Languishing at Loftus - An away fans view (Loftus Road (Queens Park Rangers FC))

Member Name: andycharger

Product:	Loftus Road (Queens Park Rangers FC)
Date:	18/02/02 (1082 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice ground, Nice food, good team

Disadvantages: Quiet fans, Poor parking

QPR are a strange club. Once they were lavished with star names and some good results while living its short life in the Premiership. But these times do not last forever in the competitive world of English Football. Soon a club that fails to balance its wage bill and its income will see itself slip from greatness into a world of mediocre performances and mid table obscurity in Nationwide leagues 1,2 and possibly 3.

Background.
After a prosperous beginning in League football, QPR have yo-yo'ed between the various leagues.
In fact, they have always been a team of firsts.
They became the first Division 3 team to win the League Cup by beating West Bromich Albion at Wembley in 1967. This saw the birth of one of their best periods. They finished 2nd to Liverpool in the league in 1976 and went on to the UEFA cup quarter finals in the following year.
In 1981, they became the first club in Britain to replace their grass pitch with an astroturf equivalent. In 1988, they became the 1st of the 4 clubs to replace it back to Grass too. An expensive venture that turned out bad.
During the early 90's they again showed that they were a force to be reckoned with. Finishing 5th at their first attempt in the Premiership. Then they had players such as Paul Parker, Les Ferdinand, Andy Sinton and Ray Wilkins. The 1st 3 of those netted the club £11 million!!!
By 1996 they were struggling from their lack of vision while the transfer money went on repaying debts. Relegation followed as they sunk into division 1.
After more struggling, QPR saw themselves plunge out of Division 1 into Dision 2 in 2001. A quick return was expected with a table topping performance but they have again struggled inmid table.

The Ground.
Loftus Road is based just outside Acton and White City. Not far from the BBC Televison Centre on Wood Lane, it is surrounded on all sides by high rise blocks and crowded housing estates. Not the nicest of grounds to walk
to or get to.
Parking around the ground is a nightmare. Street parking is the only option and the spaces are like Gold dust! However, it is worth it as is is free on a Saturday. A little extra walk will do you good and save you money.
Pricing is expensive at £15 entrace free but you are getting a seat for this money. No terracing in this rather nice ground. Entrance for away fans is on the Loftus Road Main stand towards the right hand end.
For our game only the lower tier was open but Away fans get 2 tiers of seating which equates to about 3,000 seats. We filled our quota and had a real good atmosphere on the lower tier.
Toilets are remarkably good condition for a division 2 team. Their ex premiership status is reflected in their facilities.
Refreshments and food is excellent. A proper purpose built kiosk in the stand is a novelty in division 2 but is always nice to use.Very Clean work area and friendly staff made my purchase very pleasant. However, no burgers were for sale which was a dissapointment. A fine selection of Pukka pies and a strange Hot Dog roll in a french stick seemed the most popular choices. At £2.50 for a hot dog it was very expensive. A cup of coke as opposed to a bottle is a good idea to prevent them being used as missiles on the pitch. There was also a range of Crisps and chocolate.
I noticed their was also a disabled viewing balcony with wheelchair access to the right hand side of the Away end. This was actually based in the Home supporters area but im not sure how away supporters would access this in their wheelchairs.

Getting there.
Quite a difficult place to find if you dont know where you are going. Straight down the M1 to the end is the best way. Turn Right onto the A406 and head West Bound For about 3 miles. At the Big Ikea on the Right Hand side you will come to a set of traffic lights. Turn Left. After a mile you will go past a ornamental Temple on the right and the road will force you to go Left.
Stay in the right hand lane and follow the road around. Over the next set of lights. Take the 3rd turn on the right into Wood Lane. You will see a signpost for the ground on the Right hand side as well as the floodlights. Find your self a space and walk to the ground.
Alternatively jump on the tube anywhere in London and head for the Central Line (Red). Leave the Tub at White City and turn Right. Ground is about 0.5 mile4s walk in front of you.

The team.
A few faces you might recognise form a higher level of play.
Kevin Gallen looked a danger up front. Creating chances for both himself and other players.
He provided great link up play with another dangerous striker, Karl Connolly. King Karl was a favourite at Wrexham before leaving my beloved club for QPR. Unfortunately, he suffered ligament damage on Saturday and is out indefinitely.
A foreign influence on the wing causes opposing defences problems in the form of DouDou. His jinking runs turn players inside out and he has the pace to burn most Defensive backs.
Im not swearing here but they have a great centre back by the name of Shittu. He is a monster of a player at about 6'5 and about the same wide. No one messes with him and he neutralises a lot of the aerial threat in his box when defending against corners.

Playing style.
A good passing team who create a lot of chances. I was suprised just how many they did create and how close they came to scoring. Their set pieces were very well taken and they seemed to control the flow of the game very well.

The manager.
Ian Holloway has a tough job here. To rescue the club from the mire that his predecessors have got them into. He is doing an OK job without giving the stunning rise we all thought QPR would make from Div.2.

The fans.
A very very quiet bunch. I dont think I heard them sing once or even shout any abuse. There were a couple of idiots shouting anti-Welsh shouts to the left of our stand
but the Wrexham faithful countered this with Chants of "Same old England, always cheating!" They give as good as they get in Wrexham!

Overall.
A club that could do better and need to live up to their past reputation. I think they will one day be back to the top.

Summary: