Former QPR captain Roeder dies at 65

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Former QPR captain Glenn Roeder, who captained Rangers in the 1982 FA Cup final, has died at the age of 65.

Roeder’s passing was announced on Sunday following a long battle with a brain tumour.

The Essex-born centre-back was signed by Rangers from Orient for £250,000 in 1978 by Steve Burtenshaw and went on to play for Tommy Docherty before flourishing following the appointment of Terry Venables in 1980.

A classy ball-playing defender, the ‘Roeder-shuffle’ became synonymous  with his assured performances at Loftus Road and he went on to make over 180 appearances for the club, highlighted by the run to the cup final in which he and Bob Hazell formed a formidable defensive partnership.

Roeder missed the replay against Spurs due to suspension, which Rangers lost 1-0 having played alongside Hazell in the drawn the first match at Wembley Stadium.

But less than a year later, with the emergence of youngsters Warren Neill and Alan McDonald plus Venables’ desire to move Terry Fenwick to centre-back, Roeder lost his place in the side.

After a brief loan spell with Notts County he signed for Newcastle for a fee of £125,000 where he enjoyed a successful six years, helping the Magpies to win promotion from the old Division Two in 1985.

He then moved to Watford in 1989 before finishing his playing career at Gillingham where he took his first steps into management as a player-manager at Priestfield.

His managerial career then took him back to Watford before he moved to West Ham to replace Harry Redknapp at Upton Park.

A tumultuous spell in charge saw the Hammers relegated from the Premier League in 2003 and Roeder collapse with a brain tumour with three matches of the season remaining before being sacked early into the following season.

He bounced back at Newcastle, who helped to a seventh-place  top-flight finish in 2006 after being appointed on a caretaker basis, before being given the job permanently until May 2007.

Roeder was appointed by Norwich later that year until January 2008 before taking up advisory and scouting roles at a number of clubs including Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa and Stevenage where he worked until 2018.

He leaves behind his wife Faith and their three children Holly, Will and Joe.