During the 1981–82 English football season, Queens Park Rangers competed in the Second Division and finished in 5th position. They also reached the FA Cup final for the first time in their history, losing the final after a replay to Tottenham Hotspur.

Season summary During the summer of 1981, Rangers installed an artificial Omniturf pitch at their Loftus Road ground. The opening match on the new surface - the first of its kind in British professional football - was a 2–1 defeat to Luton Town, who would install a synthetic pitch of their own a few years later. Despite this setback, Rangers proved difficult to beat at home, but away results were indifferent by comparison and they ultimately fell two points short of the third promotion spot.

In the FA Cup, Rangers beat Middlesbrough, Blackpool, Grimsby Town, Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion en route to the final at Wembley, where their opponents were holders Tottenham. Terry Fenwick's header salvaged a 1–1 draw after Glenn Hoddle had put Spurs in front, both goals coming in the second half of extra-time, but Hoddle converted a penalty in the sixth minute of the replay which proved decisive despite Rangers enjoying much of the possession for the remainder of the game.

Omniturf During the summer of 1981 an artificial pitch of Omniturf was installed at Loftus Road, the first such surface to be used in British professional football.The surface was not favoured by everyone, with QPR keeper Peter Hucker describing it as "basically a bit of carpet over two feet of concrete", and stated that as a goalkeeper, he strongly disliked diving onto it saying that "I'd have close to third degree burns because the pitch would totally rip the skin off."Rangers lost the first league match played on the new surface 1-2 versus Luton Town on 1 September 1981. During the time that Loftus Road had the Omniturf pitch installed, QPR reached two cup finals and became Second Division champions, something that critics claimed was caused by the advantage the pitch presented,

Badge A new centenary badge was unveiled on the FA Cup Final shirt, which remained in use until 2008

Kit Adidas remained as QPR's kit manufacturers.

Second Division

Results QPR scores given first

Second Division DateOpponentsVenueResultF–AScorersAttendancePosition29 August 1981WrexhamA3–1King, Allen 2466141 September 1981Luton TownH1–2King 35'18,70365 September 1981Newcastle UnitedH3–0King, Roeder, Stainrod14,176312 September 1981Grimsby TownA1–2Gregory9490819 September 1981Crystal PalaceH1–0Stainrod17,039622 September 1981Oldham AthleticA0–26421826 September 1981Derby CountyA1–3Gregory11,246143 October 1981Blackburn RoversH2–0Gregory, Allen9541910 October 1981Norwich CityH2–0Gregory, Stainrod11,806718 October 1981OrientA1–1Gillard8192624 October 1981Leicester CityH2–0Stainrod, Gregory12,419431 October 1981Charlton AthleticA2–1Stainrod, Allen11,33357 November 1981Rotherham UnitedH1–1Flanagan 80'10,949314 November 1981Sheffield WednesdayA3–1Stainrod 43' 45' 56'17,024321 November 1981Shrewsbury TownA1–2Flanagan4765424 November 1981Oldham AthleticH0–09477428 November 1981Cardiff CityH2–0Stainrod 210,22535 December 1981Bolton WanderersA0–16076512 December 1981BarnsleyH1–0Flanagan10,972419 December 1981Cambridge United APP26 December 1981ChelseaH0–222,022428 December 1981WatfordAPP5 January 1982MiddlesbroughAPP9 January 1982Luton TownAPP16 January 1982WrexhamH1–1Stainrod10,066430 January 1982Crystal PalaceA0–015,26766 February 1982Grimsby TownH1–0Gregory875359 February 1982Cambridge UnitedA0–14822616 February 1982Blackburn RoversA1–2Allen6884720 February 1982Derby CountyH3–0Hazell, Fenwick, Flanagan8890627 February 1982Norwich CityA1–0Roeder15,92879 March 1982WatfordA0–416,862813 March 1982Leicester CityA2–3Currie, Stainrod17,821920 March 1982Charlton AthleticH4–0Fenwick, Allen 313,118727 March 1982Rotherham UnitedA0–110,472929 March 1982Sheffield WednesdayH2–0Flanagan, Stainrod11,71086 April 1982OrientH3–0Hazell, Flanagan, Stainrod10,531710 April 1982ChelseaA1–2Gregory 40'18,365712 April 1982WatfordH0–022,091717 April 1982Shrewsbury TownH2–1Flanagan, Allen11,148624 April 1982Cardiff CityA2–1Allen, Micklewhite597961 May 1982Bolton WanderersH7–1Gregory, Micklewhite, Flanagan 2, Fenwick (pen), Stainrod, Allen10,00255 May 1982Newcastle UnitedA4–0Gregory, Allen, Flanagan, Stainrod10,67058 May 1982BarnsleyA0–310,579611 May 1982Luton TownA2–3Fenwick, Stainrod16,657615 May 1982Cambridge UnitedH2–1Allen 27', Fenwick 59' (pen)10,4675

Milk Cup DateRoundOpponentsH / AResultF–AScorersAttendance6 October 1981Second Round First LegPortsmouth (Third Division)H5–0Ellis (og), Gregory 2, Micklewhite 213,50227 October 1981Second Round Second LegPortsmouth (Third Division)A2–2Flanagan, Micklewhite767710 November 1981Third RoundBristol City (Third Division)H3–0Flanagan, Stainrod, Allen92151 December 1981Fourth RoundWatford (Second Division)A1–4Stainrod (pen)18,276

