Introduction to Queens Park Rangers’ Legendary Players
Across the years at Loftus Road, an abundance of top-quality leaders and exceptional footballers have worn the blue and white hoops of Queens Park Rangers. Moments of cup glory and league triumphs have been spearheaded by key individuals since the West London side’s formation.
QPR fans will hold a special place in their heart for some of the key legendary players to have served the side. This list has been accumulated to honour the accolades and accomplishments made over more than a century of club football.
The Legacy of Queens Park Rangers
Founded following a merge between Christchurch Rangers and St. Jude’s Institute by 1886, the Hoops won their first trophy in the 1892/93 season. Since this accomplishment, QPR have enjoyed spells of great success and disappointment in the following 139 years in English football, starting professionally in the Southern League in 1899.
After joining the EFL in 1920, promotion to the second division was accomplished in 1948 before a temporary setback relegated QPR four years later. Some of the R’s highest level of league participation took place in: the 1975/76 season – where qualification to the UEFA Cup was earned as runners-up in the First Division – and the 2011/12, 2014/15 seasons with Neil Warnock in the Premier League.
Criteria for Ranking the Best Players
A perfect blend of statistics, club legacy, appearances, goal involvements, impact on the club and accolades are all used to determine who deserves the higher ranking in their club’s history.
QPR have had leaders on and off the pitch during their top flight and lower league endeavours, with captains as well as skilful players emphasising what it mean to wear the blue and white hoops.
The level at which these following players performed at is also a crucial indicator as to what qualifies the ‘greatest’ – some, more than others, were able to flourish in the top division, which ultimately trumps the sentimentality element of perceived quality.
Priority is given to those who have achieved the most and contributed the best performances as well as successes to QPR only. This means that players such as: Peter Crouch and David Seaman miss out on this basis.
Top 10 Greatest Players in Queens Park Rangers History
1. Stan Bowles (1972-79)
Following his purchase for £112,000 – an unheard of amount and a club-record fee for Rangers at the time – from Carlisle United in 1972, Bowles would go on to not only replace Rodney Marsh’s pure excellence, but to be the club’s greatest player. From a goal and an assist in his inaugural QPR game, to a farewell in 1979 with a header just like his debut, Bowles was simply excellent during his imperious stay.
A 17-goal season in 1972/73 spearheaded a promotion campaign to the top flight of English football, which was immediately followed by an impressive First Division 1973/74 season. Bowles notably scored against the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United, with four against Chelsea in three domestic meetings. Three England caps were earned during this time, including one goal.
The 1975/76 season is regarded as the best in QPR’s club history. As near-First Division champions that year, Rangers relied greatly on Bowles for goalscoring and leadership on the attacking front. The consequent season, after QPR qualified for the UEFA Cup, Bowles would score 11 times and break the British record in a European campaign.
Five international caps for England as well as 66 goals in 232 QPR appearances, before Bowles signed for Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest in December 1979, makes the midfielder the greatest asset and legend to emerge from Loftus Road – this has been generally agreed upon by most fans of the London side.
2. Gerry Francis (1969-79, 1981/82)
Voted by QPR fans as their undisputed ‘Legend of the Loft’, Francis is the only Rangers player to ever captain the England national team. This took place in eight of 12 appearances between 1974 and 1976.
In the aforementioned 1975/76 First Division campaign, the midfielder captained Rangers to a runner-up finishing position as well as qualification to the UEFA Cup the following season. With 65 goals in 354 appearances over two spells, Francis was an integral part of QPR’s first European endeavours and highest league standing in the club’s history.
As a manager too, the 2017 Forever R’s Club inductee was in charge of his former side during the 1992/93 Premier League fifth-placed campaign.
3. Alan McDonald (1983-97)
McDonald is one of the most notorious figures in QPR’s history, with the centre-back featuring nearly 500 times in an important defensive role. The former Northern Irish international coined the nickname ‘Macca’ and became a key figure from 1983 following a successful entry trial with Rangers in 1979.
