November 3 2009

Crystal Palace

QPR is our only London derby and it is a place upon where we have a fairly decent, recent, record with only a couple of aberrations, by Simon Pophale.

With this in mind, this edition of It's All In The Past will focus on our matches at Loftus Road only. Our new-moneyed West London neighbours may be trying to reconstruct the Palace side in blue and white, just like they did in 1981-82, as there are no less than five former Palace players in the QPR squad, so can they try to erase their patchy home form against us?

So, let’s look at the argument for a Palace win. Last season we managed a 0-0 draw which, coupled with some very young players on display that day, was no disgrace.

Season 2007-2008 was one where we took all three points at Rangers, despite going a goal down to a Damion Stewart header. Clint Hill and QPR’s tormentor-in-chief, Clinton Morrison scored to cap a decent second half comeback.

The previous season, it was a second half comeback that proved to be our own undoing. We were ahead 2-1 at half time with goals from goals from Tom Soares and Clinton Morrison, but then proceeded to allow QPR three without reply as we ended on the wrong end of a 4-2 defeat. Jimmy Smith bagged two that day; he is now plying his trade in League One. Whatever happened to him?

Season 2005-2006 brought more happy times as a Marco Reich double helped secure a 3-1 win at QPR but this was the first fixture for over five years between the sides in the league, due to QPR and Palace inhabiting different tiers of the League pyramid.

Back in 2000-2001 we managed a 1-1 draw with Morrison again the man netting us a point while the season before, yet another Morrison goal (I bet QPR fans are delighted he no longer plies his trade in the red and blue) saw us take all three points.

Yet, our darkest moment came in the 1998/99 season. We were in financial trouble, players had been forcibly sent out on loan to reduce the wage bill and one of these, Andy Linighan, played his part.

Sadly, it was in the colours of QPR as he scored against us as QPR racked up six goals without reply to save them from the drop on the last day of the season. Chris Kiwomya netted a hat-trick, former Palace youth winger Tony Scully scored and George Kulczar hit a 25 yard belter, which showed that there was now chaos on the field, as well as off it.

The 1990s also saw us in fine form in W12, as we won 1-0 in the 1996/97 season and then doing the same trick in the Premiership in the 1995/96 season. An Eddie McGoldrick double saw us win 3-1 back in the 1992-1993 season as we hit our purple patch in December and won nearly every match that month.

Given that our record has been so good, I will end with a sorry defeat as a Palace side which began to bear the hallmarks of what was to come in the 1992/93 season ended a campaign which saw us being outside title contenders to mid-table also-rans.

After the departure of Ian Wright and the injury to John Salako as we lost 0-1 at Loftus Road with Neil Sullivan in goal (his only appearance), Andy Barnes making a 10 minute cameo as sub, before being substituted and a John Humphrey own-goal ensured the season became a damp squib.

With no less than five recent Palace employees in the QPR squad list (Wayne Routledge, Mikele Leigertwood, Fitz Hall, Gary Borrowdale and an on-loan Ben Watson) and not forgetting the famous El Tel defection back in 1981, this should be another great derby match. Let us all hope it is one we can be celebrating at the final whistle.