With Leicester in town on Saturday, LFW looks back at the career of Frank McLintock who played for both clubs, and a memorable match from 2004 when QPR recovered from 2-0 down to win.

Recent Meetings:

QPR 1 Leicester City 0, Saturday March 5, 2011, Championship

QPR ground out a televised victory against Leicester City when these sides last met at Loftus Road during the R’s 2010/11 promotion campaign. Goalkeeper and Player of the Year elect Paddy Kenny made a series of outstanding saves, including an outrageous backwards flip to keep out a first half lob attempt from Yakubu, to lay the platform for substitute Ishamel Miller to win the game with his first touch of the ball after coming on as a substitute four minutes from time.

QPR: Kenny 8, Orr, 7 Shittu 8, Hall 6 (Connolly 31, 5), Hill 7, Derry 7, Faurlin 7, Routledge 6, Taarabt 6 (Miller 86, -), Buzsaky 6 (Ephraim 90, -), Helguson 6

Subs Not Used: Cerny, Hulse, Smith, Moen

Booked: Helguson (foul)

Goals: Miller 88 (assisted Routledge)

Leicester: Ricardo 7, Naughton 7, Bruma 8, Bamba 8, Mee 8, Oakley 6, Wellens 6, King 6 (Gallagher 79, 6), Abe 6, Vassell 6 (Waghorn 65, 7), Yakubu 7 (Dyer 86, -)

Subs Not Used: Weale, Miguel Vitor, Teixeira, Berner

Booked: Bamba (foul)

Leicester City 0 QPR 2, Saturday September 18, 2010, Championship

Earlier in that season QPR went to Leicester still unbeaten seven matches into the league campaign while the Foxes were struggling under the management of former R Paulo Sousa. The game finished 2-0, although that wasn’t really a fair reflection of a match that Rangers laboured through at times and were fortunate to win so comfortably. Jamie Mackie opened the scoring early doors with a flying header after arriving late in the penalty area and sealed the victory with a fine individual goal eight minutes from time but there was a good deal of hanging on in the meantime.

Leicester: Ikeme 5, Neilson 6, Morrison 5, Hobbs 7, Berner 6, Oakley 6 (Howard 63, 7), King 7, Wellens 7, Dyer 7 (Gallagher 58, 7), Fryatt 7, Waghorn 7

Subs Not Used: Logan, Miguel Vitor, Moreno, Abe, Moussa

Booked: Berner (foul), Waghorn (foul)

QPR: Kenny 8, Walker 7, Connolly 9, Gorkss 8, Hill 7, Derry 8, Buzsaky 5, Taarabt 6 (Leigertwood 78, 7), Ephraim 6, Mackie 8 (Smith 89, -), Helguson 6 (Agyemang 73, 6)

Subs Not Used: Cerny, German, Parker, Rowlands

Booked: Walker (time wasting), Buzsaky (foul)

Goals: Mackie 12 (assisted Taarabt), 86 (assisted Leigertwood)

QPR 1 Leicester City 2, Friday October 30, 2009, Championship

Rangers were on a roll when Leicester came to Loftus Road the previous season for a match in front of a live television audience and capacity Loftus Road crowd. Everything seemed to be going according to plan when Adel Taarabt opened the scoring midway through the first half but Leicester had already had a Martyn Waghorn goal disallowed for offside by that point and were the better side. Matty Fryatt got the equaliser before the break and then profited from a terrible goal kick from Radek Cerny to race through and win the game in the second. Cerny’s career at QPR has never really recovered from that howler and QPR’s promotion push soon descended into a relegation battle and three quick-fire managerial changes.

