QPR 1 Tottenham 0

Spurs lost at Loftus Road to an Adel Taarabt goal scored directly from a free-kick in the first half.  With ten minutes remaining QPR were reduced to ten men when the goalscorer was shown a second yellow card but Spurs never looked like saving a point and now find themselves in fifth place in the Premier League, three points behind Newcastle United.

Spurs Season Continues to Capitulate

Queen's Park Rangers 1  Tottenham Hotspur 0

Scorer: Taarabt

Team: Friedel; Walker, Gallas, King, Assou-Ekotto (Rose); Sandro (Lennon), Parker (Giovanni); Van der Vaart, Modric, Bale; Defoe  Subs: (unused) Cudicini, Livermore, Smith, Khumalo

After a minute of the game at Loftus Road, Chris Waddle commented that Spurs had started brightly - it was a comment he was to regret as Spurs' play quickly lost momentum and direction, faced with a determined Queen's Park Rangers team.  Tottenham once again lacked anyone to lift the game and make an impression on behalf of the team and it quickly became a re-run of what has happened for the past two months as Spurs have seen their Champions League aspirations slowly disappear in an unprecedented capitulation.

Injuries to Emmanuel Adebayor and Louis Saha meant that Jermain Defoe started the match as the lone striker with Sandro and Scott Parker in central midfield behind a three of Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and Rafael Van der Vaart.  William Gallas and Ledley King again played in front of the returning Brad Friedel.  Injury to Ryan Nelsen and Younes Kaboul saw Khumalo and Adam Smith on the bench.

Spurs had an early strike when Benoit Assou-Ekotto shot over following a free-kick but almost immediately, Mackie on the right caused the left back problems with a powerful run and shot which went past.  Kyle Walker was playing wide on the right and Assou-Ekotto was also looking to get forward with Bale and Van der Vaart drifting infield.

A period of QPR pressure showed the first signs that the Spurs defence was looking shaky and uncomfortable as they played themselves into trouble when Friedel delayed in clearing a back pass.  Spurs then had the greater possession but were making little headway against a well organised home team who defended in numbers and looked to attack on the break.  Spurs constantly tried to play through the middle where QPR had greatest numbers but their passing was too slow and ponderous.  

The next threat came from a Van der Vaart corner which Bale headed goalwards but Kenny saved. From the resulting corner the ball came back out to Van der vaart and Kenny saved his powerful shot at full stretch.

Queen's Park Rangers were awarded a soft free-kick when Sandro touched the ball with his hand as he fell backwards after making a good tackle.  From the free-kick, the former Spurs player, Adel Taarabt, lifted it over the wall and past a slow to react Friedel who was troubled throughout the first half with the low setting sun.  It was a poor goal to concede and the home side's only real threat on goal.

Spurs continued to cause themselves difficulty in defence but on the half-hour another Van der Vaart shot was saved by the goalkeeper with Defoe heading the rebound over.  Spurs had the more possession but QPR coped well with the limited threat they posed.  In the final minutes before the interval a dangerous run by Modric saw Van der Vaart back heel an effort towards goal and then in the final minute Barton shot over.

Aaron Lennon replaced Sandro at half-time but it was the home side who started the better with Spurs only effort on goal being a Defoe header from a Van der Vaart free-kick which was saved by Kenny.  The home team were growing in confidence and with their hard work were comfortably holding on to the lead.  

With thirteen minutes remaining there was confusion as Taarabt was sent off after being shown a yellow card for kicking the ball away.  A few seconds later the referee then produced a red card, realising that it was the goalscorer's second yellow card.  For the rest of the match QPR were encamped on the edge of their box to deny Spurs with only the occasional break.  For all this possession, Spurs didn't actually look like getting an equaliser as their only efforts on goal were shots from Modric, Van der Vaart and Giovani which Kenny dealt with easily.

