1975–76 Queens Park Rangers F.C. season

Queens Park Rangers
1975–76 season
Chairman	Jim Gregory
Manager	Dave Sexton
Stadium	Loftus Road
First Division	2nd
FA Cup	Third round
League Cup	Fourth round
Top goalscorer	League: Don Givens (13); All: Don Givens (13)
Highest home attendance	31,002 v Leeds United (24 April 1976)
Lowest home attendance	16,759 v Birmingham City (17 January 1976)
Average home league attendance	23,850
Home colours	Away colours

These are the results of the 1975–76 season for Queens Park Rangers F.C. when they competed in the English Football League First Division. Rangers enjoyed the best season in their history, finishing second in the First Division, a point behind champions Liverpool.

Season summary

Following promotion to the First Division in 1973, Rangers had spent two years gradually building a strong squad, and now announced themselves as one of the most skillful, attractive and entertaining sides in the country, under the stewardship of former Chelsea manager Dave Sexton.

Rangers began the season in superb style by beating Liverpool 2–0 at Loftus Road, with the opening goal by Gerry Francis epitomising the free-flowing football the team would play throughout the season - a pass from Frank McLintock to Stan Bowles, a deft flick through the legs to Francis, a one-two with Don Givens and a low shot despatched past goalkeeper Ray Clemence. BBC Match of the Day viewers would later vote it their 'Goal of the Season.' The following weekend, Rangers produced an even more impressive result by beating reigning champions Derby County 5–1 at the Baseball Ground, Bowles scoring a hat-trick, and four matches later a goal by David Webb ended Manchester United's unbeaten start. Indeed, it was not until their eleventh match that Rangers themselves lost for the first time, going down 2–1 at Leeds United, although they bounced back in their next match by thrashing Everton 5–0.

Four defeats in six matches straddling the New Year saw Rangers slip from top of the table to fifth, but a 2–0 win at Aston Villa in late January set in motion an extraordinary run of 11 wins and a draw that pushed them right back into contention for the League title. By the second weekend in April they were once again top of the table, a point ahead of Liverpool with three matches to play. Crucially, Rangers lost their next match 3–2 at Norwich City on 17 April, allowing Liverpool to reclaim the advantage by beating Stoke City. Both teams then won their penultimate fixtures, and after beating Leeds 2–0 on the final Saturday of the season, 24 April, Rangers were left with an agonising wait as Liverpool did not complete their fixtures until 10 days later on 4 May, at relegation-threatened Wolverhampton Wanderers. Liverpool's superior goal average meant they needed just a draw to become champions, but when Steve Kindon fired the home side into a first-half lead after 15 minutes, Rangers' dream was very much alive. The score remained 1–0 until the final quarter of an hour, but Kevin Keegan scored a dramatic equaliser and two further Liverpool goals handed them the title by a margin of just one point.

Rangers qualified for their first season in Europe, but have never since come close to emulating that fine side.

