Archive Gold – The QPR/Fulham merger

The Tipster's editorial team has taken a deep dive into the archives the Norwegian publication, Tipsbladet.no. The then proposed merger of QPR and Fulham back in 1987 caught our interest…

“At the end of the season in May, the league club Fulham FC will cease to exist and disappear from the league system. The football club itself will merge with Queen’s Park Rangers and move to Loftus Road. The name of the new major club in West London will likely be Fulham Park Rangers. Fulham’s players will be integrated into the Queen’s Park Rangers squad. However, even though Fulham FC as a club will disappear, it is actually Fulham’s board that will take over the management and control of the current Queen’s Park Rangers.

The reason behind this is Marler Estates’ acquisition of all shares in Queen’s Park Rangers, a package that was sold for £5.5 million last Tuesday. According to the sellers, this share transfer was necessary due to the paradoxical fact that the new QPR owners could not afford to retain control over the shares of Fulham FC and its stadium facilities at this time.

As mentioned, Marler Estates is involved in the sale and leasing of residential and commercial properties. It now appears quite clear that the acquisition of Fulham a few years ago was primarily done with the aim of developing the Craven Cottage grounds for property purposes.

Purchasing Fulham FC with the intent of profiting from football would have been a serious misinvestment. With the attendance numbers at Craven Cottage every other Saturday, the best outcome would have been breaking even, and barely at that. However, the stadium property itself is very valuable for real estate purposes. Craven Cottage is located in an extremely desirable area with sky-high land and property prices near the Thames in West London. Consequently, it is evident what this property will be used for once football vacates the area.

Also owns Stamford Bridge!

But the story of Marler Estate doesn’t end with the acquisition of Fulham and QPR … This company actually also owns Chelsea’s stadium, Stamford Bridge! However, Marler Estate has no ownership interest in the Chelsea football club, which is controlled by millionaire Ken Bates. A few years ago, Bates was forced to sell the stadium to Marler Estate to save the club from bankruptcy. Chelsea FC now leases Stamford Bridge on a contract that expires in 1989, and it’s likely they will find it difficult to secure further extensions.

While Bates claims Chelsea has a buyback clause for Stamford Bridge when the contract expires, Marler Estate disputes the legal validity of this option. Furthermore, it would be nearly impossible for Bates & Co. to raise as much as £25 million, which is now the market value.

There’s reason to believe Marler Estate’s plan is to have Chelsea relocate their home games to … Loftus Road. In this way, Marler Estate could gather all top-tier football in West London at Loftus Road, merge Fulham & QPR into one club, profit from renting out the former QPR stadium to Chelsea, and earn a hefty profit by demolishing both Craven Cottage and Stamford Bridge to develop the former league grounds for real estate purposes.

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Facing Strong Criticism

There’s no doubt that this real estate company’s cutthroat business transactions are meeting with significant criticism. As things stand, the League can do nothing but protest the name of the new club. The League has expressed clear opposition to these plans, but likely has no way to overturn them without making changes to its regulations. The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) has also become heavily involved, as have the fan clubs of both QPR and Fulham, but there seems to be little formal means to overturn the merger plans.

The purchases of Stamford Bridge, Fulham, and QPR were conducted according to normal business principles. The fact that both Fulham and Chelsea were forced to sell their stadiums cannot be blamed on the new owners, as it stems from a combination of poor general conditions in league football, lack of sporting success, and perhaps also poor business management. It’s possible that these stadium sales—and the urgently needed money they generated—may ultimately be the downfall of Fulham and possibly Chelsea.

Negative Impact

Overall, this could signal a negative development for league football, as these transactions would result in the largest reshuffling within the League since Accrington Stanley went bankrupt in the early sixties. The League will shrink to 91 clubs. How this will be handled practically has not yet been decided. The League management will now have to begin restructuring and reform. The top division will be reduced, and there will be direct promotion and relegation between the League and local football. According to the plan, the annual team turnover would be limited to only a few spots. Today, clubs like Rochdale—who have held their place for over 20 seasons—and many other clubs lack the resources to compete against other teams.

Unfortunately, it’s likely that this case will only be the first of several changes the League will face from outside forces. The key issue here is the economy. Many league clubs are living hand-to-mouth, kept alive almost artificially by supportive directors and local bank connections. Most clubs in the bottom two divisions, and even some in Divisions 1 and II, are operating at a deficit week to week. Several clubs owe millions of pounds. And with falling prices in the transfer market, small clubs have no other assets besides their stadiums. Gordon Taylor, chairman of the PFA, is deeply concerned that the trend will increasingly move toward the sale of stadiums and grounds to other clubs.