Three points greatly enhance QPR's hopes of retaining their Premier League status for another season but no points for Spurs looks as if their hopes of Champions League football next year are all but over.  This loss of form is a mirror image of the way Spurs ended last season and once again Harry Redknapp seems incapable of turning it around.  The loss of what earlier in the season had seemed a certainty will be even harder to accept than the last day defeat at West Ham which denied them a Champions League place under Martin Jol.

None of the players are playing with any confidence.  Their play which was so bright and quick earlier in the season is now ponderous and easy for a team to defend against.  No-one comes out of this match with any credit and with only one Premier League win since thrashing Newcastle in mid-February, that is only one win in nine games, Spurs look incapable of winning any of their final four matches even though they are against teams at the lower end of the table.  There is every likelihood they will slip below Chelsea in a season which was being heralded as one where they were playing the best best since the 1960s - a disappointing end to the season which had held such promise.

They Played for Tottenham and QPR

Over the years many players have pulled on the shirts of both Tottenham and Queen's Park Rangers.  Three of the current QPR squad are former Tottenham players, Luke Young, Adel Taarabt and Radek Cerny.  Clive Allen who is currently on the coaching staff  at White Hart Lane had two spells at Loftus Road as well as a very productive time with Spurs.  Two former Tottenham and QPR players have also managed the club, Les Allen and Terry Venables who has also managed Tottenham.

Les and Clive Allen

The famous footballing family pairing have both had time playing at Tottenham and QPR.  Les Allen was a member of the Tottenham 'Double' winning team in 1960 - 61 and a few weeks after winning the FA Cup at Wembley his son, Clive, was born.   

Clive Allen (Son)

Les Allen (Father)

Les Allen joined Spurs in 1959 from Chelsea and formed a superb goal scoring partnership with Bobby Smith.  The duo scored 60 League and Cup goals in the 'Double' winning triumph with Allen contributing 27 himself.  

Allen was unfortunate to be displaced when Jimmy Greaves was signed the following November but he remained at the club until 1965 when he opted to join Queen's Park Rangers for £21,000.  After being part of the successful QPR team which won the League Cup in 1967 as a 3rd Division club and also gained successive promotions to the 1st Division he took on the manager's role in 1968, remaining in charge for three years.

Clive Allen had two spells with Queen's Park Rangers.  he started his career at Loftus Road and then had a season away at Arsenal, without playing, and at Crystal Palace before returning to QPR.  Three years later, in 1994 he signed for Tottenham for £700,000.  Injury restricted his appearances in his first two seasons at White hart Lane but at the beginning of the 1986 - 87 season, under new manager, David Pleat, Allen scored a hat-trick against Aston Villa.  in that season Allen set new goalscoring records at Tottenham, beating those set by legendary goalscorer, Jimmy Greaves.  Playing as a lone striker, he scored 33 League goals and 16 in the two Cup competitions.  Unfortunately, this didn't lead to trophies as Tottenham managed to fall short in each competition - 3rd in the League, losing FA Cup Finalists and losing League Cup semi-finalists.  In total he scored 60 League goals from 105 appearances in his four years at the club before joining Bordeaux for £1 million.  He played for England on five occasions but failed to score.

Terry Venables
Terry Venables joined Spurs from Chelsea in May, 1966 for £80,000 and the following season helped Tottenham win the FA Cup.  He remained at the club for three seasons before joining QPR for £70,000 but was never totally accepted by fans who had been spoiled by the skills of the team of the early 1960s.  He was at QPR for five years and then moved to Crystal Palace but injury forced him to retire.  he then turned to coaching and became manager at Crystal Palace.  He then went to QPR in 1980 and helped them  reach the 1982 FA Cup Final where they lost to Spurs after a replay.  He had three seasons in Spain as manager of Barcelona before returning to manage Spurs.  He brought star players like Gary Lineker and Paul Gascoigne to the club and in a difficult financial situation he led Tottenham to the 1991 FA Cup Final triumph.  He was also instrumental in working with Alan Sugar to save the club from going out of existence.  However, in the early 1990s, just as the team was showing promise, he lost his position of Chief Executive at Spurs because of disagreement with Sugar over the financial issues at the club.  He later went on to manage England.

