Diangana)

QPR: Lumley 6; Kakay 5 (Shodipo 81, -), Masterson 6, Barbet 5, Manning 6 (Gubbins 90+4, -); Cameron 6 (Ramkilde 57, 6), Ball 6, Amos 6; Osayi-Samuel 7 (Kane 79, -), Chair 7, Eze 7

Subs not used: Oteh, Bettache, Kelly, Clarke

Goals: Manning 34 (unassisted), Eze 61 (assisted Barbet)

QPR 0 West Brom 2, Saturday September 28, 2019, Championship

QPR had won four league games in a row through late August and early September to shrug off a summer of pessimism and set some early pace in the Championship. That optimism was tempered by a televised reality check from an excellent West Brom team at the end of the month. Rangers struggled to threaten their visitors and fell behind straight after half time when Joe Lumley allowed a routine shot from the outstanding Nathan Ferguson to squeeze underneath him and into the net. Lumley redeemed himself somewhat with a string of second half saves but when Yoann Barbet was red carded for bringing down Robson-Kanu when clear through on goal Pereira stuck the resulting free kick under the wall and into the bottom corner.

QPR: Lumley 5; Cameron 5, Leistner 7, Barbet 6; Kane 5, Manning 6; Eze 5 (Osayi-Samuel 70, 5), Ball 6 (Smith 85, -), Chair 6; Hugill 5, Wells 5 (Pugh 77, 5)

Subs not used: Wallace, Scowen, Masterson, Kelly

Red Cards: Barbet 83 (denying clear goalscoring opportunity)

Bookings: Cameron 22 (foul), Barbet 34 (foul)

West Brom: Johnstone 6; Furlong 7, Ajayi 7, Bartley 7, Ferguson 8; Livermore 7, Sawyers 7; Phillips 7 (Edwards 71, 6), Pereira 8 (Krovinovic 87, -), Diangana 8; Austin 6 (Robson-Kanu 61, 6)

Subs not used: Gibbs, Zohore, Bond, O’Shea

Goals: Ferguson 53 (unassisted), Pereira 84 (direct free kick, won Robson-Kanu)

Bookings: Furlong 16 (foul), Robson-Kanu 89 (kicking ball away)

QPR 2 West Brom 3, Tuesday February 19, 2019, Championship

Rangers were just starting to get into a serious freefall when these sides met in a midweek encounter at Loftus Road back in February 2019. This would be an eighth league game without a win, and fourth straight defeat in all comps, for the R’s as a combination of injuries, fixture congestion, rotten refereeing and an unusual run of games against the top six teams in the division all took a toll. West Brom had beaten them 7-1 in the first meeting and looked capable of repeating the feat when Montero scored with consummate ease after just four minutes but talismanic man of the match Luke Freeman banged in an equaliser before half time. The fortnightly horror show from Joel Lynch let Murphy in for a second for the Baggies, but Tomer Hemed impressed off the bench for the R’s — winning and scoring a controversial penalty for a second equaliser. Bright Osayi-Samuel immediately burst through and came within a fine Sam Johnstone save of giving Rangers the lead for the first time and with the visitors now looking rather unsure of themselves captain Jake Livermore launched into a tackle on Ebere Eze that was a red card challenge every day of the week. Referee John Brooks bottled a yellow, and when Freeman then pulled up with a hip injury and had to leave the field with all the subs made it was in fact QPR who finished the game with ten. Just to really put the tin hat on everything, Livermore won the game with the last kick of injury time.

