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
← 1974–75 1976–77 →

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 on their own ground (Bowles scoring a hat-trick), and four matches later they ended Manchester United's unbeaten start with a 1-0 win at Loftus Road. 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.

Results

First Division

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

Pos	Club	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	GA	Pts
1	Liverpool	42	23	14	5	66	31	2.13	60
2	Queens Park Rangers	42	24	11	7	67	33	2.03	59
3	Manchester United	42	23	10	9	68	42	1.62	56

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points

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	Nationality	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	-	-
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