Another, player who had a distinguished career at Tottenham and who later had a time as manager of Queen's Park Rangers was Alan Mullery.  The former Tottenham and Fulham player was manager at Loftus Road for six months from June to Cecember, 1984.

Roger Morgan
Twins, Ian and Roger Morgan were part of the exciting QPR team of the late 1960s and scored their first goal at Wembley as they won the League Cup.  In 1969 Bill Nicholson paid £110,000 to sign Roger.  It took him time to settle in to the team but early in the 1970 - 71 season he sustained a serious knee injury playing against Swansea Town in the League Cup, a competition that Spurs went to win.  He never fully recovered and although he made attempts at a comeback he never regained full fitness and was forced to retire in 1973.

Terry Fenwick
Terry Venables gave Terry Fenwick his first chance at Crystal Palace and then took him to QPR.  He also followed his mentor to Spurs in 1987.  He took time to settle but scored eight goals for Spurs, all in the one season, 1988 - 89 and all penalties.  He broke his leg in 1989 and on recovering he broke his ankle early in 1991 in pre-match preparation for an FA Cup tie at Portsmouth, missing the opportunity to appear in the Final against Nottingham Forest.  He joined Swindon in 1993 and was manager at Portsmouth for three years from 1995.

QPR Current Squad
Luke Young made 76 appearances in four years at Tottenham.  He played mostly at full back but with Stephen Carr having such an influential role in Spurs play Young's opportunities to develop his career were limited.  He joined Charlton Athletic in the summer of 2001 for £4 million and shortly after that Carr suffered a knee injury which kept him out for the whole season.  If only he had been a little more patient.  however, he progressed at The Valley and after six seasons was transferred to Middlesbrough.  He also represented England and joined Aston Villa in 2008, returning to London and QPR in the summer.  An industrious player, he has an eye for goal, scoring for Boro against Spurs with an absolute screamer.

Adel Taarabt joined Spurs in Janauary, 2007, on loan, from Lens.  He completed his transfer the following summer.  A very talented player, Taarabt has great skill but Spurs found it difficult to harness his obvious talent into a team situation.  He made 15 substitute appearances for Spurs and went out on loan to QPR in March, 2009.  He remained there on loan until QPR signed him in August, 2010.  He captained their team to the Championship title scoring 19 goals and being the inspiration behind their exciting play.  He has lost the captaincy to Joey Barton but will have a point to make against Spurs.

Radek Cerny joined on loan as reserve goalkeeper at Tottenham, behind Paul Robinson for three seasons from 2005.  He was an experienced and reliable goalkeeper when required to play.  He joined QPR in 2008 but has now dropped down to third choice at the club. 

Of the current Tottenham team, Kyle Walker spent the first half of last season at Loftus Roald, helping them in the initial stages of their promotion to the Premier League.  He was highly regarded and they had hoped to keep him for the season but Spurs preferred him to get experience at the higher level with Aston Villa.

More Players who Played for both Clubs
Many players have appeared in both the white of Tottenham and the hoops of QPR although not all have been direct transfers between the clubs.  Some younger players have also had periods on loan at QPR to further their development.  Stephen Kelly and Dean Marney spent time at Loftus Road to gain experience before they played for Spurs.

Les Ferdinand started his League career at QPR before joining Newcastle United and then Tottenham.  Mark Falco left Spurs for Watford but later had a time at Loftus Road while Andy Sinton was at QPR for four years before he signed for Spurs from Sheffield Wednesday.

Others were: Ossie Ardiles, Alan Brazil, Steve Hodge, Neil Ruddock, Andy Gray, David Kerslake, Paul Walsh, Clive Wilson, Steve Slade and Dave McEwen.