QPR: Lumley 6; Furlong 5, Leistner 6, Lynch 4; Wszolek 6 (Osayi-Samuel 71, 7), Bidwell 5; Cousins 6, Luongo 7, Freeman 8; Smith 5 (Eze 46, 7), Wells 5 (Hemed 71, 7)

Subs not used: Ingram, Scowen, Manning, Kakay

Goals: Freeman 35 (assisted Wells), Hemed 75 (penalty, won Hemed)

West Brom: Johnstone 6; Holgate 7, Hegazi 8, Dawson 6, Gibbs 7; Livermore 7, Johansen 6 (Barry 65, 6); Montero 7 (Harper 57, 6), Field 6 (Phillips 81, -), Murphy 8; Rodriguez 7

Subs not used: Bartley, Edwards, Bond, Adarabioyo

Goals: Montero 4 (assisted Murphy), Murphy 61 (assisted Lynch), Livermore 90+3 (assisted Holgate)

Bookings: Livermore 74 (foul)

West Brom 7 QPR 1, Saturday August 18, 2018, Championship

QPR suffered a cataclysmic collapse, and their worst defeat since 1986, when these sides met at The Hawthorns back in August 2018/19. Remarkably, it was 1-1 at half time, with Joel Lynch’s close-range effort cancelling out an opener from Rangers old boy Matt Phillips. But a succession of defensive implosions in the second half saw the Baggies run riot with goals from Gibbs, Rodriguez (twice), Gayle, Phillips again and Robson-Kanu.

West Brom: Johnston 6; Adarabioyo 6, Bartley 5, Hegazi 6, Gibbs 7; Livermore 7, Brunt 7 (Barry 73, 6); Phillips 8, Barnes 8 (Morrison 86, -), Rodriguez 8; Gayle 8 (Robson Kanu 83, -)

Subs not used: Myhill, Townsend, Burke, Field

Goals: Phillips 28 (assisted Barnes/Gayle), Gibbs 53 (assisted Barnes), Rodriquez 55 (penalty, won Gayle), 82 (penalty, won Rodriguez), Gayle 67 (assisted Gibbs), Phillips 88 (assisted Robson Kanu), Robson Kanu 90+1 (assisted Morrison)

Bookings: Brunt 18 (foul), Bartley 45+3 (foul)

QPR: Ingram 2; Kakay 3, Leistner 2, Lynch 3 (Baptiste 77, 4), Bidwell 3; Scowen 3, Cousins 2; Eze 4 (Washington 58, 3), Freeman 3, Luongo 3; Smith 3 (Wszolek 81, -)

Subs not used: Lumley, Chair, Smyth, Sylla

Goals: Lynch 35 (assisted Freeman/Smith)

Bookings: Scowen 54 (foul)

West Brom 1 QPR 4, Saturday April 4, 2015, Premier League

QPR went goal crazy on their previous visit to The Hawthorns, completing an unlikely Premier League double and prolonging their survival hopes for another week. Tony Pulis had guided the Baggies into the security of midtable after early struggles under Alan Irvine, while Rangers had struggled all season and won only once away from home. But the visitors surged into a 3-0 half time lead with a long range strike from Eduardo Vargas, a typical poacher’s effort from a corner by Charlie Austin, and the club’s Goal of the Season lobbed in from the corner of the area with the outside of his boot by Bobby Zamora. Anichebe scored soon after half time for the home side to set nerves back on edge but a red card for Mulumbu and late fourth from Joey Barton made it a rare away day to remember during our recent spell in the top flight.

West Brom: Myhill 5; Baird 5 (Olsson 65, 5), McAuley 5, Lescott 5, Brunt 5; Gardner 4 (Mulumbu 72, 4), Fletcher 6, Morrison 5, Sessegnon 4 (Anichebe 46, 7); Ideye 5, Berahino 5

Subs not used: Wisdom, Yacob, Pocognoli, Rose

Goals: Anichebe 57 (assisted Berahino)

Red Card: Mulumbu 83 (dangerous play)

Bookings: Sessegnon 45 (foul), Brunt 90+5 (dissent)

QPR: Green 7; Isla 5, Caulker 6, Onuoha 8, Yun 6 (Hill 82, -); Phillips 7, Barton 8, Sandro 7, Vargas 7 (Kranjcar 30, 7); Austin 7, Zamora 7 (Henry 75, 6)

