This thought came about while replying to the Jamie Mackie thread. I started watching QPR in 1992. A very fortunate time to start supporting them unbeknown to me. Just a localish top flight team with a cool kit. Anyhoo, didn't take long for me to take stock of the names of players who were a legend or hero in the eyes of many other young lads and dads: Ferdinand, Sinclair, MacDonald, Sinton to name a few, then followed by Brevitt, Impey, Peacock etc. The trend for these legends continued into 2000's with Rowlands, Bircham, Cook, Ainsworth, Gallen and Furlong. With a smattering of names in between I am honestly hard pushed to run up a list of names from our current squad who could fit into that category. Maybe Faurlin? Maybe Hill? That's it surely?! This Mackie-type players are so important to the likes of a smallish club like ours. Someone who is a true pro, loves the shirt, loves the fans. When my son is old enough to come to watch live games I really want him to have a favourite player, like we all did. Someone be wants to be when he is having a kick about with his mates. Have a memory of a QPR great. For me, no surprise: Sir Les. Latter years Mackie & Adel (still can't spell his name! ) Not sure who Open All R's podcast well call upon in years to come. I reckon all of the Legends would be dead!
Money has corrupted the game. So few play now for the love of the game or with pride. I have to admit that I have fallen out of love with football. My love for QPR has diminished over the last few seasons. It is hard to support a team when you know that the players are exploiting the club. How I long for a manager that can rekindle the spirit of the championship winning team.
Recently we have bought older players who already have strong associations with other clubs. Barton, Cisse, Dunne, Krancjar, Green...all players who belonged, in every sense of the word, to other clubs before QPR. Hard to become QPR legends when your souls home is elsewhere.
I think to be a club 'legend' one perhaps has to have either risen up from the junior ranks or joined comparatively young, and/or given consistently high and committed performances over 4-5 seasons and/or have been a key part of a squad that delivered something that may be considered as tangible success, such as a promotion. I think certain players of yesteryear may be recalled more fondly during times of adversity too, as the tint on our spectacles takes on a greater hue of rose. That is why the Championship-winning squad under Warnock can be remembered so fondly now and we can become more sentimental over the likes of Derry, Mackie, Helgusson et al. Whilst right now I'd love a team to at least match the achievements of that squad, my heroes sit further back that the likes of Ferdinand, Sinclair etc. Like many here, there's nobody to touch Stan Bowles (I wasn't quite old enough or interested enough to idolise Rodney Marsh in his day) in the pantheon of Rangers' greats, although personally I'd also include Tony Currie, Dave Thomas, Clive Allen, Ian Gillard, Phil Parkes, Dave Clement, Don Shanks, Don Givens and a host of others from the mid-to-late 70s and early 80s in my 'legends' scrapbook. I think it also helps to see things through the wide-eyes of a young kid. When you're pushing fifty it's harder to get misty eyed over Karl Henry.
My young hero was Brian Bedford, also Mark Lazarus, who when constantly being told what to do with the ball by the guy in front of me, Mooned at him. Ray Drinkwater in goal was also a favourite. One of my sons worked with Mike Keen in later years. I've also got those 3" square black and white photos of the individual players that you could get signed.
Half of the legends mentioned in the OP are no better than we have now. Uber talks about the real Rangers legends
You want to know where the legends have gone .... Well, I've found them. please log in to view this image
Eh? That's my point. We don't have any legends playing for us these days. Hill possibly excluded. A legend or hero in my eyes doesn't have to be world class, just someone who encompasses what the club is about e.g Rowlands, Mackie etc. I'm fairly sure that when I first started watching players like Penrice, Barker and Peacock etc were very average players but were still popular and meant a lot to the club.
In today's modern game we had one But he is currently on loan at Milan Today's game is all about money and ego But today's game is completely different and not comparable IMO What us fans think of our old teams is all we have and they turn in golden memories I doubt if our most successful team would cope with the ball and the boots and the pressure of this circus Things were very simple then The game was simple
Im sure there are many on here that saw Stan play especially over a magical 4/5 year period in the mid 70s. I was only young but he along with many others at that time made me a die hard QPR fan and I always will be. The one player I rated as a still exceptional talent when at Rangers was Trevor Francis, the goals he scored over a season or two were fantastic. **** manager though and I hate his commentary now.