In an impressive span of seasons with QPR, McDonald featured heavily in the 1992/93 Premier League season and played a huge part in the 4-1 decimation of Manchester United away in 1992. The defender’s career with the London side started in 1983 and concluded in 1997. Across 483 appearances, 18 goals were netted by McDonald, but his defensive solidity and leadership left a bigger impression.
As the most internationally-capped footballer in QPR’s history, McDonald earned 52 for Northern Ireland. A national captaincy for many of those games saw the defender impress consistently.
With the defender’s passing in June 2012, McDonald is remembered as a legend of the club to this day.
4. George Goddard (1926-33)
In terms of sheer output in a goal to game context, Goddard can be considered the greatest talisman in the club’s history.
In 259 appearances for Rangers, the striker managed to bag 189 goals, which is over 0.7 goals a game while representing the Hoops. This is the club’s all-time record-high goal tally. In particular, a prolific two-year spell between 1928 and 1930 was Goddard’s greatest as a footballer.
In the 1928/29 season, the striker scored 38 times in 42 appearances, following this up with one better (39 goals) the next season.
5. Dave Thomas (1972-77)
Another stalwart in the 1975/76 runners-up campaign, Thomas was an electric winger who contributed 33 goals in 220 appearances for QPR. This five-year stretch between 1972 and 1977 saw Rangers possess a fantastic crosser of the ball with a pacy, creative spark on the left wing.
A particularly impressive run of form gave Thomas the opportunity to perform for England on the biggest stage in 1974/75. Eight appearances, including a European Championship qualifying match, emphasised the winger’s assisting capabilities. A partnership with both Stan Bowles and Gerry Francis offered different elements of attack with each and generally brought great success and cohesion within the Rangers side in the UEFA Cup qualification season.
6. Les Ferdinand (1987-95)
With a goal to game ratio of nearly one every two matches, Ferdinand was by far one of the most clinical strikers in the First Division and Premier League seasons with QPR. This was greatly emphasised by his departure to Newcastle United in 1995, leading to the Rs’ relegation from the top flight the following year.
In 183 appearances, the striker netted 90 times in all competitions and made seven appearances for the England national team during his stay at Loftus Road.
The 20-goal Premier League striker – in the 1992/93 season – earned a spot in the West London club’s record books as the only player to score back-to-back hat-tricks for QPR.
7. Adel Taarabt (2009-15)
Former Moroccan international, Taarabt, was the subject of Neil Warnock’s exceptional praise: ‘I’ve got to try build a team around him.’ In 164 appearances over two loan spells and an interrupted permanent stretch, Taarabt scored seven Premier League goals as well as seven assists in the two top-flight seasons. The ex-R was pivotal in the West London side’s 2011/12 survival, with two important goals in wins against local rivals Arsenal and Spurs – both coming towards the season’s culmination.
A standout Championship captaincy campaign in 2010/11 saw the attacking midfielder create 17 assists as well as bagging 19 goals. Understandably, he picked up the Football League Player of the Year accolade and was named in the Championship PFA Team of the Season.
The 36-year-old is still actively playing in the professional league of United Arab Emirates. Taarabt has contributed eight goals and five assists for Sharjah Cultural Club in just 20 starts this season.
8. Rodney Marsh (1966-72)
Described as ‘arguably the most important and beloved player in our history’ before Stan Bowles’ ‘passing of the torch’ introduction in 1972, Marsh broke the club goalscoring record with 44 in all competitions in 1966/67.
Accolades of a Third Division title and a League Cup capped an important 242-match spell for Marsh as a Hoop. 134 goals were contributed by the club legend too, as Marsh’s statistics still cement his place as the club’s fourth all-time leading scorer.
Marsh was QPR’s first England international representative in 63 years too, with a substitute debut against Switzerland in November 1971. A £15,000 fee in 1966 from Fulham will likely go down as one of the greatest bargains in the club’s history.
9. Phil Parkes (1970-79)
A standout of the 1975/76 season, Parkes was imperious in goal during his stay at Queens Park Rangers. With 406 appearances coming between 1970 and 1979, the goalkeeper emerged as a talented shot-stopper with an England appearance by 1974.
