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Friday Fulham Stuff - 15/10/21...

Started by WhiteJC, October 15, 2021, 12:17:23 AM

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WhiteJC

How Bournemouth's attendances compare with Nottingham Forest, Fulham and Championship rivals

The Dean Court faithful are back in full voice after 15 months of matches behind closed doors but how do Bournemouth's average attendances stack up against the Championship's other 23 teams?

Bournemouth have the lowest average attendance in the Championship.

As has often been the predominant stick to beat the club with, the limited dimensions of the Vitality Stadium provides little scope for improved attendances, due to the 11,329 seater capacity.

While the Cherries sit top of the league and remain the only side left in the EFL unbeaten, attendance figures have been somewhat mixed, with the club only selling an average of 84.6% of their maximum allocation for the first six home fixtures.

It cannot be overlooked, of course, that the pandemic has impacted the volume of supporters able to travel to matches, whether through economic, safety or health reasons. A reduction in numbers, therefore, was to be expected.

Front-runners in the division are the traditional heavyweights - in supporter-size, at least - with Sheffield United, Nottingham Forest and West Brom making up the top three and a mention should also go to Luton, who though ranked 22nd with an average attendance of just 9,885, represent 96.7% of the capacity at Kenilworth Road.

Championship attendances

Average attendance / as % of capacity

1. Sheffield United – 27,561 / 84.3%

2. Nottingham Forest – 24,691 / 80.7%

3. West Brom – 22,600 / 84.2%

4. Middlesbrough – 21,079 / 62.5%

5. Stoke City – 20,253 / 67.3%

6. Derby County – 19,386 / 57.7%

7. Bristol City – 18,608 / 68.9%

8. Coventry City – 18,557 / 56.9%

9. Cardiff City – 18,451 / 55.4%

10. Fulham – 16,810 / 88.5%

11. Swansea City – 16,258 / 77.1%

12. Huddersfield Town – 15,552 / 63.5%

13. QPR – 13,931 / 75.9%

14. Barnsley – 13,849 / 57.7%

15. Birmingham City – 13,276 / 45.1%

16. Reading – 13,034 / 53.9%

17. Millwall – 12,189 / 60.5%

18. Blackpool – 11,944 / 73.6%

19. Hull City – 11,619 / 46.5%

20. Preston North End – 11,473 / 49%

21. Blackburn Rovers – 10,847 / 34.6%

22. Luton Town – 9,885 / 96.7%

23. Peterborough United – 9,817 / 64.1%

24. Bournemouth – 9,585 / 84.6%



https://www.dorset.live/sport/football/football-news/how-bournemouths-attendances-compare-nottingham-6054470

WhiteJC

The winner of the PFA Vertu Motors Championship Fans' Player of the Month - September

Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic has been voted the PFA Vertu Motors Championship Fans' Player of the Month for September.

The Serbian was in sensational form throughout the month, bagging six goals in just five appearances to help maintain the Cottagers' relatively strong start to the season.

Mitrovic, who also celebrated his birthday in September, picked up 22% of the fan vote, narrowly finishing ahead of Bournemouth midfielder Philip Billing and Blackburn forward Ben Brereton-Diaz - both of whom enjoyed superb calendar months of their own.

Fulham's form deserted them somewhat during September, winning just two of the five games they played, but things wouldn't have been half as good were it not for the goals of Mitrovic.

The highlight of the month was a first half hat-trick against Swansea at Craven Cottage, while Mitrovic also bagged a double at Birmingham in a comfortable 4-1 win before handing Fulham the lead against Bristol City in a game they would go on to draw.

Mitrovic also chalked up an assist against Reading, though that was a game that Marco Silva's side would go on to lose 2-1.

Nevertheless, the 26-year-old has again proven his credentials at this level, and currently sits on 10 goals in just 11 Championship appearances. Should he continue in this rich vein of form, he'll surpass the 26 goals he scored during the 2019/20 campaign en route to firing Fulham to promotion to the Premier League.



https://www.90min.com/posts/aleksandar-mitrovic-fulham-championship-pfa-fans-player-of-the-month-september

WhiteJC

Mitro Wins PFA Fans' POTM For September

Aleksandar Mitrović has won September's PFA Vertu Motors Fans' Player of the Month award.

Mitro had a typically deadly month in front of goal, bagging six goals in as many games, including a notable hat-trick against Swansea City to see the month off in style.

Our big man saw off some stiff competition from Luke Berry, John Swift, Viktor Gyokeres, Philip Billing and Ben Brereton to claim the acolade, receiving 22% of the votes.

The Serbian shares the honour of Championship top scorer with fellow nominee Brereton - scoring ten goals to power us to fifth in the table.



https://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2021/october/14/mitro-wins-pfa-potm-/


WhiteJC

2 things Marco Silva needs to weigh up ahead of Fulham's clash with Queens Park Rangers

Fulham welcome Queens Park Rangers to Craven Cottage this weekend in the Sky Bet Championship, looking to get themselves back to winning ways after the international break, following on from their heavy loss at Coventry City.

The Whites have struggled for consistency a bit in the Championship this year, with them capable of blowing away teams and then throwing in the odd spanner or two into the works.

They'll be eager to get back on track against the Hoops in a west London derby, then, and here we're taking a look at two things Marco Silva needs to weigh up ahead of the game...

Back to Swansea selection?
Silva changed a winning side as he looked to give some key players a rest against Coventry and he might be tempted to get back to the team that beat Swansea if possible.

Jean Michael Seri will surely return to the starting line-up as well as defender Tosin Adarabioyo who, despite making a mistake that gifted the Swans the goal in Fulham's 3-1 win, is still a class defender.

Team selection is always crucial for games like this and Silva might feel it's time to stick with what he knows.

How to deal with wing-backs?
Fulham have faced two sides in the last two games that employ wing-backs and a back-three, similar to QPR.

Indeed, they dealt with Swansea's system very well indeed with the Welsh side offering little threat but then, of course, Coventry showed how that set-up can also cause Fulham problems.

QPR are more than likely going to use wing-backs and a back-three themselves this weekend and so Silva needs to find a plan to deal with that approach.



https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/2-things-marco-silva-needs-to-weigh-up-ahead-of-fulhams-clash-with-queens-park-rangers/

WhiteJC

Preview: Fulham vs. Queens Park Rangers - prediction, team news, lineups

Fulham play host to London rivals Queens Park Rangers on Saturday afternoon looking to retain their place in the top six of the Championship standings.

The home side hold just a two-point advantage over the Hoops, who make the short trip to Craven Cottage on the back of two successive wins.

Match preview
The Football Association decided during the international break that Fulham's 4-1 defeat at Coventry City was partly a consequence of Sky Blues forward Matt Godden cheating to earn a penalty.

However, despite that goal giving Coventry a 2-1 lead and plenty of momentum, Fulham head coach Marco Silva will still be concerned by how his team continued to capitulate after previously holding a half-time advantage.

The Portuguese will feel somewhat relieved that the Cottagers still sit in fifth position after three defeats in six matches, but he will recognise that they need to improve and fast.

Goals are not a problem for this team, the likes of Aleksandar Mitrovic and Harry Wilson having 13 strikes and six assists between them since the start of August.

