# 1975–76 Queens Park Rangers F.C. season

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 at the Baseball Ground, Bowles scoring a hat-trick, and four matches later a goal by David Webb ended Manchester United's unbeaten start. 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.

## Kit

QPR's kit were manufactured by Umbro

## League Table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Liverpool (C) | 42 | 23 | 14 | 5 | 66 | 31 | 2.129 | 60 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Queens Park Rangers | 42 | 24 | 11 | 7 | 67 | 33 | 2.030 | 59 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | Manchester United | 42 | 23 | 10 | 9 | 68 | 42 | 1.619 | 56 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Derby County | 42 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 75 | 58 | 1.293 | 53 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Leeds United | 42 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 65 | 46 | 1.413 | 51 | |

## Results

QPR scores given first
Win  Draw  Loss

### First Division

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

### 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

| Position | Name | League Appearances | League Goals | Cup Appearances | F.A.Cup Goals | League Cup Goals | Total Appearances | Total Goals |
| GK | Phil Parkes | 42 | | 6 | | | 48 | |
| GK | Derek Richardson | | | | | | | |
| GK | Richard Teale | | | | | | | |
| DF | Ron Abbott | 5 (1) | | 1 | | | 7 | |
| DF | Dave Clement | 40 | 2 | 6 | | | 46 | 2 |
| DF | Tommy Cunningham | | | | | | | |
| DF | Ian Gillard | 41 | | 5 | | | 46 | |
| DF | Danny Westwood | | | | | | | |
| DF | Frank McLintock | 34 (1) | 2 | 6 | | | 41 | 2 |
| DF | Don Shanks | 2 | | | | | 2 | |
| DF | David Webb | 38 | 5 | 6 | | 1 | 44 | 6 |
| DF | Steve Jones | | | | | | | |
| DF | Tony Tagg | 4 | | | | | 4 | |
| DF | Keith Pritchett | | | | | | | |
| MF | John Beck | 3 | | 2 | | | 5 | |
| MF | Martyn Busby | | | 1 | | | 1 | |
| MF | Gerry Francis | 36 | 12 | 6 | | | 42 | 12 |
| MF | Mick Leach | 29(3) | 4 | 6 | | 2 | 38 | 6 |
| MF | Don Masson | 42 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 48 | 9 |
| MF | John Hollins | 27(5) | 1 | 1 | | | 33 | 1 |
| FW | Stan Bowles | 37 | 10 | 6 | | 2 | 43 | 12 |
| FW | Don Rogers | | | | | | | |
| FW | Don Givens | 41 | 13 | 6 | | | 47 | 13 |
| FW | Dave Thomas | 41 | 9 | 5 | | 2 | 46 | 11 |
| FW | Peter Eastoe | | | | | | | |
| FW | Phil Nutt | (3) | 1 | | | | 3 | 1 |
| FW | Steve Adams | | | | | | | |

## Transfers Out

| Name | from | Date | Fee | Date | Club | Fee |
| Danny Westwood | Billericay Town | July 1974 | | November 1975 | Gillingham | £17,500 |
| Don Rogers | Crystal Palace | September 1974 | Ian Evans & Terry Venables | March 1976 | Swindon | Plus £100,000 for Peter Eastoe |
| Richard Teale | Slough Town | July 1973 | | June 1976 | Fulham | |
| John Beck | Queens Park Rangers Juniors | May 1972 | | June 1976 | Coventry City | £40,000 |
| Keith Pritchett | Doncaster Rovers | March 1974 | | July 1976 | Brentford | |

## Transfers In

| Name | from | Date | Fee |
| Peter Eastoe | Swindon | March 1976 | Don Rogers & £100,000 |
| Derek Richardson | Chelsea | April 1976 | |