Subs not used: McCarthy, Sutherland, Hoilett, Doughty

Goals: Vargas 15 (assisted Zamora), Austin 37 (assisted Phillips/Kranjcar), Zamora 44 (assisted Phillips), Barton 90+4 (assisted Phillips/Austin)

Bookings: Caulker 22 (foul), Barton 73 (handball), Henry 90+2 (foul)

QPR 3 West Brom 2, Saturday December 20, 2014, Premier League

Charlie Austin made it a happy Christmas for QPR fans with a powerful hat trick to rescue victory from the jaws of defeat in the first meeting between these sides that season. The Baggies flew out of the traps and looked a class apart from their hosts initially, surging into a two goal leads through Joleon Lescott and Silvestre Varela. But a questionable penalty, awarded just four minutes after West Brom had gone two nil up, gave Austin a chance to smash QPR onto the scoresheet, change the momentum of the game and sow a seed of doubt in the visitors’ minds. He equalised after half time, finishing a goal mouth scramble from close range at the Loft End, and then rose to power in a vintage header four minutes from time when Joey Barton picked him out with a corner. His first QPR hat trick, and what felt like an important victory, lifting QPR clear of the relegation zone, had been secured. Rangers haven’t won a home match since.

QPR: Green 7; Onuoha 6, Dunne 7, Caulker 6, Yun 5 (Hill 30, 6); Vargas 6 (Hoilett 67, 6), Barton 7, Henry 6, Fer 5, Zamora 6 (Kranjcar 80, -), Austin 9

Subs not used: Ferdinand, Phillips, McCarthy, Mutch

Goals: Austin 24 (penalty, won Fer), 48 (assisted Zamora), 86 (assisted Barton)

Bookings: Dunne 38 (foul)

West Brom: Foster 5; Wisdom 6, McAuley 5, Lescott 6, Pocognoli 5 (Gamboa 91, -); Sessegnon 7, Gardner 6, Morrison 5, Dorrans 6, Varela 6; Brown 5 (Berahino 69, 7)

Subs not used: Baird, Yacob, Myhill, Mulumbu, Dawson

Goals: Lescott 10 (assisted Sessegnon), Varela 20 (assisted Sessegnon)

West Brom 0 QPR 1, Tuesday January 15, 2013, FA Cup Third Round replay

QPR rarely win FA Cup matches, and in 2012/13 they struggled to win games of any sort - just four victories all season in a miserable league campaign - however they miraculously progressed through to the fourth round of the world’s oldest knockout trophy that year courtesy of an unlikely replay win at The Hawthorns against West Brom. Jay Bothroyd scored a rare goal, heading in Ale Faurlin’s cross 15 minutes from time, to set up a fourth round tie at home to MK Dons in which the R’s were thrashed 4-2.

West Brom: Myhill 6, Popov 6, McAuley 6, Jones 6, Tamas 6 (El Ghanassy 81, -), Morrison 7 (Reid 90, -), Thorne 6, Dorrans 6, Thomas 6 (Odemwingie 71, 6), Rosenberg 7, Lukaku 6

Subs not used: Foster, Olsson, Ridgewell, Dawson

Bookings: Thomas 50 (foul), Rosenberg 76 (foul)

QPR: Green 8, Onuoha 8, Ferdinand 6, Hill 7, Ben Haim 7, Park 6, Derry 7, Faurlin 6, Mackie 7 (Taarabt 90, -), Bothroyd 8 (Mbia 80, -), Cisse 4 (Wright-Phillips 46, 7)

Subs not used: Murphy, Ephraim, Ehmer, Hulse

Goals: Bothroyd 75 (assisted Faurlin)

Bookings: Ben Haim 17 (foul)

QPR 1 West Brom 1, Saturday January 5, 2013, FA Cup Third Round

Less than a fortnight after The Baggies had won at Loftus Road in controversial fashion in the league, they returned to West London for an uninspiring FA Cup tie which featured a plethora of changes to both teams and the strong sense that neither was that bothered about winning the game. It seemed as though the away side would be progressing through to round four when Shane Long finished smoothly 12 minutes from time but the forgotten man of Harlington Kieron Dyer ran through on goal in injury time and stabbed in an equaliser to force a replay nobody wanted.