Nevertheless, Fulham's last league clean sheet came at the end of August, and Silva knows that the wait for another shutout cannot be prolonged if they want to remain in touch with the top two.

That especially rings true ahead of a game against a fellow promotion rival with QPR having overturned their poor run of form with back-to-back victories.

After blowing a lead at West Bromwich Albion, QPR have responded with success against Birmingham City and Preston North End at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium.

While things have not always gone swimmingly for his side this season, Mark Warburton will be satisfied that QPR are back in the playoff places at this stage of the season.

There will be a call to approach this game in isolation, but this rejuvenated squad will recognise the significance of landing another blow on their neighbours on away territory.

On the back of two crucial strikes for his country, Scotland international Lyndon Dykes has now contributed a goal or assist on his last four outings.

Fulham Championship form:

    L    W    L    D    W    L


Fulham form (all competitions):

    W    L    D    D    W    L

Queens Park Rangers Championship form:

    D    L    L    L    W    W


Queens Park Rangers form (all competitions):

    L    L    D    L    W    W



Team News
Silva will almost certainly make numerous changes to his Fulham XI, handing recalls to the likes of Tosin Adarabioyo and Ivan Cavaleiro.

Joe Bryan could also replace Antonee Robinson with the latter having represented the United States on Wednesday night.

Jean-Michael Seri may get the nod over Josh Onomah in the centre of midfield.

Sam McCullum could return for QPR at left-back, providing that he has fully recovered from the hamstring injury that he sustained in September.

Charlie Austin is competing with Andre Gray for a place alongside Dykes, while Jordy de Wijs may get the nod over Jimmy Dunne.

Fulham possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; Odoi, Mawson, Adarabioyo, Bryan; Seri, Reed; Wilson, Decordova-Reid, Cavaleiro; Mitrovic

Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Dieng; Dickie, De Wijs, Barbet; Odubajo, Ball, Johansen, McCullum; Chair; Dykes, Austin

We say: Fulham 2-1 Queens Park Rangers

With Fulham having more players away on international duty, it remains to be seen whether their energy levels will be high enough to cope with a London derby. Nevertheless, they possess extra quality at both ends of the pitch, and we are backing a narrow triumph for the Cottagers.



https://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/fulham/preview/preview-fulham-vs-qpr-prediction-team-news-lineups_467220.html?cQx=NN&newsnow

WhiteJC

Why Fulham's stats should give us hope going forward
Dan Cooke takes a look at the numbers that Fulham have produced this season and what they mean.


Ah the Championship. It's as chaotic, frenetic, and unexplainable as ever. We're somehow only eleven games into the season, despite it feeling like we've been playing every other day.

The international break was much needed. I hope the first week of the break allowed you some cathartic release after our second half Midlands mayhem. Now the dust has settled, I thought it would be a good time for some reflection on our season so far.

The Basics
If we start with goals scored, it's good news. We're top scorers in the league, which after last season is a nice thing to be able to say.



We've managed ten goals at home in our five games at The Cottage this season. Mitro did not just seal his hat-trick when he steered home after that gorgeous free-flowing move against Swansea, it also sealed us scoring more home goals this season than we did in the entirety of last season in front of an empty Cottage.

At the other end of the pitch, we've not been quite as good. Six other teams have conceded fewer than us, with Scott Parker's and Wayne Rooney's men leading the way when it comes to stingy defences.



However, when you combine the two, only West Brom have a better goal difference than us; all in all it's been a promising start from our boys in black and white, but there have been some notable hiccups along the way.

Expected Goals For and Against
Love it or hate it, xG is a fantastic metric to understand how good a team is at creating and putting away chances and how good they are at stopping their opponents doing the same thing.



With an xGF/90 (xG For) of 2.03 and xGA/90 (xG Against) of 1.11, we sit above average for both metrics. Only Luton have produced a better xG than us so far this season, and only five teams have conceded a lower xG. For me this is really important, it shows that our performances are of a top two level when it comes to the parts of the pitch that matter.

Why do I find it important? Especially when only 11 games into a season, where you are in the table only matters so much. The numbers that underpin those games are what tend to have more importance. You are inevitably going to get anomalies and fluctuations, games where you lose 1-0 to your opponent's only shot on target, or a game where you win 2-0 thanks to two screamers. However, over the course of a season, by the nature of metrics such as xG, they tend to converge with what they are predicting – goals. Therefore, at this stage, we should take encouragement out of these xG numbers.

However some worrying trends have presented themselves since the previous international break. Looking below, we can plot xG performance from within each game.



The red crosses denote the xG we have conceded, and it's easy to see the marked rise in these crosses from game six. We were really fizzing in those first five matches, creating chances and hardly conceding any; we were the talk of the league. Since then, we really have regressed; we're creating less and conceding more.

This is a trend we need to reverse as we come out of the international break. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what's causing our issues, and most likely it is a combination of factors. Injuries to Carvalho and Tete certainly won't have helped at either end of the pitch. Perhaps there is also a naïvety, after glamorously brushing opponents aside, we've had some serious wake-up calls. What's for certain though is, we aren't the same side at the moment as we were for the first snippet of this season.

How do we compare to our last Championship season?
Despite an ultimately successful season under Scott Parker in 2019/20, parts of the fanbase weren't overly enamoured with the style of football that we were playing. The majority of this season has felt different under Marco, we've felt more exciting, a bit quicker in possession and more creative. But do the numbers back this up?



In short, yes. We've had a very similar amount of possession to that side two years ago, however as we can see above, we have a shot on target roughly every 85 passes, compared every 113 passes under Parker. As you may have inferred, this means we're having more shots on target per game, which also translates to more shots per game. What's most important, is not only are we taking more shots, the xG per shot is 15% higher under Marco Silva. Therefore, we're taking more shots, from more dangerous positions.

This is exactly what we have been wanting, a team that shows more purpose, getting into more dangerous areas. Marco Silva is doing his best to unleash the attacking talent we have in this squad, and for the most part it has showed and it has worked.

Conclusion
It's not been a perfect start to the season, far from it. However, the numbers behind our matches so far, suggest that we are one of the best, if not the best, in this league.

I can sense the comments of "the only number that matters is how many points you've got". Whilst this is true after 46 games are played, right now, there is hope to be taken from our data. We have the makings of a side that will be in the top two at the end of the season.



https://www.fulhamish.co.uk/post/2021-10-14-why-fulhams-stats-should-give-us-hope-going-forward/


WhiteJC

Electric August gives way to September doubts - Interview

Fulham set off at a lick through August but have badly missed a couple of key injuries and won only two of seven through September. We spoke to Konk and Sam James from the Fulhamish Podcast about what to expect on Saturday.

What went wrong last season?

Konk: It wasn't a great side that got promoted, so we needed to make quite a few signings to have any chance of staying-up. We made some decent signings, but they were made at the last moment, by which time we'd tossed away the first few games. Under Parker we were generally a risk-averse, slow-motion, sideways side, and struggled all season to produce any sort of goal threat. Two wins and nine goals at home, tells you all you need to know. Burnley scored more goals in one game at the Cottage (three) than we did between Christmas and the end of the season. We had a spell in the middle of the season when we were really solid defensively, looked decent and were difficult to beat, but we just couldn't turn draws into wins or hold onto leads, and then completely collapsed over the last ten games. Still, at least Chelsea didn't win the Champions League...

