West London derby
The West London derby is the name given to a football derby played between any two of Brentford, Chelsea, Fulham and Queens Park Rangers, all of whom are situated within West London. This particular derby is less prominent than other such derbies in English football, owing to the teams frequently being in separate divisions. Chelsea did not face Fulham between 1986 and 2001, and have played Brentford only twice since 1950. QPR did not face Brentford between 1966 and 2001, and did not play Chelsea between 1996 and 2008. The derby's most common match, Chelsea vs  Fulham, has taken place 75 times. By contrast, the North London derby has been contested almost 200 times, and the Merseyside derby over 230 times. The 2011–2012 campaign was the first instance of three of the west London clubs competing in the top flight in the same season: Chelsea, Queens Park Rangers and Fulham. However, following Fulham's promotion from the EFL Championship at the end of the 2021-2022 season, Chelsea, Brentford and Fulham will all appear in the top flight in the 2022-2023 season. According to the 2012 Football Rivalries Survey, Fulham regard Chelsea as their main  rivals, QPR as their secondary rivals and then Brentford third. QPR fans identified Chelsea as their main rivals, Fulham second, Cardiff City third, Brentford and Stoke City joint fourth. Brentford fans chose Fulham as their main rivals, QPR as their secondary rivals and Chelsea as their third. Chelsea fans did not list any of the West London sides, instead selecting Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United. Summary. Brentford vs Chelsea derby. There is very little rivalry between Brentford and Chelsea, mainly due to the fact that they have been in different divisions for over 60 years. The only time that  the two clubs ever shared a division was in the old First Division between 1935 and 1947, but despite the fact that both clubs are local to each other, it was never seen as a big rivalry to either side, as Chelsea had been in the Football League for a longer period of time than Brentford and had stronger rivalries with the likes of West Ham United, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, whereas Brentford's main rivals are Fulham and QPR. Also Brentford developed a bigger sporting rivalry with Arsenal during the 1930s as both clubs vied for the title of  being London's number one club. The only bad feeling between the clubs was soon after Chelsea's foundation and admission into the Football League in 1905, the other West London clubs, including Brentford, lost many supporters and potential supporters to the only professional Football League club in the area. Other than that, Brentford and Chelsea have always had fairly good relations, even amongst supporters. In fact, during the 1970s many Chelsea fans would come down to Griffin Park if their club were playing away. Chelsea reserves play their games at Griffin Park, and occasionally a pre season friendly is  staged between the two clubs. Brentford and Chelsea met for the first time since 1950 on 27 January 2013 in an FA Cup 4th round tie at Griffin Park which ended in a 2–2 draw. Chelsea won the replay on 17 February 2013 at Stamford Bridge 4–0. Brentford is playing in the top league in the 2021–22 season, the first time in 74 years. With Fulham's relegation the previous season, this will be the only West London derby in the Premier League this season; this derby is hosted at The Bees' new Brentford Community Stadium on October 16, 2021 , which Chelsea won 1–0. Their latest meeting was on 2 April 2022 when Brentford won 4–1 at Stamford Bridge in a Premier League contest, securing their first victory over the Blues since 1939. Brentford vs Fulham derby. Fulham and Brentford have competed at the same level for a few periods in their history with the rivalry being fiercest during Fulham's descent to the lower leagues in the 1980s and early 90's. The two teams frequently competed between the 1920s and the 1950s in the Football League's various divisions. These games always drew bumper crowds and often caused  tension on the pitch and the terraces. However, Fulham's fortunes on the pitch changed and they went on to play in the upper leagues for several decades until the two sides were to meet regularly again from 1980 onwards, a time when the rivalry was most heated. Fulham later went on to win the London Derby cup. The two clubs spent a majority of seasons in the same division until the 1997–98 Division Two campaign, which ended with Brentford suffering relegation to Division Three. Despite Brentford's promotion straight back to Division Two as Division Three champions in the  1998–99 season, Fulham were crowned Division Two champions and ascended to the Premier League as Division One champions in 2001. The 2014–15 Football League Championship season brought Brentford and Fulham together in the same division for the first time since 1998, following Brentford's promotion from League One and Fulham's relegation from the Premier League. Prior to meeting in the league, the two sides were drawn together in the League Cup second round on 26 August 2014, with Fulham winning 1–0 at Griffin Park. It was the clubs' first meeting in any