QPR: Cesar 7, Dyer 6, Hill 6, Nelsen 6 (Onuoha 71, 6), Ben Haim 6, Park 5, Granero 5 (Bothroyd 46, 5), Mbia 6, Mackie 5, Taarabt 6, Campbell 6

Subs not used: Green, Ferdinand, Faurlin, Cisse, Derry

Goals: Dyer 90 (assisted Ben Haim)

West Brom: Myhill 6, Jones 6, Ridgewell 6, McAuley 6, Tamas 6, Morrison 6, Thorne 7, Brunt 6, Gera 6 (Fortune 21, 6 (Thomas 45, 6)) Long 7, Lukaku 6 (Dawson 88, -)

Subs Not Used: Foster, Jara, El Ghanassy, Rosenberg

Goals: Long 78 (assisted Thorne)

Bookings: Brunt 88 (repetitive fouling)

QPR 2 West Brom 1, Wednesday December 26, 2012, Premier League

QPR manager was critical of referee Chris Foy when these sides met at Loftus Road in the league on Boxing Day in 2012. Chris Brunt fired the Baggies into a first half lead against relegation haunted QPR but Djibril Cisse struck back with an equaliser midway through the second half. The game swung on two late refereeing calls with Robert Green fumbling into his own net under pressure from Marc Antoine-Fortune which would usually result in the award of a free kick to the goalkeeper, then Liam Ridgwell getting away with an obvious handball in his own area in injury time.

QPR: Green 4, Fabio 5 (Hoilett 64, 6), Ferdinand 5, Hill 6, Traore 5, Mackie 5, Faurlin 4 (Diakite 64, 6), Mbia 6, Wright-Phillips 6, Taarabt 5, Cisse 6

Subs not used: Cesar, Derry, Granero, Dyer, Ehmer

Goals: Cisse 68 (assisted Mbia)

Bookings: Mbia 83 (foul)

West Brom: Foster 7, Jones 6, McAuley 6, Olsson 6, Popov 6 (Ridgewell 35, 6), Morrison 7 (Tamas 86, -), Mulumbu 8, Gera 6, Fortune 6, Brunt 7, Lukaku 6 (Long 76, 6)

Subs not used: Myhill, Dorrans, Rosenberg, Odemwingie

Goals: Brunt 29 (unassisted), Green og (assisted Brunt)

West Brom 3 QPR 2, Saturday October 6, 2012, Premier League

QPR produced a defensive horror show at The Hawthorns in October 2012 as they slipped to a 3-2 defeat. They fell behind early, when Shane Long powered down the right and delivered a sumptuous cross for James Morrison to open the scoring. When Anton Ferdinand failed to cut out another Long cross at the midway point of the half Zoltan Gera stuck home a second but the deficit was halved before the break when Adel Taarabt brilliantly pulled down a pass from Esteban Granero on his thigh then turned and whipped a powerful volley into the net. That rather flattered Rangers but it took until five minutes from time for the home team to seal the win with a goal from Youssuf Mulumbu at the end of a slick move. Even then there was time for Granero to score a fine second goal for QPR and Jose Bosingwa to miss an absolute sitter to equalise with the final kick of the game.