Fulhamish: Last season was frustrating for Fulham fans, issues both on the pitch with flat and turgid tactics at home combined with some questionable recruitment decisions ultimately resulted in another disappointing season in the top flight. The failure to capitalise on the huge win at Anfield changed our season, and ultimately we went down with a whimper.

How has the season gone so far?

Konk: It's been a very Championship start to the season - winning games comfortably one week, before losing unexpectedly the next. Which at least makes a nice change from losing expectedly most weeks in the Premier League. Thirteen points and 12 goals from our first five league games, but two wins, three defeats and a draw in our next six. Five points off the top and currently fifth. It's been a mixed bag.

Fulhamish: You can split it pretty much down the middle. Before the September international break was incredible, since then though, the title parade has fallen apart. A mixture of injuries, bad fortune and self-destructive defending have resulted in us losing three of our past six league games, with the last game at Coventry comfortably the worst of the lot.

Fulham league results so far...
Fulham 1-1 Middlesbrough Wilson 29 – Bola 77
Huddersfield 1-5 Fulham Pearson 41 – Mitrovic 9, Onomah 37, Carvalho 42, Cavaleiro 77, 90
Millwall 1-2 Fulham Afobe 87 – Mitrovic 3, Carvalho 8
Fulham 2-0 Hull Mitrovic 22, Carvalho 34
Fulham 3-0 Stoke Wilson 5, Reid 53, Mitrovic 72
Blackpool 1-0 Fulham Bowler 49
Birmingham 1-4 Fulham Deeney pen 87 – Odoi 10, Mitrovic pen 44, 83, Wilson 54
Fulham 1-2 Reading Muniz 86 – Ejaria 19, 53
Bristol City 1-1 Fulham Palmer 79 – Mitrovic 50
Fulham 3-1 Swansea Mitrovic 12, 32, 44 – Paterson 38
Coventry 4-1 Fulham Gyokeres 47, 70, Godden pen 51, Maatsen 61 – McFadzean og 18

I've watched a few of your games so far, absolutely brilliant at Millwall I thought, then completely destroyed by Coventry, Middlesbrough at home was fairly dull – what's the real Fulham this season?

Konk: We have really missed Tete at left-back, and particularly Fab Carvalho; both through injuries. Carvalho had three goals and an assist in five games before getting injured, and with him and Tete in the side, we have a lot more pace, purpose, and finishing ability. I think (hope) Millwall was more typical of our level, and that we'll soon find our rhythm again.

Fulhamish: I think the real Fulham is a swashbuckling team that even in second gear, is a class above most teams in this league. However, bubbling underneath is a mental fragility that seems to struggle a bit with adversity. It is most likely a consequence of bouncing between two divisions for five seasons, but it does mean that whenever we are put in a difficult position, such as conceding an early goal, we do struggle to recover. In five matches this season we have either gone behind, or conceded an equaliser - in none of them were we able to recover any points.

What Has Marco Silva changed from last season and what do you think of him so far?

Konk: With Parker, there was a lot of our centre-backs playing eight thousand balls between them on the edge of the box, whether we were winning or losing. It wasn't much fun. When we've been good under Silva, we have been excellent, played with lots of pace and torn teams apart at times. We've got at teams and kept looking for goals, rather than going 1-0 up and trying to sit on a lead. With injuries and disruptions, we've lost our way a little bit, but I think there's a decent side there.

Fulhamish: The main thing he has done is improve the pace of the side. Under Scott Parker we were a very, very slow team, content with sideways passing, and sitting on single goal leads. This was effective at times in both divisions, but it could make for real lacklustre spectating. Marco Silva now wants the players to always operate at speed, and kill off games with added goals. It means that when we are firing, we are irresistible to watch. The last month has been tricky for him, but now is the time when we will really learn what he's made of. It's sink or swim time.

What summer transfer business did you end up doing and how do you assess your window overall?

Konk: Wilson is a good player, but I'd sooner see him playing a bit more centrally at times. We signed Nathaniel Chalobah from Watford, and he's been successful in this division in the past, Domingos Quina signed on loan from Watford, and we signed a young, raw centre-forward, Rodrigo Muniz from Flamengo. We also signed Paulo Gazzaniga from Tottenham. Of those, Wilson's the only won who's particularly impressed to date, but it's still early days. I was more chuffed with some of the plays we retained: Mitrovic, Tete, Tosin, and Reed.

Fulhamish: It was a decent window in my opinion. Harry Wilson was an excellent bit of business, particularly as Fulham have managed to defer any payments until further down the line, so for now he is effectively a loan with an obligation. He is Premier League quality, and that's what we need if we are lucky enough to get promoted. The other signings have been mixed, with Gazzaniga, Chalobah and Quina all struggling to either impress or get minutes.

However, the biggest success in the window was keeping hold of who we had already. There were several clubs sniffing around for our players, however Andre-Franck Zambo Anguissa was the only star player to leave (and even that is just a loan). Holding on to the likes of Tosin, Mitrovic, Reed and Tete are crucial to our chances of automatic promotion.

Ins >>> Harry Wilson, 24, RW, Liverpool, £12.6m >>> Rodrigo Muniz, 20, CF, Flamengo, £7.2m >>> Paulo Gazzaniga, 29, GK, Spurs, Free >>> Nathaniel Chalobah, 26, CM, Watford, Free >>> Domingos Quina, 21, CM, Watford, Loan

Outs >>> Aboubakar Kamara, 26, CF, Saloniki, £3.1m >>> Stefan Johansen, 30, CM, QPR, £600k >>> Marcus Bettinelli, 29, GK, Chelsea, Free (what a loving world this is) >>> Andre Anguissa, 25, CM, Napoli, Loan >>> Kevin McDonald, 32, DM, Released

Stand out players and weak links in the team?

Konk: Stand-outs: It seems strange to think that there were some Fulham fans wanting rid of Mitrovic. Ten goals and three assists in eleven games; it's great to see him enjoying himself again. He's about as good as it gets when it comes to the Championship. Jean-Michael Seri has been an unexpected bonus, and played really well at times. Wilson has looked very good in patches too, and as before, Carvalho and Tete were playing very well before their injuries.

Weak links: Good honest pros, but ideally neither Ream nor Odoi would be starting, and the lack of footballing intelligence displayed by Cavaleiro stuns me more every time I watch him. I don't understand how someone can continually pick the wrong pass or find quite so many blind alleys to run down. Gazzaniga hasn't been great and a lot of us would like to see Rodak given a run, as we know he's plenty good enough for this division.

Fulhamish: Mitrovic is the obvious answer, he hasn't got out of second gear and has ten goals in eleven matches. I think Jean Michael-Seri has been electric, it only took him four years of being at Craven Cottage, but finally we are starting to see what some of the hype is about. Fabio Carvalho was the big star in August, and his injury has left a massive creative gap in the side. Same could be said for Kenny Tete on the right side of defence. If they are still missing, they're our blind spots, but if they do return, then I honestly don't think there is too much of a weak link.

How do you think you'll do?

Konk: I'm going to be optimistic and say top two. We have one of the strongest squads in the division, we've destroyed some decent sides at times this season, Mitro should be good for another 15 goals, and with Tete, Carvalho, and hopefully Cairney back at some stage, we ought to have enough over the course of the season.

