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Fifteen Years Ago Today: Chris Wright was QPR Chairman. Stuart Houston ("assisted" by Bruce Rioch) was QPR Manager. QPR's team consisted of Quashie, Murray, Sinclair, Spencer and Sheron - and we STILL couldn't get promoted!... And the QPR Official Site was launched. And we finally had an additional source of information besides press and rumors and Battletank's path-breaking QPR Board (and a couple of other QPR Boards)
Some of those early posts from the first days of the QPR Official Site
| QPR Official Site - September 24, 1997 - Welcome to the new Official Queens Park Rangers Web Site. - We're delighted to have an official presence on the Internet and this site will give you the chance to keep up to date with everything that is happening at Loftus Road. - Now wherever you are in the world - and I receive correspondence from our supporters from as far afield as Australia and Japan - you can know what's happening at the press of a button. Here at Queens Park Rangers we try to keep you informed as much as is practically possible and this site is a great step forward for the club and our supporters. - It means you'll be able to read match reports of games just seconds after the final whistle has sounded, and very soon you will even be able to listen to live commentaries! - News stories about the players, events and all aspects of the club will be updated on a daily basis by staff working inside the club. - You can also order Club Merchandise without leaving your own home and chat with fellow fans in the Official Chat Forum. - We'd also like you to play your part in further developing our site. You can help us by signing into the online Visitors Book. - Happy Browsing, -Chris Wright Chairman Queens Park Rangers Football and Athletic Club Limited On the day of this inaugural post, QPR beat Terry Fenwick's Portsmouth 1-0 at Loftus Road September 25, 1997 - QPR Official Site - R'S BATTLERS PLEASE BOSS - R's boss Stewart Houston was delighted to pick up all three points, after seeing Rangers battle out a 1-0 win against Pompey, at Loftus Road on Wednesday night. - Stewart stressed the importance of being able to pick up wins when Rangers are perhaps not playing at their best. - " I thought that was a really battling performance and although we can play better, I was pleased to pick up the three points. Although we were only one up, their keeper made three outstanding saves, and perhaps we could have had a penalty, the players thought so." - The boss had to switch things round when an injury to Steve Morrow forced him into bringing on Matthew Rose. - " Steve's overstretched and straight away he had a problem and we had to take him off. I felt I had to change things a little bit, so I did, and it seemed to tighten things up a little." - Stewart afterwards cleared up any confusion over who got the Rangers goal and was quick to applaude Sheron's contribution. - " Mike Sheron received the ball and squared it across the six yard box and Spenny's come in and got the touch. Mike comes alive in the last 25 yards - he was just a bit unlucky - but the goals will come." - The win lifts Rangers to equal top, but the boss refuses to get too carried away. - " It's early days yet, eight games into the season, but six wins out of seven gives us a lot of confidence." Speaking the next Day... QPR Official Site - ALL SMILES FOR SPENNY - JOHN SPENCER fired the bullet that took the R's joint top of the league, and then paid tribute to his striking partner Mike Sheron. - Spencer's 44th minute strike was enough to beat Portsmouth and to hoist Rangers level with Nottingham Forest at the top. The wee Scotsman was delighted with the outcome of the night. - ""It was a really tough game. Portsmouth played well for long periods, pinning us back. But justifiably the three points went to us in the end." - " I can't really remember too much of the build up on the goal. Mike Sheron floated into the box on the left hand side and he cut the ball across. I was actually going to leave it, as I thought the shot was going in, but a defender was coming in on my right hand side, and he might have cleared it off the line. So I slid in, managed to get my studs on it and put it in the net. You can't really take any chances!!" - Spenny is enjoying the winning run with Rangers, and he feels his new frontline partnership with Mike Sheron, is starting to blossom. - " I was struggling in the first few games with an ankle injury that I had last year, but I've played through that now and managed