West Brom Foster 6, Tamas 4 (Jara 46, 5), McAuley 7, Olsson 7, Popov 7, Yacob 6, Mulumbu 8, Morrison 8, Odemwingie 6 (Rosenberg 62, 6), Gera 7, Long 8 (Lukaku 68, 6)

Subs: Daniels, Dawson, Dorrans, Fortune

Goals: Morrison 5 (assisted Long), Gera 22 (assisted Long), Mulumbu 85 (assisted Jara)

Bookings: Tamas 25 (repetitive fouling), Mulumbu 90 (time wasting)

QPR: Cesar 6, Bosingwa 3, Nelsen 6, Ferdinand 3, Hill 3 (Traore 46, 5), Mbia 5 (Hoilett 70, 5), Wright-Phillips 4 (Mackie 58, 5), Park 5, Granero 6, Taarabt 7, Zamora 5

Subs: Green, Onuoha, Faurlin, Cisse

Goals: Taarabt 25 (assisted Granero), Granero 90 (unassisted)

Bookings: Park 45 (foul), Mackie 87 (foul)

West Brom 1 QPR 0, Saturday April 14, 2012, Premier League

An impressive run of five straight home wins at the end of last season put QPR in with a chance of survival in the Premier League after a disastrous winter had threatened to sink them. But with three games of the campaign left, and two of them on the road, it seemed as though the R’s would need to find a way to win an away game for the first time since November to make doubly sure of safety. With Man City away looming large on the final day of the campaign the earlier trip to West Brom looked to be their best chance but despite a big travelling support from West London, and the hosts having nothing to play for, they slipped to a meek 1-0 defeat. This was a tale of two goalkeepers with Paddy Kenny culpable for Graeme Dorrans’ long range opener at one end while Ben Foster denied Bobby Zamora on three separate occasions with fine saves at the other. Ultimately Rangers survived anyway, winning a crucial game at home to Stoke a week later, but it was no thanks to their lousy away form which persists to this day.

West Brom: Foster 8, Jones 7, McAuley 6, Dawson 6, Ridgewell 6, Brunt 7, Mulumbu 7, Dorrans 7 (Andrews 71, 6), Thomas 7 (Scharner 80, -), Fortune 6 (Long 59, 6), Odemwingie 7

Subs Not Used: Daniels, Shorey, Hurst, Cox

Booked: Mulumbu (foul), Ridgewell (time wasting), Dorrans (foul)

Goals: Dorrans 22 (unassisted)

QPR: Kenny 5, Onuoha 5, Ferdinand 6, Hill 7, Taiwo 7 (Traore 77, 6), Barton 6, Diakite 6, Derry 5 (Wright-Phillips 56, 6), Mackie 6, Zamora 6, Taarabt 6 (Helguson 75, 6)

Subs Not Used: Cerny, Gabbidon, Buzsaky, Young

QPR 1 West Brom 1, Saturday December 3, 2011, Premier League

QPR were left to count the cost of a series of missed chances as West Brom escaped from Loftus Road with a point last December. Heidar Helguson gave the home side a first half lead and Shaun Wright-Phillips thought he’d doubled it shortly afterwards only to be incorrectly flagged offside. Rangers had only themselves to blame thereafter though, with Joey Barton’s open goal howler at the Loft End the pick of a series of sitters. The inevitable equalising goal, from Shane Long, came nine minutes from time after Chris Brunt had been allowed to run unchecked through the heart of the R’s midfield.

QPR: Cerny 7, Young 6, Gabbidon 6, Ferdinand 6, Traore 7, Mackie 7, Barton 7, Faurlin 8, Wright-Phillips 7, Bothroyd 6 (Buzsaky 74, 5), Helguson 8

Subs Not Used: Putnins, Orr, Hill, Derry, Taarabt, Smith

Goals: Helguson 20 (assisted Barton)

West Brom: Foster 7, Reid 6, Olsson 6, McAuley 6, Shorey 6, Thomas 6 (Odemwingie 65, 7), Dorrans 7 (Tchoyi 78, 6), Mulumbu 8 (Scharner 83, -), Morrison 7, Brunt 7, Long 7

