# 1988–89 Queens Park Rangers F.C. season

During the 1988–89 English football season, Queens Park Rangers competed in the First Division for the sixth year running.

## Season summary

QPR dropped from their fifth-place finish the previous season to ninth in the First Division. Jim Smith resigned as their manager in December 1988, to take over as manager of Newcastle United, and was replaced by the former England international Trevor Francis as player-manager. The team's league form improved in the new year, and they lost just two of their last fifteen league matches. They reached the fifth round of the League Cup but were knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round.

## Kit

Adidas continued as QPR's kit manufacturers. Airline KLM remained front of shirt kit sponsors.

## Omniturf

The artificial pitch of Omniturf that was installed at Loftus Road was removed in April 1988 prior to the season starting. Souvenir swatches of the pitch were later sold at the club's retail store.

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 7 | Coventry City | 38 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 47 | 42 | +5 | 55 |
| 8 | Everton | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 50 | 45 | +5 | 54 |
| 9 | Queens Park Rangers | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 43 | 37 | +6 | 53 |
| 10 | Millwall | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 47 | 52 | −5 | 53 |
| 11 | Manchester United | 38 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 45 | 35 | +10 | 51 |

## Results

Queens Park Rangers' score comes first
Win  Draw  Loss

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Position |
| 27 August 1988 | Manchester United | A | 0–0 | | 46,377 | 11 |
| 3 September 1988 | Southampton | H | 0–1 | | 9,454 | 14 |
| 10 September 1988 | Norwich City | A | 0–1 | | 11,174 | 16 |
| 17 September 1988 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 2–0 | Francis (2; 1 pen) | 8,011 | 11 |
| 24 September 1988 | Derby County | A | 1–0 | Stein | 14,008 | 9 |
| 1 October 1988 | Millwall | A | 2–3 | Francis, M. Allen | 14,103 | 11 |
| 8 October 1988 | Nottingham Forest | H | 1–2 | Stein | 11,295 | 15 |
| 15 October 1988 | West Ham United | H | 2–1 | Stein, Maddix | 14,566 | 9 |
| 22 October 1988 | Arsenal | A | 1–2 | Falco | 33,202 | 12 |
| 29 October 1988 | Luton Town | A | 0–0 | | 8,453 | 14 |
| 5 November 1988 | Newcastle United | H | 3–0 | Maddix, M. Allen, Falco | 11,013 | 12 |
| 12 November 1988 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–1 | | 20,565 | 14 |
| 19 November 1988 | Liverpool | H | 0–1 | | 20,065 | 14 |
| 26 November 1988 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 2–2 | Falco, Francis | 26,698 | 13 |
| 3 December 1988 | Coventry City | H | 2–1 | Francis, Falco | 9,853 | 13 |
| 10 December 1988 | Charlton Athletic | A | 1–1 | Francis | 6,012 | 13 |
| 17 December 1988 | Everton | H | 0–0 | | 10,067 | 14 |
| 26 December 1988 | Aston Villa | A | 1–2 | Francis | 25,106 | 15 |
| 31 December 1988 | Southampton | A | 4–1 | M. Allen, Barker, Falco (2) | 15,086 | 12 |
| 2 January 1989 | Norwich City | H | 1–1 | Falco | 12,461 | 14 |
| 14 January 1989 | Wimbledon | A | 0–1 | | 7,118 | 15 |
| 21 January 1989 | Derby County | H | 0–1 | | 9,516 | 16 |
| 4 February 1989 | Millwall | H | 1–2 | Falco (pen) | 10,881 | 16 |
| 11 February 1989 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–0 | | 19,692 | 16 |
| 18 February 1989 | Arsenal | H | 0–0 | | 20,543 | 16 |
| 25 February 1989 | West Ham United | A | 0–0 | | 17,371 | 16 |
| 11 March 1989 | Newcastle United | A | 2–1 | Stein, Clarke | 21,555 | 13 |
| 21 March 1989 | Luton Town | H | 1–1 | Clarke | 9,072 | 12 |
| 25 March 1989 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 2–0 | Falco, M. Allen | 18,804 | 12 |
| 27 March 1989 | Aston Villa | H | 1–0 | Sinton | 11,378 | 12 |
| 1 April 1989 | Everton | A | 1–4 | Falco (pen) | 23,028 | 12 |
| 8 April 1989 | Wimbledon | H | 4–3 | Clarke, Spackman, Falco, Reid | 9,569 | 12 |
| 15 April 1989 | Middlesbrough | H | 0–0 | | 10,347 | 12 |
| 22 April 1989 | Coventry City | A | 3–0 | Clarke (2), Channing | 11,319 | 11 |
| 29 April 1989 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–0 | Sinton | 13,452 | 10 |
| 8 May 1989 | Manchester United | H | 3–2 | Sinton, Gray (2) | 10,017 | 9 |
| 13 May 1989 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 1–0 | Falco | 21,873 | 8 |
| 16 May 1989 | Liverpool | A | 0–2 | | 38,368 | 9 |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 7 January 1989 | Manchester United | A | 0–0 | 36,222 | |
| R3 replay | 11 January 1989 | Manchester United | H | 2–2 aet | 22,236 | Stein, McDonald |
| R3 2nd replay | 23 January 1989 | Manchester United | A | 0–3 | 47,257 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 1st leg | 28 September 1988 | Cardiff City | H | 3–0 | 6,078 | Francis, Fereday, Allen |
| R2 2nd leg | 12 October 1988 | Cardiff City | A | 4–1 (won 7–1 on agg) | 2,692 | Falco (2), Maddix, Stein |
| R3 | 2 November 1988 | Charlton Athletic | H | 2–1 | 8,701 | Francis (2) |
| R4 | 30 November 1988 | Wimbledon | H | 0–0 | 10,504 | |
| R4 replay | 14 December 1988 | Wimbledon | A | 1–0 | 6,585 | Falco |
| R5 | 18 January 1989 | Nottingham Forest | A | 2–5 | 24,065 | Stein, Kerslake |

## Squad

| Position | Nationality | Name | League Appearances | League Goals | Cup Appearances | League.Cup Goals | F.A.Cup Goals | Total Appearances | Total Goals |
| GK | ENG | David Seaman | 35 | | 11 | | | 46 | |
| GK | ENG | Nicky Johns | 3 | | 2 | | | 5 | |
| DF | ENG | Roberto Herrera | | | 1 | | | 5 | |
| DF | ENG | Justin Channing | 9 | 1 | 4 | | | 13 | 1 |
| DF | WAL | Brian Law | 6 | | 4 | | | 10 | |
| DF | NIR | Alan Mcdonald | 27 | | 10 | | 1 | 41 | 1 |
| DF | ENG | Paul Parker | 36 | | 12 | | | 48 | |
| DF | ENG | Mark Fleming | 1 | | | | | 3 | |
| DF | WAL | Alan McCarthy | | | 1 | | | 1 | |
| DF | ENG | Gavin Maguire | 7 | | 1 | | | 11 | |
| DF | JAM | Danny Maddix | 28 | 2 | 10 | 1 | | 46 | 3 |
| DF | ISR | David Pizanti | 13 | | 8 | | | 24 | |
| DF | ENG | Mark Dennis | 16 | | 5 | | | 22 | |
| MF | ARG | Osvaldo Ardiles | 4 | | 3 | | | 12 | |
| MF | ENG | David Kerslake | 11 | | 7 | 1 | | 30 | 1 |
| MF | ENG | Simon Barker | 21 | 1 | 9 | | | 36 | 1 |
| MF | ENG | Martin Allen | 26 | 4 | 6 | 1 | | 34 | 5 |
| MF | ENG | Peter Reid | 14 | 1 | | | | 14 | 1 |
| MF | NIR | Colin Clarke | 12 | 3 | | | | 12 | 5 |
| MF | ENG | Nigel Spackman | 16 | | 2 | | | 18 | 1 |
| MF | ENG | Kevin Brock | 12 | | 5 | | | 19 | |
| FW | ENG | Andy Gray | 11 | 2 | | | | 11 | 2 |
| FW | ENG | Dean Coney | 11 | | 9 | | | 25 | |
| FW | ENG | Wayne Fereday | 29 | | 10 | 1 | | 41 | 1 |
| FW | ENG | Andy Sinton | 10 | 3 | | | | 10 | 3 |
| FW | ENG | Bradley Allen | | | | | | 3 | |
| FW | ENG | Trevor Francis | 19 | 7 | 7 | 3 | | 26 | 10 |
| FW | RSA | Mark Stein | 19 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 41 | 7 |
| FW | ENG | Mark Falco | 22 | 12 | 7 | 3 | | 34 | 15 |

## Transfers Out

| Name | from | Date | Fee | Date | Club | Fee |
| Les Ferdinand | Hayes | March 1987 | £50,000 | August 1988 | Besiktas | Loan |
| Ian Dawes | Queens Park Rangers Juniors | December 1980 | | August 1988 | Millwall | |
| Kevin Brock | Oxford United | August 1987 | £260,000 | December 1988 | Newcastle United | £300,000 |
| Gavin Maguire | Queens Park Rangers Juniors | October 1985 | | January 1989 | Portsmouth | £175,000 |
| Osvaldo Ardiles | Tottenham Hotspur | August 1988 | | February 1989 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | |
| Dean Coney | Fulham | June 1987 | £200,000 | March 1989 | Norwich City | £350,000 |
| Wayne Fereday | Queens Park Rangers Juniors | September 1980 | | June 1989 | Newcastle United | |
| David Pizanti | FC Köln | September 1987 | | July 1989 | FC Köln | |
| Mark Fleming | Queens Park Rangers Juniors | January 1988 | | July 1989 | Brentford | Free |

## Transfers In

| Name | from | Date | Fee |
| Bradley Allen | Queens Park Rangers Juniors | September 1988 | |
| Alan McCarthy | Queens Park Rangers Juniors | December 1988 | |
| Osvaldo Ardiles | Tottenham Hotspur | August 1988 | |
| Peter Reid | Everton | February 1989 | Free |
| Nigel Spackman | Liverpool | February 1989 | £500,000 |
| Andy Gray | Aston Villa | February 1989 | £450,000 |
| Andy Sinton | Brentford | March 1989 | £350,000 |
| Colin Clarke | Southampton | March 1989 | £800,000 |
| Maurice Doyle | Crewe Alexandra | April 1989 | £80,000 |
| Kenny Sansom | Newcastle United | June 1989 | £300,000 |
| Paul Wright | Aberdeen | July 1989 | |