competitive fixture since a 2–0 league victory  to Fulham on 11 April 1998. The 2019–20 season saw the last derby at Griffin Park between these teams, which Brentford won 1–0. On 4 August 2020, the two clubs met in the 2020 EFL Championship play-off Final. Fulham won the game 2–1 after extra time and were promoted to the 2020–21 Premier League at the expense of their rivals. Their latest meeting was at the Brentford Community Stadium, in the 2020–21 EFL Cup Round of 16. Brentford went on to win 3–0, and advanced to the Quarter-finals. Brentford vs QPR derby. As with Fulham, Brentford and QPR  played each other frequently in local cup competitions and leagues from the foundation of both clubs. In 1920, the Football League absorbed many clubs from the Southern Football League, including Brentford and QPR, who competed in the old Third Division (South) regularly in the 1920s, until Brentford's rise up the leagues in the 1930s. After the Second World War, they spent practically every season in the same division for the next 20 years. At the time, the fixture was each side's biggest game of the season and always attracted a big crowd. However, in 1966, despite an opening  day 6–1 thrashing of their local rivals, Brentford were ultimately relegated whilst QPR were promoted and went on to enjoy many seasons in the upper leagues. However, the bad feeling between the clubs runs deeper than just locality. In 1967, QPR attempted a takeover of Brentford, which would have resulted in QPR moving into Griffin Park and Brentford F.C. ceasing to exist. The story infamously broke in the London press but Brentford supporters rallied to save their club. Since then, relations between the clubs have been frosty. The rivalry resumed in 2001 and continued for several seasons until Rangers were  promoted. During this time, the rivalry was intensified by Brentford player Martin Rowlands leaving to join QPR. He then went on to kiss his badge on several occasions in front of the Brentford support when the two sides met in 2003 at Loftus Road. The most recent meeting between Brentford and Queens Park Rangers was in 2021, with QPR winning 2–1 at Loftus Road on 17 February 2021. Chelsea vs Fulham derby. In contrast to many rivalries in English football, such as the North London derby and the Merseyside derby, Chelsea and Fulham have spent much of their existence in  separate divisions – between 1968 and 2001, the two were in the same division only five times – and have rarely been rivals for the major honours or played in many high-profile matches. This has greatly limited the scope for it to develop and actually served to weaken it. In 1904, businessman Gus Mears approached the Fulham chairman Henry Norris about moving the club from their Craven Cottage home to the nearby Stamford Bridge Athletics Ground on the Fulham Road, which he had recently acquired. Norris declined following a dispute over the rent; as a result, Mears formed his own club  to occupy the ground, Chelsea. Fulham thus had an indirect role in Chelsea's foundation. It also ensured that, despite Chelsea's name, there were two clubs in the Fulham Borough. The geographical proximity of the teams is the basis for the rivalry, rather than religious or political reasons, as with other derbies. The first competitive match between the sides took place on 3 December 1910 in the Second Division, with a crowd of 35,000 at Craven Cottage watching Fulham win 1–0. The peak of the rivalry was arguably during the inter-war years and just after, when matches between  the sides were always among the most popular (and most highly attended) on the fixture calendar. While both clubs were largely unsuccessful until the 1960s, they have since drifted apart and the significance of matches between them has correspondingly declined. Chelsea enjoyed successful spells during the 1960s and 1970s, and again from the mid-1990s to the present day, while Fulham spent much of that period in the lower divisions of the Football League. As a caveat to that, when Chelsea and Fulham did meet in league games in the 1970s and 1980s, the attendances were always among the highest for  the season, with the lack of regular matches often making the derby more eagerly anticipated. The reduced number of encounters saw Chelsea fans develop rivalries with other teams, notably Leeds United, other London clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. Fulham also formed rivalries with other teams from London like Brentford and QPR. All these reduced the prominence of the West London Derby. That is less true for Fulham fans, with the fact that their nearest neighbours have been more successful ensuring that matches against Chelsea retain a David vs Goliath factor. Fulham returned to the top division in 2001 , putting the clubs in the same division for the first time since 1983–84. On 19 March 2006, Fulham beat Chelsea 1–0 for the first time in 27 years with a goal from Luis Boa Morte. The match was marred by controversy and crowd trouble and has arguably rekindled the derby somewhat. Chelsea gained revenge for this defeat on 23 September with a 2–0 win at Craven Cottage, in which Frank Lampard struck twice. Thankfully, there was little trouble before and after the