Subs Not Used: Fulop, Dawson, Jones, Cox

Booked: Long, Thomas, Reid

Goals: Long 81

Previous Results

Head to Head >>> West Brom wins 23 >>> Draws 12 >>> QPR wins 17

2022/23 West Brom 2 QPR 2 (Dykes, Martin)

2022/23 QPR 0 West Brom 1

2021/22 QPR 1 West Brom 0 (Austin)

2021/22 West Brom 2 QPR 1 (Gray)

2019/20 West Brom 2 QPR 2 (Manning, Eze)

2019/20 QPR 0 West Brom 2

2018/19 QPR 2 West Brom 3 (Freeman, Hemed)

2018/19 West Brom 7 QPR 1 (Lynch)

2014/15 West Brom 1 QPR 4 (Vargas, Austin, Zamora, Barton)

2014/15 QPR 3 West Brom 2 (Austin 3)

2012/13 West Brom 0 QPR 1* (Bothroyd)

2012/13 QPR 1 West Brom 1* (Dyer)

2012/13 QPR 1 West Brom 2 (Cisse)

2012/13 West Brom 3 QPR 2 (Taarabt, Granero)

2011/12 West Brom 1 QPR 0

2011/12 QPR 1 West Brom 1 (Helguson)

2009/10 QPR 3 West Brom 1 (Simpson, Connolly, Buzsaky)

2009/10 West Brom 2 QPR 2 (Olsson og, Gorkss)

2007/08 QPR 0 West Brom 2

2007/08 West Brom 5 QPR 1 (Ainsworth)

2006/07 QPR 1 West Brom 2 (Blackstock)

2006/07 West Brom 3 QPR 3 (Stewart, Gallen, Nygaard)

2000/01 QPR 2 West Brom 0 (Plummer, Koejoe)

2000/01 West Brom 2 QPR 1 (Kiwomya)

1999/00 QPR 0 West Brom 0

1999/00 West Brom 0 QPR 1 (Wardley)

1998/99 QPR 2 West Brom 1 (Ready, Peacock)

1998/99 West Brom 2 QPR 0

1997/98 West Brom 1 QPR 1 (Dowie)

1997/98 QPR 2 West Brom 0 (Sheron, Peacock)

1996/97 West Brom 4 QPR 1 (Spencer)

1996/97 QPR 0 West Brom 2

1985/86 QPR 1 West Brom 0 (Bannister)

1985/86 West Brom 0 QPR 1 (Robinson)

1984/85 West Brom 0 QPR 0

1984/85 QPR 3 West Brom 1 (Stainrod 2, Fenwick)

1983/84 QPR 1 West Brom 1 (Fereday)

1983/84 West Brom 1 QPR 2 (Stainrod, Fenwick)

1982/83 West Brom 3 QPR 2* (Fenwick, Micklewhite)

1981/82 QPR 1 West Brom 0* (C Allen)

1978/79 West Brom 2 QPR 1 (McGee)

1978/79 QPR 0 West Brom 1

1977/78 West Brom 2 QPR 0

1977/78 QPR 2 West Brom 1 (Bowles, Eastoe)

1976/77 West Brom 1 QPR 1 (G Francis)

1976/77 QPR 1 West Brom 0 (Gillard)

1972/73 West Brom 2 QPR 1** (Givens)

1968/69 QPR 0 West Brom 4

1968/69 West Brom 3 QPR 1 (Clarke)

1966/67 QPR 3 West Brom 2** (R Morgan, Marsh, Lazarus)

1948/49 West Brom 1 QPR 1 (Pointon)

1948/49 QPR 0 West Brom 2

* - FA Cup

** - League Cup

Connections

Ray Harford >>> West Brom (manager) 1997 >>> QPR (manager) 1997-1998

The first two months of the 1997/98 season suggested that the First Division title would be keenly contested by Queens Park Rangers and West Bromwich Albion. Rangers, flush with Chris Wright’s cash and with the division’s two leading scorers from the previous season John Spencer and Mike Sheron leading the line, went joint top of the table at the end of September with a 2-1 midweek home win against Portsmouth.

