Rowlands first season at QPR really couldn't have gone any better but a year before his future looked bleak. A move to QPR broke down in March 2003 as Brentford insisted they wanted to keep him to make sure they stayed up. Rowlands scored in the win that got them the magic 50 points needed to stay up but then broke his leg. As he lay in the hospital Brentford never contacted him and he was released and out of a job. Thankfully for us Ian Holloway went to visit the player and told him he'd sign him when he got fit. Rowlands spent the summer working hard seeing light at the end of the tunnel and he signed for Rangers after making a very quick recovery from his injury. Most fans first glimpse of him in a QPR shirt came in a pre season game against Charlton. His brief substitute appearance had fans on the edge of their seats. He got stuck in and looked a very creative player on the left wing, which was one of several positions, he would play in during the season. He made his league debut for Rangers as a late substitute in the 5-0 win over Blackpool on the opening day of the season and soon had his first start replacing the injured Gareth Ainsworth on the right wing against Brighton. Rowlands gave a good account of himself using the ball well and he looked like he had the potential to go on and have a great season. He was soon in a very alien position though. Terrell Forbes injury and sending off meant he was needed as a right back for the next few games. Rowlands took to his new role as if he had been playing right back all of his life. He was comfortable on the ball and added a new attacking dimension to us as he brought the ball out of defence rather than hoofing it forward. His overlapping on the right created many chances for us but defensively he was sometimes found wanting which was only to be expected. After a successful run in that position he was moved into central midfield for the second half at Wrexham. Rowlands impressed in that position and grabbed his first goal for the club. A cracking solo effort in the 90th minute to give us our first away win of the season. Rowlands continued to see himself moved around playing on the left wing, right wing, central midfield and right back and performed excellently in all of them. It wasn't until November though that he found his new home on the right wing, which became a regular role for him.
When he faced up to his old team mates Brentford he came in for loads of stick from the away fans but rose above it to deliver a superb performance and help the team to a 1-0 win. The support he got that night seemed to help build his confidence and he's never looked back. Consistently Rowlands was the star man for Rangers creating goals and scoring them. When Tony Thorpe got injured in January goals became hard to come by but it was Rowlands who grabbed a vital winner at Blackpool and a goal of the season contender to beat Brighton. Whenever Rangers needed someone to create or get a goal Rowlands was usually the man. As Port Vale grabbed a 90th minute equaliser against us in March, it was Rowlands who went up the other end straight from the kick off, beat his man and put in a perfect cross for Cureton to win us three points. Injury and suspension hampered the end of the season for Rowlands but he was once again brilliant scoring and causing mayhem in the 1-1 draw with Stockport. He grabbed the only goal of the game to beat Swindon. Then on the last day of the season he was excellent again and despite playing with pain he ran down the line and crossed for Chris Carr to score and own goal and book us our place in division one. It was a fitting end to a dream season for Rowlands and away from home he was usually our match winner. Out of Rangers six away wins, Rowlands scored in four of them and created a goal in another. The only win he didn't have a big role in was Grimsby away which saw him play at right back. Rowlands signed a new two year contract in the summer of 2004 despite interest from several Premiership clubs. Rowlands began this 2004/05 season on
the left wing and again showed he can play anywhere in midfield.
At first he struggled to show the same form as last season at a
higher level but Rowlands continued to work hard and scored a spectacular
goal in the draw with Sunderland. Martin Rowlands started the 2005/06 season looking back to his best but ultimately it was a disappointing injury plagued season for the midfielder. Rowlands looked outstanding early on scoring against Ipswich and his passing, direct running, crossing and shooting in the opening three games had the QPR fans drooling.
His return to the side saw him back in his preferred central midfield position and Rowlands looked good. Playing alongside Langley he was winning tackles and at the heart of most of our best play. He gave us an attacking option from central midfield and his outstanding goal of the season winner against Crewe seemed to set up what would a strong second of the season for the talented player. Sadly though another knee injury ended his season. He started 2006/07 season back in central midfield and seemed to enjoy his new role scoring twice in the first three games and winning the August player of the month and goal of the month award. It was the same old story though as niggly injuries disrupted his season but when he did play he was usually impressive especially in the 3-3 draw with Norwich where he scored twice and was outstanding. He ended the season with ten goals from midfield which was his best return since we won promotion. Rowlands started last season with a man of the match performance at Bristol City. Starting on the right wing he hit the bar three times during the game in a stunning performance. He tore the home side apart but just couldn't score and in the end had to settle for the plaudits rather than a goal in a 2-2 draw. He scored his first goal of the season against Leyton Orient in the cup where he was one of the few players to come out with any credit. His good performances out wide continued but the team were struggling at the foot of the table which saw John Gregory sacked. In Mick Harfords first game in charge Rowlands was switched to right back where he did a decent job at Colchester but did far better at home to Norwich where he scored the winner to give us our first win of the season and he was excellent for Rangers throughout. Rowlands returned to midfield and missed a penalty at Charlton but again performed well in a 1-0 win. As a new manager in De Canio came in Rowlands continued to perform well in midfield but was linked with a move away from QPR to Leicester with several fans backing the idea of selling the midfield player. His season and perhaps his whole QPR career turned in just one week. Rangers traveled to Watford where De Canio opted to change the team around and give Rowlands a chance in central midfield. Rowlands responded with an outstanding performance, running the game from midfield. He was strong in the tackle, passed the ball well and got forward to support the attack scoring twice in a 4-2 win. He continued playing this way against leicetsre days later in another win where Rowlands dictated the pace of the game and controlled it from the middle. Arguably his best performance of the season came in the FA Cup at Chelsea. Whilst all eyes were on the new signings that day it was Rowlands who wore the captains armband against Chelsea and was the best player on the pitch. He ran the game in midfield and went so close to scoring an equaliser. Rowlands was up against the likes of Sidwell and Ballack and did not look out of place against some of the best in Europe and the confidence gained from that seemed to help him go from strength to strength. He stayed in central midfield for the rest of the season and each game he emphasised why he was the first name on the team sheet. He almost scored a goal of the season when he dribbled past player after player before slipping and seeing his shot cleared off the line in the win over Barnsley. His goalscoring from midfield continued as he scored the equaliser at Southampton which helped turn the game around and end in a win for us. Rowlands performance got better and better as the season came to an end and he throughly deserved his international call up. Rowlands has been one of the best players at QPR since he arrived five years ago and if last season is anything to go by he's going to be one out our better players for several years to come. Rowlands was made club captain in the
summer of 2008 and he continued to impress for Rangers scoring twice
this season and producing some good performances in midfield before
injury ended his season in January and he now faces a long road
back to get back to full fitness.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
He
was able to create chances and score goals from that position and
he had licensed to roam into the middle, which really seemed to
suit him. As results got better and better so did Rowlands performances
and he became a key player. 
He
was back to his best and potentially looking better than ever before.
A knee injury ruled him out for a month though and he soon got another
injury keeping him out until November.