Fulhamish: I think we'll finish second as we will have too much for most teams at this level. However, it may not be the walkover that many predicted, as I think we are a big 'scalp' in this division, and I'm not sure this group of players are quite ruthless enough to deal with that pressure 100% of the time.



https://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/football/queensparkrangers/news/55980/

WhiteJC

Comebacks, penalty misses and first half collapses – History

It's rarely been dull, or successful, for QPR on recent visits to Craven Cottage, despite the Cottagers' propensity to miss penalty kicks.

Recent Meetings

QPR 0 Fulham 2, Saturday January 10, 2021, FA Cup Third Round

QPR, in the midst of a mid-season slump and prior to the arrival of four transformative January signings, gave as good as they got against Premier League Fulham in the Third Round of last season's FA Cup before succumbing in extra time. Macauley Bonne and Lyndon Dykes were guilty of a catalogue of misses in front of goal as the R's failed to make a surprising level of dominance count. With extra time looming Mark Warburton removed senior pros for younger prospects and the visitors were able to make their extra quality tell with quickfire goals from Bobby Reid and Neeskens Kabano.

QPR: Dieng 6; Dickie 6, Cameron 6 (Masterson 90, 6), Barbet 7; Kane 5, Carroll 6 (Thomas 82, 5), Ball 6, Chair 6 (Bettache 82, 6), Osayi-Samuel 6 (Hämäläinen 90, 5); Bonne 4 (Kelman 73, 5), Dykes 5

Subs not used: Willock, Barnes, Adomah

Bookings: Cameron 35 (foul), Barbet 112 (foul), Hämäläinen 115 (foul)

Fulham: Rodak 7; Aina 6, Ream 6, Kongolo 7 (Hector 67, 6); Tete 6 (Odoi 90, 6), Onomah 7, Reed 6 (Kebano 78, 7), Loftus-Cheek 6 (Robinson 90, 7), Bryan 8; Cavaleiro 5 (Reid 67, 7), Mitrovic 5

Subs not used: Adarabioyo, Fabri, Carvalho, Jasper

Goals: Reid 104 (assisted Mitrovic), Kebano 105+2 (assisted Onomah)

QPR 1 Fulham 2, Tuesday June 30, 2020, Championship

As they had done at Craven Cottage earlier in the season, QPR took a deserved early lead against their near neighbours through Jordan Hugill, only to then slide to a 2-1 defeat. It took Hugill barely a minute to head home the opener, rekindling lockdown optimism that had waned substantially by Rangers returning to action with 1-0 defeats against Barnsley and lowly Charlton. But Fulham hit the inside of the post from super long range through Harrison Reed on 19 minutes and were level straight after that when a speculator from similar range by Harry Arter was somehow allowed to squeeze under Liam Kelly and into the net. Kelly could probably ask why Arter, and later Cyrus Christie from even further out, were not closed down sooner, but when Christie's 25 yarder flew in the corner as well it capped a miserable night for the keeper and a third straight loss for QPR.

QPR: Kelly 3; Kakay 7, Cameron 6, Barbet 5; Kane 6 (Shodipo 80, -), Amos 5, Ball 5 (Chair 89, -), Eze 6, Manning 6; Osayi-Samuel 7 (Oteh 80, -), Hugill 7

Subs not used: Lumley, Rangel, Masterson, Bettache, Gubbins, Clarke

Goals: Hugill 1 (assisted Manning)

Bookings: Manning 23 (foul), Hugill 45+2 (foul)

Fulham: Rodak 6; Christie 7, Hector 7, Ream 6, Odoi 6; Cairney 7 (McDonald 90+3, -), Reed 6, Arter 6 (Onomah 70, 6); Cavaleiro 7 (Sessegnon 90+3, -), Reid 6 (Marchand 79, -), Knockaert 6 (Bryan 70, 6)

Subs not used: Bettinelli, Johansen, De La Torre, Jasper

Goals: Arter 21 (unassisted, Christie 75 (unassisted)

Bookings: Christie 32 (foul), Cairney 53 (foul), Knockaert 64 (foul)

Fulham 2 QPR 1, Friday November 22, 2019, Championship

QPR started well when these sides met at Craven Cottage in November 2019, scoring early through Jordan Hugill and missing a catalogue of other chances besides. They were subsequently punished for that when familiar defensive failings resulted in a pair of goals for Aboubakar Kamara – who was in for the injured Mitrovic. First he was left unmarked from an Odoi cross, then he profited from Joe Lumley's ill-advised and poorly-executed clearance to score a second off Johansen's assist.

Fulham: Rodak 7; Odoi 6, Mawson 6, Ream 6, Bryan 5; Johansen 6, Reed 5 (Reid 54, 6), Cairney 6; Knockaert 7 (Christie 76, 6), Kamara 7, Cavaleiro 7 (McDonald 90+1, -)

Subs not used: Bettinelli, Kebano, Onomah, O'Riley

Goals: Kamara 27 (assisted Odoi), 64 (assisted Johansen)

Bookings: Bryan 61 (foul)

QPR: Lumley 4; Hall 5, Leistner 5, Wallace 6; Kane 7, Manning 6; Ball 6 (Mlakar 81, -), Amos 7 (Chair 66, 6), Eze 7; Hugill 6, Wells 5 (Scowen 66, 5)

Subs not used: Smith, Pugh, Osayi-Samuel, Barnes

Goals: Hugill 3 (assisted Kane)

Fulham 2 QPR 2, Saturday March 17, 2018, Championship

QPR fought back from two goals down to snatch a point from promotion chasing Fulham when these sides met at Craven Cottage in March 2018. It hadn't looked good for the travel sick R's when Tom Cairney took advantage of an unsighted Alex Smithies to open the scoring from range on the half hour and Piazon got on the end of Ryan Fredericks' cross to double that in first half injury time. But Rangers had surprisingly won 3-1 at Aston Villa during the week and buoyed by that worked their way back into the game with a Mass Luongo turn and volley right on the half time whistle. Rangers were superb in the second half – Matt Smith went clean through on Bettinelli but the keeper saved, Luke Freeman was also denied and then the ever accident-prone Dennis Odoi allowed himself to be robbed by Pawel Wszolek when last man and the Pole streaked away to equalise in fine style. Fulham went up regardless, Rangers were midtable, so as it turned out the most notable thing about this game in the end was Steve McClaren's appearance in the television studio, with an unusually in-depth knowledge of the visiting team.