At The Hawthorns the Baggies were keeping pace with Rangers every step of the way — winning four and drawing two of their first six games before losing 2-0 at Loftus Road a goal from Mike Sheron and one from Gavin Peacock. According to QPR board member Nick Blackburn in an interview with A Kick Up The R’s West Brom’s manager at the time Ray Harford has told him after the game in the players’ lounge: “If I had your two forwards, Spencer and Sheron, I guarantee I’d win the league.”

Harford the player had been a centre half who started his career at Charlton, spent two years with Fourth Division Exeter, played almost 200 games for Lincoln City, joined Port Vale fro Mansfield for £5,000, won promotion and the Player of the Year award in 1974 at Colchester United and finished his career at non-league Romford when a knee injury became too much for him to continue playing.

As a manager and coach he cut his teeth at Fulham, first as assistant to manager Malcolm Macdonald and then later as number one in his own right but the club suffered a financial collapse which necessitated the sale of players and Harford resigned after relegation from the Second Division in 1986.

He made his name at Luton Town, first as assistant to David Pleat’s replacement John Moore as the club finished seventh in the top flight in 1987. Harford then replaced Moore that summer and won the League Cup in his first season, beating Arsenal 3-2 in the final. They also reached the FA Cup semi-final before losing to eventual winners Wimbledon, and returned to Wembley a year later to lose their League Cup crown to Nottingham Forest in the 1989 final. Harford was sacked during the 1989/90 season as the club battled against relegation.

This model of arriving as an assistant only to eventually take over the top job continued at Wimbledon where he initially worked under Bobby Gould, and Blackburn where Kenny Dalglish’s side won the Premier League title after being bankrolled by Jack Walker. Dalglish then moved upstairs and Harford replaced him but Rovers could only rally from a poor start to the 1995/96 season to finish seventh and miss out on European football altogether, then the following year won none of their first ten league games and Harford resigned.

West Brom came next. Promoted to the First Division in 1993 the Baggies had mostly struggled against relegation ever since under the manager that promoted them Ossie Ardilles, and then Keith Burkinshaw. Harford replaced Alan Buckley, an objectionable figure more known for his three separate spells as Grimsby manager than anything he achieved at The Hawthorns, and initially this seemed a good fit as he attempted to rebuild his reputation as a manager rather than simply a good coach or assistant. He saved West Brom from relegation in 1996/97 with five home wins and a big 4-2 success at Norwich. The following year his tea started like a train, losing only that QPR match in their first 13. QPR however, after winning six of their first ten, then suffered a trough in form with four defeats and four draws from nine matches amid talk of dressing room problems between the players and manager Stewart Houston’s assistant Bruce Rioch.

Houston was sacked after two three goal defeats to Swindon and Middlesbrough in a week and Harford, who never signed a long term contract at The Hawthorns, walked out and replaced him. QPR travelled to West Brom on February 15 1998 but there was certainly no love in, as the Rangers fans team coach and visiting supporters were subjected to an angry reaction from the home supporters amidst a heavy police presence.

The move turned out to be a disaster for all parties. QPR had only won two of Harford’s first 14 matches to that point, and only won three of 29 after his appointment through to the end of the season when they survived by the skin of their teeth courtesy of six consecutive draws after Vinnie Jones and Neil Ruddock had been brought in to strengthen the team. West Brom won four straight matches through November but then won only five of their last 28 league games and dropped out of the promotion race to finish in midtable.

Speaking to A Kick Up The R’s at the time, Nick Blackburn takes up the story…

“Ray Harford wanted to come. Ray was West Brom manager. They were second in the table. There was huge uproar there, and they didn’t want him to go at all. I remember fanzines saying this is the best appointment you could have made. None of the fans criticised it and it turned out to be the worst appointment we could have made. Disastrous. Yet he was very successful at West Brom.