In an important runners-up campaign in the First Division, Parkes was named the QPR player of the season. Despite the involvement of aforementioned legends: Gerry Francis, Stan Bowles and Dave Thomas, it was the goalkeeper who took home the individual accolade that year.
Away from Rangers, Parkes went on to feature in the exact same amount of league games for West Ham United. This totalled 344 domestic league matches for both the Hammers and the Hoops. The goalkeeper remains the only footballer to have played more than 300 matches for two EFL clubs.
10. Paul Parker (1987-91)
With a more notable spell with Manchester United from 1991, Parker’s development ahead of Sir Alex Ferguson’s acquisition was definitely down to the defender’s impressive four-year spell with QPR.
160 games for the Hoops, from 1987 to 1991, saw Parker net one goal, but his defensive solidity and reliance in the right full-back position ensured QPR’s consequent £2 million sale to United rewarded the club financially.
In 1989, the defender earned two international appearances for England and gained a starting spot following a disappointing performance from Gary Stevens in the 1990 World Cup. The QPR right-back stepped up as an understudy to perform as one of England’s best players despite a mixed semi-final display.
Comparison of Queens Park Rangers Legends
Playing Styles and Contributions
The quality and competition of the EFL has risen drastically as football has evolved financially as well as on the pitch. For example, the Premier League and First Division endeavours of these club legends can outweigh exceptional seasons decades ago in the lower leagues. This is merely due to the changing of expectations and competition modern football has created; it does not discredit the achievements of any of those who became legends of the club.
It could be argued that Adel Taarabt, despite being in the second division during his most impressive campaigns with Rangers, was a more influential player performing at a greater level than the likes of Rodney Marsh. Marsh was an incredible goal scorer of his time, but the difference in calibre of their respective leagues separate the two.
Taarabt, who contributed 36 goal involvements in the 2010/11 season, could be perceived as the greatest statistical feat from a QPR player, beside George Goddard. The level of quality in that particular Championship campaign highlighted the Moroccan’s unmatched influence at the time.
Impact on Club Success
In Rangers’ most impressive season by far, the 1975/76 runners-up campaign and UEFA Cup qualification, Stan Bowles, Gerry Francis, Dave Thomas and Phil Parkes were all influential in different areas of the pitch.
A massive emphasis on the 1975/76 First Division season sees some of the key players rise to the top of this list. However, the likes of Parkes and Thomas were pipped by others on different metrics. Goddard cements fourth place on the exceptional attacking numbers produced in a more physical era, with heavier footballs and worse-conditioned pitches.
In the most recent era at QPR, Taarabt and Ferdinand have put up the highest numbers in the highest-calibre leagues. The latter scored 20 goals in a high-level Premier League campaign in 1992/93; Taarabt earned a player of the year accolade in one of the most impressive individual campaigns of the EFL Championship’s history in 2010/11.
Records and Achievements
Individual Honours and Awards
With the most international appearances – 52 for Northern Ireland – Alan McDonald is the highest-capped Rangers player in the club’s history. Gerry Francis remains the only QPR player to captain to England national team.
In terms of goalscoring accolades, George Goddard has the most in the club’s history with 180. This came in the 1926 to 1933 spell with QPR. As aforementioned, Taarabt was named, in his respective 2010/11 Championship season, as player of the season by the EFL. Phil Parkes stood out as the R’s most impressive player in the 1975/76 season, picking up the player of the season award.
Club Milestones and Championships
Without doubt, the greatest season in QPR’s history is the second-placed finish in the 1975/76 First Division season. The Hoops were pipped to the title ten days after the season’s conclusion, by Liverpool, who bizarrely played their final match after every other.
Francis, Bowles, Parkes and Thomas were all integral to this side. This has massively favoured the four in their inclusions on the list. England’s first representative from QPR was Rodney Marsh, which was a remarkable milestone for him and the club, in 1971.
Adel Taarabt captained the London side to Premier League promotion in a scintillating 2010/11 season, in a gruelling Championship campaign.
