QPR have announced that Steve Cook will make his 100th, and last, appearance for the club in tonight’s game against Swansea at Loftus Road.

QPR (16-10-17 WWWDDL 11th) v Swansea (16-9-18 LLDDWL 15th)

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Stan Bowles is generally considered to be QPR’s greatest. Not only the club’s most talented player, from its best ever team, but a style and a personality that reflects the club as we see it and want it to be. A maverick. An entertainer. A flawed genius. Of course it’s about winning, and Stan did plenty of that, but it’s about the style, the flamboyance, the flair, and yes ultimately the failure. The coming up just short, but having a great time along the way. The smallest big club and biggest small club. Stan Bowles is QPR, and vice versa.

His name now adorns the Ellerslie Road stand. The night we came together to remember Stan after his passing was one of the most memorable and electric atmospheres ever produced by this famous old ground of ours, and the performance of Marti Cifuentes’ team against West Brom that night was entirely fitting for the occasion – although they didn’t win, because like I say…

Getting that name up there wasn’t entirely straightforward for the people who pushed it. At times the debate became fractured and tetchy, something LFW inadvertently and regrettably contributed to. The club didn’t seem to want to foot the bill for the signage and for a lot of supporters the whole thing became mired in whataboutery. What about Gerry Francis, who managed the club twice and captained England here as a player? What about Rodney? What about Dave Thomas? Dave Clement? Alan McDonald? Kevin Gallen? What about some of the great managers – Jago, Stock, Sexton, Venables?

To be honest, the minute Stan’s name was up there it looked like it had belonged from the start and nothing more has ever needed to be said. He ascends through the pantheon of club greats to be an almost footballing immortal. Boss level QPR greatest – beat Stan and there’s nobody left. But it did rather highlight that a football club, even one that wins as seldom as ours (one major trophy in nearly 150 years of existence), generates a lot of heroes in all shapes and sizes along the way.

There have been other mavericks – Adel Taarabt – and some of them even had the Stan mullet to go with it – Roy Wegerle. There have been great goalscorers – Brian Bedford, Clive Allen, Gary Bannister, Les Ferdinand – and scorers of great goals – Trevor Sinclair, Ray Wilkins, Trevor Francis. Ale Faurlin played for QPR. Alan McDonald wasn’t our only no-nonsense centre back. You wouldn’t have wanted to mess with Bob Hazell or Terry Fenwick either. Fenwick played for England, Paul Parker went to Italia 90 as a QPR player, Andy Sinton was also capped by his country, David Bardsley deserved far more than the two he was afforded (streets ahead of Lee Dixon, I’ll hear no argument) and the selectors’ ignorance of Clive Wilson was similarly short sighted. We spent ten years handicapping our own chances with Tony Roberts in goal, sure, but this is also a club of Phil Parkes and David Seaman, Peter Hucker was man of the match in a cup final, Jan Stejskal played at a World Cup.

Then there are the cult heroes. Simon Stainrod, John Byrne, Wayne Fereday and that moustache. Clint Hill and Shaun Derry, Paddy Kenny and Jamie Mackie, the engine room and standard bearers in that Neil Warnock side which took us back to the big time and then tried to hold the club together as it disintegrated around them. The Devon Whites of this world, an electrician from Ilkeston who we used to cover the greatest centre forward in the country at that moment with frequently chaotic results. Marc Bircham, who turned down a Premier League move with Birmingham to come to QPR at their lowest point and drive a recovery from the third tier. Ian Holloway, the madcap manager who put that whole nonsense together. Danny Shittu, Lee Cook, Gareth Ainsworth, Martin Rowlands, Paul Furlong. Great players. Happy times.

In a way, though, you don’t have to be a great, to be great. There are the immortals, sure, Stan, Gerry and the likes. There are the club legends, and unfortunately that term gets bandied around so haphazardly in the modern game it becomes cloudy. There are your heroes, cult or otherwise. There are your weird personal favourites – I never really did get over Inigo Idiakez in hoops. And then there are people who came in to do a really specific job, for a period of often incredibly difficult time, and absolutely smashed it out of the park.

Gareth Ainsworth didn’t get much right when he was here as manager. Inheriting a nuclear meltdown and with an FFP situation as tight a mouse’s waistcoat, in many ways there wasn’t much he could do – not sure that Haka geezer was your best call though Gaz. He did, however, realise early on that an inexperienced and ill-disciplined dressing room of mostly young players with questionable attitudes, who’d downed tools entirely after Mick Beale’s departure, needed an influx of experience, characters and standards. The club spent what budget it had left that summer on Jack Colback, Morgan Fox, Asmir Begovic and Steve Cook. When the team were 4-0 down by half time on the opening day at Watford – a game in which Rangers conceded from the kick off, despite taking the kick off themselves – it was clear really quickly that our fortunes would hang on the impact those old hands could have on the place.