game, due to appeals for calm from managers and players of both clubs and a much higher than  normal police presence, to deter fans from entering the pitch after the game. Two of the last games to be played at Stamford Bridge have both been close contests. On 30 December 2006, they played out a 2–2 draw, with Carlos Bocanegra getting a late equaliser for Fulham (earlier in the match Moritz Volz had scored the 15,000th goal in Premier League history. On 29 September 2007, they settled for a 0–0 draw. This draw was Avram Grant's first West London derby in charge of Chelsea and the same for Lawrie Sanchez of Fulham. During the 2008–09 season, Chelsea  defeated Fulham 3–1 under Guus Hiddink, with goals from Nicolas Anelka, Florent Malouda and Didier Drogba, with Anelka's goal coming after just 51 seconds. In the 2009–10 season, Chelsea defeated Fulham at Craven Cottage with a 2–0 win, thanks to goals from Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka. The win was Carlo Ancelotti's first London derby. In the 2011–12 season, both teams drew their home and away fixtures. In the 2012–13 season, both sides played out a 0–0 draw at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea won the reverse fixture 3–0 away at Craven Cottage. Chelsea won the home clash 2–0 with  goals from Oscar and Mikel John Obi on 21 September 2013. On 1 March 2013, Chelsea won 3–1 at Craven Cottage with André Schürrle netting a hat-trick for Chelsea. Fulham finished in 19th place at the end of the 2013–14 Premier League season and were relegated to the Football League Championship for the 2014–15 season, meaning that the two sides would sit in different divisions again after 13 years in the same division. Their latest result was on 1 May 2021 when Chelsea defeated Fulham 2–0 at Stamford Bridge in a Premier League match. Chelsea vs QPR derby. Despite  QPR being members of the Football League since 1920, the two sides did not meet in a competitive match until 1968–69, when Rangers made their debut in the First Division. Overall, Chelsea do not consider QPR rivals due to the size difference of the two clubs. Their first match took place on 14 September 1968; Chelsea won 4–0. Since then, the sides have met a further 45 times, making it the most common West London derby since the 1960s. The clubs developed a rivalry in the 1960s and 1970s when both were playing top-flight football and competing to be  among London's top sides, with Chelsea winning the FA Cup, Cup Winners' Cup and League Cup, and Rangers winning the League Cup and finishing as league runners-up by a single point. Many QPR fans' favourite game against Chelsea was a 6–0 victory on Easter Monday in 1986. Chelsea were second in the league table at the time, and the result all but ended their title challenge. During this period, the clubs were relatively evenly matched, although Chelsea were always considered the bigger club, with both occasionally dropping into the Second Division in the late 1970s and early 1980s , so they met in almost every season. The teams met in a competitive match for the first time since 1996, when drawn to face each other in the FA Cup 3rd Round on 5 January 2008. Chelsea won 1–0 thanks to a first-half own goal by Lee Camp. In recent times, Chelsea have become one of the dominant forces in the English game, whereas QPR were in the second tier of English football for many years. The links between the two clubs have been maintained through numerous on-loan players; two of Chelsea's best youth team players joined  QPR on loan for the 2006–07 season. These players were Jimmy Smith and Michael Mancienne. Mancienne renewed his loan for the 2007–08 season. QPR and Chelsea have competed in two pre-season friendlies since the turn of the century. The most recent was in 2003 when Chelsea thrashed a QPR Legends XI 7–0. On 28 July 2001, QPR stunned the £50 million Chelsea line-up by beating them 3–1. Jesper Grønkjær gave Chelsea a first-half lead, but QPR got an equaliser from Leroy Griffiths and then took lead from a long range effort by Karl Connolly. QPR confirmed  the win when Gavin Peacock, also a former Chelsea player, scored late on. Mirroring Chelsea's purchase by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, QPR have received investment from Flavio Briatore, Bernie Ecclestone and Lakshmi Mittal. The fact that the Mittal family, who own a 20% stake in the club, are reputed to be five times as rich as Abramovich has seen QPR fans dub themselves the world's richest club. On 30 August 2009, Chelsea were drawn against QPR in the third round of the 2009–10 Football League Cup, which saw Chelsea win the game 1–0 thanks to a goal from  Salomon Kalou. On 23 October 2011, Chelsea lost 1–0 to a newly promoted QPR in the first Premier League match between the sides since 1996. In a feisty encounter players clashed on several occasions, with nine Chelsea players and two QPR booked, with Chelsea's José Bosingwa and Didier Drogba being sent off. Heiðar Helguson scored the only goal of the match through a penalty. Chelsea manager André Villas-Boas was later charged by the FA for criticizing the performance of the referee Chris Foy, as he believed many of the big decisions made were incorrect. Chelsea were