Fulham: Bettinelli 7; Fredericks 7, Odoi 5, Ream 6, Targett 6; McDonald 6, Johansen 6; Piazon 7 (Ayite 68, 6), Cairney 7 (Fonte 79, 5), Sessegnon 6 (Ojo 79, 5); Mitrovic 6

Subs not used: Norwood, Christie, Button, Kamara

Goals: Cairney 32 (unassisted), Piazon 45 (assisted Fredericks)

Bookings: Targett 86 (foul), Mitrovic 90+3 (unsporting)

QPR: Smithies 7; Furlong 8, Onuoha 7, Lynch 7, Bidwell 8; Freeman 6, Manning 6 (Cousins 74, 7), Luongo 6, Wszolek 8; Eze 6 (Smyth 69, 7); Smith 6 (Washington 69, 5)

Subs not used: Ingram, Baptiste, Perch, Osayi-Samuel

Goals: Luongo 40+3 (assisted Freeman/Smith), Wszolek 81 (unassisted)

Bookings: Luongo 49 (foul), Cousins 89 (foul), Lynch 90+3 (unsporting)

QPR 1 Fulham 2, Friday September 29, 2017, Championship

QPR came up short in the first meeting between the sides that season despite the obligatory Fulham penalty miss appearing to let them off the hook. The visitors led at the end of an even first half when a speculative effort from the excellent Ryan Fredericks was diverted into his own net by Jack Robinson. Freeman and Luongo went close to equalisers from range in the second half but the game looked to be up when Joel Lynch fell over the ball when in possession as last man, then compounded the situation by chasing Kebano into the penalty box and chopping him down. Fonte missed the spot kick but within minutes Lynch had allowed Fonte to turn him into the channel and cut the ball back for Johansen to score the second from the edge of the box. The late rally that has become a feature of QPR games this season only had a Conor Washington goal in injury time by way of reward.

QPR: Smithies 6; Baptiste 6, Robinson 7, Lynch 4, Bidwell 5; Scowen 6, Luongo 6, Freeman 6; Wszolek 6 (Smith 60, 5), Mackie 6 (Washington 76, 6), Sylla 7 (Wheeler 84, -)

Subs not used: Furlong, Lumley, Manning, Osayi Samuel

Goals: Washington 90+2 (assisted Smith)

Bookings: Luongo 17 (foul), Mackie 22 (foul), Lynch 82 (foul)

Fulham: Button 6; Fredericks 8, Kalas 6, Ream 6, Sessegnon 7; Norwood 6, McDonald 6, Johansen 6; Ojo 6 (Kebano 55, 6), Fonte 6 (Cisse 90+4, -), Mollo 6 (Odoi 62, 6)

Subs not used: Bettinelli, Madl, Graham, Djalo

Goals: Robinson og 41 (assisted Fredericks), Johansen 85 (assisted Fonte)

Bookings: Norwood 63 (repetitive fouling), Fredericks 65 (foul), Button 87 (time wasting)

QPR 1 Fulham 1, Saturday January 21, 2017, Championship

Ryan Manning's first goal for the club, and yet another Alex Smithies penalty save, were not quite enough to seal the win for QPR when these sides met at Loftus Road in January 2017. Manning seized on loose defending from McDonald to slide Rangers into a first half lead, but only after Chris Martin had been denied from the spot by Smithies after the first of what turned out to be a string of nonsense decisions from referee Keith Stroud. That was the third penalty Fulham had missed against QPR that season but Martin would exact his revenge with a second half equaliser.

QPR: Smithies 8; Furlong 7, Onuoha 7, Lynch 7, Bidwell 7; Manning 8, Hall 7 (Perch 90, -) Luongo 8; Mackie 7 (Lua-Lua 83, 6), Wszolek 7, Sylla 7 (Washington 68, 5)

Subs not used: Ingram, Doughty, Shodipo, Ngbakoto

Goals: Manning 25 (unassisted)

Bookings: Furlong (foul), Luongo (foul), Manning (foul), Sylla (handball), Lynch (fighting)

Fulham: Button 6; Ream 6, Kalas 7, McDonald 5; Fredericks 5 (Odoi 45, 6), Malone 6; Johansen 6, Cairney 6, Piazon 7 (Sessegnon 77, 6); Aluko 6 (Smith 88,-), Martin 6

Subs not used: Sigurdsson, Parker, Bettinelli, Madl

Goals: Martin 75 (assisted Cairney)

Bookings: Fredericks (dissent), Cairney (pushing), Martin (fighting)

Fulham 1 QPR 2, Saturday October 1, 2016, Championship

QPR somehow won the first meeting between these sides that season despite Fulham having two penalties and a host of other gilt edged chances besides. Our old chum Lee Mason wasted no time in awarding the first spot kick for apparent pulling in the area by Steven Caulker but Alex Smithies saved from Tom Cairney. Chris Martin and Sone Aluko both missed open goals either side of Conor Washington opening the scoring but Tim Ream's scrambled effort levelled the scores after half time. An Impressive cameo from Mide Shodipo swung the game in QPR's favour long enough for Idrissa Sylla to head in what seemed like a winner three minutes from time only for Mason to award the hosts another questionable spot kick deep into added time. Aluko, this time, hit the base of the post.

Fulham: Button 5; Odoi 6, Sigurdsson 5, Ream 6, Malone 7; Parker 7 (Jozabed 78, 7), Tunnicliffe 6, Cairney 7 (Kebano 71, 6); Aluko 5, Piazon 6, Martin 4 (Smith 56, 6)

Subs not used: Bettinelli, Madl, Sessegnon, Adeniran

Goals: Ream 47 (assisted Cairney)

Bookings: Malone 58 (foul) Ream 83 (foul)

QPR: Smithies 7; Onuoha 5, Caulker 6, Hall 5, Lynch 6 (Hamalainen 81, -); Henry 6, Luongo 7; Wzsolek 6 (Shodipo 63, 7), Chery 7, Washington 7; Polter 6 (Sylla 60, 7)

Subs not used: Ingram, Sandro, Kakay, El Khayati

Goals: Washington 20 (assisted Wzsolek), Sylla 87 (assisted Chery)

Bookings: Caulker 5 (not much), Henry 74 (foul), Sylla 90+5 (dissent)

QPR 1 Fulham 3, Saturday February 13, 2016, Championship

More of everything we've come to expect from recent matches with Fulham when these sides met at Loftus Road back in February. The visitors were three up before half time, as usual, with Luke McCormack, Moussa Dembele and Tom Cairney running riot and Everton loanee Luke Garbutt making the most of Matt Phillips' refusal to track back by revelling in the space down the Fulham left. Cairney set up McCormack for the first and scored the third himself with Garbutt teeing up Dembele for the second in ten devastating minutes before half time. QPR rallied slightly after half time, and scored a late consolation through Tjaronn Chery, but overall this was yet another shambolic defeat for Rangers against their nearest neighbours.

QPR: Smithies 6; Perch 5, Onuoha 4, Hall 5, Konchesky 4; Phillips 3 (Chery 76, 6), Toszer 3, Luongo 5, Hoilett 5 (El Khayati 65, 6); Polter 4 (Washington 46, 5), Mackie 6

Subs not used: Hill, Henry, Ingram, Petrasso

Goals: Chery 89 (assisted Tozser)

Bookings: Onuoha 48 (dissent), Hall 82 (foul)

Fulham: Lonergan 6; Fredericks 7, Madl 6, Burn 8, Christensen – (Garbutt 6, 8); Amorebieta 6, Parker 7 (Ince 78, 6), O'Hara 7, Cairney 8; McCormack 8, Dembele 7 (Hundman 84, -)

Subs not used: Richards, Smith, Kacaniklic, Lewis

Goals: McCormack 35 (assisted Cairney), Dembele 41 (assisted Garbutt), Cairney 45+2 (assisted Dembele)

Bookings: Burn 63 (foul), O'Hara 65 (dissent)

Fulham 4 QPR 0, Friday September 25, 2015, Championship

QPR suffered their annual humiliation at Craven Cottage in September last season, surrendering in fairly typical circumstances. Much like the other recent thrashings on that ground, the damage was all done in the early minutes. Fulham took the lead after a minute through a header from Moussa Dembele and as the defence imploded further goals from Ben Pringle and Ross McCormack followed before half time. McCormack made it four on the hour after another shambles, and what happened after that I'm not sure as I was back in the Boat House in Putney.

