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This
summer we say goodbye to three players in Kevin Gallen, Marc Bircham and
Paul Furlong, who were all part of the promotion winning squad of 2004
and all of whom have made their own unique contributions to QPR over the
years. We have already looked back on Furs' time at Rangers, later this
week we'll do the same for Gallen but for now it's time to say Bye Bye
Birch.
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BIRCHAM'S QPR CAREER STATS |
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Season |
Apps |
Subs |
Goals |
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2002-03 |
39 |
2 |
2 |
|
2003-04 |
41 |
2 |
2 |
|
2004-05 |
31 |
5 |
1 |
|
2005-06 |
25 |
2 |
2 |
|
2006-07 |
14 |
7 |
0 |
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2002 - Birch in action during
his debut season |
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BIRCH ON
THAT BRENTFORD GOAL |
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"Last
minute of the match, the ball came to me from a corner and I
managed to volley it into the top corner of the net. I think
that was the most celebrated QPR goal ever, next to Clive
Allen's in the FA Cup semi-final!
The fans went mental, they were all on the
pitch. It was brilliant. I whipped off my shirt and I had my
Guinness shirt on with "John Byrne 10" on underneath." |
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2003 - That winner at Brentford |
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LOFTUS ROAD 2002 |
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Becoming the first
member of The LSA to play for Queens Park Rangers.
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2003 - That famous hair do |
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BIRCH ON THE PLAY OFF DEFEAT |
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"Losing
the play-off final with QPR against Cardiff City at the
Millennium Stadium in 2002/03 was my worst moment in
football.
I lost the play-offs with Millwall twice
but the play-off final against Cardiff was worse because
we were the better team. It went right to the end of
extra time, and it was hard to take. But the flip side
is if we'd have won we wouldn't have had the win at
Hillsborough the following year." |
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2003 - Birch during the play off semi final |
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GRIFFIN PARK 2003 |
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Scoring a belting last
minute winner against Brentford to send the away terrace
into a mess of insanity! |
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2003 - Heartbreak at
Cardiff |
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BIRCH ON PROMOTION |
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"My
favourite moment would be at Hillsborough, when we got
promoted at the end of the 2003/04 season. We beat
Sheffield Wednesday 3-1 to go up to the Championship and
the whole day was amazing.
The match, the journey on the coach on
the way home, everything. It was my wife's birthday that
day as well, so we'd hired a nightclub and everyone
piled back there. Fantastic." |
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2004 - Doing battle with a future team mate |
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LOFTUS ROAD 2006 |
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Being transfer listed
and sidelined by his childhood hero, Gary Waddock. |
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2004 - Celebrating scoring
against Port Vale |
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BIRCH ON LEAVING RANGERS |
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"I
had a meeting with John Gregory and we decided by mutual
consent that I would be leaving QPR in the summer when
my contract is up.
They didn't want to renew my contract and I didn't
really want to sign. We both knew what the other was
going to say so it was a bit of a formality.
I've fulfilled my
dream of playing for Rangers and I've enjoyed every
minute of it. But it's time to move on." |
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2004 - Celebrating our impending promotion at
Loftus Road |
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