Lofty Heights... 'Ohhh Bobby Zamooooora!!!'

A look at Queens Park Rangers F.C. through the eyes of the fans - follow us on twitter @loftyheights70, @LoftyQPR and @qprleeroy








Thursday, December 16, 2010

R's on the Road To.......... Leeds United.


This Saturday Rangers' take to the road looking to bounce back for the embaressing defeat live on the BBC last week and look to get back to winning ways against in form Leeds United.
here are a few hints and tips if you plan to make the journey to Elland Road.


Club History.

Photobucket

Leeds were founded in 1919 after Leeds City FC disbanded. Leeds took their place in the Midland League in 1919 before being invited into the Football League in 1920.
In March 1961 the club appointed its greatest ever manager Don Revie and in his first months as manager he saved the club from relegation before guiding the club to promotion into the top flight in the 1963/64 season. From that moment until Revie left the club to manage England, Leeds never finished outside the top four and won two Division One titles, the FA Cup and the League Cup during his tenure.
After Revie’s departure the club suffered disappointment as every manager underachieved, with the exception of a good season under Jimmy Armfield when the club reached the European Cup final but lost out to Bayern Munich. The most famous management bust up was when Brian Clough, who was Revie’s successor, lasted 44days before being shown the door. The movie ‘The Damned United’ was based around this chapter.
It wasn’t until Howard Wilkinson took to the helm in 1988 that Leeds began to be a force in the English Leagues. Wilkinson first guided the club back into the First Division in his first full season in charge in 1989/90. Following a fourth place finish in their first season back in the top flight, Wilkinson then led the club to the First Division title in the 1991/92.
Following that success Wilkinson was unable to follow up that moment of glory and the club and he parted way in 1996.
Following eras of management under George Graham and then David O’Leary, who helped guide the club back into the Champions League, it was the board room that was the focus of the media. Having taken out large loans to secure Champions League status the club began to feel the pinch and Chairman Peter Risdale was forced to sell the club to a consortium led by Gerald Krasner who was himself an insolvency specialist and tried to ease the crippling debt that Leeds were suffering from. Relegation to the Championship only made matters worse for the club.
Ken Bates bought the club in 2004 for £10 million but this was only after the club sold the ground and leased it back for over a 25 year agreement and the clubs training ground was also sold for £4.2 million.
Leeds suffered more disappointment when they missed out on promotion back to the top flight in the 2005/06 season but in 2006/07 Leeds suffered relegation to League One, much to the supporters disbelief.
Simon Grayson finally got the club promoted back to the Championship last season.

The Stadium.

Current capacity – 40,204

Photobucket

The ground is completely overwhelmed by the newest built stand, the East Stand, which holds over 17,000. The stand was built and opened in time for the 199/93 season. The remaining stands look pretty tired in comparison and are half the size of the East Stand.
Away supporters are housed in the South Stand corner, which doesn’t possess much leg room for the supporter and has very basic facilities inside.
Be aware that its quite frequent that fans are ejected from the ground for swearing without warning. Stewarding can be really harsh so be careful and alert to the power hungry tools in illuminous jackets.

The History between the teams.

At Leeds (22)

Leeds 10
QPR 6
Draw 6

Rangers’ have been unsuccessful in their last three visits to Elland Road and the last time the R’s were successful there was in the R’s final season in the top flight when they won 3-1 in 1995. Two goals from Danny Dichio and a Trevor Sinclair goal were enough to claim all three points on the day.
Before that the R’s last victory came in 1990 when the R’s came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 and former star player Roy Wegerle scored only of the best goals by a player in Hoops when he mesmerised the Leeds defence when he took on half the team before slotting home from 12 yards. That goal is shown in the R’s greatest goals collection and will remain there for many years to come.

Photobucket

How to get there.

By Car: - The postcode for Elland Road is LS11 0ES..
To get to Elland road use the M1 and follow it all the way until you join the M621.
Leave the M621 at junction 2 and follow the A643 until you reach Elland Road.
For parking, just as you go under a railway bridge there are entrances on either side of the road to some very large car parks and at the cost of £5 , how can you turn them down.


By Train: - The train station is about a 35 minute walk from the ground so the two best ways to get to the ground is via taxi or by shuttle bus. The shuttle bus can be caught just outside the train station and this runs past the North Stand of Elland Road so it’s an ideal form of transport and at a cost of £2.50 it’s a snip and probably cheaper than a taxi if there’s a small group of you.


Pubs 'n' Grub.

The one pub that has been mentioned is the Drysalters pub which is a 10minute walk from the ground. To find this pub; with the Old Peacock pub behind you, turn left and follow the road down to the very end. Pass the entrances to a number of car parks and go under a railway bridge. At the end of the road, turn left along the dual carriageway and the pub is a short way down 'tucked in' on the left. Otherwise alcohol is served within the ground.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home