QPR: Cerny 5, Ramage 5 (Vine 67, 6), Stewart 4 (Hall 54, 6), Gorkss 6, Borrowdale 6, Routledge 6, Buzsaky 6, Leigertwood 5, Faurlin 5,Taarabt 7 (Agyemang 86, -), Simpson 6

Subs Not Used: Heaton, Alberti, Ainsworth, Parker

Goals: Taarabt 33 (assisted Simpson)

Leicester: Weale 7, Neilson 7, Brown 7, Hobbs 6, Berner 6, King 6, Oakley 7, Wellens 7, N'Guessan 8, Waghorn 9 (McGivern 90, -),Fryatt 8 (Gallagher 75, 6)

Subs Not Used: Logan, Morrison, Howard, Dyer, Kermorgant

Booked: Neilson, N'Guessan, Oakley

Goals: Fryatt 37, 64

Previous Results

Head to Head >>> QPR wins 25 >>> Draws 10 >>> Leicester wins 20

Previous Results:

2010/11 QPR 1 Leicester 0 (Miller)

2010/11 Leicester 0 QPR 2 (Mackie 2)

2009/10 Leicester 4 QPR 0

2009/10 QPR 1 Leicester 2 (Taarabt)

2007/08 QPR 3 Leicester 1 (Stewart, Bolder, Blackstock)

2007/08 Leicester 1 QPR 1 (Leigertwood)

2006/07 Leicester 1 QPR 3 (Nygaard 2, Idiakez)

2006/07 QPR 1 Leicester 1 (Rowlands)

2005/06 QPR 2 Leicester 3 (Ainsworth, Shittu)

2005/06 Leicester 1 QPR 2 (Nygaard, Furlong)

2004/05 Leicester 1 QPR 0

2004/05 QPR 3 Leicester 2 (Furlong 2, Cook)

1994/95 QPR 2 Leicester 0 (Wilson, McDonald)

1994/95 Leicester 1 QPR 1 (Willis og)

1986/87 Leicester 4 QPR 1 (Rosenior)

1986/87 QPR 5 Leicester 2* (Fenwick 2, Lee, James, Byrne)

1986/87 QPR 0 Leicester 1

1985/86 Leicester 1 QPR 4 (Allen, Bannister, Robinson, Byrne)

1985/86 QPR 2 Leicester 0 (Wicks, Fereday)

1984/85 QPR 4 Leicester 3 (Fillery, Gregory, Bannister, Robinson)

1984/85 Leicester 4 QPR 0

1983/84 QPR 2 Leicester 0 (Allen, Fereday)

1983/84 Leicester 2 QPR 1 (Fenwick)

1982/83 QPR 2 Leicester 2 (Gregory, Sealy)

1982/83 Leicester 0 QPR 1 (O’Neill og)

1981/82 Leicester 3 QPR 2 (Currie, Stainrod)

1981/82 QPR 2 Leicester 0 (Stainrod, Gregory)

1979/80 Leicester 2 QPR 0

1979/80 QPR 1 Leicester 4 (Allen)

1977/78 Leicester 0 QPR 0

1977/78 QPR 3 Leicester 0 (Givens Francis, Needham)

1976/77 QPR 3 Leicester 2 (Givens, Hollins, Francis)

1976/77 Leicester 2 QPR 2 (Givens, Hollins)

1975/76 Leicester 0 QPR 1 (Thomas)

1975/76 QPR 1 Leicester 0 (Leach)

1974/75 QPR 4 Leicester 2 (Beck, Thomas, Givens, Westwood)

1974/75 Leicester 3 QPR 1 (Francis)

1973/74 QPR 0 Leicester 0

1973/74 QPR 0 Leicester 2*

1973/74 Leicester 2 QPR 0

1970/71 Leicester 0 QPR 0

1970/71 QPR 1 Leicester 3 (Venables)

1969/70 Leicester 2 QPR 1 (Marsh)

1969/70 QPR 1 Leicester 1 (Bridges)

1968/69 Leicester 2 QPR 0

1968/69 QPR 1 Leicester 1 (Allen)

1966/67 QPR 4 Leicester 2** (Allen 2, R Morgan, Lazarus)

1951/52 QPR 1 Leicester 0 (Addinall)

1951/52 Leicester 4 QPR 0

1950/51 QPR 3 Leicester 0 (Addinall, Hatton, Shepherd)

1950/51 Leicester 6 QPR 2 (Addinall, Shepherd)

1949/50 QPR 2 Leicester 0 (Addinall 2)

1949/50 Leicester 3 QPR 2 (Addinall, Parkinson)

1948/49 Leicester 2 QPR 3 (Hatton 2, Mills)

1948/49 QPR 4 Leicester 1 (Addinall 3, Parkinson)

* - FA Cup

** - League Cup

Connections

Frank McLintock >>> Arsenal 1964-1973 >>> QPR 1973-1977

Frank McLintock was born in the Gorbals area of Glasgow and turned down a career in ship building to pursue his dream of professional football in England with Leicester City. He signed pro terms at Filbert Street in 1957 on his seventeenth birthday, made his senior debut in 1959, and went on to win a League Cup in 1964 and lose in two FA Cup finals.