Cook absolutely excelled. He seemed to revel in the situation, and the role. He understood the situation the club was in immediately, and set about doing everything he could to rectify that and steer the ship into safer waters. This is a guy who’d done a decade at the top, won promotions to the Premier League with Bournemouth and Forest. He’d done his time, earned his money and won his medals, he didn’t need this really, but he actually seemed to enjoy it.

Cook seemed to pick up on what the club had put the supporters through over the prior few years, and what they needed to see from their players and, quickly, their captain. A bit of commitment, a bit of elbow grease, some fucking professional standards around the place to be frank about it. It was very, very much appreciated. And as well as all of those intangibles, QPR were in need of some serious tangibles as well. Steve Cook is a bloody good centre half. You don’t go as far as he went with Bournemouth, play at the top level for as long as he did, without some actual ability. It’s not all vibes and leadership and chest thumping, he knows where to stand, he knows what to do, not much goes past him and those who do often get hurt trying. A good footballer. Hard.

Even this season, at Charlton, with Lyndon Dykes running away from Ronnie Edwards in rather alarming fashion, it was Cook eating up the ground to crunch into a goal saving sliding tackle. I’ve got a lot of time for somebody who gets trolled on social media for his lack of pace so challenges the poster to come down the training ground for a race. Maybe that could be the half time entertainment on Saturday?

The real sliding doors moment in all of this is what might have been had Warbs Warburton secured Cook in January 2022, when Rangers were pushing for second in the league but got gazumped at the last minute by Nottingham Forest. Rangers got Dion Sanderson, and crashed out of the play-off picture altogether, while Forest went up instead.

We’ll do more in Cook’s end of term report obviously, but I think he’s been terrific for us. A perfect signing at a perfect time, and admirable impact ever since. I’m certain we’d have been relegated in 2023/24 without him – a captain’s knock crowned with vital goals against Birmingham and Swansea over Easter. We might have gone last year without him too, a performance in a 0-0 at Burnley was a centre back show for the ages and summed up his influence, and I found the way his stay for a third year was announced by the club (making it very clear, twice, this was an extension triggered by appearances and survival, not something the club had chosen to do) unnecessary. West London Sport's story today that he may yet stay on as a coach for the U21s if he doesn't continue his playing career much, much more like it.

It is probably time now, economically and football wise, to shake hands and go our separate ways, and it’s good to see the club learning from past mistakes with the likes of Hill, Faurlin and Yoann Barbet to make an announcement in advance and give the crowd a chance to pay respect, but in the club’s pursuit of a younger squad and lower average age they really shouldn’t underestimate the importance of players like Steve Cook.

That physicality, that experience, that knowhow, and that ability, doesn’t just have a role to play, it’s absolutely vital in this division. That first half at Millwall on Saturday was very instructive. Not everybody can be a ‘baller’, not everybody can be a ‘development prospect’, data does not tell the whole story and the players we have who fit into those categories wilted en masse at The Den. You’ve got to have some people in there who know how to play the game, in all its myriad difficult forms. Even now, as we prepare to release him back into the free transfer market from whence he came, it’s Steve Cook the manager had to reach for at half time at Millwall to come on and stem the bleeding. If it’s not to be him, you’ll need one or two others like him. Allowing Cook and Sam Field to depart would leave Jimmy Dunne with some very heavy lifting to do in all these regards.

There won’t ever be a Steve Cook statue on Batman Close. We won’t be naming stands after him. They’ll never present anybody with The Steve Cook Trophy For Outstanding Service To Heading Corners Away At The Near Post. But when pieces like this are written in ten, 20 years’ time, his name will be there.

By God, that guy has done a good job for this football club, and however many of us can make it through famine and tube strikes to be there tonight need to give him a richly deserved rousing send off.

Links >>> Vipotnik flying – Oppo Profile >>> Sublime Taarabt – History >>> Doughty in charge – Referee >>> Official Website >>> Planet Swans — Blog and Forum >>> Swansea Independent - Forum >>> Wales Online — Local Paper >>> The Jack Army — Forum >>> SOS - Fanzine

Parish Noticeboard…

- If you manage to make it as far as the ground a mysterious man will approach with a box containing a key, he will ask you three questions…

Below the fold

Team News: QPR have said Steve Cook will be involved for his 100th, and final, appearance for the club, with Jimmy Dunne still nursing a knock and rightly not being risked. Koki Saito has also returned to training but this game comes too soon for him. Rumarn Burrell, Nicolas Madsen and Ilias Chair all continued their respective recoveries with sub outings at the weekend – in Chair’s case a first go since December – but Ziyad Larkeche and Karamoko Dembele are out long term.