FA Cup DateRoundOpponentsH / AResultF–AScorersAttendance2 January 1982Third RoundMiddlesbrough (First Division)H1–1Stainrod12,10018 January 1982Third Round ReplayMiddlesbrough (First Division)A3–2 (aet - 2–2 at 90 mins)Stainrod 2, Neill14,81923 January 1982Fourth RoundBlackpool (Fourth Division)A0–010,22726 January 1982Fourth Round ReplayBlackpool (Fourth Division)H5–1Allen 4, Stainrod (pen)11,71213 February 1982Fifth RoundGrimsby Town (Second Division)H3–1Stainrod, Allen, Howe13,3446 March 1982Sixth RoundCrystal Palace (Second Division)H1–0Allen24,6533 April 1982Semi-FinalWest Bromwich Albion (First Division)N1–0Allen 72'45,01522 May 1982FinalTottenham Hotspur (First Division)N1–1 (aet - 0–0 at 90 mins)Fenwick  115'100,00027 May 1982Final ReplayTottenham Hotspur (First Division)N0–190,000

Friendly Matches DateCountryOpponentsH / AResultF–AScorers25 July 1981SwedenStugens BKA6-0Stainrod 2, King 2, Burridge, Sealy27 July 1981SwedenSandviks IKA8-1Flanagan, Micklewhite 2, Stainrod, Waddock, Sealy 2, Muir29 July 1981SwedenSpanga ISA1–0Micklewhite 30 July 1981SwedenEnkopingsA9-1Flanagan 3, Micklewhite, Stainrod 2, Allen 2, Muir2 August 1981SwedenLudvika BKA4-1Flanagan, Stainrod 2, Gregory8 August 1981Wimbledon A12 August 1981Maidstone United A16 August 1981IrelandAthlone TownA4-3Flanagan, Stainrod 318 August 1981 IrelandBohemians A3-0Stainrod 2, Allen 22 August 1981Cambridge United (A)AAugust 1981Nigeria (H)HPrivate8 September 1981Frank Holman TestimonialBirmingham City (A)A19 December 1981Notts County (H)H17 May 1982Dave Clement TestimonialDave Clement XI (H)H26 May 1982USATulsa Roughnecks (USA) (A)APOSTPONED31 May 1982USASan Jose Earthquakes (USA) (A)A7 June 1982USATulsa Roughnecks (USA) (A)A

Squad Pos.Nat.NameLeague AppearancesLeague GoalsMilk Cup AppearancesMilk Cup GoalsF A Cup AppearancesF A Cup GoalsTotal AppearancesTotal GoalsGKPeter Hucker22931GKJohn Burridge20424GK Graham BensteadDFIan Dawes55DFTerry Fenwick365481486DFIan Gillard33(2)14946(2)1DFBob Hazell23(1)24431(1)2DFErnie Howe16151221DFAlan McDonaldDFWarren Neill113(1)114(1)1DFGlenn Roeder41248532DFSteve Wicks99MFTony Currie20117281MFMartin DuffieldMFGerry Francis77MFJohn Gregory3494274511MFAndy King4343MFGary Micklewhite24(2)23(1)34(1)31(4)5MFMark O'Connor11MFGary Waddock353947MFDean Wilkins(1)11(1)FWClive Allen36(1)13217745(1)21FWSteve Burke2(10)1(1)(1)3(12)FWMartyn BusbyFWWayne Fereday2(2)0(1)2(3)FWMike Flanagan36(1)1032948(1)12FWIan MuirFWTony Sealy4(3)15(3)FWSimon Stainrod391742955224FWIan Stewart2(1)0(2)1(1)3(4)

Transfers Out NamefromDateFeeDateClubFeeDon ShanksLuton TownNovember 29, 1974 £35,000August 1981Brighton & Hove AlbionFreeBarry SilkmanBrentfordOctober 30, 1980 £20,000September 1981Leyton Orient£15,000Andy KingEvertonSeptember 12, 1980 £400,000September 1981West Bromwich Albion £400,000 Dean NealQueens Park Rangers JuniorsJanuary 1979October 1981Millwall£80,000Gordon HillDerby CountyNovember 1979£150,000November 1981Montreal ManicGerry FrancisCrystal PalaceFebruary 24, 1981 £150,000January 1982Coventry£145,000Tony SealyCrystal PalaceMarch 12, 1981 £80,000February 1982Port ValeloanIan GillardQueens Park Rangers JuniorsOctober 7, 1968 June 1982AldershotFree Ernie HoweFulhamDecember 14, 1977 £55,000June 1982PortsmouthFree

Transfers In NamefromDateFeeGraham BensteadQueens Park Rangers JuniorsJuly 1981Alan McDonaldQueens Park Rangers JuniorsAugust 12, 1981 Martin DuffieldQueens Park Rangers JuniorsJanuary 1982Steve WicksCrystal PalaceMarch 25, 1982 £325,000

References

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