to get myself a bit fitter. The ankle seems to have cleared up. and I feel a lot sharper and a lot more confident." - "Myself and Mike are doing all right together at the moment. We seem to be creating lots of chances and everything seems to be going well. Let's keep our fingers crossed that we'll be talking like this at the end of the season." Also on the Site opening day... QPR Official Site - September 24, 1997 - QUASHIE - THE NEW HODDLE ? - R's Scottish international striker John Spencer is predicting a big future for QPR's outstanding 19 year old prospect Nigel Quashie. - Nigel's recent return to the first team picture after 18 months on the sidelines with glandular fever, has been a big boost to manager Stewart Houston and Spencer is sure Nigel can go all the way to the top. -" For a 19 year old, Nigel is awesome. If he stays fit he will be a full England cap within 12 months. He could go on to beat Alan Shearer's transfer price if he continue's to progress. -The youngster has already been selected for England at U-19 and U-21 level, and Spencer believes he is the next best thing to hit English football, since current England manager Glenn Hoddle. - " The lad is as good a player as England have had since Glenn Hoddle. I've seen Hoddle in training when I was with Chelsea. He was the other side of 30 and Nigel is under 20, but they can do the same things." - " They can both hit long passes and can run games. In training Nigel can hit free-kicks any spot he likes. You have to stand there in amazement." - Quashie was given his QPR debut at the age of 17, by then manager Ray Wilkins, but glandular fever severely hampered his progress last season and left him often too weak to train. Now back in the first team, Nigel is happy to put those dark days behind him. - " It was awful. One morning I would feel fine, the next so weak all I wanted to do was go to bed for a week. The illness has made me much more professional. I get plenty of rest before matches and fill up with pasta at the right times. -All R's fans will be delighted to see Nigel back in the limelight and like the player will be hoping he can help clinch a return to the Premiership. -" I am taking it a game at a time. The main thing is promotion." A couple days later: QPR Official Site -September 26, 1997 IMPEY DEAL GOES THROUGH - ANDY IMPEY has finally completed his £1.2M move to West Ham United. The Hammers wanted to sign Impey in the summer, but then put the deal on ice, whilst the R's wideman recovered from a foot injury. - West Ham boss Harry Redknapp watched Impey play a full 90 minutes for QPR reserves last night, before completing the deal this morning. - The 26 year old revealed when he first found out about West Ham's interest. - " I first found out West Ham wanted me in June. the transfer was sorted out when I was on holiday in Jamaica, but things started to drag on because of the problem with my foot." - " The injury happened a long time ago. I broke my toe two or three years back and it started to give me pain last season. The toe had bent after healing, so I had an operation to get it straightened. It took four months to fully recover after the operation at the end of last season." - " I've been training with Rangers this campaign, and playing practice matches and 5-a sides for nearly six weeks. West Ham couldn't take a chance on my fitness, but now I'm perfectly all right." - " I was worried a little bit about the delay. I didn't know how long West Ham would wait, but the specialist told me my toe would recover, and there is no problem at all now." - " I had seven years at Rangers, which I enjoyed. But I didn't play very well last season, so I thought it was time for a change and a new challenge." - Andrew joined Rangers from Yeading FC in August 1990. He made his debut the following year and became a regular under the Gerry Francis regime. - He won the Player of the Year in 1995 and forced his way into the England squad for a training week. But with his contract set to expire at the end of the current season, the transfer to West Ham ends Impey's days at Loftus Road. - Andy had his final game in a QPR shirt for the reserves at home to Ipswich, but the side lost 2-1. Paul Bruce grabbed the R's only goal. - QPR: Sommer, Woolsey, Brazier, Perry, Plummer, Yates,(Whittle 45) Graham, Impey, Charles, Norman, Bruce QPR Official Site -September 30- BOSMAN SPARKED IMPEY MOVE - THE BOSMAN RULING and Daniel Dichio's departure on a free transfer contibuted to Rangers selling Andy Impey to West Ham for £1.2M - Chairman Chris Wright