WHO are the biggest rivals of Queens Park Rangers? Well the situation is summed up nicely by a song which regularly rings out amongst the Loftus Road faithful:
“Oh I never felt more like singing the blues,
That Rangers win and Chelsea lose.
Oh Rangers
You’ve got me signing the blues…”
From a personal point of view, one particular fixture against Chelsea always stands out in my memory. It was a top flight match that defied all football betting…
QUEENS PARK RANGERS 6, CHELSEA 0
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Easter Monday 31st March 1986
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Canon League Division One, Kick off 11.30 am
A glorious Easter Monday as Rangers smashed home six goals to kill off Chelsea’s League title hopes.
The R’s went into this match in 14th place in the table and with a Milk Cup Final date against Oxford United less than three weeks away at Wembley Stadium.
Chelsea were fourth and needed the points to rekindle their faltering challenge for the summit - especially after a 4-0 defeat versus West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on the previous Saturday.
However, matchday betting odds favoured the Blues on this occasion.
It was a windy morning with intermittent rain showers peppering our revolutionary Omniturf plastic pitch, which had been much-criticised by Chelsea’s colourful chairman Ken Bates earlier in the season.
For the first time in the history of this fixture, advance ticketing arrangements meant that there were no Chelsea fans infiltrating the Loft terrace. Cash admission was not permitted on the day so Rangers enjoyed terrific support from the all-ticket home end.
It took the Superhoops only eight minutes to open the scoring. John Byrne’s initial shot was charged down but Gary Bannister followed up to convert from an acute angle at the School End. 1-0.
Cries of “Bann-is-ter...Bann-is-ter...Bann-is-ter...” (to the American marching tune) and “You’re Not Singing Anymore...” rang out from the Loft as the 4,000 Chelsea fans at the other end looked on in stunned silence.
QPR doubled their advantage on 25 minutes. Byrne was involved again with a right wing cross, Terry Fenwick nodded the ball on and Bannister arrived in the six yard box to head home. A very noisy rendition of “Singing The Blues...” followed from the Loft. 2-0.
A minute before the break, John Byrne picked up possession just inside the Chelsea half and lost his marker with a deft drop of the shoulder. He then dribbled past another four startled defenders amidst an orgy of skill before lashing into the net from just inside the box. 3-0.
It was the most spectacular R’s goal of the season and our fans rejoiced with versions of “John-ny Byrne, John-ny Byrne, John-ny Byrne” (again using the marching tune) and “Easy...Easy...Easy…”
The fourth came on 58 when Bannister tore away from the shambolic Chelsea back line and sent a bullet-like daisycutter drive into the right hand corner. Even the Rangers stewards on the side of the pitch at the Loft End jumped up and down to celebrate. Meanwhile, the electronic scoreboard flashed a happy declaration of:
“GARY HAT-TRICK BANNISTER”. 4-0.
Then on 64 minutes, Bannister whipped in a low cross from the right and Byrne provided a crisp finish for goal number five with the flimsy Chelsea rearguard in total disarray. The Loft boys bounced around in unison on their terrace steps with chants of “Blame The Pitch, Blame The Pitch, Blame The Pitch...” directed at an ashen-faced Ken Bates in the main stand. 5-0.
Chelsea had striker David Speedie sent off two minutes later for flattening Ian Dawes with his elbow. The home fans waved theatrically while singing “Bye Bye Speedie, Bye Bye Speedie...” (to the tune of Auld Lang Syne) as he plodded dejectedly from the arena.
The sixth blue and white hooped goal in Chelsea’s battered onion bag came in the 82nd minute. Substitute Leroy Rosenior ran unchallenged from the halfway line before firing firmly past despairing goalkeeper Steve Francis. The jubilant Loft bellowed “We Want Seven...We Want Seven...” as the visiting fans headed for the exits. 6-0.
Chelsea manager John Hollins said afterwards: “It’s been a very bad Easter for us, but I want to give QPR full credit for their performance.”
A match report by Rob Shepherd in the now-defunct Today newspaper read:
“Chelsea’s championship aspirations lay tattered and torn across the streets of West London – ripped to shreds by a rampant Queens Park Rangers.
“Gary Bannister and John Byrne…were irrepressible, enjoying the wide open spaces presented by Chelsea’s back four…It was ruthless stuff by the Milk Cup finalists.
Rangers team: Paul Barron, Alan McDonald, Ian Dawes, Wayne Fereday, Steve Wicks, Terry Fenwick (captain), Martin Allen, Robbie James, Gary Bannister, John Byrne, Michael Robinson. Sub: Leroy Rosenior (for Fenwick 70 mins).
Chelsea team:, Steve Francis, Colin Lee, Doug Rougvie, Colin Pates, Joe McLaughlin Micky Hazard, Pat Nevin, Nigel Spackman, Kerry Dixon, David Speedie, Kevin McAllister. Sub: Paul Canoville (for Nevin 66 mins)
Referee: Martin Bodenham (Brighton)
Attendance: 18,584
In later years, I asked the three Queens Park Rangers goalscorers to reflect on that Easter Monday morning…
Gary Bannister: “I always enjoyed playing for QPR versus Chelsea as it was a local derby and a full house. They were a club that I usually seemed to score against during my career.
“In particular, the six goal hammering we gave them will live forever in everybody’s hearts down at Rangers. It was a magnificent team performance and I remember that my goals were all in and around the six yard box.
“I liked playing on that artificial pitch at Loftus Road and it seemed to suit QPR’s style of football. The R’s have always had a tradition for dishing up decent stuff and knocking the ball around. So that was brilliant for me, as I really relished being part of teams who adopted that approach.”
John Byrne: “My favourite memory from my time at Loftus Road was when we beat Chelsea 6-0. I’ll never forget that day! It was just one of those occasions when everything went right for us. We absolutely annihilated them! ‘Banna’ (Gary Bannister) was on fire. He scored a hat-trick and I got a couple too.
“I remember one of my goals where I picked up possession on the halfway line and dribbled all the way through. It was funny on that plastic pitch, because bodies would fall all around you if you got into your stride. So eventually I wriggled free and slotted a shot into the bottom corner.
“There were some big name players in the Chelsea line-up, including their centre-back Doug Rougvie who seemed like he wanted to kill somebody when the score was 5-0! He was certainly looking for blood!
“We had the Milk Cup Final coming up and none of us wanted to get injured. So I remember saying to Banna with about 15 minutes to go…‘I ain’t going anywhere near Rougvie.’
“And Gary replied…‘Neither am I mate!’
“So we both ended up playing out wide on the wings with no one in the middle!”
Leroy Rosenior: “I am really sorry but I don’t remember anything about that game at all. In fact, I cannot recall beating Chelsea 6-0 or me scoring against them.”
*Credit for the main photo in this article belongs to Alamy*
*Credit for the in-text photos in this article belongs to Tony Incenzo*
