Anyone else fed up with the endless threads about a player who no longer plays for us......well as an antidote to all the Adel threads lets have one about our favourite Stan and Rodney memories.......This is one for the old farts amongst us & Swords will probably ask "who" To start, one of my favourite Stan memories was the goal against Coventry in the cup replay 73 i think, last kick of the game, curled the ball around the wall where Gerry had pulled one of the defenders out of the way, that was a pulsating game..... With Rodney, I was a tad too young to actually recall the League Cup Final even though I was there, but I do recall his brilliant hat trick against Birmingham when they had Mike Kelly in goal (nb Swords he's another former R's player).... Thoughts
Stan's most told tale was when we played at Sunderland the Wednesday after they'd beaten Leeds in the FA Cup Final. The old tin pot was proudly on show in the Director's Box at Roker Park. Stan had bet Don Shanks that he'd knock the cup off it's pedestal and shortly after the kick off a well weighted pass succeeded in hitting it's target, the crowd, unsurprisingly, were baying for Stan's blood as he laughed his socks off. We wiped the floor with them 3-0...
Stan does tell that tale, but his story may well not be totally accurate. I'll have a dig around, unless Bushman looks in first.
Here we go .... http://www.onthisfootballday.com/football-history/may-9-stan-bowles-the-cup-or-does-he.php May 9 – Stan Bowles the Cup (Or Does He?) BACK in the early 1970s, when Roy Keane was just a vicious toddler no doubt biting at people’s ankles, Sunderland AFC enjoyed their finest hour by winning the FA Cup at Wembley against heavy favourites Leeds United. Understandably pleased as punch with the achievement of winning the cup for the first time in nearly 40 years, the club decided to parade the trophy around Roker Park before their next match, a Division Two game againt QPR held on this day in 1973. After the parade, the trophy was placed on a table at the side of the pitch and the match got underway. The exact details of what happened next are debated, but what is certain is that the FA Cup itself was sent flying by a QPR player striking it with the ball with some force. In his autobiography legendary Hoops midfielder Stan Bowles claims it was he who did the deed, to win a bet between his teammates. Bowles takes up the story: “There were a couple of us who had a bet on who could knock it off the table with the ball first. With the ball at my feet I tear off straight across the park. Everyone on the pitch is just staring at me – and then, bang! The FA Cup goes shooting up in the air. “The whole ground knew that I’d done it on purpose – then the Sunderland fans go ape. They want my balls in their sandwiches. I wound up their fans even more by scoring a couple of goals and in the end there was a pitch invasion. At least I got my tenner, and my picture on News at Ten. And all because I was just having a bit of a laugh.” But, that is not the end of the story. After this tale was recounted on the Guardian’s football website in 2006, Gordon Jago MBE, the manager of QPR at the time of the incident disputed Bowles’ version of events, and wrote to the newspaper with his recollection. “The truth is that yes, the FA Cup was knocked off the table during the game against Sunderland, but not by Stan Bowles. It was Tony Hazell, the QPR defender,” Jago said. “At some time during the game Tony cleared a ball and it knocked the cup flying. This incident really upset the home fans; so much so that the referee took both teams from the field to let tempers cool. The game was eventually restarted and we finished 3-0 winners. Stan had someone write a book for him and he tells the story about a bet and that he deliberately knocked the cup off the table. Fiction! I do not know if Tony or any of the other players have contacted Stan to correct him, but that story is typical of him and no doubt it helped to sell the book.” So, a touch of poetic licence there from Stan, but it’s a good yarn nonetheless.
Stan & Don Shanks were great mates, if I remember rightly the photo on Stans autobiorgaphy showed the 2 of them reading a programme whilst waiting for a corner kick to be taken....
I recall a pre-season friendly in 1969(?) against Glasgow Rangers when Rodney lost it after being repeatedly fouled. He kicked out at one opposition player, before nutting another who had taken exception. He was substituted before he could be sent off.
The Birmingham game started my love affair with QPR - football the way it should be played, magic! In the bush telegraph on Page 2 of the programme, Les Allen writes : So far this sason we have not had a lot to shout about at QPR. Our results have not been at all good.... I feel we haven't given the crowd enough to shout about ... lol
I remember the Rs at Saints' old Dell ground. Stan was about to take a corner, but instead climbed over the advertising hoardings and sat down with the disabled fans and put his feet up. Fans of both colours laughed and applauded and, I think, booed the referee when he booked him.
It wasn't a programme, it was the 'Sporting Life' they would have had a bet on and they were checking the odds, ahhh memories
Stan: I had some proper run-ins with Chopper over the years. He used to get booked every time we played against each other. I always knew I’d get a bruising time from him. Being tackled by Chopper was like being hit by a ****ing great lorry. Funnily enough though, I never saw him as a dirty player. Now Johnny Giles from Leeds, he was a sly bastard. He’d wait ‘til the ball had gone and the ref had turned his back. Then he’d kick you one. Everyone would be following the ball so he usually got away with it. When Chopper took your legs from under you, at least he’d be upfront about it. I’d see him for a beer after the match and say, “**** me, Chopper, you were a right **** today.” But there was no hard feelings about it. It was part and parcel of the game. please log in to view this image Stan: I’m the same as Chopper in that respect. I’ll be having a quiet beer somewhere and some bloke will come up and say, “Remember that volley you scored against Stoke in ’74? Remember when you nutmegged Micky Droy at Stamford Bridge?” And I’m going, “Yeah, yeah, remember it well.” Meanwhile I’m thinking I haven’t got a ****ing clue what this geezer is going on about. But I have to go along with it ‘cos some of these blokes are built like brick ****houses and they’d whale the tar out of me if they thought I was taking the piss. Truth is I hardly remember any of it. If I’m completely honest I have trouble remembering what I did yesterday. http://sabotagetimes.com/reportage/...nd-charlie-george-on-the-glory-days-part-one/
Best game ever where I saw Stan play an absolute blinder was in 1979 when we thrashed Burnley 7-0. The R's were just class and I wore my QPR shirt to school next day and got my first ever detention. How we'd love a repeat of that score this season. http://youtu.be/a6v-D-24BzI
My best Stan Bowles memory? Has to be when he claimed the title of worst ever contestant in Superstars...