said: " To some extent, we're disappointed that Andrew has left. He is an extremely good player and had done well here at Rangers over the years." - " But Andrew was in the last year of his contract and we couldn't get him to discuss new terms. His feeling was that he wanted to move on and didn't want to think about a new contract with Rangers." - " After what happened with Danny Dichio leaving, the club didn't want that happening again and I don't want players who are not commited to the club. A player who is in the last year of his contract and who has no intention of signing a new one, is not going to be as commited to the club as you would like." - West Ham came in with an offer for Andrew and it was the right move for everyone. It was the prudent thing for Rangers to do. No one is happy when a talented player leaves the club, but we cannot be in a situation where we have players who are not prepared to commit themselves to us." =- " We tried as hard as we could, but Andrew was not prepared to do that. We were all sad to see him go, but as players go out, others will come in. You cannot keep buying players and not selling." QPR Official Site - HOUSTON WINS TOP AWARD - RANGERS manager Stewart Houston has been awarded the Nationwide Division 1 Manager of the Month award for September - Stewart guided the R's to a four match winning run, which saw them move into second place in the League. Rangers beat Reading, West Brom, Crewe and Portsmouth before coming unstuck at Port Vale on Saturday. - Stewart said today: " I'm very pleased to accept this award. The players have made it happen for me. I was a bit surprised to get this accolade, but it's all credit to the players." - The Division 2 award went to Ian Atkins of Northampton and the Division 3 Award to Sam Allardyce of Notts County. QPR Official Site - October 2, 1997 - CHAIRMAN WOOS STAYAWAY FANS RANGERS chairman Chris Wright is confident that the club can build on its fan base, as we look to return to the Premiership. - Chris say: " From the standpoint of financial reality, we have quite a job to do to compete with bigger clubs. So we need to build up our support levels. We want to bring all those disenfranchised Rangers fans back into Loftus Road." - " We had some 14,000 supporters cheering us on at Wimbledon in the FA Cup at Wimbledon last season, so we know the fans are out there. It's up to the booard, the club and the team on the pitch, to get those people out of the woodwork and back in the stands at Loftus Road." QPR Official Site - October 8, 1997 - MOVE STILL ON CARDS - RANGERS are continuing to peruse plans for a possible move away from Loftus Road - The project is being masterminded by Stephen Oakley, 45, the new chief executive of Loftus Road plc. He feels the options are to expand the existing facilities or to build a new stadium further along the A40 corridor. - Mr Oakley says: " If the things we want do come to fruition, with Rangers back in the Premiership, we will need a bigger capacity. Building a new stadium is sometimes cheaper than adding to the existing one." - The Loftus Road group have looked at several possible sites and a decision will be taken at the end of the season. Mr Oakley did say that the group's skills in managing sporting events could lead into a move into basketball and ice-hockey. - Loftus Road also plans to expand its merchandising operation and develop banqueting and conference facilities to reduce its dependence on success on the field. And finally on a sad note... QPR Official Site - September 30, 1997 - R'S MOURN CUP FINAL KEEPER - FORMER RANGERS keeper Peter Springett has died at the age of 51, after a four year battle against a crippling illness - Peter, who was one of Rangers heroes in the 1967 League Cup winning team, was born in Fulham on May 8th 1946 and came through the apprentice ranks. - He signed as a pro in 1963, making his debut that month against Peterborough. He was capped at England Youth and U-23 level. - By 1965/6, Peter had made the first team spot his own and the following season he was an ever present in the Rangers side that won the League Cup and Third Division double. He made a total of 160 appearances for QPR. - In May 1967, Peter joined Sheffield Wednesday in a unique deal that saw his brother Ron move to Rangers. Peter played 180 League games for the Owls and another 191 for Barnsley, before retiring to become a policeman. - The Rangers players will wear black armbands against Charlton as a mark of respect. | |||
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