Fans ready as QPR’s 28-year wait ends

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QPR fans are gearing up for the club’s first visit to Wembley in 28 years.

Rangers face Derby County in the play-off final for a place in the Premier League, with both clubs having sold close to 40,000 tickets.

Many R’s fans will walk from W12 to Wembley, recreating the trek through west and north west London made prior to the 1967 League Cup final against West Brom and before cup finals against Tottenham and Oxford in 1982 and 1986 respectively.

And many will travel from far afield for the occasion.

Rangers have traditionally enjoyed strong support in Ireland – many Irish fans are gathering in the Kingsbury and Cricklewood areas ahead of the match – as well as parts of Scandinavia – more than 100 have travelled from Norway.

Norwegian fan Allan Klo begins his journey from the Artic to Wembley
Norwegian fan Allan Klo begins his journey from the Artic to Wembley

Most of a 70-strong group of Dubai-based ex-pats who regularly gather to watch QPR matches together have made the trip back to England, while parties have also arrived from Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and other parts of the world.

A number of former QPR players will also be at Wembley – some as special guests of the club, who have also invited family members of late legends Alec Stock and Alan McDonald.

A tribute to Alan McDonald is one of many banners made for the day
A tribute to Alan McDonald is one of many banners made for the day

Other former Rangers stars, including the likes of David Bardsley, have posted their good wishes on Twitter, where this week top scorer Charlie Austin led calls for Isle of Wight-based fan Saffa Michail, whose dog had chewed his match ticket, to be issued with a duplicate. He was.

Speaking on the eve of the match, manager Harry Redknapp pledged that his players would “do everything they possibly can” to get Rangers back to the top flight.

He added: “It’s all about those fans really. It’s about doing it for them.

“Both clubs have sold their full allocation of tickets and it will be a great atmosphere. But we’ve got to play the game, not the occasion, and get the win we need.”

West London Sport will have live updates from Saturday morning as Rangers supporters prepare for the big game.

We’ll have reporters on the walk to Wembley and around the stadium ahead of kick-off and also pitchside as well as among the QPR fans during the match.

For those unable to see the game, we’ll have updates as well as the usual match report and reaction afterwards.

Please tweet us your pictures, messages, Vine videos and so on to @westlondonsport or by e-mailing [email protected] and we’ll publish as many as possible.

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