Gallen Leaves on Loan

Club captain Kevin Gallen looks like he has worn a QPR shirt and his magic hat for the last time after joining Plymouth Argyle on loan today.

The move is a clear indication from John Gregory that he wants his own men at the club and the popular striker is seen surplus to requirements.

It's a surprising move by Gregory to let his captain go and in my opinion it's a bad move. Gallen has struggled in recent weeks producing some poor performances but all of those performances have been in midfield, which just isn't his position.

In the two occasions he has started games up front this season he scored in the 3-3 draw at West Brom and scored again in the 4-2 win over Palace.

Gallen's greatest strength has always been his ability to hold the ball up and link play, a quality which could flourish in this current QPR team which has pace up front in Blackstock and a player in Smith desperate to break from midfield and get beyond the strikers.

It's perhaps ironic that he has gone now we have these players when for the last few years he's played up front with midfielders behind him who appeared scared to cross the halfway line.

Gallen may no longer be first choice up front but the decision to let him go leaves us weak in the forward area.

Personally I'd keep him as back up to Blackstock and Jones but instead we are left with Nygaard and Furlong as cover, two strikers who appear to be past their best along with Baidoo who has rarely featured under John Gregory.

Hopefully a clause has been placed in the deal to make sure he can't play against us next month, with every point vital the last thing we need is Gallen coming back to send us down.

Gallen himself is relieved the deal is done and gives him the chance of first team football with some old friends.

Speaking to the Plymouth Argyle web site he said: "I am delighted to be here, and it is great to see Ian Holloway. There are other people here I know from my time at QPR. Des Bulpin was my youth team coach at QPR, so I have known him since I was 14-years-old. I also know Tim Breacker and Gary Penrice from QPR, so it is just like old times. I hope I can show the form and play the way I played under Ollie when he was at QPR a few years ago.

"I can sense that this is a club with honesty, while I have been at a club back in London where it has all been politics.

"I am delighted to get a fresh start. I really hope it goes well and I am up for the challenge."

Gallen's career at QPR has been a long one and he leaves the club having played over 400 games with 98 goals to his name making him the sixth highest goalscorer of all time at QPR.

Gallen signed professional forms with QPR on his 17th birthday after setting phenomenal scoring records for the Youth Team. Kevin scored 153 goals in 110 appearances, breaking Jimmy Greaves' long-standing record at that level and the buzz about his potential was massive.

He made his League debut at Old Trafford on the opening day of the 1994/95 season and had a goal disallowed in a 2-0 defeat. He got his first goal at senior level days later though netting the winner against Sheffield Wednesday.

Gallen was in and out of the team at first before Ray Wilkins came in and made Gallen his first choice partner for Les Ferdinand. The pair of them formed a brilliant partnership. For a player so young Gallen had tremendous vision and was able to create several goals for Ferdinand as we finished mid table in the Premiership.

Gallen was linked with a £2million move to Manchester United but after it was turned down they opted for Andy Cole instead. Gallen stayed at Rangers and helped the team to the FA Quarter finals and scored at Highbury and Loftus Road during 3-1 wins over Arsenal. He ended his first season with 10 goals including the winning goal against Chelsea, which saw the famous Magic Hat song begin.

After Les Ferdinand left the club the pressure was on Gallen and he struggled to adapt. He was partnered with a different type of player and could never really repeat the success he'd had at youth team level with Danny Dichio. Rangers were relegated with Gallen scoring eight goals.

He found his form in the second half of the season scoring vital goals against Southampton, Everton and a double against West Ham as we fought to stay up but it was too little too late. Gallen remains the last player to score for QPR in the Premiership.

Gallen vowed to get Rangers back up and came back to pre season fitter and stronger than ever before. His form in that pre season was sensational and he began the season flying scoring against Oxford in a 2-1 win before that night at Portsmouth.

Gallen scored twice that night to win us the game, the second of the goals costing him a large chunk of his career. He sustained a serious knee injury when scoring the second goal and despite the news from the dressing room that night being positive he didn't play another game that season.

His rehabilitation from that injury was not the best and Gallen has since criticised the way it was handled and he struggled to get back fully fit until late into the following season. His comeback came at the start of the 1997/98 season but he struggled to get over the injury and Rangers found themselves fighting relegation. Gallen featured more regularly in the second half of the season and began to find the net more regularly as his performances began to get back to a decent level. His scored some key goals in draws with Bradford and Oxford as Rangers stayed up on goal difference.

The 1998/99 season saw Gallen start the season in excellent form. He was our best player early on but the team was abysmal and again struggled. Gerry Francis return to the club saw us stay up on the last day of the season with Gallen scoring eight goals as injuries again held him back.

The arrival of Rob Steiner and Chris Kiwomya kept him out of the team the following season as his time at the club looked over. He never got a run in the team starting just nine games. He scored on the last day of the season to spark emotional scenes. Gallen knew he was leaving and gave his full kit to supporters and blew them a kiss goodbye. I think most fans had a feeling he'd be back eventually.