Elsewhere: The ongoing love story between Leicester City and their own supporters reaches end game this evening where anything other than a victory at home to play off chasing Hull will confirm the Foxes’ relegation to League One, ten years since they were crowned Premier League champions. Leicester have won one of their last 17 games and will need to win all three of their remaining games to stand any chance at all as they’re now eight points adrift of safety. The official club Twitter account has responded by announcing a vote for the end of season awards, and a match for the owners’ charity to mark the ten year anniversary of the league title win which has… not gone down well. I’m starting to think there’s a devilish Coventry fan running that account.

The prospect of a West Brom points deduction complicates things at the bottom of the table, but the Baggies are unbeaten in eight (W3) under James Morrison and have climbed five points north of the drop zone so if it’s the rumoured one or two points coming off they might be okay regardless, particularly if they add another victory in an eminently winnable home game against Watford this evening. A win there, and a positive result for Blackburn at Sheff Utd tomorrow, probably condemns Oxford who are five points adrift with Wrexham at home to come this evening.

Portsmouth, who go to champions Coventry tonight, have undergone an extraordinary transformation since being thrashed at Loftus Road, unbeaten in five with three straight victories and now well safe and above even Charlton in the league table. Pompey have gone a lot more direct since that debacle in W12, no more 60% possession around the opposition box and getting done on the counter attack for them. I do have a certain degree of admiration for John Mousinho and how he keeps pulling things out of the fire down there on a limited budget.

The other two issues to settle or narrowing four candidates down to one for the second automatic spot, and three teams into one for the final play off spot. While Portsmouth haven’t looked back since their awful display against us, Middlesbrough have gone from the best team we’ve played to literally never winning a game again. A 2-2 draw at Ipswich at the weekend with a scandalous late penalty award for the hosts leaves the Tractor Boys second on 76 points with a game in hand on the rest and a trip to Charlton on Wednesday. Millwall also have 76 points but have played a game more, they’re at Stoke tonight. Coming up super hot though are Southampton, 19 games unbeaten, eight straight victories, above Middlesbrough into fourth and only a point off second with a homer against Bristol City this evening. Boro are now three points back on 73, albeit with a gimme at home to Sheff Wed this midweek round.

The final play-off spot is held by Hull ahead of their trip to Leicester with Wrexham two points back heading to Oxford and Derby three away with a tough trip to Norwich.

Everyone else is done, which means our game and the dead rubber between Birmingham and Preston Knob End are the ones with nothing riding on them.

Referee: Almost a year to the day since his last QPR appointment (a 1-1 homer with Bristol City as Marti Cifuentes’ time at the club came to a close) Blackpool’s Leigh Doughty is the man in the middle here. He averages nearly five cards a game and has booked 39 players in his last five games alone. Details.

Form

- QPR finished last season with a 14-14-18 record and 56 points in 15th position. With three games to play they have a 16-10-17 record, 58 points, and sit 11th.

- Such is the cramped nature of the Championship’s mid-regions, QPR are currently 11th with 58 points but can be as low as 17th at the end of this midweek round with five teams queued up a point behind on 57 (including Swansea) and then Stoke on 55.

- QPR lost four games in a row through February and March, failing to score a goal, and conceding 12 at the other end. They turned that into a run of three straight wins, and five unbeaten, in which they scored 12 goals of their own.

- That has since, sadly, subsided again and QPR come into this game without a win in three (D2 L1) and without scoring a goal of their own in any of those after shut outs against Millwall and Bristol City, and an own goal at Preston.

- Rumarn Burrell and Richard Kone (ten each) are QPR’s joint top scorers this season, the first R’s players to get into double figures since Andre Gray in 2021/22 (also ten). Behind them Paul Smyth and Own Goals are tied on six. QPR have never had more own goals scored in their favour in a single season before, and no Championship side has had more in 25/26 – Ipswich are level, also on six.

- Ipswich (21) are the only team to have scored more goals in the final 15 minutes of games than QPR, Wrexham and Coventry (17 each).

- QPR have won only two of their last 13 away games.

- QPR have kept one clean sheet in their last 13 games (Bristol City H). Only Sheff Wed (83) have conceded more than Rangers’ 65. In the last ten seasons Rangers have conceded 60+ goals in a season on six occasions and 70+ on four.

- Brad Potts’ goal for Preston on Easter Monday was the 16th QPR have conceded in the ten minutes straight after half time this season in all comps – 22.86% of all the goals the team have conceded overall.