Fulham: Lonergan 6; Fredericks 7 (Voser 77, -), Stearman 7, Ream 6, Husband 8; Cairney 8, Tunnicliffe 6, O'Hara 7 (Christensen 65, -), Pringle 8; McCormack 8; Dembele 7 (Woodrow 76, -)

Subs not used: Lewis, Mattila, Kavanagh, Burn

Goals: Dembele 1 (assisted Husband), Pringle 18 (assisted Faurlin), McCormack 30 (assisted Cairney), 62 (assisted Angella)

QPR: Green 3; Perch 2, Angella 2, Onuoha 2, Konchesky 2; Faurlin 2, Henry 2; Phillips 3, Luongo 3, Chery 3 (Mackie 35, - (Fer 45, 5)); Austin 4 (Tozser 59, 5)

Subs Not Used: Hall, Smithies, Doughty, Gladwin

Bookings: Perch 79 (foul)

Fulham 3 QPR 2, Monday April 1, 2013, Premier League

The April Fools jokes wrote themselves as QPR's continued their recent poor record against their nearest neighbours with a first half defensive shambles at Craven Cottage in 2013. Chris Samba was at fault for the first two, coneding a penalty which Dimitar Berbatov converted and then passing a suicidal ball straight to the home side to allow the Bulgarian to stroke in an easy second. A Clint Hill own goal before half time rather summed it up. A typical Adel Taarabt strike at the start of the second half, and close range finish from Loic Remy, sparked hope of a comeback but Remy missed a penalty and Rangers, bizarrely, failed to overly exert themselves in the search for an equaliser as the half wore on.

Fulham: Schwarzer 7, Riether 6, Hangeland 7, Senderos 6, Riise 7, Dejagah 6 (Emanuelson 38, 6 (Frimpong 78, 6)), Sidwell 5, Karagounis 4, Duff 6, Berbatov 8, Ruiz 6

Subs not used: Etheridge, Richardson, Hughes, Frei, Rodallega

Goals: Berbatov 8 (penalty, won Dejagah), 22 (unassisted), Hill og 41 (assisted Riise)

Red Cards: Sidwell 78 (serious foul play)

Bookings: Riether 88 (time wasting), Senderos 90 (time wasting)

QPR: Cesar 5, Bosingwa 6, Samba 2, Hill 2 (Onuoha 45, 5), Traore 4 (Mackie 83, -), Remy 6, Mbia 8, Jenas 6, Townsend 6, Taarabt 6 (Hoilett 74, 5), Zamora 6

Subs not used: Green, Ben Haim, Park, Granero

Goals: Taarabt 45 (assisted Zamora), Remy 51 (assisted Mbia)

Bookings: Hill 13 (foul)

QPR 2 Fulham 1, Saturday December 15, 2012, Premier League

It took Queens Park Rangers 17 attempts to win a Premier League game this season, a diabolical run that stretched right into December and looks highly likely to condemn the R's to relegation come May. Mark Hughes paid the price with his job and Harry Redknapp finally put three points on the board ten days before Christmas against near neighbours Fulham. The game had been billed as the battle of two maverick forwards – Adel Taarabt and Dimitar Berbatov – and it was QPR's Moroccan who dominated proceedings. Despite referee Martin Atkinson allowing Steve Sidwell to kick lumps out of him all afternoon, Taarabt was at his unplayable best scoring first with a deflected shot off Brede Hangelaand and then with a sumptuous shot with the outside of his boot after he'd nutmegged the Norwegian centre half in back play. A late goal by Mladen Petric set pulses racing, but the scoreline flattered Fulham and Rangers finally had their win.

QPR: Green 6, Onuoha 7, Nelsen 7, Hill 7, Traore 7, Wright-Phillips 7 (Fabio 85, -), Faurlin 8, Mbia 8, Mackie 6, Taarabt 9, Ciise 7 (Ferdinand 90, -)

Subs not used: Cesar, Derry, Diakite, Granero, Hoilett

Goals: Taarabt 52 (assisted Faurlin), 68 (unassisted)

Bookings: Taarabt 52 (overcelebrating)

Fulham: Schwarzer 5, Riether 6 (Kelly 45, 6), Hangeland 5, Hughes 5, Riise 6, Duff 6, Sidwell 5, Baird 5, Richardson 5 (Petric 63, 7), Berbatov 6, Rodallega 6 (Dejagah 72, 5)

Subs not used: Etheridge, Senderos, Karagounis, Kacaniklic

Goals: Petric 88 (unassisted)

Bookings: Sidwell 75 (repetitive fouling), Dejagah 77 (foul)

QPR 0 Fulham 1, Saturday February 25, 2012, Premier League

QPR fans attending this home match with Fulham were treated to the most farcical debut since Bob Malcolm when Samba Diakite took to the field in Rangers colours for the first time. Having lost crucial relegation six pointers against Wolves and Blackburn in the two previous matches the R's were in need of points but Andy Johnson had a header disallowed for a marginal offside decision inside a minute and with the time still in single figures Pavel Pogrebnyak waltzed around Kenny and opened the scoring for the visitors. Any remaining hope quickly drained away when referee Phil Dowd was left with no option but to dismiss Diakite for two yellow cards before half time after half an hour of unchecked gratuitous violence. Things could have been worse had Dickson Etuhu shown more composure when played through on goal late in the second half but he rolled the chance wide.

QPR: Kenny 6, Onuoha 6, Ferdinand 6, Hill 7, Taiwo 5 (Traore 72, 6), Diakite 5, Barton 6, Wright-Phillips 5 (Buzsaky 83, -), Mackie 6, Taarabt 7, Zamora 6

Subs Not Used: Cerny, Derry, Gabbidon, Bothroyd, Smith

Sent Off: Diakite 33 (two yellows)

Booked: Diakite (repetitive fouling), Diakite (repetitive fouling)

Fulham: Schwarzer 7, Kelly 6, Hughes 7, Hangeland 8, Riise 6, Ruiz 6 (Duff 78, -), Murphy 7 (Baird 74, 6), Dembele 8, Dempsey 7, Pogrebnyak 7, Johnson 7 (Etuhu 81, -)

Subs Not Used: Stockdale, Orlando Sa, Senderos, Frei

Booked: Pogrebnyak (over celebrating), Dembele (foul), Riise (foul), Baird (foul)

Goals: Pogrebnyak 7 (assisted Dembele)

Fulham 6 QPR 0, Sunday October 2, 2011, Premier League

Neil Warnock said his QPR teams would take some thrashings in their first Premiership season, and he was proved more than correct early in October when an abject display resulted in a crushing 6-0 defeat at Craven Cottage. Optimism had been high before the game with a host of new players bringing about three excellent performances and five points from games with Newcastle, Wolves and Aston Villa but Fulham scored through Andy Johnson inside the first two minutes and kept scoring at regular intervals after that. Paddy Kenny embarked on a fool's mission to retrieve a ball Fitz Hall should have cleared in the twentieth minute resulting in a foul on Johnson and a penalty from Danny Muprhy for 2-0 and Johnson made it three himself before half time. With Adel Taarabt substituted and allegedly standing on the Fulham Palace Road waiting for a bus Rangers shipped three more with Johnson completing his hat trick and Clint Dempsey and Bobby Zamora filling their boots in a rout.