He trained as a painter and decorator and sign writer while with Leicester, and even the day before they played Spurs in an FA Cup final he worked a day’s shift before getting the team coach down to London. McLintock was a wing half in those days, forming a feared half back partnership with Colin Appleton and Ian King and eventually attracting the interest of Arsenal.

The Gunners spent a club record £80,000 on him in October 1964 and moved him from attacking midfield to centre half. Bertie Mee made him captain in 1967 but he handed a transfer request in two years later after successive League Cup Final defeats. Mee persuaded him to stay and they both reaped the rewards as Arsenal won the Fairs Cup in 1970 and a league and FA Cup double in 1971. He was named the Football Writers’ Player of the Year in that double season.

In 1972/73 they finished second in the league and lost in the FA Cup final to Leeds. At the end of the campaign Arsenal sold McLintock to Queens Park Rangers for £20,000 and it was the famous R’s side of 1976 which McLintock rated as the best he played in, despite its lack of trophies.

McLintock partnered Dave Webb at the heart of the Rangers defence and told QPR’s official website: “Bertie Mee didn't think I was capable of playing in the top flight any more, but I knew I could still produce the goods at the highest level. It was a simple choice to make - I didn't want my family to leave London. I knew very little about QPR as a club, but they'd recently got promoted so I saw it as a great opportunity, a great challenge if you like. I didn't go there expecting much, but I received one of the biggest surprises of my life. The quality within the QPR squad was something else. It took me totally by surprise. I arrived at QPR intent on proving a point to Bertie Mee and as it contrived a few years later, Arsenal dropped down the table and we were up there competing for the title.

“We were the best football team in the country that year, probably in the whole of Britain. It was a magnificent team to play for. It was a joy to behold playing in that team and the team spirit at the time was as good as I'd known throughout my playing career. They were four of the best years of my life. I was so happy during my time at QPR and that's me speaking straight from the heart.''

McLintock was popular with his QPR team mates of the time as well. Don Givens told QPRNet: “We had someone in Frank McLintock who was a marvellous influence on the team, he’d come from Arsenal where things were done at a different level and he tried to introduce those things to QPR and help make it better for us. He didn’t always succeed on the club side of things but he did help the team. He was probably the most influential player I’ve ever lined up with.”

He made 162 appearances for Rangers between 1973 and 1977. He scored five goals in that time with two of them coming against his former Arsenal team mates — one in 1975/76 and the other a season later.

McLintock, who won nine caps for Scotland, had unsuccessful spells as a manager at Leicester, who were relegated under his charge despite him signing old QPR team mates Dave Webb and Eddie Kelly, and Brentford before retiring to a life of after dinner speaking and punditry on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday programme. He turns 74 this week.

Others >>> Lloyd Dyer, Leicester 2008-present, QPR (loan) 2005 >>> DJ Campbell, QPR 2011-2013, Leicester 2007-2010 >>> Marcus Bent, QPR (loan) 2010, Leicester (loan) 2003-2004 >>> Carl Ikeme, Leicester (loan) 2010, QPR (loan) 2010 >>> Damien Delaney, QPR 2008-2009, Leicester 2000-2002 >>> Dean Sturridge, QPR 2005-2006, Leicester 2001 >>> Simon Royce, 2005-2007, Leicester 2000-2003 >>> Stefan Moore, QPR 2005-2008, Leicester (loan) 2005 >>> Ian Baraclough, QPR 1998-2001, Leicester 1988-1991 >>> Ian Holloway, Leicester (manager) 2007-2008, QPR (manager) 2001-2006, (player) 1991-1996 >>> Andy Impey, Leicester 1998-2004, QPR 1990-1997 >>> Rufus Brevett, Leicester (loan) 2006, QPR 1991-1998 >>> Les Ferdinand, Leicester 2003-2004, QPR 1987-1995 >>> Bob Hazell, Leicester 1983-1986, QPR 1979-1983 >>> Robbie James, Leicester 1987-1988, QPR 1984-1987 >>> Tony Sealy, Leicester 1985-1987, QPR 1981-1983 >>> Peter Eastoe, Leicester (loan) 1984, QPR 1976-1979 >>> John O’Neill, QPR 1987, Leicester 1977-1987 >>> Eddie Kelly, Leicester 1981-1983, 1977-1980, QPR 1976-1977 >>> Dave Webb, Leicester 1977-1978, QPR 1974-1977