Older players who were at both clubs were defender Horace Woodward who played for Tottenham in the 2nd Division after the war before moving to QPR in 1949.  Harry Gilberg also had two seasons at White Hart Lane after the war until 1948 and was with QPR in the early 1950s.

Three payers from Tottenham's earliest days in the Football League, Frank Drabble (goalkeeper), Bert Middlemiss (winger) and Charlie Rance (defender) spent time with QPR towards the end of their careers.

Middlemiss was in the Tottenham team that made its Football League debut in September, 1908 defeating Wolves 3 - 0.  He was an ever present that season scoring 13 goals as Spurs won promotion to the 1st Division.

Tottenham's Home Record against Queen's Park Rangers

Tottenham return to White Hart Lane for their fourth home Premier League of the season on Sunday.  It is the last day of the month, making it is rather amazing that Spurs have played so few home games, even allowing for the postponement of the match against Everton.  Queen's Park Rangers will be Spurs' second London derby of the season, having defeated Arsenal at the beginning of October.

Tottenham Hotspur v Queen's Park Rangers

Rangers arrive at White Hart Lane for the first time since December, 1995 when a single Teddy Sheringham goal was sufficient to give Spurs the points and complete the 'double' over their west London rivals.  Last weekend QPR defeated Chelsea in a fractious encounter at Loftus Road when an early penalty by Helguson won a match where the visitors were reduced to nine men for nearly an hour.  Rangers have had an encouraging start to the season having gained promotion as Champions last year and are currently tenth in the League, four points behind Spurs.

Their results have been a mixed - beating Chelsea (1 - 0) and winning at Wolves (3 - 0) but losing at home to Bolton (0 - 4) in the first game of the season and at Fulham (0 - 6).  Other impressive results have included a win at Everton (1 - 0) and draws against Aston Villa and Newcastle United who were both undefeated at the time.  They lost at Wigan (0 - 2) and drew at home to Blackburn two weeks ago.

Their leading goalscorer is Heidar Helguson with two goals in the last two games while DJ Campbell, Joey Barton, Alejandro Faurlin and Tommy Smith have one each.  Neil Warnock has developed QPR into a very hardworking side with experience and players capable of producing moments of flair.  Former Tottenham defender Luke Young joined QPR in August from Aston Villa, Anton Ferdinand came from Sunderland and Barton from Newcastle United have all brought experience with Barton taking over the captaincy.  Campbell and Smith have both played in the Premier League while Adel Taarabt and Shaun Wright-Phillips bring pace and flair to the team.

They Played for Tottenham
Adel Taarabt who was the star and captain of last year's promotion winning team will be determined to show all his skills at White Hart Lane, having left the club just over a year ago.  He made 9 League appearances for Spurs.  He has made over 100 League appearances for QPR, scoring 27 goals.  he has represented Morocco in 11 games and scored four goals.

Luke Young has been Rangers hardest running player in their past two games, involved from right back although it would be hoped that Gareth Bale will keep him occupied on Sunday.  Since leaving White Hart Lane in 2001 for £4 million, Young has played for Charlton Athletic, Middlesbrough and Villa.  He has also represented England on five occasions.  He made 58 League appearances for Spurs and has played almost 300 League games for his other four clubs.

Radek Cerny is another former Tottenham player at Loftus Road although he has now dropped to third choice keeper.  At Tottenham he was understudy to Paul Robinson and made only 16 appearances in three seasons.  He joined Rangers in 2008 and has played 73 league games for them.

Premier League Record (Home) v QPR

P  4  W  2  D  1  L  1  For  6  Ag  5

Home League Record v QPR 

P  21  W  11  D  7  L  3  For  36  Ag  21

Last 7 League  Games v QPR at White Hart Lane

Dec. 1995  PL Won 1 - 0  Sheringham  

Oct. 1994  PL  Draw 1 - 1  Barmby

May 1994  PL  Lost 1 - 2  Sheringham

Feb. 1993  PL  Won 3 - 2  Sheringham (2), Anderton
The first game of the Premier League era saw Tottenham take a three goal lead but two late goals by the visitors gave Spurs a few nervy moments.