QPR: Kenny 5, Ferdinand 5, Hall 4, Young 5, Orr 5, Faurlin 5, Derry 4 (Smith 45, 5), Wright-Phillips 5, Taarabt 4 (Campbell 45, 6), Barton 5, Bothroyd 4 (Mackie 72, 7)

Subs Not Used: Murphy, Perone, Buzsaky, Helguson

Booked: Hall (foul), Faurlin (foul), Wright-Phillips (dissent)

Fulham: Schwarzer 7, JA Riise 6, Hangeland 6, Baird 6, Grygera 7, Sidwell 8, Murphy 7 (Etuhu 83 6), Dempsey 6, Johnson 8 (Ruiz 75 6), Zamora 7, Dembele 7 (Sa 87, -)

Subs Not Used: Etheridge, Kelly, Senderos, Duff

Goals: Johnson 2, 38, 59, Murphy (penalty) 20, Dempsey 65, Zamora 70.

Booked: Sidwell (foul), Hangeland (foul)

Fulham 2 QPR 0, Saturday March 10, 2001

The writing was well and truly on the wall for QPR when these sides last met at Craven Cottage. Gerry Francis had recently left his post with Rangers very firmly in the relegation zone and been replaced by his former midfield charge Ian Holloway. Despite impending administration Holloway was able to add Leon Knight, and later Marcus Bignot and Andy Thomson to his line up, but it was no match for Jean Tigana's Fulham side which was marching towards promotion. Louis Saha scored a penalty before halftime and Lee Clark stuck home a second in injury time to seal a 2-0 win which could have been many more. The Fulham fans taunted their visitors with the old "we'll never play you again" chant. These were two sides very firmly heading in opposite directions, and when you look down the respective starting elevens it's not hard to see why.

Fulham: Taylor, Finnan, Symons, Melville, Brevett, Clark, Davis, Collins, Goldbaek (Riedle 69), Saha (Stolcers 80), Hayles (Boa Morte 64)

Subs not used: Hahnemann, Nielson

Goals: Saha (penalty, 37), Clark 90

QPR: Harper, Perry, Ready, Plummer, Baraclough, Darlington, Rose (Kulscar 79), Peacock, Murray (Kiwomya 57), Knight (Warren 72), Crouch

Subs not used: Miklosko, Wardley

Bookings: Baraclough, Crouch

QPR 0 Fulham 2, Wednesday January 31, 2001

In many ways Rangers' fate was finally sealed in the first meeting that season at Loftus Road. Not with the result, because given the respective resources and starting elevens that was never really in doubt, but the legacy of the match would last long after the final whistle. After ten minutes England Under 21 international Clarke Carlisle was stretchered off with a ruptured cruciate knee ligament that would keep him out of the QPR team for more than a year and lead him into a personal battle with alcohol. Twenty minutes later Richard Langley followed him to hospital – incredibly with exactly the same injury. It almost seemed cruel when Fulham took advantage with goals from Peter Moller and Karlheinz Riedle. This was already a very poor QPR side, but shorn of Richard Langley and Clarke Carlisle it was doomed.

QPR: Miklosko, Perry, Plummer, Carlisle (Bruce 11), Baraclough, Langley (Kulscar 37), Rose, Peacock, Connolly (Ngonge 79), Kiwomya, Crouch

Subs not used: Harper, Morrow

Fulham: Taylor, Finnan, Melville, Symons, Brevett, Goldbaek, Davis, Clark, Fernandes, Saha, Moller (Riedle 70)

Subs not used: Hahnemann, Stolcers, Neilson, Sahnoun

Goals: Moller 45, Riedle 77

Booked: Davis

Previous Results
Head to Head >>> Fulham wins 19 >>> Draws 7 >>> QPR wins 15

2020/21 QPR 0 Fulham 2*

2019/20 QPR 1 Fulham 2 (Hugill)

2019/20 Fulham 2 QPR 1 (Hugill)

2017/18 Fulham 2 QPR 2 (Luongo, Wszolek)

2017/18 QPR 1 Fulham 2 (Washington)

2016/17 QPR 1 Fulham 1 (Manning)

2016/17 Fulham 1 QPR 2 (Washington, Sylla)

2015/16 QPR 1 Fulham 3 (Chery)

2015/16 Fulham 4 QPR 0

2012/13 Fulham 3 QPR 2 (Taarabt, Remy)

2012/13 QPR 2 Fulham 1 (Taarabt 2)

2011/12 QPR 0 Fulham 1

2011/12 Fulham 6 QPR 0

2000/01 Fulham 2 QPR 0

2000/01 QPR 0 Fulham 2

1999/00 QPR 0 Fulham 0

1999/00 Fulham 1 QPR 0

1982/83 QPR 3 Fulham 1 (Gregory, Sealy, Stainrod)

1982/83 Fulham 1 QPR 1 (Stainrod)

1979/80 Fulham 0 QPR 2 (Waddock, Burke)

1979/80 QPR 3 Fulham 0 (P Goddard, Allen, Currie)

1978/79 Fulham 2 QPR 0*

1972/73 QPR 2 Fulham 0 (Bowles, Clement)

1972/73 Fulham 0 QPR 2 (Bowles, Givens)

1971/72 QPR 0 Fulham 0

1971/72 QPR 1 Fulham 1* (Mancini)

1971/72 Fulham 2 QPR 1* (Clement)

1971/72 Fulham 0 QPR 3 (Saul, McCulloch, Matthewson og)

1970/71 Fulham 2 QPR 0**

1948/49 QPR 1 Fulham 0 (Ramscar)

1948/49 Fulham 5 QPR 0

1931/32 QPR 3 Fulham 1 (Wiles, 2, Haley)

1931/32 Fulham 1 QPR 3 (G Goddard 2, Cribb)

1930/31 Fulham 0 QPR 2 (G Goddard, Coward)

1930/31 QPR 0 Fulham 2

1929/30 Fulham 0 QPR 2 (G Goddard, Rounce)

1929/30 QPR 0 Fulham 0

1928/29 Fulham 5 QPR 0

1928/29 QPR 2 Fulham 1 (G Goddard, Young)

1905/06 Fulham 1 QPR 0

* - FA Cup

Player Connections
Rodney Marsh >>> Fulham, 1962-1966 >>> QPR 1966-1972

Rodney Marsh is remembered to this day as one of the finest players ever to wear a QPR shirt. He was the maverick talisman in the Rangers side that swept from the Third Division to the First in the 1960s.

A combination of injuries and a fall out with then Fulham manager Vic Buckingham saw his time at Craven Cottage, where he started his career after a spell with West Ham juniors, cut short and he moved to Loftus Road for £15,000 in 1966. Despite his struggles with Fulham, Marsh immediately became a big hit at Rangers, scoring an astonishing 44 goals in 53 matches in his first season. One of those goals was a particularly crucial one - coming at Wembley as the R's came from two down to win the League Cup 3-2 against First Division West Brom while still a Third Division side.