He joined Steve Bruce's Huddersfield and did well for them until Bruce left the club leaving Gallen out of favour again.

His return to Loftus Road saw almost every fan in the stadium back him for first goalscorer against his old club and sure enough he scored and celebrated by running to his dad who was sat in the South Africa Road stand unsure whether to celebrate his son's goal or call him a few names for scoring against us. It was a big V sign to his former manager who he had clearly fallen out with but he made up for it in the second half when Huddersfield won a penalty.

Gallen stepped up to take it in front of the Loft and his tame penalty was saved. The crowd went mad singing Kevin Gallen's magic along with "Your R's and you know you are" All Gallen could do was smile to himself and come over to clap the fans at the final whistle. The two points dropped that day meant Huddersfield went down with QPR at the end of the season.

Gallen left Huddersfield at the end of the season and spent the summer of 2001 training with QPR with a view to joining on a free but wages were a problem and he ended up joining Barnsley. That too proved to be a short-term deal and Gallen was soon begging his agent to get him back home.

Rangers lost a cup game at Swansea 4-0 and were heading down the table at an alarming rate towards Division three. The club were in administration and morale couldn't be lower. So a good time for Kevin to come home and make himself a hero.

It was all set up for him and his second debut for the club went amazingly well. Gallen set up two goals in the first few minutes and scored one himself as he returned to a heroes welcome.

The fairytale return continued as he carried on banging the goals in and looked to be playing some of the best football of his career. He ended the season with seven goals and turned the season around to see us finish a credible eight in the table.

If he hadn't returned at that time I dread to think where we'd be now.

Injuries had played a big part in Gallen's career but under Ian Holloway he appeared to get over his problems and hardly missed a game for the next three years.

The 2002/03 was perhaps the best of Gallen's career. Gallen began the season scoring in a 3-1 win against Chesterfield.

He missed several chances in the next few games despite some outstanding all round performances before Ian Holloway told him to focus more on scoring than creating and be more greedy in the penalty area. The advice worked as Gallen scored seven goals in the next nine games including his first goal away from Loftus Road since re signing for QPR in November 2001.

That first away goal was followed by another at Bristol City to help put QPR top of the league and earn Gallen rave reviews from QPR fans delighted to see the best of the home grown hero.

An injury to Gallen in October left us having to cope without is superb leadership up front and the team promptly fell apart until Gallen returned from injury a month later. With Gallen out of the side we failed to win a game, slipped down the table and lost to Vauxhall Motors.

When Gallen returned it took a few weeks to get back to his best but when he did he was the main driving force behind a run, which eventually took us to the playoffs.

His performances during the Christmas games and during January helped Rangers put a nice little run together whilst several other players struggled to find their form. Gallen even did a job in midfield for several games and was excellent showing his range of passing from a deeper position.

He was always at his best with his back to goal though and when Paul Furlong finally got back in form, their promising early season partnership blossomed and Gallen continued to impress.

He showed tremendous character after missing a penalty in the game against Mansfield. Other players would have let their heads drop but Gallen kept going and not only scored a last minute equaliser but took the next penalty Rangers got himself against 3rd placed Bristol City and added to his goal tally.

His last goal of the season came in the 4-1 win over Cheltenham but even when the goals dried up he was always a threat creating chances for others and his all round game was still worthy of praise and helped get us to the Playoff Final.

At the last home league game of the season I had the honour of presenting him with the A Kick up the R's player of the year award. It was a moment I'll never forget and an award that Gallen richly deserved.

Due to Richard Langley's suspension it was left to Gallen to start the second leg of the playoffs on the right wing where he did well but we missed him up front.

Gallen started the final in midfield again and many still to this day say that if he had started up front we'd have won promotion that day.

Instead Rangers lost 1-0 to Cardiff and Gallen was inconsolable after the game. He was in floods of tears looking up at the 30,000 QPR fans and offering his apologies. He had no need, few players had done as much as he had to get Rangers in that position and the agony of that day drove Gallen to a memorable season in 2003/04.

Gallen began that season slowly scoring on the opening day win over Blackpool but then failing to find the net again until the end of September. He was played in a variety of positions including both wings and central midfield but always gave his best and was usually one of our most influential players.

Once the goals started going in for Gallen they wouldn't stop as he smashed a few past Plymouth to put us top of the league and continued the goal scoring form against Stockport and Hartlepool.

Although some felt he wasn't hitting the same heights as the previous season he was always one of our best players week in and week out and he continued with his habit of getting goals for the team when we most needed them.

Last minute equalisers against Notts County and Peterborough may have proved the difference between 2nd and 3rd place.

On the last day of that season we needed a win to gain promotion and Gallen was desperate to lead the team to glory. He was now team captain and he led the team out that day as the QPR fans hoped and prayed for just one more win.

Mid way through the half it was 0-0 and the nerves were unbearable. Sheffield Wednesday flashed the Bristol City score up on the scoreboard as the home fans cheered that a draw was no longer good enough.