Taylor wants local authorities to become more actively involved in saving their local clubs, and believes it would be far preferable for the public sector to take over the grounds if that is the only solution.

The Marler Estate transactions are not unique, however. We remember that Charlton went through something similar when the club was forced out of its stadium by its former owners as recently as this summer. Charlton then had to share Crystal Palace’s ground, Selhurst Park. The small club Wimbledon may also end up there. Despite its impressive sporting success in recent years, Wimbledon operates on a very tight budget. However, they possess a stadium that could bring in millions of pounds due to its prime location on the outskirts of London.

Bristol Rovers rents a ground from the Non-League club Bath to reduce their operating expenses, and next season we may even see arch-rivals Preston and Blackpool sharing the former’s ground, Deepdale.

What's next for QPR and Fulham?

As for the football club Queen’s Park Rangers, it will continue at its own ground under a new name. However, it’s not just the name that will be missed; the club’s former owner, Jim Gregory, will also be missed. Gregory was the longest-serving club chairman in the league, having been involved with QPR since 1965, when he first bought into the club. During this time, Gregory ran the club in a very sensible and realistic way. The club has achieved decent sporting success, made smart moves in the transfer market, and fully renovated and modernized its stadium in just under ten years.

Loftus Road is now one of the most modern stadiums in the League. The only decision Gregory regrets is choosing to install artificial turf on the field. In hindsight, it’s become clear that the particular type of synthetic grass installed at Loftus Road doesn’t meet sporting standards. The new owners have already announced that the “Omniturf” will be torn up in the summer and either replaced with a different type or possibly natural grass.

Gregory leaves behind a club in solid financial health. Although they are paying off a loan of £240,000, the club also has a positive bank balance of £400,000.

It has already been decided that current QPR manager Jim Smith will remain as manager of the new Fulham Park Rangers, at least until his contract expires after next season. Fulham’s manager, Ray Lewington, will become Smith's new assistant. All contracted Fulham players will be integrated into the new squad. Among the most notable Fulham players are the promising full-back Paul Parker, as well as forwards Dean Coney and Gordon Davies. These are likely the first to compete for spots in the team. But Fulham has always been skilled at developing young talent, so it's possible that other players may also break through in the new club.

As for Fulham FC, it has always been a club known for playing entertaining football. In the 1960s, stars like Johnny Haynes, Jimmy Hill, and current England manager Bobby Robson were on the team. Later on, we remember the club from the 1975 FA Cup final with Bobby Moore and Alan Mullery, as well as the appearances of Rodney Marsh and George Best in the black and white kit a few years later. However, the club has never won any major trophies, and the question now is what the motivation will be for the remainder of this season…?”

This is what was written in Tips in March 1987

The club was close to going bankrupt, and it was only thanks to intervention from former player Jimmy Hill that it managed to continue by forming a new company, Fulham FC.

Fulham, then a club in the third division, and QPR, well-established in the top division, would cease to exist in their current forms. The announcement led to outraged Fulham and QPR supporters joining forces to oppose the measure. Rebellious Rangers fans created their own independent supporters’ association to lead the protests after learning that the official fan organization supported the proposals, while Fulham’s fan base made their stance clear. Attendance at Fulham’s next home game at Craven Cottage surged by almost 3,500 after the Fulham Park Rangers plans were announced, and a halftime protest by fans even made it onto the TV news.

Banners, pitch invasions, and public meetings became far more important than the football itself as Fulham’s future hung by a thread.

It was an uneasy truce between the property speculators and the football supporters. The protected status of both ‘The Cottage' and the Stevenage Road Stand made Marler’s next move particularly challenging, and the recession of 1989 led to the company’s collapse. Cabra Estates, which bought out Marler, also went under, allowing Fulham to secure an agreement with the Royal Bank of Scotland, its new landlords.

This was, of course, not Fulham’s last brush with the idea of ground-sharing with Queens Park Rangers. The fans had to mount a new campaign in 2002 when Mohamed Al-Fayed attempted to move them out of Craven Cottage to a new stadium in White City. The ‘Back to the Cottage’ campaign proved successful as local options for a new stadium proved limited, and Fulham fans made it clear that they preferred a return to the club’s historic home.