“The other thing that I found out about Ray, which worried me, was that we were on a pre-season tour of Ireland and he came back from the tour a day early to go horse racing at Epsom. I rang up Ray Harford to see how things were going on tour. He wasn’t there. He didn’t clear it with the board or anything. You don’t come back early as the manager from a pre-season tour to go horse racing. So you get the feeling that something is wrong.”

Rangers started the 1998/99 season in lousy form, losing five and drawing five of their first ten. They broke their duck at the eleventh attempt with a 2-0 home win against Stockport but subsequently lost 4-1 in farcical circumstances at Oxford United after which Harford’s car was vandalised outside the ground.

Blackburn said: “Chris was away, so I had to deal with it. But Ray Harford called me up at 8.15am on the Sunday after the game and said: ‘I think I ought to resign.’ I said: ‘I think you ought to as well, Ray, frankly. I’m not going to argue with you,’ because the performance at Oxford was one of the worst footballing performances I’ve ever seen in my life. I remember one ping-pong goal, where the players kept kicking it against each other. Pathetic. It was sad, because I’d also known Ray Harford personally for a long time, and I was surprised to some extent that it hadn’t worked out. He’s a good coach.”

QPR subsequently recovered under Gerry Francis before suffering a financial collapse and relegation 18 months later. Harford went to Millwall as a coach, working under Keith Stevens and later Mark McGhee when the club won promotion from the Second Division. Sadly he fell ill with cancer during his time at The Den and died in 2003 aged 58 — his reputation as a fine coach who struggled as a manager still intact.

Others >>> Sam Field, QPR 2021-present, West Brom 2016-2021 >>> Darnell Furlong, West Brom 2019-present, QPR 2014-2019 >>> Charlie Austin, QPR 2021-2022, 2013-2016, West Brom 2019-2021 >>> Matt Phillips, West Brom 2016-present, QPR 2013-2016 >>> Danny Gabbidon, West Brom 1998-2000, QPR 2011-2012 >>> Rob Hulse, West Brom 2003-2005, QPR 2010-2015 >>> Ishmael Miller, West Brom 2007-2011, QPR (loan) 2011 >>> Ben Watson, QPR (loan) 2009, West Brom (loan) 2010 >>> Jay Simpson, West Brom (loan) 2009, QPR (loan) 2009-2010 >>> Steven Reid QPR (loan) 2009, West Brom 2009-present >>> Lloyd Dyer, West Brom 2000-2006, QPR (loan) 2005 >>> Georges Santos, West Brom 2000, QPR 2004-2006 >>> Brett Angell, West Brom (loan) 1996, QPR 2002-2003 >>> Jerome Thomas, QPR (loan) 2002, West Brom 2009-present >>> Paul Peschisolido, West Brom 1996-1997, QPR (loan) 2000 >>> Ray Harford, West Brom (manager) 1997 >>> QPR (manager) 1997-1998 >>> Andy McDermott, QPR 1995-1996, West Brom 1996-2000 >>> Danny Dichio, QPR 1993-1997, West Brom 2001-2004 >>> Nigel Quashie, QPR 1995-1998, 2010, West Brom 2006-2007 >>> Ossie Ardiles, QPR 1988-1989, West Brom (manager) 1992-1993 >>> Wayne Fereday, QPR 1980-1989, West Brom 1991-1994 >>> Gary Bannister, QPR 1984-1988, West Brom 1990-1992 >>> Paul Barron, West Brom 1982-1985, QPR 1985-1988 >>> Peter Eastoe, QPR 1976-1979, West Brom 1982-1985 >>> Andy King, QPR 1980-1981, West Brom 1981-1982 >>> Clive Clark, QPR 1958-1960, 1969-1970, West Brom 1960-1969

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