please log in to view this image I thought I would start a new thread line of great QPR players that are not your usual, Bowles Marsh Ferdinand types. Players that you thought were great, and contributed to the history of our amazing club. I will start with no.1... as we're playing the 'Baggies' this weekend, I thought I would start off with a West Brom Fan, who probably had his greatest game for us against them in 1982. Ladies and gentleman.... Mr Bob Hazell..... Bob Hazell and John Gregory Recall QPR's 1982 FA Cup Semi-Final Game - Semi-final just a blur for Bob He was the Baggies fan who broke the hearts of the Albion throng. But Bob Hazell still can’t remember a thing about it. The club return to the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday 26 years since their last appearance ended in the calamity of defeat to a then Championship level Queen’s Park Rangers. And although one of the capital’s famous goalscoring sons, Clive Allen, struck the goal that took Rangers to the final, no player did more to sink the Baggies that day than Hazell. Former Villa manager John Gregory was in the Rangers midfield in those days but, ineligible for the semi, watched the Highbury contest from the QPR dugout. And his eyes rarely strayed from the central confrontation on which the semi-final hinged. “To be honest, it was a pretty crap match,” Gregory says. “But if you are going to speak to one man about that game it has to be Bob. He won it for us.” Why the reverence for the central defender? Because Hazell produced arguably the game of his career to nullify Albion legend Cyrille Regis, who at that time was in all his pomp and one of the most feared strikers in the top flight. Albion would ultimately be grateful for Regis for scoring the goals that would keep them in the division but they hoped his pace and power would also see them through to Wembley. Hazell made sure it was not to be. “Yeh that’s true,” says Regis. “I was flying at the time, I had 24 or 25 goals. And Bob has told me since how he was singled out to stop me. “Bob was a powerful player like me and he had a great game, he was on form that day. I can only remember getting a half chance. He matched me wherever I went and we kind of nullified each other. He also clattered Andy King – nothing illegal – with a challenge and he had to go off which also upset our rhythm. “But there is a message there for any team. You’ve got to have more than one match winner. I was playing well at the time and I am not saying everybody wasn’t playing well but Rangers were right. If you stopped me scoring they would have a good chance.” Hazell is now a Birmingham-based 48-year-old Sports Prevention Manager working to help rehabilitate young offenders through sport. But despite memorable spells at Molineux, where he became the first black player to score for Wolves, and then Port Vale and Leicester, no game defines him quite like that heartbreaking day for Albion. A pity then, it’s all still a bit of a blur. “You will find this hard to believe but the truth is I can barely remember one or two incidents from that game,” says Hazell. “It was one of those matches where I concentrated so hard that even when the final whistle went I didn’t realise it was the end of the game. “But, at that time, Cyrille was ripping up trees, he was really doing the business and I remember vividly the team meeting beforehand. Terry Venables (QPR manager) looked at me at that meeting and said: ‘Bob, if you can look after Cyrille, we have got a good chance here.’ “Although Cyrille and I were and are good friends that was my mission for the day. For the day? It felt like it was my life’s mission. And from the time we walked out on to the pitch to after the match had been finished, barely a couple of things have ever come back to me. “I can remember the lead up to our goal although I can’t remember how the ball came in my direction. They showed it on TV last week but the clip was so short I still couldn’t remember how it got there. “The only other thing I can remember is right at the finish, we won a free-kick and I tried to be clever and waste a little more time by kicking the ball forward. The ref realised what I was up to and decided to teach me a lesson and said ‘Right, play on.’ Derek Statham jumped on to it but just as he made his play, the final whistle went. “Tony Currie came up to me and shouted ‘Bob, Bob, you did ••••••• great!’ I don’t think I responded. I was still in the ‘zone’.” In fact, it wasn’t until the following day when another legendary local figure came to take his pal out for a celebration that the enormity of the occasion struck home. “I was back home – and I remember this bit clearly – that me and my great friend George Berry were out for a drive on the Sunday afternoon. “We were somewhere in the country and I was looking at the trees flying by and I suddenly said to George: ‘Blimey, I’m going to Wembley. I’m going to be in the FA Cup final.’ And suddenly it all struck home. That FA Cup final was everything to me. As a kid I was an absolute fanatic up at 9am to watch the coverage begin. “I remember all of that. And now I was going to be there. I really started to take it all in. “Normally I can go through a game 100 times in detail and remember all the moments, recount them and replay them. But I think that match was just so intense and marking Cyrille was such a challenge. “We’ve spoken about it many times, shared a stage together and talked about it, been away together and people have brought it up. It did mean a great deal to me. “I had been brought up as an Albion fan and that day I was playing against some of my heroes. John Wile was in the side and I had watched him from the terraces. Tony Brown and Ally Rob . . . it was a big thing for me. “And when I was at Wolves, I used to sneak away and watch Albion play. “I was always a little disappointed that Albion never came in for me as a schoolboy but at that time, a lot of people would have struggled to get in there. “To play against them and turn them over made that day all the more memorable and all I can say is ‘Thank God’ for that memory.” Ultimately, Hazell finished empty-handed as Spurs won the final after a replay but he does not believe that should deter the focus Albion place on Saturday’s meeting with Portsmouth. “It’s alright saying promotion is more important but if your team is good - and Albion’s is - the odds that you can get up the following year are still very good,” he insists. “But any player who has walked out there for the final will remember it forever. I got promoted with QPR and that was terrific but it still doesn’t match playing in the FA Cup final. And I was on the losing side! Had we beaten Spurs, they would still be trying to drag me down from the clouds now.” Unfortunately, his head overrules his heart when he looks to Saturday’s contest and the possibility of the Baggies enduring another FA Cup semi disappointment to go with the setbacks of 1969, 1978 and 82. He adds: “Portsmouth are a really powerful team. When you are the lower division side, the one thing that you hope for in Cup ties is that physical edge. “You like to play a Tottenham where you know they are going to be very skilful but you might have the edge in muscle, aggression and work rate. That isn’t the case here and Albion are going to have their work cut out. “I don’t know whether it’s bravado in Albion saying the league is more important. Personally, I don’t like that talk. For Pompey, winning the FA Cup is everything. And that could also make a difference. “I would love to see Albion do it, it would be terrific for this area no matter what the Wolves fans think! But if I had any money I would have to put it on Pompey. Express and Star And Remembering the 1982 Cup Semi Final Team Vs WBA April 3, 1982: QPR's Team against WBA Hucker Gillard Hazell Roeder Fenwick Flanagan Waddock Currie Micklewhite Allen Stainrod This was take from 'the QPR report' and posted prior to the WBA v Pompey semi in 2008. Bob Hazell is now 52, and works with under-privellaged children in Birmingham.
Good on you 999; that was a really pleasant 15 minutes reading that! Great memories and a great idea for a thread.
Apart from the broad smile, one of my more abiding memories of Big Bob was a defensive header he made, no idea against who. He was trying to clear the ball for a corner and made an incredibly powerful header towards the Loft. Unfortunately it wasn’t quite high enough and it thumped into our cross bar and flew away. The crossbar was shaking for the next few minutes!
Bob will always be in my top 4 QPR defenders of all time, i used to live in Denham house and met him a few times as he used to park outside my front door, he was a top bloke as well as a great defender. When Sir Les returned for his first game against us for Newcastle Bob had him in his pocket until he slipped and Les scored but even with a head start Bob nearly caught up with him (and not alot of defenders could match him for speed). I know it was a long time ago and the memory's going but I can't recall a bad performance from the great man
I used to love watching Bob Hazell, and I remember that he seemed to have an almost telepathic understanding with Peter Hucker in goal. This was in the days when defenders were allowed to pass the ball back to the keeper, and I seem to remember that he often relied on that. Nonetheless he was a great player and would definitely make my all time Rangers dream squad.
I remember something similar but against West Ham at Upton Park c.79/80 I think. He was trying to clear the ball from a corner and made an incredibly powerful header... CRUNCH! OG - right into the back of the net! Would've forgotten it with time but had found my way into the ground standing in the midst of a load of 'Ammers giving it loads of monkey noises. Yuk! And we lost!
Don't have any long stories at the mo but Mick Leach was great not the most talented but a heart as big as a lion used to get alot of unfair critisizm IMO, very underated and past away far too early I think age 44! Another one of my favourites who beleive it or not that didn't that much praise was Ian Holloway another 110% player that was way underated always remember him finishing a game with his socks around his ankles (aka Dave Thomas) and looking completely knackered such a hard worker in the middle of the park. Have a few more but will try to remember a good story next time.
Remember that Roller, cracking OG!( just read your post properly, the one I remember went in, it was away somewhere) And on a worse note, racists in the loft one match singing " In the jungle, Bob Hazells jungle, Bob Hazell sleeps tonight" and guess what it took off! different times eh
Wasn't it Bob who rumour had it was caught walking down the street during the 80's riots with a full can of petrol and managed to persuade the police it was for his car that had run out.
Always remember as a kid we had a Postman in front of us and he was always giving a running commentary on what the QPR player with the ball either should do or should have done. He was really loud about it too. He was shouting at Mark Lazarus telling him what he should have done with the ball when Mark walked over dropped his shorts, showed his backside to the bloke and told him if he could fill the shorts better maybe he should be on the pitch. The guy was quieter from then on until the next home match when he was back to normal. Never forgotten that moment.