QPR won the Third Division by 12 points in an age of two points for a win, and scored more than 100 goals into the bargain with Marsh at the pinnacle of an exciting team that included the Morgan twins, Les Allen and Mark Lazarus with Mike Keen as captain. This was during the chairmanship of Jim Gregory who transformed Rangers from a Third Division South outfit into a top flight club playing in a brand new stadium.

Marsh eventually left Rangers in 1972 to join Manchester City for a then record fee of £200,000. He played in an era of somewhat flawed geniuses – our own Stan Bowles was another but there was also George Best and later Tony Currie – and his time at City did not begin well. He joined in March with Malcolm Allison's side four points clear at the top of the league but by May they had slipped to fourth with Marsh struggling to settle in the team. He did nevertheless bag 19 goals the following year and made the League Cup final again but this time he was defeated.

As ever with players of this type he never really received the international recognition his skill deserved. He won nine caps (Phil Neville has 59, Gareth Barry 53) and scored once but was not a regular under World Cup winning manager Alf Ramsey. At the QPR Player of the Year dinner a couple of years ago Marsh told a story about how, when QPR were in the Third Division, a national newspaper had offered him a handsome sum of money to put his name to a story headlined "I'm Ready for England Alf – Marsh". Having discussed it with his QPR manager Alec Stock they decided it would be a foolish idea, but a day later Marsh woke to find the same story published under the headline "Rodney's ready for England Alf – Stock".

He spent more than ten years at the end of his career playing for Tampa Bay Rowdies in Florida, where he still lives today, but did briefly return to Fulham to link up with George Best and Bobby Moore in a briefly lived veteran dream team set up.

In retirement he sullied his reputation with QPR fans somewhat by inadvertently playing a part in the departure of Gerry Francis from his first spell as manager at the club. Relations between Francis and chairman Richard Thompson were already strained when Thompson approached Marsh to be a director of football at the club. Marsh wanted to discuss the role with Gerry Francis first but was not given the chance before he turned up to a televised home match with Liverpool in a QPR scarf. Francis was furious, apparently believing that Marsh would be taking over responsibility for the transfers from him, and resigned later that week. Marsh never did take up the post and has since expressed regret about the incident.

Since then he has been making his living as an outspoken football pundit, but he was sacked from his regular job on Sky Sports for making an inappropriate joke about Newcastle United's Toon Army in the wake of the Boxing Day Tsunami in Asia. He apologised but it didn't save his job. He has appeared on numerous television reality shows and football phone ins since.

Others >>> Stefan Johansen, QPR 2021-present, Fulham 2016-2021 >>> Bobby Zamora, QPR 2012-2015, Fulham 2008-2012 >>> Andy Johnson, QPR 2012-2014, Fulham 2008-2012 >>> Heidar Helguson, Fulham 2005-2007, QPR 2008-2013 >>> Stephen Kelly, QPR (loan) 2003, Fulham 2009-2013 >>> Zesh Rehman, 2004-2006, QPR 2006-2009 >>> Callum Willock, Fulham 2000-2003, QPR (loan) 2002 >>> Paul Peschisolido, Fulham 1997-2001, QPR (loan) 2000 >>> Ray Wilkins, QPR 1989-1994, (manager) 1994-1996, Fulham (manager) 1997-1998 >>> Rufus Brevett, QPR 1991-1998, Fulham 1998-2003 >>> Robbie Herrera, QPR 1988-1993, Fulham 1993-1998 >>> Leroy Rosenior, Fulham 1982-1985, 1987-1988, (loan) 1990-1991, QPR 1985-1987 >>> Paul Parker, Fulham 1982-1987, QPR 1987-1991 >>> Dean Coney, Fulham 1980-1987, QPR 1987-1989 >>> Bobby Keetch, Fulham 1964-1966, QPR 1966-1969 >>> Jim Langley, Fulham 1957-1965, QPR 1965-1967 >>> Dave Metchick, Fulham 1961-1964, QPR 1968-1970



https://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/football/queensparkrangers/news/55981/

WhiteJC

Fulham v QPR – the key battles

Fulham host QPR on Saturday at Craven Cottage in what should be a mouth-watering local derby between the two highest scorers in the Championship. We look at some of the key battles likely to play out on the pitch.

Aleksandar Mitrovic v Rob Dickie
After a miserable return to the Premier League where he scored just three times in 27 appearances, Mitrovic is once again filling his boots in the Championship.

Fulham's Serbian striker already has 10 goals to his name this season, having scored 27 at that level two years ago.

Although he lacks pace, and pressing from the front is simply not his game, he comes alive in the box when provided with decent service, as he showed with his first-half hat-trick in the Whites' recent 3-1 win over Swansea.

Dickie fared well against Mitrovic when the pair faced off in the FA Cup third-round clash last season, which Fulham won 2-0 in extra time. He was largely subdued by Dickie, who has developed into one of the best centre-backs in the Championship. But he will need to be at the top of his game keep a confident Mitrovic in check.

Fabio Carvalho v Moses Odubajo
It can't be a coincidence that Fulham's have struggled to match their impressive early-season performances ever since Carvalho picked up an injury that has sidelined him for the past six games.

The Whites have lost three times without the richly-talented 19-year-old playmaker, who wouldn't have looked out of place in the Premier League last season had former manager Scott Parker given him more opportunities.

The Portugal-born teenager, who is stalling over a new contract offer, is expected to return on Saturday and likely to operate on the left of a 4-2-3-1 formation. Teams have enjoyed success down the Rangers' right this season and with the excellent Antonee Robinson operating behind Carvalho from left-back, Moses Odubajo will be tested.

Stefan Johansen v John Michael Seri
Johansen left Fulham on good terms following his permanent move to W12 in August and returns to Craven Cottage for the first time as an opposing player.

The Norwegian is fondly remembered by Whites fans, having been an integral part of two promotion-winning campaigns.

However, the Rangers skipper will be desperate to prove a point to a club that discarded him twice after he helped them reach the Premier League.

Johansen is QPR's key player in the middle of the park and will know all about the strengths and weaknesses of Seri, who's finally enjoying a run in the side having struggled to make an impression since his arrival in 2018 and spent the past two seasons out on loan.

Rangers will have taken note from how Coventry dominated the midfield battle in second half of their recent 4-1 win over Marco Silva's side.

Chris Willock v Denis Odoi
Willock will be relieved to see the return of Sam McCallum from injury after being forced to fill in as a makeshift left wing-back for QPR's past two matches.

The former Arsenal man and Ilias Chair were outstanding in the Carabao Cup win over Everton, causing the Premier League team all sorts of problems down their right side.

Willock has been highly impressive this season and will be confident of having similar success against Odoi, who has been deputising at right-back for the injured Kenny Tete.

The veteran Belgian will have unhappy memories of facing Rangers at Craven Cottage after being robbed of the ball by Pawel Wszolek as the Pole grabbed an equaliser in a 2-2 draw in 2018.



https://www.westlondonsport.com/qpr/fulham-v-qpr-the-key-battles