The fans began to fear the worse then the moment happened. A ball into the box from Ainsworth found Gallen at the far post and he wrote himself into QPR folklore giving us the lead and putting us on the way to promotion.

That season when we really needed a goal Gallen usually came up with it and this was probably the most important of his career.

It was his 17th of the season, his best ever total and we went on to win promotion with Gallen one of the main reasons behind that success.

Gallen was made club captain that summer as we looked to compete in the Championship.

It was not a great start by Rangers though as we failed to win any of the first four games of the season. Ian Holloway asked Gallen to do a job for the team in midfield. We needed to play more football and Gallen's football brain was seen as ideal to help keep possession in the middle of the park.

The move worked as Gallen impressed and even scored a few goals in wins over Plymouth and Brighton. The team won seven games in a row to away from danger and enjoy a good first season back in the Championship.

Gallen's own form suffered though as he continued in midfield and began to struggle in his new surroundings. He got his chance to move back up front and took it scoring against Watford, Leeds and Wolves but he was often moved around the pitch into several positions during games and began to be the one blamed when things went wrong.

At the last home game of the season Gallen went round some of the local pubs after the game to thank the fans for their support during the season, this was a great gesture and he was happy to sign autographs and pose for pictures as the club looked to build a bond between the players and supporters which seems a long time ago now.

Gallen signed a new two-year contract in March 2005 and was rewarded for his time at the club with a testimonial in July 2005 against Birmingham City.

He grabbed his first goal of the 2005/06 season in Rangers second game of the season in the win over Ipswich where Gallen was very impressive alongside Furlong up front.

Gallen was playing well in his favoured forward position but found himself moved around into midfield by the end of the month before scoring his second of the season at Wolves.

The Wolves game meant Gallen had not missed a game for two years but he picked up an injury in training, which saw the player, finally face a spell out of the side.

The team's performances were mixed in his absence but he returned in October to play on the right wing where he did well in the draw with Preston before scoring in the 1-1 draw with Plymouth.

He made the position his own with some excellent performances culminating in the 3-0 win against Norwich where Gallen was very impressive. He continued that form at Derby where Gallen worked his socks off producing a quality performance capped off with the October goal of the Month in a 2-1 win.

Gallen is not a midfield player though and he began to struggle on the wing before being moved back up front where his performance improved alongside youngster Shabazz Baidoo. In the 2-2 draw with hull Gallen picked up another injury and this one ruled him out for virtually the rest of the season.

The mystery injury appeared to be a hamstring problem at first but turned out to be a back injury and Gallen was not seen again until March but only briefly.

Gallen played in draws with Wolves, Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton the last of these saw the striker sent off for the first time in his career. Gallen served a three-match ban but suffered a reaction with his back problem, which ruled him out for the rest of the season.

Gallen struggled to get back in the side this season with Gary Waddock not really wanting to use Ian Holloway's players. He did return in midfield for the games against Northampton and Ipswich with Gallen scoring in both games.

He was then left out for a few weeks sitting in the stand with QPR fans at Colchester and looking as pissed off as the rest of us during an embarrassing performance.

He was back in the side when John Gregory took over but was not given the captains armband when he played. He started the game at West Brom where he looked impressive alongside Dexter Blackstock.

Gallen scored an excellent goal in the 3-3 draw and appeared to improve as the game wore on. His impressive partnership with Blackstock continued against Crystal Palace where Gallen scored again and had a hand in Jimmy Smiths excellent opening goal.

Things looked great for Gallen again but he was dropped to the bench at Luton where he came on and picked up another injury.

This was to be his last appearance for QPR as a forward. Since then Gregory has for some reason been playing him back in midfield as a holding player where unsurprisingly Gallen has struggled to impose himself in games spending more time in front of his own back four than in the opposition penalty area.

He was dropped again for the cup game against Luton perhaps to avoid him getting cup tied, which spelt the end for the QPR captain.

Kevin Gallen's ability to hold the ball up and take pressure of the defence has been very important to the team over the years.

His lack of pace has held him back even at this level and his lack of confidence in front of goal has seen his score less goals than he should have done during his career which means he is one of those players whose performances usually divide fans.

Many see him as a vital member of the team who makes the team click whilst others think he's only in the team because he's captain and can't understand why he is never taken off.

Personally I'm in the Gallen has been a key player camp but his lack of opportunities up front in the last two years has seen him struggle to produce his best form.

Gallen is now one of the last players of that promotion side to leave with just Marc Bircham and Matthew Rose left now.

It's sad to see the end of that side but I guess it had to happen sometime.

I think the decision to loan Gallen to one of the teams who could be sucked into the relegation fight with us is a ridiculous one, we should have either sold him or just kept him as a back up player but that's not going to happen now.

Hopefully the deal will work out for both parties and Gallen can go on to have a successful career with his new club. This time though I don't expect to see him back as a QPR player again, a future manager maybe but not a player.

So Thanks for the Memories Kev and Good Luck for the future.