Sept. 1991  Div. 1  Won 2 - 0  Lineker (2)

Mar. 1991  Div. 1  Draw 0 - 0

Sept. 1989  Div. 1  Won 3 - 2  Lineker (3)

Memorable Match v QPR

Phil Beal

In January, 1969 Spurs met QPR at White Hart Lane for the first time in the 1st Division.  they won the game 3 - 2 which over time has turned out to be quite a regular scoreline between the two clubs.  Phil Beal who played over 400 games for Tottenham scored only one goal in 13 seasons.  He made his debut in place of Danny Blanchflower in September, 1963 against Aston Villa but it was a number of years before he established himself a s a regular member of the team.  In the latter half of the 1960s he formed a very effective central defensive partner ship with Mike England and together they went on to win numerous trophies in the early 1970s.  The goal that Beal scored against QPR was a goal to remember.  He broke up an attack on the edge of the Spurs area and carried the ball forward, exchanging passes with Jimmy Greaves and on reaching the edge of the Rangers box, he cracked an unstoppable shot, in off the bar.  Alan Gilzean and David Jenkins scored the other Spurs goals.

Another Sunday game for Tottenham so they will be playing catch-up once more, knowing the results of the matches for the teams around them.  Tottenham will be looking to make home advantage count against a team who will be high on confidence following last week's win over Chelsea.  As it's a London derby, both sides will be totally committed and Spurs will know what to expect from a team managed by Neil Warnock.  They won't give Tottenham the time nor the space to play their football and will look to hit them quickly on the break with the defence being put under pressure at every set-piece opportunity.  Hopefully, Spurs will start as they did against Liverpool and get into a high tempo quickly with Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale looking to cause difficulty from wide on the wings with Kyle Walker as another option.  Rafael Van der Vaart will be looking to continue his goal scoring form and Emmanuel Adebayor will want to get back on the score sheet after a number of blank games although he has contributed well to the overall performances of the team.  Tottenham had a poor record against the promoted teams last year so will be looking to get a better return from this game in order to improve on last season's record.

  

Spurs' New Signings

Spurs Sign Taarabt and Alnwick

Adel Taarabt

With the January transfer window open Spurs have announced the signing of two young players.

They have reached agreement with Lens for the loan of French midfielder Adel Taarabt. He is 17 years old and will register with Spurs when his International Transfer Certificate has been received from the French Football Federation.

Taarabt is an attacking midfield player who can also play as a second striker and is able to play on either wing. He has represented France at U-16, U-17 and U-18 level and made his first team debut with Lens earlier in the season.

Taarabt is regarded as one of the best talents in Europe for his age group and it is reported that a number of other Premiership clubs, including Manchester United and Chelsea, were interested in signing him.

Goalkeeper Ben Alnwick has been signed from Sunderland with Marton Fulop moving in the opposite direction. Alnwick who is 20-years old broke into the Sunderland team during their Championship winning campaign of 2004-05 and then made seven Premiership appearances the following season - including playing at White Hart Lane when he saved a penalty from Robbie Keane. The initial fee will be £900,00.

He made a total of 22 first team appearances for Sunderland and has played for England at Under-17, U18, and U19 level. He was in the Under-21 squad for the game against Moldova last August.

Marton Fulop joined Spurs from MTK Hungaria in May 2004 and had loan spells at Chesterfield and Coventry. The Hungarian international played a number of pre-season friendlies but was third choice at White Hart lane behind Robinson and Cerny. He joined Sunderland on loan in November and his move now becomes permanent for a fee of £500,000.

Spurs are continuing their policy of signing young players with an eye to them developing into Premiership players with further experience.