Kit

QPR's kit were manufactured by Umbro

Results

First Division

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance	Position
16 August 1975	Liverpool	H	2–0	Francis, Leach	27,113	5
19 August 1975	Aston Villa	H	1–1	Francis	21,986	3
23 August 1975	Derby County	A	5–1	Thomas, Bowles 3 (1 pen), Clement	27,590	2
26 August 1975	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	2–2	Givens 2	19,380	3
30 August 1975	West Ham United	H	1–1	Givens	28,408	5
6 September 1975	Birmingham City	A	1–1	Thomas	27,305	5
13 September 1975	Manchester United	H	1–0	Webb	29,237	4
20 September 1975	Middlesbrough	A	0–0		24,867	4
23 September 1975	Leicester City	H	1–0	Leach	19,292	3
27 September 1975	Newcastle United	H	1–0	Leach	22,981	3
4 October 1975	Leeds United	A	1–2	Bowles (pen)	30,943	3
11 October 1975	Everton	H	5–0	Givens, Masson, Francis 2, Thomas	23,022	3
18 October 1975	Burnley	A	0–1		20,409	4
25 October 1975	Sheffield United	H	1–0	Givens	21,161	3
1 November 1975	Coventry City	A	1–1	Givens	17,845	4
8 November 1975	Tottenham Hotspur	H	0–0		28,454	5
15 November 1975	Ipswich Town	A	1–1	Givens	25,540	5
22 November 1975	Burnley	H	1–0	Bowles	17,390	5
29 November 1975	Stoke City	H	3–2	Masson, Clement, Webb	22,328	4
6 December 1975	Manchester City	A	0–0		36,066	5
13 December 1975	Derby County	H	1–1	Nutt	25,465	5
20 December 1975	Liverpool	A	0–2		39,182	6
26 December 1975	Norwich City	H	2–0	Masson, Bowles	21,774	5
27 December 1975	Arsenal	A	0–2		39,021	5
10 January 1976	Manchester United	A	1–2	Givens	58,312	6
17 January 1976	Birmingham City	H	2–1	Masson 2	16,759	5
24 January 1976	West Ham United	A	0–1		26,677	6
31 January 1976	Aston Villa	A	2–0	Hollins, Francis	32,223	5
7 February 1976	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	4–2	Givens 2, Thomas, Francis (pen)	17,153	5
14 February 1976	Tottenham Hotspur	A	3–0	Givens, Francis 2	28,200	3
21 February 1976	Ipswich Town	H	3–1	Wark (og), Webb, Thomas	22,593	4
25 February 1976	Leicester City	A	1–0	Thomas	24,340	1
28 February 1976	Sheffield United	A	0–0		21,949	2
6 March 1976	Coventry City	H	4–1	Thomas, Francis, Givens, Masson	19,731	1
13 March 1976	Everton	A	2–0	Bowles, Leach	25,186	1
20 March 1976	Stoke City	A	1–0	Webb	22,848	1
27 March 1976	Manchester City	H	1–0	Webb	29,883	1
3 April 1976	Newcastle United	A	2–1	McLintock, Bowles	30,134	1
10 April 1976	Middlesbrough	H	4–2	Francis 2 (1 pen), Givens, Bowles	24,342	1
17 April 1976	Norwich City	A	2–3	Thomas, Powell (og)	31,231	1
19 April 1976	Arsenal	H	2–1	McLintock, Francis (pen)	30,362	2
24 April 1976	Leeds United	H	2–0	Thomas, Bowles	31,002	1

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Liverpool (C)	42	23	14	5	66	31	2.129	60	Qualification for the European Cup first round
2	Queens Park Rangers	42	24	11	7	67	33	2.030	59	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
3	Manchester United	42	23	10	9	68	42	1.619	56
4	Derby County	42	21	11	10	75	58	1.293	53
5	Leeds United	42	21	9	12	65	46	1.413	51

Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions

Football League Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
9 September 1975	Second Round	Shrewsbury Town	A	4–1	Webb, Masson, Thomas, Leach	11,250
7 October 1975	Third Round	Charlton Athletic	H	1–1	Bowles	20,434
13 October 1975	Third Round Replay	Charlton Athletic	A	3–0	Thomas, Masson, Bowles	31,583
11 November 1975	Fourth Round	Newcastle United	H	1–3	Leach	21,162

FA Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
3 January 1976	Third Round	Newcastle United	H	0–0		20,102
7 January 1976	Third Round Replay	Newcastle United	A	1–2	Masson	37,225

Squad

First Division appearances

Name	Year of birth	Apps.	Goals
Goalkeepers
Phil Parkes	1950	42	-
Derek Richardson	1956	-	-
Richard Teale	1952	-	-
Defenders
Ron Abbott	1953	6	-
Dave Clement	1948	40	2
Tommy Cunningham	1955	-	-
Ian Gillard	1950	41	-
Steve Jones	1957	-	-
Frank McLintock	1939	35	2
Keith Pritchett	1953	-	-
Don Shanks	1952	2	-
Tony Tagg	1959	4	-
David Webb	1946	38	5
Midfielders
John Beck	1954	5	-
Martyn Busby	1953	-	-
Gerry Francis	1951	36	12
John Hollins	1946	30	1
Mick Leach	1947	31	4
Don Masson	1946	42	6
Forwards
Steve Adams	1958	-	-
Stan Bowles	1948	37	10
Peter Eastoe	1953	-	-
Don Givens	1949	41	13
Phil Nutt	1958	3	1
Dave Thomas	1950	41	9

Notes and references

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