- Swansea won six of ten games, drawing one of the others, through January and February to keep themselves clear of the relegation picture. However, they come into this game with one win in six games (D2 L3)

- Away from home Swansea have lost only one of the last four, winning 1-0 at Leicester and 2-1 at Portsmouth in that sequence. Overall they are 6-3-12 on the road this season – no team has drawn fewer away games and only Birmingham, West Brom (both 13) and Sheff Wed (15) have lost more on their travels.

- Despite sitting 15th in the table Swansea got two players in the divisional team of the year in Josh Tymon and Zan Vipotnik. Tymon won the goal of the season for his volley against Oxford while Vipotnik is the Championship’s top scorer with 21 (23 in all comps) ahead of Haji Wright who is next best with 16 – 15 of Vipotnik’s goals have come at home, but he has scored in his last two away games.

- Swansea’s lowest League finish since promotion from League One in 2008 was 15th in this division in 2021-22.

- QPR won the first meeting at the Liberty Stadium 1-0 thanks to a Rumarn Burrell goal with Brighton loanee Malick Yalcouye sent off for the hosts for butting Steve Cook. This is therefore Rangers’ final chance to add a third double of the year to their slate having won home and away against Hull and Leicester already.

- Since knocking Swansea out of the FA Cup with a 5-1 win in January 2020 under Warbs Warburton, QPR have failed to beat the Welsh side at Loftus Road in five attempts (D3 L2). The R’s haven’t won a league fixture here against the Swans in six attempts going back to a 4-0 win in April 2019 when John Eustace was caretaker manager and Darnell Furlong, Tomer Hemed (2) and Mass Luongo all scored.

- Swansea won this fixture 2-1 last season on exactly the same day – April 21.

- QPR have lost 71-, 5-0, 4-0 and 4-1 at various points this season, while also recording a 6-1 and a 4-1 win. Last weekend’s 0-0 bore draw with Bristol City was also their sixth scoreless draw of the season – more than any other club.

- QPR’s last 20 wins have all come with less possession than their opponent – they are yet to win a game this season where they have dominated the ball. The last time it happened was a 2-1 home win against Blackburn in February 2025.

Prediction

In our Prediction League for 2025/26 we’ll once again be handing out prizes for being top at Christmas and overall winner from The Art of Football - sample the merch from our sponsor’s newly extended QPR collection here. JB007007 followed the lead of both myself and last year’s winner QPR_Hibs at the weekend (not a challenging call TBF) and now surely has an unassailable lead at the top with three games remaining …

“I am not a fan of watching people perform karaoke and I am certain that I would be absolutely hopeless at it myself, being an average singer at best. But yesterday, apropos of nothing, someone asked me what my go-to karaoke song was. For some unknown reason, rather than just admit that I've never done it, I instinctively replied ‘Day Tripper by The Beatles’. Now I'm worried that it might have been some sort of trap and that I will suddenly be expected to drop into my best John Lennon impression at a moment's notice. Maybe I should have named an easier song like Tequila, Ring of Fire or the Telly Savalas version of If. At least I didn't say American Pie by Don McLean, which goes on for an eternity - especially when sung by two drunk women, who only know the chorus, on a Greek Islands holiday. Had a good reason for taking the easy way out that night, I can tell you.

“Saturday's capitulation at Millwall was, unfortunately, just the sort of performance I had feared when I predicted a 2-0 defeat in my preview piece. I don't think that there's been much disagreement that Julien picked the wrong starting team and that a bit more experience and aggression was needed from the off. The four half-time substitutions made a big difference, and we competed a bit, without really threatening, in the second period. It was good to see Madsen back in midfield, showing for the ball and playing it forwards. And Ilias Chair finally getting back onto the pitch was another plus point. But that was about it, really.

“Tuesday night sees the visit of Swansea City to Loftus Road. Well, as long as their first team are not attempting to travel to the ground by tube, that is. Strike action will almost certainly see a much-reduced support from both sides too. Such is the competitiveness of the middle of the Championship table, QPR could be as high as tenth or as low as 17th after the midweek fixtures and if we want to finish in the top half of the table, then this is a game we need to win. The Swans have had a tough run of fixtures recently, playing four of the top seven in their last six matches, taking only five points in the process. When the Slovenian Žans were being allocated, they were fortunate to acquire Vipotnik, rather than Celar, and he is currently leading scorer in the Championship with 21 goals. Thoughts and prayers go to our centre-half pairing in trying to deal with him.

“I don't think we can be as bad again as we were on Saturday, and I am expecting a bit of fight and pride to be shown in this game resulting in a narrow victory.”

QPR_Hibs Prediction: QPR 2-1 Swansea. Scorer – Rumarn Burrell

LFW’s Prediction: QPR 1-1 Swansea. Scorer – Steve Cook

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