Memorable Match

QPR 3 Leicester City 2, Saturday September 25, 2004, Championship

QPR won promotion from the Second Division in 2003/04 in memorable style, beating Swindon at home and Sheffield Wednesday away in front of 8,000 travelling fans on the final day of the season to pip Bristol City into second spot. It was no more than Ian Holloway’s side deserved but despite that, and the incredible work Olly had done over three years to put together a promotion winning side having started with just eight senior professionals and the club in administration, he was under pressure very early the following season.

A slow start to the campaign at the higher level — two draws and two defeats from the first four games — had new board member Gianni Paladini itching for change and lining up Argentinean Ramon Diaz as Holloway’s potential replacement. A 1-0 win a Gillingham in a televised Friday night match thanks to a goal that became known as ‘the hand of Bean’ bought him time but with injuries mounting in the centre back position and full back Richard Edghill pressed into service in the middle a meek 1-0 home defeat by Sheffield United set up a titanic battle with Plymouth — who had finished top in the Second Division, just ahead of QPR, the season before.

Holloway would almost certainly have been sacked by Rangers had he lost the game but QPR broke their home duck with two goals from Paul Furlong and another from Kevin Gallen securing a 3-2 win. Holloway stayed, and confidence started flowing through the side. Two quick fire away wins followed at Crewe on a Tuesday night and Brighton thanks to a once-in-a-lifetime last minute goal from Matthew Rose.

Suddenly the R’s were on a role as a much fancied Leicester team arrived in W12. Manager Micky Adams had gone for experience as he attempted to take the freshly relegated Foxes straight back to the Premier League: Dion Dublin and Martin Keown partnered each other at centre half ahead of Kevin Pressman in goal; Jason Wilcox and Nikos Dabizas completed the back four; James Scowcroft, Nathan Blake and David Connolly formed the attack; Scott Gemmill anchored the midfield. Had it been 1994, rather than 2004, this would have been a formidable side but as it was, Leicester had won just three of their first nine matches.

QPR welcomed back Danny Shittu for his first appearance in nine months after a cruciate knee ligament injury picked up in the promotion campaign but Leicester looked to have far too much experience and quality among their ranks for QPR early on. Goalkeeper Chris Day could count himself unlucky to concede a close range strike to Scowcroft after half an hour having first run out to the edge of the box to head the ball away from the striker under pressure, then scampered across to block Blake’s cross away with his foot. But there was nothing he could do in first half injury time when Connolly drew a boot back from 25 yards and whipped an unstoppable shot into the top corner. Even the Loft End applauded that one.

But Connolly was to turn villain immediately after half time when he inexplicably flung an elbow into Georges Santos’ face as a high ball dropped out of the sky. QPR’s eccentric centre half hit the deck clutching his jaw, and referee Paul Robinson showed Connolly a second yellow and then a red. The game changed in an instant. Adams, for reasons best known to himself, moved Dublin from centre half to centre forward, leaving Keown to wrestle with Paul Furlong alone — a battle the veteran Arsenal man lost hands down. Suddenly QPR had the upper hand — the physicality and pace of the home team’s game was too much for the ten man visitors to handle in the final half an hour.

Rangers scored early to halve the deficit — a key moment, sowing seeds of doubt in Leicester minds. Lee Cook wasn’t exactly renowned for his heading ability — such behaviour could mess up one’s hair — but when Rowlands and Furlong teed up Marcus Bignot for a right wing cross even Cook couldn’t resist an airborne diving header at the back stick that was perfectly executed and beat Pressman for power and direction. Game well and truly on.

