Four Four Two - UK (2022-06)

PETE DOHERTY

QPR

UPFROnT

EXPLOSIVE FIXTURE Argentina’s derby between

Rosario and Newell’s Old Boys was delayed after

fans threw grenades on the pitch, leaving craters

of a playmaker, I could pass, put my

foot on the ball and have a little look

around, but I lacked pace. I was quite

a good goalkeeper, too. These days, if

we have a kickabout, I’ll go in goal as

I’m panting after about five minutes.

What do you like most about going

to a game?

I think it’s like going to a gig. There’s

something I can’t put my finger on –

just a magic to it, a certain smell and

feeling. Hurling abuse at a complete

stranger and getting everything out

of your system is quite good. Because

I’ve been living in France, I’ve gone to

watch the local team, Le Havre. They

haven’t got a big fanbase; it’s a couple

of thousand people but they’re really

passionate. There’s always a nod to

the English game, kind of an obsession

for the tradition of English supporters

• inside any ground in France, the area
  where fans gather gets called The Kop.

How has watching football changed

for you since you were a kid?

The biggest thing is the terraces being

gone. There’s something about being

able to roll up, wander about and find

your spot. It broke my heart when the

Which was the first match that you
ever saw live?
It feels weird saying this, as I didn’t see
a QPR game until I was older than 10 –
the first game was Liverpool at home
to Nottingham Forest, in 1985 or 1986.
I supported QPR because that was my
dad’s team, but whenever we were in
Liverpool visiting my family, we’d go to
Anfield. My first ever QPR match was at
Southampton in September 1992. I’d
been wearing my QPR shirt for years,
and from then on I hardly ever missed
a game until about ’97-98, when rock
’n’ roll took me on a different path. The
’92-93 campaign was really what I call
my QPR team.

Who was your childhood hero and
did you ever meet them?
His name was Sir Les Ferdinand [right]
and yes, I did. He was a god to me. He
came from non-league football and
bounced in and out of the first team,
but then in 1992-93 he hit his stride
and completely smashed it. I met him
a few times – when I was about 13,
I chased him down Uxbridge Road
before a home game, trying to get
his autograph. Then when I started
doing my QPR fanzine, I’d go to the
training ground and do interviews.
He was always a gentleman. Years
later, before playing Leeds Festival,

Taylor Report did its thing and they put

all the seats in. It took away a lot of the

magic I used to feel on the terraces –

the singing, the religious fervour

and the passion. I believe

it lost something, a bit of

culture. Certain people were

priced out of the game.

What’s the greatest goal that

you’ve seen live?

I always lie and tell people I was

there when Trevor Sinclair scored

his famous overhead kick against

Barnsley, but I wasn’t. I was having

a piss! I heard this massive roar, ran

out and my cousin said, “You’ve just

missed the best goal ever.”

Where’s the best place you’ve ever

watched a game?

You’re making me nostalgic for Loftus

Road, man. It’s been a while since I’ve

been there. As a kid that was my life –

turning up stupidly early, being there

at 10am just to be around the stadium.

Everyone used to sing ‘s**t ground, no

fans’ at us, but I loved the lower Loft

and the Paddock.

What’s the best atmosphere you’ve

ever been part of?

It wasn’t QPR’s best day, but an away

game at Chelsea at the old Stamford

Bridge, when it was falling apart. QPR

played terribly and Jan Stejskal let in

a howler, but there were 6,000 Rangers

supporters on the terrace behind the

goal and the atmosphere was brilliant.

Any away game in London was always

a special day.

Who from your club’s past would you

bring back for the current side?

I’d probably say Stan Bowles, although

I often wonder how someone like him

would fit in the modern game. I’d love

to do that just to see it, to watch him

drifting about scratching his leg on the

halfway line. Give him the ball and see

what a 24-year-old Stan could do. They

thought it was funny back then when

he’d take a programme off a fan and

read it midway through the game, but

now he’d get fined and suspended for

a couple of matches.

What’s your favourite football book?

Bill Buford’s Among The Thugs [above].

It’s such a weird book. This American

journalist finds himself over in Bury St

Edmunds or something in the late ’70s

on a rainy night, and he can’t work out

why there’s all these strange creatures

wandering the streets and gathering

on the terraces. Then he delves into the

underbelly of football hooliganism and

it’s quite funny the way he looks at it,

from a dispassionate American stance.

There’s the characters he talks about,

like being on a Nottingham Forest fans’

The Libertines singer on

Charlie Austin’s wellies,

missing Trevor Sinclair’s

overhead kick, and the

day Sir Les pretended

to be a hotel concierge

20 June 2022 FourFourTwo

we were staying in this flash hotel and

someone knocked on the door, saying,

“Can I help you with your luggage, Mr

Doherty?” I opened the door and it was

Sir Les, pretending to be the concierge!

My manager had seen him in the hotel.

He’s a good soul.

What was your finest moment as

a player?

I scored a wicked diving header for the

school team. I fancied myself as a bit