fined £ 20,000 by the FA for not controlling their players, who picked up a record number of bookings in a single match in the Premier League era, and their manager was fined £12,000 for his comments on the referee in addition to being cautioned for future conduct. In the aftermath of the match, a video was posted on YouTube showing Chelsea and England captain John Terry allegedly racially abusing Anton Ferdinand, for which he has been charged with a racially aggravated public order offence. Chelsea then drew QPR again in the FA Cup, winning 1–0 at Loftus Road thanks to  a Juan Mata penalty. On 29 April 2012, Chelsea exacted revenge on QPR in the reverse league fixture with a ruthless 6–1 victory, with four goals being scored in a nightmare opening 25 minutes for Rangers. Fernando Torres became the first player in over 20 years to score a hat-trick in this West London Derby. It was QPR, however, who had the last laugh. After holding Chelsea to a 0–0 draw at Loftus Road on 15 September 2012, they went on to beat Chelsea 1–0 in the reverse fixture on 2 January 2013 at Stamford Bridge, with the goal  coming from former Chelsea player Shaun Wright-Phillips, ending a 30-year wait for a win at the Bridge for Rangers. QPR finished the 2012–13 Premier League season in last place, however, and were relegated to the Championship. They were promoted to the Premier League again for the 2014–15 season after winning the 2014 Football League Championship play-off Final 1–0 against Derby County at Wembley Stadium on 24 May 2014. On 12 April 2015, Chelsea beat QPR 0–1 with Cesc Fàbregas scoring the goal in the 88th minute. This sent Chelsea seven points clear at the top of the  table ahead of Arsenal. QPR remained in the relegation zone, two points away from safety. Fulham vs QPR derby. The origins of a rivalry between Fulham and QPR date back before Chelsea were formed. In 1892 the two teams met at Kensal Rise to play in the West London Cup Final. QPR were 3–2 victors and won their first piece of silverware. For the next few seasons QPR continued to win the cup, whilst Fulham won The West London League. In recent times, however, QPR and Fulham derbies are not common as both teams have been in different divisions for  all but two seasons since the Premier League first started in 1992. As two very similar clubs in size, history and fan base, derbies, are at times, fiercer and more competitive than those against Chelsea, sometimes leading to cases of crowd trouble such as a riot between the two sets of fans in 1999. From 2002 until 2004, QPR and Fulham were closer than they had ever been when QPR and Fulham shared Loftus Road while Craven Cottage was being redeveloped. This added extra spice to a derby had they drawn each other in the cup, especially had QPR been  the away team at their own ground. The matches during the 2000–01 season both ended up being 2–0 to Fulham. The game at Loftus Road saw Richard Langley and Clarke Carlisle – two of QPR's best players – seriously injured in the game and both were out for 18 months with cruciate ligament injuries; this was vital for QPR's descent into the third tier for the first time in 34 years. QPR were promoted to the Premier League for the 2011–12 season, meaning the derby would take place for the first time in over ten years and in the Premier  League for the first time. The match finished in a 6–0 victory for Fulham, with Andy Johnson each bagging a hat-trick. The return fixture between the two sides is sure to ignite the rivalry as QPR have recently come under the managerial guidance of Mark Hughes, who was the manager of Fulham the previous season and left under controversial circumstances, citing the clubs' lack of ambition and stature as his reasons. With a last-minute controversial switch by Bobby Zamora to the Hoops, at the end of the January transfer window, Fulham's first return to their temporary ground  was a spicy affair. Samba Diakité was sent off in the first half, and Zamora's replacement, Pavel Pogrebnyak scored the only goal of the game, meaning Fulham had done the double over QPR in the league. The following season Rangers were on a dismal run of form without a win in seventeen games and looking certain for relegation. When the two side met on 15 December 2012 at Loftus Road, it was Adel Taarabt who took the Hoops to their first win of the season over their bitter rivals in a strong 2–1 victory. Fulham won the reverse fixture  3–2 when the two sides met on 1 April 2013 at Craven Cottage. In 2015–16, the clubs met once more in the Championship, and Fulham convincingly won both fixtures, in both cases being 3–0 up before half-time. In the 2019–20 season, the two teams played the same division again since Fulham were relegated after finishing 19th in the Premier League. However, at the end of the season, Fulham were promoted back to the Premier League after finishing 4th in the table and winning the EFL Championship play-off Final. Their latest meeting was a 2–0 victory for Fulham at  Loftus Road on 9 January 2021 in the FA Cup Third round. Crossing the divide. A list of players who have played for or managed at least two out of Brentford, Chelsea, Fulham and QPR. Brentford, Chelsea and Fulham Fulham, QPR and Brentford