Then, with 20 minutes remaining, Rowlands was afforded too much space in the right channel and he cut in field and dinked a delicate left footed cross into the area. Leicester tried to play offside but only succeeded in leaving a queue of three QPR players waiting for the ball to arrive and it couldn’t have fallen to anybody better than Furlong who, free from Dublin’s shackles, powered a perfectly placed header into the corner. Now 2-2 and still 20 minutes remaining, only Pressman will know how he lifted his substantial frame right up into his top right hand corner to claw another Cook diving header out from under the cross bar and away to safety.

It looked like that had been the moment to win the game, and it had been passed up, but not so. With 45 seconds left for play Cook returned to his more natural territory wide left and, in vintage style, widened the angle for a left wing cross that enabled Furlong to peel away from Dabizas at the back post and not only dive full length to reach the ball, but also show tremendous athleticism to redirect it back across goal, agonisingly out of Pressman’s reach and into the far corner of the net.

Pandemonium ensued at the Loft End with the entire QPR team piling on top of the goalscorer, and on the bench where Ian Holloway and his coaching staff invaded the field in celebration. In the confusion, the public address system announced Shittu as the goal scorer — but nobody deserved it more than Furlong who was absolutely magnificent on the day.

Afterwards Shittu said: “It’s an unbelievable feeling. We showed such great character to come back from half time to the end of the game. The crowd, even when we went 2-0 down, didn’t stop, stayed behind us. I’m so glad we gave the crowd what we wanted.

And Ian Holloway said: “I was a bit pleased to say the least. I was like Zebedee, springing around outside my area. We were all feeling a bit down in the dumps the other week, now four wins and wait a minute it’s stopped raining, guys are swimming, guys are singing. Get me out of Camp Granada. You have to keep believing.”

And Rangers did keep believing. They won their next three at home to Coventry and West Ham and away at Stoke to make it seven on the spin and lift them to fourth. Wins against Cardiff, Wigan and Burnley followed in the seven games after that and although the newly promoted, and cash strapped, R’s couldn’t maintain that pace it was enough to cement their position at the highest level and raise Ian Holloway’s stock even higher among the W12 faithful.

Great times, a wonderful team.

Links >>> Extended Highlights

QPR: C Day, M Bignot, D Shittu, G Santos, M Rose, J Cureton, M Bircham, M Rowlands (K McLeod, 80), L Cook (S Branco, 89), K Gallen, P Furlong

Subs not used: R Edghill, J Cole, G Padula

Goals: Cook 58, Furlong 70, 90

Bookings: Bignot, Bircham, Furlong

Leicester: K Pressman, C Makin, M Keown, N Dabizas, J Wilcox, J Scowcroft, S Gemmill (J Gudjonsson, 68), L Nalis, N Blake (T Benjamin, 62), D Dublin (T Wright, 76), D Connolly

Subs not used: G Williams, M Heath

Goals: Scowcroft 29, Connolly 45

Sent Off: Connolly 53

Bookings: Keown, Connolly

Attendance — 15,553

Tweet @loftforwords

Pictures — Action Images

Photo: Action Images

AgedR added 08:15 - Dec 20 It was after the Millar 1.0 that I really believed that we might actually go up. Great atmosphere that day. "Misty, water coloured memories, of the way we were".
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WokingR added 08:46 - Dec 20 I'll always think of Millers goal as the most important one we scored all season Remember going absolutely nuts at the time with relief
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Antti_Heinola added 11:58 - Dec 20 I LOVED that 3-2 Leicester game. Brilliant. There was a beautiful pic of Birch, Furs and a few others celebrating, taken from below, almost underneath them, against a white sky. The look on their faces gave me shivers for days afterwards. Players who really, really cared.
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TacticalR added 20:39 - Dec 20 Jamie Mackie's long range header in the 2010 match was a great goal. The home defeat in 2009 exposed the soft underbelly of the Magilton side. At the time Leicester were a sort of WBA of the Championship...a team that exposed the pretensions of other teams. McLintock was a bit before my time but seems a very charismatic figure.
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