The next stage of the ‘No Merger’ campaign was to demonstrate on the pitch and stop the home game against Manchester City from kicking-off. The signal to go on was to be triggered by the appearance of the referee, linesmen and the two teams. I normally stood in the Loft, but I and many others decided to buy tickets for the Ellerslie Road Stand.
As soon as the referee was sighted, hundreds of Rangers fans clambered on to the pitch. It was of course a peaceful protest so most sat down and younger fans were told not to run over to the School End and provoke the Manchester City contingent. I recall that we were denounced over the pa as not being real QPR fans!!!
The referee ordered the players off the pitch and eventually Jim Smith arrived and I remember Trevor Kingham talking to him. We held the game up for around 20 minutes and it has to be said that some QPR fans actually booed us! There was a much smaller protest briefly during the half-time interval.
Over at Craven Cottage, Fulham were playing Walsall and their fans demonstrated on the pitch at half-time. Before their next mid-week home game, I remember some of us meeting up in a pub near the ground and Trevor Kingham met up with some journalists. Also around this time there was a very lively meeting at Hammersmith Town Hall.
There was some bad feeling for a time with some members of the Supporters Club Committee because they claimed that they already knew that the merger wasn’t going to happen? However, a subsequent meeting with Daphne Biggs managed to sort it all out.
It wasn’t to be the last time that the idea of a merger was to be mooted!!!
Steve Russell
I remember going to Wimbledon Town Hall at the time to show “solidarity” with Wimbledon fans, they booed us and we left them to get on with it.
Remember it well Steve. I was there.
Glad to say I was on the pitch that day. I remember getting booed for running on as well. Just the thought of FPR made me sick.